Out Of Touch

And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him. And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. And Simon and they that were with him followed after him. And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee. And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth. And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils. And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away; And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter. (Mark 1:34-45)

Thought For Today:

According to the Old Testament law, lepers were considered outcasts and were separated from others. They had to dress in a specific way and declare themselves unclean. They were also required to live in colonies away from the rest of society. If a person who was clean touched a leper, they would also be considered unclean. However, Jesus did not adhere to these laws when it came to people. He was willing to spend time with and touch those who were considered unclean and sinners by others. Jesus saw those whom the religious deemed as unclean and sinners as people who needed a physician. As the Chief physician, He was filled with compassion when He saw them and responded to their requests. Jesus stated His purpose for coming as follows: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4:18-19). When Jesus touched those lepers, they were freed from their captivity. If you are struggling with a besetting sin - a sin that seems impossible to overcome and constantly troubles you - you can cry out to Jesus for help and allow Him to cleanse you.