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The Leper |
| Matthew 8:2-4, Mark 1:40-45, Luke 5v12-15 |
| The leper came and said "if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." The reply was "I will, be thou clean." "See thou tell no man, but go thy way, shew thyself unto the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them." |
| The leper came and believed that Jesus could heal him. Yet he was unsure if He would be willing to heal. Jesus does something that no other Jew would have dared to do, because Scripture teaches that the leper is unclean (Leviticus 13). Jesus was able to touch him and heal him. He then told him to go and be a testimony unto the priests and pharisees. We never read that he ever went to the temple to be that testimony. Instead, he went and excitedly told everyone what Christ had done for him. Yet he did not obey the command given to him. The result of this action was that Jesus could not travel openly because the crowds sought Him, that He would heal their wounded and sick. They sought the signs but not the Way. |
| The challenge to us is that we need to obey the commands given to us first, then tell everyone. This man had an opportunity to be a testimony to the Pharisees and other hypocrites. What testimony do we have and where? Are we obeying the commands of Christ? |