Healing the disease of sin; Luke 5:12-14

For those of you that are visiting today, you should understand that we come upon these verses this morning in the process of teaching through the book of Luke, verse by verse, chapter by chapter.  So if there is any design in these particular verses being preached on today in your presence, it can only be by divine plan.  And I believe God in His sovereignty and grand design has brought us here today  for such a time as this, to consider what the Holy Spirit would say through His Word.

So that answers the question why we are looking at this particular passage today.  But there is another question, and that is what was the point that Luke, the human author, was being led to make under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  After all, the Apostle John said in his gospel; chapter 21 verse 25, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself  would not contain the books that  would be written.”

So we can surmise by John’s statement that Luke and the other gospel writers are not necessarily endeavoring to write a complete biography of the life of Jesus Christ, and this incident is just another event that happened that Luke dutifully records.  But rather, I believe that as in the case of every other event that Luke has written about so far, this is yet another specifically chosen incident which helps to comprise a complete testimony  of the gospel of  Jesus Christ.   It’s not just a random incident, but Luke specifically included it because it helps him to build his case concerning who Christ is, and what He came to do.

So while there is the obvious historical record presented here by Luke, I believe there are at least a couple of  points that he is making by including this episode in the ministry of Christ.  The most obvious point is that he is showing that Christ is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah 61 that Christ preached to his hometown in the previous chapter 4:16, where Jesus stood up in a packed out synagogue in front of all his hometown neighbors and read from Isaiah 61, which says, “"THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD."  And then He closed the scroll and said, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”  He was claiming to be the promised Messiah, the Son of God, of whom that prophecy was made.  And if you remember, his neighbors grew enraged at Him and tried to throw Him off a cliff.

So we can correctly conclude that Luke is including these incidents of Jesus healing the sick, and delivering those people who were oppressed by the Devil, as examples of Jesus fulfillment of this prophecy of Isaiah 61, that He would preach the gospel to the poor in spirit, proclaim release to the captives of sin, recovery of sight to the spiritually blind, and set free those who are oppressed by sin and the devil.  And so physical healing of this man from leprosy certainly fulfills that prophecy.

But I think there is another deeper application that Luke is teaching through this incident, and that is what I would like to look at today.  I believe that Luke through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit includes this incident of a man healed from the devastating affects of the disease of leprosy, as an allegorical representation of the nature of man’s sinful condition.

So first of all, let’s look at the disease of leprosy.  It is an ancient disease, documented for over 4000 years.  In Leviticus 13 and 14 God gives very specific instructions for how to deal with leprosy.  He did so for the protection of the nation of Israel.  I have read that it was a disease that has been found in the mummified remains of Egyptians.   Today leprosy is also known as Hansen’s disease, and is largely treatable with certain medicines.  But in ancient times it was greatly feared, because of the fact that it was communicable, or contagious, and it was an extremely disfiguring disease that usually resulted in death.  

Leprosy is characterized by scaly, bumpy skin lesions that first appear on the body in one area, sometimes as just a spot, but if left untreated it begins to spread throughout the body.  It not only affects the skin, but it affects the muscle tissue beneath the skin, and causes the nerves to deteriorate.  In severe cases, the person can start to lose appendages due to the nerve and tissue damage, and the raw skin becoming infected.  There are photographs of people that I have seen that have extensive skin and tissue loss on their bodies, even to the point of becoming blinded and unable to walk.  In advanced cases, they literally can look the way zombies have been depicted in movies.

In Judaism, such people were put outside the city or outside the camp.  They were cut off and isolated from society.  It was impossible for them to have a job.  If they came near a normal person they were supposed to cry out, “Unclean, unclean!” Most of them became beggars, living on the street.  They were known as the walking dead.
By all accounts it was a horrific disease, of which there was no cure.  Such people were hopeless, cut off, and dying a slow, painful death.

In this passage Luke presents for us, Jesus enters a city in the area of Galilee and a leper has obviously heard that Jesus is miraculously healing people in that area, and when he hears that Jesus is coming his way, he comes out to meet Him.  Vs. 12 tells us that this man was “full of leprosy.”  In other words, it was in the advanced stages.  Chances are, he had fingers or ears or his nose missing, as was often the case in advanced stages of the disease.  He has undoubtedly been living under this curse of disease for many years.  He had probably lost everything in life that he once held dear.  His family no longer associated with him.  He had to call out “Unclean, unclean!” every time he got near to anyone.  He was more than likely a beggar, living on the street, and so repulsive to look at that people would turn away from him.  In fact, rabbinical records say that most people would walk across the street to avoid them.  This man was doomed by his disease.  He was without hope.  He was without a cure.  And he was fully aware of his condition.

So he comes to Jesus in desperation, having heard that He was able to heal, and he throws himself down prostrate on the ground in front of Jesus, and begged Him, implored Him saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

What a picture.  The spotless lamb of God, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, standing in front of this poor diseased, deformed man lying flat on his face before Him, begging Jesus to make him clean.  Notice first of all that this man calls Jesus Lord.  It was a term signifying divinity which was interpreted from the name of God or Yahweh in the scriptures.  And secondly, notice that the man doesn’t just ask for healing, but he asks for cleansing.  He asks to be made clean.

And notice what Jesus’ response is.  Vs. 13:  “And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." And immediately the leprosy left him.”  Jesus many times healed with just a word.  But in this case, Jesus reaches out and touches the untouchable.  In Leviticus 13, when a man was afraid that he had contracted the disease of leprosy, he was to show himself to the priest who would look at the scales and determine according to the Law whether or not the man had leprosy.  And the priest would either declare him clean or unclean.

Here you have this man, coming to show himself to Jesus Christ,  the great high priest, who touches him and declares him clean.  And the man was made instantly, immediately clean.

What a wonderful picture this is of the mercy and grace of God.  See, leprosy is a picture of sin.  Sin seems to start out small, a seemingly innocuous blight on our soul, but it quickly masticizes throughout our entire body, corrupting our entire being.  Sin is numbing to our conscience, sin is damning to our souls,  sin causes deadness in our spirit, sin causes isolation from God, and we are unable to do anything to get better on our own, resulting in our eternal death and condemnation.

 Like leprosy, sin is contagious, it is a communicable disease.  We inherited our sin nature from our forefathers, passed on from generation to generation down from Adam. Rom. 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.”  Furthermore,  we all have this disease. Rom. 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  Like leprosy, the uncleanness of our sin cuts us off from a righteous and holy God. Rom. 8:7 “Because the carnal mind [is] enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”

Because of man’s disease of sin, 1Timothy 4:2 says that our minds are  “seared in our conscience as with a branding iron.”  According to 2 Timothy 3:6, as hopeless depraved men and women we are “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”  And finally, like with leprosy, our condition is terminal.  Romans 6:23 says that the wages of sin is death.  Ezek. 18:20, “The person who sins will die.”

This is man’s condition in our natural state. It isn’t a message that we want to hear.  No one, going to see the doctor, wants to hear a report that we have a terminal illness.  But it is important to know the truth.  What kind of doctor would it be if he told you that your illness was nothing serious, that you could put a band aid on it and take an  aspirin and everything will be ok?  I don’t know about you, but I want to know the truth.  Because the good news of the gospel can only really be good news if you acknowledge the fact that you are dead in your sins and in need of a Savior.

Listen, there is only one sin that cannot be forgiven.  No matter how egregious or horrible your sins may be, all sins can be forgiven except one.  There is only one sin that cannot be forgiven, and that is the sin that is not confessed to be sin.  The person that refuses to see his sin for what it really is, a terrible, deforming, condemning, terminable disease, cannot be healed.  He cannot be forgiven. 1John 1:8,  “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.”  It is imperative that we understand our condition, that we are lost, dead in our trespasses and sins, and without hope.

So now that we understand our condition, what is the remedy?  What can we do?  Well Titus 3:5 says the remedy is “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.”  The answer for our predicament is the same as the answer for the leper.  It’s to come to Jesus as Lord, and cast ourselves prostrate at His feet, and implore Him in His mercy to make us clean.

When the leper came to Jesus and begged him to make him clean, Jesus reached out and did the unthinkable.  He touched the leper.  How many years had this man been without being touched by another human.  But now, not only is he touched by a human, but he is touched by the hand of God.  Listen, this is such an important element in our salvation.  In order for us to be cleansed, God sent Jesus to become identified with man, to take on our sin, our disease upon himself.  This virtuous, spotless, lamb of God, touched us, became one of us, took our sins upon Himself that we might be cleansed from our iniquities. "HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES." (Matt. 8:17)  Jesus willingly touched a leper that he might be disfigured for us, that he might suffer for us. Isaiah 53, “He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.”

See, 2Cor. 5 says, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their sins against them.   But it wasn’t that God doesn’t count sins.  Oh no, a holy and just God must account for sins. God didn’t count our sins against us, He counted them instead against Jesus Christ. V. 21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

When the leper beseeched Jesus for cleansing, he fully understood his condition.   He recognized Jesus as Lord, as God.  He believed Jesus was able to cleanse Him.  And so he said “if you are willing, you can make me clean.”  He recognized that he was hopeless, totally dependent upon the mercy of God for his healing and his cleansing.  And Jesus said, “I am willing, be cleansed.”   2 Peter 3:9 says that the Lord is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

So then, to be cleansed, we must understand our condition.  We must come to Christ in confession.  Then in order to be cleansed, there must be the compassion of God, reconciling the sinful world to Himself through the atoning work of Christ on the cross.  And then finally, to be cleansed, we must be cured by the mercy and grace of God.

Salvation from our sins is the cure, it is a gift of God. Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  Not only is our salvation a gift of God, but our faith is a gift of God.  We who are dead, and diseased are unable to come to God.  Jesus said in John 6:44, “"No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.”  God has to turn on the lights so to speak in our hearts, so that we might recognize the truth and respond in faith.  Perhaps you are here today, and you don’t know the joy of forgiveness, you haven’t received salvation as a gift of God, and today you feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit tugging at your heart.  God is calling you.  God is convicting you to come and acknowledge your sin and ask for His mercy.

For you, like for the leper, to be cleansed it is going to take a miracle.  Today God is calling you.  Perhaps He is using the voice of this preacher to call you.  He is using the Word to convict you.  But listen, intellectual assent of some facts about Jesus will not save you.  Recognition that some facts about Jesus may be true cannot save you.  The only thing that will save you is a miraculous conversion.  A miraculous transformation.  And the only way to appropriate that is to call upon the Lord for mercy and cleansing, to be made new.

David cried out to the Lord after his sin in Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart O Lord, and renew a right spirit within me.”  And God heard him and forgave him.  He said in the verse 17 following, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”

Listen, there is  joy in being forgiven.  Knowing that God has counted your sins against Jesus and counted you as righteous.  There is great, everlasting joy in knowing that you are eternally cleansed from all unrighteousness.

Well, there was one thing left for the cleansed leper to do.  Jesus said to him in verse14, “And He ordered him to tell no one, "But go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."  And the application for this is nothing short of simple obedience to God’s commandments.  Jesus was following the prescription found in the law, in Leviticus 14.  There was a procedure which lasted for 8 days, wherein the man who was cleansed of leprosy had to appear before the priest who would confirm his being made clean.  So it wasn’t that Jesus didn’t want the man to testify that he had been healed, but Jesus wanted him to do it according to the way Moses had prescribed it in the law.  So that when the priests had to declare that the man was indeed clean, that they would have irrefutable proof that Jesus had indeed miraculously cleansed him.  

And this application is for the believer.  When this man was dead in his leprosy, all that the law could do was condemn him as unclean.  But when this man was miraculously cleansed of his leprosy, the law could no longer condemn him, but must affirm him as having been cleansed.

And isn’t that the purpose of the law?  The law came that we might know we are sinners and that we needed a Savior, a miraculous substitution in our place. Gal. 4:4 says Christ provided that miracle substitution, “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

Now having been made righteous, and having been adopted into the family of God, we are to be obedient unto God, that we might bear proper testimony of the grace of God to the world.  We don’t always understand why God asks us to do some things.  But we don’t have to understand.  We simply have to remember that He is Lord, He has given us life and cleansed us, and healed us, and adopted us into the family of God.  And when we understand that, we will want to be obedient to His commands.  And when we are obedient, then we are a true testimony of the transforming grace of God to the world.

There is no greater testimony than the miracle of a transformed life.  And the hallmark of a transformed life is no longer being enslaved to the sins of the flesh, but being obedient to the will of God.  The prophet Samuel said in 1Sam. 15:22 “Samuel said, "Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.’”

And if you are here this morning and you have come to the point where you recognize your condition, you know you are hopelessly lost and dead in your sins, and you want to be made clean, then know that Jesus says, I am willing, be cleansed.  He has paid the price, He has suffered and died for you, so that you might be made clean, and having been made clean, you might receive the adoption into the family of God.  All that is left is for you to confess your sins, fall on your face and ask for mercy, and He will make you clean.  You have but to appropriate this free gift.  But if you sit here today, your feathers ruffled, and unwilling to confess that you are a sinner, condemned to eternal death and separation from God, then Christ’s atonement does you no good whatsoever.  You will die in your sins.  The choice is yours.  I pray you choose life.  Let’s pray.