Faith and action
by Rachael Stelzer
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Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing’, he said. ‘Be clean!’ (Matthew 8:3)
Read Matthew 7:28–8:4
After Jesus taught the crowds on the mountainside, in his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6 and 7, a man with leprosy came to Jesus. Lepers lived outside the city at this time, in communities of similarly sick people, who had been cast out of the town, and forbidden to enter the temple. They could not even hug their families goodbye and had to carry bells to warn others to stay away from them. Catching their disease, in Jesus’ day, was a death sentence.
This leprous man had the audacity to come dangerously close to non-leprous people and even walked up to Jesus and knelt before him. He showed beautiful simple faith when he said, ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean’.
Jesus honoured his faith, saying, ‘I am willing! Be clean!’ This was more than just a physical healing. Jesus gave him not just healing, but the opportunity to rejoin life inside the city walls, to reunite with his family and to enter the temple community once again.
And, in keeping with Jewish law, Jesus instructed the man to go and show himself to a priest – who could pronounce him officially clean – and to make the offering that went with this pronouncement. Jesus restored the man to his community. This was healing in every sense – physical, social and spiritual. And Jesus gladly gave this man back his life.
Lord Jesus, you come near to us in many ways, offering healing and restoration of our bodies, our souls and our relationships. Help us to take a step of faith, and to praise you for your abundant grace. Amen.
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