“Jesus Takes Pity on Us and Cleanses Us”
Mark 1:40-45
2/15/09
Leprosy is not a disease that we in this country are
familiar with first-hand. Read AIDS, Alzheimer’s, or the
final stages of cancer in its place in today’s Gospel lesson and
you’ll get the picture. A man came to Jesus with a disease,
not unlike these more familiar diseases which are found in our
country. It was a disease that if left untreated would eventually
take his life. But like AIDS, Alzheimer’s, and certain
cancers there was no cure for his disease. There were no doctors,
no medication that could help him. What’s more, it was a
disease that carried with it a certain social stigma as well - again,
not unlike AIDS, Alzheimer’s, and cancer today. People who
had leprosy were outcasts, shunned by the rest of society, for fear
that they would infect others with whom they came into contact.
The man’s only hope, then, was Jesus. He
had heard that Jesus had the power to heal people of their diseases,
and so he hoped that Jesus would do the same for him. But would
Jesus be like the rest of society and shun him? All he could do
was beg. He knew he was in no position to demand anything of
Jesus. He literally threw himself at Jesus’ feet, imploring
Him, saying, “If you are willing, you can make me
clean.” And to his surprise Jesus was willing. Not
only did He not shun the man, but He touched him with His bare hand and
said, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately
the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.
Now, instead of AIDS, Alzheimer’s, or cancer
read “sin” in place of “leprosy,” and see the
man as yourself. Like these other diseases, sin, if left
untreated, will also result in death. But the death that it
brings is worse than simple physical death. Sin is not only the
cause of all physical ailments and death, but it also results in
spiritual death leading to eternal death under God’s wrath in
hell. Unlike many of the incurable diseases we face in this life,
however, sin actually does have a cure. But it’s not a cure
that we can come up with ourselves. The many attempts at coming
up with one of our own cures only results in a temporary fix, a masking
of the disease, with the result that we are deceived into thinking that
our sin has been cured. For example, many people think they are
free of this disease by the fact that they are good people and do good
things for others. They don’t see any symptoms of this
disease in their lives. They either believe they have no sin at
all or if they do have sin, they’re capable enough of taking care
of it themselves. Jesus alone, however, is the cure for
sin. He’s the only cure that God has given for sin.
He manifested this not only in curing people of their physical
ailments, but also in forgiving them their sins. On one occasion
a paralytic was brought to Jesus for physical healing. Jesus told
him his sins were forgiven. At this some of the scribes who heard
Him said, “Why does this man speak like that? He is
blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” But
Jesus said, “Which is easier? To say to the paralytic,
‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up
your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of
Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” - He said to the
paralytic - “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go
home.” And the man immediately picked up his bed and went
out before them all. And this was just one incident where Jesus
showed that He was not only the cure for all physical ailments but the
cure for sin as well.
So, we’ve all got this disease called sin that
if left untreated will result in both temporal and eternal death.
Jesus is the cure for sin. But now the question that might be
plaguing us is whether or not Jesus wills to heal us. Sure, He
may be willing to heal others, but is He willing to heal me. My
sins are really big. Perhaps He’ll turn me away, heaping
more guilt and shame on me for what I’ve done. But Jesus is
a really big Savior for really big sinners. Truthfully, we must
all confess that we are really big sinners. Anyone who thinks
they’re not that big of a sinner or that their sins are rather
small and insignificant aren’t in need of Jesus. Jesus only
takes terminal cases, and we are all such cases. Your sins may
not be the same as mine, but they’re all just as lethal no matter
what size they are. How big does a virus have to be, after all,
to take you down and land you in bed for a week?
So, the size of your sin is not what matters.
It’s the size of your Savior that matters. Jesus can handle
all your sins. The question is, Is He willing to cure you of your
sins? And the answer to that question is Yes, He is. As
with the man who had leprosy, Jesus sees you in your wretched state and
has compassion on you. He is not angry with you on account of
your sin. You don’t need Him to condemn you or judge you;
Moses and the Law have already done enough of that to you. He
doesn’t shun you, shouting out “Unclean, unclean!”
after you. Instead, He touches you with His hand and says,
“I’m willing; be cleansed.” And your sin is
removed.
Jesus told Nicodemus one night, “For God did
not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that
the world through Him might be saved.” Jesus didn’t
come to condemn you for your sin. Instead, He came to save you
from it. In His compassion for you, He came to heal you of this
spiritual leprosy. And the way He did this was by becoming
infected with your disease Himself. Not only was He not afraid of
becoming contaminated with your affliction, but that was His intent all
along. In His Baptism Jesus allowed your sin to attach itself to
Him, so that He could suffer all its consequences - God’s wrath
and death - in your place on the cross, then overcoming them with His
resurrection from the dead. And in this way He has become the
antidote for your sin.
The way He gets this antidote to you is through the
cleansing waters of your Baptism and His Word. These are the
means whereby Jesus touches you with His hand, speaks His healing Word
to you, and cleanses you today. And we are given two examples of
this in both the O.T. lesson as well as the Gospel text for
today. In the O.T. lesson we see an example of baptismal healing
where the Word of God was attached to the water of the Jordan River, so
that Naaman had the promise that if he washed in that water his leprosy
would be cured. At first, it seemed silly to Naaman to do such a
thing. The water of the Jordan was not only dirty, but it
wasn’t the water of his homeland. To some the water of
Baptism is also offensive. “How can water do such great
things?” they ask. But it’s not the water alone that
does them, but the Word of God which is attached to the water and faith
which trusts in that Word connected to the water. Baptism has
God’s promise that he who believes and is baptized will be
saved. The Word of God says that Baptism washes away sin and that
Baptism now saves you. When you believe God’s Word, you
have what it promises - the forgiveness of sins, life, and
salvation. Baptism does what the Lord says it does. It is
where the blood of Jesus Christ, which was shed on the cross, is
sprinkled upon you and cleanses you from all sin. In
today’s Gospel text, we don’t see any mention of Baptism
there, but we do have Jesus telling the man that he’s
cleansed. Cleansing takes place through a washing. Though
the man hadn’t received the washing yet, he received the Word
which would later be connected to the bath he would receive in the Name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
This is the washing that all disciples of Jesus
receive, a washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit, a
washing that cleanses you of all unrighteousness, so that like Naaman
you come forth from its waters like newborn babies, completely healed
of the leprosy of sin. And where sins are forgiven the
consequences also are removed. Physical death remains
temporarily, but it is no more harmful than physical sleep for the
Christian. Death cannot hold onto us; it’s sting has been
removed, it’s fangs pulled. We are promised the
resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. When we die we
go to be with the Lord in paradise.
And so you have received the cure for sin and
continue to receive it as Jesus gives you Himself through His Word and
Sacraments. This is great news! What if some antidote to
death were developed, so that if anyone received it he’d never
die? Imagine the multitudes of people that would give everything
they owned to receive such a vaccination! But this is exactly
what we are given in Baptism for free, Jesus having paid for it Himself
with His blood. It seems strange, then, that Jesus tells this
former leper not to say anything to anyone about his cleansing.
Shouldn’t the good news be broadcast? Are we to take this
to mean that we may not tell anyone about our own cleansing and what
Jesus has done for us? Here we must see that this command of
Jesus is not for us, but it is given only to this man. It was
necessary at that time, because as we see from the text, as a result of
this man’s disobedience to Jesus’ command the crowds became
too great to allow Him to enter into the towns. Instead, they had
to come out to Him in what Mark calls the “desolate
places.” We, on the other hand, may broadcast the good news
about Jesus to the world. In fact, the Church is given the
command to proclaim the Word, to make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit. Wherever you are, wherever God has placed you in your
various callings in life, you may tell others of the cure and cleansing
you have received from Jesus, so that they too might be cured and
cleansed by Him.
Jesus’ compassion is boundless. There is
no one who falls out of the bounds of Jesus’ compassion.
Many may exclude themselves from His compassion, but He will turn no
one away who comes to Him imploring Him to have mercy on them.
Nor is His compassion limited to a certain number or quality of
sin. You cannot sin too big or too much that Jesus will not have
compassion on you. Nor is His compassion dependent upon how good
your repentance is. Jesus’ compassion is not earned or
deserved. It’s given freely.
David writes, “As a father shows compassion to
His children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear
Him.” And Jeremiah writes, “His compassions never
fail.” Hear His healing words of forgiveness spoken to you
again today, receive His healing touch, and be cleansed of all your
sins. Then come to the Table to eat and drink His body and blood,
given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins. He
doesn’t invite the healthy but the sick. It’s them He
came for. On them He wishes to show His compassion, now and
forever. Amen.