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Our Place

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Have you ever felt unworthy to be in the presence of Jesus?

I think we all have.

But none like this man we see in Mark 1 who had leprosy. When you had leprosy you were outcasts. You had to live outside the city or in a secluded place. There were other rules they had to follow as well. We see these in Leviticus 13:

“Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of their face and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ As long as they have the disease they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp.” - Leviticus 13:45-46 NIV

So they were to be away from family and friends and other loved ones while they had this disease of which there wasn't a cure. But this man we leprosy in Mark 1 handles his situation differently.

“A man with leprosy came to him… - Mark 1:40a NIV

Let's look at this verse for second. The first thing that I see is we don't know his name. He is identified by his problem. He is identified as just a man with leprosy. It can be true that "sometimes people know your issues before they know your name." [1] They know you by your past or something that you have done and that is your identity. If we are not careful we can let that identity that people put on us consume and then we begin to think that is who we really are.

But if you are reading this Jesus says different. Jesus calls us by name. He calls us by our really identity. He tells that we are loved when no one else does. He loves us when no one else will. He is there for us when everyone runs out on us.

Don't let other people decide who are listen to who Jesus says you are! You are a dearly loved child of Almighty God!

“A man with leprosy came to him - Mark 1:40a NIV

This man came right up to Jesus. Mark doesn't record whether or not he followed proper protocol either. Maybe he did or maybe didn't. I personally don't think that he did because he knew that if Jesus was who He said He was and could do what He said He could do - he would no longer be unclean after an encounter with Jesus. So he decided give it a try. He could see Jesus in the distance and he started making his way toward Jesus. As he was getting closer no one was stopping him. He was getting closer and closer and closer. Finally he made it Jesus:

“....and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean"
Filled with compassion He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”” - Mark 1:40b-41 NIV [2]

This is how Jesus looks at us. He looks at us with compassion and love. He reached out and touched him. Jesus wasn't afraid of his problem and He's not afraid of yours either. But you have to come to Jesus with those problems and let Him heal you. Let Him take them away and for the most part He already has. He is more than willing to take your mess and make you whole again. But you have to go to Jesus.

But this story doesn't end there. Jesus had told the man to keep quiet about had happened. But instead the man went a told everyone. So this happened to Jesus:

“Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.” - Mark 1:45 NIV

They switched places. The one that was outside the town was now inside and the One that was inside was now outside. Jesus took his place.

Jesus took our place. Jesus took everything on Him and took it to the Cross and paid for it so we didn't have to. Jesus wants us to have life "and have it to the full." (John 10:10, NIV) This is what He wanted for the man with leprosy and this is what He wants for us. So He took our place.

 This is grace!
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The content of this post is based off of the message "Danger in the Distance" by Pastor Steven Furtick of Elevation Church. To find out more visit //http://elevationchurch.org
[1] Pastor Steven Furtick from the message listed above.
[2] Some translations used the word “indignant”. For on this please watch Steven Furtick’s explanation in the message above starting at 28:30.
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