(Study Outline sourced from “The System Bible Study” – “The Book of Life” {Zondervan])
(9) The Healing Of The Leper (on the Galilean tour)
“A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”. Luke writes “a man…covered with leprosy” – this man came on his knees imploring Jesus to heal him “Lord, if you are willing…”– Jesus, “Filled with compassion” reached out and healed the man, instructing him to show himself to the priest and offer the sacrifices commanded in the Law by Moses , also that he should not speak of this to anyone. Jesus’ healing of the man displayed His divine power as the Jews believed that only God could cure leprosy . The man, however, “began to talk freely” and as a result Jesus could no longer openly enter a town.
(10) Jesus Heals The Paralytic Let Down Through The Roof
“But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” He said to the paralytic, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
This account recorded by Matthew, Mark, and Luke indicates that Jesus met the most important need of the Paralytic by first forgiving his sins – Son, your sins are forgiven”. This statement to the man offended the teachers of the Law who were present causing them to think to themselves – “He’s blaspheming” – Jesus was claiming to be deity since only God could forgive sins. It would be easier for anyone to say “your sins are forgiven” than to say – “take your mat and go home” and have the response from the Paralytic that was witnessed by all the people – “He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all.” This gave proof of Jesus’ claim to be God, the Paralytic was healed and his sins were forgiven, as Luke records – “Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.” – praising God that his sins were forgiven and that he was able to walk.
(11) The Call Of Matthew (Levi)
“On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” ; Jesus was again walking by the Lake (Galilee) when He saw Levi sitting at his booth collecting taxes. On hearing Jesus’ call, Levi – “got up, left everything and followed him” – no doubt Levi had heard all that Jesus was doing in the Galilee region and was ready to obey the voice of God and answer the call to serve Him. Levi held a “great banquet” to which he invited some of his fellow tax collectors and other friends to dine with Jesus and His disciples; again, the self-righteous Pharisees took objection to Jesus dining with the “tax collectors and sinners” and Jesus rebuked the Pharisees by pointing them to what Hosea and Micah had recorded in their writings ; if the sinners were to be saved Jesus needed to be where they were so that they could hear the message of salvation .
(12) Jesus Defends His Disciples For Feasting Instead Of Fasting
“Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?” Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them.” . The only requirement for fasting in the Mosaic Law was for the Day of Atonement – fasting was a time of mourning, denying oneself of food and doing no work, while atoning for sins; the Pharisees, however, had added to this Law by introducing additional fast days and the features of fasting had deteriorated from the original format dictated by the Law of Moses. Jesus contrasted fasting to the feasting of a Jewish wedding, indicating that while the bridegroom was present there could be no fasting, since it was a time of rejoicing instead of mourning. Jesus then tells a parable of old and new garments and wineskins to illustrate the hypocrisy of the Pharisees in their manner of fasting – their type of fasting was addressed by the prophet Isaiah as he compared false and true fasting – “Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself?” – Jesus came to introduce a new way of righteousness .
Jesus came into the world to introduce a new way of righteousness, one that would free mankind from the yoke of sin that causes us to sorrow and mourn; from which we cannot free ourselves. The Pharisees were like those who are comparing the old and the new wine and say that “The old is better” showing their reluctance to change from their old traditional ways of trying to be righteous and accept the new way of the gospel that Jesus introduced; the idea of fasting that Jesus introduced was one that demonstrates our righteousness and brings glory to God by the way we live and conduct our lives – “your righteousness will go before you…” .
(13) Jesus Heals The Woman Subject To Bleeding
“And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.”
Nothing is said of the precise nature of this woman’s illness but as to the requirements of the Mosaic law, life must have been extremely miserable for her. The Law stipulated many restrictions on such a person stating that everything she came in contact with was unclean – her bed, anything she sat on, anyone who touches her, and anyone or thing she touched – if she were a married woman she could not come near to her husband, and her condition had lasted for twelve years. Mark’s account stated that she “had spent all she had” and her condition only got worse, and in her situation she could not openly approach the Lord Jesus to seek healing and cleansing, because she would have made everyone in the crowd unclean, so she secretly approached and touched Jesus’ clothes. The question that Jesus asked – “Who touched my clothes?” , was not for the reason that He did not know, He wanted her to publicly confess her faith in Him and to assure her that she was healed because of such faith – “your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering” ; Jesus had met both her physical and spiritual needs as she was healedand went her way in peace with God her Saviour.
(Continued….)