Pastor Bob DuPar
March 22, 2008

Journal Entry


Scripture

Numbers 33:40-35:34; Luke 5:12-28; Psalm 65:1-13; Proverbs 11:23.

Observation

I love the story of the leper:

“Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” What faith! Notice the leper does not say, “Lord, if You can,” but, “Lord, if you are willing.” And what a beautiful response Jesus gives: “I am willing! Be clean!” Jesus gives the man his life back and a chance to live in community rather than isolation and loneliness. What a window into the heart of God: “I am willing!”

Jesus’ interaction with the paralytic and the Pharisees later in Luke 5 is another great proof text for the deity of Jesus. The Pharisees were right. Only God could/can forgive sins. Jesus, not just by healing the man, but also by forgiving the man’s sins, demonstrated that He was and is in fact God.

Many times this passage (and others like it) is used to argue that sickness, and disabilities are always a direct result of sin. Yet, Jesus corrected this misguided way of thinking in John 9:1-3 when He and His disciples encountered a blind man:

“As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

Psalm 65:3 really struck a chord in me,

“When we were overwhelmed by sins, You forgave our transgressions.”

This verse made me think of Romans 5:6,

“For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”


Application

The overwhelming application that I received from today’s reading was that God “is willing,” am I? Am I willing to change? Am I willing to be healed? Am I willing to take the steps necessary to see God act? Do I truly believe in His power to do all things?

Prayer

“God, thank You not just for Your willingness to heal and to save, but also for Your passionate desire to do these things. May I be just as desirous for the changes You want for my life.”