I invite your attention to the
gospel according to Matthew chapter 8 and this morning's lesson will
continue the one that we commenced last Lord's Day morning on the subject of the healing
ministry of Jesus Christ. Matthew's gospel chapter 8. As
we observed last Lord's Day morning, Jesus Christ, in the early part of this gospel,
according to Matthew, had been born. He records his birth and
then also records the visit of the wise men from the east. the
attempt of Herod to kill him, and then in chapter 3, Matthew
records the baptism of Jesus Christ. In Matthew chapter 4,
Matthew records the temptation of Christ by Satan, and then
in verse 12, the beginning of the Galilean ministry of Jesus
Christ. Then in Matthew chapter 4 verse
18, Jesus called his first disciples who were fishermen. These were
Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother. And then in chapter
four, verse 23, we read that now Jesus went about all Galilee
teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom
and healing all kinds of sicknesses and all kinds of disease among
the people. This was his ministry. He made three of these trips
around Galilee. and going in a circuitous journey
during the three and a half years ministry there in Galilee, and
doing those three things. He was teaching in the synagogues,
preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sicknesses
and all kinds of disease among the people. And then we observed
that in Matthew chapter 5, 6, and 7, we have the record, the
written record of the Sermon on the Mount by Matthew the Apostle. And then in chapter 8, We read
that when Jesus had come down from the mountain, great multitudes
followed him. And here his healing ministry
will be described in greater detail. It was introduced in
the end of chapter 4, but here we're going to be looking at
considerable details concerning this healing ministry of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In the first instance, in Matthew
chapter 8 verse 2, we read that, Behold, a leper came and worshipped
him, saying, Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean. This is the first that is here
recorded in Matthew's gospel. You have your synopsis there
before you and let's consider According to your synopsis, two
main points we will consider in this healing ministry of Jesus
Christ. First would be the variations
in his healings, and then second, the commonality in his healings. There were many different aspects
of his healing ministry, many different kinds of people healed,
and yet in many regards there were many things in common regarding
his healing ministry, but considering first of all these variations
in Jesus Christ's healing, first consider that Christ healed a
variety of infirmities. He healed leprosy, and we're
giving you the references here in your synopsis for all these
instances. He healed leprosy, paralysis,
fever, demon possession, hemorrhaging, blindness, muteness, and even
death. This leads us to realize that
no one is beyond his healing power. And then second, we observe
that Christ healed a variety of persons, both Jews and Gentiles,
both young and old, both male and female, both upper and lower
classes, both free men and slaves, both friends and strangers, both
those who came to him and those who had to be brought, both those
nearby and those far away, both those he touched and those who
touched him, both alive and dead, both physically and spiritually
infirm, just all kinds of variations
here. Jesus was not restricted in what
he could do in healing and he was not restricted in the kind
of person whom he could heal. Now we briefly read through these
instances last Lord's Day morning. Today we're going to go back
and look at them in considerably more detail than we did last
Lord's Day morning. The first I want you to see is
this Israelite leper in Matthew chapter 8 verses 2 through 4. We read, And behold, A leper
came and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if you are willing, you
can make me clean. Then Jesus put out his hand and
touched him, saying, I am willing, be cleansed. And immediately
his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, See that
you tell no one, but go your way, show yourself to the priest,
and offer the gift that Moses commanded as a testimony to them. I have printed for you a table that will show the parallel
accounts of these healings and when we speak of parallel accounts
we mean that there were other writers who described the same
instances and if you look at your table
you will observe that the parallel accounts are in Matthew, Mark,
and Luke. These are not found in the Gospel
of John. Now there is a reason for that,
well in fact two reasons. First, Matthew, Mark, and Luke
are said to be synoptic gospels, and that word synoptic means
seen through the same eye. They describe the same events,
but each of them noticed or knew of details that the other did
not know. And then John's gospel, unlike
the other three, describes in greater detail the ministry of
Jesus Christ in Jerusalem and Judea, whereas Matthew, Mark,
and Luke describe his ministry in the northern part of the land,
in the land of Galilee of the Gentiles. So, there are variations
in these parallel accounts. The reason for that is that,
for example, Luke was not present on these occasions. And so Luke
had to rely upon eyewitnesses who told him. In fact, he lets
us know that when he gives an introduction to the book of Acts
and when he speaks in the gospel of Luke as well, he lets us know
that there were eyewitnesses and Luke talked with them. You
will also note that Luke gives details that the others did not
give, and one reason for that was that Luke was a physician. And a physician usually gives
greater detail than an ordinary person would. Physicians have
to be very precise in their description of people. For example, I had
surgery on a carpal tunnel syndrome. And so when I go to have the
surgery, one thing they do when they're prepping me is they mark
that hand. Well, now, I'm sure that my physician
knows that I'm there for carpal tunnel. She has examined me before. But in the prepping, they're
going to ascertain they marked the right one. People have gone
in for a surgery and it may be to have some organ removed in
the body of which there are two of them and they have the wrong
one removed and then they're open for a lawsuit. So physicians
are usually very precise. You'll notice this as you read
Luke's gospel. But here we have just read Matthew's
account of this healing of the leper. Now, I want you to locate
Mark chapter 1. Mark chapter 1 and you'll see
another account of this healing of the leper. Mark's gospel chapter
1 and in verse number 40. You should hear note that Mark
describes this healing in his first chapter. Matthew records
it in his eighth chapter. And this lets us know that Matthew
gave many details of the early life of Jesus Christ that Mark
did not give. Furthermore, Mark was not an
eyewitness to many of these things. It is said that Mark's gospel
is actually Peter's gospel because Peter was the one who told Mark
of these things and Peter wrote as, or pardon me, Mark wrote
as Peter described. But in Mark chapter 1 and in
verse 40, Then a leper came to him, imploring him, kneeling
down to him. Now notice that Matthew did not
say he was kneeling down to him, Matthew said he worshipped him.
Well here was the form of worship. Imploring him, kneeling down
to him and saying, if you are willing you can make me clean.
Jesus moved with compassion. Matthew did not say that, but
Mark does. Mark lets us know that Jesus
was moved with compassion for this man and he put out his hand
and touched him and said to him, I am willing to be cleansed.
As soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he
was cleansed. And Jesus strictly warned him,
and sent him away at once. And he said to him, See that
you say nothing to anyone, but go your way, show yourself to
the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which
Moses commanded as a testimony to them. But he went out and
began to proclaim it freely and to spread the matter so that
Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside
in deserted places, and they came to him from every corner. Jesus said, don't tell anyone. Just go your way. Well, he told. And the result of it was many
people came to Jesus. Jesus went into a secluded place
and still they came to him there. I want you to see that the need
of healing was very great in Jesus' day. Now locate Luke's
Gospel, chapter 5. Luke's Gospel chapter 5. And you'll see another parallel
account. These are not in the same words. They are complementary
to each other. but not contradictory to each
other. Luke chapter five, verse 12. And it happened when he was in
a certain city that behold, a man who was full of leprosy. Luke makes that point. This man
was full of leprosy. What was leprosy? Leprosy was, that is in this instance, was
not necessarily the debilitating disease that is usually called
by the name leprosy nowadays. Leprosy may have been nothing
more than a white spot on your skin. Just a white spot that
showed up, had not been there before. White spot showed up
all of a sudden. That was leprosy. It was not necessarily debilitating. You could pursue your normal
activities. You recall the leper that came
to Elisha for healing? He was a leper. He was also a
general in the army. Did not hinder him. This leprosy,
though, would sometimes spread. Start out as a little spot. Oh,
when you got one of those little spots, you were concerned. Here's
the reason why. It was considered judgment from
God. Judgment from God. Miriam complained one day against
her brother Moses, the prophet. said something about him she
should not have said. And as a result, the Lord struck
her with leprosy, which meant she had to leave the camp. When someone got one of these
little white spots on their skin, you did not go to the physician.
You did not go see a medical doctor. There was nothing he
could do about it anyway. Furthermore, it was not so much
a medical problem as it was a religious problem. You had to go to the
priest. Now Luke is here telling us that
this man was full of leprosy. He saw Jesus and he fell on his
face and implored him saying, notice, he worshiped him In another
instance, he fell to his knees. Here Luke says, he got down on
his face. This man is earnest in his desire
to be healed of his leprosy, saying, Lord, if you are willing,
you can make me clean. Let me tell you what I like about
this. Here was a man who was not boasting
of his free will, so-called. He was not boasting of free will.
These who came to Jesus for healing did not boast of their free will.
They knew that their will was subject to their nature, and
they knew their sickness, and they knew there was nothing they
could do about it. There are people who say, I can
come to Christ anytime I want to. Here's the problem. You'll never want to. You'll
never want to. The man who knows the grace of
God will say, draw me and I will follow you. Notice that this
man has said, Lord, if you are willing, Oh, he was willing,
but there was nothing he could do about it. Lord, if you are
willing, you can make me clean. Then he put out his hand, Jesus
did, and touched him. Folks, that's a no-no. You do
not touch a leper. When a man was stricken with
leprosy, that little spot, he went to the priest, the priest
examined him, If it was seen to be indeed leprosy or discoloration
of skin, the man was said to be unclean, ceremonially unclean. He had to leave the camp. He had to leave the town. Furthermore, he probably had to wear some
kind of an identification across his forehead. And furthermore,
if he came into the presence of people, he had to put his
hand over his mouth and say, unclean, unclean. And furthermore, it is said that
when he walked, he had to watch his shadow to ascertain that
his shadow did not cross somebody who was sitting by the road or
standing by the road. Now this was according to the
traditions, all right? And this man had come to Jesus. Jesus now is evidently in this
place where he is permitted to come. Lord, if you're willing,
you can make me clean. Jesus touched him. This man is
an untouchable. And Jesus touched him and he
said, I am willing. The blessed truth we learn concerning
that point is this. Jesus is willing to save anyone
who desires his salvation. Jesus did not require anything
of this man. He said, I am willing. Now you
be cleansed. I am willing. And immediately
the leprosy left him. Immediately. and he charged him
to tell no one, but go and show yourself to the priest and make
an offering for your cleansing as a testimony to them, just
as Moses commanded. This matter of leprosy had been
covered in great detail in the Old Testament and in the law
of Moses. And Jesus tells this man, who
still is under the law, by the way, because Jesus had not yet
fulfilled the law. He says, go and show yourself
to the priest. It was the priest who could declare
a man unclean. You'd go to the priest. The priest
would look at it, and if your leprosy was gone, then you could
go back home. By the way, Luke says he was
full of leprosy. He does not mean completely covered
in leprosy. He just had it all over, but
not completely covered, because strangely enough, If you had
leprosy on your body the size of a fingernail, you were unclean,
put out of the camp or put out of the town. If the leprosy covered
your entire body, you were clean. But Luke, the physician giving
the detail like a physician would, just simply says that this man
had leprosy all over his body. many different places. Then the
report went around concerning him all the more and great multitudes came together
to hear and to be healed by him of their infirmities. So he himself
often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed." That point is important. He often withdrew into the wilderness. For one thing, he needed rest
and recuperation in the military, we called it R&R. When you had
done some great task or whatever, you know, you might qualify for
R&R. I recall when I was in Germany
and I was a barracks chief in charge of a barracks that had
three stories and the first sergeant came down one day and said, you're
in charge of this project of repainting halls and just a lot
of the hallway work And he said, get yourself two
or three men, and it's going to take quite a few days. So
I did. I got the men, and we all went
to work. And, you know, we worked hard.
And the first sergeant was there every day. He'd check our progress. And then when it finally got
finished, it had been a long task, a hard task, and we had
done a very good job. And he says, okay, he says, I'm
going to send you to Madrid, Spain for R&R. So I got a free
trip to Madrid. But you know, he said you need
the rest and recuperation. Well, This is good. When somebody
has worked long and hard, R&R, rest and recuperation, is good.
And Jesus oftentimes went across the river into Perea, and there
he would stay for a while just to rest. Jesus needed rest. Jesus needed recuperation. His humanity was just like yours
and mine. And yet, many would try to come
to find him there as well, when he would go. By the way, he would
also go there to pray. He would go to pray, out there
where no one should be, trying to find some place where he could
have some solitude, and there he would pray. Alright, now. I do not know that in the future
lessons I'm going to be giving you all these parallel accounts.
It's not necessary. I did want to do it in this instance
in order for you to see that Mark and Luke have also described
incidents that are here recorded by Matthew. And you have the
instances there before you. You have the table. You can read
these on your own. But the point that I'm going
to close today's lesson with is this. And this is going to
be true of every instance. This Israelite leper was an outcast
and an untouchable. And he was of the lowest class
of person among the chosen nation of God, a leper. A leper was put outside the camp,
was not permitted to have contact even with family members. He
is unclean, ceremonially unclean before the law of God. An outcast
and an untouchable. And his leprosy is typical of
our sin. Sin is a leprosy in us. Sin, you may continue to be in good
health even though you are tainted with sin, if I may use the word
tainted. You may pursue your day-by-day
activities. You may enjoy good health, even
prosperity with sin in you. But in God's
sight, you're unclean. Ceremonially unclean. When we find ourselves unclean,
Before God, we need to realize nothing we can do will remedy
the situation. You couldn't wash it away, the
leprosy. You cannot wash away your sin.
You could pray and pray and pray. It's not gonna make it go away,
folks. Only God can do this. Only God can remove the leprosy. God sent the leprosy. And this leprosy typifies sin
in us. What should a sinner do if he
realizes how serious his state is? Let him flee to Jesus Christ
and say, Lord, if you are willing, you can save me, if you are willing,
Jesus will be moved with compassion Jesus will touch you when no
one else would. Religion doesn't want to come
to you. No, they want people that are as holy and righteous
as they think themselves to be. But Jesus being moved with compassion
will reach out and touch. This is the good news. I want
to stress that point. We're going to be making this
spiritual application in every instance. And one reason for
that is this. It is a great mistake for us
who are preachers and teachers of the Word to read the stories
of God's Word without making these spiritual applications. One of the great fault of Sunday
school teachers, and particularly of little children and even of
adult classes, they go to the Old Testament and they read the
stories that are there. And folks, there are some great
stories. David killing Goliath. What a marvelous story is that! But there is much more than a
good story to that. this past week. In fact, it was
yesterday. I went walking for a few miles
and had my cell phone with me and was able to listen to a message.
And on this occasion, I happened to listen to a message by my
dear friend Todd Nybert, and he preached on Elijah's prayer. And as he preached on Elijah's
prayer at Mount Carmel He brought the gospel out so
clearly and plainly. Now, we need to do that in every
instance. When we teach, when we go to
these stories, and Todd, you know, he went just line by line
through that story of Carmel. And when we do that, we need
to bring out the gospel. When David slew Goliath, the
gospel was preached. When Jesus healed these people,
the gospel was demonstrated and preached. Lord, if you are willing,
you can make me clean. That is a sinner's prayer. You
want to know what a sinner's prayer is? That is a sinner's
prayer. Jesus is moved with compassion
and touches a man and says, I am willing, be cleansed and he's
cleansed immediately. Cleansed immediately. So let's
do this as we study these instances. See the gospel in every one of
them. And O God, our Father, to the glory of your name, to
the honor of your Son, Jesus Christ, we pray that you bless
our lesson this day to his glory, praise, and honor. Amen.