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When he came down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. Behold, a leper came to him and worshiped him, saying, 'Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean.' Jesus stretched out his hand, and touched him, saying, 'I want to. Be made clean.' Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Matthew 8:1 WEB

An outcast waited by the roadside, hoping to see Jesus. He was a leper and had a skin disease that could not be hidden. Lepers were considered 'unclean' and you were not to touch them or you would become defiled.

The leper came and humbly knelt before Jesus, then said, 'Lord, if You want to, You can make me clean.' The King of all Kings reached out to him and said: 'I want to.'

The Lord Jesus reached out His hand, touched the unclean man, and cleansed him of his disease. His leprosy was now gone, the shame, and the pain was healed. Jesus touched the outcast and restored his life, while everyone else shunned them.

In the Old Testament, lepers were to be put outside of the camp (Numbers 5:2). There were intricately detailed laws about showing themselves to the priests (Leviticus 13:49) and if a leper touched someone, even a priest, they were then unclean as well. It was originally to help control the spread of disease, but it became more of a social class.

In the New Testament, Jesus healed the lepers, sometimes ten at a time (Luke 17:17). This was new. Under the old law, the priest could not touch someone diseased. Under the new, Jesus touched and healed them, because He wanted to.

If you are an outcast today, know that Jesus still touches the outcasts and restores them because He wants to, but you have to come to Him and ask Him like the man in the story. Jesus healed those that came to Him and asked. Many others just walked on, overwhelmed by their problems. Leprosy was considered incurable, but this man humbly came and knelt before Jesus, and like the centurion he believed and said 'Lord, You can heal me.'

When you are sick, humbly ask the Lord to heal you. If He does not, you are no worse off. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Sometimes He will take us through it for our education, but other times He will take it away completely, because He wants to.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I come to You today and ask that You have mercy on me. Lord restore me and help me become the best version of myself. Replace my desires, with Yours. If You want Lord, You can make me clean. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray.

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