The Mind of Christ
.... After preaching the Sermon on the Mount, as He returned to Capernaum, Jesus was approached by a leper who fell down and worshiped Him. And he said to Him: "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." (Matthew 8:2)..
.... Jesus had healed many people by this time, but he had never before encountered a leper -- and this particular man at a very advanced stage of the disease. The disciples must have wondered what He would do. Yet Jesus was moved with compassion and reached out His hand to touch Him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." and immediately the leprosy departed from him.
.... Jesus had healed many people by this time, but he had never before encountered a leper -- and this particular man at a very advanced stage of the disease. The disciples must have wondered what He would do. Yet Jesus was moved with compassion and reached out His hand to touch Him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." and immediately the leprosy departed from him.
.
.... Let's think about this for a minute! Here was the greatest miracle that Jesus had performed to date! His disciples must have been astonished beyond measure, and overcome with awe! Yet Jesus responded to the man by saying:
.... Let's think about this for a minute! Here was the greatest miracle that Jesus had performed to date! His disciples must have been astonished beyond measure, and overcome with awe! Yet Jesus responded to the man by saying:
.... "See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."
(Matthew 8:4)
.... Jesus commanded him not to tell anyone! The first time I read this, as a young Chrisatian, it thoroughly puzzled my way of thinking; but at the same time, something about the episode rang true in my heart. For I somehow knew, much deeper inside, that here was the spirit and life of the New Testament itself.
.
.... Or let's discuss another example. Jesus was taken by lawless hands, was bound, and brought to a mock trial. But through it all, He held His peace. He was beaten, buffeted, and mocked -- yet He remained silent to His accusers and tormentors.
.... Or let's discuss another example. Jesus was taken by lawless hands, was bound, and brought to a mock trial. But through it all, He held His peace. He was beaten, buffeted, and mocked -- yet He remained silent to His accusers and tormentors. ..
.... As the mockery continued, His opponents grew vehement. Finally, they condemned Him on the charge of blasphemy. Now picture being Jesus, and the verdict on your life was "Blasphemy!" What could be more personally antagonistic to Him? How much more personal and nasty could they get? Yet even now, He held His peace.
.
.... Next He was taken before Pilate who marveled that He would still answer nothing! He was scourged, beaten, and held to public ridicule, then crucified. And now at last He found something to say:
.... Next He was taken before Pilate who marveled that He would still answer nothing! He was scourged, beaten, and held to public ridicule, then crucified. And now at last He found something to say:
.... "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."
(Luke 23:34)
.... What is in the mind of Christ, so that He behaves in such ways? And who else but Jesus would say to us, and mean it:
.... "And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell."
(Matthew 5:30)
.... Jesus thinks in terms that are very different from our own, chiefly in His motivation and perspective. Each of these examples will be addressed and explained in the following postings. (Sorry to leave you hanging, but there are some further thoughts in the 'comments' section)To proceed to the next lesson, click here
Daily Bible Reading: John 19
posted by loren at 12:37 AM
4 Comments:
I’ve left you with some mysteries, but here’s something to think about in the story of the leper whom Jesus healed.
The Bible says that this man was full of leprosy. From head to toe he was leprous, so he was at a very advanced stage of the disease. This being so, it is possible that he contracted the disease as a child. Anyway, that possibility got me thinking because of an historical perspective I had once heard.
One would think that lepers would be bitter toward the rest of society, because their disease had caused them to be excluded. But there were stories where the opposite was true. Sometimes, lepers were found inside the cities at night, sitting outside the windows of their families, so lonely for them. And I thought of this leper as a child, sitting outside the window because he knew mom and dad were inside. And then I thought of the compassion Jesus showed him:
"Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me. Your sons shall make haste; your destroyers and those who laid you waste shall go away from you."
(Isa 49:15-17)
p.s. Under the Mosaic law, a leper was unclean. But if he ever became totally, 100% leprous, amazingly he was considered clean again. So when this man was 'full of leprosy' but still unclean, he was really about as bad a case as there could be.
By
loren, at 8/29/2005 12:01 AM
During His sufferings Jesus remained silent; but if you'd like to see what He was thinking, click here.
By
loren, at 8/29/2005 12:06 AM
Wow this is all quite a blessing. Thank you for the background on lepers.
Do you think it possible that Yeshua wanted people that were truly in desperation to get to him and not just people in need of quick fixes? Like the woman with an issue of blood. Seeking to not be denied though the crowd was pressing Yeshua? Just a thought.
This is interesting.
By
Bhedr, at 8/29/2005 11:54 PM
Hi Brian,
That's an interesting thought. I think the people who needed Him badly often had a hard time getting near Him, simply by their natural circumstances, and so it was a greater testimony of their faith that they persevered. I'm thinking of the paralytic, let down through the tiles of the roof, for example.
But actually, Jesus healed everyone who had need of healing, so I think I'd tend to place the difference more on our side than on His.
Jesus said at one point, "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them is lost before God." What He means, is that sparrows are so insignificant that it takes two of them put together to merit the least of our attention - a penny's worth - but God is concerned about even one sparrow. In fact (He says in the next verse), the very hairs of our head are all numbered. So He actually has a far greater attention to detail than we do, including many things we'd probably let slide.
By
loren, at 8/30/2005 12:24 AM
Post a Comment
<< Home