“Lord, If You Will, You Can” (Ready to Worship S12E10)

This season on Ready to Worship, we are examining worship in the Gospel of Matthew. We are especially focusing on the times in the book when Jesus was worshipped. In this study, we are examining the occasion when a leper worshipped Him. Matthew records, “When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them” (Mt. 8:1-4). Let’s consider three things that the leper recognized in his worship.

 

First, the leper recognized the Lord’s Person. The first word out of the leper’s mouth was Lord. As you know, the term Lord means master or ruler. The leper was identifying Jesus as the one in charge. He was placing himself in a position of submission to the Lord. We find many times when individuals addressed Jesus in this way in Matthew’s gospel (Mt. 8:8, 21, 25; 14:28, 30; 15:22, 25; 17:4, 15; 18:21; 20:30, 31, 33; 25:11, 20, 22, 37, 44; 26:22). First and foremost, worship is a recognition of the Lord’s person.

 

Second, the leper recognized the Lord’s Prerogative. The next words out of the leper’s mouth were, “If thou wilt.” The leper recognized that the Lord could do as He wanted. After all, as the Lord, that was/is His prerogative. The leper wanted cleansing. That is why he risked everything and came to Jesus. Yet, he submitted to the Lord’s will. The leper’s words remind me of the words of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when they were given a second opportunity to bow down to the idol that the king had set up. We read, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up” (Dan. 3:16-18). Although these young men knew what the Lord could do, they didn’t presume to know what He would do. I’m confident that they wanted to be delivered, but they humbly submitted to the Lord’s will either way. Still today, our wishes, our plans, and our lives are dependent on the Lord. James wrote, “For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that” (Jam. 4:15). We must submit our plans and our lives to the Lord. Second, worship is a resignation to the Lord’s prerogative.

 

Third, the leper recognized the Lord’s Power. The final words out of the leper’s mouth were, “Thou canst.” The leper didn’t know what the Lord would do, but he was fully convinced of what the Lord could do. He believed that the Lord could cleanse him. He believed that nothing was to hard for the Lord (Jer. 32:17). He was confident that all things were possible with God (Mt. 19:26). Of course, he would not be disappointed. Finally, worship is a realization of the Lord’s power.

 

As we get ready to worship this week, let’s worship according to what we learned from the leper. Let’s worship in full recognition of the Lord’s person, prerogative, and power.