I want to be clean
Luke 5v12-16
INTRODUCTION
In Luke 5:12-16, there is a man who has a skin disease called leprosy. He wants to be clean. From this passage, notice first that there is…
A REALISATION FOR CLEANSING
Full of leprosy
Luke 5:12 says Jesus was in one of the towns around the Sea of Galilee. While he was there, a man came along who was covered in leprosy. There were three kinds of leprosy. There were mild cases, moderate cases, and the more severe. Dr Luke says that this man was full of leprosy. He was covered from head to foot.
The problem with leprosy
According to Jewish Law, a person with leprosy should not have been out in public. Leviticus 13:46 says, “As long as people have leprosy they should live alone; they should live outside the camp.” Another problem is that leprosy had become associated with sin. Describing the spiritual state of Israel, for example, Isaiah 1:6 says: “From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness—only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with oil.” If we had a skin problem we might ignore it if is not too serious. We might apply ointment if it is irritating. If it were more serious, however, we would visit a skin specialist. Here is a man who is full of leprosy, and he has nowhere to go.
We all have spiritual leprosy
Morally, we all need cleansing. Like the man in Luke 5, we are outcasts with nowhere to go, and only God can help. We should come to him, and say in the words of Psalm 51:1-2, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” This leads to a further point…
A REQUEST FOR CLEANSING
Requests and demands
There is a difference between a request and a demand. With a demand, we insist on our rights. With a request, the tone is different. With a request, we humbly ask for help. This is the case in v12 when the man fell to the ground and begged Jesus saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” He fell on his face and pleaded for help.
God is able
Notice that the man did not say, “If you are able.” He said, “If you are willing.” He does not question the ability of Jesus. Jesus wasable… but was he willing? There is an illustration of this in Daniel 3:15-18 when Nebuchadnezzar was threatening Daniel’s friends. He said, “If you do not worship my image, you will be thrown into a blazing furnace. Then what god is able to rescue you?” Daniel’s friends said, Our God is able to deliver us from the fiery furnace, but if not, we will not serve your gods.” Our God is able, but if he does not deliver us, we will still trust him.
God is able and willing
Today, we affirm that Jesus has the power to heal. He has the power to heal everyone and one day he will. In the meantime, he heals some people miraculously, he heals others through medicine, he heals some over time, and some are not healed at all. Knowing this, we should pray for healing and continue to pray. We should then trust God—who is able. James 5:16 says, “Pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
With spiritual cleansing, we do not need to ask if God is able or willing. Hebrews 7:25 says, “He is able to save completely those who come to God through him.” 2 Peter 3:9 says, “God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” The God who made us, the God who loves us, and the God who cares for us wants us to come to him for spiritual cleansing. So come! Revelation 22:17 says, “Whoever is thirsty, let them come; and whoever wants to, let them take the free gift of the water of life.” This leads from a realisation for cleansing and a request for cleansing to…
A RESPONSE TO CLEANSING
Jesus is willing
Verse 13 says, “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘ I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’ And immediately the leprosy left him.” Jesus speaks in the imperative when he says, “Be clean!” The man is then cleansed instantly and completely. One minute, the man is covered from head to foot with leprosy, and the next minute he is spotless. Just a touch and he is clean!
Jesus touched the untouchable
Notice that Jesus touched the untouchable. The man with leprosy was a social outcast. He felt unclean and unworthy. Then Jesus reached out his hand and touched him. When Jesus touches us, we see that we are made in God’s image, and worth something. When we come to Christ, we are a new creation; the old has gone; the new has come! It is like starting all over again. It is like being born again. It is a re-generation. It’s a brand new start.
A response to healing
For us today, touching a person with leprosy would be like touching a homeless person, a prostitute, or an AIDS victim. Would Jesus touch such people? As evangelicals, we may be keen to get people saved, but are we prepared to touch them physically and emotionally? James 2:14-17 says, “What good is it if we have faith but no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a person is without clothes and food and we do nothing about their needs, what good is it? Faith without works is dead.” Faith without works cannot help people.
In Luke 5:14, Jesus told the man not to tell anyone. He said first show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing. Mark 1:45 says instead he went out and began to talk freely. The irony is that whereas Jesus told this man to keep quiet and he didn’t, we have been told to tell the world and we don’t!
CONCLUSION
Today different groups, organisations, and clinics offer physical, mental, and spiritual cleansing. They promise to free the body, the mind, and the soul. Many of these therapies can and do help, but only Jesus has the words of eternal life. Only Jesus can heal ultimately and permanently. Only he has the words of eternal life for those who want to be clean.
Bernard Cartledge