He Loved People

"POWER WAS WITH HIM TO DO HEALING"

Jesus was well into his public ministry, and his most recent area of activity was Galilee. In one of the cities there, Jesus  encountered a pitiful sight.  (Mark 1:39, 40) Right in front of him was a man with a frightful disease, leprosy.  Testifying to the advance stage of the man's illness, physician Luke describes him as being "full of leprosy." (Luke 5:12) "When he caught sight of Jesus, [the leper] fell face down and begged him:  'Lord, if you just want o, you can make me clean.' " The man had no doubt that Jesus possessed the power to heal him, but what he needed to know was, did Jesus have the desire to do so?  How would Jesus respond to this heartfelt request?  What was Jesus thinking as he beheld this man who was probably disfigured? Would Jesus be like the Pharisees, who had developed a heartless view of people suffering from this disease?  What would you have done? 

Apparently, this leprous man had neglected to call out "Unclean, unclean! as the Mosaic Law stipulated.  Jesus did not bring that up. Rather, he concentrated on the man himself and his needs.  (Leviticus 1343-46) We do not know exactly what thoughts  were going through Jesus' mind, but we do know what was in his heart. Moved with compassion, Jesus did the incredible. He stretched out his hand, touched the leper, and with a voice reflecting both strength and tenderness, Jesus said:  "I want to! Be made clean."  "Then the leper vanished from him."  (Luke 5:13) Indeed, Jehovah's power was there-not only for Christ to perform such a miracle but also for Jesus to demonstrate how much he loved people.  -Luke 5:17. 

God's power enabled Jesus Christ to perform a wide variety of astounding miracles.  He cured not only leprosy but also ever sort of disease  and ever sort of infirmity among the people.  The inspired record  tells us:  "The crowd felt amazement as they saw the speechless speaking and the maimed being made sound and the lame walking and the blind seeing." (Matthew 15:31)  To perform such acts of compassion, Jesus needed no organ donors  for transplants. He healed the very organs or body parts that were afflicted! And he healed people instantly, sometimes even from a distance.  (John 4:46-54)  What do these amazing examples show?  That Jesus, now enthroned as heavenly King, has not only the power but also the desire to bring about permanent healing. Learning about the way Jesus treated people gives us confidence that in the new world, the Bible prophecy will be fulfilled:  "He will have pity on the lowly and the poor." (Psalm 72:13) Yes, Jesus will then act on his heart's desire to help all afflicted ones. 

Next time: He Loved People - "GET UP! PICK UP YOUR MAT AND WALK" 

From the Watchtower magazine