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Chapter 15: The Mercy of God
We are going to look at Mark’s account of the healing of the man full of leprosy. Mark added
something that Luke didn’t say, and to get the full story, we need to put all of these accounts
together.
Mark 1:40 says, “And there came a leper to him,” to Jesus, “beseeching him, and kneeling down
to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.” Now this is the same
healing we read from Luke, but its Mark’s account of it.
Verse 41 continues, “And Jesus, moved with compassion,” that’s what I wanted you to notice.
Luke didn’t say it like that, but Mark did. “Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand,
and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.”
In Luke, we just read that the Lord said, “I will,” and touched him. But here, Mark says that He
was moved with compassion. I wonder if He’s still moved with compassion today. Certainly He
is. He never changes.
Reason number 15 we are sure it is God’s will for all to be healed today is because of the
mercy of God.
We’re going to see as we go on that person after person who needed healing, who needed to be
set free from some kind of addiction or bondage or control, came and cried out to the Lord,
“Lord, have mercy on me.” Do you remember reading it? “Lord, have mercy on me.” (Matthew
15:22; Mark 10:48; Luke 16:24) Blind people, crippled people, deaf people, and the list goes on,
all asked Him to have mercy on them, and any and everyone who ever came and asked for mercy
left healed, every one of them.
Now look at 2 Corinthians 1:3. It says, “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of mercies,” plural, “the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.” Does
God have mercy in more than one area? Yes, He does.
When we usually think about mercy, we think about our sin and how God had mercy on us and
forgave us of our sin—and we thank Him for that. But He has mercy for other things too. He has
mercy on you when you are just dumb. He has financial mercy. Have you ever had to appeal to
that? I have, more than once. I’ve had to fall on my face and say, “Lord, forgive me. You tried to
tell me not to do that, but
noooo
, I had to have it. I didn’t listen to You, and now I’ve messed
myself up.” Do you understand what I’m talking about? “Lord, I’m asking You for mercy. If I
had listened to You, I wouldn’t be in this shape.”
Nobody has ever gotten into a financial mess by listening to God. Nobody—no individual, no
family, no church, no ministry, no missionaries—ever got into a financial mess listening to God.
When you obey God, your needs get met.