Text: Luke 17:11-19
Title: “Cured or Healed” preached by Pastor Jimmy Skeen
Sent and copied with permission
What is it that defines you? If you would have asked me that morning who I was, the answer would have been easy, a leper. Leprosy was not only what I was but who I was. I was defined by my disease. I was untouchable, unclean, an outcast, something less than human, I was simply – a leper. Sure I had a family, a job, hopes and dreams, just like you, but as soon as the leper label was applied, none of that seemed to matter anymore. In fact, it seemed as if I didn’t matter anymore.
There was one place I was even tolerated. It was a colony, a community of other miserable outcasts who shared my plight. We lived on the border of
We came from different backgrounds, had different beliefs, and in any other circumstances we would have never been together. But we had one thing in common; we were all defined by our disease. You see in leper land it doesn’t matter if you are smart or dull, rich or poor, Jew or Gentile. Social barriers of every shape and size were broken down by a sickness that was breaking us. It is sad to say that sometimes a disease or a disaster can accomplish what good health never can – it can break down barriers that should never be there in the first place. Anyway, as soon as the leper label was applied, none of that seemed to matter anymore. In fact none of us seemed to matter anymore.
Life in no man’s land was the same old horrible routine day after dreary day. No new medicines arrived, no visitors came to offer hope, no friends stopping by just to check on us. Everyday felt like doomsday. That is until Jesus showed up. He walked right into the middle of no man’s land, sauntered right in! When we couldn’t go to Him, He came to us. He has a strange way of doing that you know, showing up in places where no one else would even step foot, to the people that no one else seems to care about. He love’s to visit no man’s land.
He didn’t say a word, he didn’t lift a finger, he didn’t give a dime … all he did was show up, and you know what? It was enough. Just his presence in my no man’s land was enough to convince me of one thing, “I mattered to this guy!” Whatever the rest of the world thought about me and whatever I thought about myself, Jesus cared! It was almost as if he couldn’t read my leper label. He didn’t define me by my disease. For the first time in a long time a strange sensation that filled my soul … it was hope. I couldn’t help it I started crying out his name. By law I was to shout “Unclean! Unclean!” to warning people to stay away but I mattered to this guy so on that day I cried out to Jesus.
Apparently I wasn’t the only one who received Jesus’ gentle smile as a giant ray of hope because the other nine began shouting with me, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Where death once dominated, life sprang forth, men who were nothing more than walking corpses began to raise up like a spring time lily reaching for a beam of sunshine. This group of rejected and dejected lepers were as excited as children in the school yard, or a group of girls when Derek Duey walks by J (right Derek?). It was amazing! All this hope, all this life, just because Jesus showed up.
Just a side note here, if you really want to love a leper you don’t need all the answers, a fancy education, or lots of resources. Just take Jesus with you and … show up! You might be surprised at the life that springs forth.
Anyway, I’ll never forget how he responded to our cries. He actually heard us. He listened. He cared. And He even stopped to talk to us. That’s something I learned about Jesus that day. I learned that no matter who we are, where we are, or what label we wear, Jesus cares when people cry out to Him. Maybe you need to know that about Jesus today. Take it from me, a guy NO ONE listened to, you can cry out to Jesus and He’ll hear you. He’ll listen, and He’ll care.
The crowd was thick that day, like the outlet mall the day after Thanksgiving. I remember how many of them appeared to be the picture of health. Man that made me jealous. It had been a long time since I had been close to anyone. I had to stand at a distance from Jesus, but they didn’t. These people had the means, the resources, and the opportunity to walk with Him, talk with Him, just to be with Jesus.
Strangely enough though, most of the crowd stood farther away from Jesus than I did. They kept their distance. Some people do that even when they don’t have to. I am not sure if it’s because they are intimidated, afraid of what He might ask or reveal, or what but it happens. A lot of people keep their distance from Jesus even when they don’t have to.
The distance for some of them only increased when they saw Jesus drawing closer to us. He came right over, looked each one of us square in the eyes, man I have never seen eyes like that. When you wear a leper label all you see are eyes filled with fear, hate, and disgust, but not Jesus. No for the first time in what felt like an eternity, I saw compassion, I saw love, and most of all I saw acceptance. Then He said, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” This might not mean that much to you but it did to us. The only way for a leper to be allowed back into the community, to get their life back, was to be declared clean by a priest. When Jesus told us to go to the priest we knew what that meant. We were going to be cured! When you where a leper label ANY compassion is extraordinary but this … there just aren’t words to describe how I felt.
All ten of us did the same thing. We did what we were told we headed toward the temple. We might not have been the smartest group of guys but we were no dummies. We knew right away Jesus wasn’t looking to make a deal. All he was looking for was obedience. Some people try to bargain with Him. They say things like, “I will obey you if you do this first. If you fix my marriage I’ll do what you ask. If you get me out of debt, I’ll pay my tithe. If you get my kids out of trouble then I’ll serve you.” There are a lot of times when Jesus asks for obedience and what He gets instead is a negotiation. He never shows up and says, “Let’s make a deal!” Nope, He just shows up and says “Here’s what I want you to do.” We figured it out right away, he didn’t need us to make a deal he needed us to do what He said.
I took one final glance at this gentle Jesus and then I wheeled and took off for the priest. I am telling you, if a leper’s feet can leave skid marks in the dust mine did! I have never run so fast or furious. But I didn’t get very far. Just a few short strides away I noticed my feet didn’t ache and my arms didn’t hurt. I looked at my left hand and … it was clean. My pace slowed as I inspected my right arm and found the same results. Now was I was at a standstill as I scoured my legs and stomach. To my utter glee I was totally, completely clean! My leper label fell off like a week old band-aid and underneath was healthy vibrant skin.
My heart was racing and the breaths came harder than they did when I was at full sprint. I just stood there taking it all in. Suddenly everything changed. The men I was running with whizzed passed me. They continued their frenzied journey toward the tow, oblivious to my pause. I watched as the people I had spent years with drifted farther into the cloud of dust rising behind them. These were the only friends I knew. The only comfort I found came in that group. But I couldn’t go with them.
As they ran toward town, towards their families, their lives before leprosy, I turned back, and ran to Jesus. I fell down at his feet and cried, and cried, and cried. Jesus gave me a brand new identity that day. I was no longer defined by my disease. Now, I was his follower. He can do that for anyone, you know. Whether what used to define us was leprosy, or addiction, or loneliness, or anger, or any other label. Jesus gives us a new name, a new heart, a new identity.
I found out something else that day. Besides discovering that Jesus isn’t afraid to go to people and places no one else would go; that He hears when we cry out to Him; and that He has power over any kind of disease that would seek to destroy us; I discovered that there is a very big difference between being cured and being healed. Being cured is temporary but being healed is eternal. All ten of us were cured of our leprosy but none of us were going to live forever. As great as it was in that moment the cure was only temporary.
When I went back to Jesus He said to me, “Your faith has made you well.” The word He used for “well” is the root word for salvation. Real salvation is not just deliverance from an earthy disease, nor is it deliverance from a fiery eternity. It is being made whole, being healed, in the deepest, fullest, and richest expression of the word. It means being made complete through a relationship with Jesus that starts now and carries over into eternity.
All ten of us were cured but only I was healed. My friends got what they wanted and went on. I got what I thought I wanted only to discover what I really needed. It wasn’t just a physical cure, but the wholeness that only happens when having Jesus is more important than having anything else. I understood as I fell at His feet. He spoke to the crowd, leaned down and helped me to me to my feet. I was crying before but I was blubbering now. This was the first physical contact I had in years. I was untouchable, but now I was being held by my healer! What a moment that was. I had what I thought I needed but now I had so much more than that. I had Him. Jesus offered Himself to me and He became my friend. So I worshiped and worshiped and worshiped … how could I do anything else? I entered that hopeless leper colony unclean and unloved. But because of Jesus I left there not only cured but healed.
This isn’t a story about a Jesus who did miracles a long time ago. It’s about a Jesus who hears our cries today. He still shows up in no man’s land, he still listens to those that cry out, and he still cures some sicknesses, but He brings healing to every broken heart and life that is hungry to be made whole.
We as a colony, a community, a church believe in a God who can make us whole. The fourteenth article in our articles of faith says, “We believe in the Biblical doctrine of divine healing and urge our people to seek to offer the prayer of faith for the healing of the sick. We also believe God heals through the means of medical science.” Healing, wholeness, salvation – it’s much more than the temporary cure of a physical ailment. It’s being made whole and well in the deepest sense of the word through a relationship with Jesus Christ. This is why a person can be cured and not be made whole, and a person can be made whole without being physically cured.
If you are in need of a healing touch today we want to give you an opportunity to cry out to Jesus. It’s not just broken bodies that need healing, it’s broken hearts, broken emotions, broken relationships, all need a healing touch. If you entered this place feeling hopeless, unclean and unloved, you could find yourself leaving not only cured, but healed, saved, made whole. Do you need a touch from Jesus? If so I invite you to come, to cry out, and to experience the presence, healing power, and the love of Christ today.
Benediction: Go forth to worship the Lord Jesus Christ who hears our cries and makes us whole. Amen.
