Matthew 8:2 (KJV) If God Wills

Matthew 8:2 (KJV)
And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

I heard on an episode of Stuff You Missed in History Class[1] that, at one time, the sexually transmitted disease called syphilis was labeled as a leprosy. If this was true in Biblical times then it gives yet deeper meaning to the role leprosy plays in the Bible as a type for sin.

That Christ wills this man’s healing, should his leprosy be a STD, proves even more the grace of God.

• It really would be a disease contracted through willful sin
• It would have been the consequence of a violation of all that is moral 
• It would have been contagious through further acts of sin

Why he had leprosy was not addressed. Whether his leprosy was a STD or another form of the disease is no concern to Jesus. This man believed Christ could choose to heal him and Christ so chose.

Oh, the grace of God! How often we come to Him knowing full well we have gotten ourselves into the mess we are in and yet, when we ask, God graciously recovers us from the snare we set for ourselves.

[1] http://www.missedinhistory.com/podcasts/tuskegee-syphilis-study.htm

To my readers:
I would love to hear from you. Leave comments below.

For this and more than 3800 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Pastor Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

Matthew 8:2 (KJV) If God Wills

Please consider helping our church’s teen department by signing up for cash back shopping at Bible Baptist Church Fundraiser. This program has three levels of participation, the first being completely free.