Luke 5:13
And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him. And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him.
Jesus willingly answered the leper's plea by putting forth His hand to touch him and declaring His will that he be made clean. He gave that touch without recoiling, standing aloof, or fearing contamination, though the man was loathsome and excluded and touching a leper made a person ceremonially unclean under the law of Moses. He spoke with authority possessed in Himself and wrought by His own divine power, and at once the leprosy departed in an immediate and complete cure that restored diseased skin and a decayed body to health, showing power over even an incurable and most desperate disease. The leper had believed Jesus as the promised Savior could make him clean and pressed toward Him despite restrictions, the crowd's fear and loathing, and attempts to prevent him, and Jesus welcomed, received, and relieved him as He does all who are isolated and barred, turning away no one who seeks His help. That cleansing of a condition treated as judgment for sin and a symbol of sin illustrates His power to remove the leprosy of sin, for He is the great Restorer and Physician, and everyone who comes praying the leper's prayer receives His personal touch and declared willingness to cleanse heart, mind, and soul.
Christ Heals the Leper
The verse records Jesus willingly answering the leper's plea by putting forth His hand to touch him and declaring His will that he be made clean. The touch accompanies the spoken command, and at His word the cleansing is accomplished. He meets the excluded man's hope for healing with that willing touch and answer.
The touch is given without recoiling or standing aloof for fear of contamination, though the man's disease made him loathsome and excluded. Touching a leper made a person ceremonially unclean under the law of Moses, yet Jesus willingly touches him despite the fear and uncleanness associated with such contact. Christ pities suffering people even when their illness has resulted from their own sinful violation of natural law. His calm compassion and power answer the leper's faith and need.
His command is spoken with authority He possesses in Himself, and the miracle is wrought by His own divine power to cleanse and restore. He accepts the honor given Him rather than directing it away from Himself. That same authority to cleanse from leprosy by will and word illustrates His power to remove the leprosy of sin. At once the leprosy departs, and the cure is immediate and complete. Diseased skin and a decayed, weakened body are made healthy, restored to healthy flesh, nerves, and muscle, showing power to cure even an incurable and most desperate disease and to restore even a body badly decayed.
The leper believes Jesus as the promised Saviour has power to make him clean and to free him from his infirmity. That belief comes from hearing of Jesus and watching His work in laying hands on the sick and healing them, which convinces him Jesus can cure even his own incurable disease and makes him long to come for healing. His faith and hope lead him to press toward the Saviour, nearer and yet nearer, despite the restrictions laid upon him, concern for the safety of the people, the crowd's fear, loathing and terror, and attempts to prevent him and turn him back. He forgets those barriers in hope of healing, seeing only the Son of God and hearing only the voice that speaks life to the dying, neither seeing nor hearing their loathing as the recoiling throng falls back.
Jesus welcomes, receives within reach, and relieves even those isolated and barred from entering towns because of their loathsome disease. He turns no one who seeks His help away, and even people with loathsome leprosy are not turned away from His presence but are welcomed and healed. The healed man is sent to the priests with the offering required by Moses so they can examine and certify the cure. Their examination confirms he is free from disease and enables his return to family and friends, and the cure becomes an irrefutable testimony to divine power. Their public decision becomes a standing testimony and an opportunity for the priests to recognize the truth, showing His love for humanity, respect for the law, and power to deliver, while He orders silence because public excitement could draw crowds, strengthen opposition, and hinder His work.
Cleansing Pictures Spiritual Restoration
Leprosy was regarded as a judgment for sin and stood as a symbol of sin, so the cleansing of the leper is deliverance from a condition bound up with sin and exclusion, accomplished when uncleanness was touched and complete restoration followed at the immediate departure of the disease. The authority to cleanse leprosy by will and word illustrates power to remove the leprosy of sin, so that all who seek help from him can be cleansed. That cleansing points beyond physical healing to forgiveness and cleansing of soul, heart, and mind.
He is the great Restorer and the great Physician for spiritual and physical need, and his works of healing give lessons for medical missionaries. Everyone who comes to him praying the leper's prayer to be made clean receives cleansing of heart and mind, with his personal touch and his declared willingness to cleanse. No one who has sought his help has been turned away. Hearing a few words from his lips and watching him lay hands on the sick strengthens faith and gives blessed hope, as the lame, the blind, the paralytic, and those dying of various maladies rise in health praising God for deliverance.
That hope made the leper forget the restrictions laid upon him, concern for the safety of the people, and the fear with which all regarded him, pressing nearer through a recoiling throng that fell back in terror and tried to prevent him, seeing only the Son of God and hearing only the voice that speaks life to the dying, neither seeing nor hearing their loathing. The access granted to lepers and their healing showed that he turned no one away, and this gave the helpless paralytic's friends hope that he might help him too. The healing of a leper who had lost all hope of recovery showed that he heals those who are sinful, helpless, and hopeless, giving the sinful, helpless, hopeless paralytic at Capernaum reason to believe he too might be cured if carried to Jesus.
The cleansing displays his compassion and gives further lessons of encouragement through the touch of faith. Those who minister for others lead sinners to him to receive forgiveness and spiritual cleansing. Through human workers he still causes the sick, the unfortunate, and those possessed of evil spirits to hear his voice, and through them he acts as a comforter such as the world does not know.