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Do I belong here? It’s a question we all face at one time or another. Our constitution says that all are created equal. So, if someone is human, they can be a full citizen here. They don’t need to be a particular race or ethnic group.
However, in spite of the principle, for most of our country’s history, we deliberately set up legal barriers that kept people from really belonging here and being full citizens. Thanks be to God for the work of men like Martin Luther King, Junior, who called us to live consistently with our ideals even when most did not want to hear it. Because of him, our country made significant progress in removing those legal barriers that kept people from belonging.
While we have made progress, people still get left behind. Even where people are welcomed legally, this does not always equate to a change in people’s hearts to welcome all. It’s easy for us to forget the struggle that has occurred in the past to make this nation a place where anyone can belong. That’s why it’s good to have Martin Luther King, Junior Day. It calls us to remember triumph over past injustice and to continue to strive for a more perfect one.
This struggle of belonging is something we can see on a limited scale all around us. It’s easy for us to build our own world where we feel accepted and never try to enter new places. Why? Because breaking into new places is hard. It takes time and effort. When you feel like you are on the inside, it’s easy to forget what it’s like for new people seeking to enter. That’s why it’s good to put yourself into situations where you will be on the outside. It reminds us of what it is like to enter into a new place.
When it comes to the kingdom of God, what should it be like? What does it say to people who feel that they don’t belong? Today, we want to look at what the King did to show people that they belong in the kingdom. In the three passages we have before us, we have three people who felt like they didn’t belong. In the King’s response to them, we see something remarkable. The King welcomes all. So, let’s look at how Jesus treats a leper, a paralytic, and a tax collector to see how Jesus shows that all people are welcome and can belong in His kingdom.
The Leper
In the first account, there is a man who is “covered with leprosy.” Leprosy may refer to a variety of skin diseases. When there is something wrong with our skin, it’s easy to feel awkward about it. Imagine this man who was covered with it. But it’s worse than that. In those days, a person who was a leper had to go into isolation. He had to warn people as they came near of his condition. He could not join with the community. He could not go up to worship the Lord in the temple.
If there is one thing that 2020 taught me, it was the joy of a crowd of people. For a couple of months, most of us stayed isolated. We did not even meet for worship. I have a large family, but many people were alone. What a joy it was to come back. This was only for a couple of months. For the leper, he had no idea if or when it would end.
So, this leper, because of his disease and all that it entailed did something he was not supposed to do. He approached Jesus. He fell on the ground and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean” (Luke 5:12).
Jesus had the power to heal, but was He willing to do anything with it? “‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’ And immediately the leprosy left him” (Luke 5:13). Far from spreading the uncleanness to Jesus, Jesus spread health to the leper! That’s what the presence of Jesus does.
What the leper did was bold, but what Jesus did was even more astonishing. “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man” (Luke 5:13). When was the last time that someone had touched this man? Touch is extremely important for a human being, and this man had likely not experienced it in a long, long time.
After this, Jesus told him to follow the laws of Moses and present himself to the priests and follow the rituals for those who had been cleansed from leprosy. Jesus did not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it. He honored the laws of the Old Testament. The time was coming when the laws would change, but He entered the world while the laws of the Old Testament were still in effect. Once He had died and risen again, the ceremonial laws would be fulfilled and become indifferent. The laws of the state of Israel applied to that state but don’t oblige anyone except insofar as they reflect general justice.
Now, how did Jesus get the power to keep touching the untouchable and reaching out to the unreached? “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16). That’s how Jesus got the power. How much more should we? If we are going to love, we need the foundation of love that the Father gives us. We need to seek from Him what we need. We are not the fountain of love. We are a channel of love, receiving it from the Father and giving it to others. We need to be restored in worship and fellowship with the Father, if we are going to serve others.
The Paralytic
Notice how in each of these passages, Jesus is not necessarily seeking someone out. Someone just pops up in front of Him. This is especially the case with the paralytic. On this occasion, Jesus was teaching people from all over in a house. Many of the leaders of the area were there. However, there were also a group of men who cared about their friend. Their friend could not walk. He was a paralytic. They wanted to get this man to Jesus so Jesus could heal him. However, there was no way into the house.
So, they devised a plan. They would go to the top of the house, cut a hole in the roof, and lower the man down in front of Jesus. And that’s just what they did.
Now, how would Jesus respond to this interruption of His work? He said to the man, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” It is a fascinating response. First, he calls him a friend. He gives him a welcoming word. He is not upset by what he has done. He is happy to have him there. Second, he says your sins are forgiven. This was not the stated purpose in the minds of the friends, but it was the true need of the paralytic. It’s easy for us to think that when things go badly or not as we would like that God is against us. We need to believe the word, “Your sins are forgiven.” This does not mean just that God brings us back to zero. It means He has good things in store for us. It gives us hope. When things go wrong, it’s easy for us to believe there is no hope. When we go by the Word of God’s acceptance, we can know that difficulties or challenges do not mean the absence of God’s love. God will use them for our good. That’s His promise. Forgiveness is a word that brings hope.
The leaders who are there responded to what Jesus did negatively. “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Luke 5:21). Part of this was correct. God alone can forgive sins. We sin against other people, but all our sin is ultimately against our Creator. So, He alone can forgive. To claim the absolute power to forgive sins is to claim the right of God. It would be blasphemy, unless the person speaking was actually God Himself. That’s the shocking thing here.
Jesus knew their thoughts, and so He was going to show them that He had that power. “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk'” (Luke 5:23–24). Which one is easier? It’s a good question. The former required the cross. The latter was an act of infinite power.
Jesus wanted them to know that He had the power on earth to forgive sins. He wanted them to know that He would welcome anybody and everybody into His kingdom. So, He said, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home” (Luke 5:24). And He did so. This showed that the kingdom had come. The King was here. He had the power to heal. He had the power to forgive. No one, whatever they had done, was excluded. Why? Because the kingdom comes with the forgiveness of sins! So, everyone is welcome. We don’t need to let our guilt and shame keep us back. “Your sins are forgiven!” is the word of the King!
After this, everyone was amazed. They proclaimed in awe, “We have seen a marvelous thing today.”
Levi
It seems like what happened next occurred right after Jesus healed the paralytic. Mark tells us that Jesus went out to the lake and then He returned. When He returned, He came by the tax collector booth. There was a man there named Levi. The name Levi is, of course, taken from the son of Jacob named Levi. The descendants of Levi became those who took care of the tabernacle and then later the temple. It is ironic that we find him here taking taxes for the Roman government. The tax collector may have had wealth, but he was despised like no other. He was a traitor to his people in the eyes of many and also often used his position to get more money to line his own pocket with.
What Jesus did was to call this man away from what He is doing to a new way of life. He said, “Follow me.” And then Levi got up and followed Him. Jesus was willing to take as His follower one who had lived an unjust life. He brought forgiveness even to those who had done wrong to others. He had likely harmed them. This may be a hard thing for some to swallow, but this is the grace of Jesus. It literally overcomes all our sins.
Jesus wasn’t done. He went to Levi’s house and got together with a bunch of people like Levi. He got close enough to the “sinful” people so that He could call them to follow Him. He had to go where they were to be able to do so. So, He went to a party that Levi threw for Jesus and for Levi’s friends.
The leaders were once again scandalized. They went to Jesus’ disciples and asked, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” (Luke 5:30).
Jesus gave them a simple answer. This was the very reason He had come. He came to restore people, to bring them back to health. He said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:31–32). Are you a sinner? Then, the King has come to call you to be part of His kingdom. That’s amazing good news.
Conclusion & Application
Jesus is the King who welcomes all into His kingdom. Let this encourage you. He is the one who will receive you. Whatever you have done, wherever you have been, Jesus will welcome you into His kingdom.
For those who are part of this kingdom, you need to learn to live more by this Word. It’s easy to let our own negative thoughts govern us. It’s easy to look at circumstances and judge our place with God. We need to hear the Word from Jesus. “Your sins are forgiven you.” This means that we are accepted and that Jesus is determined to do us good. We need to take this in because that is what will give us the strength to do what I’m going to talk about next.
We need to remember that there is a world full of lepers, paralytics, and tax collectors who need to know about this Jesus. We are not the only ones. How will they know? They will know by how we present Him with our words and actions. What do we do when God bring us someone across our path? Do we react like Jesus to show Jesus, or do we quickly pass by or show a face of irritation?
It’s worth thinking about because as Saint Teresa of Avila put it, “Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion for the world is to look out; yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good; and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now.” That’s an amazing privilege. We can show the marvelous works of Jesus by how we interact with the world. Thus may it be.
Benediction: As you go out this week, you will find people in your path just as Jesus did. You have the amazing opportunity to present Jesus to them, to show them that the King welcomes all by how you look at them, how you speak to them, and how you interact with them. And so, as you go, may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.