A Word in Season: Merciful and Mighty (Matthew 8:2-3)

At the beginning of Matthew chapter 8, a leper comes to the Lord Jesus Christ.

In that society at that time, leprosy made a man, a woman, whoever had that disease unclean in every sense.

They were cut off from other people, and they were cut off from God and his worship.

They were outcasts. And this man draws near to Jesus Christ, and he worships him.

He bows down before him. He comes with a confidence in his power to help him.

He recognizes at least something in the Lord Jesus Christ of his divine majesty.

He may not have been able to put that into words so much, but there's a recognition that here is someone with power to save and to bless.

But there's a hint of concern. There's an awareness of his sovereign power.

Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean. And there's a great weight that hangs upon that, isn't there?

If you are willing. There's no question of his ability. There's no doubting of his power to do it.

The only concern that this man has is whether or not there is compassion enough in the heart of the

Christ to meet his desperate need, to restore him to fellowship with God and with men.

He feels his desperate uncleanness, and he knows that here is someone who can make him clean.

And so he comes, and he puts this question to the Lord Jesus, if you are willing.

And this man's whole future hangs upon that if. If the Lord Jesus turns his back upon him, if the

Lord Jesus turns up his nose at him, if the Lord Jesus disdains him in disgust, then he is still outside.

He's still far gone, and there's no one else to whom he can go. And so he comes, and worshipping, he casts himself upon the mercy and compassion of the almighty

Christ. And the Lord Jesus put out his hand and touched him.

Now at this point, he probably doesn't need to say, I am willing. The fact that he's touched him, the fact that the

Christ has crossed that gulf in order to lay his clean hand upon the unclean man speaks volumes.

But he does speak, I am willing. Be cleansed.

What joy must have flooded that man's soul when he saw the willingness and felt the willingness of the

Lord Jesus Christ to deal with him. Now normally, a man who touched a leper would become unclean himself.

Such is the virtue of our Lord Jesus Christ that rather than the leper making him unclean, he makes the leper clean.

And yet even in that transaction, there is a potent symbolism with regard to the whole work of salvation.

We might come to the Lord Jesus Christ and we are caked with our own sin, our transgression weighs us down, our iniquities are more than we can number.

Perhaps you know that Jesus is able to save, perhaps you've heard enough about him, you've understood something of his perfect humanity and his glorious divinity.

You know that he's the son of God and yet the question in your soul is, is he willing?

Is he willing? Well look at how he deals with this leper. Look at his willingness to reach out and touch this man to make him well.

And see in that at least a hint of his great work of redemption, willing to come to sinners like us in order that he might make us clean and take to himself the stain of our sins in order to deal with it and carry it away forever.

That touch of Christ to the unclean, that assurance of compassion,

I am willing, be cleansed, willing and able, merciful and mighty.

That is the confidence of every sinner, that is the joy of our hearts and that is why you and I can come to this

Jesus confident that he is both willing and able to save all who trust in him.