Mark 1:40-42
"A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean."
41 Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured."
Sometimes when you read the stories of how Jesus cured people, we just see it as another story of Jesus healing someone, but when you read this one...this one story of a leper being healed by Jesus, this is more than just a healing story.
Lepers were not touched...no one spoke to lepers. Leprosy is an extremely contagious skin disease that can easily kill someone. Lepers were kept on the outskirts of the cities, away from the people, basically wasting away on their own. So for any man, especially Jesus to come anywhere near a leper is something to be admired.
This leper is a man who I admire in the Bible. This man KNEW that Jesus could heal him of this deadly skin disease. He didn't say "if you're willing, can you please heal me?", he said "if you're willing, you CAN make me clean." He KNEW that Jesus had all the power to heal him of this leprosy that would kill him if he wasn't healed. Just as Jesus did with others that were healed by His power, I think he noticed this lepers faith. I think He noticed just how much he wanted freedom from this debilitating disease, and how he knew that Jesus could heal him.
Now that was for free, what I really wanted to talk about was how Jesus went the extra mile for this man, who no one else would have even thought of even standing near this man. Jesus TOUCHED a leper...leprosy is contagious by touch. He touched this leper. Jesus could have very easily just told him he was healed and be on with his day, but wouldn't that be just another miraculous healing story? No, what makes this story special was how Jesus didn't just speak healing over him, he touched this sick man. Jesus' holy finger actually touched the skin of a man with a skin disease that is extremely contagious. And its not like Jesus didn't want to touch this leper, he said he was WILLING! He was WILLING to go the extra mile for this man, this leper, this outcast, this lonely man.
How many times has it seemed like God has gone out of His way to do something for us? I was reading that passage last night, and to be honest, I just kinda overlooked it. But tonight while I was reading, God spoke to me and said that that passage was supposed to show how He will go the extra mile for us. He won't just save us from our sins, He'll completely transform our lives. God won't just keep you in health, but when you get sick, He can heal you! God just doesn't do what little he can do, in fact it is the total opposite. He does the most good for us! Yes He may allow bad things to come your way, but He does that so we can learn from it and ultimately have a stronger relationship with Him through these bad situations.
I know that Jesus will go the extra mile for us! Anything you need, he can do EXCEEDINGLY, ABUNDANTLY, ABOVE all we can ever ask or think! He ALWAYS goes the extra mile!
Not only does Jesus go the extra mile for His children, but He asks that we go the extra mile for those around us. You know, when you are making payments on something, you can make a minimum payment, or you can make a bigger payment. Most people just want to make the minimum payment, but when their next bill comes in, it has interest on it, and that minimum is bigger than it was the last time you paid it. What good is it to only do as much as you are asked? Jesus didn't need to heal anyone! All He really needed to do was die on the cross for us, but what good is that if He didn't do any good for us? If Jesus wasn't a healer, if He wasn't a deliverer, if He didn't do all those miracles for us and all he did was be beaten and wounded for our sins, then thats just Him doing his minimum payment. But He didn't! He went way above and beyond the call of duty! He healed the blind, cast demons out of people, raised the dead, fed thousands, he touched lepers and they were healed, he did MORE than what he really needed to do!
How many times do we overlook someone who maybe has something wrong with them? You know, its time we accept everyone as equals and don't think of ourselves as any higher than anyone. Jesus went to a LEPER!! Jesus, who was of a high standard, he was JESUS! But Jesus went to probably what was the bottom of the social totem pole, and He healed him!!! We are so low compared to Jesus! We are nothing compared to His goodness, but He didn't care what we did, he DIED for our sins!! He doesn't care how bad off you are, He is still a saving God who is willing to go exactly where you are to meet your need!
I hope this has touched you as much as it has touched me.
God Bless
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