九月四日

我肯，你潔淨了吧！（可1：41）

空虛混沌，淵面黑暗的時代，全能者下令說“要有光”，馬上就有了光。主耶穌的話也像創世之時一樣地有權柄。救贖和創造一樣，他的話有能力。耶穌一說就成了。麻風是人所不能治好的，但主一說“我肯”，它就逃之夭夭。這種病沒有痊愈的希望和徵象，人爲的方法都無效用，但這話一出，病就永遠除去。罪人的情形和麻風人一樣地可憐，他要學麻風人的榜樣到耶穌面前用自己僅有的一點信心，向他跪下說“你若肯，必能叫我潔淨了”，也勿須疑慮結果如何。耶穌治好了一切到他那裏來的人，他幷不弃絕任何人。

在念這一段聖經的時候，我們要留意耶穌伸手摸了那個長大麻風的人。這個不潔淨的人違犯了儀式的律法和規定，闖進了屋內，但耶穌幷不斥責他，爲了醫治他的緣故也破例地觸摸了他。因他觸摸長大麻風的，按利未記不潔的條例，他也成爲不潔的。耶穌基督就這樣爲我們成了罪，但他是不知罪的，爲的是叫我們在他裏面成爲神的義。可憐的罪人哪！當就到耶穌那裏，相信他替贖的能力，那麽他必用大能的慈手來摸你。那手曾使餅變多，曾挽救彼得免得他沉入水中，曾高舉受苦的聖徒，曾賜冠冕給信徒，幷且使長大麻風的人得到潔淨。耶穌的愛是救恩的來源。他愛，他看，他摸我們，我們便得以存活。

September 4

"I will; be thou clean." -- Mark 1:41

Primeval darkness heard the Almighty fiat, "light be," and straightway light was, and the word of the Lord Jesus is equal in majesty to that ancient word of power. Redemption like Creation has its word of might. Jesus speaks and it is done. Leprosy yielded to no human remedies, but it fled at once at the Lord's "I will." The disease exhibited no hopeful signs or tokens of recovery, nature contributed nothing to its own healing, but the unaided word effected the entire work on the spot and for ever. The sinner is in a plight more miserable than the leper; let him imitate his example and go to Jesus, "beseeching Him and kneeling down to Him." Let him exercise what little faith he has, even though it should go no further than "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean"; and there need be no doubt as to the result of the application. Jesus heals all who come, and casts out none. In reading the narrative in which our morning's text occurs, it is worthy of devout notice that Jesus touched the leper. This unclean person had broken through the regulations of the ceremonial law and pressed into the house, but Jesus so far from chiding him broke through the law Himself in order to meet him. He made an interchange with the leper, for while He cleansed him, He contracted by that touch a Levitical defilement. Even so Jesus Christ was made sin for us, although in Himself He knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. O that poor sinners would go to Jesus, believing in the power of His blessed substitutionary work, and they would soon learn the power of His gracious touch. That hand which multiplied the loaves, which saved sinking Peter, which upholds afflicted saints, which crowns believers, that same hand will touch every seeking sinner, and in a moment make him clean. The love of Jesus is the source of salvation. He loves, He looks, He touches us, WE LIVE.