Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Changing a Leper’s Spots, Part 2

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Changing a Leper’s Spots, Part 2 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Yesterday, Chuck Swindoll painted a dramatic scene in Mark's Gospel.
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  Speaker 1: He described a desperate man who stepped out of the
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  Speaker 1: shadows and knelt before Jesus. Anxiously, the man whispered heavy
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  Speaker 1: words filled with doubt. Jesus, if you're willing, you can
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  Speaker 1: make me clean. Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll
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  Speaker 1: presses deeper into this unforgettable encounter. And what we'll discover
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  Speaker 1: will move you. Jesus offered far more than a cure.
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  Speaker 1: He gave compassion that reached to the very depths. A
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  Speaker 1: touch that defied every rule. And a lesson about your
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  Speaker 1: own life that you won't soon forget.
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  Speaker 2: Leprosy is a symbol of sin. And we're never healed
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  Speaker 2: or cured of sin. Only cleansed. In fact, read the
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  Speaker 2: verse with me. A leper came to Jesus, beseeching him
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  Speaker 2: and falling on his knees before him and saying, if
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  Speaker 2: you are willing, you can make me clean. Jesus down
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  Speaker 2: in the depths of his being feels deeply. He's filled
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  Speaker 2: with compassion. Following that twinge of compassion, please observe. And
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  Speaker 2: I love this. Jesus stretched out his hand. And touched him.
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  Speaker 2: You never touched a leper. I hope all of you
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  Speaker 2: know the joy of being loved by those who touch you.
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  Speaker 2: We live in a strange time. We no longer touch people.
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  Speaker 2: It's not politically correct. I'm not talking about an inappropriate touch.
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  Speaker 2: You know that. Please. I'm talking about an embrace that
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  Speaker 2: means something. Playwright Moss Hart tells a moving story in
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  Speaker 2: a fine little book titled Creative Brooding. Listen to it.
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  Speaker 2: It's called Two Lonely People. We hurried on, our heads
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  Speaker 2: bent against the wind, to the cluster of lights ahead
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  Speaker 2: that was 149th Street and Westchester Avenue building. And those
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  Speaker 2: lights seemed to me the brightest lights I had ever seen.
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  Speaker 2: Tugging at my father's coat, I started down the line
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  Speaker 2: of push carts. I would merely pause before a push
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  Speaker 2: cart to say with as much control as I could muster, look, look,
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  Speaker 2: look at that chemistry set. Or there's a stamp album.
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  Speaker 2: Or look at the printing press. Each time, my father
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  Speaker 2: would pause and ask the pushcart man the price. Then,
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  Speaker 2: without a word, we would move on to the next pushcart.
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  Speaker 2: Once or twice, he would pick up a little toy
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  Speaker 2: of some kind and look at it, and then at me,
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  Speaker 2: as if to suggest, this might be something I like,
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  Speaker 2: but I was 10 years old and a good deal
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  Speaker 2: beyond just a little toy. My heart was set on
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  Speaker 2: a chemistry set or a printing press. There they were
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  Speaker 2: on every pushcart we stopped at, but the price was
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  Speaker 2: always the same. And soon I looked up and saw
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  Speaker 2: we were nearing the end of the line. Only two
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  Speaker 2: or three more pushcarts remained. My father looked up, too,
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  Speaker 2: and I heard him jingle some coins in his pocket.
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  Speaker 2: In a flash, I knew it all. He'd gotten together
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  Speaker 2: about 75 cents to buy me a Christmas present. And
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  Speaker 2: he hadn't dared say so in case there was nothing
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  Speaker 2: to be had for so small a sum. As I
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  Speaker 2: looked up at him, I saw a look of despair
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  Speaker 2: and disappointment in his eyes that brought me closer to
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  Speaker 2: him than I had ever been in my life. I
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  Speaker 2: wanted to throw my arms around my father and say,
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  Speaker 2: it doesn't matter. I understand. This is better than a
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  Speaker 2: chemistry set or a printing press. I love you, daddy.
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  Speaker 2: but instead we stood shivering beside each other for a moment,
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  Speaker 2: then turned away from the last two push carts and
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  Speaker 2: started silently back home. I didn't even take his hand
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  Speaker 2: on the way home, nor did he take mine. We
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  Speaker 2: were not on that basis. What a tragic line. We
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  Speaker 2: were not on that basis, nor did I ever tell
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  Speaker 2: him how close I felt to him that night. that
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  Speaker 2: for a little while the concrete wall between father and
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  Speaker 2: son had crumbled away and I knew that we were
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  Speaker 2: two lonely people struggling to reach each other. I realize
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  Speaker 2: I've taken a little excursion from the story, the narrative,
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  Speaker 2: but it's worth our time. Don't forget in this busy, cold,
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  Speaker 2: windy world to touch the people you love. Please. He
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  Speaker 2: reached out and he touched him. And then in a
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  Speaker 2: tone that is sublime and calm and confident, fellow Catholicity,
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  Speaker 2: just two simple Greek words. I'm willing. Be clean. I
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  Speaker 2: pause here so you can feel what that man must
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  Speaker 2: have felt. For the first time, he's cleansed. Mark goes
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  Speaker 2: immediately to his favorite word, immediately. Immediately the leprosy left
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  Speaker 2: him and he was cleansed. I love it that it's
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  Speaker 2: in the passive voice. This Greek term, he was cleansed.
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  Speaker 2: His faith did not cleanse him. How wrong of these
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  Speaker 2: so-called faith healers to say when someone isn't healed, you
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  Speaker 2: just didn't have enough faith. What an insult. This man
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  Speaker 2: has no faith. He doesn't even have fingers or toes
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  Speaker 2: or a name or dignity. He's helpless. And he was cleansed.
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  Speaker 1: Love that.
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  Speaker 2: He was cleansed. He was cleansed. In fact, the leprosy
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  Speaker 2: left him. How can we explain it? I'm not able
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  Speaker 2: to explain it much further. Who knows but what he
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  Speaker 2: suddenly had fingers. Who knows but what he suddenly felt
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  Speaker 2: his ears and his lips and his nose and his
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  Speaker 2: feet He's whole. Magnificent moment in the scriptures, and we
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  Speaker 2: race by them to go on to the end of
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  Speaker 2: the narrative, but we can't do that. This miracle has occurred.
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  Speaker 2: This divine power that is housed within the divine Son
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  Speaker 2: of God passes through him at the touch, and the
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  Speaker 2: man is cleansed. He must have stood and looked at
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  Speaker 2: the Savior in Eye to eye. And though the words
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  Speaker 2: are not recorded, the feelings are obvious. Surprising for his
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  Speaker 2: own ears, he listens to a stern warning and a dismissal.
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  Speaker 2: Jesus doesn't turn around to gather a crowd. He doesn't
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  Speaker 2: ask others to come and stand in line and watch
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  Speaker 2: the healer. He isn't about that kind of thing. That's
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  Speaker 2: a twisting of what scripture sets forth. There's an authentic healing, cleansing.
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  Speaker 2: The changes came over the man instantaneously. And naturally, his
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  Speaker 2: first thought was, wait till I tell the people I love.
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  Speaker 2: And Jesus says, don't do that. Look at his words.
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  Speaker 2: He sternly warned him, immediately sent him away, saying, See
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  Speaker 2: that you say nothing to anyone, but go show yourself
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  Speaker 2: to the priests and offer your cleansing, what Moses commanded
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  Speaker 2: as a testimony to them. What is that all about?
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  Speaker 2: I mean, when I put myself in this man's shoes
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  Speaker 2: as I'm sitting in my study going over this passage
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  Speaker 2: of Scripture, I find myself standing up at my desk
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  Speaker 2: and going, this is great. You do a lot of
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  Speaker 2: strange things when you study all alone. And I am
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  Speaker 2: absolutely beside myself thinking how magnificent it must have felt.
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  Speaker 2: And Jesus says, don't tell anybody. Why would he say that?
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  Speaker 2: In fact, the word stern warning is the word for snort.
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  Speaker 2: Isn't that an interesting thing? Snort. It's the... from the
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  Speaker 2: Greek term for getting angry. It literally means to flare
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  Speaker 2: the nostrils. In case you can't picture that, remember the
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  Speaker 2: last time your wife was mad at you. You'll get
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  Speaker 2: the idea right away. I know when I see flared nostrils,
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  Speaker 2: I got to go buy a dozen roses really quick
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  Speaker 2: just to make things good. Just having a little fun
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  Speaker 2: with you. He says to him, don't run out and
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  Speaker 2: spread the word. Go to the priest. What's that about? Well,
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  Speaker 2: before I answer that question, understand Jesus is guarding the
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  Speaker 2: timing of his messianic identity. It's not time to do so. Second,
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  Speaker 2: he's not interested in increasing the crowds. He's never interested
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  Speaker 2: in increasing the crowds. He's most concerned that this cleansing,
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  Speaker 2: this miracle, stand the test of an official examination. Leviticus 14,
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  Speaker 2: 1 to 57, tells you exactly what is involved. And
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  Speaker 2: you wouldn't believe the details they went through. William Hendrickson
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  Speaker 2: sort of summarizes it. The offering that the victim brings,
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  Speaker 2: who is now cleansed, Consistent of two clean living birds,
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  Speaker 2: one had to be killed. In its blood, the other
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  Speaker 2: bird had to be dipped and then released. The blood
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  Speaker 2: of the slain bird was then sprinkled over the healed man,
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  Speaker 2: in fact, seven times. He was then pronounced cleansed. When
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  Speaker 2: the priests hear that it was Jesus who had so
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  Speaker 2: completely and instantly cleansed this man, they will receive the
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  Speaker 2: irrefutable testimony to Jesus' power and love. That's the point.
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  Speaker 2: But the 57 verses go into touching the earlobe, putting
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  Speaker 2: the blood on the fingers, going through a ritual that
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  Speaker 2: is extensive. Jesus said, go to the priest, have all
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  Speaker 2: of that done. Let there be no question left. Because
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  Speaker 2: the man could say he's cleansed, but not yet have
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  Speaker 2: grown back the digits. Who knows? But he says, don't
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  Speaker 2: tell anybody. One wag has suggested that the surest way
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  Speaker 2: of getting the word out is to tell someone this
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  Speaker 2: is confidential. And I will tell you from very sad experiences,
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  Speaker 2: finding purity is easier than finding confidentiality. Will you learn
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  Speaker 2: in your growing up years as a Christian to keep
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  Speaker 2: your mouth closed when someone says this is confidential? Will
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  Speaker 2: you make yourself a promise before God that from now on,
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  Speaker 2: when someone says, don't tell anybody, that you won't tell anybody?
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  Speaker 2: The church would be a much healthier place if the
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  Speaker 2: tongues would cease, meaning wagging tongues. But the man, oh my,
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  Speaker 2: he just didn't quite get that clear, did he? Begins
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  Speaker 2: with but, appropriately, he went out and began to proclaim
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  Speaker 2: it freely and to spread the news around to such
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  Speaker 2: an extent. Here's the part of the reason. Jesus could
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  Speaker 2: not any longer publicly enter a city, but he stayed
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  Speaker 2: out in unpopulated areas and they were coming to him
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  Speaker 2: from everywhere. Isn't that often the way it is? Here
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  Speaker 2: is a man of God. Here is the son of
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  Speaker 2: God who does this great work, has an aversion to
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  Speaker 2: enlarging his audience. And wouldn't you know it, people came
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  Speaker 2: from everywhere, but they came for the wrong reasons. They
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  Speaker 2: didn't come for their soul to have surgery, but for
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  Speaker 2: their bodies to be healed. That's a real temptation for
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  Speaker 2: some preachers. A.T. Robertson puts it this way. Some preachers
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  Speaker 2: are not so disturbed by the onrush of crowds. I
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  Speaker 2: would love to remove from every pastor's conference the mention
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  Speaker 2: of how big everybody's church is. How wonderful it would
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  Speaker 2: be to meet with a group of ministers who don't
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  Speaker 2: once mention the size of their membership. It means nothing.
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  Speaker 2: If size meant something, the cults are winning. Through Jesus'
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  Speaker 2: magnificent ministry, people came from everywhere. In fact, Luke adds
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  Speaker 2: that he would frequently go to a quiet place to
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  Speaker 2: pray out in the wilderness to get away from the crowds. Well,
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  Speaker 2: the story ends, but not the application. I think there
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  Speaker 2: are two things I want to leave with all of you,
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  Speaker 2: and then I want to tell you a true story
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  Speaker 2: before I finish. The first is this. Our need for
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  Speaker 2: relief is as crucial as the leper's need. Our need
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  Speaker 2: for relief is as crucial as the leper's need. If
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  Speaker 2: you're here without Christ, you need to know that your
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  Speaker 2: condition is considered by God unclean. You're not told to
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  Speaker 2: shout unclean when you come into the presence of God's people.
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  Speaker 2: Of course not. God's grace has nullified that need. But nevertheless,
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  Speaker 2: you are just a soil deep within. Deep within all
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  Speaker 2: our hearts, there's a cesspool of sinfulness. As one wag
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  Speaker 2: put it, if depravity were blue, we'd be blue all over.
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  Speaker 2: We're all depraved. We're all sinners. May we never forget that.
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  Speaker 2: You're in pain. Healing can come only from the living God.
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  Speaker 2: Your sinful forgiveness can only come from the living God.
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  Speaker 2: You fear the grief and the tragedy of death. The
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  Speaker 2: hope of resurrection can only come from God. You have
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  Speaker 2: the stigma of shame in your life. Relief and cleansing
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  Speaker 2: can only come from the living God. Our need for
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  Speaker 2: relief is as crucial as that leper's need. The second
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  Speaker 2: thing I learned from this is our response to Jesus
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  Speaker 2: needs to be the same as the leper's initial response.
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  Speaker 2: If you are willing, you can make me clean. Anyone
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  Speaker 2: who comes to Christ through the cross can come in
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  Speaker 2: the same way. I acknowledge that I am a sinful person.
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  Speaker 2: I acknowledge that I am deep down inside diseased.