THE TOUCH OF JESUS

By Charles N. Spence, Jr.

One of the most demonstrative acts of compassion as seen in Jesus during His ministry on earth is when he had healed a certain leper in Galilee. What is impressive is that this event typified the greatest act of compassion Jesus had demonstrated. He, "Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness-by whose stripes we were healed" (1 Pet. 2:24).

According to Mark's gospel account, the leper came to Jesus. Jesus, just before the time the leper came to Him, had been preaching and casting out demons in many of the Galilean towns (Mark 1:38,39). Just the day before Jesus had cast out the demons and healed many of the Capernum's sick. Now, for the first time in Jesus' ministry, a leper comes seeking His power. The leper probably heard of the great power of Jesus and possibly witnessed some of the previous day’s miracles. The leper, in coming to Jesus, exhibited much confidence in Jesus' ability to heal him. Mark tells us that the leper implored Jesus. That is, the leper earnestly begged Jesus to make him clean.

According to Rabbinical tradition, they traced diseases to moral causes. They believed that there was no death without sin, any pain without transgression, and that healing did not come to the sick without having their sins forgiven. Therefore, God imposed such ills as barrenness and leprosy to drive the sufferer to have his sins forgiven.

Cunningham Geikie says concerning leprosy:

A disease at all times terrible, but aggravated, in the opinion of that day, by the belief that it was a direct "stroke of God" as a punishment for special sins. It began with little specks on the eyelids, and on the palms of the hand, and gradually spread over different parts of the body, bleaching the hair white wherever it showed itself, crusting the affected parts with shining scales, and causing swellings and sores. From the skin it slowly ate its way through the tissues, to the bones and joints and even to the marrow, rotting the whole body piecemeal. The lungs, the organs of speech and hearing, and the eyes were attacked in turn, till, at last, consumption or dropsy brought welcome death. The dread of infection kept men aloof from the sufferer, and the law proscribed him, as, above all men, unclean. The disease was hereditary to the fourth generation. No one thus afflicted could remain in a walled town, though he might live in a village. There were different varieties of leprosy, but all were dreaded as the saddest calamity of life. The leper was required to rend his outer garment, to go bareheaded, and to cover his mouth so as to hide his beard as was done in lamentation for the dead. He had, further, to warn passers by away from him by the cry of "Unclean, unclean;" not without the thought that the sound would call forth a prayer for the sufferer, and else from the fear of infection, than to prevent contact with one thus visited by God, and unclean. He could not speak to anyone, nor receive or return a salutation.

Alfred Edershiem also comments,

. . . one might have expected that Divine compassion would have been extended to those, who bore such a heavy burden of their sins. Instead of this, their burdens were needlessly increased. True, as wrapped in mourner's garb the leper passed by, his cry "Unclean!" was to incite others to pray for him--but also to avoid him. No one was even to salute him; his bed was to be low, inclining toward the ground. If he put his head into a place, it became unclean. No less a distance than four cubits (six feet) must be kept from a leper; or if the wind came from that direction, a hundred were scarcely sufficient. Rabbi Meir would not eat an egg purchase in a street where there was a leper. Another Rabbi boasted that he always threw stones at them to keep them afar off, while others hid themselves or ran away. To such extent did Rabbinism carry its inhuman logic in considering the leper as a mourner, that it even forbade him to wash his face.

Contrary to the traditions of Judaism, the leper in Mark's narrative came boldly before Jesus imploring Him for help. In Luke's gospel record, the later part of chapter 4, Jesus taught in many of the synagogues. The role that Jesus filled was one of a Rabbi, meaning great teacher or master. Thus, many of the people considered Him as such. Normally a leper would have fled from a Rabbi but this leper came to Jesus humbly seeking Divine favor. The Law of Moses contains no such precedence as to the fulfillment of such a request. When considering this narrative in light of the Law of Moses a leper lived in hopelessness. The law provides details concerning leprosy in Leviticus 13 and 14. The law made no provision for cleansing leprosy; there was only a provision to declare one clean if suspected. The priest examined one who the people suspected of having leprosy. If the disease is absent then the one suspected must submit to ceremonial purification. Again, this does not cleanse a leper. It is a ritual declaring one ceremonially free from the suspicion. So one can understand this leper's lowly approach to Christ. Having confidence in Jesus ability, the leper implores Jesus, despaired of all other help, with word that further declares his confidence in Jesus' ability, "If thou art willing, thou can make me clean." Jesus then having been moved with compassion put out his hand and touched the man saying, "I am willing; be cleansed."

In this, we see a contrast between Jesus and His contemporaries. As noted earlier the kind of conduct that was typical of a Rabbi toward lepers was not displayed by Jesus who was able to feel compassion for the weak and beggarly. After He cleansed the man's leprosy, Jesus warned the man not to publish this news to anyone. He was to go show himself to the priest and offer those things which Moses' law required in order for on to be declared clean. A point about this is what kind of testimony could a man who had been a leper give, if the priest never declared him clean? Through this, the man would be a testimony to the priests. This testimony would declare that the one who claimed to be Messiah had authority over leprosy. Moreover, if, as the traditions taught and the priests believed, this leprosy was a stroke of God, who had such authority to revoke such except He come from God.

As suggested earlier, this event typified what Jesus would later do for mankind in general. Jesus was able to touch the leper without becoming infected. He was able to be touched with our infirmities being fashioned as a man and bearing upon himself our sins (Phi. 2:7-8; Isa. 53:4-6), without a spot of sin of his own. "For God mad him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21).

As the leper was able to come humbly to Jesus imploring him to grant unto him cleansing, so must anyone who desires Jesus to cleanse him of sins. As the leper expressed confidence in Jesus ability to rescue him from his dreaded disease, so must anyone who needs to be rescued from the pangs of eternal death (Heb. 11:6). He must turn away from a life of sin unto eternal death toward a life of righteousness unto life eternal (Acts 26:20). By confessing Jesus as lord and Christ, he can avoid denial into the kingdom of God (Matt. 10:32-33). By submitting to water baptism his sins will be washed away (Acts 22:16). Jesus charged the leper who He cleansed to present himself as a testimony to those who were unbelieving and void of truth. So he charges those whom he cleanses today to present themselves as a testimony of the Lord to a world engulfed in darkness (Matt. 5:13-16, Matt. 28:19). Hebrews 2:14-18 further illustrates the depth of compassion Jesus had for mankind (READ).

Yes Jesus is able to give you aide. Is He willing? Jesus says, "I am willing; be cleansed."