Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean.” Mark 1:40
Almost 2000 years ago in a city on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee a nameless Jewish man afflicted with a dreaded skin disease came and begged Jesus for healing. This man somehow picked up this infectious skin disease and had been pronounced by the Hebrew priests to be unclean. He therefore could not be part of the community of Israel and was shunned by all around him for fear that they too would be infected by this dreaded malady.
Leviticus 13:45 in describing what the leper must do when coming close to people says, “The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’”
Though the leper in this case had a sort of curse on him, he came to the right person and asked the right question.
Leprosy in the Bible is sometimes used as a metaphor for sin. Though we don’t necessarily go out looking for sin, we sometimes, in the course of life, get infected by evil, immorality, or many of the other traps that lie in wait for Christians.
When we realize we have been wrongly influenced we sometimes find that the sickness is hard to shake. We begin to find fault with members of our families, friends and people in the church, and wonder why we are not happy. That’s when we must look at ourselves and see how we are living and compare it to what the Bible teaches. The Apostle Paul writes that we must examine ourselves, “to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! (2 Corinthians 13:5.)”
This was the job of the priest, but now it is our job. We must keep ourselves in a place where we can hear from God through His Word and the conviction that comes from the Holy Spirit within. When we find that things aren’t right we must, as did the leper in Mark 1, come to Jesus.
“Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed" (Mark 1:41.)” Jesus is the one that we go to because He is willing to heal us and deliver us from the thing that plagues our lives; sin. He cleansed the leper who was already a part of the chosen people, and He is willing to clean you. You are part of His body.
Thank you Jesus that you cleanse us and take away our guilt. May we cry out to you always in time of need, because we know You can and You will.
