Matthew 8:1-4 When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
Jesus came not to be a king, but as a servant to all, laying his life down for everyone. Had He desired, Jesus could have promoted himself, seeking acclamation as worthy to be praised or honored. His purpose was to serve God’s will as a living sacrifice for the redemption from sin for all people. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. Jesus was willing to heal this man, for Jesus was and is the atonement for all that is not perfect in this world. He illustrates God’s love for people by this act of healing and by many other healing in his short three-year ministry. Men and women lack God’s perfection, for all humans have been impacted by sin. This imperfection is not acceptable by a holy God. John the Baptist preached repentance from sin so that God might come close to people. After John the Baptist was arrested by Herod, Jesus picked up John’s mantle, preaching the necessity of repentance and turning towards God. Later on, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, where he preached God’s Good News. “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News! (Mark1:14-15) Even though John’s ministry was hard to receive by the people, he was very popular with them. People from all over Judah went to the River Jordan to hear him preach and to watch him baptize people for the repentance of sin. John had learned his purpose for life in the wilderness. He was primitive in his lifestyle, dressing in a rustic manner, living off what the environment provided. Alone in the wilderness where the concerns and duties of the world could not touch him, John learned about God. God had set him apart from the world to hear his voice. There, in the wilderness, he was commissioned to tell everyone to repent of their sins and turn to God. Before Jesus could pick up the mantle of John, He too was led into the wilderness where He was tempted, then was ministered to by the angels. In that lonely environment, fasting to know God, He heard the voice of God. The angels from the heavenly realm took care of him, probably speaking of heavenly things. The Spirit then compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness, where he was tempted by Satan for forty days. He was out among the wild animals, and angels took care of him. (Mark 1:12-13) We know when Jesus was baptized in the river Jordan that the Holy Spirit fell upon him and came into him. He was no longer the carpenter who did good things for others by helping them repair and build things, He now was set apart to build the kingdom of God. In the wilderness, we can assume the Father gave him his commission to serve the people of the world. His eyes and ears were opened to the will of God. For the next three years, Jesus did only what the Father told him to do. Often during this time, we see Jesus dialoguing with his Father, beseeching him for the people, asking God to take care of them, and of him and his disciples. We see Jesus moving around Judea as God directs him. We see him tarrying before going to the house of Mary and Martha after Lazarus’ death. We see him dining with sinners, healing people in the cities and in the countryside. We see him rebuking the elite of the Jewish society, calming the wind and seas. Jesus, through his words and activities, illustrated that the Kingdom of God was near.
Healing and phenomenal acts were part of Jesus’ ministry. But the Good News that the Messiah had come was the central focus of Jesus’ life. The Kingdom of God would come after He paid the complete price for sin. The church of the living God would be built; the body of Christ would exist on Earth. Something that never existed before would be part of this world’s existence. The Kingdom of God would be present now with mankind. As the Spirit fell on Jesus, occupying his soul, so would the Spirit fall on mankind on the day of Pentecost. The Spirit would come and abide with men and women. The Kingdom of God would be established on the earth. Mankind would never be alone without the presence of God in their midst. After the Spirit fell on men, they began to minister to each other as Christ had ministered to others, willing to serve others. When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I AN WILLING,” he said. “Be clean!” The nascent church had everything in common, making sure that no one went without their needs met. The church was willing to serve each other and the world. All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. (Acts; 4:32-35) The Sermon on the Mount described what a true Kingdom of God is like. He told the people that they must be perfect, that they must love, not judge, be kind even to their enemies, give without expecting anything back. His sermon was not for the religious, elite and arrogant, those who control society and the thoughts of men. His sermon was for the average person, those who desired to please God in their daily lives. The new church, as led by the apostles, desired to function as Jesus would want them to live: looking out for others, caring for the needy, giving their lives totally to God and not partially. Of course, living for God is a difficult assignment sometimes. The church fails often in revealing the Kingdom of God has come to Earth. Responding to the words, if you are willing, you can make me clean, is now the responsibility of the church. Jesus said the Kingdom is near, but now we are in the Kingdom, for we are the body of Christ! Are we willing? Are we willing to offer up our goods, our lifestyle, our homes for the purposes of God in his Kingdom? This is a challenge for us, but to strengthen us in our resolve to be Christlike, we must allow the voice of God to be in our lives daily.
As we yield to God, in our secret hiding places—our prayer closets—alone with God, we will hear his words. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matthew 6:6) Often in today’s society, Christians are never alone with God. There is always something that demands our attention, the needs and desires of this world are seemingly all-consuming. If we rest for a while from the demands on our secular lives, we often fail to go to God but seek the clamor of our electronic devices for entertainment, gossip or news. Because of worldly attractions, our attending to God’s voice is often weak or nonexistent. To substitute for our lack of interaction with God, Christians sometimes read a verse or a chapter in the Bible, maybe pick up a Christian book to read or to purview what other people think about God in devotions or sermons. But our ears have become unaccustomed to the sweet, tender voice of God inside us. His words within us are more precious than silver and gold, more beautiful than the finest jewelry or intricate fabric. His words should be coveted, held close to our hearts, for his voice is beautiful, precious and lovely. Have you heard his voice lately? Every day we are bombarded by everything else, but his voice is lost in the cacophony. We must move away from the world at times in our daily lives, placing ourselves in an environment where we can hear God. Of course, we know God can interact with our thoughts no matter how busy we are. But we are no better than John the Baptist, Jesus the Christ or Paul the apostle. They learned to hear God’s voice in the wilderness, and they depended on God’s voice every day of their lives. The quickest way to move away from God is to be cold, indifferent to his demands on our lives by shutting up our ears with the activities and interests in our worldly lives. We must remember the Kingdom of God has come. Spiritually, we sit in high places with Christ himself. Not tomorrow, not when we die, but now we are present with God. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. The world desires to be clean of their leprosy. They know that they have been affected by a sin virus that they cannot throw off by themselves. As the body of Christ, we say, “Be clean!” Yet our actions and words often deny the power to bring cleansing. We fill our minds with the world’s thoughts and words while we battle people and ideas with bitterness and anger. Jesus could say, “I will!” He just got through talking to the people about what it means to be in the Kingdom. For them the Kingdom was near, for Jesus was near. We have the Holy Spirit within us; therefore, we are to express his words to the world. They should know us as people with power and love in us. Our activities should reveal servants of Christ to the world. Jesus came to serve, revealing the Kingdom of God. We who are now in the Kingdom are to serve. Jesus did not heal to gain popularity. He healed out of love for people. We are not Christians to win anything for ourselves, but as Jesus said to the leper, See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them. Jesus did not want himself to be acclaimed for cleansing the leper. Everything He did was to glorify God. Let that also be our goal. LET GOD BE GLORIFIED THROUGH OUR LIVES as we say to God and to others, “I am willing.”
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