5 Dec 2014
Matthew 8:2-4
Matthew 8:2: “And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
4 And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.”
Notice how quiet Jesus kept this entire affair – He healed him, then told him to not tell anyone about it. The Old Testament prophesied that Jesus would be meek and lowly; he would not raise his voice or cry in the streets. Now, if anyone had a right to make a big deal about himself it was Jesus, but we don’t see him doing that. Instead He spent his time trying to draw the attention to God, the Father. He did not glorify Himself; instead He glorified His Father. This is quite different from many modern teachers, who go to great lengths to glorify themselves and make sure that everyone knows their name.
We should also pay attention to the fact that Jesus actually touched a leper – something few people of that day would have done. Lepers, after all, were unclean, and touching a leper would make one unclean as well. Yet, despite this, Jesus did not even hesitate – He acted immediately. The leper had complete faith that Jesus could heal him, and that faith was not misplaced.
Finally, it’s worth noting that Jesus told the ex-leper to follow the Mosaic Law and make the offering that was prescribed. The Church is not under that law, but Jesus was. He lived under it and fulfilled it.