Wednesday, February 4. Matthew 8:1-17.

This passage is full of amazing stories. Jesus is not only a great teacher, he also has the power to cure people from disease and cast out demons. Who is this guy?

The amazing part of this story, however, is not that Jesus healed people. The amazing thing is who he healed, and the fact that he touched them. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day had a theory. They believed that sickness was caused by sin. So, if a person was sick, they deserved it and should be shunned from society. They also believed that non-Jewish people were automatically unloved by God and should be shunned from society. Finally, they thought that men were better than women.

Notice who Jesus touched in this passage. First, he touched a leper. People with this disease were considered walking dead and were forced to live in colonies in the wilderness until they died. Second, he touched a non-Jewish man and said that this guy had more faith than anybody in Israel, including all those high-and-mighty religious leaders. Third, he touched Peter’s mother-in-law…a woman.

Scandalous, right?

That’s Jesus for you. He was turning his religious world upside down and showing people what the Kingdom of Heaven is really all about: Loving everybody. That’s where real healing comes from.

Who are the lepers and outcasts in your world? How can you show them the love of God today?