An Important Lesson From A Leper

Matthew 8:1-3, “When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”

Something about the leper in the preceding passage of Scripture impressed upon my heart. This afflicted man had the horrible disease of leprosy, yet he came and humbly WORSHIPED the precious Savior! What a lesson for you and me!!! In his sickened state, this horribly diseased man came and fell to the ground, worshipping the only begotten Son of God. Few people understand how horrible leprosy is. Dr. Richard H. Pousma, a missionary in Asia and a hospital superintendent in New Mexico, explains:

Leprosy was greatly feared by the Israelites, not only because of the physical damage done by the disease, but also because of the strict isolation laws applying to leprosy, making patients feel like feared outcasts of society. . . . Leprosy [in the Bible] appears in two principle forms. The first, and by far the more dangerous, is called lepromatous; and the other, more benign type is designated tuberculoid. Both start with discoloration of a patch of skin. . . . In the lepromatous type of leprosy, the patch may spread widely in all directions. Portions of the eyebrows may disappear. Spongy, tumor-like swellings grow on the face and body. The disease becomes systemic and involves the internal organs as well as the skin. Marked deformity of the hands and feet occur when the tissues between the bones deteriorate and disappear. . . . Untreated cases may be sick with lepromatous leprosy from ten to twenty years, death occurring from the disease itself. . . . The tuberculoid type is less severe. . . . [It] tends to be limited and even untreated cases heal completely in from one to three years.(The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, "Leprosy.")

Leprosy represents sin in the Word of God. Leprosy affects both body and soul, infecting the whole person, as does sin! I found this helpful quote online about leprosy:

Leprosy vividly illustrates sin and it fruits. The disease's effects on the body demonstrate the effects of sin on the mind. Leprosy represents God's view of sin, as detestable, deforming, and unclean. Both leprosy and sin begin small then grow relentlessly until they infect the whole person. They also both cause heartrending social problems, as the quarantine laws suggest. Families are often split. Lepers suffer both the disease and ostracism from society. In the end, they both destroy their victims' lives. SOURCE

The afflicted man in Matthew 8:2 came and WORSHIPED the blessed Savior, hoping by faith in Jesus to be healed, and he was. It impressed upon my heart that this diseased man worshipped Christ before he knew if Jesus would heal him. So often people nowadays refuse to worship Jesus Christ unless their life is first blessed. I have met bitter people, who are angry at God for their miseries. They blame God for their hardships, the death of a loved one, the world's problems, and everything else bad in their existence. I admire the leper in Matthew 8:2, who worshipped the blessed Savior, while still at the bottom of life in his broken and diseased condition. Anybody can praise God when things are going well, but it requires great faith to praise and worship the Lord when everything is going wrong! 

Jesus Saves Lepers

Leprosy is a painful and difficult disease to cope with, which causes society to shun and reject a person. Yet, Jesus received him! John 6:37, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” I love this precious Bible verse—Jesus never turns anyone away who comes to Him! Perhaps you say: “Preacher, you don't understand, I have done horrible things in my past; I am a criminal; I have much sin in my life!” Dear friend, the only type of person that God saves is THE UNGODLY! Romans 4:5, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” 

Jesus promises “him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” But you ask: “Don't I have to turn from my sins to be saved?” When you come as a guilty sinner to the blessed Savior, you HAVE turned your back against sin, even though you may not have the desire to forsake those sins yet! The Lord does not require you to forsake sins to be saved, but simply to acknowledge that you are a guilty sinner in the sight of a holy God. You need to realize your need for salvation. The purpose of God's LAW is to give humanity the KNOWLEDGE OF SIN (Romans 3:19), not mandate that you KEEP THE LAW to be saved (Romans 3:20). Simply come as you are as a guilty sinner, “JUST AS I AM,” to the dear Savior—believing that He died on the cross for your sins, was buried, and raised up three days later—and you will immediately and eternally have eternal life! Whatever changes God wants to see happen in your life as a believer is a separate matter of discipleship.