This week’s topic is Jesus as the Most Interesting Healer in the World.  This may set off alarm bells for you, perhaps having been Faith healers on TV.  Jesus is a healer who gets his hands dirty.

We need healing in our world.  That is pretty self-evident, but the chief example right now is Ebola.  Ebola has been ravaging African countries this year.  It’s gotten a toehold because of the particular way their cultures deal with death and the sick.  Admirably, family members, friends provide hands-on care to those in need, and those who’ve died.  Unfortunately that noble work has helped spread this particular disease, because it’s transmitted by bodily fluids.  Stopping the disease means people have to modify how they show respect and care for the sick and dying, and protect themselves with protective clothing and equipment, and strict protocols and practices.

These are the kinds of practices encoded in the law followed by the Jewish people of Jesus’ day.  Those laws were not just legalism, but a way to keep their society intact and strong.  They had provisions about all kinds of things – shellfish, pork, handwashing and more.  Among all these rules were prohibitions against contact with blood or menstrual fluid, and dead bodies.  If you did come into contact with something “unclean” like this, there were ways to become “clean” once again.  The ritual would combine a practical cleansing, and a religious cleansing.

This week, we’ll study a story where Jesus came into contact with both, and what he did about it.

Question: Why do you think Jesus would intentionally come into contact with people who were “unclean”?

Meeting with a Group?  Your discussion questions are in this week’s Group Study Guide

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