1 Reassuring Characteristic Of Jesus That Should Give You Hope!
In Matthew 8:1-4 we read a story about Jesus being approached by a many who had leprosy and from this encounter we learn sometime very tender and true about Jesus. It is something that we all should remember when we are faced with difficult times and hardships.
“When he (Jesus) came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.’ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’ Immediately he was cured of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, ‘See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
Because of this mans disease he was assigned a place in society where he was to have very little contact with people. Leprosy is very contagious. Most of the time people with leprosy lived in colonies specifically for them. For a person with this horrible disease, there was very little human contact and as a result very little intimacy. People in this condition lived very lonely lives that were filled with desperation.
Jesus’ growing reputation of being able to heal the sick had obviously reached this man and for which provided him with hope. Out of this hope and after hearing that Jesus was back in his area, this man took a chance and left the life of isolation that he had been assigned to in order to come and see Jesus.
When the man finally gets to where Jesus was at we see him intentionally but with humility kneel down before Jesus to ask the unthinkable! The question this man asked Jesus wasn’t:
- Are you able to heal me?
- Or, am I worthy of your healing?
This man already knew that Jesus was more than capable of healing of him. He had no doubts about that! He had heard the reports of how Jesus had healed others over and over again. HE KNEW JESUS COULD HEAL HIM!
This man already knew that Jesus’ healing would not be based on whether he was worthy of being healed. I think the man already knew HE WASN’T WORTHY OF BEING HEALED!
The question this man was asking was:
Jesus Are You Willing To Heal Me?
It is as if this man was saying to Jesus, “Lord I already know you more than able to heal me and I know that I am not worthy of being healed but Lord would you still be willing to heal me?”
This man’s doubt was rested in the bed of Jesus’ willingness!
But isn’t that where most of our doubts rest when it comes to experiencing God’s help in our lives? We know God can! But is God willing to help us? We know God was willing to help Aunt Jackie but is He willing to help me? We know he was willing to help Uncle Bob but will He help me?
Then Jesus’ tender response is giving that not only should give us reassurance but teach us something new about the nature and character of God. How Jesus responds this man, should serve to let us know how he would also respond to us. Jesus says to this man with leprosy. After reaching out and touching this man, which is an amazing thing in and of itself, Jesus says,
“I’m Wiling!”
And immediately the mans leprosy was gone! First, Jesus answers the mans question and then He gives the man what his heart desired and need most.
Here’s what we can learn from this true story from the Word of God about Jesus:
Jesus is far more willing to do amazing things in our lives than we are willing to ask Him to do.
That’s right, the reason why we don’t experience more of God’s amazing power in our lives to meet our deepest needs isn’t because Christ is unwilling - it's because we don't believe He is willing and therefore, won't ask Him for help!