LORD IF YOU ARE WILLING
Luke 5:12-16
12 In one of the villages, Jesus met a man with an advanced case of leprosy. When the man saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground, begging to be healed. "Lord," he said, "if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean."
13 Jesus reached out and touched him. "I am willing," he said. "Be healed!" And instantly the leprosy disappeared. 14 Then Jesus instructed him not to tell anyone what had happened. He said, "Go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed."
15 But despite Jesus' instructions, the report of his power spread even faster, and vast crowds came to hear him preach and to be healed of their diseases. 16 But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.
THE LAW OF MOSES
Lev 13:45 "As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be uncovered, and he shall cover his mustache and cry, 'Unclean! Unclean!' 46 "He shall remain unclean all the days during which he has the infection; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp
Lev 14:2-3
"This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing. Now he shall be brought to the priest,
Lev 14:10-11
"Now on the eighth day he is to take two male lambs without defect, and a yearling ewe lamb without defect, and three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, and one log of oil; 11 and the priest who pronounces him clean
THE CHARACTER OF SIN
Luke 5:12-15
The leper was an outcast. He was put out of the city. He lived alone.
He was considered dead to the community. Some may have thought his condition was a result of his sin (John 9:1-2). He was left to die.
But he heard about Jesus. He believed in the the power of Jesus.
I. LEPROSY AFFORDS A STRIKING REPRESENTATION OF THE CHARACTER AND CONSEQUENCE OF SIN.
1. This spiritual leprosy has rendered all our race unclean in the sight of God and in the judgment of His holy law.
(1) Sin shuts us out from His presence,
(2) Sin separates us from a place among His people.
2. No skill or power of man can cure this disease which sin is
3. This disease, if not healed, will result in eternal death. Death is not the cessation of being, but a state of awful terror, pain, and wretchedness. This is the issue to which sin is bringing its victims.
YOU HAVE HOPE BEFORE THE LORD, THERE IS A CURE
II. In God, our case is not altogether hopeless; there is a cure.
OBSERVE THE STEPS TAKEN BY THIS LEPER TO OBTAIN A CURE. Thus we may learn what the disposition is, in which we should endeavour to approach the Saviour, who alone can heal our spiritual leprosy.
1. The first thing I would notice in this leper's conduct is the eagerness and haste with which he ran to Jesus immediately he met Him.
According to the Law he was not supposed to be in the city. According the Law he was to announce himself to be unclean to any one approaching him. don’t let anything keep you from getting to Jesus, The world my write you of but Jesus does not
2. The leper humbled himself before the Lord. . His eagerness in seeking relief did not cause him to forget what was due to the character of Jesus from whom that relief was sought.
3. The confidence he entertained of Christ's power. Have not we far stronger grounds for this than he had?
Luke 5:16-17; Luke 5:16-17
Vers. 16, 17. And He withdrew Himself into the wilderness and prayed. --
Jesus praying: -- What were the special reasons which led our Lord at this time to go away for prayer.
I. THE NEED OF INWARD REFRESHMENT OF WHICH HE MUST HAVE BEEN CONSCIOUS.
1. Christ was full of the truest, tenderest sympathy.
2. His sympathy was invariably practical
3. It was intensely personal; general enough to embrace the multitude; particular enough to fix itself on the individual. We can imagine, therefore, how exhausted He must have been.
II. THE FEELING OF SADNESS WHICH CAME TO HIM IN VIEW OF THE SPIRITUAL APATHY OF THE MULTITUDES WHO WERE SO EAGERLY SEEKING HIM. If we are deeply concerned for the spiritual welfare of men we shall feel something of the same sadness.
III. HIS CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE DANGER TO HIS SPIRITUAL MISSION WHICH WOULD ARISE FROM A PREMATURE POPULARITY. Prayer is the only true preservative against the perils of success. Because of our success we are in danger --
1. Of rushing on too fast.
2. Of becoming self-dependent.
3. Of growing unsympathetic.
DON’T LET YOUR CIRCUMSTANCE STOP YOU FROM SEEKING JESUS
Luke 5:12-13
12 In one of the villages, Jesus met a man with an advanced case of leprosy. When the man saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground, begging to be healed. "Lord," he said, "if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean."
There was a law concerning leprosy. I believe the as best he could followed the law.
Lev 13:45 "As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be uncovered, and he shall cover his mustache and cry, 'Unclean! Unclean!' 46 "He shall remain unclean all the days during which he has the infection; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp
The man came seeking Jesus inside the village which was a violation of the Law of Moses. According to the law a leper was to be outside the village.
When approached by anyone he was required to cry out unclean!, unclean !
Apparently the man had heard that Jesus was in the village, ignored the law and came seeking Jesus. He had nothing to lose, but everything to gain.
BELIEVED THE REPORT ABOUT JESUS APPLIES TO YOU
I am sure if you were suffering from an incurable disease and heard about a doctor that cured others, you would make an appointment.
We have the report in the Bible about the healing power of Jesus. He healed untold number of people of all kinds of illnesses. In many cases he told the one who came to Him that their faith in Him made them well. He did not require an appointment or a price. The only requirement was to seek Him by faith.
The Lord is the same today as yesterday. He is no respecter of person.
Your prayers by faith activates God’s healing. He made you and know all about you. Your condition is know surprise to Him. There is nothing too hard that He can’t handle and nothing to small for him not to concider
HONOR THE LORD WITH PRAYER AND CONFIDENSE
While the man was an outcast, he knew the power of Jesus. He was forced to live in isolation but he knew the proper way to honor the Lord. This indicates he was a religious man and believed in God’s commands. He bowed to the ground and beg for a healing. He expressed confidence in the power of Jesus. He didn’t have the power, the doctors didn’t have the power, the priest didn't have the power, but he knew Jesus had the power.
When you bring your prayer request to Jesus, come with confidence that He will heal you. He said; if you are willing, you can heal me.
The Word says bring you prayers and petitions to Him with thanksgiving
WAIT ON THE LORD TO ANSWER YOUR PRAYER
Luke 5:13-14
13 Jesus reached out and touched him. "I am willing," he said. "Be healed!" And instantly the leprosy disappeared.
When you take your prayers to Jesus, wait on His timing. Jesus can heal instantly or he may wait till another time when others can witness the miracle and God gets the Glory,
Notice Jesus touched the man and he was healed. Don’t limit God's healing by your way of thinking. God can heal by thought, by touch or through the hands of a doctor. Gods healing power is activated in your prayer life.
It was the man who reached out to Jesus. It was the man who humbled himself before the Lord. It was man who worshipped the Lord in prayer.
It was the man who bowed down in humble submission. It was the man who expressed confidence in the power of Jesus.
Jesus recognized the man's faith and determination to be healed. The community had given up on him. The religious leaders had given up on him. The family had given up on him. No one came interceding for him. He represented himself in character and position.
Don’t ever give up on Jesus. The Lord has the last say. Your situation is never hopeless with the Lord
AN IMPOSSIBLE REQUEST
Luke 5:14
14 Then Jesus instructed him not to tell anyone what had happened. He said, "Go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed."
Can you imagine the excitement of the man with leprosy when he looked at his hands, legs, and felt his face and all the sores were gone and he was completely healed. Because he was touched by Jesus he was no longer an outcast. I don’t know about you but I would want to shout and tell the world.
But Jesus said tell no one. He had to go to the temple in Jerusalem and
Show himself to the priest to be certified clean. The people in the temple may have known him.
Along the way to the temple the healed man had to acquire two sparrows and two lambs for a sacrificial ceremony. An 8 to 10 day cleaning process involving the seller of animals, and several Priests. I have often heard that if something is known by more than one person, it is not a secret.
I believe the average person would want to know how he got cleaned and who was involved, and where did the cure take place
When he was declared clean by the priest, could the man who was now clean tell some body. It was an impossible request.
Apparently there are some things God does not want us to reveal to others until the right time. This request Jesus made to man healed to tell no one was a test of his obedience, a test of his gratefulness and a test of his patience. Some times God test us before the healing. The problem we face may be designed to grow our faith.
At 30 years old Jesus was Baptized by John the Baptist and immediately led to the desert to be tested by the devil for 40 days and nights. The devil
Tempted Him three times to break His faith, but Jesus responded each time with the scripture.
The devil is relentless in his effort to
It is easy to say you trust God until you get into a situation where you are required to trust Him
YOUR TESTIMONY IS IMPORTANT
Luke 5:14
This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed."
This seems at first to be confusing. Tell no one, but you will have a public testimony of the healing by Jesus.
Jesus told the cured man not to say anything, but he had to tell the priest. His cleanliness would have been noticed by the seller of the sacrificial animals. He would have passed people in his village that would have noticed he was healed. We are not told how the cured man story got publicized.
The story could have been spread by someone who witnessed the healing, the seller of the animals, or by the priest. God does not tell us
YOUR PUBLIC TESTIMONY WILL GIVE OTHER PEOPLE HOPE
Luke 5:15 But despite Jesus' instructions, the report of his power spread even faster, and vast crowds came to hear him preach and to be healed of their diseases. 16 But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.
The text did not say the cured man told anyone. It does say someone witnessed the cure. Someone is always watching you. Someone may have’heard the man with leprosy call out to Jesus and saw him cured.
We don’t know, Jesus did not elaborate.
It does say Jesus does not deny anyone who comes to Him,
The news of lepers healing spread and many came to be healed.
His healing was a testimony that got other excited about Jesus
Jesus spent time in prayer with the Father. This was a long day
That required much work from Jesus. There are time when we need alone time with the Father in prayer, to get refreshed, revitalized and get new directions.
