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Cleanse the leper (Mk 1:40-45; Mt 8:1-4; Lk 5:12-16)
A leper came to Jesus. Luke 5:12 described this leper was “full of leprosy”, indicating that his illness was very serious. He knelt down before Jesus and besought his help. Luke 5:12 said Jesus was “in a certain city”. Matt 8:1 said Jesus came down from the mountain and great multitude followed him. He just finished his “Sermon on the Mount” on a small mountain in Galilee and entered a small city. There he was met by this leper.
The leper knelt down to Jesus. Why? Matt 8:2 gives us the hint: he “worshipped” him. He took Jesus as God-man. Their dialogue is identical in all 3 Gospels—“If thou wilt (Luke 5:12 & Matt 8:2, ‘Lord, if thou wilt’), thou canst make me clean.” “I will; be thou clean.” (v40-41) The leper didn’t say ‘if you can’ but ‘if you will’. Hence, the leper didn’t doubt Jesus’ power of healing at all. He was only concerned about Jesus’ willingness to heal. Do all the lepers have such kind of faith? Will they kneel down before Jesus and see him as God? Will they not suspect his power of healing? Will they do something to move his heart like this leper? Mark records Jesus “moved with compassion” before he “put forth his hand, and touched him.” (v41) Hence, we can see from Mark that Jesus was moved by the leper’s humility and sincerity—an expression of faith not just in his power but in his love. We may have faith in our Lord’s power but not necessarily in his love. Or we may even lack faith in both His power and His love, which can be revealed from our performance in times of trouble.
How did Jesus cure the leper? As said, he “put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, ‘I will; be thou clean.’” (v41) Miracle “immediately” happened on the leper. “As soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him.” (v42) This statement seems to indicate that Jesus’ power actually did not come from his hand of touching the leper but from his mouth of speaking ‘be thou clean’. So, what is the purpose of Jesus’ touching the leper with his hand? As we have mentioned earlier, Jesus was “moved with compassion” before he touched him. He did this purely out of his compassion for the leper. No one would touch a leper by the hand, or he may catch the disease himself. The lepers at that time were normally isolated from the general public. They might even be driven out of town or village. Jesus showed his compassion by his tiny movement. That simple movement I think surprised everyone in the surrounding. The leper was not only surprised but totally moved by his touching prior to the healing. Sometimes a mere tap or touch on someone’s shoulder is a friendly expression of support to make the person feel comfortable. We should not neglect such minor movement which not only takes our genuine love but courage as well.
Behavior is more persuasive than word to lead someone to Christ. Let the unbelievers see our change in life. It is a more effective way of sharing the good news. On the contrary, if we claim that we are Christians but people don’t see any change in our lives, they will be suspicious of the effectiveness of the gospel upon their own lives or bad habits. People who are looking for solution to cope with their life’s problems are far more interested to see how the Christian faith affects our lives. Inconsistent behavior will discourage rather than encourage people to accept our belief. Jesus’ touching fully expressed God’s love and compassion, which deserves our deep reflection.
After the leper was healed, Jesus “straitly charged him” and said, “See thou say nothing to any man”. (v43-44) Why did Jesus charge the leper not to spread such good news? Mark said of the consequence after the leper spread the news: “But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places.” (v45) Luke 5:15-16 also said, “But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities. And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.” Jesus was certainly overloaded with preaching and helping the needy. He didn’t want to be bothered by them all the time, or his private time for personal devotion would also be given away. Finally, Jesus was forced to withdraw himself into the wilderness to pray. Had not the great multitude come to him in the city, he would not have gone to the wilderness for quiet time with the Father.
Jesus has already told the leper, “shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.” (v44) When the leper showed himself to the priest, the priest would announce publicly that the leper was no longer unclean. This was already “a testimony unto them.” Then he was again a healthy person and ready to be accepted by the society again. He was no longer required to be isolated; he was free to resume his normal life. Offering a gift of thanksgiving was also a testimony to the public. However, the leper, perhaps out of his excitement and joy, published the good news all around. We may be making the same mistake of doing something to respond to the Lord’s grace upon us, but perhaps in defiance of God’s will, and still thinking that we are doing the right thing for God. Paul, before his conversion, persecuted Jesus’ disciples harshly and thought of doing this for God’s sake.
The 3 Gospels have not mentioned whether the leper offered the thanksgiving gift as instructed. But one thing is for sure: he disobeyed Jesus’ charge and brought great trouble to Jesus. (v45) In Chapter 15 of I Samuel, God charged Saul by the mouth of Samuel to smite Amalek and slay all the people as well as the cattle. Later, Saul led the people of Israel to smite Amalek and destroy all the people. However, he kept alive the king of Amalek along with the best of the cattle. When questioned by Samuel, he even lied to him by saying that the best of the cattle was kept for offering sacrifice to God. Samuel immediately exposed his lie and told him of God’s desire for His chosen ones: “to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” (I Sam 15:22) Owing to Saul’s disobedience, God resolved to take back his kingship and give to another. The leper initially moved Jesus’ heart with his sincerity and deserved compliment. His honour, however, was tarnished by his negative testimony at the end of the story.