Daily Devotions

The King Who Welcomes the Outcast

A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Luke 5:12–13

Most kings are surrounded by gates, guards, and protocol. But Jesus, the true King, crosses barriers—social, religious, and emotional—to reach the people others avoid.

This leper was untouchable. In his day, leprosy meant more than illness—it meant isolation. He had to live apart, shout “Unclean!” wherever he went, and endure the crushing weight of being feared and forgotten.

But Jesus did what no one else would: He touched him.

He could have healed with a word, but He chose touch—human, risky, intimate. It was a gesture of love before a miracle of power. In that moment, Jesus was saying, “You are not beyond love. You are not forgotten. You belong.”

This is the kind of King we serve. Not one who avoids the broken, but One who seeks them out. Not one who rules from a distance, but One who moves close—to the sick, the sinner, the rejected.

And He calls us to do the same. Who in our lives or communities has been made to feel unworthy, unwanted, untouchable? Jesus welcomes them—and so must we.

In a war-torn village, a makeshift clinic was set up. People lined up in hope, but a local child sat alone, afraid to come near—covered in sores, dirty, and ignored.

The doctor noticed, left the crowd, knelt beside the child, and gently washed his hands and face. He then said, “You matter just as much as anyone in that line.”

That’s what Jesus does. He doesn’t just help the crowd—He sees the one who’s been left out. He draws near when everyone else draws back.

Jesus, you welcomed those others avoided. You reached out with compassion and restored the rejected. Teach me to love like you—to notice, to include, and to make space in my heart for the outcast. Amen.