“I am willing; be cleansed.”

“I am willing; be cleansed.”

 

 

 

 

 

“When Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, ‘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!’ And immediately the leprosy left him. Then Jesus ordered him, ‘Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing as a testimony to them’” (Luke 5:12–14).

 

 

 

While meditating on the words, I wish to receive the lessons given through this meditation.

 

(1)   Whenever I read the words, “a man who was covered with leprosy” (Lk. 5:12), I am reminded of the book “The Gift of Pain” written by Philip Yancey and Paul Brand, who ministered to leprosy patients for more than fifty years.  In that book, I am reminded again that patients with Hansen’s disease cannot feel pain and therefore do not notice when injuries worsen, and thus pain plays an important role in protecting the body.  In other words, when I think of a leper, I am again reminded of how dangerous it is not to feel pain.  As Philip Yancey and Paul Brand emphasize in that book, pain is not merely negative; because it performs the crucial function of protecting the body, the loss of pain sensation in leprosy leads to even more frightening consequences (Internet).

 

(a)    This is something I wrote on January 30, 2021, titled “The Benefit of Pain?”: “Is there any better way than pain to expose and reveal my sin to me?  Is there any better way than pain to let me know how deeply the Lord loves my soul?  God, through the pains of my life, exposes my sin so that I may confess and repent of it, and not only forgives all my sins (2 Cor. 7:10), but also delivers me from that pain and reveals to me the saving love of God, granting me peace (Isa. 37:17b; 38:17).  Therefore, I confess that the sufferings I experience within God’s good, pleasing, and sovereign will are beneficial to my soul (Ps. 119:71).”

 

(i)               This is from something I wrote on June 7, 2020, titled “The Benefit of Unceasing Pain Is …”: “The benefit of unceasing pain is that it makes me thoroughly realize and acknowledge that my help is not within myself (Job 6:10, 13), and confess that my help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth (Ps. 121:2).”

 

·        Something I wrote on March 15, 2018, titled “The Necessity and Benefit of Pain”: “Through pain, the Lord enlarges my narrow heart so that I may welcome and rely upon the great and mighty God.”

 

-        Something I wrote on February 28, 2024, titled “May This Blessing of Pain Be Upon the Sick Brothers and Sisters Who Cry Out to God in the Midst of Life-and-Death Affliction from Disease.”  “Hezekiah, at the prime of his life, thought he would die and not live out his full years.  He thought he would never again see God in this world or even living people. He believed his life would soon come to an end.  He groaned and suffered through the night, truly thinking his life was about to end.  He wept bitterly and cried out in exhaustion, ‘O God, I am about to die. Save me, please.’  God heard the prayer of King Hezekiah and extended his life by fifteen years.  And thus he said, ‘What shall I say?  I will walk humbly all my years because of this anguish of my soul’ (Isa. 38:10–15).  He said, ‘It was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. Y ou loved my soul, delivered me from the pit of destruction, and forgave all my sins’ (v. 17).  Such pain, bringing him to the threshold of death, humbled King Hezekiah and enabled him to realize the Lord’s love through the forgiveness of all his sins.  I pray that this blessing of pain may also be upon the brothers and sisters who are crying out to God in the midst of life-and-death crises caused by illness.”

n  Something I wrote on October 28, 2022, titled “To Feel Physical Pain Yet Not Feel the Pain of Conscience—Thus Failing to Realize One’s Sin—Is Spiritual Leprosy, I Believe.”  “In Numbers 12, Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses—their younger brother, yet a humble and faithful servant in God’s household, to whom God spoke face-to-face and clearly. Why then was only Miriam suddenly struck with leprosy? Why was Aaron not also struck with leprosy?  When Aaron saw that his sister Miriam had suddenly become leprous, with her whole body turning white, he said to Moses, ‘We acted foolishly.  Please forgive our sin. Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother’s womb with its flesh half eaten away.’  So Moses cried out to the Lord, ‘O God, please heal her!’ (Num. 12:1–13).  What I find interesting in this passage is that Miriam, having become leprous, likely could not feel physical pain, yet Aaron, seeing his sister’s body turned white with leprosy, felt pain in his conscience and realized that he and his sister had done a foolish thing (criticizing Moses). He pleaded with Moses to forgive them.  To feel physical pain yet not feel the pain of conscience—thus failing to recognize one’s sin—is what I believe spiritual leprosy is. I cannot deny that this is also a picture of myself.”

 

n  Something I wrote on April 5, 2012, titled “The Benefit of Suffering.” “The ‘great suffering’ God allows in our lives is meant to give us ‘peace’ (Isa. 38:17).  This is difficult to understand. How can we enjoy peace through ‘great suffering’?  It is because, through that great suffering, God ultimately leads us to repentance (vv. 2–3, 5), throws all our sins behind His back, and gives us peace.  For God loves our souls (v. 17).”

 

(2)   Continuing in Luke 5:12–14, I again focused on the words spoken by the man who was “covered with leprosy”: “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean” (v. 12).  The phrase that particularly drew my attention was “Lord, if you are willing …”

 

(a)    First, regarding the description “a man covered with leprosy”, the Hochma Commentary says: “In the Old Testament, the term ‘leprosy’ does not refer exclusively to what is today medically defined as Hansen’s disease, but includes a broad range of skin diseases (Lev. 13:1–59).  Because leprosy was a horrible and repulsive disease, lepers had to be isolated physically, socially, and psychologically.  Leviticus 13 lists seven categories of skin diseases, and lepers were ceremonially unclean.  They had to cry, ‘Unclean!’, to warn others not to approach, and they had to live outside the camp.  The rabbis believed that the healing of a leper was more difficult than raising the dead.  If a leper became clean, he could return to society only after offering the sacrifices prescribed (Lev. 14:1–32).  Luke’s expression, ‘a man covered with leprosy’, shows his careful observation and detailed recording of the nature and extent of the disease, as a physician” (Hochma).

 

(i)               Why did this leper plead, “Lord, if you are willing …”?  This question arose for me because, if I were that leper, I think I would have said to Jesus, “Lord, I want to be healed of this leprosy,” expressing my desire. I believe we generally ask God for what we want, not for what God wants.  One example is King Hezekiah, who was near death (Isa 38:1): “… please heal me and let me live.”

 

·        According to the Hochma Commentary, the leper knew well how incurable leprosy was.  Therefore, although he had heard that Jesus healed many sick people, he still doubted whether Jesus would have the intention to heal such a filthy and unclean disease.  He believed Jesus had the power, but was unsure whether Jesus had the will (intention) to heal him (Hokhma).

 

-        For example, early this morning I read in the “Praying for One Another” (KakaoTalk group) that the mother of a dear sister in Christ, Sister Park, was in critical condition from pneumonia and taken into the ICU, and the doctor told the family to be prepared and gather at 10 a.m. tomorrow. The sister was planning to spend the night alone in the hospital prayer room.  As I prayed, I believed that the Lord could heal her mother and save her soul, but I did not know the Lord’s will—leading me to an unavoidable doubt of sorts.  Yet, unlike the leper who said, “Lord, if you are willing …” (Lk. 5:12), I simply prayed, “Lord, please save Sister Park’s mother.”

 

(3)   Continuing in Luke 5:12–14, I focused on Jesus’ action in verse 13: “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man …”  This especially caught my attention.

 

(a)    Perhaps it is because of what the Hochma Commentary says: “Considering that lepers had to avoid all human contact and live in strict isolation, Jesus’ act of touching the leper was highly significant. Jesus later also touched a bier (7:14), another act ceremonially forbidden.  By personally touching the leper, Jesus showed His deep compassion, entering fully into the leper’s painful and shameful reality.  Furthermore, Jesus was breaking down the barrier that separated the unclean leper—isolated from society—from Himself, a member of normal society.  Jesus overturns false customs and wrong traditions, correcting what is distorted, breaking down barriers, and restoring what is severed so that unity may be restored” (Hochma).

 

(i)               Reading this commentary, I am reminded that we—Jesus’ disciples today—must also overturn false customs and wrong traditions, correct what is wrong, break down barriers, and restore what is broken, just as Jesus did.  To do this, we must first recognize the false assumptions and wrong traditions we ourselves hold.  The top priority is to discern them in light of Scripture—the absolute standard—and then, with faith, courage, and wise action, overturn them and correct what is wrong.  Just as Jesus, full of compassion, reached out and touched the leper who had always been isolated from society—entering deeply into the painful reality of one who suffered—we too must approach those whom society considers “unclean,” those isolated and living closed-off lives, with the love of the Lord, and serve them with compassion.

 

·        I still cannot forget a grace of God: I became acquainted with a certain sister through my Naver blog ministry.  After exchanging comments and emails for several years, I visited Korea for ministry, met her in Gangnam, shared a meal and coffee, and enjoyed fellowship in the Lord.  At that time, she shared with me that she was a lesbian.  It was the first time I had ever met a homosexual person in person after years of online conversation.  I found and reread an email that she sent me on October 20, 2010. It moved me again:  “Pastor… This morning I sat in the library reading your message.  The God who shows mercy… what a strengthening word.  Pastor… I feel so ashamed I want to hide somewhere. I am so ashamed of myself… I want to crawl into a hole.  My pride and the filthy heart I had tried to beautify are exposed plainly. Because homosexuality is not accepted by the world, seen with prejudice, and is a minority… I try to make it more beautiful… more dramatic.  It is actually nothing—just the same love that others have—but I try to make it seem different, special.  I make myself a victim. I make myself pitiful.  And yet I blame the other person… even though they have done nothing wrong… I blame them for not understanding my heart… even though I do not understand theirs either.  I am so ashamed of myself… weak as I am, I want to hide again… looking around for a place to hide. But I know that changing churches will not change anything. Because I will still be the same.  So today at dawn prayer, I prayed that the Lord would have mercy on me. I know that without the Holy Spirit I cannot change.  Please pray that I will look only to God, love Him, be satisfied in Him, fear only the Lord, and that the fire of the Holy Spirit will descend.  Please pray that these ugly parts of me will be transformed by the Holy Spirit.  Dear Pastor James, I thank you so, so much…”

 

(4)   When Jesus said, “I am willing; be clean” (Lk. 5:13), “immediately the leprosy left him” (v. 13).  Jesus then told him, “Don’t tell anyone.  Go to the priest and show yourself to him, and offer the sacrifices Moses commanded for your cleansing as a testimony to them” (v. 14). 

 

(a)    The reason Jesus told the leper to “go show yourself to the priest” was to follow the regulations of Leviticus 14, so that the priest—who had the authority to diagnose leprosy—could officially recognize his healing, and so that he could follow the purification laws and be restored to the community.  But beyond this, a deeper meaning is contained here: Jesus’ healing of the leper was intended to be “a testimony to them” of His messianic identity (Hochma; Internet).

 

(i)               “In Numbers 12, Miriam—who had opposed Moses’ authority—was struck with leprosy, and she was healed through Moses’ prayer.   Naaman was healed through Elisha.  Thus, in those days, healing from leprosy was not considered merely physical healing, but evidence of God’s gracious work that removed a curse.  Therefore, Jesus sending the healed leper to the priests as a testimony was meant to show that Jesus, who healed leprosy, was the true Christ.  It means that Jesus came as the Christ to free and deliver those who were under a curse” (Internet).

 

·          The purpose of Jesus’ coming into this world was to save you and me.  Jesus did not come simply to free us from an earthly nation, or to deliver us from poverty and give us economic prosperity.  Nor did He come primarily to bring about social justice.  Jesus came to forgive all our sins, to save us, and to give us eternal life—heaven—as a gift.