Episode #115: Simon the Leper
“And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head.” (Mark 14:3)
How would you like to be known by your worst trait? Not just in your close circle, but by everyone that ever heard about you for centuries after you died. Welcome to the life of Simon the leper. Leprosy was a disease that separated you from all human contact. Whenever you passed by someone, you had to be on the other side of the street and yell out, “Unclean”, so they would know to stay away from you. You couldn’t work, go to church, hang out with people, or have dinner with people. This was the former existence of Simon.
Scholars believe that this Simon is the same leper that was healed by Jesus in Mark chapter 1. Jesus told him not to tell anyone but to go to the temple and see the priest. Simon failed miserably at that. He went out and told so many people about the healing that Jesus had to go to another city in order to get away from the crowd. Simon is still known as the leper today but for a different reason. Simon is no longer a man consumed by leprosy but redeemed and restored from it by Jesus Christ. Here we see a man that was cut off from all social interaction, healed by Jesus, and now his home is filled with activity. Jesus and the disciples are now at Simon’s home having dinner. A man that was shut off and lonely is now open for the world to see and inviting people into his home for fellowship.
We can find that same healing, redemption, and restoration in Jesus. The thing that we think isolates us and makes us unclean can be transformed by Jesus and used to proclaim His Grace! Let us be a people who allow Jesus to turn our worst days, our biggest mistakes, into our greatest testimony.
Love Y’all! Be Blessed!
Let Us Be A People 