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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781627076739 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Our Daily Bread Publishing |
| Publication date: | 05/01/2018 |
| Pages: | 192 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.30(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.30(d) |
| Age Range: | 3 Months to 18 Years |
About the Author
Bill Crowder, who spent over twenty years in pastoral ministry, is vice president of ministry content at Our Daily Bread Ministries. He is a contributor to Our Daily Bread, cohost of Discover the Word radio program, and author of many Bible studies and books. He and his wife, Marlene, have five children and several grandchildren.
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
A Heart That Touches
Jesus and a Leper
As a boy, I reveled in the adventures of Eliot Ness and his intrepid G-men as I watched Robert Stack portray the legendary crime-fighter on the television show The Untouchables. Blazing across our TV screen in glorious black-and-white, Ness and his team of United States Treasury agents battled corruption, crime, and the mob.
Perhaps the key word there is corruption. One of the greatest challenges these law officers faced while operating in prohibition-era Chicago was that a significant number of the city's officials, judges, and police were in the mob's pocket. Through bribes and threats, the criminal elements controlled the city so thoroughly that any serious investigation of their activity was virtually impossible.
Into that mess came a small group of difference-makers who were called "untouchables" because they operated above pay-offs. They refused to be drawn into the mire of the city's dark underbelly, they were unmoved by the lure of money, and they refused to shrink before threat. They were beyond the reach of the city's criminal element. They were untouchable.
About the same time as I was watching The Untouchables, I learned in school that there were cultures in the world that practiced the social stratification of caste systems. Caste systems layer society into specific groups based on the family's status when a child is born. It considers roles in society as hereditary and static, with no hope for moving up any kind of social strata. By dividing the population into these hardened categories, this system created its own set of untouchables — people who inhabit the lowest rung of society's ladder. They are off-limits because they were considered "less-than," meaning they are insignificant or even non-persons who do not fit into the important castes that are looked to carry the weight of society's expectations.
Years later, I came to understand that in the days of Jesus, Israel had its own set of untouchables. These were not categorized metaphorically, however. Their untouchability was not the result of moral resilience or social labeling. They were literally untouchable because they carried a disease that bore deep spiritual and physical implications. They were lepers.
In first-century Israel, lepers were the embodiment of everything that was bad in the human condition. Marked by a disease that screamed of heartache, despair, and brokenness, lepers were outcasts — and it was not simply because of the physical realities of the disease. Leprosy also carried intense spiritual implications. And as we will see, the crushing loneliness resulting from those implications had even been mapped out in the law of Moses.
An Isolating Condition
In the time of Christ, leprosy was not uncommon in the land of Israel — as evidenced by the number of lepers Jesus encountered in His ministry. Leprosy was a living death — the slow dissolution of a body as it decayed away. Dr. Paul Brand (1914–2003), who spent his adult life studying the disease and serving those who suffered with it, said that leprosy destroyed the nerve endings, and as a result physical pain couldn't be felt. This meant that appendages would be literally rubbed off and worn away because there was no sense of restraint (a powerful picture of sin).
In the first century, however, none of this was known. The medical realities of this disease were secondary to its spiritual overtones. In a land where ceremonial purity was necessary for access to the temple and the sacrificial system, leprosy was a painful path to ceremonial impurity. There were sixty-one ceremonial defilements listed in the Jewish law — restrictions that would cause a person to be disqualified for a time from participating in temple or synagogue life. And of these sixty-one defilements, only touching a dead body was worse than touching a leper.
Even more, the Jews of Jesus's day referred to leprosy as "the finger of God," believing it to be direct punishment from Him. Therefore, only God could cure it. This understanding may have emerged from the ancient story of Moses's sister, Miriam. In Numbers 12, we read that Miriam and Aaron (their brother) spoke out against Moses, undermining his leadership of the Israelites. Apparently, Miriam led in this rebellion, because God disciplined her with leprosy — a severe discipline indeed. She was driven from the community and forced to live in isolation outside the camp. Seven days later, God lifted that punishment, and she was reunited with family and friends. Leprosy was inflicted and leprosy was removed: The finger of God.
The isolation Miriam experienced, however, was the life path for all lepers. In Jewish ceremonial law, this isolation was prescribed for the leper:
When a man or a woman has bright spots on the skin of the body, even white bright spots, then the priest shall look, and if the bright spots on the skin of their bodies are a faint white, it is eczema that has broken out on the skin; he is clean. Now if a man loses the hair of his head, he is bald; he is clean. If his head becomes bald at the front and sides, he is bald on the forehead; he is clean. But if on the bald head or the bald forehead, there occurs a reddish-white infection, it is leprosy breaking out on his bald head or on his bald forehead. Then the priest shall look at him; and if the swelling of the infection is reddish-white on his bald head or on his bald forehead, like the appearance of leprosy in the skin of the body, he is a leprous man, he is unclean. The priest shall surely pronounce him unclean; his infection is on his head. As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be uncovered, and he shall cover his mustache and cry, "Unclean! Unclean!" He shall remain unclean all the days during which he has the infection; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp. (Leviticus 13:38–46)
Notice what was called for in these words. In most life situations, when a person would see that he or she had the symptoms of some kind of illness, the first logical response would be to go to seek medical help — whether it would be seeking out a doctor or in some cultures using traditional healing through herbs or other natural medicines. But because of the spiritual implications of leprosy, the symptoms (dry, crusty patches of skin) required ancient Israelites to go to the priest, not the doctor. The priest would diagnose the problem, and if it was determined to be leprosy, that man or woman's job, family, place in the synagogue, and access to the community would all be taken away. Additionally, the leper's social and spiritual stigma was intensified because he or she was forced to announce the uncleanness to any "clean" individuals encountered along the way.
The horror of a disease that was seen as a walking death sentence was compounded by the knowledge that the person would endure that fate alone. The condition was intensified by solitary confinement. Leprosy conspired to create "untouchables" who were to be put away and never touched. This reality is interjected into a strategic moment in Jesus's fledgling ministry — and the timing is critical. We read about this in Mark 1:40–45.
A Moment of Desperation
"And a leper came to Jesus." (Mark 1:40)
In recent years, a phenomenon known as Black Friday has become something of a national obsession in the United States. On the day after Thanksgiving, stores offer huge discounts on everything from cars to flat-screen TVs to kitchen appliances. As a result, people line up in the wee hours of the morning, sometimes even sleeping in tents on sidewalks overnight, waiting to get the early bird specials on things that they either desperately want for themselves or want to give to someone else for Christmas. This desperate search for bargains often leads to some strange situations — escalating from loud disagreements over who was ahead in line to fistfights over who gets the last super-duper-mega-low-priced giant whatever. Such events have even produced near-riots in which people have been trampled by the pressing mob. These moments of unnecessary desperation have caused tragic consequences.
By contrast, consider a different kind of desperation — the truly necessary urgency of a leper who was aware of the prohibitions of Israel's ceremonial law. Notice again what Leviticus 13:45–46 tells us:
As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be uncovered, and he shall cover his mustache and cry, "Unclean! Unclean!" He shall remain unclean all the days during which he has the infection; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.
Now notice the actions of the leper who "came to Jesus" (Mark 1:40). Jesus is coming down from the mountainside (Matthew 8:1) after delivering the Sermon on the Mount, and as always "large crowds followed Him" (8:1). The leper arrives with a heart filled with desperation. Luke, the gospel-writing physician, gives us the impetus behind this man's anxiety, saying that he was "covered with leprosy" (5:12), perhaps indicating that the disease had ravaged his body so extensively that it was in its final stages.
This leper's inevitable appointment with death was approaching, yet the law required him to remain apart from people. To suffer alone. To die in isolation. He refuses, and instead:
• He comes among people, in violation of Moses's law and societal taboos.
• He comes with nothing to lose — in the final stages of the disease.
• He comes after years of being isolated and alone.
• He comes directly to Jesus in the midst of the crowd, and he begs for mercy (Luke 5:12).
As I picture the scene, I see the leper arriving, which is probably a terrifying moment for those following Jesus. At the sight and no doubt the smell of the dying leper, the crowd surely recoiled. Perhaps the man — in desperation to get to Jesus — had not even shouted the required words of warning. It appears that this leper openly violated Mosaic law because his misery has driven him to Jesus.
Yet this man comes to Jesus not only out of desperation but he also comes to Him with a measure of faith: "And a leper came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, 'If You are willing, You can make me clean'" (Mark 1:40).
This is astonishing! Remember that this is at the very outset of Jesus's public ministry. In Mark's account, Jesus has rescued a demon-possessed man (Mark 1:23–27) and healed Simon Peter's mother-in-law (1:30–31), followed by a season of general healings and deliverances. But it is still the early days of Jesus's public works. This leper — an untouchable outcast — has apparently heard amazing stories about this Nazarene wonder-worker and has connected the dots. When he comes to Jesus, he does so begging for the Teacher's intervention. He falls before Him in an attitude of pleading that pictures worship.
It is an amazing scene made all the more remarkable by the man's words, "If You are willing, You can make me clean" (Mark 1:40). Remember, this man was part of a culture that viewed leprosy as "the finger of God." Leprosy was given by God and could only be removed by God — and this man declares his confidence that Jesus could do what only God can do: Jesus could take away leprosy.
A Kingdom Ethic
As we explore the Gospels, we discover that each gospel record is written to a specific target audience and that each writer is presenting a specific theme about Jesus. Additionally, each of the Gospels has distinct, unique characteristics that help us understand how the writer is telling the story of Jesus.
Why is this important? Here's an example. Although we are looking at this encounter from Mark's Gospel, we must recognize that where it is placed in Matthew's Gospel is significant. Scholars believe that among the Gospel writers Matthew seems to be the one most concerned about the actual chronology of the events. So where does Matthew place this event? He includes it in Matthew 8, which tells us that the event occurred directly after Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount.
In that message, Jesus was doing more than just giving one of His major public addresses. He was outlining the ethic of the upside-down kingdom of which He is the King. He was describing a kingdom where the King is a servant and the marginalized are welcome. It is a kingdom where loving and serving take priority over ruling and controlling. This is a message that is much easier to proclaim than it is to live.
After some forty years of having a public teaching ministry, I can affirm that preaching the Scriptures is infinitely easier than living them. Phrases like "practice what you preach" and "don't just talk the talk, walk the walk" underline the challenge before us, as do the words of the apostle James, "Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves" (1:22).
So the question is this: Having declared the lofty, noble heart of a better kingdom, would Jesus live out that heart? Would He practice what He preached? We find the answer in Mark 1:41–42.
A Healing Touch
Compassion International is an organization committed to the welfare of children in developing countries. The vision of Compassion perfectly reflects its name — that people in the developed world would have compassion on children in need and respond with a commitment to help meet the needs of those children in developing countries.
Why does it work? Because of the idea of the word compassion. Compassion is a rich word that challenges us to feel a true concern for another person in pain or in need. In fact, one online dictionary defines compassion as "the act or capacity for sharing the painful feelings of another." Compassion goes beyond mere pity or concern — it enters into a person's pain and feels it with him or her. It should come as no surprise to us that as Jesus walked on the earth He encountered the human condition with a heart of compassion. That was part of His prophesied mission. The ancient sage Isaiah declared of the coming Messiah, "Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried" (Isaiah 53:4). Jesus did not come to be a distant observer or a bemused spectator. He came to be actively involved — both in His day-to-day ministry and ultimately on the cross. He came to bear the consequences and pain of our brokenness and rebellion — and this leper becomes exhibit A of that brokenness.
How did Jesus respond? "Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, 'I am willing; be cleansed.' Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed" (Mark 1:41–42).
"Moved with compassion" is a clear and appropriate expression of the heart of the Christ. His compassion is full-on compassion — not just pity that sees the sufferer and then recoils in shock. His is an active compassion that simply must engage the pain of this hurting man. And just as this man violated social taboos and prescriptive law by ignoring the crowd to get to Jesus, Christ places himself in what, to the watching crowd, would be the danger of ceremonial uncleanness.
He touches the leper! (See v. 41.)
This could easily seem like a throwaway detail, but it may actually be the most important element of the story. As we move through the inspired Gospels together in this book, we will find that Jesus had seemingly limitless ways of healing the hurting. He healed from nearby, and He healed from far away. He healed by word, and He healed by instructing the sufferer to do something remedial. Here, He heals with a touch — and that is what is so shocking!
Jesus could have healed the leper with a wave of the hand or a simple word. Or as Elisha did with Naaman of old, He could have ordered the leper to go bathe in the Jordan River (2 Kings 5). Instead, Jesus does something utterly unnecessary to the healing of the man's leprosy and absolutely necessary to the healing of the man's heart.
Remember, this man is in the final stages of leprosy. This means he has spent years in isolation. How long had it been since he shook a man's hand? If he had a family before being diagnosed with leprosy, how long had it been since he kissed his wife or hugged his children? Not only was leprosy a physical death sentence but it was also emotionally dehumanizing. Remember, the leper was "less-than." Not quite fully human anymore, he was a wraith who simply occupied space as he awaited death.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Seeing the Heart of Christ"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Bill Crowder.
Excerpted by permission of Discovery House.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments 9
Perspective 11
1 A Heart That Touches: Jesus and a Leper 15
2 A Heart That Marvels: Jesus and a Centurion 30
3 A Heart That Accepts: Jesus and the Woman at the Well 44
4 A Heart That Cares: Jesus and Two Daughters 61
5 A Heart That Confronts: Jesus and a Pharisee 77
6 A Heart That Reaches: Jesus and the Canaanite Woman 91
7 A Heart That Restores: Jesus and a Blind Man 104
8 A Heart That Comforts: Jesus and a Hurting Dad 117
9 A Heart That Transforms: Jesus and a Tax Collector 132
10 A Heart That Forgives: Jesus and a Guilty Woman 146
11 A Heart That Values: Jesus and a Man Born Blind 161
12 A Heart That Challenges: Jesus and Pilate 177
A Final Word 191
Reflection Questions 193
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