Posts
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
We have just finished reading through the Sermon on the Mount, chapters 5--7 of Matthew's Gospel. In yesterday's reading, Jesus concluded: "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' 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."
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. In the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus makes clear allusions to the authority which He carries in Himself, proclaiming Himself Judge and speaking of Judgment, what is to come of those who hear His words and do what He teaches, and of those who will not. Here is another affirmation of the authority that is present, the way that Jesus speaks, to the astonishment of those who are listening. It is a revelation of His divine identity.
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." In this act, Jesus further displays His divine authority and identity. My study bible notes here: "The biblical law concerning leprosy is found in Lev. 13; 14. Dt. 24:8 describes the purification of lepers and leprous houses, which was a duty entrusted to the priests. Leprosy was considered a direct punishment for sins, and as lepers were unclean, they were not permitted to live in the community or to worship in synagogues or the temple. Touching the unclean was forbidden (Lv. 7:21), yet Jesus touched the leper, showing His compassion, and showing that He is not subject to the Law but over it. To the clean, nothing is unclean."
Although Jesus has now openly and directly asserted His authority through His teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, He does not shrink from offering what is owed, in some sense, to the community. He respects the Law of Moses regarding the necessary offering to the priest and the priest's role in the community regarding leprosy. He does not antagonize needlessly, while at the same time asserts the truth of His identity and authority. But above all, Jesus' hallmark is His compassion. We understand Him in terms of the character that produces authority, power, even authority over the Law while still obeying its precepts in response to the obligations of the community. What is most important is that we understand also His fearlessness; He does what He has to do, He asserts the truth He is here to reveal, while at the same time He respects the community and its customs, save where it is necessary for Him to assert something new in His mission into the world. Mostly, we understand His dedication to the Father and His expression of the Father's will that comes through His acts of compassion and love, even to doing something shocking in His society: touching a leper. Jesus tells us something that will be a component, the hallmark, of the earliest decisions of the Church: what God has cleansed is cleansed. As my study bible puts it, "To the clean, nothing is unclean." This is an expression of the greatest compassion of all: there is no one exempt from the power of this cleansing. Each, created in the image of God, has the capacity to be revealed as a child of God. It is the greatest freedom we possess, the ultimate truth which sets us free in the love of God, the compassion of Christ. Even when all the rest of the world is against us, even when we judge ourselves, it is to Him we turn in the freedom to be His and only His, above all.
