I am willing; be cleansed

 

 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, who yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

 

- Matthew 7:28-8:4 

 

In our recent readings, we have been going through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).  Yesterday we read Christ's final words in the Sermon: "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.  These sayings refers to the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7), which Jesus has just completed, and which we have gone through in our recent readings (starting with the Beatitudes, in this reading).  Let us note a repeated theme in the Gospels, that the people are astonished at His teaching, because He teaches as one having authority.  This differs from the scribes who would speak by citing famous rabbis; but Christ (as representing His identity as Lord) speaks from His own authority.

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, who yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."  Here is Christ's first encounter following the Sermon on the Mount.  Let us note how it is concerned with the Law.  My study Bible points out that the biblical law concerning leprosy is found in Leviticus 13; 14.  Deuteronomy 24:8 describes the purification of lepers and leprous houses.  This was a duty which was entrusted to the priests.  My study Bible adds that leprosy was considered to be a direct punishment for sins, and as lepers were unclean, they weren't allowed to live in the community, or to worship in synagogues or the temple.  To touch the unclean was forbidden in the Law (Leviticus 7:21), but Jesus touched the leper.  This shows His compassion, and also that He is not subject to the Law but over it -- another indication that He is Lord, the Lawgiver.  To the clean, my stud Bible notes, nothing is unclean (see also Romans 14:14). 

Immediately after giving the Sermon on the Mount, Christ's "sayings" as He has called them in yesterday's reading (above), Jesus immediately expresses the authority which so astonishes the people.  In being asked to be healed by the leper, we're given many elements in today's reading that tell us about Jesus, and they tell us about God.  First of all, Jesus identity as Lord and Lawgiver is expressed in His response.  That He can touch the leper, although touching those considered unclean was forbidden in the Law, expresses that He is the Giver of the Law, He has that authority witnessed by His hearers in the Sermon on the Mount.  But Christ's violation of the Law -- or perhaps the new Law expressed by His touch -- does not come from a stern declaration or a powerful command.  It comes purely from compassion, and it is in the aim of healing.  Of course the Law given to Moses was made with the same aim, for community and for healing in God's perspective of what that means, and through compassion -- and all of this has to do with salvation in God's sight.  So this is one example of how Christ is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets, as He declared in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:17).  What we observe is that through the way He lives, Christ will make His identity known.  So that we understand truly that He is the fulfillment of the Law (and not its destroyer), Jesus gives the command to follow the Law: 
"See that you tell no one; but go your way, who yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."  In John's Gospel, Jesus tells Philip, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9), and today's reading is just one example showing us that is true.  Salvation comes to the leper, one in the unclean state associated with sin in the Old Testament.  Christ is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets, the fullness of God's salvation plan for us and for the life of the world.  His authority to do so is contained in a simple statement, "I am willing; be cleansed."