There are many programs today that do “makeovers.” There are makeovers for people who are not satisfied with the way they look. There are makeovers for homes, businesses and on it goes. In today’s devotion, we will see the ultimate makeover that none can rival. This one is given by Jesus himself.
Have you ever felt totally alone, isolated from those whom you call family or friends? It can be a horrible thing to experience. God made us creatures of love, hope, and purpose. We need other people to care about and them to care about us. We are all social creatures to some measure. We find all of these in Jesus, love, hope, and purpose from the one who made us. Today we will look at a man who found these and so much more, as Jesus does the ultimate “make-over.”
Our text is from Mark 1:40-45, but you can read of other accounts of this miracle from Matthew 8:1-4 and Luke 5:12-14. Our story is about a leper. Modern-day Americans don’t understand what leprosy is because we now have drugs to cure this horrible disease.
If you were a leper in Bible times, you were banished from your family and friends to keep from contaminating them. You either had to live alone or sometimes there were leper colonies. The symptoms of the disease usually began with fatigue and pain in the joints. Scaly spots would develop on the skin, and soon the body would be covered with puss-filled nodules. The appearance of the face would be altered so that the person would come to resemble a lion. Nodules would grow on the vocal cords so that the leper spoke with a raspy voice. The body is in a state of decomposition, therefore, the smell would engulf them. The body would be in agony all the time until death. The person could live as much as 9 years, as his body slowly rotted away before death. Leviticus 13 gives the rules that God set forth for a leper, and then Rabbis set others. Such as, he could not be within 50 feet of a clean person, and on a windy day it was 200 feet. If someone was approaching, he had to yell “unclean” and he was to tear his clothing to show that he was a leper. The leper was considered the personification of impurity. The external defilement of the disease was seen to represent the internal defilement of the heart.
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.”
This man broke many Jewish laws by coming to Jesus. He came close, touched Jesus, he knelt, and begged Jesus to heal him. Somehow, he had heard of Jesus and knew he was coming his way. He took the risk of stoning, humiliation, and death, to get to Jesus. This leper had great courage, but he also was desperate. Can you imagine the crowd scattering as he approached and begin to yell, “unclean?”
This man’s approach to Jesus tells us much about him. He came humbly, on his knees, and he came in faith, “If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.” This statement also acknowledges that healing rests with God, and it is God’s sovereign choice to heal or not to heal.
Jesus had compassion on him, touched him, and pronounced him clean! Then he tells him to go to the priest and show himself to be pronounced clean. Jesus wanted him to follow the Mosaic law and get a certificate from the priest so he could return to his family. He also gives him a command to go and tell no one. Of course, just like we often do, he disobeyed and told everyone on his way to the priest. This act caused Jesus to take his ministry to the desert. Because of his disobedience, there were many within the city that did not hear the gospel. Jesus did not want a crowd to treat him like a circus come to town, he wanted them to hear the gospel, not see a show.
Mark 1:41-45 “And Jesus moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away; And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. 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.”
I understand this man’s enthusiasm, but it is never right to disobey. I Samuel 15:22 makes that principle clear. Because of his disobedience, Jesus’ ministry was hindered.
Are you like the leper hindering God’s ministry because there is disobedience in your life? Have you received this cleansing power to free you from your sins? Do you show compassion for others, not just family, but anyone God brings in your path? Have you exhibited an attitude of gratitude for the goodness of God toward you, for the sacrifice of Jesus to make a way for your redemption?
This story is more than an exhibition of healing. There are many life lessons we can learn from this event. As I say many times at the end of my devotions, examine yourself in light of the scriptures!
