I was studying Matthew 8 last night for my class on Matthew for school. The first 4 verses outline the story of the leper. "When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. 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.' 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.'
First off you see the wonderful boldness of the leper here. He was not allowed to have any close contact with anyone because of his disease. He was instructed to yell out, "unclean, unclean" every time somwhere came near, so they would keep there distance. Obviously here in this passage, he ignored that and came boldy to Christ. He came worshipping Christ as the Holy Son of God. He knew who he worshipped, he knew he could come boldy to Him because he knew only Christ could have the power to cleanse him.
I love seeing how he put his faith in action here. He didn't dilly dally or doubt. He came knowing full well that Christ had the power to save him.
In verse 2 when the leper says "If you are willing", it is not to be mistaken and misinterpreted that this man doubted the power and authority of Christ. I honestly believe this man had a better grip on the power of Christ and the authority He holds than most others do.
For this man knew that just because he was in want of a healing and just because he asked in faith, it did not mean that Christ was willing to provide that healing. He knew Christ had the ultimate say in whether this man would walk away healed or not.
In the commentary that I must read for my class, the commentator said that, of course Jesus was willing to heal him. "God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." He argued that God would heal everyone who asked to be healed, His will is for all to be healed.
It's a shame, for the most part I've agreed with everything this commentator has said on passages thus far. On this though, I'd have to disagree.
First things first, where did the leper come up with the knowledge that Christ was really the Son of God? Where did he get the faith to come bodly before Christ, knowing that Christ COULD heal him? Where did this faith come from?? I believe firmly that it was by God's Holy Spirit! How else could he know with such certainty that this man could cleanse him? I believe it was faith given by God and God alone. This man was empowered by the Holy Spirit to come boldly to Christ. There, I must add also that just because God does the saving in a persons life, it doesn't mean we aren't given the responsibility to come. It's just that God saves, and empowers us to even come to Him. Make no mistake about it, we are accepted of Christ we don't accept Him.
The reason I tied salvation into this, is because leporasy is often a picture of sin and this entire passage is a wonderful picture of salvation. Ok.. back off the rabbit trail now.
Secondly, if the Lord was willing to heal everyone who has asked Him for healing, why hasn't He??? I mean really, if this God is so willing to do this, what's holding Him back? Are we so strong and He so weak that all is based on the amount of faith we have?? Does He only work if we have ENOUGH faith??
The leper understood very well that ONLY if the Lord was willing would he be cleansed by Him. He never doubted that the Lord could heal him, it was is the Lord willing to heal him?
Don't mistake it, this man's faith was amazing, his understanding of the Lord's power and complete sovereignty was astounding. But it was all the Lord, the Lord gave him this great faith and knowledge. And it was the Lord and the Lord alone that cleansed him, it wasn't anything the leper had done. Yes, the leper came to Christ to be healed, would he have been healed if not having come to Christ? NO! For that is how the Lord worked it out, His will was for the man to come to Him, but remember always that this leper and his coming on his free will was drawn by the Lord. And it was the Lord who was willing to cleanse from this disease.
The Lord has every right to not cleanse someone. And I've seen people who aren't cleansed, is God falling short? Is He not working because our faith is too small?? Absolutely not. Who are we, mere fallen men and women, the creatures, who are we to question our Lord and His plans? He's going to be glorified through it all.
Let us never forget that God is ABLE to save, heal, etc. He is ALL powerful. Nothing can stop Him! The point is, the Lord is not always WILLING to. Question not our Savior's ways, for you tread on dangerous grounds.
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Awesome post! As I have been going through the gospels, I have been very often struck by the salvific picture I see in Christ's miracles. My latest discovery is Mark 6:5. I will post my thoughts thereon here, hopefully in the next couple of days.
ReplyDeleteI think you make some great points. I would like to add on the point of personal responsibility. First of all, although we have a Will bound, we do have a choice. Every man does. And the reason we are so severely punished because we freely choose to reject Christ. LOL But it takes the work of the Holy Spirit to soften our heard hearts to choose Christ. Thence the choice is still ours but our will is bound either by our degenerate, sinful heart or by the Will of God in His awesome Work! Thusly if the Lord had not drawn this Leper, he would never have come. He was also aware of his total depravity. The Leper knows that he doesn't deserve God's great work, but asks if Christ "is willing." This is faith, not of himself lest any man should boast, but it is the gift of God (Eph. 2:8). Just some of my thoughts. Awesome post I thought!
SDG
Yes, exactly, I tried to hit on personal responsibility but you did a better job putting that forth here. Thanks so much.
ReplyDeleteHere's the illustration Paul Washer uses:
ReplyDeleteSay we have two dishes--A steak dinner and a bowl of slop. If we let a pig loose in that room, what is he going to go after? The slop! Why? Because pigs love slop; it's part of their nature. Is the pig making a completely free choice in that? Yes. But as a pig he doesn't desire nor does he have a taste for a steak dinner; when presented with the option he will choose the pig slop to eat. Say this pig sticks his nose deeply into this bowl of filth. It's all over his face and he just loves it. But what if we had the power in that instance to turn the pig into a man? As soon as he realized that he was eating pig slop he would pull his head out of the bowl and begin vomiting up the very stuff that he loved just a second ago. Now, when presented with the two meals the man would always choose the steak dinner, because, once again, its his nature. This is the miracle of the new birth. When we are unregenerate, the "steak dinner" of the truth and knowledge of God is detestable. However, when God changes our hearts our desires change and we now detest the "pig slop" of our sin and desire the truth of God.
I agree about healing. Since my illness came back my aunt, who is very into Pentecostalism began talking with me. She thinks she's helping, but that "God always wants us healthy" doctrine is truly stifling to someone who is suffering. To her, I'm not healed because I don't have enough faith, am living in defeat, etc. Instead of comforting the suffering, these people put legalistic rules on them and attribute their sickness to lack of this or that. There is no one I want by my side during this time more than a person who holds to a robust view of God's sovereignty who will lead me to the comfort of God's ultimate control and greater purpose in my life.
Absolutely amazing post! It is such an amazing thing to ponder why God permits Christians to be sick and why He would even permit the healing of someone who is sick. The same question can be applied to salvation. Why does God do this... ever! We can find the amazing answer in Jesus' response to his disciples' question:
ReplyDelete"And His disciples asked Him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?'" John 9:2
Jesus responded by saying thus:
"Jesus answered, 'It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him...'" John 9:3
It was all for God's glory. Our sickness, our health are both for the glory of God. And again, so is salvation. That, my friends, is the most comforting thing in the world, and may God give me the strength to remember that in the hard times when they come.