Matthew 8:1-6: in context

As Jesus comes down from the mountain, a leper approaches him, one of the outcasts whom the law and society kept at a distance, untouchable, shunned. He kneels before Jesus and says, Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean. He does not doubt Jesus' power, but he is unsure of his willingness, whether Jesus would want to help someone like him. And Jesus answers by doing two things at once: he stretches out his hand and touches the untouchable man, and he says, I am willing; be clean. Immediately the leprosy is gone.

The leper's uncertainty is worth noticing: he doubts not Jesus' power but his willingness. If you are willing, he says; he is sure Jesus can, but unsure whether he would want to help someone as unclean and outcast as himself. And Jesus' answer removes the doubt entirely: I am willing. He is not reluctant, not put off by the man's uncleanness, not unwilling to help the outcast; he wants to heal him. And he shows his willingness not only in words but in a touch. The leper was untouchable; no one would touch him; the law kept everyone at a distance from him. And Jesus stretches out his hand and touches him, drawing near to the very uncleanness that made him an outcast. Jesus was willing not only to heal but to touch. This speaks to our own uncertainty about whether Christ is willing to receive us. Like the leper, we may not doubt that Christ can help, cleanse, forgive, but wonder whether he is willing to help someone like us, whether our uncleanness, our sin, our outcast condition makes us the kind of person he would rather not touch. And Jesus' answer to the leper is his answer to us: I am willing. He is not reluctant to cleanse the unclean, not put off by our sin, not unwilling to draw near to us in our uncleanness. He is willing; and he shows it by touching the untouchable, drawing near to what makes us outcast rather than keeping us at a distance. We do not have a high priest, Hebrews says, who cannot be touched with the feeling of our weaknesses. Christ draws near to us in our uncleanness, willing to touch and cleanse what others would shun. This assures us in coming to Christ with our uncleanness. We need not wonder whether he is willing to receive someone like us; he is willing, and shows it by touching the untouchable, cleansing the unclean, drawing near to the outcast. When we come to him with our sin and shame, uncertain whether he would want us, his answer is the answer he gave the leper: I am willing. He stretches out his hand to touch us in the very uncleanness we thought would keep him away, willing to cleanse and receive us, moved with compassion for the outcast whom he came to make clean.

Do I wonder whether Christ is willing to receive someone like me, unsure whether my uncleanness, sin, or outcast condition makes me the kind of person he would rather not touch, and can Jesus' answer to the leper, I am willing, spoken as he stretched out his hand to touch the untouchable, assure me that Christ is not reluctant to cleanse the unclean or unwilling to draw near to me in my uncleanness, but willing to touch and receive the very outcast he came to make clean?