Daily Word Of God
Mark 8:1-9a
A man suffering from a virulent skin-disease came to Jesus and pleaded on his knees saying, ‘If you are willing, you can cleanse me.’ Feeling sorry for him, Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him and said to him, ‘I am willing. Be cleansed.’ And at once the skin-disease left him and he was cleansed.
And at once Jesus sternly sent him away and said to him, ‘Mind you tell no one anything, but go and show yourself to the priest, and make the offering for your cleansing prescribed by Moses as evidence to them.’
The man went away, but then started freely proclaiming and telling the story everywhere, so that Jesus could no longer go openly into any town, but stayed outside in deserted places. Even so, people from all around kept coming to him.
Today's Pointers on God's Word
As you read the passage what words, phases or meanings caught your attention?
- No one who sought Jesus for help was rejected by Him, especially the poor, the needy, the outcasts like the lepers, public sinners like prostitutes and tax collectors.
- The Lord is always ready to show us His mercy. When Jesus met the man with skin disease, He was filled with deep compassion and tender kindness for his sufferings.
- Are there people whom you consider as “untouchables and outcasts” that you do not want to have anything to do or relate to them? How is God challenging you to reach out to those whom you find difficult to love?