| Matthew 8:1 When he
was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. 2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. |
Mark 1:40 And there
came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying
unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. 42 And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. 43 And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away; 44 And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. 45 But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter. |
| Leprosy was one
of the most horrid and dreaded diseases in the ancient world. The
bodies of those afflicted literally fell apart, limb by limb, with skin
turned white by the disease. Lepers were isolated from everyone else,
and were required to shout "unclean" as they walked down a street. For
Jesus even to allow a leper to approach demonstrated his great love and
compassion. As to his leper, his confession demonstrated great faith,
the offering we make when we make a petition to God. The healing was
immediate, as soon as the words left Jesus' mouth. That is not always
the case; healing may come in our case only after extended prayer. The
choice to heal at all is always God's; he is sovereign. As often happened when Christ healed someone, they could not contain their joy. Despite being asked to keep the news to himself, after performing the obligation required by the Law, the former leper spread the news of the miracle far and near. As a result, great multitudes of needy people flocked to Jesus. Healing required great amounts of spiritual, mental, and physical energy, and even Jesus had to draw apart to be recharged. One mistake we often make, as active Christians, is becoming too busy, expecting that we can place constant demands on our physical and spiritual resources without consequences. That leads to burnout, a problem for Christians as much as for anyone in the world. We all need seasons of rest and refreshing, both alone and as part of the body of Christ. If Jesus needed to draw apart, limited by his flesh even though he was also divine, how much more do we need renewal? |
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| Matthew 8:5 And when
Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion,
beseeching him, 6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. 7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. 8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour. |
Luke 7:1 Now when he
had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into
Capernaum. 2 And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die. 3 And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this: 5 For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. 6 Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof: 7 Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed. 8 For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 9 When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 10 And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick. |
| This was another
instance of great faith, of one who was not even a Jew, but who had a kind
spirit. To begin with, he had demonstrated love and concern for the Jews, a
conquered nation, something certainly not usual for the rulers of a subject
people. In this case, he demonstrated the same love and concern for a
servant in his house, at a time when slaves were counted as little more than
property to be disposed of at will. This man had learned life's
lessons well; he was able to apply his understanding of his role as a
military leader to the kind of authority God has over us all. He
understood that Jesus did not have to be physically present to heal someone,
that God's power is not restricted by distance. That simple act of
trust seems to be the hardest thing for many believers to grasp; the reason
that many prayers are not answered is because of our "little faith". There is a slight difference in the two accounts as to whether the centurion came in person, or sent his servants to Jesus, but the detail is not important. The truth is the same in either account. This story, and the prophecy of Christ that accompanied it, foreshadows the inclusion of the Gentiles in the promise of the Gospel. It is interesting that the first recorded Gentile convert in the early church was a Roman centurion in Caesarea, as recorded in Acts 10. One thing I'd be interested in finding out in glory is if the centurion mentioned here had any contact with, or influence on, Cornelius of Caesarea. |
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