What We Believe
Jesus The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Christ
The God of proximity
T
he leper had been alone for so long. The disease had ravaged his body, but the forced separation from society had ravaged his heart. As he walked toward the Preacher, people scattered, afraid of the disease he carried. It was a painful reminder of his solitude. It doesn’t require much imagination to empathize with the isolation of the leper. Since the emergence of COVID-19, we have lived through shutdowns and quarantines, and many have lost loved ones. Like the leper, we are keenly aware of our own mortality, our need for community, and our need for a cure. When the leper reached Jesus, he fell at His feet and begged, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean” (Luke 5:12, ESV).1 In an act of incredible tenderness, Jesus reached out His hand and touched the untouchable. The leper’s impurity and disease could not harm the Source of purity. Instead, Jesus’ touch and His words, “I will; be clean” (verse 13, ESV), transformed the man physically, socially, and spiritually. THE MINISTRY OF JESUS
Jesus frequently associated with those deemed “untouchable” by society. Further in Luke 5, the biblical text describes how Jesus and His disciples ate with Levi and other guests. The Pharisees and scribes grumbled that Jesus was eating with “tax collectors and sinners” (verse 30). Jesus was unconcerned. Like the leper’s disease, the sin of those around Him posed no threat. In fact, sinners were the very people He wanted to be around. Both the healing of the leper and Jesus’ friendship with sinners fit within the prophecy He claimed as His mission statement at the beginning of His ministry: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he Image: Lightstock / LUMO
