Jesus was moved with compassion. He was moved from deep within. Compassion operates in the spirit realm and it is the heart of God. It is exactly how God feels about that individual that stirs him to be moved with such great compassion. It's not what I think will fit in, or when I think it's a good time to do something, but it's the very heart of God. It's when I deny myself, how I feel, what I think I know, or perhaps do know. It's when we deny ourselves and let God's heartbeat become our heartbeat and move with that beat. It comes from deep within.

In Mark 1:40-42:

And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying to him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus moved with compassion, put forth his hand and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.

In my ministry, I meet people who are afflicted with every kind of sickness and disease known to man. The one I see people most affected by is A.I.D.S. . . . I remember when it was first heard of, I would hear people say time and time again that it was a punishment from God for certain things. That God sent it on them and that the Christian thing to do was to shun such a person altogether. Sadly, but true, it wasn't just people who said such insane nonsense but I heard preachers go on and on from their pulpits speaking condemning words, and judging, believing the absolute worst about anyone affected in any way by this disease.

God is a good God who has not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. (Psalms 103:10) Jesus heals… and the devil kills! Satan is the author of sickness and disease. God doesn't put sickness on his children. He does not go around putting A.I.D.S. on people. He is the only refuge for those faced with such devastation. If you or someone you know has faced this, you can know for sure, God loves that person and he will bless that person as much as he's ever blessed anyone if they will put their trust in him, give their life to him, and hope in him.

While A.I.D.S. is transmitted by sexual contact or through blood contact with someone who has become infected, Leprosy, if you can believe this, was much worse! How did Jesus handle the issue of Leprosy? First of all, he didn't reject them, judge them, or put them down. HE CLEANSED THEM! HE HEALED THEM!

This disease of Leprosy was highly contagious. One needed only to breathe where a leper had been and before you know it, ears were falling off, arms, legs, eye lids falling off, and all kinds of body parts would fall off. What a horrible way to die. (Better yet, what a horrible way to live!). Whereas with A.I.D.S., one has to do something to become infected, Leprosy was just waiting to be inhaled and start its ugly process of degradation, leading up to death. But Jesus wasn't intimidated by this foul disease. He was moved with compassion to reach out and touch them and cleanse them. He wants to touch you, cleanse you, heal you, and make you whole too!

The leper said something important that we all need to grasp. He had no doubt that Jesus could heal him, he just didn't know if Jesus would heal him. He said to the Lord, I know you can, I just don't know if you will? Well, Jesus showed him his will concerning Leprosy. He cleansed (healed) him! Perhaps you know that Jesus can heal you too? You need to know just as assuredly that he can heal you and that he will heal you if, like the leper, you will come to Jesus, kneel before him and ask him.

Verse 41 says that Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand and touched him. He wasn't afraid of catching anything, nor was he afraid of what man might think of him. He didn't dig into the man's past and try to figure out how, where, and why the man got the disease. He was moved with compassion and his reply was, I WILL be thou cleansed and his touch cleansed the man! His touch is all you need and if you've wondered if he would touch you in your affliction, his response is just as loving for you as it was for the leper. Immediately the Leprosy departed from him and he was cleansed. Praise God!