Pastor Scott Andrews | February 25, 2024
Watch
Listen
Read
Luke 5:12-16
In the gospel of Luke, Jesus is doing amazing miracles. Luke records them so we can know who Jesus is and be convinced that what we believe about Him is true. Now, His miracles and teaching bring about two primary responses. First, because the miracles are healings or exorcisms or feeding thousands, the broken people of society – the poor, the sick, the hungry – are flocking to Him in droves. But that leads to the second response, the religious people are about to sit up and take notice, and they will not like it.
The next two miracles in Luke make these responses abundantly clear. The first is a healing of a leper – a hopeless outcast, a helpless untouchable; and the second is the healing of a paralytic, complete with Jesus forgiving the man’s sins. The religious won’t like that. Follow that with the call of Matthew – a despised tax collector – and they will be fit to be tied.
So understand, a sharp contrast is being drawn: between the marginalized outcasts and the self-righteous religious. Between those who have need of all things, and those who think they have need of nothing. Which means, we will see Christ’s kingdom is not made up of those who think they’re in. They’ve earned it. It is not made up of the religious, those who have it all together, those who look really good on the outside. It’s not made up of the self-righteous Pharisee who prayed like this:
“God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.” Every day, the arrogant Pharisee in his morning prayer would say, “God, I thank you that I have not been created a Samaritan, a Gentile, or a woman.” Why? Because Samaritans, Gentiles, and women were unworthy of the kingdom. Pharisees were forbidden by their rabbis to greet any woman in public, even a wife or a sister. There were, in those days, those who shut their eyes when they saw any woman on the street. With their eyes shut, they walked into so many walls and tripped over so many uneven streets they were called the “bruised and bleeding Pharisees.” Spiritual, don’t you think?
And Jesus showed up and said, these are not the kind of people who are in My kingdom. On the contrary, My kingdom is made up of people who realize they could never earn it, who don’t have it all together, who don’t look good on the outside. It’s made up of outcasts, the dregs of society, untouchables. Jesus didn’t use those words. He called His people broken, mourning, meek, hungry, thirsty, merciful, pure in heart, peacemaking, persecuted. We will see Him teach that clearly in the next chapter.
Remember, Luke told us Jesus came preaching the kingdom. Other gospels tell us it went like this, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And as He went throughout Galilee preaching that message, He demonstrated it with power. We read in Matthew 4:23, “Jesus was going throughout all Galilee teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. And the news about Him went into all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, taken with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics; and He healed them.” All who came.
Because of His healing ministry, large crowds followed, wanting to catch a glimpse of this miracle worker. There was a bandwagon effect as people came from every direction of the compass to join in the hoopla, and maybe get their own special miracle. But His message will still be the same, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. My kingdom is for broken people, who realize they’re broken, and need help. Like lepers.
Again, those who entered were not those you would expect – the religious: the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the scribes. The truth is, they rejected Him, while those with greatest need followed Him. Those entering His kingdom were the sick, the lame, the lepers, the possessed. And Jesus healed them all. It’s no wonder they followed Him. You see, I have a theory. The more you realize your need, the more you love and follow Jesus. If He’s just an addition to your incredible life, at some point, you’ll find you don’t really need Him.
So, Jesus is proving His authority over demons and sickness – even the dreaded, unclean disease of leprosy. You see, at this time, being healed of leprosy was like being raised from the dead. Because, those with leprosy were seen as the living dead – the walking dead – zombies. Is there any cure for zombies? Nope – just chop off their heads. This is an amazing miracle. Not unlike when He cleansed you.
Now, Luke did not just randomly select miracles. He was very specific to teach us. You see, we’re going to start seeing some messages/truths in the miracles. What are those truths? There are several, but one will ring loud and clear: Jesus Christ is the Son of God – God in the flesh. He is going to do things only God can do. He’s going to exercise authority over disease, demons, nature, and even death. Further, He’s going to tell a paralytic – your sins are forgiven. These are things only God can do.
Let me give you another message in these miracles – Jesus cares about all our needs; both spiritual and physical. He wants to meet us where we are. He cares whether we have leprosy, or whether we’re paralyzed, or sick in bed with a fever, or demon-possessed, or being swamped in a boat, or suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, or whether we’re dead. Jesus cares about our spiritual and physical needs and meets us where we are.
He cares whether you have some curable or incurable disease. He cares if you have a cold or cancer. He cares when we’re driving to the grocery store or across the state in a storm. He cares whether we’re demon-oppressed or demon-possessed. He cares about our sins and still forgives them. Jesus cares about our physical and spiritual needs and wants to meet us where we are. That’s a message in these miracles we need to hear again and again. It doesn’t matter how big or how small the issue is you’re facing – Jesus cares. This message in the miracle says Jesus responds to human suffering and pain.
He’s not a God so big He’s only concerned with really important things like war in Gaza. He cares about the war that might be raging in your home or in your soul or in your body. And He’s powerful enough to do something about it. The truth of the miracles say that Jesus is God, He cares, and He is able to meet us where we are. Some of you are hurting today. You need to hear Jesus knows and wants to move into your pain and suffering. While most people want to stay away from that kind of conflict, that kind of suffering – they desert when you need them most – Jesus wants to meet you right where you are.
And there is another message in these miracles I think Luke wants us to catch. God cares about the people the world, even the religious world, doesn’t care about. Remember that prayer the good Pharisee prayed every morning? “I thank you that you have not created me a Samaritan, a Gentile, or a woman.” Guess who Jesus cares about, who He heals in these two miracles: a leper, an outcast of society, and a paralytic, who was clearly a sinner. And again, right after these two miracles, He’s going to call another disciple who will be one of the Twelve – Matthew, a despised tax collector. Because Jesus cares about the outcasts of society. Jesus says, the people you religious people won’t even eat with – I’m going to build my kingdom, there. So, let’s look at the first of these two miracles today – it’s found in Luke 5:12-16.
The outline of the text goes like this:
- The Request of the Leper (12)
- The Response of Jesus (13)
- The Command of Jesus (14)
- The Response of the Leper (15-16)
It’s interesting to note, in all the stories of lepers being healed in the gospels, they don’t use the word healed – they use the word cleansed. Here, it’s used three times in five verses. Because they were not only sick, but because of their sickness, they were unclean – socially, religiously. And therefore ostracized. Makes me wonder who those are in our society today. Think about it a minute – who are the unclean as viewed by the church today?
Let’s begin with the Request of the Leper. Verse 12 says, While He was in one of the cities, behold – stop there. The word is idou, often translated “behold.” But even behold is a bit innocuous. The word is an exclamation of surprise – like, “Look,” or “Holy Cow!” Why am I making a big deal about this? Because Luke did. This was unusual. This was a leper, a dreg of society – an outcast, a low life – one who was shunned – behold, you won’t believe it, a man covered with leprosy came up to Jesus and fell on his face, unwilling to even look up at Him.
Notice, he approached Jesus. That’s why Luke said, behold, you’re not going to believe this, a leper approached Jesus, fell on his face and implored – begged Jesus. What? You see, in the culture of that day, this would have shocked you. Remember, large crowds are following Him, dozens, hundreds, at times thousands. They’re pressing in around Him all the time. And for a leper to come, that means he had to make his way through the crowds. And at that time, you didn’t do that. The crowds would have shrunk back in horror. The Talmud said lepers weren’t allowed any closer than six feet to another person, 150 feet if the wind was blowing. There’s some social distancing. When they walked down the street, they had to yell, “unclean, unclean,” so people could, and would, steer clear of him. But this leper came to Jesus, understanding Jesus was his only hope.
Understand something about the world to which Jesus came. Sickness was terrifying; this was a culture rampant with disease, with little medicine or medical knowledge. Medicines and doctors that we take for granted, they didn’t have. Illnesses that may cause us to miss work for a day or a week or require surgery, for them could be fatal. If you got sick, you let the sickness run its course, and you would get better, or not. You may end up scarred, crippled, deformed, blind, deaf or dead. For sure, whether it was fatal or not, it often caused great suffering and pain – for which there was little remedy.
Diseases affecting people at this time were paralysis and atrophy – no cures. We frequently read of blindness and deafness, rampant because they could be caused by countless forms of disease, infection and injury. Nothing would restore sight or hearing – the loss was permanent. We read of boils, infected glands, various forms of edema, dysentery, speech disorders, epilepsy, intestinal disorders, tumors, ulcers, bleeding, and a host of other problems. The list of diseases was long, life expectancy was short.
But without doubt, the most dreaded of all diseases was leprosy. It is true the OT speaks of many different skin diseases under the umbrella of leprosy, but leprosy, or Hansen’s Disease, was one of them. Scribes have suggested there were 72 different skin diseases, but actual leprosy was second only to a dead body in severity. Leprosy was the most feared in society because of the physical, social and spiritual ramifications of the disease. Spiritual – what do you mean? It was seen as a visible symbol of sin.
Physically, it did several things. It attacked the central nervous system of the body, killing nerve endings. Very often people with leprosy had noses and ears, fingers and toes falling off because they’d done it to themselves without knowing it. Not only that, it attacks the bone marrow and the blood of a person, such that the bones begin to shrivel. Other manifestations included oozing sores, loosing your teeth, going blind. Oh, and something else – it was incurable. Only God could do something about it. In addition to the physical ramifications, there were social stigmas attached as well. Anyone with leprosy was an outcast – it was a socially disgusting disease – who would want to be around that, even if it wasn’t contagious? Nobody wanted to be around a leper – nobody invited them to a party.
Because of that, there were laws governing lepers, which led to the social stigma. Leviticus 13 tells us if a person was found with leprosy, his clothes were to be torn, his head uncovered, his mouth covered, and he was to cry, “Unclean! Unclean!” as he walked down the street. Lepers were legally ostracized and forbidden to live in any community with fellow Israelites. There was no cure – the only treatment was quarantine. It was not only debilitating; it was defiling – the leper was ceremonially unclean and cut off from both the religious and social life of the community and even his own family.
How did the religious treat lepers? One ancient rabbi said, “When I see lepers I throw stones at them lest they come near to me.” Another said, “I would not so much as eat an egg that was purchased on a street where a leper had walked.” Not only did people avoid lepers, they hated them. It was a lonely, miserable life.
And this is the kind of man who came to Jesus, bowed before Him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, You can make me clean.” Notice, he didn’t question Jesus’ ability or power to heal – he questioned His willingness. This man was desperate – Jesus was his only hope. Don’t miss the expression of faith here. I believe you can – will you? Somewhere he quit caring what people thought, he quit caring what people said or even what they might do to him – he made his way to Jesus and said, “I don’t care what they think, I don’t care what they do. Except for a touch from you, I am without hope – Jesus, you’re all I’ve got.” That’s the cry of every broken person. Jesus, my only hope is you – and guess what they get? They get what Jesus came to bring.
Which brings us to the Response of Jesus in verse 13. Of course, we know Jesus healed the man. Completely. Instantly. Everything we talked about with leprosy? The decaying, mutilated flesh? The shriveled up bones? He was instantly healed and restored, and he stood before Jesus whole. Will you let that sink in. A hushed, astonished, stunned whisper made its way through the crowd. What a beautiful picture of what He does to those covered, full of sin. I’m convinced it’s why Luke selected this miracle – as a demonstration of what Jesus does every time He forgives sin. Not convinced? He will say it clearly in the miracle next week.
But don’t miss this, be moved by this: Jesus stretched out His hand, and touched him. Can you believe that? It was amazing enough this man had the courage to come close – within the barrier imposed by society. It was amazing he had the faith to bow down and seek healing. He knew Jesus was a miracle worker – perhaps Jesus would heal him – if He was willing.
But, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. Do you realize this may be the first time in years this man had been touched by another human hand? Jesus could have just spoken and healed the man. He did that all the time. But physical healing wasn’t all this man needed. He needed emotional and spiritual healing, too. And Jesus reached out and touched him. I want to suggest the physical touch was perhaps as meaningful as the healing itself. Jesus touched him – because He cares – because He loved him. Mark says Jesus was filled with compassion. There’s an attitude toward society’s undesirables.
Think about that for a minute. Again, who are the undesirables in our society today? What disease, what sinful stain, what lifestyle behaviors have a social stigma attached to them – that cause people to stay away – especially religious, church people? Which cause you to recoil. You see, as I’ve suggested, leprosy was analogous to sin – people who had leprosy had sin all over them. And they were avoided. They no doubt deserved it. Now, we do understand sickness, whatever and whenever it may be, is ultimately the result of sin. What social stigmas are attached to broken people that keep others away – with which truly religious people would have nothing to do? They don’t act like us, and they certainly don’t look like us.
It’s very easy for us to sit safely within these four walls, listen and say amen, love people – who are like us. It’s easy to get into our cars and drive to our safe homes and to our safe jobs, and never be touched by an untouchable. And without realizing it, we can see one of them in line at the grocery store and be repulsed by them or feel superior to them or feel disdain toward them. And all the while their brokenness is a megaphone that screams to us – I need grace, I need love, I need Jesus.
This is where the rubber meets the road. Jesus reached out and touched a leper. He cleansed the man. He extended grace and healing to someone to which the rest of society wouldn’t even give the time of day. There are people around us are longing for a touch. People with emotional, spiritual and physical leprosy, who want someone, anyone, to stretch out a hand of love and compassion and grace. Wounded people, scared people, broken people.
This leper came and bowed in Jesus’ presence – dead and decaying on the outside – not looking very clean – in fact, looking pretty disgusting – and Jesus says, here, the blessings of the kingdom I came to bring are yours. Because he came to Jesus, saying, my only hope is you. Do you see the way this man came? He came desperate, bowing in reverence and humility. Lord, if you are willing, and he came in faith, trusting, You can make me clean.
At this point, let’s quickly look at Jesus’ command to the healed man, and the man’s response. Jesus ordered, tell no one. Simply go to the priest and offer a sacrifice as Moses commanded for your cleansing. This was the procedure spelled out in Leviticus 13 and 14. The priests acted as the nation’s health inspectors. They weren’t doctors – you see, only God could cleanse you of the dreaded disease. If you were declared clean, you went through an 8-day period which included various sacrifices. Notice, as a testimony to them. To whom? Who is them? Perhaps to the community, maybe to his family. But also, this is likely a subtle shift in the narrative. This healing will be a testimony to the religious who will oppose Jesus in the very next story. This will serve as a testimony to them – Jesus really did heal me.
But, verse 15, the news about Jesus spread further. Mark tells us the man went out and proclaimed freely to everyone what Jesus had done. Lots of discussion about this. Did the man go to the priest? Don’t know. Was he wrong in spreading the news? Some say yes – he directly disobeyed Jesus. Others say, when Jesus touches you, you can’t help but spread the news. I don’t know. I do know as a result of his actions, large crowds came. Mark says Jesus was unable to go to the cities – the crowds were too big and unruly. And Jesus, as was His habit, went out to solitary places in the wilderness to pray.
We’re out of time, but I want to say to you, that’s what some of you need to do this morning. You need to recognize the leprosy in your own life. As I said earlier, the Bible frequently uses leprosy as an analogy for sin. The people standing around that day equated leprosy with sin. And some of you are carrying around sin that is every bit as disgusting and vile and foul as leprosy – it contaminates everything it touches and is a stench. And like leprosy, it is absolutely incurable unless God reaches out and touches you. And He wants to do that. He wants to reach out His hand and touch you – heal you – forgive you – make you whole. He can cleanse you today, and do it immediately. Right now – He is willing, if you are willing to say, Jesus, my only hope is you.
Last thing I’ll say is this. In the culture of that day, if you touched something or someone unclean, you became unclean. You had to be quarantined, you had to go through some ritual cleansing – you had to present sacrifices. That’s why you didn’t touch lepers or dead people – you would become unclean.
Here, Jesus reaches out and touches the leper. But there’s a difference – Jesus switched things around – when Jesus touched the man, He didn’t become unclean, the leper became clean. And that’s exactly what He will do for you, if you’ll let Him – He will touch you and make you clean. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” Jesus came to cleanse defiled people like you and me.