Matthew 8:1-4 “When Jesus had come down from the mountain, great crowds followed him; and there was a leper who came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.” He stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I do choose. Be made clean!” Immediately, his leprosy was cleansed. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” Today's episode calls us to be brave like the man with leprosy and to come to the Lord just as we are and ask Him to make us clean! Music: "Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Come As You Are Series - The Man With Leprosy
Matthew 8:1-4 “When Jesus had come down from the mountain, great crowds followed him; and there was a leper who came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.” He stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I do choose. Be made clean!” Immediately, his leprosy was cleansed. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
This story of the man with leprosy is an excellent example of someone brave enough to come to the Lord, despite the religious and social laws that forbade him from doing so. Back when Jesus walked the earth, “The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face, and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’... He must live alone; he must live outside the camp.” (Leviticus 13:45–46) While it wasn’t a civil crime to be around people, it was a religious and social violation that carried serious consequences — it cut you off from worship, fellowship, and daily community life.
This man would have known the consequences of coming up to Jesus and talking with Him. He would have known it was forbidden, and yet he was willing to risk it all for the chance that Jesus might heal him. Can we be that brave? Can we approach Jesus with all of our baggage, with the chance that He might be able to heal us, too? What if Jesus could heal your heartache? What if Jesus could heal all of your physical ailments? What if you didn't have to keep feeling whatever you are feeling?
Life doesn’t have to get worse before you come to the Lord. Life doesn’t have to get better before you come to the Lord. This man came to Jesus just as he was. He knew he shouldn’t. He knew he wasn’t good enough to go up to Jesus and ask for anything. He knew he could get in trouble for asking Jesus for anything. And yet, he knew he needed Jesus to make him clean. He was willing to take the chance that Jesus could change his whole life. And guess what? Jesus did! He will do the same for you if you ask Him.
The man said to Jesus, “Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.” He was showing Jesus that he knew how powerful he was. He was trusting in Jesus’s ability. He had the faith he needed to ask Jesus to heal him. Do you remember what Jesus said? He said, “I do choose. Be made clean!” Jesus will say the same for you. He wants all of us to be clean. He wants all of us to be healed and whole. He wants all of us to come to Him and let Him help change us. Can we do that? Can we be brave and ask Jesus?
Perhaps some of our hesitation to ask Jesus is that He might say no. I mean, the man with leprosy said, “If you choose, you can make me clean.” What if Jesus doesn’t choose to? What if we ask and He says no, what then? Asking Jesus for a healing takes a level of vulnerability that isn’t always easy, especially if others have hurt us in the past. If we feel we aren’t worthy, then it makes sense we would be nervous to go and ask Jesus for help. What if He says no, and then we are embarrassed that we even asked in the first place?
I used to be someone who hated to ask for something unless I knew the answer was yes. I had a somewhat irrational fear of being told no. I would refuse to return things to the store if they didn’t fit me or if I didn’t like them. I would always have Tony do it because I would be afraid they might tell me no, and I would feel stupid for even asking. I would be afraid to go up and ask if my kids could exchange their Happy Meal toy for another one, because what if they said no? It affected so many parts of my life, and yet I just couldn’t do it. It’s one of those things where you have a fear, and then shame about that fear, and then it just adds up.
For instance, I would want to just go ask if my kids could exchange their toys, but I was afraid they would say no, and then I would feel embarrassed. Then I would probably start to cry because that is what I do when I am nervous or when I feel embarrassed. Then I would feel even worse because I would be crying for no reason, and so I would cry even more. Then I would also feel bad because my kids really wanted the other toy, and I just couldn’t go up and ask.
Eventually, I learned to just ask. It is not a big deal if they say no. You just say, Ok, thanks anyway. I didn’t cry when they said no. I didn’t feel stupid when they said no. Actually, I doubt anyone ever said no. Who cares which toy the kids have? It is very rare that anyone at a store will say you can’t return something. So, most of my fears were not really necessary. Yet, they were very real and kept me from things that I would have liked to do.
I get why it might be hard for you to come to the Lord as you are, especially if you fear rejection. I want to assure you that the Lord is different than anyone you have met in this world. He doesn’t reject His children. He welcomes us with open arms anytime we turn back to Him. You might think you are different because you have turned away from him or turned your back on him too many times to count. It’s okay, he still loves you and is still waiting with open arms for you to come back to him.
What I love about this story of the man with leprosy is that leprosy is contagious. That is why those who had it needed to be separate from the community. However, when the man encountered Jesus, instead of the leprosy infecting Jesus, Jesus made the man clean. The good in Jesus, His love, peace, and healing touch, can make you clean too. All you have to do is be around Jesus, and you start to become like Him. He is infectious in all the good ways. His peace, love, and joy spread to all those around Him. When you are in His presence, you can’t help but start to feel all those things.
I understand that it is hard to come to Jesus like we are and ask Him for anything. We feel unworthy and unclean. Yet, it is worth the risk. Think about the outcome. In business, they always talk about your ROI (return on investment). If you can be brave and step out and come to the Lord just as you are, the return on that investment of trust is paid back a million times over. That first step of trust is hard, and there may be other times in your life when it is hard. Unfortunately, God doesn’t promise us an easy and stress-free life. He does promise us that He will always be there for us and that He will protect us and deliver us from our problems. He does promise us eternal life and all the provisions and strength we need to get through this life. He promises to use all things for our good. He promises so many things. We just have to be willing to take that first step and invite Him into this mess that we call our life. Can you be brave today? Can you ask the Lord into your life, even if you are afraid he might not come? I promise He will not reject you.
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless each person listening to this episode. Lord, we love you and we want to come to you as we are. We want to be brave like this man with leprosy and just walk up to you and ask you to make us clean. Lord, help us to trust that we can come to you and that you will not reject us. Please help us to believe the truth that you are always ready to welcome us back with open arms. Help us come to you Lord! We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name, Amen!!
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. If you have not checked out my book yet, CLICK HERE! If you would like a signed copy, please reach out to me, and I will be happy to sign a copy and mail it to you. I look forward to meeting you all here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day!
Today’s Word from the Lord was received in June 2025 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is, a vision “In every room, in every house, wherever you're sitting, you are filled to the capacity with angels. You are surrounded. Ceiling, floor, round, and round, as well as this room. As we were singing in tongues, as we were praising, they were marching in to surround us. And they were praising the Lord with us.”