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Mark 1:40-45 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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Please turn to the Gospel according to Mark.
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The Gospel according to Mark will be in chapter 1 as we continue to proceed together in a look at this picture as we continue to proceed together in a look at this picture.
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And a leper came to him, imploring him and kneeling, said to him,
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If you will, you can make me clean.
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Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him,
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I will be clean.
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And immediately the leprosy left him and he was made clean.
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And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once and said to him,
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See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priests and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded for a proof to them.
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But he went out and began to talk freely about it and to spread the news so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town,
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but was out in desolate places.
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And people were coming to him from every quarter.
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Behold the glory of our God in the life of Christ.
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Let's pray.
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Father, we praise you for your holy word to us.
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We recognize that it is inspired, that it is infallible and it is sufficient.
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It's a guide and a rule for holy living.
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And so I pray by the power of your spirit today that you will break through the obtuse nature of our minds
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and through the callous nature of our hearts.
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Change us this day into the image of your son.
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Find us progressively more like him as a result of the time we spend together this morning.
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Let this morning not be wasted on anyone in our hearing.
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And we pray this in Christ's name.
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Amen.
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So I'm taking a little break from preaching and coming back.
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And I come to a text that I essentially assigned to myself as I kind of helped the guys and broke it up
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and given them some assignments to preach over the last three weeks.
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And I come to another healing.
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We see another healing.
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We've seen quite a few so far.
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We see a man with an unclean spirit.
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We see Simon's mother healed.
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And then many others.
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You see a whole city gathers together at the door.
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Verse 33.
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And he healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons.
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We know that Jesus did this as a major part of his ministry.
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All of his days ministering, he was moving around and healing people.
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Luke puts it this way.
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Chapter 6, verse 19.
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The Gospel of Luke.
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And all the crowd sought to touch him for power came out from him and he healed them all.
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John chapter 21, verse 25.
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The last verse of the Gospel of John.
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John records,
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Now there are also many other things that Jesus did.
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Were every one of them to be written,
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I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.
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So Jesus did a lot of miraculous things.
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Lots of signs.
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And these signs were intended to validate the message that he was bringing.
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Jesus' primary ministry was not a ministry of healing.
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He did these things, to be sure.
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But his primary ministry was a ministry of preaching.
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Chapter 1, verse 38 and 39.
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And he said to them,
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Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also.
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For that is why I came out.
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To preach.
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And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.
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What was he preaching?
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Verse 15 of chapter 1.
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He says,
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The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand.
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Repent and believe in the Gospel.
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This is the message that he was preaching.
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The good news that the kingdom of God had come to bear in his life.
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That he was leading the procession of the kingdom of God,
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coming and bringing redemption to the world.
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So the miracles validated the message.
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Here we have one of two accounts of lepers being healed.
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We can presume that many other lepers were healed,
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as this was a fairly common ailment of the time.
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Right?
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The other, there were ten lepers, if you recall that story,
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recorded in Luke chapter 17.
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So, I've been wrestling with,
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What do I do with this?
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Right?
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Once again, we see King Jesus,
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the sovereign over all things,
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exerting his authority over sickness.
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What a thing to praise him for.
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But we've seen that already, haven't we?
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We've talked about that.
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What do we say?
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What is the fresh thing to bring to you?
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And I've just been blessed beyond belief at the richness of this text.
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So let's look at it together.
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Right?
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We see in verse 40 that a leper comes to him.
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Right?
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Comes to Jesus.
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And we know that he is now in a city.
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You look in verse 39.
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And he went throughout all Galilee,
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preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.
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So he's going into these cities that are in a province that's north of Jerusalem.
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Right?
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Galilee of the Gentiles.
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He is occupying, going into the synagogues,
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and he's preaching the gospel.
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And wherever Jesus goes, there are great crowds.
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Right?
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They follow him everywhere he goes.
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Verse 33 again.
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And the whole city was gathered together at the door.
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People are flocking to him.
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Right?
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To be healed.
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And we hope to hear the message,
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the good news of the coming of the kingdom of God.
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We find here, though, a leper.
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And this term in the Greek has a very broad meaning.
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Right?
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It simply means to scale or to peel off.
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And in fact, it was used broadly to speak of all kinds of skin ailments.
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So, if you have psoriasis, right, which many people suffer from that type of thing,
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the Greeks would have called you a leper in that way.
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Right?
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But that's not believed what we're talking about in this case.
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This would have been a person who was outcast because of the nature of their disease.
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Not dry scalp.
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Right?
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That's not what's going on with this individual.
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It's likely, most people agree, that this is what's today called Hansen's disease.
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I was going to pronounce for you the...
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Nope.
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I'm going to do it.
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I can do it.
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Mycobacterium leprae is the official name of this thing.
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It's a bacteria.
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It's a bacillus that multiplies very, very, very slowly.
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And I want to read to you a little bit about this particular disease.
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Right?
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It typically begins with a lighter patch of skin.
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Nobody panic if you have a lighter patch of skin.
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Right?
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Usually on the brow, on the nose, on the ear, the cheek, or the chin.
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If you miss some sunscreen spots on your face in the summertime, you don't have leprosy.
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The patch begins to spread in all directions.
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And one of the early signs is the eyebrows and eyelashes disappear.
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Then spongy, tumorous swelling grows on the face and then on the body.
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The disease becomes systemic.
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It involves the internal organs as well as the skin.
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Fingers and toes can be reabsorbed into the body because the bacillus invading the bone marrow
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impairs the blood supply, causes the bones to shrivel.
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It causes the extremities to shrivel.
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So fingers and toes literally can pull back into the body.
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And because of the loss of feeling, which is the major thing that's happening,
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it's attacking the nerve system.
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Right?
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Because of this major loss of feeling, the primary thing that ends up happening to lepers
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is that they hurt themselves not knowing that they're hurting themselves.
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They lose sensation in their hands and in their feet.
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And so they do things that cause great damage.
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I read some modern day accounts of a woman who wore her fingertips completely off,
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who had Hansen's disease, washing dishes.
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And a man who destroyed his palms raking.
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Right?
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Like we all know when to stop raking when we're getting the blisters.
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Right?
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It's time to go inside and look at blowers online.
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Right?
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But these people can't feel this happening to them.
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And so what often happens to them is they get these horrible wounds and then there is
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no antiseptic.
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There's no knowledge of how it is that they ought to take care of these things.
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So they literally begin to rot.
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They become infected and they begin to rot.
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And this is the picture of what's happening to this man, this leper.
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Right?
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Now the disease is very communicable because it's transmitted through perspiration droplets
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in breath.
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Right?
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So lepers in this day were very ostracized.
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Right?
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Just for the physical aspect of the disease.
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People didn't want to be around them.
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Interestingly, I don't know if this is true of this day.
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I don't think anybody could possibly figure it out.
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But interestingly, modern day, 95% of the human population has a natural immunity to this.
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Think about Mother Teresa and all the years she spent with the lepers.
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Right?
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More than likely, she was immune to the even possibility of catching this disease.
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But it was not understood in this day.
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So people wanted nothing to do with lepers.
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They wanted to be far, far from them because they did not want to contract this disease.
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And they were forced to go out and live out in desolate places.
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Right?
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They often formed communities and lived together.
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But beyond just the physical fear of being around lepers, there were some greater cultural
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reasons that people in this day ostracized lepers.
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For example, in chapter 12 of the book of Numbers, God gives leprosy as a judgment.
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Right?
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Bildad, in Job chapter 18, speaks of leprosy as a punishment.
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He says it consumes the parts of his skin.
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The firstborn of death consumes his limbs.
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In 2 Samuel chapter 3, verse 29, this is right after Joab murders Abner, David utters a curse
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against Joab and says,
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May it fall upon the head of Joab and upon all his father's house.
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And may the house of Joab never be one without one who has a discharge or who is a leprous
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or who holds a spindle or who falls by the sword or who lacks bread.
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He utters a curse on him that his family forever may have one of these things, one of those things
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being leprosy.
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The beginning of Leviticus chapter 13 gives direction as to how the priest was to declare
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a leper unclean.
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Priests were given as the judges over what was and wasn't clean.
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And if somebody had leprosy, people believed they had leprosy, they were brought for a test.
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And if they were found to have leprosy, they were cast out.
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So, Leviticus chapter 13, verses 45 and 46 says,
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The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose,
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and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out,
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Unclean! Unclean!
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He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease.
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He is unclean.
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He shall live alone.
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His dwelling shall be outside the camp.
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Right?
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So these are the instructions given to the Jewish people to preserve the health of the rest of the
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Jewish community.
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These people who were given this, they were forced.
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They had to tatter their clothes.
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They had to have scraggly, long hair.
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You wanted to see them from far away.
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That person has leprosy.
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Avoid them at all costs.
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One rabbi wrote that it was only safe to be within 150 feet downwind of a leper and 6 feet upwind of a leper.
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Very strict rules.
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Another rabbi prided himself in throwing rocks at lepers because he saw them as the judgment of God.
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They were sinners.
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They were to be cast out.
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Another leper prided himself in...
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Not a leper.
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A rabbi prided himself in never eating food bought from a street that a leper had ever been on.
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Right?
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So he would understand, get the history.
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Is that a leper ever been on this street?
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I'm not buying food from this market.
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He would buy clean food in this way.
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These people were incredibly ostracized.
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They had to walk around yelling,
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Unclean! Unclean!
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So no one would come near them.
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People would be very aware of the disease that they carried.
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So it was more than just the physical.
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Right?
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People saw it as a judgment of God on these individuals.
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Right?
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This man, in Luke 5, verse 12,
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it says,
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A man full of leprosy.
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A man full of leprosy.
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So this was not an early stage leper.
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This man was in this state.
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Hideous.
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Infected.
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Tattered clothes.
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Hair around his face.
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Should have been coming and yelling out,
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Unclean! Unclean!
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So that people would scatter from him.
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But instead,
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he comes to Christ.
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Enters into a crowd.
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Does the very thing that he should not do.
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Oh, the shocking nature of his boldness.
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We can learn something from that
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as he comes to the feet of Jesus.
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The account of the same story in Matthew 8.
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The leper calls Jesus Lord.
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Luke 5, 12-14 says that he fell on his face.
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And we see here in Mark
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that he comes and kneels before him.
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Recognizing in some fashion,
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we don't know of course,
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that he knew that Jesus was the Messiah.
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We don't know.
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But he certainly recognized
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that he was a reigning king.
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He addresses him this way
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as he calls him Lord.
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And he comes to him
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and implores with him,
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If you will,
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you can make me clean.
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Now, I love this.
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We're not going to make much of the leper
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in this story.
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But here is a place
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that we should observe his life
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and see the way he interacts with Jesus.
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As he says,
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If you will,
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you can make me clean.
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And in this little statement,
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he recognizes Jesus' sovereign will
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and his sovereign power.
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He doesn't expect that Jesus will heal him.
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He doesn't say in any way
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that Jesus owes him healing.
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But he says,
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You have the ability.
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You are Lord.
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You can heal what's going on with me.
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And if you see so fit,
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will you please heal me,
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a leper?
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God owes us nothing.
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We don't call on him
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as if by our merit,
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he owes us something.
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God's will is sovereign
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and he's also sovereign in his power.
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We should pray this way.
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Lord, if you will,
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you can accomplish this thing.
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If you will,
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please work this out.
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Do this thing for your glory.
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I appreciate this leper's
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pleading with Jesus in this way.
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Now, this is not a magic equation
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to see a response come from Christ.
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Verse 41 does not record
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because of the man's imploring,
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because of the way in which
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the man addressed Jesus.
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Jesus moved.
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Jesus is moved by one thing.
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His pity.
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He's moved by his pity.
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Notice at the beginning of verse 41.
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So while we ought to look
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at the leper's life,
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model ourselves after him,
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we ought not see this
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as an equation, right?
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If you will,
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you can heal me.
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You can make me clean.
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This is the way in which
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we should look and observe
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and pray to our God.
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But Jesus moved with pity.
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Some of your translations
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may say compassion.
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Another wonderful word
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in this case.
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And verse 41 says,
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He stretched out his hand,
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he touches him,
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and he says,
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I will be clean.
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Right?
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Not because of what the man had done,
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but because of Christ's very nature.
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Who he was.
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He showed compassion to this man.
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Psalm chapter 78,
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verses 38 and 39,
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speaking of God's work with Israel
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prior to the psalm being written,
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says,
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Yet he,
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being compassionate,
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atoned for their iniquity
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and did not destroy them.
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He restrained his anger often
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and did not stir up all his wrath.
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He remembered that they were but flesh,
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a wind that passes
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and comes not again.
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The compassion that God had
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on his people
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as he leads them out
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of Egyptian captivity
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and as they sin against him
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continually and continually
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and continually and continually.
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Here we see recorded in Psalm 78
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that he is compassionate,
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that he holds back his anger,
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and he remembers that they're but men.
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Fallen in nature
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and doesn't destroy them.
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Isaiah chapter 49,
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verse 13,
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prophesying of our coming Messiah,
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the one Jesus Christ,
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says,
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Sing for joy, O heavens,
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and exult, O earth.
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Break forth, O mountains,
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into singing,
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for the Lord has comforted his people
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and will have compassion
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on his afflicted.
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Look at the fulfillment
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of that very thing
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as Jesus turns to this leper
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and touches him.
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Matthew chapter 35,
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verse 36,
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says,
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And Jesus went throughout
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all the cities and villages
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teaching in their synagogues
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and proclaiming the gospel
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of the kingdom
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and healing every disease
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and every affliction.
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When he saw the crowds,
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he had compassion for them
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because they were harassed
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and helpless
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like sheep without a shepherd.
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God loves people
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and he pities our state,
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both our physical
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and our spiritual state.
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And so here we see Jesus
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turn to the leper
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and show such pity to him
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that he reaches out
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and he touches him.
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This would have been shocking.
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We don't understand
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the way this disease
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affected the culture.
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We don't understand
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how shocking it would have been
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for this man
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to walk in amongst us
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and then for Jesus
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in pity
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and in compassion for him
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to reach out
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and touch him.
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Leviticus 5.3,
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the Israelites were commanded
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not to touch a leper.
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And here we see Jesus
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stepping down in such a way
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and reaching out
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and touching him
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and making him clean.
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Verse 42,
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we see once again,
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I think Mark's favorite word,
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immediately.
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And immediately,
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the leprosy left him.
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Didn't take on
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some healing power.
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Jesus gave him some medicine
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and over some time,
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he got better.
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Immediately,
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the leprosy left him
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and he was made clean.
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Or does this say
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he was restored?
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Restored.
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And we see Jesus' authority
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once again
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over this sickness.
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Right?
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He was made well
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and whole.
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Hansen's disease,
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there's a cure for it.
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Good news,
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if you're not in that 95%
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and you happen to go someplace
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and contract Hansen's disease,
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in 1982,
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drugs were invented
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that can eradicate,
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they can stop the effects
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of Hansen's disease.
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They can get rid of that bacillum
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in your system.
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But guess what they don't do?
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They don't restore
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what's been damaged already.
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Right?
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If your fingers
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and your toes
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begin to pull back up
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into your body,
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it doesn't reverse that effect,
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but Jesus,
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in his power,
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does that.
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Makes him whole.
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And you may be asking,
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how do you know that
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to be the case?
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Right?
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How do you know
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that's even possible?
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Jesus gives him a command
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and he tells him
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to go and present himself
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to the priest.
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And what he was telling him
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to do was to travel
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to Jerusalem,
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which would have been
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60 to 70 miles
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from where he was.
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And they would have walked.
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Right?
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He doesn't say,
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spend some time here
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in this town
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and go through rehab.
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Make sure you get
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your legs back under you
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before you make the journey.
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Right?
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He gives him a command
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to go and do what is proper
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to make the sacrifice,
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the cleansing
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that Moses commanded.
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And so he goes
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and he does this.
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So he made him whole
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in this act.
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Right?
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Now it's interesting,
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we see all
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as Jesus is performing
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these miracles,
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he's healing
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and he's healing
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and he's healing.
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We see lots of this
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terminology,
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healing.
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But as it regards
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leprosy,
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we never see
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leprosy
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and healing
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put together.
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It's always
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made clean.
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Isn't that fascinating?
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I know that you're just going,
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okay, tell us what it means.
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Right?
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Just tell me what it means.
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Right?
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I don't know for sure.
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Is that fair?
20:05
I don't know for sure
20:07
why it's always
20:08
coupled in this way.
20:09
Here's my presumption.
20:11
Here's my presumption.
20:12
The Jewish culture saw
20:14
the person that was
20:16
defiled in this way
20:16
as unclean.
20:17
They saw it as a judgment
20:18
from God
20:18
and they cast them out.
20:19
These people were cast out
20:20
from culture.
20:21
They were cast out
20:22
from the worship of God
20:23
in the Jewish synagogue.
20:24
They weren't allowed
20:25
to go to the temple
20:26
to make sacrifice.
20:27
In every way,
20:28
they were estranged.
20:30
Removed
20:30
from the society
20:31
because they were
20:32
dirty
20:33
in this way.
20:34
And I think the reason
20:36
that it's recorded
20:36
in this way,
20:37
that they're made clean,
20:38
is that they're being
20:39
restored.
20:40
Right?
20:40
Externally,
20:41
they're being made clean.
20:43
They're being restored
20:44
to the ability
20:45
to enter back
20:46
into Jewish culture
20:46
and to attend
20:47
temple worship.
20:48
We see the command
20:49
to go to the priest
20:50
and to the temple.
20:52
And I think that's why.
20:53
That's this picture
20:54
of uncleanliness
20:55
and cleanliness.
20:57
Right?
20:57
I don't think
20:58
what we see here
20:58
is that this man's soul
21:01
is restored.
21:03
I think that simply
21:03
he is healed,
21:05
made clean
21:06
from his leprosy.
21:08
Right?
21:08
And that's important
21:09
lest we think
21:11
too much of this leper
21:11
because he's
21:13
a rather
21:14
disobedient character.
21:17
Is he not?
21:18
Verse 43
21:19
says,
21:19
And Jesus
21:20
sternly charged him
21:21
and sent him away
21:23
at once.
21:24
And the Greek word here
21:26
for sternly charged
21:27
means in its most literal
21:29
form,
21:31
snorted.
21:32
Not the way you would
21:33
snort something.
21:35
Right?
21:35
But like the way
21:36
a bull would snort.
21:37
Like a command.
21:38
Like,
21:39
I'm telling you
21:40
what you better do.
21:41
That's what the
21:42
kind of strength
21:43
of this language is.
21:44
They're very strong.
21:46
Sternly charged him.
21:48
Right?
21:48
And what did Jesus say?
21:49
That we will know
21:50
people are his disciples
21:51
if they keep his word.
21:53
Right?
21:53
So here we see
21:54
this leper.
21:54
He gives him
21:55
a direct command
21:56
and the leper does
21:57
what?
21:57
The opposite.
21:59
Right?
21:59
He does the very
22:00
opposite
22:01
of the thing
22:02
that he commanded
22:03
him to do.
22:05
And so I don't
22:05
think it's right
22:06
for us to think
22:06
when we say
22:07
that the leper
22:07
was made clean
22:08
that his soul
22:08
was made clean.
22:09
I think that he
22:09
was healed
22:10
of his leprosy.
22:11
Right?
22:11
But then we see
22:12
him being immediately
22:12
disobedient to the
22:14
command of Christ.
22:16
And so we get
22:17
these two commands.
22:18
We get both
22:19
a positive command
22:20
do this
22:21
and a negative
22:22
command
22:23
do not do
22:24
this.
22:26
Right?
22:26
So verse 44
22:26
he said to him
22:27
see that you say
22:29
nothing to anyone
22:30
but go
22:30
show yourself
22:31
to the priest
22:32
and offer
22:32
for your cleansing
22:33
what Moses
22:34
commanded
22:34
for a proof
22:35
to them.
22:36
So the positive
22:37
command
22:37
go
22:38
show yourself
22:39
to the priest
22:40
and offer
22:40
for your cleansing
22:41
what Moses
22:41
commanded
22:42
for a proof
22:43
to them.
22:45
Why would he
22:46
have wanted
22:47
this to take
22:48
place?
22:49
Right?
22:49
This was
22:50
Levitical law
22:51
remember still
22:52
just as they
22:52
would have
22:53
paid attention
22:53
then
22:54
they were still
22:54
paying attention
22:55
to this commandment
22:56
the priest
22:56
would have
22:57
wanted to
22:58
proclaim
22:59
somebody
23:00
clean
23:00
this man
23:01
now no
23:02
longer
23:03
has
23:03
leprosy
23:03
there was
23:04
a process
23:04
by which
23:05
they
23:05
identified
23:05
them
23:06
as a leper
23:06
there was
23:07
also a process
23:08
if they thought
23:08
they were healed
23:09
of leprosy
23:10
that they would
23:11
do the same
23:11
that they would
23:12
proclaim them
23:13
clean
23:14
Jesus
23:15
is on his
23:16
way
23:17
to Jerusalem
23:18
is he not?
23:20
and I believe
23:21
what he's doing
23:21
is he's sending
23:22
before him
23:23
not to
23:24
everyone
23:25
he's telling
23:25
them
23:26
don't run
23:27
around
23:27
don't run
23:28
around
23:28
run in your
23:28
mouth
23:29
but go to
23:29
the priests
23:30
and I think
23:31
what he's doing
23:31
is he's sending
23:32
a witness
23:32
of himself
23:33
to the priests
23:34
certainly this
23:35
man is going
23:35
to say
23:36
I was a leper
23:37
and now I
23:37
was made
23:37
clean by
23:38
this man
23:38
Jesus Christ
23:39
and they
23:40
would go
23:40
through the
23:40
process
23:41
of inspecting
23:42
him
23:42
and certainly
23:43
then know
23:43
he was
23:45
pre-delivering
23:47
the indictment
23:48
for their
23:48
unbelief
23:48
in Leviticus
23:50
chapter 14
23:51
we get this
23:52
prescription
23:52
for the way
23:53
this happens
23:53
and this
23:55
stuff
23:55
it's so hard
23:56
you read
23:56
these old
23:56
Levitical laws
23:57
you're like
23:57
they're supposed
23:58
to do what?
23:59
so let me see
23:59
if I can get
23:59
this right
24:00
something like
24:01
this
24:01
the leper
24:02
is examined
24:03
by a priest
24:03
two birds
24:04
are taken
24:05
and one
24:05
is killed
24:06
over running
24:06
water
24:07
in addition
24:08
they're taking
24:09
cedar
24:09
scarlet
24:10
and hyssop
24:10
these things
24:11
are taken
24:11
together
24:12
with the living
24:12
bird
24:13
dipped in
24:13
the blood
24:13
of the dead
24:14
bird
24:14
then the living
24:15
bird is allowed
24:15
to go free
24:16
now this is all
24:17
symbolic
24:18
the man
24:19
washes himself
24:20
and clothes
24:20
shaves
24:21
seven days
24:22
are allowed
24:22
to pass
24:23
and then he's
24:23
re-examined
24:24
he must then
24:25
shave his hair
24:26
again
24:26
his head
24:26
his eyebrows
24:27
certain sacrifices
24:28
are then made
24:29
consisting of
24:29
two male lambs
24:30
without blemish
24:31
one ewe lamb
24:32
three tenths of
24:33
amount of fine
24:34
flour
24:34
mingled with oil
24:35
and the restored
24:36
leper is then
24:37
touched on the tip
24:37
of the right ear
24:38
the right thumb
24:39
and the right great
24:40
toe with a mixture
24:41
of blood
24:41
and oil
24:42
finally examine
24:43
for the last time
24:44
and if the cure
24:44
is indeed real
24:45
he's allowed to go
24:46
with a certificate
24:47
that he is cleansed
24:49
right
24:49
this is an incredible
24:51
process
24:51
and I am sure
24:52
that there's a lot
24:52
of great depth
24:53
for us to understand
24:54
all of the symbols
24:55
that are contained
24:56
within
24:56
but I want you to see
24:57
that this is what
24:58
Jesus was asking
24:58
him to go do
24:59
as Moses commanded
25:01
for a proof
25:02
to them
25:02
to those priests
25:03
that he was going
25:04
to come
25:04
and preach the gospel
25:05
to and they would
25:06
end up having him
25:07
crucified
25:08
so that's the
25:10
positive command
25:11
go and do
25:11
this thing
25:12
we don't know
25:13
if he ever actually
25:13
does
25:14
we don't know
25:14
if he makes it
25:15
there or not
25:15
there's a negative
25:17
command as well
25:17
say nothing
25:18
to anyone
25:19
we can see
25:21
how he did
25:21
with this
25:22
right
25:23
it's interesting
25:24
to me
25:25
and this is another
25:25
I'm not really sure
25:27
moment
25:27
I tell you
25:29
I want to have
25:29
all the answers
25:30
to every question
25:31
you may ever have
25:31
in life
25:32
but I won't
25:33
we constantly
25:35
see Jesus
25:36
warning people
25:36
not to talk
25:37
about what he's
25:38
doing
25:38
constantly
25:39
all throughout
25:41
the bible
25:42
and you go
25:43
okay well let's
25:43
just think about
25:44
why that may be
25:45
was it that he
25:45
was trying to
25:46
delay his death
25:47
right
25:47
because he was
25:48
causing quite a
25:49
stir
25:49
those great
25:50
crowds are already
25:51
amassing around
25:52
him and following
25:52
him around
25:52
the Galilee of
25:54
the Gentiles
25:54
was not like a
25:55
highly populated
25:56
place
25:57
the desert areas
25:59
where he often
26:00
was moving through
26:00
where these people
26:01
were gathering
26:01
to meet with him
26:02
were not pleasant
26:03
places to be
26:05
you recall when he
26:06
feeds the 5,000
26:07
later the 4,000
26:08
people it's because
26:09
they came out to a
26:09
place that there
26:10
was no food
26:11
right they were
26:12
following into these
26:13
bizarro places
26:14
he was causing
26:14
quite a hubbub
26:15
so was he doing
26:17
that because he
26:17
knew it's not
26:18
quite time I
26:19
must delay I
26:20
must delay I
26:20
must delay
26:21
and I can take a
26:23
little bit of
26:23
answer and comfort
26:24
in that but
26:25
God is sovereign
26:26
over all these
26:27
things right
26:28
like he knew
26:29
exactly the day
26:30
that he would die
26:31
he knew exactly
26:31
the way in
26:32
which he would
26:33
die so it
26:33
doesn't really
26:34
complete the
26:35
answer for me
26:35
but let's just
26:36
look at a couple
26:36
of other places
26:37
here in Mark
26:39
chapter 3
26:40
verse 11 and 12
26:41
and whenever the
26:41
unclean spirits
26:42
saw him they
26:42
fell down before
26:43
him and cried
26:44
out you are the
26:44
son of God
26:45
so the unclean
26:46
spirits the demons
26:47
cry out you are
26:49
the son of God
26:49
and he strictly
26:50
ordered them not
26:51
to make him known
26:52
interestingly that
26:54
we see throughout
26:55
Mark demons
26:57
being more obedient
26:58
than people to the
27:01
power of God
27:01
chapter 5 verse
27:03
43 the first
27:05
part of it
27:05
Jairus a leader
27:07
of the synagogue
27:07
his daughter was
27:09
brought back to
27:09
life if you remember
27:10
this story and
27:11
then Jesus says in
27:12
verse 43 and he
27:13
strictly charged
27:14
them that no one
27:15
should know this
27:16
chapter 7 verse 36
27:19
we see the healing
27:19
of a deaf man and
27:20
Jesus charged them
27:21
to tell no one but
27:22
the more he charged
27:23
them the more
27:24
zealously they
27:25
proclaimed it
27:25
chapter 8 verse
27:28
26 he ups the
27:30
charge after healing
27:31
a blind man and
27:32
he sent him home
27:33
saying do not
27:35
enter the village
27:36
he goes so far as
27:37
to say you're
27:39
going to tell
27:39
people so just
27:40
don't even go to
27:41
where people are
27:42
right just go home
27:44
so here again is
27:48
my very best at
27:49
this and if it
27:50
helps you I try to
27:51
confirm my guesses
27:52
amongst other
27:53
biblical scholars I
27:55
think that what
27:56
Jesus is doing here
27:57
as he's working as
27:58
he's performing
27:59
these miraculous
28:00
things to belittle
28:01
the miracles in
28:04
order to exalt the
28:05
message Jesus
28:07
heals here all
28:09
throughout the
28:10
gospels not just
28:11
people of faith
28:12
right he heals
28:13
all kinds of
28:15
people I think
28:16
that the leper
28:17
here is a great
28:17
case for that a
28:19
man who is
28:19
immediately
28:20
disobedient to
28:21
the command of
28:21
Christ I don't
28:23
believe was
28:24
regenerate hopefully
28:25
in hearing of the
28:26
gospel he did
28:26
become so later
28:27
on right so
28:29
so he he heals
28:32
and just does so
28:33
and just spreads it
28:34
and goes and goes
28:35
and goes and
28:36
these huge crowds
28:37
are gathering to
28:38
him because of the
28:39
healing not because
28:40
of the message
28:41
right as you see
28:43
him speak in
28:43
parables all
28:45
throughout the
28:45
gospels he does
28:47
so and he tells us
28:48
because he wants
28:48
people who have
28:49
ears to hear to
28:51
understand and those
28:52
who don't to have
28:53
no idea what's
28:54
going on these huge
28:55
crowds of people
28:56
that were
28:57
amassing around
28:57
because of the
28:58
miracles that he
28:59
was performing
29:00
again Jesus
29:01
ministry was not
29:02
primarily a healing
29:03
ministry right
29:04
it's a wonderful
29:05
aspect of his
29:06
ministry the
29:07
miracles he
29:07
performed but it
29:08
was rather a
29:09
preaching ministry
29:11
the miracles
29:12
validated the
29:14
message right
29:16
now in
29:17
Christendom
29:19
particularly the
29:21
blogosphere if you
29:22
pay attention to
29:23
all these things
29:23
there's a lot of
29:24
hubbub going
29:24
around about
29:25
miraculous gifts
29:27
of the spirit
29:27
and do these
29:28
things still operate
29:29
and practice in
29:30
the world
29:30
John MacArthur
29:31
had a conference
29:31
that just caused
29:32
everybody to get
29:33
into a tizzy about
29:34
it right and it's a
29:37
question worth asking
29:38
to be sure right and
29:40
I'll tell you where I
29:41
stand on this I think
29:42
that these things do
29:43
still take place but
29:44
not as the normal
29:45
practice that's what I
29:47
believe I think God
29:48
still heals people
29:48
using medicine and
29:50
doctors primarily right
29:52
but he still does
29:53
miraculous things
29:54
certainly he does I
29:56
think particularly in
29:57
places where the
29:58
gospel is being
29:58
advanced for a new
29:59
time he brings
30:00
miracles along to
30:01
validate the message
30:03
to grab people's
30:04
attention they go
30:04
whoa what is going
30:06
on this man he's
30:07
coming and he's
30:08
laying hands on
30:09
people and they're
30:10
becoming well after
30:12
they've been sick
30:13
immediately and it
30:15
validates the message
30:16
but here's the thing
30:17
that we have to be
30:18
careful about we have
30:18
to recognize that
30:19
that's what the
30:20
healing is for it's
30:22
for the message
30:23
right and a lot of
30:24
the men that run
30:25
around in the
30:26
charismatic movement
30:27
that are big leaders
30:28
of this movement
30:29
it's not about the
30:30
message it's about
30:31
the healing right
30:33
about the amazing
30:34
ways in which God
30:35
wants to bless your
30:36
life right God
30:38
wants to bless our
30:39
life with himself
30:40
right not primarily
30:43
health and he does
30:44
it sometimes but not
30:45
primarily Paul had a
30:47
thorn in his flesh we
30:48
don't know what this
30:49
thing was but he
30:50
prays three times that
30:51
God would take it away
30:51
and God says no my
30:52
grace is sufficient for
30:53
you my powers made
30:54
perfect in your
30:55
weakness right God
30:57
wants us to be weak
30:59
he wants us to be
31:01
dependent on him
31:03
last Sunday most of you
31:07
know many of you know
31:09
I wasn't here and the
31:11
reason for that is I
31:11
went on a hunting trip
31:12
but not because I went
31:13
hunting I didn't skip
31:14
out on church I love
31:15
being with you guys I
31:16
would way rather be
31:17
here than go hunting
31:18
I missed out because I
31:20
went hunting with a
31:22
mountain man who is
31:25
15 years older than me
31:27
and can hike me into
31:28
the ground and I told
31:30
him I have really
31:31
horrible knees and don't
31:33
need to be super active
31:34
and he said that's fine
31:35
because we'll either go
31:36
out on the forest service
31:37
property or we'll just
31:38
hunt out of my
31:38
property now I've gone
31:41
over to Wes's house a
31:41
few times and hunting
31:42
and when we go hunting
31:43
on Wes's property you get
31:45
to walk a hundred yards
31:46
out of his backyard and
31:47
climb up into a fixed
31:48
stand there's no wind
31:50
it's real nice got
31:51
little windows that
31:51
fold down right easy
31:54
the same weekend last
31:56
weekend Wes drank coffee
31:58
while he hunted well not
32:01
with the guy I went with
32:02
we got to his place and
32:04
it was a cabin on top
32:05
of a mountain and I
32:06
said yeah let's just
32:07
hunt out of here and he
32:08
goes okay we're gonna
32:08
go to that mountain then
32:09
and I said or we could
32:11
go to the other place
32:12
you had picked out which
32:15
which also put me on
32:16
top of a mountain I
32:17
also ended up in 20
32:19
degrees on top of a
32:20
mountain watching
32:21
squirrels that's what I
32:23
did on Saturday but I
32:26
know I know some of you
32:26
know this and some of you
32:27
don't but for about the
32:28
last 12 years I've had
32:29
really chronic
32:30
tendinitis muscle
32:33
tightness and tendinitis
32:34
that's it's agonizing
32:35
and please don't come up
32:37
to me after the service
32:38
and tell me all the ways
32:39
I should fix it because
32:39
I've tried a lot of
32:40
things we're we're
32:42
working right now with a
32:43
new kind of radical
32:45
diet to make it I
32:46
think this actually may
32:47
be the thing I need but
32:48
but it's debilitating for
32:50
me at times and certainly
32:52
when you hike me straight
32:52
up a mountain for an
32:54
hour that'll happen so I
32:56
was at home in a lot of
32:57
pain at that time and I've
33:00
prayed that God would
33:01
heal me in my mind I'd be
33:03
more effective I'd be a
33:05
better husband and a
33:06
better father I could cut
33:07
the grass more
33:08
efficiently and play
33:09
harder with the boys I
33:10
could be at church every
33:12
Sunday because I'm not I'm
33:13
at home feeling crippled on
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the couch in my mind that
33:16
would be better but I'm
33:19
always drawn to this this
33:21
concept that Paul presents
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to us as Jesus speaks back
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to him and says my power is
33:25
made perfect in your
33:26
weakness right God keeps me
33:28
so frail because I think he
33:33
knows that I'm going to rush
33:34
off without him if I had
33:35
power and strength to
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accomplish things that would
33:38
take great pride in my
33:39
physical prowess and forget
33:40
that I need him every day
33:43
and every hour right I think
33:46
I would often forget that I
33:48
am not made for this place
33:49
that I am made for an
33:50
eternal place and I'm
33:51
passing through this place
33:52
that this body is on loan and
33:53
I get to get a new one
33:55
someday praise God right I
33:58
keep hoping that I'll learn
33:59
those lessons and then God's
34:00
going to heal me we'll see
34:03
we'll see so so that's what's
34:07
going on here so we have to
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recognize as we look at these
34:10
types of things these
34:11
miraculous things and
34:12
especially in the life of
34:13
Jesus that it was primarily
34:15
about the message the good
34:17
news of the coming of the
34:18
kingdom of God right that he
34:19
brought along the redemption
34:21
of our souls that's found in
34:23
him right God's light bearing
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in our dark hearts that is
34:28
what Jesus came to accomplish
34:31
that was his task to seek and
34:34
to save the lost praise God we
34:36
are beneficiaries of that
34:38
great mission but the leopard
34:41
ignores this negative command
34:43
he goes out verse 45 he went
34:45
out and began to talk freely
34:46
about it and to spread the
34:48
news so that Jesus could no
34:50
longer openly enter a town but
34:52
was out in desolate places and
34:53
people were coming to him from
34:56
every quarter now again I don't
34:58
believe in any way that this this
35:00
man thwarted Jesus plans that he
35:03
gave him a command and he ignored
35:04
the command and Jesus said man
35:06
now I can't go into the towns
35:08
because people are going to
35:09
throng to me about healing and
35:11
it's not about healing it's about
35:12
the message I'm just going to
35:13
stay in desolate places certainly
35:15
our Lord knew this is what was
35:17
going to happen even as a
35:18
command of the man he knew he's
35:20
going to fail at this command but
35:23
notice the great metaphor of this
35:25
story the great metaphor of this
35:28
story the picture that Jesus trades
35:32
places with the leper the leper comes
35:37
to him from desolate places the man
35:41
was an outcast the man could have
35:43
been only around other lepers he was
35:46
cut off from the kingdom of God just
35:49
like we once were when we weren't in
35:52
Christ he was a cast off just like we
35:58
were the sickness of our sinful nature
36:01
makes us numb to the effects of it
36:04
does it not the same way leprosy makes
36:06
people numb to the pain the infection
36:09
that's going on in them makes us so so
36:12
numb to what's happening in our lives
36:15
as we sin we rot rather from the
36:19
outside in as a leopard does from the
36:21
inside out right but but because
36:25
Jesus trades places with us on the
36:30
cross he brings us in back into the
36:35
community of faith he places himself
36:38
in a desolate place where he bears the
36:40
wrath of God for our sin to make us
36:43
clean then this a precious picture this
36:47
is the thing and I went whoa I love this
36:49
text I don't just have to teach about
36:50
Christ's authority over healing or over
36:53
sickness which is an awesome thing to
36:55
preach about but I get to preach that
36:57
Jesus takes our place it's exactly what
36:59
he does with this man he lets him come
37:01
in and he goes out puts himself out in
37:05
desolate places so that we would be
37:08
welcome I want you to turn one place in
37:13
closing to Titus chapter 3 this is one of
37:17
my favorite gospel presentations it's
37:20
short and so rich
37:22
Titus right before Philemon right before
37:27
the book of Hebrews
37:28
beginning in verse 3 of chapter 3 Paul's
37:37
here instruction to to Titus for we
37:41
ourselves were once foolish all of us
37:44
every one of us we're foolish disobedient
37:46
led astray slaves to various passions and
37:49
pleasures passing our days in malice and
37:52
envy and then catch this just with in mind
37:54
the idea of this leper hated by others and
37:58
hating one another hated cast out verse 4
38:02
but when the goodness and loving kindness of
38:06
God our Savior appeared the man Jesus
38:08
Christ is what's being referred to there
38:10
the goodness and loving kindness of God
38:13
our Savior appeared he saved us not because
38:17
of works done by us in righteousness but
38:19
according to his own mercy by the washing
38:21
of regeneration and renewal of the Holy
38:25
Spirit you see the metaphor in that you see
38:28
that what he did is he made this man clean
38:30
physically but for us he makes us clean in
38:35
our hearts according to his mercy his
38:39
compassion would be a way of saying that
38:41
right not because we give proper response to
38:44
him but because he loves us he washes us
38:48
regenerates us renews us by the power of
38:51
the Spirit he makes us clean verse 6 whom he
38:54
poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ
38:57
our Savior so that being justified by his
38:59
grace we might become heirs according to
39:01
the hope of eternal life isn't that good
39:06
this picture the glory of Jesus Christ as
39:10
he shows compassion to this man and trades
39:12
places with him puts himself out in the
39:16
desolate places so that this man could be
39:18
part of the community once again I hope
39:23
this causes you to praise God for your
39:25
salvation Jesus took your place Martin
39:29
Luther called it the great exchange took
39:31
on the wrath for your unrighteousness and
39:33
gave to us his righteousness that we might
39:36
stand right the the word justified there in
39:39
verse 7 we can stand before God and when
39:41
God looks at us he sees Christ right granted
39:45
us access perfect access even though we fail
39:48
still right even as the leper is
39:50
disobedient immediately my life looks like
39:52
that sometimes I open the pages of this
39:55
wonderful book and I'm told to do
39:56
something and I walk away and I do the
39:58
opposite of that thing even though
40:01
because I've placed my faith in Christ I
40:04
stand right before God and we must this
40:07
morning ask ourselves we behold Christ
40:09
his great compassion his sovereign will his
40:12
sovereign power we appreciate that we
40:16
have to ask has that been extended to us as
40:19
individuals right has that been extended has
40:22
Christ taken my place and I can tell you
40:26
if you don't know that to be sure just
40:27
believe that it's sure right your belief is
40:31
the very evidence that it has believe that
40:34
Christ died on your behalf he is the son
40:36
of God he is exalted now and in him is the
40:39
righteousness of God let's pray together
40:41
God bless you