The God of the Impossible
Matthew 8:1-4 When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.
And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
And Jesus said unto him, See that thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
I. Lessons from First Recorded Individual Case of Healing in New Testament
A. It is ALWAYS God’s will to heal
B. It is ALWAYS God’s will to forgive
II. There is an Inseparable Link Between Sin and Sickness
III. Atonement is Necessary for the Removal of Both Sickness and Sin
Matthew 4:23-25 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decopolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea and from beyond Jordan.
IV. Jesus’ Healing Ministry Begins
A. After His Baptism in the Jordan River
B. He healed all manner of sickness
C. He healed all manner of disease
V. First Individual Recorded Healing was of a Leper (Matthew 8)
A. First recorded healing was most impossible disease of its day
B. Jesus healed the most difficult so man would know anything beyond was simple for God to heal
C. Jesus conquered leprosy immediately
VI. Generational Curses
A. Unnecessary to pray differently for generational diseases (ie-heart disease)
B. Jesus took ALL of our infirmities including those that are generational
C. Leprosy could be passed through the blood from parents to children
D. No disease is more difficult to heal for Jesus than any other disease
VII. Sickness in the Earth
A. Some but not all sickness is a result of personal sin
B. The affliction of sickness can come when a believer is living for God (Many are the afflictions of the righteous…)
C. All sickness began as a result of Adam’s transgression/original sin
D. Some Christians believe that the only way sickness can enter is through personal sin
1. Absolutely untrue
2. Satan can attack whether a believer is walking or not walking in righteousness
3. Healing power of God present to destroy original sin before He destroyed personal sin
VIII. Leprosy Defined
A. Begins as a disease of the blood that eventually manifests itself in the body
B. Leprosy is painless and comes without warning
C. Leprosy is inherited
D. Leprosy is communicable
E. Leper had to be quarantined
1. Lived outside the “camp”
2. “Camp” refers to the city where people lived
3. There was a wall around the city
4. Lepers had to live outside the wall
F. Leprosy has no regard for race, sex or social status
IX. Leprosy is a Type of Sin
A. Sin manifests itself in the body
B. Sin begins painless in our life and can come without warning
C. The sin nature is passed on from parent to child
D. Temptation to sin results from ungodly communication with the world
E. “Outside the camp” represents sin
1. Jesus went “outside the camp” to die for and set free the unrighteous
2. Unrighteous will be separated from the righteous (“quarantined”) for eternity if they do not accept Jesus as Lord and Savior
F. Sin can begin in a small area of our lives and spread throughout our lives, without our realizing
G. Blindness and sickness are the final signs of death (…the god of this world has blinded minds, lest the light of the glorious gospel should shine)
H. Sin begins in the heart but corrupts the body
1. Jesus conquered sin on the inside, therefore sickness is conquered in the physical body
2.Sickness is physical manifestation of the original sin
3. If you destroy and conquer the original sin, and you can destroy and conquer all of its symptoms, including sickness
I. Sin has no regard for race, sex or social status
X. Three Examples of Leprosy in the Old Testament
A. Miriam(Numbers 12:10-15)
B. King Azariah/Uzziah (II Kings 15:5-7)
C. Naaman(II Kings 5)
XI. Leper’s Roll
A. Lepers were required to have their name put on the Leper’s Roll
B. Once the name was on the Leper’s Roll, the individual was banished from society
XII. Old Testament Cleansing and Healing of the Leper
A. Leprosy was the only disease to be examined by a priest and not a physician
1. Priest examined individuals to find leprosy
2. Priest examined individuals to determine if individual was healed of leprosy
B. Leprosy is both healed and cleansed
Leviticus 14:1-3 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest:
And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper
Matthew 8:2 & 3 And behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean
And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be though clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
C. The blood of Jesus “cleanses” us from all sin
1. Cleanses the sinner sin
2. Cleanses the Christian from sins
XIII. Atonement
Leviticus 14:4 Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop:
A. Atonement brought about through two birds
1. One bird represents man
2. One bird represents Jesus
B. Cedar wood represents the cross on which Jesus was crucified
C. Scarlet
1. Represents robes of deity stripped from Jesus Christ when He hung on the cross
2. Represents the blood that Jesus shed for our sins
D. Hyssop
1. Used to sprinkle blood
2. Represents cleansing blood of Jesus
3. Represents divine protection
Leviticus 14:5-7 And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water.
As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living blood into the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water.
And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field.
E. One bird killed
1. Blood from the dead bird was mixed with water
2. Blood and water poured
a. over the wood
b. over the hyssop
c. over the scarlet
d. over the living bird
3. Represents man being identified with the death of Jesus Christ on the cross
F. After atonement was made, the living bird was set free
G. Atonement required before leper could be declared cleansed
H. Atonement represent that both sin and sickness had to be atoned for
XIV. Naaman and Miriam Only Two Cases of Lepers being Healed in the Old Testament
A. Both healings were supernatural
B. No man was ever involved in either healing
C. Examination of healing by the priest followed by a sacrifice represented that the only way to be cleansed of leprosy was by divine intervention
Matthew 8:1-4 When He was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.
And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
XX. Healing of the Leper in Matthew 8
A. Leper was not allowed inside town; lived outside the city
B. To see Jesus, leper had to violate the law
C. Leper had to pursue and press through to see Jesus
D. Probably went into town covered so no one would see he was leprous
E. Probably had to avoid crowds because there was a stench that accompanied leprosy from decaying flesh
F. If discovered he would have been thrown out of town
G. Probably realized that there was no cure to be found in man
H. Felt compelled to find the cure in Jesus
I. Was not healed when Jesus touched him; he was healed on the way
1. When Jesus touched the leper it was like spreading hyssop
2. When Jesus touched the leper it was like putting the water and blood on him
3. The One (Jesus) sacrificed stood before the one (leper) set free
XXI. Jesus Sent the Healed Leper to be Examined by the Priest According to Old Testament Law
A. First healing of leper since Old Testament healings of Naaman and Miriam
B. First sacrifices by priests for leper since the Old Testament
C. Third time Leviticus 14 had ever been applied to make an atonement for a healed leper
D. Healing was an announcement that the Messiah had come
XXII. Only One Touch Can Heal
A. Only Jesus can heal
B. Man is no more capable of removing sin than a leper was of removing leprosy
C. Man is no more capable of removing sickness than a leper of removing leprosy
