A man comes home from work and shows his wife a small blister on his hand, it does not hurt, it will pass. A few weeks later he hears a verdict that takes away his home, his family and every human touch for the rest of his life. This moving retelling of a leper’s story leads to a scene in Luke’s Gospel (Luke 5), where Jesus could have healed with a single word and yet reached out and touched him. Listen if you know the taste of isolation, through illness, shame, addiction or sin, and want to hear what Jesus answers to the quiet cry of a heart.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- In Jesus' time a leper had to live outside the village, wear rags and cry out "unclean." What did this disease mean for the man in Luke 5:12-16 beyond the physical suffering?
- Jesus could have healed with a word alone, yet He touches the leper, even though the law said anyone who touched the unclean became unclean. What does this touch reveal about who Jesus is and how He sees people?
- The leper says, "If you are willing, you can make me clean," and Jesus answers, "I am willing." What does it mean to you that Jesus is willing to touch your life too, including what is most broken and sinful in it?
- The sermon presents leprosy as a picture of sin, which separates us from God and from other people. How do sin or shame isolate people today, and what makes it hard to believe that Jesus wants to bring us out of that?
- The disciples were wondering what it meant to fish for people, and some of them drew back from the leper. What does this scene teach you about how Jesus wants His followers to approach people who are rejected?
- Who around you feels lonely, rejected or "untouchable," and what concrete step toward them can you take this week?
