Be Clean!

Luke 5:12-16

Key Verse 5:13

Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him. 

Today we would like to meet Jesus. Jesus honored the faith of a man covered with leprosy and cleansed. In Jesus’ opinion, a person’s outward condition, such as leprosy, does not make man unclean. Rather, that which proceeds from the heart (evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly) makes man unclean before God (cf. Mark 7:1-23). Therefore, the evils that exist inside of a man are far more serious than leprosy, though leprosy is such a terrible disease. Just as Jesus cleansed a man of leprosy, so also Jesus can cleanse man of his evils. How then can we experience Jesus’ power—the power that cleanses man of all evils? The heroic example of the man with leprosy in this passage powerfully illustrates how. 

First, while Jesus was in one of the towns

When people run into one trouble or another, they often complain to God saying, “God! Why are you giving me this trouble?” But one thing all peoples on earth must realize is that in order to save men from all kinds of miseries, God did something unthinkable, he sent His one and only Son Jesus Christ. This realization is very important because to have a remedy to a problem in our hand, and not to have a remedy to the problem, makes an absolute difference—the difference between heaven and earth. Today, I do not know exactly what kind of problem you are suffering from. But the Bible reminds us of one important truth: God sent Jesus Christ as the remedy to all kinds of problems we have in life. This sounds too good to believe. The truth of the matter is that although this is true, not all people on earth go for this remedy and be benefited by it. 

But in the passage for today there was a man who understood this truth and made a heroic move to go for the remedy the Lord God came up with. Look at verse 12, “While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy.” Let us stop for a moment and think about what is going on in this short sentence. When you think about it, you can quickly realize that three things are true. 

No.1. The information about Jesus. No.2. The information about the man. No.3. The information about what he did with the two prior pieces of information. The first piece information has to do with the divine remedy. The second is concerned with the problem the man had in his hands. The third talks about the application, that is, how this man applied the remedy to the problem he had. 

This man “heard” the news that a man named Jesus (of Nazareth) had visited and was still staying in one of the towns. By the time the news hit the drums of his ears, this man must have been living in isolation from the society. He must have been staying in an odd place, like a dark cave far removed from the residential areas where his family might have been living. We do not know how this man came to hear the news about Jesus. Perhaps one of his family members who used to visit the cave to bring him food must have mentioned Jesus to him. Most likely his family members must have talked to him about how the man named Jesus preached the good news of God’s kingdom, how he healed put his hands on sick people and healed them, and how he drove out demons. They must have told him even how this man Jesus helped one Galilean fisherman named Simon Peter to make a huge catch of fish. 

Upon hearing the news about Jesus a thread of hope arose in his heart: his heart swelled with the hope of getting well! Before he heard this news, only the dark cloud of despair ruled his heart. Before he heard this news, all kinds of negative thoughts controlled his heart. Looking at his leprosy covered body he thought about committing suicide. But he could not, for he thought that he was too young to die. Yet, he could not do anything about his problem. All he could do was to carefully hide in his cave, quietly hoping that he would get better. But he did not get better. Plus, he knew that there was no cure for the disease. So he was without any hope.  But when he heard the news about Jesus the hope arose—the powerful hope of getting well again, the hope to go out and play soccer, and the hope of going out to a local gym and flex his muscles! 

With this hope he suddenly moved. With the little strength he had, he went to the place where Jesus was. 

Look at verse 12 again. “While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy.” Notice the word “was”; Jesus “was” in one of the towns indicating that had the man not moved like a Ninja he could have missed the opportunity to meet Jesus. 

But unlike the days in which Jesus walked in the flesh here on earth, Jesus is here with us now. We do not know how long he will stay with us, but he is with us now. Furthermore, his presence is not confined to any one geographic location. For those who repent and turn to God by faith in Jesus Christ, God the Father anoints that person with the Holy Spirit who is equal with Jesus. In addition, unlike those in a closed society like North Korea, we are living in the U.S. where the gospel is freely preached. These factors point out that we are in a better situation than the man covered with leprosy. The only remaining question for us then is, “What do I do with the good news that is being preached worldwide?” Specifically, “What does this news have anything to do with the problem I have in my hands?” 

Yesterday spoke with Mother Barry about a certain missionary. Mother Barry said, “Oh, he is clueless.” So she asked me to go and talk to that person so he would not be “clueless.” His ministry has lots of problem. But he thinks that it has no problem at all. Mother Barry was right in saying, “Oh, he is clueless.” Such is the case with many who even teach the Bible to others. They have tons of problems in their hands. Yet, they are clueless. Just in case you are one of these “clueless” people, I would encourage you to think and deeply meditate on what the man covered with leprosy did. Then, you will have a clue. 

Second, when he saw Jesus he fell to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” 

Knowing that Jesus is the ultimate remedy to all kinds of troubles of life is one thing, to actually make oneself available to this remedy and get the problems resolved one by one is quite another. When we study the Bible, we see many examples of how certain people succeeded in securing practical help from Jesus. At the same time, we see that some people failed in finding solutions to their problems from Jesus. We can see many Bible passages that explain in detail how we should make ourselves available to the remedy the Lord God came up with to solve all of our problems. In fact, in the book of Romans the Apostle Paul dedicates eight long chapters to talk about one thing, that is, the importance of faith in the Lord. To elaborate on this point, he explains in a rather complex and sophisticated way, touching on all the fine aspects of faith. Those who love complex and sophisticated things will love to study the book of Romans, and at the same time get much practical help to the many kinds of problems they have. 

God is fair. In his fairness, God provided for us with examples of people who teach us how to make the most use of the remedy, that is, Jesus Christ. Of all the good examples, in my opinion, the example of the man covered with leprosy serves as the most supreme example. He is the one who illustrates how to make the most use of the remedy, in a simple, yet profound way. And Luke illustrates the way in just one simple sentence. Look at verse 12b, “When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.’” In my opinion, this simple sentence gives out all the wisdom we need for salvation – the salvation from all of our enemies, particularly the enemies of all evils that exist inside of all fallen men. 

“When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.’” A picture is worth a thousand words. Again in my opinion, no picture ever painted by men or will ever be painted by men is going to be more beautiful than the picture we have here. Surely this is the most beautiful picture of all. When one stands in front of a picture with awesome beauty, he is speechless. The messages are so awesome and profound that you keep your mouth shut; you then rather start meditating, for better appreciation of the messages. The same is true with the beautiful scene we have here. In preparing study notes on this passage, I tried to explain the meanings involved, but as I meditated on this passage, I recognized that words will only hurt the meanings. So I stopped going in-depth. Simply, the meanings are too deep and profound. It is impossible for one to express all the meanings and wisdom the Holy Spirit desires to convey through the passage. So I would not say anything about this passage except that there are at least five points of wisdom for us to consider. These five points are powerful enough to get anyone with any kind and level of problem resolved ever so powerfully. And I would encourage everyone to dig up what these five points of wisdom might be, and more importantly how one can actually have the problems of their lives resolved through them.  

Third, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. 

When the man offered his prayer to the Lord, what did Jesus do? Look at verse 13. “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’ And immediately the leprosy left him.” This passage also has a lot of important truths about Jesus. But the last part deserves special attention: “And immediately the leprosy left him.” The transaction was “immediate.” It was instantaneous. And the cleansing was complete.

This passage then points out that Jesus is God incarnate. By definition, God is perfect. He is all powerful. Nothing is impossible with him. In addition, what he can do and how he can do what he can do all set him apart as the living God. How does he get anything done? We know the answer: through his word. He speaks, and the result is there. In fact, this passage says that the way he gets things done is by “willing.” 

This observation also expresses another important truth: to place yourself at the heart of God’s will is the key to living a life which is totally trouble free: the whole world may go upside down, storms of problems may rage around you, but you will remain totally at peace with God; there is total calmness, total peace, and total rest inside of you. And it all has to do with your faith, not any kind of faith, but the kind of faith demonstrated by the man covered with leprosy. 

Fourth, don’t tell anyone… 

To be set free from a trouble-some condition is one thing, to actually maintain such a blessed condition is quite another. In fact, as many of us know, it is a lot harder to maintain God’s blessing than to receive it. 

Last weekend, we had a staff meeting in Chicago. There I met a shepherd from Triton UBF named Little Mike Sedino. He brought to UBF Shepherd Joseph Magno, the husband of Shepherdess Charisma Magno. Shepherdess Charisma brought Shepherdess Melissa to the Lord. Through talking with him, I quickly learned that he is very athletic. In fact, he is a tennis coach, teaching high school students how to play tennis. Once upon a time Missionary Philip advised me to enroll in a tennis class at one of the community colleges to get in shape. So yesterday I secured Little Mike’s email address and sent an email saying, “It was very kind of you to talk to me regarding sports. I am considering enrolling myself in one of the community colleges to take a tennis class. Do you think it is a good idea?” This morning, he responded to my email. “Msn. Isaac, I think that is a great idea--I would also recommend trying to walk 3-4 times a week for about 20-30min. Slowly you can build it up to 45min. or so with small spurts of jogging included into the walk. And if you can give yourself 4 hours to digest your food before you go to bed this would help greatly. A lot of the weight we pick up is because we eat late and it has no time to digest and becomes fat. Please feel free to call or e-mail me. Please pray for me to ‘Preach the Word’ and restore my life to serving our Triton ministry. Please also pray for Stephen Walker--he is a senior in high school that I am praying to begin Bible study and Adam Ward a Soph. in college to also begin faithful 1:1 Bible studies.” Based on his email I came up with an action plan: First, walk 3-4 times a week for about 20-30 min. Second, slowly build it up to 45 min. or so with small spurts of jogging included into the walk. Third, give myself 4 hours to digest my food before I go to bed. The second point is particularly challenging: 45 minutes of walking, 3-4 times a week! 

My point here is that to receive a healthy body with a strong appetite is one thing, to maintain it is another. And the latter is a lot harder than the former. The bottom line however is that no matter how hard it is, we must still do it. And it is none other than each of us who should maintain all the blessings the Lord God is going to bless us with. Most importantly, maintaining God’s blessings is way more important than just receiving it. 

Jesus knows this full well. So after making the man whole, Jesus issued a strict instruction on how to manage the blessing he just received. Look at verse 14, “Then Jesus ordered him, ‘Don't tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.’” Jesus’ aftercare instructions are two-fold. 

No. 1 - Do not tell anyone. This is not just advice but an “order” from Jesus. Before cleansing, the man’s body must have looked like a completely rotten banana. But after the cleansing, the skin of his body looked like that of a teenage boy. So he must have been so exhilarated that he wanted to go out to the town and tell everyone saying, “Look at my skin! Look at it!” He then could have gone out to look for a job as a model, working for a magazine specializing in “skin-care.” But, Jesus said, “Do not tell anyone.” Jesus put a gag order. Why? The answer is obvious. Jesus does not want him to boast about himself. Rather, Jesus wants him to live a life that is seen by God, not by men. The problem of this man has been the life that lives before men, not before God. The life that is seen by God is a lot more important than the life that is seen by men; man sees outside, but God sees inside. God is Spirit. The life that is seen by God is a spiritual life. And God sees what is going on in the heart of a man. People see the appearances of men. But God sees man’s heart. The question is: is your heart clean before God? Jesus cleansed this man of his bodily filth. But what about his inside? This is the question Jesus wanted the man to consider, as a matter of the aftercare guideline. 

No. 2  - Offer the sacrifices Moses commanded for the cleansing. This is the call to give thanks to God. It is the instruction to live a life that constantly gives thanks to God for all the blessings from the Lord. 

Notice that Jesus did not instruct him to just give thanks to God. Rather, Jesus said, “offer sacrifices…” We have two words to consider: “offer” and then “sacrifices.” Say, “offer”. Say, “sacrifices.” These two words convey one important truth: giving thanks to God is not just a matter of lip service, but a matter of sacrificing something on our part to God and for God. And the meaning behind Moses’ command is more than just money. The message then is God wants us to use what we have for God’s glory, to promote God’s interests. The practical way of giving thanks to God is by using all the blessings from God such as time, money, health, youth, etc. and so forth for God. And we best maintain all the blessings from God by using them for God. 

Fifth, Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. 

Perhaps what Jesus did in verses 15-16 express another important wisdom for us to consider for lasting success in serving the Lord. Look at verses 15-16. “Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” This passage tells us that we need to remain in constant contact with God the Father if we want to bear fruit continually. God is the source of all blessings. He is the source of salvation. He is the source of love and power. Jesus practically kept his relationship with God the Father by withdrawing himself to lonely places and praying to the Father. May the Lord bless us to learn from Jesus’ example and practice Jesus’ wisdom in the privacy of our lives. 

One word: Be clean! 

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