A man came to see Jesus who was full of leprosy. Leprosy was the dreaded disease of the time that required sufferers to leave their loved ones and wander alone. People wanted nothing to do with lepers for fear of contacting the disease and being stuck with the same fate. This man saw Jesus as his way back to society and away from this dreadful sentence. He fell on his face and begged Jesus for help.

The leper simply says to Jesus, “if you will you can make me clean.” The leper placed his faith in Jesus to solve his problem. He left it totally up to him. How often are we faced with difficulty only to try and power through instead of seek the help of the Lord? How different would those times be if we showed the faith of this leper?

Jesus is willing and stretches out his hand and immediately the man is made clean. His faith was rewarded and his solitude could finally come to and end as Jesus made him clean. Jesus charges him to show himself to the priest to adhere to the law and he could start the process of rejoining his family.

The fame of Jesus began to grow and many would come to him for healing. His ability to heal is the same for us spiritually now as it was for them physically at that time. Jesus can make us clean. Sin is the leprosy that spiritually causes us to be out there away from him. Jesus can take that sin away when we obey him and contact his blood.

Jesus also leaves us with a good example in this section of scripture. Even though his fame was growing, he would still withdraw to private places and spend time in prayer with the Father. We should all make time to talk to God on a routine basis. It needs to be a habit that exists in our every day.