Jesus Is Willing (February 16, 2023)
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God…” (Romans 3:23).
During His earthly ministry, Jesus went about doing
good deeds…healing the diseased, casting out demons, and raising the dead.
Scripture says, for example, that after delivering His famous Sermon on the
Mount, Christ, followed by great multitudes, came down from the mountain and
was confronted by a leper who worshipped Him, pleading “Lord,
if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Jesus responded by reaching out and touching this
social outcast saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately
his leprosy was cleansed.” (Matthew 8:1-3) This biblical passage
shows the deity of the incarnate Christ in action in human history and speaks
to us of Jesus’ continuing willingness to heal every individual of the deadly
virus of sin that has infected the whole of mankind. Jesus was willing to offer
mercy to this unfortunate leper because of his faith, and the unmerited favor
of His grace is available to all who trust the LORD today!
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus
our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
Leprosy, a chronic infectious skin
disease, is often viewed as a symbol of the destructive power of sin that has
corrupted humanity and doomed us all to death. In ancient Israel, those with
leprosy were so despised that they were required to live outside their
community, cut off from their own people. In the same way, sin has separated
all of us from a righteous God who must ultimately judge and punish our innate
human rebelliousness. But our gracious heavenly Father loves us to the extreme
that He gave His only Son to bear the burden of our sins on the cross so that
we can be freed from bondage to spiritual death and receive His undeserved gift
of everlasting life. There is nothing we can do to earn such divine favor; we
receive God’s mercy and forgiveness as a gift exclusively by faith in Christ. As He
responded to the leper, Jesus is more than willing to pardon and cleanse every
lost sinner who invokes His saving name believing!
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