Matthew 8:1-4 Chapter 8 1 And when he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. 2 And behold, there came to him a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 3 And he stretched forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou made clean. And straightway his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

Seven times in the book of Matthew, Jesus encountered people with sickness or infirmities and healed them with a touch. Although He had the power to simply speak a word or command illness to leave, He often chose a more hands-on approach. In the case of the leper in today’s passage, Jesus’ personal touch must have been something the man rarely experienced, since he was considered untouchable. In fact, that may be why Jesus chose this avenue of healing.

The need for a touch from a fellow human being has not disappeared in the 2,000 years since Jesus walked the earth. Yet in a world dominated by social media and technology, we are now more isolated than ever before. Physical contact is being replaced with “likes” on Facebook. And when we do think of touch, it’s often associated with scandal, impropriety, or immorality. How did this wonderful word become so maligned?

As Christians, we have the opportunity to “touch” people in a variety of ways, including by our words—for example, the proclamation of salvation through Jesus Christ can transform a person’s life and eternal destiny. However, ministry is also accomplished with our hands through service, compassion, and the encouragement of a hug or loving pat on the shoulder.

Our heart, mouth, and hands must be cooperating in order to fully minister in Jesus’ name. And whether alone or gathered with others, we have the privilege of touching lives through prayer. Jesus touched people both physically and spiritually, and as His followers, we must do likewise. Look for opportunities in which God might use you for His glory. 

Bible in One Year: Psalms 85-89 Chapter 85 1 Jehovah, thou hast been favorable unto thy land; Thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob. 2 Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people; Thou hast covered all their sin. Selah 3 Thou hast taken away all thy wrath; Thou hast turned `thyself' from the fierceness of thine anger. 4 Turn us, O God of our salvation, And cause thine indignation toward us to cease. 5 Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? Wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations? 6 Wilt thou not quicken us again, That thy people may rejoice in thee? 7 Show us thy lovingkindness, O Jehovah, And grant us thy salvation. 8 I will hear what God Jehovah will speak; For he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: But let them not turn again to folly. 9 Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him, That glory may dwell in our land. 10 Mercy and truth are met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. 11 Truth springeth out of the earth; And righteousness hath looked down from heaven. 12 Yea, Jehovah will give that which is good; And our land shall yield its increase. 13 Righteousness shall go before him, And shall make his footsteps a way `to walk in'. Chapter 86 1 Bow down thine ear, O Jehovah, and answer me; For I am poor and needy. 2 Preserve my soul; for I am godly: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee. 3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord; For unto thee do I cry all the day long. 4 Rejoice the soul of thy servant; For unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. 5 For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in lovingkindness unto all them that call upon thee. 6 Give ear, O Jehovah, unto my prayer; And hearken unto the voice of my supplications. 7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee; For thou wilt answer me. 8 There is none like unto thee among the gods, O Lord; Neither `are there any works' like unto thy works. 9 All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; And they shall glorify thy name. 10 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: Thou art God alone. 11 Teach me thy way, O Jehovah; I will walk in thy truth: Unite my heart to fear thy name. 12 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with my whole heart; And I will glorify thy name for evermore. 13 For great is thy lovingkindness toward me; And thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest Sheol. 14 O God, the proud are risen up against me, And a company of violent men have sought after my soul, And have not set thee before them. 15 But thou, O Lord, art a God merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth. 16 Oh turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; Give thy strength unto thy servant, And save the son of thy handmaid. 17 Show me a token for good, That they who hate me may see it, and be put to shame, Because thou, Jehovah, hast helped me, and comforted me. Psalm 87 A Psalm of the sons of Korah; a Song. Chapter 87 1 His foundation is in the holy mountains. 2 Jehovah loveth the gates of Zion More than all the dwellings of Jacob. 3 Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah 4 I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon as among them that know me: Behold, Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia: This one was born there. 5 Yea, of Zion it shall be said, This one and that one was born in her; And the Most High himself will establish her. 6 Jehovah will count, when he writeth up the peoples, This one was born there. Selah 7 They that sing as well as they that dance `shall say', All my fountains are in thee. Psalm 88 A Song, a Psalm of the sons of Korah; for the Chief Musician; set to Mahalath Leannoth. Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite. Chapter 88 1 O Jehovah, the God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee. 2 Let my prayer enter into thy presence; Incline thine ear unto my cry. 3 For my soul is full of troubles, And my life draweth nigh unto Sheol. 4 I am reckoned with them that go down into the pit; I am as a man that hath no help, 5 Cast off among the dead, Like the slain that lie in the grave, Whom thou rememberest no more, And they are cut off from thy hand. 6 Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, In dark places, in the deeps. 7 Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, And thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah 8 Thou hast put mine acquaintance far from me; Thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth. 9 Mine eye wasteth away by reason of affliction: I have called daily upon thee, O Jehovah; I have spread forth my hands unto thee. 10 Wilt thou show wonders to the dead? Shall they that are decreased arise and praise thee? Selah 11 Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? Or thy faithfulness in Destruction? 12 Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? And thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? 13 But unto thee, O Jehovah, have I cried; And in the morning shall my prayer come before thee. 14 Jehovah, why castest thou off my soul? Why hidest thou thy face from me? 15 I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: While I suffer thy terrors I am distracted. 16 Thy fierce wrath is gone over me; Thy terrors have cut me off. 17 They came round about me like water all the day long; They compassed me about together. 18 Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, And mine acquaintance into darkness. Psalm 89 Maschil of Ethan the Ezrahite. Chapter 89 1 I will sing of the lovingkindness of Jehovah for ever: With my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. 2 For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever; Thy faithfulness wilt thou establish in the very heavens. 3 I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant: 4 Thy seed will I establish for ever, And build up thy throne to all generations. Selah 5 And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O Jehovah; Thy faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones. 6 For who in the skies can be compared unto Jehovah? Who among the sons of the mighty is like unto Jehovah, 7 A God very terrible in the council of the holy ones, And to be feared above all them that are round about him? 8 O Jehovah God of hosts, Who is a mighty one, like unto thee, O Jehovah? And thy faithfulness is round about thee. 9 Thou rulest the pride of the sea: When the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them. 10 Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain; Thou hast scattered thine enemies with the arm of thy strength. 11 The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: The world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them. 12 The north and the south, thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon rejoice in thy name. 13 Thou hast a mighty arm; Strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand. 14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of thy throne: Lovingkindness and truth go before thy face. 15 Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: They walk, O Jehovah, in the light of thy countenance. 16 In thy name do they rejoice all the day; And in thy righteousness are they exalted. 17 For thou art the glory of their strength; And in thy favor our horn shall be exalted. 18 For our shield belongeth unto Jehovah; And our king to the Holy One of Israel. 19 Then thou spakest in vision to thy saints, And saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people. 20 I have found David my servant; With my holy oil have I anointed him: 21 With whom my hand shall be established; Mine arm also shall strengthen him. 22 The enemy shall not exact from him, Nor the son of wickedness afflict him. 23 And I will beat down his adversaries before him, And smite them that hate him. 24 But my faithfulness and my lovingkindness shall be with him; And in my name shall his horn be exalted. 25 I will set his hand also on the sea, And his right hand on the rivers. 26 He shall cry unto me, Thou art my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation. 27 I also will make him `my' first-born, The highest of the kings of the earth. 28 My lovingkindness will I keep for him for evermore; And my covenant shall stand fast with him. 29 His seed also will I make to endure for ever, And his throne as the days of heaven. 30 If his children forsake my law, And walk not in mine ordinances; 31 If they break my statutes, And keep not my commandments; 32 Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, And their iniquity with stripes. 33 But my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, Nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. 34 My covenant will I not break, Nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. 35 Once have I sworn by my holiness: I will not lie unto David: 36 His seed shall endure for ever, And his throne as the sun before me. 37 It shall be established for ever as the moon, And `as' the faithful witness in the sky. Selah 38 But thou hast cast off and rejected, Thou hast been wroth with thine anointed. 39 Thou hast abhorred the covenant of thy servant: Thou hast profaned his crown `by casting it' to the ground. 40 Thou hast broken down all his hedges; Thou hast brought his strongholds to ruin. 41 All that pass by the way rob him: He is become a reproach to his neighbors. 42 Thou hast exalted the right hand of his adversaries; Thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice. 43 Yea, thou turnest back the edge of his sword, And hast not made him to stand in the battle. 44 Thou hast made his brightness to cease, And cast his throne down to the ground. 45 The days of his youth hast thou shortened: Thou hast covered him with shame. Selah 46 How long, O Jehovah? wilt thou hide thyself for ever? `How long' shall thy wrath burn like fire? 47 Oh remember how short my time is: For what vanity hast thou created all the children of men! 48 What man is he that shall live and not see death, That shall deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah 49 Lord, where are thy former lovingkindnesses, Which thou swarest unto David in thy faithfulness? 50 Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; How I do bear in my bosom `the reproach of' all the mighty peoples, 51 Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O Jehovah, Wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed. 52 Blessed be Jehovah for evermore. Amen, and Amen. Psalm 90 A Prayer of Moses the man of God.