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The Desire of Ages
The work of Christ in cleansing the leper from his terrible disease
is an illustration of His work in cleansing the soul from sin. The man
who came to Jesus was “full of leprosy.” Its deadly poison permeated
his whole body. The disciples sought to prevent their Master from
touching him; for he who touched a leper became himself unclean.
But in laying His hand upon the leper, Jesus received no defilement.
His touch imparted life-giving power. The leprosy was cleansed. Thus
it is with the leprosy of sin,—deep-rooted, deadly, and impossible to
be cleansed by human power. “The whole head is sick, and the whole
heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no
soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores.”
Isaiah
1:5, 6
. But Jesus, coming to dwell in humanity, receives no pollution.
His presence has healing virtue for the sinner. Whoever will fall at His
feet, saying in faith, “Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean,”
shall hear the answer, “I will; be thou made clean.”
Matthew 8:2, 3
, R.
V.
In some instances of healing, Jesus did not at once grant the bless-
ing sought. But in the case of leprosy, no sooner was the appeal made
than it was granted. When we pray for earthly blessings, the answer
to our prayer may be delayed, or God may give us something other
than we ask, but not so when we ask for deliverance from sin. It is His
will to cleanse us from sin, to make us His children, and to enable us
to live a holy life. Christ “gave Himself for our sins, that He might
deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God
and our Father.”
Galatians 1:4
. And “this is the confidence that we
have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth
us: and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that
we have the petitions that we desired of Him.”
1 John 5:14, 15
. “If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:9
.
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In the healing of the paralytic at Capernaum, Christ again taught
the same truth. It was to manifest His power to forgive sins that the
miracle was performed. And the healing of the paralytic also illustrates
other precious truths. It is full of hope and encouragement, and from
its connection with the caviling Pharisees it has a lesson of warning as
well.
Like the leper, this paralytic had lost all hope of recovery. His
disease was the result of a life of sin, and his sufferings were embittered