The Power of the King over Leprosy
The Gospel of Matthew: The King and His Kingdom • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 1 viewJesus comes down from the mountain and a leper approaches Him. He believed that Jesus could heal him if He willed. Jesus touched him and healed him. The leper was cleansed.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction: In the last chapter we concluded the Sermon on the Mount, and in this chapter, we begin to look at the healing ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Dr. Warren Wiersbe outlines Matthew 1-9 in the following way:
· The Person of the King – Matthew 1-4
· The Principles of the King – Matthew 5-7
· The Power of the King – Matthew 8-9
So, as we walk through Matthew Chapters 8-9, we will discover ten different situations where the Lord heals various individuals. You see, our Lord is a HEALER! We are going to see Jesus’ power over disease, sickness, and death.
The text before us is the first of the ten healings. In these verses Jesus is going to heal a man with leprosy.
Parallel passages: Mark 1:40-45; Luke 5:12-16
I. Jesus came down the mountain – 8:1
I. Jesus came down the mountain – 8:1
1 When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him.
A. He came down from the mountain.
Most people what to live on the mountaintop with Jesus as their teacher. No one likes having to come down into the valley. Yet, it is in the valley that the TRUTH we learn on the mountaintop is tested.
· Bible Camp for Kids.
· Backpacking Trips for Youth.
· Family Camp for a Church.
· Retreats for Christians.
· Men’s Camp.
When you are away from your normal daily activities and surrounded by God’s people and Scripture things look great. However, when you step back into the real world your life is bombarded with various testing. The truth of Christ is put to the test of everyday life.
Even Jesus knew that you can’t stay on the mountaintop. You must come down into the valley. And when Jesus came down from the mountain what did He see? A world around Him in need! Do we see that world today? Do you see the needs of the world around you?
We are all surrounded every day by a world full of needs. Jesus saw, will we?
Charles Spurgeon said, “Jesus came down to lift the multitudes up.” I like that.
B. Great multitudes followed Him.
Jesus’ teaching so astonished the people, and because He taught with authority (Matthew 7:28-29) the people followed Him.
I hope that you are astonished every time you sit under the instruction of the Word of God. I also hope that you understand the authority behind the Words of Jesus Christ. His Words are authoritative.
II. Jesus is met by a leper – 8:2
II. Jesus is met by a leper – 8:2
2 And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
“Behold” means to sit up and take notice. The event that is about to happen is important. We are going to witness the power of the King!
A. A leper came.
Leprosy is considered the worst disease one could possibly contract. And many people in Jesus’ time believed that leprosy was a result of direct punishment for sin.
Here is what the Revell Bible dictionary says about leprosy:
(1) Used of a wide variety of skin rashes, scales, sores, or eruptions, not just clinical leprosy (the NIV appropriately translates this as “infectious skin diseases”), (2) used of mildew, mold, or decay found in houses and clothing, as in Lev 13:47-59; 14:33-57.
In Israel, leprosy made a person ritually unclean. Priests were charged with the diagnosis of these diseases according to careful descriptions provided in Lev. 13. The priests also performed ritual purification of a recovered leper, as specified in Lev. 14. During the course of an infectious skin disease, the leper was to be isolated from the community. Leviticus 13:45 says the leper “must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face and cry out, “Unclean! Unclean!” This regulation makes the incident reported in Mk. 1:40-42 especially poignant. Jesus, who often healed with a word, healed the leper, the outcast, with a loving touch.”
So, then, to be a leper meant to be an outcast. You had to leave your family – spouse and kids. You had to leave your community – your friends, and your place of work. To be a leper meant that you had lost everything that was important to you. You had to stay away from people. If anyone happen to come near you, you had to cry out, Unclean, Unclean, and the people would steer clear away from you.
In Luke, we read,
That behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; (Luke 5:12b
The leper before us evidently had heard about Jesus. Maybe even some who had heard Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount were spreading Jesus' teachings, and the wind carried Jesus’ words into a leper camp.
This leper came to Jesus. MacArthur writes, “He came to Jesus with confidence and without the fear of reprisal.” Do you know who to come to?
B. A leper worshipped.
He approached Jesus from a distance, and he worshipped Him.
In Mark’s Gospel, we read,
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).
The leper came kneeling. Again, MacArthur writes, “He came to Jesus with reverence. Humble, he bowed down.” The leper knew who he was bowing down before. He had heard about Jesus’ teachings and his authority!
C. A leper asked.
Next, he asked Jesus for a miracle. He requested,
“Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
“Lord” means Master. The leper acknowledged Jesus’ deity. “Lord” is used 133 times in the Gospels. 84 times in the book of Acts, and 150 times in the rest of the New Testament. Apparently, the leper knew that Jesus was the “Lord” of disease.
The leper appealed to Jesus' will. MacArthur writes, “He came expectantly but not demandingly – “if you are willing.” This was good because Jesus never did anything outside of the will of His Father.
The leper also came in faith. He knew that Jesus had the authority to heal him – “You can make me clean.”
What is Jesus going to do?
III. Jesus put out His hand and touched him – 8:3
III. Jesus put out His hand and touched him – 8:3
3 Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Again, in Mark’s Gospel, we read,
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 was compassionate towards the leper.
A. The leper is touched.
Jesus put out His hand and touched him – Wow! Jesus touched a leper. He touched an untouchable.
How many of us would touch an untouchable today?
Untouchable’s Today
· The Homeless.
· The drug addict.
· The street beggar.
· The person with AIDS.
· The mentally ill.
· The wicked sinner.
How many of us would be like Jesus? I’m speaking to myself today. Am I willing to touch those who have a disease like Jesus touched this leper?
B. The leper is encouraged.
Saying, “I am willing;”
This is such great news for the leper - Best NEWS ever! Jesus was willing to heal him from his disease. As soon as he heard the words he probably thought of his spouse, kids, and his community.
C. The leper is cleansed.
Be cleansed.
Circle those two words. If you were dirty with leprosy, those two words would be the most refreshing words you ever heard. Can you imagine getting NEW SKIN – free from disease?
Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Take about INSTANT. This leper experienced a miracle in the blink of an eye. One moment a leper and the next completely cleansed. Skin like a newborn baby!
Understand, leprosy is a picture of our sin. Jesus Christ specializes in cleansing us.
Psalms 103:12 - As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
What is important for us to understand is that this is exactly what Jesus does to our sins. He immediately cleanses us too.
What disease would you like to see radiated today?
· Cancer.
· Heart disease.
· Diabetes.
· ALS.
Here is what Dr. John MacArthur penned about this leper. He wrote, “The leper came with confidence because he believed Jesus was compassionate, with reverence because he believed Jesus was God, with humility because he believed Jesus was sovereign, and with faith because he believed Jesus had the power to heal him.”[1]
IV. Jesus commands him to tell no one – 8:4
IV. Jesus commands him to tell no one – 8:4
4 And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
A. The leper is told to tell no one.
See that you tell no one.
Why did Jesus tell him not to tell anyone what had happened to him? Because many people would only come to hear Jesus to be healed by Jesus. They would be coming for the wrong motive.
I have witnessed this many times through my years as a pastor. I have heard about evangelists who claimed to be Faith Healers and would heal people are their events. People would travel from all over just to have the evangelist touch them.
Note– I believe in Faith Healing. I do not believe in Faith Healers.
Jesus healed this leper. It was such great news. How would you keep this to yourself?
Mark 1:45 reads,
However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places and they came to Him from every direction.
Some commentators call this the "messianic secret." It may be that Jesus did not want to draw too much attention to His role as the Messiah too early in His ministry (Bibleref.com).
Again, Luke tells us,
However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. (Luke 5:15)
B. The leper is told to go to the priest.
But go your way, show yourself to the priest.
The law required that if a leper was healed that he had to go to the priest for a full examination (See Leviticus 14).
C. The leper is told to offer a sacrifice.
and offer the gift that Moses commanded,
That sacrifice included "two living and clean birds, cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop" (Leviticus 14:4). Once the priest inspected the man and received the sacrifice, the man would be declared officially and ceremonial clean and allowed to return to the community (Bibleref.com)
D. The leper was told to offer a sacrifice as a testimony.
As a testimony to them.
In the Hollman New Testament Commentary, we read. “This man’s miraculous recovery from leprosy was to be an indication to the religious leaders that “Messiah-King is here!”[2]
When Jesus touches you, it is a testimony to every one of the power of the King!
I ask you, have you been touched by Jesus? Have you been cleansed?
Conclusion: Someone has said that Jesus’ words (Matthew 5-7), are now backed up by His works (Matthew 8-9).
What are our takeaways from this section of Scripture?
1. When you come down the mountain will you still follow Jesus Christ?
2. It is in the valley that the truth we learned on the mountaintop is tested.
3. Leprosy is a picture of our spiritual condition. We all stand in need of divine healing. We were all unclean.
4. As a sinner, we must come to Jesus Christ. He is the only answer to our sin problem.
5. Jesus will touch you, but you must come to Him.
6. We must believe that Jesus desires to heal us. Jesus said, “I am willing; be cleansed.”
7. Jesus heals completely!
8. Obedience to Scripture is necessary. Jesus had the leper follow the law.
9. It is hard not to tell everyone what Jesus Christ has done in your life. This former leper told everybody what had happened to him.
10. Go and be a testimony of divine grace.
[1]MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1985). Matthew(Vol. 2, p. 9). Moody Press.
[2]Weber, S. K. (2000). Matthew(Vol. 1, p. 116). Broadman & Holman Publishers.