Jesus Touches What No One Wants to Touch, Our Pain
Jesus does not move away from the wounded heart. In Luke 5, He receives a man marked by leprosy and shows that His mercy reaches places many avoid, including what we carry with shame before God.
Devotional
In Luke 5:12-13, a man full of leprosy comes to Jesus and says, “Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.”
That man carried more than disease in his body. He also carried isolation, rejection, and the weight of being seen as unclean. His pain was public, but there was also hidden pain in his heart.
Jesus could have answered from a distance. He had power to heal with a word. But the passage says that Jesus put forth His hand and touched him.
That touch reveals the compassion of Christ. Where many saw uncleanness, Jesus saw a suffering person. Where many kept distance, He drew near with mercy.
There are also places in us we try to hide. Old guilt. Shame. Sins that wound us. Fears that may seem small to others, but feel heavy within us. Sometimes we imagine Jesus will move away when all of that comes into the light.
But He already knows our pain. He knows where we are broken. Still, He calls the heart near.
Jesus answered with simple words: “I will: be thou clean.” Healing began when that man stopped hiding and came to Christ as he was.
Today, come to Jesus with honesty. He does not despise the one who comes broken before Him.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, touch what still hurts in us. Cleanse our hearts and teach us to trust Your mercy. Receive us as we are and lead us closer to the Father. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Bible reference
Luke 5:12-13
Read full chapter12 ¶ And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on [his] face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
13 And he put forth [his] hand, and touched him, saying, ‹I will: be thou clean.› And immediately the leprosy departed from him.