(Text and Audio)
Title: Tell No One
Today we begin a new chapter in the Gospel of Matthew, both literally as we move from chapter 7 into chapter 8, and figuratively, in that Matthew’s Gospel is now going to focus on miracles and events in Jesus’ life over the course of chapters 8 and 9. Now, most of the material we will cover in the miracles of chapters 8 and 9 are also found in the Gospels of Luke and Mark, but the order of these miracles is quite different. In the Gospels of Luke and Mark, it seems that these miracles are recorded in chronological order, whereas in Matthew the arrangement of these miracles is topical.
And remember the main focus of the Matthew’s gospel: He is writing an account of the life, ministry, miracles, and passion of Jesus Christ in order to show the Jews that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah.
Matthew arranges his argument much like a court case to the Jews. He never misses a chance to show how Jesus’ life and sayings were fulfilling O.T. prophecies, he amplifies the very Jewish nature of Jesus and his teachings, and he arranges his material topically in order to hammer home each point he’s making.
Today we will look at the first of 10 miracles that occur in these two chapters. We will look at what the infirmary was, how Jesus healed it, and why he gave a very peculiar command to the man he healed.
Read/Pray
- The Belief Was Already In Place
I like this leper. I like what he says. I like how he says it.
Jesus is coming down off the mountain the multitudes are following him, amazed at what he’s just said to the, amazed at the manner in which he spoke with such authority, amazed that these words came from the son of a carpenter, not a Pharisee, not a Scribe, not a Sadducee, not the disciple of a well-known Rabbi, but a simple working class Jew from Galilee.
And here comes this leper, he comes and is immediately worshipping Jesus. His words are simple, but extremely noteworthy: “Lord, if you are willing, You can make me clean.”
Lord: The acknowledgement that Jesus is already his master.
if you are willing: the realization that Jesus may not be willing, but even if he says, “no”, He will still be this man’s Lord.
You can make me clean: The belief that Jesus had the power to do this miracle was already in place.
We see in Matthew 4:23-25 that Jesus has already done some miracles amongst the people, then, in the beginning of chapter 5 (seemingly chronologically) He goes up on the mountain and gives the sermon on the mount.
So my question is this: What caused the man to look at Jesus and come to the conclusion that he was his Lord, and able to save him from his leprosy? Was it that he saw Jesus perform miracles before? Was it the power of his teaching on the sermon on the mount? Was it both? Neither? With every possibility the man still had to make a decision on one fundamental question: Who is this Jesus of Nazareth?
Application: You need to decide, quite simply, if Jesus of Nazareth was telling the truth. If so, then you MUST believe he’s God. And if he’s God, then EVERYTHING is possible through Him.
Sometimes I think we miss this. We somehow make faith more complex than just asking ourselves, “Do I believe this?” And consider, later in Jesus ministry, when Jesus returns to his hometown, he refuses to do miracles there. Why? Because of their unbelief.
The question that always digs at my heart when I am reminded of Jesus attitude in Nazareth is this: How many times in my life have I not fully experienced my own savior because I have doubt that I should not have?
Sadly, I think, the answer is too often.
- “Leprosy”
I won’t spend a lot of time on this, but I do think it’s worth noting that the Greek word used here is “Lepros” and it’s a generic word meaning scaly or rough to the touch. It was used to describe many different types of skin disease, including leprosy, but it is not limited to mean only leprosy.
Most scholars believe that what this man had was not Hansen’s disease (which is modern day leprosy) but rather some other form of skin disease.
Anyone want to venture a guess as to why they think this wasn’t traditional leprosy?
Take answers.
Levitical law 15:7 forbids a person to touch a leper, making them ceremonially unclean. So there is an argument to be made that if this were the Hansen’s disease, Jesus violated the Law by touching the man. Now, I know what you are thinking: Didn’t Jesus “violate the Law” several other times according to the teachers of the Law (he and his disciples eating on the sabbath, not fasting, eating with “sinners”).
Agreed, but the other interesting piece of evidence that this may not have been Hansen’s leprosy comes from another encounter recorded in Luke 17:11-19 when Jesus heals 10 lepers. But in this case, they are far off, the do not come close to Jesus, and he doesn’t approach or touch them. Rather, he just tells them to go and show themselves to the priest, for he has made them clean.
Again, this isn’t a huge theological point, but I do think that the Greek language, combined with the Levitical law, combined with the evidence from other accounts could make a viable argument that the Lepros this man had was not traditional leprosy, but rather some other skin disease that Jesus could touch.
- The Reaction and Instruction
In verses 3/4 we see Jesus’ reaction to this man’s faith and then his explicit instructions to him.
Jesus responds simply by saying, “I am willing, be cleansed.” And immediately the man is healed. What is interesting is that in the case of the Levitical law the reason that people were to stay away from lepers is because they had been made unclean. Yet Jesus reaches out his hand, touches him, and instead of Jesus being made unclean, the man is made clean.
Think about the parallel there with the sin in our lives. We often hide our darkest sins and desires from each other, in part because we are ashamed, and don’t want to defile our brothers and sisters. We are frustrated with our own sin and we don’t want others to be exposed to it, lest they become infected with it.
This is especially true with men today. We think one small honorable thing we can do in the midst of rampant sin is to at least keep it to ourselves, so we don’t drag others down.
And that is why we often recoil when Jesus reaches for us. We say, “No Lord, I don’t want to infect you with my dirtiness. I don’t want you to see it. But his response is, “In touching you, you don’t make me unclean. I make you clean.”
So let us close down today by looking at three final questions:
Q: So why does Jesus tell the man to go to the priest?
(Take answers)
A: According to Jewish Law, if the man presented himself as cleansed, he would be able to re-enter Jewish society as “clean.” Think about the impact this miracle would have on Matthew’s intended audience. At the time of it’s writing (after A.D. 70) Christianity was being accused by the Jews of a religion that taught that Jesus wanted to do away with all things Jewish. This story would show the worth and significance that Jesus placed on being able to live as a Jew.
Q: Why Does Jesus tell the man to tell no one?
A: Two reasons: Practically, Jesus wants to avoid miracle seekers that could stifle Jesus’ main mission of teaching the people. Theologically, the time had not yet come for Jesus to fully reveal himself as the Messiah.
Q: Does the man obey?
A: No. Mark 1:45 “However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city…”
POINT: When the LORD gives you a command, even if you don’t understand it, obey anyway!