“And behold, a leper came up to Him and, prostrating himself, worshiped Him, saying, Lord, if You are willing, You are able to cleanse me by curing me. And He reached out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed by being cured. And instantly his leprosy was cured and cleansed.” Matthew 8:2-3 ->me: This is one of those passages where it is important to do a little deep diving into what is going on. Leprosy (and many other skin conditions for that matter) was cause for quarantine during biblical times. Not only were you thought to be super contagious but you were also ‘ceremonial unclean’ (Leviticus 13-14). Other diseases are healed in the New Testament but a leper is ‘cleansed’. The disease was regarded as incurable (1 Kings 5:7). The posture and faith of the leper is what moved Jesus to heal him. In the next verse, Jesus instructs the cured leper to not tell anyone about what has happened and to go straight to the priests and offer the offering of cleansing commanded by Moses; in this way he would be a testament to the healing and as evidence to the people. This whole section of Matthew (miracles) has really one topic -> the power and authority of Jesus. I am most drawn to the ways in which people approach Jesus that move Him to heal them or their loved ones. Posture (acknowledgement of Christ’s position in their lives) and Faith (that Jesus can do the impossible). What is even more is that the leper was ‘cleansed’ as well as ‘cured’. The law was not needed, Jesus Himself is sufficient.
Our Family WordPress Blog