(Luke 5:12-16)
It is important for us to understand the will of the Lord and to believe in it. The power of the will of God is mighty indeed and it is to our benefit when we know his will, understand it and believe. Here in these few scriptures we see a prime example of the Lord’s will in action.
A man suffering with leprosy came to him seeking to be healed. However his words were interesting for he said, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” (Verse 12) This man recognised the power of God at work in and through Jesus. He recognised that it was by the will of God the Jesus did the mighty works he did. And most importantly, he believed in that power of God.
Jesus responded in kind understanding what the man said and the recognition that he had given to God. So Jesus said to the man, “I will; be clean.” (Verse 13) And the man was healed of this most debilitating disease. He received this healing because he had faith to be healed. But he also knew it would occur only by the will of God. And Jesus rewarded this man’s faith and told him that his healing and cleansing of this disease was according to and by the will of God.
But Jesus insisted the man go through the Jewish purification rites so that the law would be fulfilled. He told the man to go to the priest and show himself and make the required offerings under the law as a proof to the people of the healing he had received from God and to be obedient to the word of God. Jesus was not seeking glory for himself but insisted that all glory go to God and that the correct protocols be followed to ensure that the glory went to God.
Today we are in some ways like this man suffering leprosy. Today mankind is suffering all kinds of sickness from the debilitating effects of sin in their life. But like this man when we come to Jesus we make this same appeal to him saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”
How are we made clean and cleansed from our sins today? By the power of the New Covenant through the cleansing power of Jesus Christ. Now a “Covenant” is a “will” and it is the same Greek word translated in both cases. So it is by the will of God, the New Covenant, that we are made clean when we come to Jesus and ask for his forgiveness through repentance. When we are baptised into Christ Jesus we are made clean in Jesus, not as a removal of dirt from the body like a bath, but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ as Peter wrote. (1 Peter 3:21) When we come to Jesus in baptism through faith we are appealing to God to cleanse our spirits and our conscience from the sickness of sin. And God in his grace and mercy says to us as Jesus said to the leper, “I will; be clean.”
Praise be to God for this wondrous gift of healing. Not just the physical healing in our bodies, but the ability to cleanse to the depths of our soul and remove all manner of sin from our lives. All we must remember to do is to have faith and know in truth that Jesus came to take away the sin of the world.
(Picture sourced from ChristiansUnite.com https://clipart.christiansunite.com/)
Hi! I’m John, the owner, author, and editor of this site. Over the past 50+ years as a Christian I have been teaching, preaching and writing about the Bible to help Christians gain a deeper insight into the scriptures that are easily understood. I also answer specific Bible related questions, so feel free to contact me.
