He shouldn’t have been there, but the pain and isolation made him desperate. Was this the sum total of his life—to scream “Unclean! Unclean!” whenever anyone came near him? To wear torn clothes to signal his diseased state . . . to feel so alone?
He hadn’t been embraced in a long time. And to offer a hug himself would defile his wife, friends, and family. That’s what the law said about the touch of leprous people (Leviticus 5:2-3). “They must live in isolation in their place outside the camp” (Leviticus 13:46), it said. And so he did.
But could this Rabbi make things different? The man had heard about Him healing others. Would the Teacher do something for him too? He just had to get near Him. Trembling, he approached the Rabbi. The Teacher knew the rules, but He was doing things a new way. The Man seemed so different than the other teachers. So compassionate. “Please,” the leper pleaded. “If you are willing, can you heal me?”
“I’m willing,” the Rabbi said, reaching out His hand. The holy man touched him! And his skin . . . it was healed!
The Rabbi then told him to go and see the priest, offer the sacrifices, and do what the the Law required (Mark 1:44). But . . . keep it quiet? Well, if he must. (But he might tell a couple of friends. They’d keep it secret!) But they didn’t keep it secret. And soon Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but instead was restricted to the community’s outer periphery—its isolated, lonely spaces (Mark 1:45).
Look what happened: Jesus healed a man of leprosy, restoring him back into the community, while Jesus Himself was eventually banished from it. Jesus touched the untouchable, and wound up being the one ostracized.
An astonishing act of trading places. An astonishing act of love.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Matthew 13:24-43
More:
Read Isaiah 53:4-5 and consider what Jesus experienced in trading places with us.
Next:
What does it mean for you to know that Jesus traded places with you at the cross? How will following Him affect your relationships today?
Tom Felten on July 10, 2015 at 9:37 am
Sheridan, thanks so much for helping us feel what it must have been like for the leper to receive the transforming gift of life from Jesus—to be healed. The miracle that He’s done in my own heart—breaking the bonds of sin and setting me free through belief in Him—is no less amazing. The stories of His grace continue to be told!
Blessedhope on July 11, 2015 at 3:24 am
Thank you Lord for giving us your son Jesus; not only for the remission of sins but also that we may have life in abundance – having the privilege to communicate with the Almighty God and above all, that we may have the right to enter your holy gates when our time on earth is done. Its truly amazing.
For the forum members who prayed for me last week, I would like to share with u that the rental company called me yesterday to let me know that they had investigated further and a previous renter admitted to causing the damage they had wanted to bill me for. These Devine interventions make the journey so much more worthwhile, praise be to God.
Regina Franklin on July 20, 2015 at 11:57 am
Sheridan–a powerful piece. He became our rejection that we might know acceptance, not before the faces of man but the presence of God. “An astonishing act of trading places. An astonishing act of love”–well said!