While…[Jesus] was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy…begged Him, “Lord, if You will, You can make me clean…Jesus…touched him, saying, “I will; be clean…[Jesus] charged him to tell no one…even more the report about Him went abroad, and great crowds gathered…to be healed…But, He would withdraw to desolate places and pray…[Jesus] was teaching…some men were bringing, on a bed, a man who was paralyzed…and let him down with his bed through the (roof) tiles into the midst before Jesus…He said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you…the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?…Jesus perceived their thoughts…answered…Why do you question in your hearts…But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He said…rise, pick up your bed and go home…amazement seized them all, and they glorified God…
Luke 5:12-26
Luke tells of two miracles Jesus performed that were unusual in the way they happened. In the first incident, a leper came to Jesus and begged Jesus that “if Jesus was willing…” This is the only time, in Scripture, where someone asked Jesus if Jesus was “willing” to do something. Our Incarnate God came to seek and to save His lost sheep. Miracles were a sign of Jesus’ authenticity that He came from God. But, this man humbled himself before Almighty God and begged for healing, only if Jesus was willing! Of course, Jesus was willing, stating, “I will…” before touching the man to heal him. Touching a leper was, also, not supposed to be done because leprosy was a contagious disease. But, our great Savior and Lord is sovereign over all things and touching contagion is NOT a problem for Him. Christians, when we sincerely humble ourselves before our Savior and Lord, Jesus, He will, in no way, ignore our prayers. We may not always get the answer we would like but, Jesus knows exactly what we need and when we need it. Let us remember that when we pray. Then, Luke tells of faithful friends, who, believing in the healing power of Jesus, went above and beyond their task to place their friend in front of Jesus. After miraculously healing the paralytic, Jesus knows what is in the hearts of the Pharisees and teachers who witnessed the healing miracle. Rather than glorifying God along with the amazed crowd there, these evil religious leaders were more concerned that Jesus was a blasphemer than God Incarnate! Today, Christians need to be glorifying God when a fellow Christian has met with good fortune from God, no matter what the circumstances are. Whether healing, salvation of a sinner, financial windfall, or anything that causes a Christian to rejoice, fellow Christians should rejoice with the fellow Christian and weep with the fellow Christian when misfortune occurs. We are family and we should act like family should at all times!
Source: S C Ball
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