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The Leper

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"When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. 2  And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 3  And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4  And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” - Matthew 8:1-4 ESV (also in Mark 1:40-45) Short accounts like this one are often overlooked, and little attention is paid to their significance. This account is a beautiful example of the nature and heart of our Saviour. It is not merely the account of Jesus healing a man of leprosy but of a holy God accepting and embracing the outcasts, the untouchables. At the time, which was under the law, lepers were considered "unclean" and were rejected by society. Whatever an unclean person touched became unclean o
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The Sermon on the Mount

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Christians when reading Jesus' well-known “Sermon on the Mount” immediately assumes it is addressed to them and they try to apply the radical statements to the best of their ability (see Matthew 5-7). The “sermon on the mount” was, however, not preached to the believer. It was addressed to and intended for a particular group of people, at a specific point in time with a precise purpose in mind. The group Jesus was addressing were the Israelites (see Matt 4:25-5:1) and two of His aims were to show them the shortcomings of their current covenant and their need for a Saviour. Through "the sermon on the mount" Jesus sought to reach his audience where they were at and prepare them for what is to come. “For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.” Hebrews 8:7 What is a covenant? Alistar I. Wilson and Jamie A. Grant wrote that: “At its most basic, [a] covenant presents God’s desire to enter into relat
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