SCRIPTURE
Luke 5:12-13 - 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
OBSERVATION
All of us are covered in SIN
For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Rom. 3:23)
There are none that are righteous, no not one. (Rom. 3:10)
All of our righteousness is like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6)
By faith the man came to Christ for cleansing…
And by faith we must be willing to do the same.
It is by Grace that we are saved, through faith. (Ephesians 2:8)
Jesus is the ONLY cure for our sinful condition.
It is only through HIS blood that our sins which are like scarlet, can be made white as snow. (Isaiah 1:18)
What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. (1 John 1:7)
Jesus is willing to touch our uncleanness.
He's willing to touch us in our sin and unrighteousness. (Luke 5:13)
Regardless of the depth or darkness of our sins, Jesus is ready to reach out in order to make us CLEAN.
When he reaches out and touches our lives, nothing remains the same.
When he touches our lives, old things pass away & all things become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
When he touches our lives, the sentence of death is lifted and eternal life becomes ours. (John 19:30)
When Christ said, "It is finished", or 'tetelestai', he was declaring the end of all sacrifice for sin and separation from God.
The word Tetelesai, signifies that payment has been received. In other words, it means 'Paid in Full'. This is the same Greek word in John 19:30 translated 'It is finished'. Therefore, Jesus was declaring that the penalty for sin (which is death) had been paid in full. He had fully satisfied the judgment of God. He was the 'Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.' The animal sacrifices of the Law could only cover sin, but Christ has taken it away. No other sacrifice is needed.
APPLICATION
Today's Devotional takes us to Luke 5:12 and a Leper who made his way to Jesus, and who by faith proclaimed that if Jesus was willing, HE could make the man CLEAN. Jesus responded to the man's Faith and said “I am willing”, and Jesus reached out and touched him and immediately the man was made CLEAN. And the first thing I want you to see is that the man, and Jesus, both used the word CLEAN and not healed. Because a leper in those days was considered ceremonially, societally, and spiritually unclean. And anyone UNCLEAN was put outside the camp, away from the presence of God and the people of God. They were considered outcasts of society….and were relegated to a life of Isolation and loneliness. It was the consequences of being UNCLEAN. But even worse, anyone with leprosy, literally had a death sentence hanging over them. Because with Leprosy, came certain death…there was NO CURE for the condition. And it's why the man pleaded with Jesus to be MADE CLEAN. So the sentence of DEATH would be lifted. So he could come into fellowship with others and with God. And the reason I'm bringing this devo, is because all through scripture SIN is likened to leprosy: because SIN separates us from fellowship with God and the family of God. And because with it comes a certain sentence of eternal death. For the wages of sin are DEATH. But the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ…who is the cure for our sinful condition, no matter the depth or the degree. Because He who knew NO sin became our sin, so that we could become the righteousness of God through Christ. And all we have to do is to come to Christ by faith, just like the leper, and ask to be made CLEAN…and the bible says if we confess our sins, HE, GOD, is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to CLEANSE us from all unrighteousness…Bringing us into fellowship with God and removing the death sentence from our lives. So as I close this out…Don't let the day go by without seeking the face and grace of God and asking him to make you CLEAN, so that you can live in fellowship with him and not be separated from him.
PRAYER
Lord, just like the leper, we come to you in faith today, trusting you to reach into our lives and to wash away our sins. Thank you for sending us your only begotten son, who came to take away the sins of the world and to remove the certain sentence of death that comes from sin, and to offer us grace instead. May we not take your grace for granted, but may that grace drive us away from sin and toward you instead. And may we live a life that's fully pleasing to you. AMEN
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