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Who is the "leper" in your life?
In "Word Focus" William Sillings writes:
Jesus touched (hapsato) the leper. Not only that, but He also stretched out His hand (ekteinas — aorist participle). The literal meaning of this word might read something like this, “When He had stretched out His hand,” signifying that this was a very intentional action. We think little about the fact that Jesus touched a leper, because we have heard it so many times. But think about what it meant to the first-century disciples. According to Leviticus 13, anyone who had leprosy was to be declared unclean, and they were to be quarantined from their families and the rest of the camp of Israel.
For Jesus to touch a leper was to transgress the traditions of Israel as well as to cause Himself to become ceremonially unclean. In the eyes of His disciples, Jesus was rewriting the tradition. He was taking drastic steps to make His point that people are more important than ceremonial cleanness.
Discussion: Who are the people our community are unwilling to touch? Who are the people our church is afraid or unwilling to touch? Who are you unwilling to touch?
Discussion: How should we change our attitudes and actions toward our "lepers"?
Source: Miracles of Jesus: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 28.
Devotional: Put Away Defilement
Read Numbers 5:1-4
“Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst whereof I dwell” (v. 3).
Cosmo, our beautiful Bouvier Des Flandres dog, got too close to the kitty cat with a beautiful white stripe down its tail. The kitty, not quite as happy about playing, raised that fluffy tail and unleashed a spray, covering poor Cosmo. The odor of burnt coffee, rotten eggs, and burning rubber seeped from every part of him. My mother firmly refused to allow him inside the house. If she could have put him outside the “camp,” I know she would have. Why? She did not want her carpet, clothes, sofa, or even the porch to take on Cosmo’s odor.
In Bible days, God directed the Children of Israel to place the defiled outside the camp. While my mother was concerned about the odor, God was concerned about walking in His holiness in the midst of defilement. Even for His special people, the Israelites, if they touched a corpse, contracted leprosy, or hemorrhaged, God wanted them out of the camp. He wanted to ensure they would not contaminate others.
Today, the blood can deliver us from the defilement of sin. “Its saving virtues ever are the same. It cleanseth still, and always will” (Phoebe Palmer). Are we spraying bad attitudes, ungodly speech, and sinful be- haviors in the camp? Cleanse yourself in the blood of Jesus! (Pamela Kuhn)
A rotten stench does not stop with its source; it permeates the atmosphere of anything in his circle of influence.
This devotional is the Monday, December 28, 2015 entry of Opening the Word.
Lesson 5: The Lepers Cleansed
Lesson 5 - January 3, 2016
Focus Text: Mark 1:40-45; Luke 17:11-19
Central Truth: Christ has power to make us whole.
Objective: By the end of this lesson my students should be able to explain the difference between temporary faith and saving faith.
Lesson Outline:
- Compassion and Healing (Mark 1:40-45)
- Mercy and Healing (Luke 17:11-14)
- Gratitude and Healing (Luke 17:15-19)
Prayer for Lesson 3, Miracles of Jesus
Heavenly Father, help our teachers as they speak of the bondage-breaking, freedom-giving grace of God today. We pray this in Jesus' name, Amen.
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Merry Christmas!
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:
And the government shall be upon his shoulder:
And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God,
The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end,
Upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom,
To order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice
From henceforth even for ever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
Isaiah 9:6-7