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October 11th

The bible reading is in Matthew 8:1-13 and Luke 7.

“When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭8:1‬

From yesterday’s reading, we remember that a multitude of people made their way up the mountain to here Jesus teach. I can just imagine the excitement in the lives of those who have heard him and considered him Messiah.

So it does not surprise us that great crowds followed Jesus after he came down the mountain.

This first verse of chapter eight speaks of a “great crowd”. Some say that translates as a few hundred. Others propose that it means at least over a thousand people from the region followed. We will read later in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John that Jesus fed five to fifteen thousand people on a hillside. So even a thousand count may be low.

The crowd was “noteworthy” for sure. Why the little town of Capernaum nearby only had around 1,500 people itself. So the townspeople would certainly remember the day that it was engulfed with that many visitors from near and far.

But the headliner that day was not the crowd, it was the carpenter from Nazareth...Jesus! People came to see and hear this One. Jews were whispering, “Could he really be the One...could he really be the Messiah so long awaited for?

“And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭8:2-3‬ ‭

This man could not live in the city. Leprosy made him despicable, shameful, contemptible, and most hated. So maybe he lived in the mount and there on the far fringe of the crowd he heard good news from a gracious voice to his heart.

Leprosy was a horrible disease that disfigured the face and body of its poor victims. From as far back as Moses, Jews forbade lepers to live within the camp. Contact with them would make the Jew unclean and not qualified to participate in congregational worship at the Tabernacle.

So not only was this man dying, he was dying alone, without hope. This desperate seeker came to worship Jesus, and request of him help for his hopeless condition.

Jesus stretched out his own hand and touched the needy man. Was Jesus afraid that the disease would infect him? Apparently not...Jesus could see the Father working. And so he would join him by ministering to the man personally.

Reminds me of another verse...“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭10:45‬

Jesus gave his life away every day to ransom and redeem men, women, and children everywhere he went. O Lord empower us to do the same.

When asked if he would help, Jesus gave words of hope for his soul and power for his body...“I will be cleansed”

Perhaps the Lord will use us this day to give hope and empowerment to those he brings our way in Jesus name!

“What a Savior is Jesus, my Lord...”

Have a great day