| Bigotry against the Sick |
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8:1 When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him; 8:2 and behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean." 8:3 And he stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 8:4 And Jesus said to him, "See that you say nothing to any one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to the people."
Jesus touched a diseased man and healed him when others would not have touched him at all. After he healed the man's skin disease Jesus told him not to tell anyone about it. In fact quite often when Jesus healed people, he told them to keep it a secret. When Jesus healed people it was not a big performance. Jesus was not a show pony. Divine healing was a part of New Testament church life. However, taboos of the law such as not touching a sick person, interpreted in the letter, could provide an excuse to avoid visiting and serving the sick. Jesus was the God of the Old Testament. That's why he is called Lord. He authored the law, and did not interpret it in the letter, but in the spirit. Rather than merely pronounce healing, he touched the leper first and then healed the man. For us, it can also be an act of faith to visit and serve the sick and pray for their healing. |
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