The Gospel of Luke: The Leper, the Lame, and the Lord | faith | humble | humility

Sermon Date: 12/22/24
Speaker: Brian Crawford
Luke 5:12-26
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The Leper’s faith in this verse is an active and humble type of faith. Leprosy is painful and debilitating. (Luke makes sure that the leprosy described is actually leprosy!) This man is in very bad condition - being "Full" of leprosy. But lepers in this time were not just impacted physically, but emotionally and socially. He was to live alone and dress/talk/act like a suffering man. They were even referred to as “the living dead” at that time.
But despite this, the Leper 1) gets close, breaking all social protocol. 2) fell on his face, believing Jesus to be Lord and being humble in His presence. This man’s faith is scandalous! The leper steps out into uncharted waters with uncertain outcomes on nothing but accepting the will of God. Praise the Lord, not only does Jesus have the ability to clean the body, but clean the sins on a man!
Because of the cleansing of Leper, the word gets out, and crowds started gather around Jesus. And the next miracle we see Jesus perform is healing the paralyzed man. The paralyzed man had to be lifted through the roofs to get around the crowds. These men doing this show incredible compassion to one in need. Again, this is a risky, active faith, just like the leper.
What do they do? The cut a hole in someone’s roof! They’re willing to take the risk because “all they have to do is reach Jesus.” God hears the pleas of a friend, for sure!
But in the moment, we see Jesus forgives the man’s sins instead of healing his legs! And the Pharisees start accusing Jesus of blasphemy in their minds. But Jesus perceives their thoughts, and outwardly says “why do you doubt?” And then takes it all a step further, healing the paralyzed man. He who has the power to heal, has the power to save. He wants others to see and believe!
When the Lord provides for us in any way, it is a reminder of the power of God and that he has already cleansed you of your sins!