In Luke 5:12–16, Jesus encounters a man suffering from leprosy—a disease that had left him isolated, excluded, and declared unclean. Desperate and out of options, the man throws himself at Jesus’ feet and pleads for mercy.

What follows is one of the most beautiful pictures of the gospel in Luke’s Gospel. Jesus reaches out and touches the untouchable. He doesn’t simply heal the man; he restores him. In doing so, Jesus reveals himself as the one who can deal with our deepest uncleanness—not just the things wrong around us, but the sin within us.

This sermon, Lewis Roderick explores the leper’s desperate plea, Jesus’ healing touch, and how this encounter points us to the cross, where Christ takes our place so that we can be welcomed into God’s presence. Whatever shame, failure, or guilt we carry, Jesus is able to make us clean.