Jesus: Willing and Able to Cleanse Us

Luke 5:12-16 – Jesus: Willing and Able to Cleanse Us

Introduction

Years ago, shoveling two feet of snow from my driveway, the whole right side of my face suddenly went numb, along with a headache that put me to my knees. After arriving at the hospital and a few tests, I was told I had meningitis. There are two kinds, viral and bacterial. Bacterial is fatal, and viral isn’t. They rushed me to a quarantined room, told me no one could see me, and that they were running tests to find out which one I had. As I was lying there praying, I was by myself; they wouldn’t let my wife or child in, I didn’t know if I would live another day. To be fair, my wife eventually came in regardless of what they told her. In those few moments, however, it was a terrifying experience…

In these moments, I had the horrible feeling of isolation. Have you ever felt this? Do you feel this now? Do you feel alone? Do you live with others, but don’t feel loved? Are you all alone and it seems like no one wants to be your friend?

Or worse yet, do you feel disconnected or isolated from God? Do you feel lonely and alone? Today we will see that Jesus exercises his desire and authority to restore a broken, lonely, and desperate humanity as they exercise humble faith in him.

Background

Jesus is the Savior who brings salvation to the poor, captives, blind, and oppressed. He came to earth to bring the Lord's favor to those who trust in him. He has healed the sick, cast out demons, communed with God, preached the Good News of the kingdom of God, and called a group of men to be a part of his mission, leaving everything behind and following him. Our story picks up from here.

Exposition

In verse 12, we see our first point, Humanity: In desperate need. Here we will see two things. The first is humanity’s condition: desperate, broken, lonely. The second is the solution to this condition: humble faith.

The man we see here is a broken, lonely, and desperate leper. Some consider leprosy in OT times to be like something called Hansen’s disease. The body’s built-in warning system, pain, doesn’t work. This infectious disease brings numbness to the hands, feet, ears, eyes, and nose. Often, a leper was not aware of how bad things were. They may know that they have the disease, but they do things that cause themselves to be hurt without even knowing it. So, they might reach into fire, boiling water, or hold things too tightly, traumatizing affected areas. Limbs, bones, and external flesh can become dismembered and twisted, causing them to look strange. Because of these disastrous results, it has been called by one doctor a “painless hell.” The leper in this story is “full of leprosy.” It means he had leprosy real bad.

But it is not just the disfigurement and physical difficulty that is such a problem; it is the result. The reason this man was so desperate for healing was that he was broken and alone. The law of God in Leviticus 13:45-46, and the Rabbi’s added rules made sure the people were free from contamination by lepers. Some rabbis would avoid lepers at all costs, even going so far as throwing rocks at them to keep them away. Such isolation and mistreatment…can you think of it? Being cut off from everyone you know, all of society, lonely, disgraced, and ashamed, longing for a conversation, fellowship, or the simple touch of another human being, and never being able to get it.

Have you ever felt like this? Isolated, mistreated, cut off? What do you do when you feel this way? Is there any hope? Is anyone out there? Will anyone listen? Does anyone care? What does one do?

Many people today live like they have leprosy but aren’t to the point of desperation. Though most people know they are not perfect, many don’t think they are that bad. Yet, all of humanity, like this leper, is in desperate need of Jesus’ healing, but not necessarily physically.

We see bank robbers, corporate thieves, adulterers, etc., and compare ourselves with them, thinking we aren’t that bad, because we can’t see that we still yell at our loved ones, are dishonest, hate in our hearts, curse others in traffic, steal lustful glances, among other things. Though these things may not seem that bad, like leprosy, they chew away at us until, eventually, we are a deformed and dysfunctional mess. No one is a whole creature. Instead, we are all a broken mess far from perfection. We are all in desperate need, and we must recognize this and seek wholeness.

If you were in this isolated and lonely place, what would you do to be healed? What in desperation would you be willing to do to get out of such a “living hell” as leprosy, or maybe the condition you are in now?

Eventually this leper was led to certain realization and desperation. He heard that there might be someone who could heal him, a miracle worker, and that this someone was in the city. So, when he sees Jesus, knowing he has made others whole, he falls on his face in desperation, begging for healing, knowing that Jesus can make him whole. So, instead of staying away from people, he breaks cultural, societal, and religious taboos. Instead of crying out “unclean, unclean,” he comes up to Jesus, falls on his face, and cries out with an incredible statement of faith.

The reason that this man’s faith is so incredible was at the time leprosy was regarded as an incurable infection. The rabbis considered healing a leper to be as difficult as raising the dead. Only God could cleanse a leper. You see, the leper was ceremonially unclean, and many people at this time believed that people got leprosy because of sin (think Miriam and Gehazi). They thought that a person afflicted with leprosy was notoriously wicked and the only one who could cure them would be God if he was gracious. Though this may sound right, the reality is that this misses the doctrine of original sin. Some are afflicted because of their sin, but many are afflicted because of sin’s effect in general.

This leper recognizes that he is unclean and knows there is a solution. He exercises a humble faith. He humbly, falling on his face, begs Jesus to heal him, and expresses his belief that if Jesus wants to, he can heal him. Healing is only found in seeking the one who can bring the cure.

This man recognizes that Jesus is the Lord, the master, and that Jesus has the ability and the authority to heal him if he so desires.

Have you seen what Jesus does to people who are living in a state of degeneration and in need of wholeness? Have you seen a drug addict, a sex addict, or a murderer who was made whole by Jesus? If you have, you know that Jesus is able to make you or anyone else whole.

Sometimes, it is easy to gauge a sick body. But in the case of spiritual sickness, how do you tell? How do you know if you need a doctor, or rather THE DOCTOR, Jesus Christ? Here are some symptoms to think about: you are pursuing your career more than anything else in life; you are drowning your sorrows in work, drugs, alcohol, pornography, sex, food, entertainment; you are constantly trying new things out to find satisfaction, but nothing ever quite does it; you are seeking your own good above God’s; you are seeking your own good above other’s; you don’t care what God says when you want to do something, you simply do it; you don’t want to worship God; you don’t want to hear about God; you seek, but you never find. There are more. But ultimately, you are looking for something only your Maker can provide.

And so, if you are stuck in this sort of thing, like the leper you should understand that Jesus has the ability and authority to heal you if he wills. Thus, you should cry out to Jesus with a humble faith.

Our second point is that Jesus makes himself present and is able and willing to cleanse (vv. 13-14). Jesus is not afraid to reach into our mess (v. 13a). He makes himself present to us (v. 13a) and has both the desire (willing) (v. 13b) and authority (ability) to cleanse us (v. 13c).

Over the years, I have been asked this question: “How do you know Jesus wants to or can heal me?” Verse 13 shows that Jesus desires or “wills” to make the leper whole. Here Jesus tells the leper that he is willing to heal him, and shows his willingness to do it, and his care to do it by reaching out to him and touching him. Notice Jesus’ love demonstrated as he reaches out his hand and touches the leper. Don’t miss this, this would have been absolutely taboo. Any who saw this would have been aghast. They would have thought he would contract leprosy. But regardless of this, Jesus makes himself present to the leper; Jesus reaches into his mess.

Yet, Jesus not only says he is willing to cleanse him, but speaks the word “be clean,” and his power instantaneously heals the leper. Jesus was not only willing, but able, or had the authority to, cleanse the leper.

Imagine what it would have been like for this leper. Perhaps he had lived for years or decades as a leper. His fingers and toes were stubs, his face was deformed. Perhaps he was a husband and had not seen his wife or children for years. He had not felt the warm touch of another’s hand or the warm embrace of a hug. He was isolated, alone, and lonely. Imagine the touch of his Maker, touching his wrinkled, ruined body. Imagine the warmth that flowed through his body, the kindness that he must have experienced, the love that flowed through him.

As the Maker’s healing power flowed through his body, perhaps reviving his nerve endings, straightening out his fingers and toes, “dewrinkling” his face, making him look clean. This is the kind of power our Maker and Savior has. Jesus is the only one who could heal a leper, he is God.

When Jesus has the desire to make us whole, he will do it. You see, Jesus didn’t have to come down to this earth to live a difficult life and have it end in an excruciating death, and worse yet, bear the wrath of his Father, but he did. You see, Jesus was willing. But it isn’t just Jesus, it is the Father. The Father willingly sent his Son to be killed for our sake. He sent the Son so we could be with him in paradise forever and enter into his mission of restoration with Jesus.

So, this is the Good News. Jesus Christ came to this earth to make us whole. He became present with us, taking our sin, he is willing, he desires to make us whole, so we should act in faith and seek this wholeness. It is offered to you today. Take hold of it and never let it go.

But what if Jesus was present with us, willing to make us whole, but didn’t have the power or the authority to do so? What if you were a criminal convicted of armed robbery and sentenced to 15 years in prison. What if I walked up to you and said, “I have great news!!! Today, you are pardoned, you can go free!” But what if I had no authority? Would that help you? No.

But, there is good news, Jesus has both the desire, the authority and the power to make us whole. He did this by becoming present with us. He has made many people whole, and he can make us whole, too. Now, I want you to know that while Jesus can and does miraculously heal physical ailments today (there are countless examples of this) there are even more examples where he chooses not to physically heal for reasons unknown to us. We cannot demand him to heal us, we can simply ask him in as much faith as we can and trust his will.

Yet, it is always Jesus’ will to heal us spiritually if we trust in him. He will give us a new heart if we call upon his name for salvation. He can heal our physical bodies and our souls. However, his primary business in this present world is healing souls. Why? A healed body without a healed soul does no lasting good because the body will eventually die. And our broken world necessitates that we must die.

Notice the leper, he believed that Jesus had the power and authority to heal him, so he accepted Jesus’ healing touch and was made whole. Jesus is present with us, is willing, and able to heal us.

Our third point is that Jesus is our humble and dependent Savior (vv. 14-16). Jesus could heal this leper and can heal us because he is both God and the perfect man who lives in humility and dependence upon God.

In verses 14-15, Jesus sends the leper away and instructs him to tell no one and fulfill the requirements of the law. There are a few reasons why Jesus might have sent the leper away and told him not to say anything to anyone. First, Jesus is the humble Messiah who emptied himself of his honor and glory on this earth, so he could complete his mission to redeem his people. He tells the leper not to tell anybody. Jesus is shying away from the fame that many wanted to give him for working miracles. Jesus is not interested in becoming great or being well-known in the eyes of humanity. Jesus is already God and already great. He is interested in fulfilling his mission. Jesus is the humble Messiah.

Second, it may be that Jesus is showing the world how he upholds the Mosaic law as found in Leviticus 14:2-32. Jesus tells the leper to obey the Mosaic law. Those who were cleansed must present themselves to the priest with a sacrifice. That priest would declare the leper clean if the leprosy was gone. This was pointing to the fact that not only did Jesus make himself a willing sacrifice for us, but he is the great high priest who declares us clean. Jesus is the willing sacrifice. Jesus performs all that is necessary to cleanse us of our sin.

Third, as Jesus heals the sick and in the next story will forgive sins, the Jewish authorities will become increasingly hostile to him. Jesus has three years' worth of ministry to accomplish, and thus, he needs to prevent his arrest too early. Jesus shows the authorities that he is submitting to all the requirements found in the Law. He is no renegade; he upholds the Law of God.

But…as we see in Mark’s account, the leper disobeys Jesus’ command. He simply left and told everyone about what Jesus had done for him. It is not clear whether he obeyed the Mosaic law and showed himself to the priest and gave his offering. What we do know from Mark is that he talked about it so much that the news of what Jesus did spread so that Jesus couldn’t even enter a town without being surrounded by crowds of people who were seeking to be healed.

The news of the Messiah is spreading rapidly throughout the region. They want the Messiah to come, heal, and liberate them from their sicknesses and oppressions.

What would we do if we had throngs of people chasing after us to do great things? What would we do if our fame was spread everywhere? For many of us it would go to our heads and elevate us into pride. However, for Jesus, his humility is shown clearly. Though he has the power and authority, he chooses to fulfill his mission and give glory and honor to God. He is the perfect man, and an amazing God who is a humble Messiah who willingly sacrifices himself to heal us.

Finally, both Mark and Luke stress that Jesus would go to lonely or desolate places because of the massive crowds gathering and coming from everywhere. Luke explains that he would go to desolate places to pray (Luke 5:16). Thus, it seems that Jesus does not go to avoid people but rather to commune with his Father because he prioritizes prayer and fellowship with his Father. Jesus is a dependent Savior.

Conclusion

We should not pass over the leper we see in Luke chapter 5. He had a degenerative disease that left him broken and lonely. He needed healing, he needed Jesus. We need to think about how often we cannot see our need of healing. We also need to see how we live in isolation from God and others. Just like this, we, as people, are broken and incomplete. We are everywhere and always looking for wholeness, but we never can find it in ourselves. Jesus Christ has the power, authority, and desire to make us whole. And so, like the leper, we must call out to Jesus in humble faith in Jesus. When we do, he will heal us.

Application

There are a few things to apply to our hearts. First, Jesus has made many other people whole and he can do the same for you. There are countless lives and examples of his authority and power to heal not only people’s bodies but also their souls. These testimonies should help you see that, just like the leper, Jesus can heal you.

Second, Jesus has the desire to heal you. He is a merciful, compassionate God who cares about his creation and his creatures. His heart for the lost leads him to seek out and save them. You should not think that God sits in heaven, refusing to grant you healing, like a miser who does not want to part with his money. Jesus wants you to be healed.

Third, Jesus has the authority to heal you. He is the Creator of the universe. He is the Sustainer of the universe. His words have power. Nothing can prevent him from speaking and bringing healing to your bodies and/or your souls.

Fourth, Jesus reaches into our broken world. He is not afraid to touch you. He does not fear contracting your illness, taking your sin. He cannot sin. Jesus is the perfect God-man who left glory to live and die for you. Jesus is not afraid of your sin, he will not cast you off, he will forgive you.

Fifth, Jesus is a humble King. He is not seeking to be made much of to feel better about himself. He is not in need of your praises. However, he wants you to praise him and glorify him because it brings you the most delight, and fills you with the most joy. Creatures were created to delight and worship him, and doing anything less brings pain and misery.

Sixth, Jesus demonstrates to you a life of dependence upon God. Jesus, the second Adam, lived in dependence upon his Father. He never questioned his identity. Fame and glory do not provide you with what we need. Only communion and fellowship with God can fulfill the desires that are built into your souls.