The Leper Fell to the Ground
The leper saw Jesus, and seeing Him, “he fell with his face to the ground" (Luke 5:12).
Do you remember from last week, Peter did the same thing? Peter saw that Jesus was clearly God in the flesh, and he fell at Jesus' knees. The leper does the same thing.
Have you ever thought you were quite good at something, only to see somebody really do it properly, and in a moment you realise: I'm not very good at this! It's how I felt the first I went to a Jonathan Roxmouth show – do you know him? An amazing piano player and singer. He made me think—I may as well give up! That's how it's meant to be done!
Recognizing True Greatness
The same is true for sport. My dad and I, during the lockdown, starting watching professional darts (don't judge us!) And we were watching these guys throw, and so we said "hey let's have a game!" and so we started playing, and pretty soon we realised: we stink! They make it look easy, we can pretty much only throw 1s and 5s the whole time.
When you see somebody do something properly, and you realise how you can't really compare, you tend to exalt those who do it well—Roxmouth, wow what a musician! Those "sportsmen"—wow so good! You want to make much of them.
Bowing Before Perfection
Now take that feeling, and multiply it by infinity, and you get a tiny glimpse of what the leprous heart feels when Jesus shows up. Most people, looking at their lives think, I've tried to be good and kind and decent. But when Jesus shows up, suddenly you realise you don't look so good. Suddenly you realise – compared to Him, my life is covered in warts and boils and stains and smears. No matter how 'good' a person I've tried to be, I am nothing compared to Him!
One of my favourite worship songs is "here I am to worship, here I am to bow down." We bow down in worship, not because Jesus is more talented or skilled than we are, but because He is spiritual perfection! He is glorious! He is, as the song goes, "altogether lovely, altogether worthy, altogether wonderful!"
Living in Awe
Friends, as you see Him today, bow in worship! As you open your eyes each morning, bow in worship! Live your life bowed down to Jesus. Live your life on your knees in awe of Him! It's on your knees that you find life and joy!
That quote from Napoleon I shared last week bears repeating: "If Socrates would enter the room, we should rise and do him honour. But if Jesus Christ came into the room, we should fall down on our knees and worship Him."
