In Biblical days, lepers were considered unclean. Lepers were the outcasts of society. To some extent, one might understand that with a disease as highly contagious as leprosy, it was safe to keep your distance for fear of catching the disease too. A horrible disease, leprosy often disfigured its victims. As if disfigurement was not terrible enough, lepers wore certain clothes to distinguish themselves. They were kept in isolation from their families. I can also imagine how worthless, lonely, unloved, and abandoned they must have felt.
No one touched lepers, for if they did, they were rendered unclean too. But one Man did. That man was Jesus. He loved even the lepers, the ones who had been stigmatised by society; the ones who everybody laughed at!
Matthew 8:2-3 (TPT):
Suddenly, a leper walked up to Jesus and threw himself down before him in worship and said, “Lord, you have the power to heal me . . . if you really want to.”
Jesus reached out his hand and touched the leper and said, “Of course I want to heal you — be healed!” And instantly, all signs of leprosy disappeared! (Matthew 8:2-3 TPT)
Jesus expressed His willingness to heal the leper. I like how the Bible states in Basic English words Jesus’ response: “It is my pleasure; be clean.” Jesus was sure pleased to be of help. He did not come to heal certain types of sicknesses, the ones that were socially acceptable, perhaps the colds and coughs only. No! He made no distinction. He healed all manner of illness and disease when the sick were brought to Him (see Matthew 8:17)
In Matthew 8:3, we read that Jesus touched the leper. No one was allowed to do such a thing by the Law. But a loving Jesus did. He violated the Law on account of a show of love. He touched the leper as if it was the most natural thing for Him to do. Remember though, Jesus did not touch everyone whom He healed. He could have just spoken the word for the leper’s healing.
Imagine how that touch must have felt for the leper. Who knows how long it had been since the last time he experienced the touch of another human being. It could have been months, perhaps years. The leper must have felt dehumanized. That touch from a caring Jesus reached an aching heart. It was the healing balm the leper needed. Jesus made him feel accepted, like a human being again. I am sure that day the leper recieved emotional healing apart from his physical healing.
Culled from the Chapter on Dealing With the Stigma “Defying the Odds – One man’s struggle and victory over mental illness and his wife whose trust in God never failed by Zoe A Onah [Destiny Image Europe, 2011]
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