| Jesus Heals a Man |
 Matthew 8: 1-41 As Jesus came down the mountain, he was followed by large crowds. 2 Suddenly a man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus. He said, “Lord, you have the power to make me well, if only you wanted to.” 3 Jesus put his hand on the man and said, “I want to! Now you are well.” At once the man’s leprosy disappeared. 4 Jesus told him, “Don’t tell anyone about this, but go and show the priest that you are well. Then take a gift to the temple just as Moses commanded, and everyone will know that you have been healed.” Contemporary English Version This story takes place just after Jesus has given the famous Sermon on the Mount. He told people things like “God blesses those people who grieve. They will find comfort!” and “You are like light for the whole world.” He was very popular, and had a reputation as a teacher and healer. Leprosy was a common and terrible disease 2000 years ago; it can be cured now, but in those days it couldn’t – though the word was used for all sorts of skin diseases, not just leprosy proper. So if someone did get well, they had to take a gift to the Temple and be certified clean by a priest. There are two amazing things about this story. One is that the man felt able to approach Jesus – lepers were supposed to stay well away from people. He must have been desperate, but he must have believed Jesus wouldn’t turn him away. The other is that Jesus touched him. That would have made Jesus himself ritually unclean, and a holy man didn’t do that sort of thing. He might also have caught leprosy himself. But showing his loving care was more important, so he touched him – perhaps the first time he’d been touched for years. TO THINK ABOUT: Do we sometimes think that God, Jesus and church are for other people, and that we are not good enough? Are there people we could “touch” – who might be ill, lonely or afraid? |
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