040322- “Jesus Heals A Leper” Mark 1:40-45...
Leprosy:
-Mentioned 40 times in Scripture
-“Hansen’s Disease”
-No longer feared if treated
-It’s rare & treatable
-Most live a normal life during & after treatment
-In Bible Times, leprosy was a death sentence

Sermon In A Sentence: As leprosy pictures sin & separation from God, Jesus’ cleansing of a leper pictures forgiveness & a restored relationship.

Mark 1:35-39 “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He got up, went out, and made His way to a deserted place. And He was praying there. Simon and his companions went searching for Him. They found Him and said, ‘Everyone’s looking for You!’ And He said to them, ‘Let’s go on to the neighboring villages so that I may preach there too. This is why I have come.’ So He went into all of Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.”

Mark 1:40-45 “Then a man with a serious skin disease came to Him and, on his knees, begged Him: ‘If You are willing, You can make me clean.’ Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched him. ‘I am willing,’ He told him. ‘Be made clean.’ Immediately the disease left him, and he was healed. Then He sternly warned him and sent him away at once, telling him, ‘See that you say nothing to anyone; but go and show yourself to the priest, and offer what Moses prescribed for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.’ Yet he went out and began to proclaim it widely and to spread the news, with the result that Jesus could no longer enter a town openly. But He was out in deserted places, and they would come to Him from everywhere.”

When Jesus Cleanses This Leper:
-His motivation to cleanse him was compassion
-His method of cleansing him was to touch him
-His purpose for cleansing him was to validate His Messianic claim

Leviticus 13:45-46 “…the leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp”

Luke 5:12 “While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, ‘Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.’”

2 Corinthians 12:7-9 “Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me…Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times to take it away from me. But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’”

Mark 1:41 “…Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched him. ‘I am willing,’ He told him. ‘Be made clean...’”

Whenever anyone touched this leper, that person became unclean! But, when Jesus touched this leper, the leper became clean!

Acts 6:7 “The word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith also”