The Cleansing Power of the Son of Man

The Cleansing Power of the Son of Man
Luke 5:12-16
March 9, 2025

Finish this statement for me:  “Cleanliness is next to __________ .”

So I’m not sure what to do with Dave Whitlock.  Dave is a grad of MIT, a chemical engineer, and the founder of AOBiome which markets bacterial products that are supposed to be good for the body.  Their supposition is that we are too clean, and we need to add more bacteria to our bodies to reconnect with our environment — “we’ve taken the dirt out of our lives,” AOBiome’s general manager said.  So they have created “Mother Dirt” — an AO+ Mist containing live bacteria that is sprayed on the skin twice daily.  It doesn’t smell and feels like water.  Dave Whitlock uses it daily — and to make sure he stays connected to nature, doesn’t shower.  At the time of the article he hadn’t showered in 12 years — and he hoped the rest of the world joins his practice.  Hmmmm.  (Maybe AOBiome should be called BOBiome?)

While Dave and his friends are trying to get more dirty, most people are trying to get more clean — if not physically, then figuratively and spiritually.  Most of us don’t like sticky fingers, dusty clothes, or open wounds.  It might not be “godly” to be clean, but it sure does feel better!  How do we get clean spiritually?  Who can make us clean spiritually?  The answer to that question, obviously, is Jesus…

In Luke 4, we saw the beginning of Jesus’ formal ministry in Galilee.  In His message to His hometown (Nazareth) He claimed to be authoritative to fulfill the Messianic promise of Isaiah to liberate those who are in bondage (4:18-19).  When He was rejected by the Nazareans, He went to Capernaum to further manifest His authority — He is King (and a good King).  Throughout His Galilean ministry in Luke 4-6, we observe multiple examples of the truth that…

As the Son of Man, Jesus is authoritative…

He is the Son of Man.  And there is nothing over which He is not authoritative.  As a reminder, we have seen His authority as a teacher, over the spiritual realm and demons, over illness, and to compel men to follow Him.  Here is yet another manifestation of His authority.  It is easy to read this passage as “just” another healing event.  It is about Christ’s healing power.  But it’s about much more; it is about His cleansing power:  to cleanse people from the effect of sin — His ability to remove sin’s staining, isolating effects.  And this passage pairs well with the next story in which Jesus demonstrates through another miracle His power to forgive sin.  As we look at this miracle, observe five aspects of Christ’s cleansing authority over sin —

1. Christ’s Authority and the Need of Man (v. 12a)
2. Christ’s Authority and the Appeal from Man (v. 12b)
3. Christ’s Authority and Compassion (v. 13)
4. Christ’s Authority and Command (v. 14)
5. Christ’s Authority and the Responses (vv. 15-16)

Download the rest of this sermon on Luke 5:12-16.

The audio will be posted on the GBC website by Tuesday.