The Centurion’s Faith in the Authority of Jesus 百人隊長のイエスの権威への信仰

(Luke 7:1~10)  Also, Matthew 8:5~13.
 AS THIS IS OUR SECOND MIRACLE in our series of Parables and Miracles, so, let’s review.  A miracle is a sign, an act of power that is done in such a way as to, hopefully, bring people to a deeper understanding of the Power of God 神の力. Also a teaching point in the Power of Faith in God神への信仰による力and thirdly, the depth of God’s Love神の愛の深さ. 

   From our list that was handed out two weeks ago, many of the topics are, for the most part, well known so this will not be designed to cover the stories as one would in Sunday School classroom.  We really need to go deeper and in doing so, bring us face to face with how we live our lives in light of the facts we are shown.  If the Truth of the Gospel does not change us where we are, there is little hope for any change at all.  If that were the case, we would be lost.  We would have no hope and there would be no real living message of Hope and Love that is able to be shared with a hurting, hopeless world.  We will become as hopeless as the rest of the world.

   In fact, when people got to that level of hopelessness in the first century, the ONLY advice and cure for those woes would be to drink hemlock and die.  But, as Messagers of the Gospel of Jesus, there is more to life than a blended leafy espresso that kills you--we have the Message of Life centered on the Person and Teachings of Jesus; the Son of God.

   So, our story today.  Turn with me to Luke 7:1~10.

  Jesus ‘entered’ Capernaum.  “When Jesus had finished saying this”…the calling of the 12, Love your enemies, judging others, what goes in comes out, wise and foolish builders.  Then, this event. What we get now is a clear story of God’s interest in more than what appears to be a nice man from Rome.

   Capernaum was described as the ‘Home of Jesus’ (Matt 4:13) and the place where He called Peter, Andrew and the two sons of Zebedee, James and John and later He chose the tax collector Matthew, also known as Levi, who most likely worked at the customs house (Matt 9:9) there in town.  Later, Capernaum was the location of a House Church led by Peter himself.  Capernaum was destroyed and abandoned with the Arab conquest in about 640—never to be rebuilt.

   A Centurion 百人隊長worked there in the service to Herod Antipas. He was a leader of, most likely, 100 to 1,000 men and was well paid for his services.  Mostly men of great valor, a centurion was to be firm with his troops.  This army office was a little different.  He seemed, from the text, to be a warm, caring man who gave a lot of support to the local Jewish community.  He was not from the Hebrew nation but knew of the social and religious practices of the Jewish People.  He did not want to cause Jesus to become unclean by having Him come into his house.

   And he calls Jesus “Lord”.  He seems to understand just Who this was he was addressing.  Lord means so much more then than now.  Then—it has a strong meaning of position.  Of Power.  Of authority. 

   And yet, the Army man had a low opinion of himself.  “I am not worthy.” Have you ever felt that way? Not being worthy of coming into His presence.  By not having the real spiritual guts to come boldly into His presence.  And yet, the Word encourages us to do just that! Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

   Here we have the answer to many peoples fears of how to approach this God of the Bible.  He does not want sacrifices,  no blood offerings, no cutting of the flesh to gain His attention, no acts of self-effacement to earn His consideration.  We do not have to recite prayers over and over again. Our position for prayer is a humble heart.  Ps 149:6  “For the LORD sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground.” And Jesus is looking for that kind of position from this appeal. 

  The elders were satisfied with the man’s quality of life.  They said to Jesus: “This man deserves to have You do this.”  --Because of what he has done for us.  He had built our synagogue.  He loves our Nation.  Thought he is a Gentile, he is a good man—a really worthy person.

  They are saying a lot!  A Jewish person usually has little to nothing to do with any Gentile, but THIS man was way different! He might have paid the cost to build the Great White Synagogue shown here but not really this one, as it was built in the late 3^rd century.  But maybe one like it under it’s white stones!  In any case, the elders really liked the man.  “Do it for him…as he has done SO much for us!”

  ⁶ So Jesus went with them.

   Getting close to the house, who should come by but the friends of this officer of Rome.  They come with an explanation of what Authority meant to their friend.  What he really is showing Jesus—and us today, deals with FAITH.  It all has to do with the presence of Faith.  We learn from Scripture that Faith involves humility, gratitude and service.  The Centurion has all three.  

Three qualities: ３つの資質

1.    Humility (humbleness) 人間性—I am not worthy.
2.    Gratitude (thankfulness) 謝意—his way of giving back to the community.
3.    And Service (assistance) 奉仕—he had a history of helping the Jewish group.

   Just stop for a moment. Give yourself a little three point check-up.  How is your humility? A Jr High young lady once told me that SHE was the most humblest person in her class.  Not at all like this man.  Others blew his horn for him. 

   Are you a thankful person?  Is gratitude easy to come from your heart toward others and toward God Himself?  How do you live a life of thankfulness?  By being Thankful in ALL things is key. 全てに感謝することが鍵ですIt might need some practice but are you filled with gratitude?

   And service-assistance--once again it is not how much I do that counts.  It is service without strings attached.  I’ll help you so that I can get some praise.  I’ll do this so that it will look good on my college report.  I will serve in this capacity or position so that I will look good. How do you ‘rate’ in just these three areas of living?  Might need to return to this later today and get it straightened out—through prayer and some personal introspection. 

   In this next encounter, let’s look at Matthew’s account from Matthew 8:7, Jesus answers him with “I will go and heal him.” Listen to what the officer said: ⁸ The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”  This is the second time he calls Jesus ‘Lord!’ 主と呼ぶ

   Say ‘the word’? 「ことば」と言うWhat word is that?  Is it a special section of words said in a special way?  Is it by moving a prayer wheel? Singing a song perhaps?  Maybe repeating the Prayer of Jabez? In a Spiritual language only angels know?  The use of special prayer beads?  What is the Word and what kind of power does THAT word have?

   Answer: The kind of power that shows that Jesus HAS the Authority to bring healing to a very sick and dying man.

   And it seems that the Roman officer both understood that and believed it firmly!

   Here was his understanding.  He was a man of authority.  More than perfunctory, or mechanical. He had authority.  He could and did say to his men: “Go there!” and they went there.  “Come here!” and they would come.  “Do this!” and he would do it.  Jesus saw that the officer understood His own authority.  You don’t HAVE to come— “But just say the word and my servant will be healed.”  That is authority that gets things done.  That kind of authority can move people. That kind of authority was present in the Centurion.  And that kind of Authority was very much present in the Person of Jesus.

   When Jesus tells us to love our wives, He means it.  When Jesus tells us to love our enemies, He is not kidding around.  When Jesus tells us to make disciples for His Name sake, it is to be done.  There is no other way to deal with such authority.

   Unless we ignore Him altogether.  Does He have that kind of authority over His People?  The answer is YES.  Are we doing what He wants us to do?  The answer is: not all the time.  Why?  Does He have the authority over us? 

   Jesus sees in this man something that was lacking even in Israel. ¹⁰When Jesus heard this, He was amazed and said to those following Him, "Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.”

   This is like a neon light flashing!  This kind of Faith should be emulated or matched.  He believes that Jesus was a Man of authorityイエスは権威の人Here is a demonstration of true TRUST本当の信頼を見せてくれている, CONFIDENCE確信, complete REST IN THE AUTHORITY FOUND IN JESUSエスに見られる権威に安らぐ and a complete awareness of God Plans.  In other words, the Jewish nation and us here at ICCS, can learn from this outsider. 

     Has He found such a one here this morning?  Are you that person?  It is key to remember it is not just one person He is looking for but a community of Faithful men and women.  Collectively, we must be strong!

   You see, this miracle is not just a story.  It has to be a sign for us to change our way of thinking.  Change our way of doing life.  We can’t afford NOT listen to Him and NOT act.  We need to grow in our Faith.  This Centurion’s effect of Jesus hit home in The Master’s heart.  He could see that it did not matter where Faith was found…in a Gentile…or in a Jew, Faith stands out as wonderful. 

   Why do we do the things we do?  Why don’t we do the things we ought to do? 

   We will need to answer that and let the Word of God come along side us for your answer AND for any action that needs to be taken. 

A Centurion's Excellent Faithは百人隊長の素晴らしい信仰

   To close this morning, this miracle has been a wild story of Faith, of Power, of Wonder and of Authority.  We have seen that ethnic cooperation was revolutionary then as it would be today.  The Samaritan, and now this Roman…and today we have the PLO and Israel shooting at one another.  Individuals here in the Chapel who are at odds with others.  We need to seek that same understanding.  That kind of Faith would affect our prayer life.  We can only imagine the impact on the world—even Enoki Cho—if the whole Church were able to visibly show how Christ leads us to respect ethnic diversities and to work across ethnic lines.  All people everywhere need His redemption. Is this an example of your faith as well? あなたも素晴らしい信仰？

   The Centurion’s Excellent Faith was aware of Jesus’ authority so much that he committed the well-being of his most trusted servant into the Hands of Jesus. Jesus saw that and rewards such Faith with an answer: the servant is restored.  If such Faith was possible even outside Israel, it can happen anywhere.  It could happen here.

   This is a time for relection…振り返り思い見る時間

좋은 질문 The Good Question 良い質問 Хороший вопрос

The Parable of the Good Samaritan   Luke10:25~37

Parable #2 “Got a question for ya.”

   When I was working on Long Island, New York back in 1973-77, I came across so many teens with questions.  They, like their society, asked questions about everything.  Government, Viet Nam, Drugs, Sex, baseball scores, girls, why I was doing what I was doing…all sort of questions.  There were some questions I always heard and they started like this:  “So, OK, I got just one question…”  (That was after about 25-200 questions.)  I learned that if I’d answer that “just one question”, there would be a dozen more just like that.  For some of the teens, asking questions made them feel safe.  They felt they were in control. 

   I was learning about teen ministries.  I was learning about human nature. 

And after answering about 10,000 questions like that, I started to answer the question with a question.  “If I would answer THAT question, would it be enough for you to give yourself to Jesus?”  In other words, was THAT question really sincere and were they really interested in hearing and following the answer.  9 times out of 10, it was not so.  In fact, one time, I told the questioning teenager not to ask Jesus into his heart because he was doing it with the wrong motive.  J-- wanted to get intimate with a young girl in the group and she would have nothing to do with him because he was not a “believer.”  As far as I know, J-- never followed Jesus.  As far as I know, the answers he had were really not that important to his life.

   I don’t think the man in this passage was like Jeff.  I believe he was serious and he was, from his point of view, interested in finding out the answer to his question.  “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  He also was basing the question on faulty theology.  He believed that he could do something—works—to get God’s Salvation.  He was certainly not alone. Many then and many today still believe that they can DO something to inherit eternal life.  So he went to the One who certainly would know the right answer.  He was not ready for the real answer.  Let’s read it now:

John 10:25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

²⁶ “What is written in the Law?” He replied. “How do you read it?”

²⁷ He answered: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

²⁸ “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

²⁹ But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

³⁰ In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹ A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³² So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

³⁶ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”  ³⁷ The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”  Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”  

After such a sermon, this was said to the pastor on the way out of Church…"私はあなたが私の隣人を愛するのを見てみたい！" "I'd like to see you love MY neighbor!"

   This is a fairly well known parable. I would like to take us as far as possible from the ‘normal’ answers so that this will be more alive for us.  Granted, the story is commonly known but there is very importance that we go deeper and come out with a deeper—more personal answer that could change the way we do life.  There are five questions here. The lawyer asks two and the Savior asks three.  Let’s look at the first one.

FIRST QUESTION: “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
   Here is what I am thinking.  This man wants to ask just the right question from the teacher.  You know the type?  Be the student that outshines the rest of the class.  He wanted to see if Jesus was a good as people said He was.  He tested Jesus with this question.  He stood up and just asked Him one of the most religious questions one could ask.  “Do you really know what the Law of God says about Israel and how we figure into the Plans of God?”  This ‘expert’ in the law, this lawyer, calls Jesus “Teacher”.  I don’t really feel he really believed Jesus was a Teacher at all.  He was not wearing the right kind of robes.  He did not have the right kind of attitude. Jesus was not from the right family of the Teachers of Israel.  I feel the lawyer was talking down to Jesus.

   And then Jesus turns the tables on him with two questions of His own.  He knew the lawyer’s heart.  He was not taken off guard.  It was one of those: “I got one question for ya!”  Jesus asks His two questions—like you should know this one!  26 “What is written in the Law?” He replied. “How do you read it?”  Jesus is looking for scriptural support He knows the man knows.  The expert gives the textbook answer.  Almost with Bible verse accuracy & all!

 27 He answered: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

   One learns from being with smug, arrogant people how to see beyond their questions.  Jesus knows this and goes for the man’s heart.  His core need was not what the expert was asking about.  Jesus knew the lawyer was a spiritual snob.  He was like every other expert in Israel.  In other words, Jesus was ready for his second question.  29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus his…

SECOND QUESTION:  Not wanting to be misunderstood and to justify himself, he asks:   “Who is my neighbor?” The expert tried to keep this subject in the classroom.  He would feel much more comfortable if he’d keep this dealing with this in the abstract—detached from real life.  The lawyer asks who his neighbor is in the hope that some people are not. Exactly where does his responsibility fall?  Does it have limits?  But Jesus would not allow this man to deal with the truth of God’s Word in a test tube.  Jesus would not define the term “neighbor” by doing a Hebrew word study.  He defined it by telling a story.  And you know the story.

   Jesus, again, is ready for this question.  He was a true teacher—just like what the expert called Him.  “I got a story for you…listen…”.  Here there was a cast of four main characters and one supporting cast member. The scene was a seventeen-mile journey on the Jericho-to-Jerusalem road.  The “certain man”-the victim, was one.  The priest was the second. The Levite was the third and the fourth, the hero in the story, was the Samaritan.  At the end, there is the innkeeper but he is not important to the parable.

    The PRIEST—sure, people would have thought he would have stopped.  They knew priest personally and they would do that sort of thing—unless he would be afraid of being mugged.  Surely the priest would have stopped.  It was his job to help people.  He was the professional Churchman—or so people thought—but he did not stop!  For one reason or another, he kept on walking—away from the man in need.  He passed the hurt man by going to the other side of the road.  He kept walking.

   I can’t imagine what kind of feelings the hurt man had at this time.  This is a parable and Jesus lets us know just what He wants us to know about the situation.  Then he saw help coming in the form of a LEVITE.  A Good Guy, if there ever was one.  In the Book of Numbers, we learn that the Levites were in charged with ministering to the priests and keeping watch over the Tabernacle. (Numbers 18:2-4, 6, also from 1 Chronicles 6, you can read all about the family clan.)  They were the ones who received the Temple Tithe.  Among this group are some pretty famous men:  In fact, here is a chart showing where they came from.  Samuel, Ezekiel, and Barnabas in the New Testament. But this Levite shuns the man and walks away!  So two men of similar Jewish background have failed to provide aid.  They were unsuccessful being neighbors: they failed.

   As is often the case, the bother and discomfort of helping have kept the man dying on the road.  Getting involved is costly, and for many the investment is too high.  But to refuse to help is a moral failure.  But…

   Then comes a man from another group.   The SAMARITAN was the anti-hero.  No one in the crowd would be rooting for this man.  He was looked down upon as a real outcast as his ancestors were a crossbreed group from the northern part of their country.  The Samaritans (the keepers of the Law) were from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.  In 2 Kings, the Assyrian king sent people from other nations to live in northern Israel.  After a while, a group who had survived the exile and kept the traditions of the elders of Israel built a temple on Mount Gerizim, near Shechem. (see John 4:20 “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”)  They still today follow the Torah and give sacrifices of lambs and such.  There is a group of Samaritans in Israel today that numbers just over 700.  They are the smallest Religious indigenous group in the world.

   In any case, the Samaritans were disliked, persecuted, and almost feared. And yet, in Jesus’ story, not necessarily set in historical truth, this man stopped and helped the beaten man.  He not only helped him with the cuts and bruises, he also put the man on his mount and took him to what was considered a local medical unit—an inn.  He then gave what would be today equivalent to three weeks salary to have him properly cared for by a medical staff.  He went the second AND third extra mile for the Jewish man.

   Jesus then asks: “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?”  “The one who showed mercy toward him.”

   This lawyer did not even want to use the word “Samaritan”!  But he was right.  What do we do with that?

  •   Not that our ‘neighbor’ HAS to be someone we dislike…but we NEED to be looking for others to help.  Giving an answer for the faith you have.  Faith in action speaks louder than petitions.  Words without action is too loud.  Words without action is no action at all.  Where do you find your heart in the area of giving?  Of helping?  How can you and us as a Church show mercy?  As Jesus told the man: “Go and do likewise.”

   In this case, Jesus challenges us to ask ourselves whether or not we are good to neighbors who are in need.  We know that the Word of God is Truth and the Word is to be rightly understood and then rightly lived.  He is not interested in Sunday school answers.  He really intends us to demonstrate  His love to all we have contact with and beyond.  We need to beware that we do not just intellectualize the Truth.  We can’t afford to keep His Grace in the classroom: we need to live it out in our families …in our community …in our work place—so that the World will see and know that we are different because of what Christ did in us.  That we are different from the world.  Live life as ones who are filled with kindness and with gentleness so that they can experience the change as well. 
   It is often said that it is not enough to speak of the things of God, or to study them, but we must do it with appropriate tone.  When we speak of eternal life and of the things of God, we must be careful of how it comes across.  Life is fragile and so are the hearts of people around us.  We need to be careful how we appear.  We would do good to answer this question this morning: “Do I love God fully?”  That is a good starting point.  As we have said many times in the past, everything else grows out from that relationship.
   A real relationship with the Living God gives life.  It is the whole duty of Man. (Hosea 6:6) To respond to the Law means to love God.  To live by the Spirit of God means to love and to do acts of righteousness.  Romans 8:1-11 tells us that.  The lawyer was deathly confused—even though his answer was correct.  He still thought that eternal life was something he could earn—it is not—it is given to us by God’s Grace—freely.  And where does real help come from?   Is 41:10 I will hold you up with My victorious Right Hand. イザヤ41:10  "わたしの義の右の手で、あなたを守る。"

  The reply that was given was correct, so Jesus simply says, "Go and do likewise." Jesus' point: Simply be a neighbor. Do The Same! Do not rule out certain people as neighbors.  And this parable makes the point forcefully by providing a model from a group the lawyer had probably excluded as possible neighbors.

To love God means to show mercy to those in need.  An authentic life is found in serving God and caring for others.  This is a central principle of discipleship.  Human beings need to fulfill their created role—to love God and be a neighbor to others by meeting their needs.  Neighbors are not determined by race, creed or gender; neighbors consist of anyone in need made in the image of God.  So, I ask you: Who is your neighbor and how will you help him?

It’s a Miracle: それは奇跡だ

Miracles-ONE. 

   IN LUKE, the word for MIRACLES come from the Greek word for act of power.  In John’s Gospel as sign.   In the synoptic (梗概の, 大意の) Gospel (Matthew, Mark and Luke) the miracles of Jesus show three important teachings:

   ~ The Power of God.   ~ The Power of Faith in God.  ~ The depth of God’s Love.

When Jesus speaks and heals the paralyzed man (5:18-25), Jesus shows that the man’s sins were forgiven as something that only God could do.  The witnesses also said so.  (Who can forgive sins but God alone?)  Jesus was teaching that the healing took place not only in his body but also dealt with his relationship with God Himself.  The spiritual mixed with the physical. The Power of God. 神の力This bothered those who followed the Greek falsehood that is still around today: flesh and spirit can’t co-mingle. 

   There is Power of Faith in God. 神への信仰による力 When the Roman military man known as the Centurion asked that his servant to be healed, it was central that the Foreigner believed with all that was in him that Jesus WAS the Son of God and being so, had the power to heal.  He had the authority!  When Jesus’ touch was needed, those people were helped to have faith and that strengthen their faith in the belief in the Kingdom of God. 

   When the Christ touched the dead son of the widow on the way to the grave, He offered a very real expression of the Power of God’s deep love for them.  神の愛の深さThis was a compassion that was evidenced throughout the Old Testament and now was seem by the crowds. They could see that the God of Israel was still in the business of showing His deep love to His People.

   Remember in last Sunday’s message, when we talked about the disciples of John asking if they were to be looking for another or was Jesus the promised One, Jesus had the answer for them.

     Luke 7: 22, Jesus answers with a question: ²² So He replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. ²³ Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of Me.”

   All the Miracles in the Bible—and esp. the ones here in Luke—highlight some rather important truths.  The Gospel was to bring the Good News to the Poor, it was to heal the broken hearted, it was to proclaim liberty to the captives, it was to declare freedom for those bound by Satan’s chains and it was to make known that this was THE time for the Lord!

Luke 5    New International Version (NIV)   Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy.

12 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.”

13 Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.

14 Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”

15 Yet the news about Him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

     While Jesus was living His life out before the people, He saw a need and addressed it.  It was not to point to His Power.  It was to display His compassion for the people He healed. - Man with a skin disease (5:12-13)

   To the fishermen, Jesus said Don’t be afraid恐れることはありません！…He was tender toward those who do fear…. This shows us His Humanity. All throughout His ministry, He cared.  From the shepherds in the hills (Don’t be afraid) to the healing-teaching ministry of those three years in Judea, Don’t be afraid,  He cared. He even had time to talk with two men who were saddened on the Road to Emmaus: Don’t be afraid.  Time spent with people and words of comfort go together.  Phone calls, a note, an email, FB comment, a visit, all show this caring ministry.  You do that, Friends.  Keep it up and do not grow tired of doing good.  Move from doing good to doing GREAT things for Him. Even when the leaders asked Him to ‘do a miracle’, His intent was not one of being flashy, affected, or being flamboyant.  It was a SIGN pointing to the Power of God.

   According to J. Vernon McGee, Radio Bible teacher who died in 1988, leprosy is a type or shadow of sin in the following ways: 1. It begins small.  "a bright spot" 2. It progresses slowly, but surely. Leprosy will eventually be a living death, whereby the victim is consumed by the disease.3. Leprosy does not have sharp pain, but dull pain that keeps a person sad and restless. 4. Leprosy is thought to be hereditary. 5. Leprosy is a horrible condition.6. Leprosy becomes overtly obvious in loathsome ways.

Here is the miracle with the man with leprosy: ハンセン病を持つ男

   Jesus was walking thru a town when a man with this hideous disease saw Jesus and called out to Him.  He called out because he was not to even come near a clean person.  He would have to yell  “Unclean!”汚れたand or ring a bell to warn people. His smell would also be great as his flesh rots off his body as he is covered with leprosy. And he calls Jesus “LORD!” 主

   How did he know?  Was he in a crowd someplace else where he saw Jesus and from that knew that Jesus was indeed LORD?  Was he a prophet?  Was he one of the first to hear and understood the message? Don’t know.  The Scriptures (and the Holy Spirit) does not concern itself with those issues.  But having said that, the man KNEW that Jesus was LORD.  And that He could—if He wanted to—heal him of this socially exclusive disease.  He was completely cut off from his society.  He could not be with his family. He could not touch his children, his wife or even stay in their home.  He could not attend Temple services.  He could not offer his sin offerings.  He could not worship. He was as far gone as a Non-Jew.  Cut off from any blessings Jewish people enjoyed.  And yet, he took the advantage of asking for help—for cleansing from the One he called LORD.

   He said: “If You are willing, "あなた （キリスト） がいとわないのであれば..." You can make me clean.” "あなたは私をきよくすることができます." Being unclean, he knows that is not a good place to be.  Unclean was more than dirty. As I said before, it meant complete separation from ANYTHING social in his community.  And he would die that way.  Cut off--unless Jesus was willing to make him clean.

   Jesus was not taken back by the man’s comments or his illness.  It seems like Jesus was right there near the leper.  His response was not a surprise to us but maybe it was to those around Jesus. A leper was a social outcast.  Very few people had relationships with those kinds of people.  And yet Jesus speaks to him.  He considers him important. He answers the man’s request.  He reaches out His hand and TOUCHES彼に触れるthe man and says: “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.

   Are You willing?  Are You able?  If You are, I know You can make me clean!  When is He not able? いつ彼は望んでいないのか？ When is He not willing? いつ彼はできないのか？Only when you and I get in the way.  When we make issues our idol.  When we make our wants central to life.  When we allow our society to dictate how we are to live, what we give to, what we spend time doing, and what we have as our center, we are in trouble!  Where is your heart?  Are you willing to let Jesus touch that—your center?  Can you say—like the leper—“If You are willing—You can make me clean?”

   That, my friend is the issue here.  Not-- is Jesus able to cure this skin disease.  Not-- if He is even willing, but that the man who called Him Lord could be changed for all time.  The passage said that he was covered with this skin disease.  He was a hideous human being!  And yet, Jesus touched him!  He touched him and made him whole---because of a few factors.  One, it is part of the Gospel.  Two, it brings Glory to the Father.  Three, this is what Jesus does…and then, what does Jesus do?  Does He go on a healing spree?  No, 16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.  He wanted to be close to His Father. 

  Is that where you want to be?  Do you want to be close to your Father? After Jesus touched the man, Jesus told him to go to the Temple and what?  14 Then Jesus ordered him “Don’t tell anyone, but go, 誰にも話さないように、ただ行って・・・" show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”  Keep this silent and go show your healed body to the administrators at the Temple and follow the Laws of Moses…per what his Faith would tell him. Do the right thing.  God did a good thing here so go back to Him and let the leaders know that: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, らい病人はきよまり、the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.  Our role becomes a simple task of telling other fellow lepers were the healing came from.  The Lord did it.  I asked Him for it and He touched me and I got cleaned up.

   What is your response to that kind of contact with Jesus? あなたは何と答えますか？ What do you call Him? あなたは彼を何と呼びますか？Are there issues, things, and people in your life that you need Him to clean?  Maybe it is you, yourself.  Go to Him now, He can’t refuse. Take some time for prayer RIGHT now—before we offer prayer for people in Ethiopia.  Pray. 祈るために今しばらく時間を持ちましょう。reflective prayer/ задумчивый молитвы