Willingness

Willingness

Luke 5:12-16, NLT

In one of the villages, Jesus met a man with an advanced case of leprosy. When the man saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground, begging to be healed. “Lord,” he said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” 13Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared. 14Then Jesus instructed him not to tell anyone what had happened. He said, “Go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.” 15But despite Jesus’ instructions, the report of his power spread even faster, and vast crowds came to hear him preach and to be healed of their diseases. 16But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.

Setting the Scene

Jesus healed many people, but some of those cases stood out to the disciples. This particular one caught the attention of Dr. Luke. An “advanced case of leprosy” usually results in grotesque injury and disfigurement. A leper suffers from loss of feeling. Nerve endings that lie just below the surface of the skin all over the body gradually become dead. A leper cannot feel a pebble in his shoe or sense that she has grasped a hot object that is burning her hand. The pain that triggers an instant jerk from us is absent in leprosy.

A leper’s life was marked by other pain. In Jesus’ day, lepers were required to maintain a personal quarantine, keeping their distance from others and loudly announcing that they were “Unclean!” to anyone who might come near. This man had advanced leprosy, meaning people gave him a wide berth. It’s quite possible this man had gone years without personal contact with another human being. His humble request to Jesus might sound tentative to us, but it combines a balance of respect (“if you are willing”) with a profound recognition of Jesus’ abilities.

Jesus responded without a word. He moved toward the man and touched him. He treated him as clean before he actually healed him. His words “I am willing” must have simply confirmed for this man what was already happening in his mind and body. Wholeness is much more than physical health. In fact, wholeness is more important than the condition of our bodies. Even under the best circumstances, our bodies age and wear out; only God can provide wholeness of heart, mind, and soul. Fortunately, God is willing.

Getting Personal

What diseases today compare to leprosy in Jesus’ time?

Which of your friends need the wholeness of heart, mind, and soul that God provides?

We are not yet whole. Sometimes we require adjustments; at other times only radical transformation will bring about God’s purposes in us. Every glimpse of our incompleteness can be an invitation to join the leper at Jesus’ feet to humbly ask for healing and cleansing.

Talking to God

Bring your personal brokenness to the Healer today, with confidence that he is willing to make you whole.