• Home
  • About This Blog
  • Contact Me
  • Subscribe
  • Comment Policy

Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series
Home Bible Reflection Touching the leper

Touching the leper

Posted on March 30, 2019 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment


Matthew 8:1-3 records the story of a leper who came to Jesus to be healed.

When he came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. Right away a man with leprosy came up and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Reaching out his hand, Jesus touched him, saying, “I am willing; be made clean.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

Matthew 8:1–3 (CSB)

There are several things that are noteworthy about this story, but the most shocking thing of all is that Jesus touched the leper.

Why is this shocking?

It is shocking because no-one touched lepers. It was not done. First, there was the fear of catching the disease. Second, leprosy was a sign of judgment, so no-one would want to associate with someone whom God had cursed (or so they thought). Thirdly, in most cases, the disease would have ravaged the victim to the point where he would have been physically repulsive.

Still Jesus touched him.

There are some implications to this that I would like to explore.

First, by touching the leper, Jesus met a need that had gone unmet for a long time. One of the other gospels adds the detail that the leper was “full” of leprosy. In this case, the leper had been suffering the effects of the disease for a long time. He likely had not be touched or hugged or had any physical contact with anyone other than another leper since he had been diagnosed with the disease.

Secondly, by touching the leper while working the cleansing, Jesus gave a visible indication that the leper was restored to society. The leper was no longer an outcast, he rightfully belonged in the company of his people.

Thirdly, by touching the leper, Jesus demonstrated his power over disease and brokenness. The combination of words and action on the part of Jesus affected the cure of the leper.

But how does this apply today? It is easy to assent that this is a very cool story that happened long ago, while remaining unaffected by it.

One way to apply this is to see leprosy as a metaphor for our sinful condition and need of a savior. The healing of the leper provides a beautiful picture of our spiritual condition before and after an encounter with Jesus. Jesus steps into the ugliness of our lives and provides healing and restoration of all the mess that we bring to him.

I should note that while the physical healing of the leper was instantaneous, our spiritual healing is a process. When I forget this, I get discouraged by the fact that I am not completely cured of resentment, anger, prejudice, pride and other sins. While I can see progress over the years, my growth has not been linear; there have been ups and downs in the trend line.

Another application of this passage is that the church (those of us who claim to be believers in Jesus) should emulate Jesus in associating with and helping those whose need is greatest. Too often the people who have made a mess of life find condemnation in the church where they should find acceptance and love.

We need to emulate both Jesus and the leper in this story. We emulate the leper by coming to Jesus as the only means of curing our spiritual disease. We emulate Jesus by being the conduit for Jesus to show his love to others who are in desperate need of it.


Filed Under: Bible Reflection

About Mark McIntyre

A follower of Jesus Christ who shares observations about how Scripture should impact the church and the world. Mark is the original author and editor of Attempts at Honesty.

Follow Attempts at Honesty

Honesty in your Inbox

Sheep

A mediation on Psalm 1

I have read this psalm many times, but this morning I came away with a different impression than I have ever had before.

Power

The same power

These words have bothered me. I agree that they are true, I agree that Jesus has demonstrated that power to us. But singing them brought up some questions in my mind.

Your Story Context

Context, back-story and knowing God

A hip hop lyric illustrates the need for context in relationships. This is as true of our relationship with God as it is in human relationships.

The sun shining through the clouds

The sufficiency of natural revelation

The title of this post is a shameless play on words. It is not uncommon in theological circles to speak of the in-sufficiency of Scripture, but I dropped the “in” to make a point. Scripture is sufficient to make known God as creator. Some would argue that nature points to the possibility that God might […]

Corrective Cultural Lens

I had the opportunity to listen to a podcast of an interview with Mark Eckel while driving to my first appointment this morning. You can find this podcast and other information about Mark Eckel by clicking on this link. Of the many good things that Mark said, I was struck by one in particular. He […]

Post Series

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series

Categories

Archives

Blogger Grid
Follow me on Blogarama

Copyright © 2022 · Focus Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in