Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean

And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

- Matthew 7:28-8:4

In the many readings before this one, and leading up to this point, we have been reading the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew's Gospel. It started with The Beatitudes, the blessings of the life of discipleship, and took us through His teaching on the value of such lives, in You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. Then He began to teach about the Law, saying "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." He then expanded His teaching on several statutes in Mosaic Law; the first against murder: "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder;'" then, against adultery: "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery;'" and finally regulating vengeance: "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'" His expansion includes the inner life of the heart, not merely outward acts. Next He began to discuss spiritual practice (in almsgiving, prayer and fasting) - forbidding hypocrisy and again emphasizing the inner life, in "Do not be like the hypocrites." During the discussion of prayer, Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, teaching Our Father in heaven. He then taught that we cannot serve both God and mammon, that we need to make a clear choice in No man can serve two masters. Then He began to teach about how we look at life and what we value. Over-worry and anxiety over the material things we need in life are not for the life of discipleship. He said to observe the birds, and the wild lilies -- none of these work to sow, harvest and store, or spin, endlessly worrying about the future, yet they are cared for by the Father. The Father knows what we have need of, we are to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." He said, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Next, Jesus taught about the life of discipleship and its righteousness or right-relatedness, especially in congregation. He taught us not to judge or condemn, and repeated His teachings on reciprocity: "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you." He once again repeated His warnings against hypocrisy in this context. We are to be aware of who we are, our own flaws and faults, before we can helpfully correct anyone else. "First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." He then warned against giving pearls to swine, or giving what is holy to dogs: we are not to seek to create discipleship in those who do not value it, cannot appreciate it, may in fact despise it. And all things are open to those who do want these pearls, disciples in sincerity and faith who are always to be asking, seeking, and knocking: "for everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." Summing up the Law and Prophets, He taught once again the reciprocal principle, active in our lives as disciples: "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." He then emphasized the importance, the essence of His teaching: "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it." Discipleship is crucial. In this context, we are to"beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits." Our leaders, every single one of us, are expected to walk in this disciples' Way. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." Finally, in yesterday's reading, Jesus taught us that there will be those who have even done great works in His name, such as prophesying, casting out demons, and performing wonders, to whom He will say, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!" He finished, "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall." This is the end of the Sermon on the Mount.

And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Jesus has not been trained in the school of a great or famous rabbi. He doesn't get His authority through worldly recognition. Instead, it is an inner reality that is conveyed to others; the authority is in Himself, and for the people, this is something astonishing. While the scribes cite others, Jesus has preached His sermon in this spirit of authority.

When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. The mountain, or mountain-top experience in the Gospels, is often a place of spiritual power and revelation. The Sermon on the Mount is another supreme example. His reputation is wide enough so that by now "great multitudes" follow Him.

And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." Here is the power of faith at work, faith in this mysterious authority, so unlike the scribes. The problem of leprosy is a profound one in Scripture and in the society of the time. My study bible explains: "The biblical law concerning leprosy is found in Lev. 13; 14. Deuteronomy 24:8 describes the purification of lepers and leprous houses, which is a duty entrusted to the priests. Leprosy was considered a direct punishment for sins, and lepers were unclean, not permitted to live in the community or to worship God in synagogues or the temple."

Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. In Lev. 7:21, Mosaic Law forbids touching the unclean. My study bible notes that in touching the leper, Jesus demonstrates He is not subject to the Law but over it. It says, "To the clean there is nothing unclean." It's important to understand that throughout the whole of the Sermon on the Mount, in the passages previous to this one, Jesus has demonstrated the fulfillment of the Law, what it is to live as one of His disciples. Here, the immediate aftermath of the Sermon shapes as a healing of a leprous man, indicating the power of Jesus' authority, and therefore of His own teachings -- especially that of compassion. This becomes the Law supreme to all else.

And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." Jesus will use the Law, following it in its commands in guiding this man's offering, to offer a testimony of this man's healing. In Him, we remember, the Law is fulfilled, so it is proper for the man to do as Moses commanded in offering a testimony -- in this the community would be informed through the proper offering to the priest.

Jesus exercises discretion both in using His own authority and power and in presenting the man to the priest, and through the priest, to the community. Both are essential, and through this we gain our understanding of Christ. He is not in the world to overturn, but to fulfill. Whatever cultural understanding we begin with, whatever truth we know, He comes not to abolish, but to fulfill, and I think -- regardless of our culture or values -- that we must keep this in mind. As the Person who is Truth, He is the author of truth. As Logos, we must understand that this "narrow gate" is so just because of the Person of Christ. In the Christian tradition, the Logos is also author of the Law. Therefore in His person, whatever truth we hold dear is not abolished but rather fulfilled, illumined, magnified, given a shape so that we can understand it, deepen it, and go forward in His Way. He is here to give us the fulfilled teaching, and the life in abundance that goes with His instruction for us. So it really doesn't matter where we come from or what we know, in Christ we will find a deepening, a pervasive quantifying and qualifying, of all that we think we already know, and a deepening guidance toward where we need to go. As Good Shepherd, He has come to teach and lead, so that we may all be "made clean" like the leper. To be cleansed is to participate in community, and no one is forbidden from this place, perhaps save those who refuse His guidance. But compassion is the rule. This narrow gate is made for all who seek it, all those who come to be cleansed. His touch is there for you, too. But we come to Him as the leper, in humility, to learn, to grow, to be healed, to find our way forward from wherever we start. We may come to Christ with ailments that are no fault of our own, and yet cast us out of community. We may be faced with prejudice and fear. But He is here to heal and to save, to place us in the community of His love.