I Am Willing

“While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean’.’ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘be clean!’ And immediately the leprosy left him.”  Luke 5:12-13 (NIV)

The Man’s Desperation

• Outrageous Behavior - Falls to his face begging

• Conditions of Leprosy (Disease)

  • Physically, your body slowly rots away

  • Emotionally, you were cut off from the community, had to live separately and shout ‘unclean’ to warn others

  • Psychologically, you will die and it will likely be alone

Jesus’s Willingness

• Outrageous Behavior - Jesus touches a man with a contagious skin disease

• Conditions of Leprosy (Healing)

  • Physically, immediately the leprosy left him

  • Emotionally, goes to be restored to the community through the priest and sacrifice

  • Psychologically, knows he experienced a miracle and shares the good news

Our Experience

• Behavior - How willing are we to beg for Jesus to meet our needs? Are there limits to what we will do? What determines those limits?

• Conditions of Leprosy (Sin)

  • Physically, starts small and spreads in us & is contagious for those around us

  • Emotionally, damages our relationship with God, others, creation, and even ourselves

  • Psychologically, it leads to death and we cannot save ourselves

• Gospel Message

  • Jesus saves us when we cannot save ourselves

  • “I am willing” - Jesus is the healer, the priest, and the sacrifice

  • Our job is only to ask

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