Meeting Needs the Way Jesus Did

One of my favorite stories of Jesus is found in Matthew 8:1-4. When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed Him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before Him and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” 

What did Jesus do? He didn’t preach a sermon, He reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” Immediately, the man was cleansed of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

I can’t imagine what those with leprosy went through emotionally. Leprosy included several skin disorders and was one of the most dreaded diseases in Bible times because of the pain and isolation it brought. Lepers were excluded from society; they had to wear torn clothes, bare their heads and cry, “Unclean, Unclean.” No one would jeopardize their ritual purity or health by coming near them, much less touching them. But Jesus not only healed the leper, He also touched him.

Through His actions, we know that Jesus was concerned about the whole person. The law prohibited touching or having contact with a leper. Jesus could have just spoken and the man would have been healed, but Jesus knew the man needed more than that. Jesus understood that this man had been isolated from society and had not felt the physical touch of another person in a very long time. Jesus’ compassion for the suffering person superseded the ceremonial requirements of the law.

One of the lessons I learn from this story is that I need to ask God to send me the Holy Spirit to give me His eyes so I can truly see the needs of others, to give me His perception and desire to act on meeting people’s needs.

We have all faced struggles in our lives that God has helped us through. These struggles can be used by God to help others. In his book, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, Mark Batterson writes, “If you don’t turn your adversity into a ministry, then your pain remains your pain. But if you allow God to translate your adversity into a ministry, then your pain becomes someone else’s gain.” I love this concept because if someone has been through a struggle or tragedy, they can relate and minister to others going through the same thing. Batterson continues, “I have a theory: The more problems you have, the more potential you have to help people.” The adversity we face in life can be used by God to bless others if we help those who are going through similar challenges.

People in our community have needs—whether physical, financial, emotional or relational. We need to follow Jesus’ example and meet those needs first. I pray that God sends the Holy Spirit to create a desire within us to look, see and help with the needs of the people we encounter.

By John PageTreasurer