We talk all the time about obeying Jesus’ commandments. But what are those commandments exactly? Are we just to be kind to one another, or go to church on Sundays or something simple like that? As a matter of fact, it goes way deeper. Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount dramatically makes the point that the Law that God gave the Israelites in the Old Testament is still the standard of righteousness. None of God’s teachings from the Old Testament are to be neglected; Jesus still expects the same degree of divinely perfect righteousness from his people that he always has.
Yikes. This should scare us a bit. We are commanded to be utterly pure in not only our actions but even our thoughts; we are to treat others with perfect justice, mercy, and generosity; and we are to be fully heaven-minded and not at all earth-minded. How are we shaping up?
But Matthew knows what he’s doing as he records the stories of the Messiah. What’s the first thing Jesus does after the Sermon on the Mount? He heals a man of leprosy. This man has no lawful righteousness that he might deserve to be cleansed; in fact, even him being in public while diseased is unlawful. But because he has faith that Jesus is the God who makes men clean, Jesus makes the man clean. After reminding the people of the divine standard of righteousness, Jesus heals a man and declares him righteous, simply for having faith in the law-fulfilling, people-redeeming, Father-glorifying work of Jesus the Messiah.
Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing. We cannot meet God’s standard of righteousness, and we cannot reconcile ourselves to him. But through Christ who cleanses us, we can. Jesus forgives our trespasses and gives us his Spirit of holiness, so that we may be able to be holy. By his grace, we can be pure in both action and thought, operate with perfect justice, mercy, and generosity, and live with our mind ever on heaven, just as he has always commanded us to do. All we must do is have faith in him. Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean! If we have the faith to join the leper in saying this, Jesus will always be faithful to say, “I am willing.”
