(Matthew 8:1-4)
1 After
he came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him.
2 And a
leper approached, and bowed low before him, saying, "Lord, if you are
willing, you can make me clean."
3 He
stretched out his hand and touched him saying, "I am willing. Be clean!"
Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
4 Then
Jesus said to him, "See that you do not speak to anyone, but go, show
yourself to a priest, and bring the offering that Moses commanded, as a
testimony to them."
When I come across the book of Matthew 8:1-5; it seems to be a very
similar, simple, or familiar story from the collections of different stories in
the Bible. But as much as I wanted to understand its message, there was a
wonderful revelation that comes in my mind. And this story helps me to realize
the obedience to God's authority and commands.
Indeed, the story is all about the man who has leprosy but was healed.
During that time, the worst and poorest thing that may call a person the most
unclean is when you are infected with this kind of disease. You are considered
as the most sinful or cursed person during those times. And considering that
this man will follow Jesus together with the crowd, he really needs courage to
do it as he will definitely be humiliated and embarrassed.
The leper is teaching us that we can follow Jesus, no matter who we are.
We all fall short before God's Glory, and none can ever surpass Him. Following
Him needs to give some effort. As people gathered in crowd to follow Jesus in
the mountain, which represents an obstacle, and so are we. As we look forward
to God's glory on top of the mountain, it gives us strength and courage to move
forward taking a step little by little until we reach his destination.
Following Jesus, is also imitating him. We allow Him to influence us
through His example. Jesus himself set an example of living in righteousness
while we are here on earth, therefore, we can also achieve the same. We have to
travel the path which He has also taken to reach such holiness even how huge is
the obstacles. At the end of the day, you will be on top of your own mountain.
Following Jesus is equally the same as being obedient to Him. But it
doesn't stop from there. The leper's desire to approach Jesus is to take the
opportunity to commune and converse with God. Its the only way to voice out our
heart's content. And it's also our way to understand the will of God. We have
to talk to God, we have to approach Him. It is a perfect example that access to
God doesn't require anything to offer, nothing but humbleness to move a little
step forward and pray. But we have to learn from the leper's prayer. He is
seeking the will of God as he wish for healing, he asks for God's will. He
seeks for God's purpose and plans before his own plan. He respect the possible
answers from God, it could be a Yes or it could be a No.
Was the answer received when the leper was asked for his healing? Yes,
and He answered according to his will. If it is God's will, the answer is
instant. Immediately, you will receive what you were asking from God if that
aligns with God's will. Nothing can stop the perfect will of God, even if it’s
impossible. This is what the healing of the leper proves that No one can stop
the will of the Lord. But in this scene, the leper asked for the will of God
rather than to start asking for his own healing from the beginning of his
approach.
And so, the leper received healing. Jesus instantly healed him for his
wilful submission to the will of God. After that, Jesus has commanded him to
keep it to his self but go to priest and give offering to his temple as his
testimony for the goodness of the Lord in him. This is the greatest challenge
for everyone, to obey what the Lord has instructed us to do even if it's
already as clear as water to understand. The story stops there, I myself, not
very sure if he did it. But one thing that reveals to me, that this passage
talks to me straight from my heart, that God is a God of chances, of
opportunities, and of possibilities. To follow Jesus and His footstep is the
beginning, but to obey Him is the testimony of God's great will in our life.
I want to challenge myself and maybe everyone of us, be brave to do the
command of God as he continuously bless us, now and the days to come!
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