And He put forth His hand and touched him, saying, I will, be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him. Luke 5:13
Museums will make much of the various items they have that were actually used by famous and powerful people. Whether it is the pen that King John used to sign the Magna Carta or the baseball bat that Babe Ruth used to hit his record breaking home runs, there are millions of items that people love to see and handle, just because of who handled them first. Some of us actually own things that are important to us because an ancestor or a famous person touched or used them. But all of those touches fade into insignificance when compared to the people who were touched by the Lord Jesus.
No king, no conqueror, no doctor, no statesman, no sports hero, has ever been as significant as the King of King and Lord of Lords. His touch was such that diseases fled in defeat, including the leprosy that the man in our text had. None other has had such power and authority. At His bidding, miracles occurred. If any of the items that were in the house where Jesus grew up were available today, they would fetch huge prices at auction, and they would be worshipped by some gullible folks, because Jesus would have touched them. But they are just passing things; the real value is in the people who He touched, the bodies that were healed and the souls that were saved. Those souls will endure for all eternity, ours included.
Someone once wondered whether the leper’s faith would have faded if the Lord Jesus had denied his request, if He had responded with ‘I will not’. But such a response would have been impossible. The grace of the Lord Jesus could never have rejected a plea for help from a sincere soul. It’s not that the leper deserved to be healed, any more than you and I deserved to be delivered from the penalty and power of our sins. But the grace of God in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, is toward all and upon all that believe. We know that the Lord could have healed the leper without touching him. So why did He touch him? For the same reason that you and I touch people. We touch those who we want to identify with and share with, whether it be a kiss for a spouse, a hug for a child or grandchild, a handshake for a brother or sister in Christ, or even a pat on the shoulder of someone whose efforts we appreciate. The Lord Jesus loved the leper, and conveyed that love in a touch. He appreciated the poor man’s faith, and showed that appreciation in a touch.
Although He does not reach out with a physical touch to us today, the Lord Jesus loves us and appreciates our faith. And He touches our souls through His Word and His presence. -Jim MacIntosh