"Touched By Jesus"

September 09, 2020 | By Chuck

It was Tuesday January 26, 1993 when I was touched by Jesus. I was sitting in a back classroom of a Little Rock church building listening intently as the preacher shared with me exactly what Jesus had done for me at the cross. Touched? Yes, for sure, so much so that I was immediately baptized into Christ that evening. It’s amazing how 27 years later I’m still so in tune with the details of that evening. That was very literally a life changing evening for me. Jesus had touched me and forever left His influence on my life.
During His ministry, Jesus touched many lives but one stands out to me. “And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed” (Mt.8:2-3). This is an amazing story of the power of Jesus and also the heart of Jesus. Lepers were outcasts, considered unclean and probably never felt human touch. Although He didn’t have to or even need to, “Jesus stretched out his hand and touched” the man with leprosy.
Jesus was not afraid of being infected by a skin disease or what others would think or say about him. Jesus saw a man with leprosy who had faith in Him and a desire to be healed and He touched him. Don’t miss the fact that Jesus literally touched the leper. He touched his leprous skin and his faith-filled heart. I’m sure this man needed physical human touch as much as he wanted cleansed of leprosy. The man healed of leprosy was never the same after he was touched by Jesus. I’ll confess that I’ve never been quite the same since that night in 1993 when I was touched by Jesus.