Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”—Mark 1:41 (NIV)

Stepping through the door propped up on the stage, our pastor smiled and said, “This is how some of you are when you enter church. You smile. You greet one another. You act like Christians. But when you walk out of church,” he stepped back through the door and lost the smile, “you act like the world. You are no different from the world.” I can’t remember what he said next. Because suddenly my mind exploded into countless accusatory questions.

Am I like this? Am I a hypocrite? I try to follow Christ in everything. Where am I falling short? Have I been abusing God’s grace? Is Jesus mad at me? Does God no longer love me? Is there no grace left for me?

For years I’ve struggled with the gift of grace. Intellectually I understood it. But I didn’t know how to balance God’s gift ~ which cost the blood of Jesus ~ with my sinful nature. Scriptures and sermons which warn about abusing grace filled me with fear. I often lived as though I could only receive a certain allotment of grace. When it’s gone, it’s gone. 

Recently I gained a new perspective on grace through a passage I’ve always loved. A man with leprosy approached Jesus with these words, “If you are willing, you can make me clean” (Mark 1:40 NIV). Because of the extreme contagious nature of leprosy, it would have been unthinkable for anyone living in Jesus’ time to touch a leper. In fact, by Jewish law, a leper had to live apart from the community. They even had to call out “Unclean! Unclean!” to prevent anyone from drawing too close to them (Leviticus 13:45-46). 

Although to our modern way of thinking this sounds harsh, the law meant to protect the community. It was the only way they knew to keep the disease from spreading. Sadly, many people mistakenly believed God inflicted leprosy as a punishment for sin. Because of this, lepers became marginalized and received little compassion. 

I’ve always appreciated how Jesus could have healed the leper with His words, but chose to heal him with His touch:

Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. (Mark 1:41-42 NIV)

The Greek word translated in this passage as indignant, splagchnizomai, means to be moved in the inward parts, or to feel compassion. Whenever I wonder if Jesus is willing to help me, I turn to this passage as evidence of both His compassion and His willingness. 

But recently this healing revealed another truth. By touching the man, Jesus did the unimaginable and risked becoming unclean. To everyone’s surprise, Jesus reversed the expected outcome. Not only did His purity remain intact, but it also completely overpowered the man’s uncleanliness and made him whole.  

When I apply this principle to my own sinful uncleanliness, I realize Jesus is bigger than all of my sin. He is both able and willing to give me all the grace I need. Appreciation for His abundant grace motivates me to live in ways that honor Him ((Titus 2:11-12). 

Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for the infinite gift of grace. May we always be confident in both Your ability and Your willingness to forgive us. And may Your grace lead us to live in ways that honor You. We pray this in Your name. Amen.