Lepers: Living Zombies! Pt. 1

Jesus Cleanses a Leper Luke 5:12-16

12 While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 13 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And he charged him to tell no one, but “go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” 15 But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. 16 But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.

Jumping right in, we find Jesus in one of the cities. It was probably a major city, which would mean a population of 15-25,000 people. Jerusalem, the Jewish capital city, had a population of nearly 50,000 to give a perspective of population sizes. A town in that time could be a group of 2,000 people living in the same area. Not exactly what we would think of as a large city, since most of us live in modern towns well over 10,000 people.

So here we find "a man full of leprosy" which means he was in really bad condition. Luke, the author, was a doctor, so when he writes that this man was full of leprosy, it's not an exaggeration, but an accurate description of how sick the man was. Leprosy is a skin condition that makes your skin fester and painfully crack open oozing pus and blood. It would start in a generalized area and spread. The open sores would breed infection which led to loss of fingers, hands, toes, feet, up to full appendages. There have been recorded cases in the mid-1800s where people had leprosy for so long it eventually made their eyes crust over because at that point the disease had overtaken the mucus membranes in the eyes. The eyes would literally rot out of your skull from infection. Leprosy at any stage causes the afflicted person to be in constant pain and suffering. Let me give you an idea of the intensity of these verses. You read the verses and think "Oh how nice, Jesus healed the leper, that was really nice of him." I can assure that this was not the case. This four verse story is the equivalent of an episode you might find on The Walking Dead.

Verse 12 says "there came a man..." and everyone would have know he was there. In Leviticus 13:45-46 it says

45 “The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip[b] and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ 46 He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp.

The man enters into the city where he has been kicked out and he is yelling in a garbled voice "unclean, unclean, UNCLEAN!!!" His hair is dreaded, his clothes torn. He hasn't bathed in years due to the pain of the condition of his skin. He reeks of blood, rotting flesh, and filth. The pain makes him weak. He staggers through the crowds. People are running away from him as he nears, others are throwing rocks from afar. Nobody dares go near him for fear of becoming infected.

Think of the second season of The Walking Dead with the walkers in the barn. They were once normal people, but had become zombies through infection. The walkers in the barn were still loved, but kept away from everyone else, since they were a menace to anyone who came near them. The leper may have had family and friends who loved him like the walkers in the barn. They would leave food and water for him in a specified area for him to come get after they left. There would be no contact, ever! Nobody would touch this guy, the leprosy had become extreme. He knew Jesus was his answer, that he could help him. He could cure him. The leper makes his way through the city and finds Jesus' whereabouts. He falls on his face, not from weakness, but in admiration of Jesus. He worships him at his feet as if Jesus was king. The man doesn't demand cleansing, but asks humbly for it. "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean." He leaves it up to Jesus. He lets Jesus do what he wants with his life. Verse 13, the most amazing thing happens. Before Jesus says a word, he does the unthinkable.

HE TOUCHES HIM!!!

Can you believe it? This man is infected with a nasty, flesh rotting disease and Jesus reaches out and touches him. Nobody would come near him, let alone even think of touching him. Who knows when the last time this man had been touched by someone else? Jesus tells him "I will; be clean." Jesus doesn't just heal the man, but cleanses him too. He deems him clean before God as Aaron and his sons would have. The leprosy left him immediately. He cleansed him completely! He wasn't just cured, but clean before God.