Jesus Touched Him Saying, I Am Willing

When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, a leper came and worshiped 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. Matthew 8:1-3

Because of your mistakes and shortcomings, have you ever wondered about Jesus being willing to heal you? In Matthew 8, Jesus did heal someone who was totally disqualified and regarded as unclean under the law. It takes place right after Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount, and it opens with our text above.

I wonder if the man with leprosy could have hidden under or behind some rocks or a bush so he could hear Jesus preach without being seen by all the other people who were there. Because of his condition, he couldn’t be seen as he was considered unclean and the people very well might have began to stone him or to drive him away.

You can imagine the anguish of this man whose body was covered with leprous sores and raw, exposed flesh, and who had also been forced to isolate himself and be cut off from his loved ones so he would not contaminate or defile them (Leviticus 13:45-46).
You can also imagine the desperation of this man who threw himself before Jesus, worshipping Him as he said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Can’t you just see the love and compassion of our Lord Jesus as He touched the man with leprosy and pronounced, “I AM WILLING; BE CLEAN.”

At that very instant and moment in time, the Lord didn’t just restore the man’s health, He also restored his dignity and humanity. The very fact that Jesus touched a man with leprosy is staggering. Under the law, when the clean touches the unclean, the once clean immediately is considered unclean.

Our Lord Jesus was showing that under grace, when the clean (Jesus) touches the unclean, the unclean becomes CLEAN. Jesus did not contract the disease by touching the man with leprosy. Actually he totally destroyed and annihilated it. And what’s so wonderful friends, He will do the exact same for you.

Our God is a healer. He always has been and He always will be. Trust in the Word and believe the truth spoken and receive the healing that you need. It’s available to you just as your salvation was available. Glory to God. He’s our Healer.