A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." Matthew 8:2
As presented on *The Lutheran Hour® by Dr. Oswald Hoffmann, March 15, 1959.
The Gospel writer Matthew tells that, when Christ came down from the mountain where He had delivered His famous Sermon on the Mount, great multitudes followed Him. In the crowd was a leper who worshiped Him saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Jesus put forth His hand and touched him saying, “I am willing … be clean” (Matthew 8:3). Immediately his leprosy was cleansed, healed.
In God’s language the word cleansing has a strong meaning. It means to purge, put away, cause to disappear all that is foul. The Bible does not hesitate to say that all of life has been polluted by sin, and that men are morally degraded because of their subservience to sin. This is a fact of life, which requires no proof. Indeed, evidence for its truth can be found on the pages of every newspaper as well as in human relationships everywhere.
The evidence can be found in our own lives. We are involved in all that is wrong with the world because of the fact that we are people. Because every one of us is involved, God’s great cleansing operation was no simple task. Only the death of His Son, Jesus Christ, could bring about the great cleansing which is the hope of mankind.
You need a cleansed heart purged through the blood of Christ, who offered Himself without spot to God for the specific purpose of bringing to you the cleansing and renewing power of God. Hear Christ and hold onto Him by faith.
Lord Jesus Christ, cleanse our conscience of the guilt of past sins for which You have paid the price. Cleanse our minds of unworthy thoughts and replace all bitterness with Christian love and kindness. Amen.
Taken from A Message of Hope: Proclaiming the Cross (selections from messages broadcast on *The Lutheran Hour, celebrating 75 years of proclaiming the promise).
Copyright © 2006 by Lutheran Hour Ministries
*The Lutheran Hour is the longest-running Christian radio broadcast in the world. It is a production of Lutheran Hour Ministries. For more information, visit www.lutheranhour.org.
Today's Bible Readings: Numbers 7-8 Mark 13:21-37
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