Perhaps one of the most touching moments in the ministry of Jesus was when a Leper shouted to Him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean” (Mt8:5). Jesus then did the unthinkable. He touched this man (how men today still desperately need a touch from Jesus).
Now Jesus could have easily healed this man without touching him. All He had to do was speak the word and it would be done, for as we know the Lord has all authority over diseases. “Jesus put out His hand and touched him saying, I am willing, be cleansed” (Mt8:3). Jesus touched the untouchable with compassion and love and healing.
Jesus has been doing that every day since then. His compassion reached into the gutters of life. He is no respecter of persons. He will accept anyone who comes to Him just as they are. Man-made gods have always been out of the reach of common men. A line from a famous hymn says, “If salvation was a thing that money could buy, then the rich would live and the poor would die.” Every man-made deity that has came forth from mans imagination had no time for the poor and the afflicted and the downtrodden.
The true and living God is intimately involved with people from every walk of life. Our God came and walked amongst us. He laughed and cried, wept, He hungered and labored hard for food. He did not live in a palace, but lived amongst ordinary men. He was not robed in purple and gold. He was not carried aloft on men’s shoulders and did not ride a magnificent stallion. Our Jesus walked and suffered the heat of the day.
He knew hunger and He knew thirst. He knew what it was to work very hard and undoubtedly had callused hands. His hands would not be soft and gentle like the hands of kings and men of great wealth. His did not live in an ivory castle. In fact the Son of Man had nowhere to lay His head.
Yes, He was the Son of God and performed mighty miracles, but He would be spared nothing, under God the Father. He lived as other men lived and knew the sufferings of the ordinary man. He had a path before Him and it was His to walk. This path had been formed before the foundations of the earth was laid. Before the stars in the heavens above were placed, Jesus’destiny was known.
He would walk this earth and be a man aquainted with grief. His life would culminate in betrayal, mockery, abandonment and torture. The very flesh would be ripped from His back and His beard pulled out. Little men would spit in the face of the Almighty. They would beat a crown of thorns in His head and drag Him to a hill and hang Him from a cross amongst thieves.
And all that would be the easy part. He would then drink fully the cup that had been prepared for Him. All the sins of the world would be laid upon Him. And in the darkest moment of history, one that cannot be imagined, the Father turned His head and looked away. The full horror of hell, now visited upon The one who was one with the Father, and He would suffer our punishment in our place. And in the most agonizing cry ever uttered, Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why has thou forsaken me.” Only when one comes before God for judgment, and then cast away from His presence, will that one even begin to imagine the horror Jesus suffered for each and every one of us.
The Character of Jesus is higher than the highest heavens. His love and compassion and mercy and obedience are beyond what our feeble minds can comprehend. And since we can only compare with what we know, we can say with full assurance, and still fall pitifully short, that our Saviors love would render the deepest ocean to but a single tear from the Masters eye. The sun that blazes brilliantly in the sky, but a spark compared to our Lords burning passion. The universe and all others combined, smaller than the smallest chamber of His heart. This is the God we serve; this is the Jesus of the Gospels; this is Jesus, God amongst us:
He is the Bread of Life, The True vine, the Good shepherd, the Light of the World, He is the way, the Truth and the Life, The Gate for the sheep, Yahweh,He is our Victorious Champion, He is Master and Lord, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, He is the Resurrection and the Life, the Lamb of God, He is worthy to be praised, the Hope of mankind, He is every breath that I take, Mighty councilor, the Almighty, The Christ, My Savior, The Anointed One, The Prince of Peace, The Alpha and the Omega, The Beginning and the End, He is the Author and the Finisher of our faith, the Messiah, The Potter, The Comforter, The Conqueror, Creator, Ancient of Days, The Living Water, Majestic, Omnipotent, The King Eternal, He is the Everlasting Father, The Exalted One, He is faithful and True, A Father to the fatherless, this Fire that burns within, He is my Rock and my Fortress, The Foundation of the world, The Fountain of Life, The God that Healeth thee, He is Higher than the highest heavens, Incorruptible, Infallible, My Keeper, The Lion of Judah, My Righteousness, My Strength, Merciful, He is the mighty One of Israel. He is Perfect…………….He is the Lord my God and He is one God. I shall love the Lord my God with all of heart. I shall praise the Lord my God with all of my soul………….Let Jesus be praised! He is all these things and so much more. But most importantly, He is alive!