In the ancient world, leprosy was the most feared disease among the people. If a person had a serious form of the disease, the Bible says they were to: “Tear their clothing and leave their hair uncombed. They must cover their mouth and call out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ As long as the serious disease lasts, they will be ceremonially unclean. They must live in isolation in their place outside the camp.” (Le. 13:45-46)
Can you even imagine being the one to contract this disease? Talk about horrifying and humiliating. L.S. Huizenga describes some of the nightmares of leprosy in his book Unclean! Unclean! He writes: “leprosy generally begins with pain in certain areas of the body. Numbness follows. Soon the skin in such spots loses its original color. It gets to be thick, glossy, and scaly…..As the sickness progresses, the thickened spots become dirty sores and ulcers due to poor blood supply. The skin, especially around the eyes and ears, begins to bunch, with deep furrows between the swellings, so that the face of the afflicted individual begins to resemble that of a lion. Fingers drop off or are absorbed; toes are affected similarly. Eyebrows and eyelashes drop out.” He also says that the “leper emits a very unpleasant odor.”
As you can imagine, no one wanted to be near someone with leprosy. They were diseased, unclean and physically frightening. And as a result, they were all sentenced to live in isolation outside the camp away from everyone else.
Today, however, we will meet a certain leper who is about to encounter something different; Someone different. Someone who wasn’t afraid of the disease, who wouldn’t stone the leper for coming near Him. Someone who wasn’t ashamed of him and someone who exhibited love and compassion. Read with me:
Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached him and knelt before him. “Lord,” the man said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared. (Mat. 8:2-3 NLT)
Several remarkable things stand out to me. First, the one thing this leper desired was to be clean, and he knew that Jesus was the One who could do it. It is also interesting to note that the leper sensed something uniquely different in Jesus because he approached Him directly without hesitation or having to cry out “unclean! unclean!” And when he approached Jesus, he did so in a posture of humility, worship and adoration.
Second, the Jews were forbidden to even touch a leper because he was considered unclean. So when Jesus “reached out and touched him” He did so to demonstrate His love for mankind and the authority He has over disease. In reality, all Jesus had to do was speak the word and the leper would have been healed, but He didn’t. He lovingly touched the leper when no one else would even come near.
Lastly, Jesus said “I am willing…be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared!
Today, just allow those words of Jesus to minister to you. Don’t try to figure out all the how’s, why’s and when’s. Be comforted by the fact that all power and authority belongs to Him and we belong to Him too!