WILLING
Matthew 8:1-3 Large
crowds followed Jesus as He came down the mountainside. (2) Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached Him
and knelt before Him. "Lord," the man said, "if You are willing,
You can heal me and make me clean."
(3)
Jesus reached out and touched him. "I am
willing," He said. "Be healed!"
And instantly the leprosy disappeared.
Lepers were deemed unclean, untouchable, and from a human
standpoint, beyond hope. Lepers were not sent to the physician, but to the
priests who would offer no healing balm, no poultice of relief, instead they
would set the individual aside to see what God would do. Would the infection
prove to be temporary? Would it be healed? Or would it prove to be an illness
of great judgment? Once declared unclean by the priests the diseased individual
was shunned, put outside the city and commanded to cover their mouth and
proclaim their uncleanness as they made their way from one place to the next. Being
shut out from the city meant they were also shut out from the temple and all
things holy.
But here we have Jesus, our great High Priest who reaches out
and touches the untouchable, giving hope to the hopeless and healing the
un-healable. While doing so He says, “I am willing. Be healed.”
The unclean man had faith that Jesus had the power to heal.
The only question left was whether Jesus was willing. A man who may not have
felt the touch of a human hand in years is suddenly touched by the Divine and
healing pours into him and the disease is gone. It is disappeared.
When you are ill, what is the first thing you do? Reach for
the aspirin? The cold medicine? The doctor’s phone number? I believe all of
these things have their place, but as a believer shouldn’t we turn to Jesus
first? How will we know if He is willing or not unless we ask? “You have not
because you ask not.” (James 4:2b My own paraphrase)
I wonder how often He is willing, but we are not. Several
years ago I was pastoring a small congregation or about 35 people. One Sunday
morning I felt strongly impressed to ask those who were ill to come forward for
prayer and anointing. There were two ladies in the congregation that day who
both suffered terribly from diabetes. One came forward the other did not. The
one who did was anointed and prayed over. A week later she had testing done and
there was no sign of diabetes in her body.
I asked the other lady why she didn’t come forward. Her reply
was something to do with not wanting to steal someone else’s thunder. She
continued to suffer from her illness for many years until the symptoms of it
eventually took her life.
Jesus is able and often willing to heal. Let us ask and ask
and ask until the door is opened unto us.
Father in heaven, Thank You for the healing power You have
manifested to us through Jesus and Your Holy Spirit. Please continue to grant
miraculous healing to Your saints and to the lost who thereby may be drawn to
Your saving grace. In Jesus Name, AMEN!!!
