The following comes from J. Vernon McGee's commentary on the book of Luke.
I
found his information to be quite moving. I don't think I can imagine what
it is like to be isolated like lepers were in those times. I know my wife
and I are very close and the rare times we are separated by distance for
multiple days at a time (ex. - a business trip), my heart yearns for her
and
I miss her. And it's joyous when she returns. My feelings are tiny
compared
to the heartbreak a leper in those days must have felt when he would only
be
able to watch his family from a distance, knowing he would never be able
to
be with them ever again. So the joy the leper healed must have been so
great
as to be almost unimaginable. God today can heal our hearts from the
figurative leprousy known as sin. We, like the leper, need to have faith
in
Him.
May God bless,
Carl
my website -- http://www.nettally.com/saints/
my blog -- http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/
---
JESUS CLEANSES THE LEPER
by J. Vernon McGee
And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of
leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying Lord,
if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean.
And immediately the leprosy departed from him [Luke 5:12-13].
In verses 12-15 we have the story of the healing of a leper. Luke was a
good
doctor. He recognized a psychological implication in the healing of this
leper that was not much understood in that day.
We are not told how the man discovered that he had leprosy, but it could
have happened in the following manner. One day he came in from plowing and
said to his wife, "I have a little sore on the palm of my hand. It bothers
me when I am plowing. Could you put a poultice on it and wrap it for me?"
His wife bandaged his hand, but the next day the sore was worse. In a few
days they both became alarmed. His wife said, "You should go to the
priest."
He went to the priest who put him in isolation for fourteen days. When he
was brought out the priest looked him over and found the leprosy had
spread.
The priest told him he was a leper. The heartbroken man said to the priest
"Let me go to my wife and children and tell them goodbye." The priest
replied, "You cannot tell them goodbye. You will never be able to take
your
lovely wife in your arms again. You will never be able to put your arms
around those precious children of yours." The man went off, alone. His
family brought his food to a certain place and then withdrew when he came
to
get it. In the distance he could see his wife and observe his children
growing day by day.
Then one day the Lord Jesus Christ came by. The leper declared, "If You
will, You can heal me." The King of kings replied, "I will, be thou
clean."
But notice how the Lord healed him. He put forth His hand and touched this
man afflicted with leprosy. This poor man had not felt anyone's touch for
years. Can you imagine what it must have meant to him to have the touch of
Christ's hand upon him?
Has the Lord Jesus touched your life? There are so many lives that need to
be touched. If you are His, and you are fi****ng at His command, I am
confident that you can reach someone for the Lord. You need to reach out
your hand and touch some soul whom only you can touch for Him today.
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