Skip to main content

And Touched The Man

 When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” (Matthew 8:1-4)

 

After reading Matthew Henry’s commentary on this passage decades go, I just can’t get over “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.” Lepers weren’t to be touched. Doing so made one unclean, and a procedure had to be followed to be clean again. Scripture doesn’t say Jesus followed it, but there’s no real reason to think He didn’t. But the description of leprosy – as it existed at the time – is such that most people wouldn’t want to touch a victim. Maybe this victim wasn’t as gruesome as some, but given that I’m not one who touches others, and being squeamish, I’m in awe that Jesus could touch the leper.  

It could have been years since anyone touched the man. What’s more, it’s possible that the means by which the man communicated love was through touch. Or, he simply needed what he had been denied for some time.  Yesterday, I challenged those who visit my Facebook wall to be honest with themselves in considering what their soul needs. This guy needed to be healed, but Jesus could have done that from ten miles away, blindfolded, and with his hands tied behind his back. So the touching probably had nothing to do with eliminating leprosy from the man’s body. The man needed to be touched. It restored his humanity in a way nothing else could have.

As much as I want God to miraculously fix my refrigerator and inspire my story, He doesn’t seem willing to do that. That doesn’t mean the refrigerator won’t be fixed or replaced, and that I won’t figure out what to do with my story. But He could do that from ten miles away, blindfolded, and with both hands tied behind his back. The point is not about the refrigerator or the story – it’s about doing something in my life that restores my humanity (or yours)  – that creates His image in us. That’s His touch – in whatever form He chooses.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...
1 comment
Read more

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more