I find it interesting that the first healing by Jesus in the book of Luke is found in chapter 5. He heals a leper of all people! He heals a person that society has written off. Starting in verse 12 we read, "While he was in one of the cities, there was a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, 'Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.' And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, 'I will; be clean.' And immediately the leprosy left him" (ESV).
To give some context, leprosy was a very terrible and destructive disease in the ancient world. Being full of leprosy, this guy had no hope! So, when he saw Jesus, he fell at the feet of Jesus with no hope and was full of need and desperation!
According to the theologian Barclay, "In Palestine there were two kinds of leprosy. There was one which was rather like a very bad skin disease, and it was the less serious of the two. There was the one in which the disease, starting from a spot, ate away the flesh until the wretched sufferer was left with only the stump of a hand or a leg. It was literally a living death." Based on what we read in the passage, the second one was more than likely what this man had. He was hopeless and desperate.
According to Jewish law and customs, this mad had to stay away from society. He had to be at least 6 feet away from other people, 150 feet away if the wind was blowing. If a person came into contact with a person with leprosy, they would be considered unclean. The only thing worse than touching a person with leprosy, was touching a dead body! Could you imagine living like this? This person was an outcast! Can you relate to this? Do you feel like an outcast? Or someone that many look down upon?
This man was isolated from society. Society and religious people scorned lepers. Matter of fact, Rabbis despised them and saw lepers as those that were under the judgement of God, deserving no pity or mercy. He wasn't able to be in contact with any of his family. That means if he was married and had kids, he couldn't be around them due to infecting them and making them unclean.
This man, the leper, knew how terrible his problem was. He knew how hopeless his condition was. Yet, the leper came to Jesus by himself to seek to be cleaned. He knew the ramifications of his actions. He knew that Rabbis wouldn't talk to him or be around him. Yet, with this knowledge, he still approached Jesus. What faith this guy had! He had no previous knowledge of Jesus healing another person much less a leper. He knew Jesus was considered a Rabbi. Some how he had the faith that Jesus could cleanse him if Jesus wanted to.
Notice, that the leper said that he waned Jesus to cleanse him. He didn't say healing. This man wanted more than just a healing from leprosy. He wanted to be cleansed of all the debilitating effects on his life and soul. Imagine living like this. It is probably safe to say that this had a profound effect on his mind and soul. Imagine not being able to be around people, especially the ones that you love or even talking to them. That alone has to be tough on the mind and spirit. This man wanted to be cleansed of ALL effects of his condition.
Jesus touches the leper and he is cleansed. Jesus didn't have to touch him. He could have easily healed him without physical touch. Remember, Rabbis despised lepers. Any other Rabi wouldn't have been caught around this guy, much less caught touching him. However, Jesus did. Jesus went against what the law and customs said about touching a leper. Jesus had compassion on this man. He had compassion on a man thought to be untouchable. See, Jesus loves us despite if we are unclean! Jesus looks past our junk and sees the masterpiece that God created us to be.
How many of us, believe that our past makes us unclean to come to Jesus? We have been told that we have to clean our act up before we can enter the presence of God. Yet, here we have a man full of what many thought at the time to be one of the most uncleanliness conditions that one can be in.
However, Jesus stated in Mark 2:17, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."
Throughout the Gospels, the authors give us examples where Jesus went against the law and customs to reach people that society deemed unclean. Jesus still does that today. Jesus reaches out to who society, even unfortunately what some churches deem unclean or the undesirables. If you think that what you did in your past or what perhaps what you are involved in now is keeping you from entering a relationship with Jesus, I want you to know that Jesus loves you! He is waiting for you to cry out to him and fall into his arms! Don't let the religious stop you from a relationship with Jesus. Find a church and allow Jesus to meet you where you are at!
