I want to begin our message today with two quotes by Mother Teresa; and here is the first quote: “The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted.”(1) In her humanitarian efforts in Calcutta, Mother Teresa saw a lot of rejection and hopelessness, as very few people would reach out to help and show they cared. One reason why people might fail to help the sick and needy is because they are afraid of the unsanitary living conditions; they fear catching an illness and getting sick themselves.
This observation leads to her second quote: “One of the greatest diseases is to be nobody to anybody.”(2) People can become so afraid of catching an illness or disease, that they will stay clear of anyone who has an infirmity, never befriending that individual, and therefore never demonstrating much-needed love and compassion. In this manner, people will miss an opportunity to make an eternal impact in someone’s life, and they fail to become “something” to “someone.” They instead go through life in their own little bubble being “nobody” to “anybody.”
In our message this morning, we will see how Jesus challenged the people of His day to realize that caring for the spiritual needs of others far supersedes our own selfish plans, or our desire for self-preservation; and what we will learn can be applied to how we treat people today who have a strange, frightening, or misunderstood illness. And having just come out of a worldwide pandemic, maybe this message will resonate with some of us today.
Jesus Allowed the Sick to Draw Near (vv. 1-2)
1 When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. 2 And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
So, we read here that a leper approached Jesus worshipping Him and asking for His help. It was considered risky business for someone to be in close proximity to a leper, for leprosy is a contagious and infectious disease. It is “characterized by disfiguring skin sores, nerve damage, and progressive debilitation.”(3) Body parts “can become numb or diseased as a result of infection; infection results in tissue loss, so fingers and toes become shortened and deformed as the cartilage is absorbed into the body.”(4)
Before modern medicine, leprosy was a terminal illness and greatly feared; therefore, the leper was to be kept at a distance, so the disease could not be spread to others. Old Testament law prescribed strict guidelines for handling those with leprosy. In Leviticus 13:45-46, we read, “Now the leper on whom the sore is, his clothes shall be torn and his head bare; and he shall cover his mustache, and cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ He shall be unclean. All the days he has the sore he shall be unclean. He is unclean, and he shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.”
We learn from these verses in Leviticus how the leper was considered unclean, or highly contagious, and this fact could not be emphasized enough. In these two verses alone, the word “unclean” was mentioned five times. We read in Easton’s Bible Dictionary that the leper had “to warn passers-by to keep away from him . . . nor could he speak to any one, or receive or return a salutation, since in the East this involves an embrace.”(5)
If a leper was not supposed to draw near to anyone or even speak with them, then this man was making an illegal move, which portrays his great desperation to find a cure for his illness. We should also note that by allowing this man to approach Him, Jesus was challenging the social norm (or the six-foot rule) of His day. He should have warned the leper to keep away. We read over in Mark chapter 1, verse 40, “Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, ‘If You are willing, You can make me clean’.” The leper had to be in close proximity in order to kneel down before Jesus.
The fear of contracting a terminal illness is not uncommon today. Take, for example, the way people behave around those who carry the HIV virus, that when contracted can lead to the AIDS disease. A study was conducted back in 1999 by members of the Psychology faculty at the University of California at Davis concerning how people feel and react toward those who have AIDS.(6) Based on the findings acquired from three national telephone surveys, here is what they concluded:
Many Americans still express fear and discomfort about people with AIDS. In 1999, thirty percent of those polled [stated they] would feel uncomfortable having their children attend school with another child who has AIDS, and twenty-two percent [stated they] would feel uncomfortable around an office coworker with AIDS.(7)
I recall the period around the 1980’s when cancer was being emphasized in the public eye, and how it was greatly misunderstood. Some people thought that cancer might be contagious, and kept their distance from those who had it. Others remained at a distance because they felt awkward, and were afraid of saying something that would emotionally wound the individual. Back in the year 2007, Michael Zevon, with ABC News Health, stated,
There’s a strong mythology that accompanies the word “cancer.” Indeed, there’s been research that’s shown [that] just saying the word “cancer” or reading the word “cancer” causes significant anxiety and anxiousness in over fifty percent of the people who see the word. So, people react to this illness in a very strong, emotional sense. When people feel anxious, they will often stay away from the source of that anxiety.(8)
You see, human nature is to be afraid of what we do not understand. How many times do we become anxious around those who have a scary or misunderstood illness, and so we keep our distance? It does not take long for the individual to realize why people are acting so cold and uncaring. How do you think that person will begin to feel, especially when those who claim to represent Christ hold them at an arm’s length? The person will probably feel as though even God has rejected them.
Jesus wanted this leper to realize that, even though people pushed him aside, the heavenly Father loved Him enough to draw close. Jesus was God in the flesh (John 1:1, 14); thereby representing the love of the heavenly Father. We too are called to represent the love of God and His Son, Jesus Christ. If we keep our distance, we might cause those who are sick to question our faith, and possibly never arrive at a saving belief and trust in Jesus’ love and healing touch.
Also, let us keep in mind that Jesus may have been divine, but He was still in human form. He could have chosen to act like any other human being, feeling paranoid of this leper breathing on Him or brushing up against Him; however, Jesus was unafraid. He knew that the heavenly Father could heal this man, and protect Him from illness or harm. He looked beyond the leper’s sickness to see his heart and spiritual need – and just look at what Jesus did next!
Jesus Even Touched the Sick Person (vv. 3-4)
3 Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
So, Jesus not only allowed the leper to come near and kneel down before Him; we read that He “put out His hand and touched him” (v. 3). Jesus was the one who did the reaching; and therefore, Jesus was the one who went the farthest in breaking the social norm of His day. He crossed a line that was not meant to be crossed, broke a long-standing taboo, and transgressed a cardinal rule.
The leper had asked Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean” (v. 2). To be clean was to be seen as holy. You have likely heard the expression, “Cleanliness is next to godliness,” right? In the Bible there is a direct correlation between what is clean and what is holy. What is unclean can never be holy, and nothing which is holy is unclean.(9) Based on this information, we understand that the leper was considered by those around him as unholy and sinful.
When Jesus touched him, then He too would have been seen as unclean according to the law. In Leviticus chapter twenty-two, we read, “Whoever touches anything made unclean . . . or any person by whom he would become unclean, whatever his uncleanness may be – the person who has touched any such thing shall be unclean” (Leviticus 22:4-6).
Jesus could have been placed into solitary confinement away from human contact for a minimum of seven days for the purpose of observation, had the priests considered it remotely possible for Him to have contracted leprosy (Leviticus 13:4). If Jesus had come down with the disease (which know was impossible); but if He had, then He would have been pronounced unclean, and been resigned to the lonely fate of a leper (Leviticus 13:3). Jesus was exonerated from religious scrutiny for the very reason that the leper was healed!
Sometimes we act as though we will be seen as guilty by association; or rather, be considered unclean for keeping company with those who have a scary illness. How do we view the nurse who works in the local AIDS hospice? Or most recently, in the Covid unit? Perhaps we wonder if she might have unknowingly contracted the virus, and so we are careful to keep a safe distance from her. How do children treat a fellow classmate whose mother has cancer? They might refuse to befriend him, for fear that cancer is contagious; and he could be pushed aside.
So, why did Jesus touch the leper? Over in Mark 1:41, we read that He was “moved with compassion.” The word “compassion” could be translated as, “to be moved as to one’s bowels . . . for the bowels were thought to be the seat of love and pity.”(10) But I am going to simply say that Jesus was moved in His heart. Jesus was stirred in His heart toward love, kindness, and mercy. Love is a feeling so strong that it can compel a person to lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13). True love looks beyond self-preservation to place the needs of others first; and true love comes straight from the heavenly Father (1 John 4:16).
The Pharisees once condemned Jesus because He and His disciples sat down for dinner with Matthew and his tax collector buddies. Tax collectors were viewed as unclean because of their constant contact with the Gentiles; and so, the Pharisees felt that getting too close would result in contamination and ritual impurity. Therefore, tax collectors were kept at a distance, somewhat like how the lepers we treated; but not with the same level of scrutiny.
The comment that Jesus made to the Pharisees, concerning the stigma of the tax collectors, can be applied to those who have a misunderstood or frightening illness. He stated, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Matthew 9:12-13).
When Jesus stated, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice” (Matthew 9:13), He was referring to the Jew who would be certain to adhere to the proper exercise of worship in the temple; but then neglect to honor God daily throughout the week. His statement, based on Hosea 6:6, meant that God wants to see His people showing kindness and mercy toward others before coming to worship Him. Love and compassion must be the driving force of our service and devotion to God; and if we really know the true meaning of unconditional love, then we will be compelled to demonstrate compassion to all people; including the untouchables.
Jesus presented Himself to the leper as healer, the one who is able to alleviate both physical and spiritual sickness. He stated that He came to call sinners to repentance; or those needing “spiritual healing.” Jesus also said He came to heal the sick; or those needing “physical healing” (Matthew 9:13). He healed people by drawing close enough to them to touch their lives, which provides us an example to follow. If we wish to help the sinners and the sick, then we must make an effort to “draw close” and spend time with them.
The reason why we must “draw close” is because we hold the answer to both spiritual and physical healing, and that answer is Jesus. He is the Great Physician (Luke 4:23) who “took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses” (Matthew 8:17). When Jesus died on the cross, He bore on Himself the entire weight of all the sins of the world; taking on Himself the wages of sin – those wages being illness, disease and death (Psalm 103: 3; Romans 6:23). Isaiah said, “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).
Verse 4 is significant in that it serves as proof of this healing miracle. Jesus told him to “go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” Commentator William Barclay says, “Jesus sent this leper to the priests to make the correct offering and to receive a certificate that he was clean. The Jews were so terrified of the infection of leprosy that there was a prescribed ritual in the very unlikely event of a cure. That ritual is described in Leviticus 14.”(11) After the ritual was performed, and after seven days had elapsed, the man “was finally examined for the last time, and, if the cure was real, he was allowed to go with a certificate that he was cleansed.”(12)
Jesus had commanded him not to tell anyone other than the priests. The reason why, which is called the messianic secret, is something we will not go into today. But could you blame the man if he did tell people? I mean, he had good news to share! And, in fact, he did just that! He shared the good news with everyone! We read in Mark 1:45 that “he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.” Let me tell you, when you have been truly healed, physically or spiritually, you are going to want to tell someone; and I hope you leave here today with that kind of good news!
Time of Reflection
Max Lucado, in his book Just Like Jesus, closed his discussion about the leper, saying that “Jesus touched the untouchables of the world. Will you do the same?”(13) What are you willing to risk in order to share the message of love and forgiveness in Jesus Christ? Some people are willing to be martyred for their faith, and all that Jesus is asking us to do is be willing to care for those who are sick. Yes, it is true that we risk becoming sick ourselves, but death by illness is less likely than being murdered in a hostile country for being a Christian.
The primary message we must not miss is that when we seek to preserve our own life and health, we could be turning our backs on those who are spiritually dying and going to hell. The question becomes this: What is more important? Preserving our own physical life, or securing another’s eternal life?
This thought leads to another important question to consider. Jesus once asked, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?” (Luke 9:25). Perhaps you are presently living for yourself and are not a believer, meaning that you have never before confessed faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. If you are currently living for yourself, and your life is founded in this world, then you will lose your place in eternity with God. However, if you will focus on Jesus Christ and allow Him to touch your heart, then He can and will cleanse your soul and restore you to eternal life.
NOTES
(1) Mother Teresa, “Disease Quotes,” World of Quotes: www.worldofquotes.com/topic/Disease/1/ (Accessed June 27, 2011).
(2) Ibid.
(3) “Leprosy,” PubMed Health: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002323/ (Accessed June 24, 2011).
(4) “Leprosy,” Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leprosy (Accessed June 24, 2011).
(5) M. G. Easton, Easton’s Bible Dictionary, on Power Bible CD.
(6) Gregory M. Herek, “American Public Increasingly Blames People With AIDS and Misunderstands How HIV Is Transmitted,” psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/stigma_02_press.html (Accessed June 24, 2011).
(7) Ibid.
(8) Michael A. Zevon, “Are Some People Avoiding Me Since They Learned of My Breast Cancer Diagnosis?” posted September 25, 2007, ABC News Health: abcnews.go.com/Health/OnCallPlusLiving/people-avoiding-learned-breast-cancer-diagnosis/story?id=3648634 (Accessed June 24, 2011).
(9) Bob Deffinbaugh, “The Clean and Unclean - Part 1,” Bible.org: bible.org/seriespage/clean-and-unclean%E2%80%94part-i-leviticus-11 (Accessed June 24, 2011).
(10) “Compassion,” lexicon number G4697, Blue Letter Bible: www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G4697&t=KJV (Accessed June 27, 2011).
(11) William Barclay, “The Gospel of Matthew,” The Daily Study Bible, vol 1. (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1958), p. 304.
(12) Ibid., p. 305.
(13) Max Lucado, Just Like Jesus (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2003), p. 34.
