To Touch a Leper

By Sharon Amari

And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, "If you will, you can make me clean." Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, "I will; be clean." And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them." But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter. Mark 1:40 –45, ESV

Understanding the Mosaic Law regarding leprosy can help us understand the background of this account. According to the Mosaic Law, a leper was considered unclean. We read in Leviticus 13:45-46 the following:

The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, 'Unclean, unclean.' He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp.

James Edwards in The Gospel According to Mark, comments on the above text by pointing out that this is not simply the description of an illness. “It is a sentence, the purpose of which was to protect the health of the community from a dreaded contagion” (p. 68). He continues explaining that lepers were victims of far more than the disease itself. In addition of robbing them of their health, it robbed them of their name, occupation, family, fellowship and worshipping community. Edwards quotes the historian Josephus writing of the banishment of lepers as those “in no way differing from a corpse” (Antiquites 3.264). In The Gospel According to Mark, William Lane paints a gloomy but an accurate picture of how the lepers were viewed by the religious community:

Rabbinic refinement of the biblical legislation imposed many practical difficulties upon the leper, for even a chance encounter between the leper and the non-leper could render the latter unclean. Leprosy brought deep physical and mental anguish for both the afflicted individual and the community in which or near which he lived (p. 85).

Additionally, leprosy was frequently regarded as a divine punishment for a serious sin that only God can heal. Robert Guelich in his commentary on the book of Mark, comments that leprosy “belonged among the worst evils to afflict one a living death whose healing was equivalent to being raised from the dead” (p. 74). Guelich confirms that according to Judaism, God alone can heal the leper or raise the dead. In Numbers 12, we read of the account of how Miriam, the sister of Moses was struck with leprosy. Her brother Aaron said to Moses:

“Oh, my lord, do not punish us because we have done foolishly and have sinned. Let her not be as one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother's womb." And Moses cried to the LORD, "O God, please heal her – please" (Numbers 12:11-13).

Edwards writes that the above text prompted various rabbis to speak of lepers as “the living dead,” whose cure was as difficult as the raising of the dead.

Edwards, observes that leprosy was a widespread disease in Palestine at the time of Jesus. He affirms that this is apparent not only from the several lepers whom Jesus encountered in his ministry, but also from “the plethora of instructions about the disease in the Mishnah” (p. 68).

It is against this background that the cleansing and healing of the leper by Jesus can be greatly appreciated. The text reads that a leper came to Jesus. The offense of the leper’s action, comments Edwards, is very apparent. Lepers were required to stand at a distance. From the perspective of the leper, his action compromised Jesus’ ritual cleanliness. Yet in spite of this, the leper risks everything for a chance to be healed. He was willing to break the Law and the custom just to be rescued from his humiliation and suffering. We can now understand the desperation this leper was experiencing. The action of the leper might suggest that he must have heard about Jesus and the miracles he was doing.

What is amazing is that the response of Jesus is “no less scandalous than the leper’s audacity,” writes Edwards. In the face of such scenario, one would expect an observant Jew to back off in protection and defense, but with Jesus compassion replaces contempt. Rather than turning from the leper, Jesus turns to him; indeed, he touches him, bringing himself into full contact with physical and ritual untouchables. Jesus’ willingness to touch the man, concludes R.T. France, suggests “a lack of concern with ritual purity, or at least a deliberate preference for meeting need over ritual correctness.” William Lane summarizes Jesus’ action as follows:

The touch of Jesus was significant from two points of view. From the perspective of the leper it was an unheard-of-act of compassion which must have moved him deeply. From the perspective of Jesus’ relationship to the ritual system, it indicated that he did not hesitate to act in violation of its regulations when the situation demanded. The ceremonial law gives place to the law of love when the two come into collision (p. 87).

The text reads that with Jesus’ touch and pronouncement, the leper was immediately healed. Jesus warned him not to tell anyone and asked him to show himself to the priest “and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” The leper needed to show himself to the priest in accordance with the Mosaic Law recorded in Leviticus 14. Only a priest may pronounce lepers unclear or clean (Lev 13:50; 14:2-4). Edwards notes that since it was a priestly duty to ensure the ritual cleanness of Israel, “inspection of alleged leprosy cases played a natural role in their work.” But what did Jesus mean when he said “as a testimony to them” or “against them”? William Lane suggests that Jesus statement could mean that if the priests establish that healing has taken place and accept the sacrifice for cleansing but fail to recognize the person and power through whom healing has come, they will stand condemned by the very evidence which they have supplied. “The healing of the leper demonstrated that God had done something new. If they neglect this sign or deliberately refer this gracious act to an evil origin, the accomplished sacrifice will testify against them on the Day of Judgment” (p. 88).

After his healing, the leper went around spreading the news of this miracle in spite Jesus’ strict orders to not tell anyone. We read in the text that the outcome of the leper spreading the news of his healing made Jesus unable to openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places. In a way, Jesus took the place of the leper, who before, was in desolate places, unable to enter any town. This scenario reminds us of the reason why Jesus came to our earth, took on a human flesh and died on the cross. He came so that he would take our place and in exchange, he would restore to us our freedom which was lost as a consequence of our sins. Jesus said in Matthew 20:28, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Understanding the background behind the text in Mark 1:40 helped us better appreciate the miracle of Jesus, but more importantly, it shed great light on the character, attribute and power of Jesus himself. We have witnessed the great compassion that Jesus has- the kind of compassion that was willing to do the unthinkable in order to heal a leper not just physically, but also emotionally and spiritually. The leprosy disease reminds us of what sin can do to our lives. But when we come to Jesus in faith, He touches us and His touch heals us and restores us completely regardless to our spiritual state. We learn from the leper’s action that he approached Jesus with confidence and faith in Christ. The leper said: “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” He did not say, “If you can” but “if you are willing.” Christ’s response was “I am willing.” Jesus is always willing to heal us from any spiritual infirmity. Do we have the same faith that the leper has in Jesus’ ability to heal us? Many of us suffer from present and past hurts, which are causing much emotional pain. All we need is a touch from Jesus and we truly can be restored, but we have to come to him with faith and confidence just as the leper did.

Understanding the background of the leprosy disease, more importantly, helped us understand the power and divine attribute of Jesus. The miracle indeed points to the work of God himself. As we have seen, according to Judaism, God alone can heal a leper or raise the dead. While the Law of Moses provided for the ritual purification of a leper it was powerless to actually purge a man of the disease, as William Lane notes. In all of the OT only twice is it recorded that God had healed a leper (Num 12:10, II kings 5:1) and the rabbis affirmed that it was as difficult to heal the leper as to raise the dead. This radical healing of the leper by Jesus, truly points to Jesus’ divine attribute.

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References:

William L. Lane, The Gospel According to Mark; William; Eerdmans Publishing Company

James R. Edwards, The Pillar New Testament Commentary, The Gospel According to Mark; William; Eerdmans Publishing Company

Robert A. Guelich, Word Biblical Commentary, Mark 1-8:26; Word Books Publisher

R. T. France, The Gospel According to Mark; William Eerdmans Publishing Company