Jesus Took Away Our Sins
Matthew is showing us that the man's faith is totally focused on Jesus. The Bible doesn’t tell us where he got this faith. But 4:24 says that as soon as Jesus started his healing ministry, news about him spread everywhere. It must have even reached the place where lepers lived. News of Jesus stirred this man’s heart. When he heard about what Jesus could do, he found hope. He found strength to come out of his leper’s quarters. He found courage to face hostile people who might start throwing rocks at him. In his society, lepers were the worst of the worst. They were not supposed to come out and be among normal people. But because of his faith in Jesus this man came. Likewise, if we can turn our thoughts away from ourselves and our situation and from people to really meditate on who Jesus is, we can find the hope, the strength and the courage to come to him.
Next, we need to look at how Jesus responds to him. Read verse 3. Jesus responded to this man because of his faith. But we can notice several things here. First, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. In the Law God told his people not to touch lepers (Lev5:3). He was trying to prevent disease among his people from spreading. Then people used this law to totally isolate lepers. Today, too, people use God’s laws to isolate themselves from those who are sick with sin. They do it in the name of holiness. But Jesus wasn’t like that. He didn’t have to touch this man in order to heal him, but he did. He broke the rule. Why? Jesus touched him to show him that he loved him. Jesus touched him to show that he was unafraid of his illness. Jesus touched him to show that he respected him as a human being who was so lovely, so valuable, made in the image of God. By touching him, Jesus was taking up his infirmity and bearing his disease of leprosy. This tells us that ministry can’t be done from a safe distance. Ministry can’t be superficial. We have to get involved with people closely. We have to get our hands dirty. We have to patiently bear all kinds of diseases people have, out of God’s love. If we’re demanding, intolerant and impatient with people, God can’t use us to bring them to Jesus for healing.
To this man, being touched by Jesus was a crucial part of his healing. Years of isolation had scarred his soul. At last there was someone who reached out to him in love and touched him. In our busy, competitive, cruel society, so many wounded, spiritually sick people are longing for a simple, loving touch. They feel dirty and condemned and so alone, but if only someone would reach out and touch them, it would set them on a new path of spiritual healing.
Next, Jesus accompanied his touch by saying, “I am willing.” Sometimes the devil convinces us that God is not willing to help us. He gets us to think God is stern, that we don’t matter, that our problem is not God’s concern.
