Rev Gav

Clean

Luke 5:12-16

¹² In one of the villages, Jesus met a man with an advanced case of leprosy. When the man saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground, begging to be healed. “Lord,” he said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.”

¹³ Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared. ¹⁴ Then Jesus instructed him not to tell anyone what had happened. He said, “Go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.”

¹⁵ But despite Jesus’ instructions, the report of his power spread even faster, and vast crowds came to hear him preach and to be healed of their diseases. ¹⁶ But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.

Reflect

Can you imagine? This guy had an infectious skin disease and he had spent a lifetime avoiding people. He had heard about Jesus and fell at his feet asking to be healed, then Jesus did the most outrageous thing. One thing you did not do was physically touch people with infectious skin diseases, and yet, Jesus reached out and touched the man. This act was not only an act of compassion, but a visual sign that the man had been healed and made clean.

But what is the difference between being healed and made clean? Well, it is the same thing but from different perspectives. Healing is from the physical perspective and cleansing is from the spiritual perspective. When Jesus said to the man that he had been made clean, he meant in terms of spiritual cleanliness. You see, the Jewish people had religious laws that meant that certain people with certain conditions were ‘unclean’. This labelling or status-giving was not a spiritual punishment, just common-sense laws that helped a community to be protected and stay healthy. So, in this instance, the religious law dictated that the guy with the infectious skin disease was ‘unclean’, and it stopped the disease spreading by keeping him away from people.

This is also why, after the man was made ‘clean’, Jesus asked him to go and show himself to the priest. By touching him, Jesus had already shown that the man was clean, but if the priest declared him physically healed then the man’s official status would change from ‘unclean’ to ‘clean’ and he would be welcomed back into regular contact with the community.

Today, we live in a society where some are bullied, ostracised, marginalised, oppressed, or persecuted. This happens in the classroom, in the workplace, and even at higher levels of society. They are metaphorically labelled as ‘unclean’ because of a political viewpoint, gender, sexuality, dress-sense, illness, or simply because they are different.

Do

Be honest with yourself. Think of someone that you come into contact with but also that you try to avoid? Would Jesus avoid them? Today, choose to reach out to them and try to bring positivity, encouragement, and healing into their lives.

Pray

Holy God
Forgive me when I have pushed people away
or kept them at arms length,
not because they can harm me,
but because I have labelled them as ‘unclean’.
You do not show any partiality
and welcome everyone — no matter who they are.
Help me be like you, Lord Jesus,
that I may bring positivity, encouragement, and healing
into the lives of those around me.
This day and for ever.
Amen.

Think

What groups of people are bullied, ostracised, marginalised, oppressed, or persecuted in our society? What can the church do to reach out to these people on the fringes of society?