And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented." Jesus *said to him, "I will come and heal him." But the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, "Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed that very moment.
When Jesus came into Peter’s home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she got up and waited on Him. When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: "He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases."
Let's look at verses 1-2, "When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."
After Jesus was finished preaching His sermon, the most famous, profound sermon in all of human history, we learn that large crowds were following Him in vain. It wasn’t because they believed in Him, they were curious to see what happens next. Notice that the leper approached and bowed down. Once a person was declared a leper they were cut off from contact with society. Leprosy comes from the Greek word "leprós," which means scaly. From our understanding, it was a visible scaly skin disease caused by a bacteria called mycobacterium leprae. It is believed to have originated in Egypt, and as the Israelites left Egypt, they carried this disease with them. We can't be certain if it was the same as the modern-day leprosy which is called Hansen’s disease. Approximately 30% of people affected with leprosy experience severe nerve damage. It's interesting to note that 150 to 250 cases are diagnosed in the United States each year. Despite effective treatment and education efforts, leprosy stigma continues to be problematic
When leprosy came to Israel, God wanting to protect them, in Leviticus gave them clear directions as to how to treat it. Turn with me to Leviticus chapter 13, verse 1 and following. In full disclosure, it's rather lengthy.
"Then the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, “When a man has on the skin of his body a swelling or a scab or a bright spot, and it becomes an infection of leprosy on the skin of his body, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests. The priest shall look at the mark on the skin of the body, and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the infection appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is an infection of leprosy; when the priest has looked at him, he shall pronounce him unclean. But if the bright spot is white on the skin of his body, and it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and the hair on it has not turned white, then the priest shall isolate him who has the infection for seven days. The priest shall look at him on the seventh day, and if in his eyes the infection has not changed and the infection has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall isolate him for seven more days. The priest shall look at him again on the seventh day, and if the infection has faded and the mark has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only a scab. And he shall wash his clothes and be clean.
But if the scab spreads farther on the skin after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall appear again to the priest. The priest shall look, and if the scab has spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is leprosy.
When the infection of leprosy is on a man, then he shall be brought to the priest. The priest shall then look, and if there is a white swelling in the skin, and it has turned the hair white, and there is quick raw flesh in the swelling, it is a chronic leprosy on the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean; he shall not isolate him, for he is unclean. If the leprosy breaks out farther on the skin, and the leprosy covers all the skin of him who has the infection from his head even to his feet, as far as the priest can see, then the priest shall look, and behold, if the leprosy has covered all his body, he shall pronounce clean him who has the infection; it has all turned white and he is clean. But whenever raw flesh appears on him, he shall be unclean. The priest shall look at the raw flesh, and he shall pronounce him unclean; the raw flesh is unclean, it is leprosy. Or if the raw flesh turns again and is changed to white, then he shall come to the priest, and the priest shall look at him, and behold, if the infection has turned to white, then the priest shall pronounce clean him who has the infection; he is clean.
When the body has a boil on its skin and it is healed, and in the place of the boil there is a white swelling or a reddish-white, bright spot, then it shall be shown to the priest; and the priest shall look, and behold, if it appears to be lower than the skin, and the hair on it has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is the infection of leprosy, it has broken out in the boil. But if the priest looks at it, and behold, there are no white hairs in it and it is not lower than the skin and is faded, then the priest shall isolate him for seven days; and if it spreads farther on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an infection. But if the bright spot remains in its place and does not spread, it is only the scar of the boil; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
Or if the body sustains in its skin a burn by fire, and the raw flesh of the burn becomes a bright spot, reddish-white, or white, then the priest shall look at it. And if the hair in the bright spot has turned white and it appears to be deeper than the skin, it is leprosy; it has broken out in the burn. Therefore, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an infection of leprosy. But if the priest looks at it, and indeed, there is no white hair in the bright spot and it is no deeper than the skin, but is dim, then the priest shall isolate him for seven days; and the priest shall look at him on the seventh day. If it spreads farther in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an infection of leprosy. But if the bright spot remains in its place and has not spread in the skin, but is dim, it is the swelling from the burn; and the priest shall pronounce him clean, for it is only the scar of the burn.
Now if a man or woman has an infection on the head or on the beard, then the priest shall look at the infection, and if it appears to be deeper than the skin and there is thin yellowish hair in it, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a scale, it is leprosy of the head or of the beard. But if the priest looks at the infection of the scale, and indeed, it appears to be no deeper than the skin and there is no black hair in it, then the priest shall isolate the person with the scaly infection for seven days. On the seventh day the priest shall look at the infection, and if the scale has not spread and no yellowish hair has grown in it, and the appearance of the scale is no deeper than the skin, then he shall shave himself, but he shall not shave the scale; and the priest shall isolate the person with the scale seven more days. Then on the seventh day the priest shall look at the scale, and if the scale has not spread in the skin and it appears to be no deeper than the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean; and he shall wash his clothes and be clean. But if the scale spreads farther in the skin after his cleansing, then the priest shall look at him, and if the scale has spread in the skin, the priest need not seek for the yellowish hair; he is unclean. If in his sight the scale has remained, however, and black hair has grown in it, the scale has healed, he is clean; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
When a man or a woman has bright spots on the skin of the body, even white bright spots, then the priest shall look, and if the bright spots on the skin of their bodies are a faint white, it is eczema that has broken out on the skin; he is clean.
Now if a man loses the hair of his head, he is bald; he is clean. If his head becomes bald at the front and sides, he is bald on the forehead; he is clean. But if on the bald head or the bald forehead, there occurs a reddish-white infection, it is leprosy breaking out on his bald head or on his bald forehead. Then the priest shall look at him; and if the swelling of the infection is reddish-white on his bald head or on his bald forehead, like the appearance of leprosy in the skin of the body, he is a leprous man, he is unclean. The priest shall surely pronounce him unclean; his infection is on his head.
As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be uncovered, and he shall cover his mustache and cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ He shall remain unclean all the days during which he has the infection; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.
When a garment has a mark of leprosy in it, whether it is a wool garment or a linen garment, whether in warp or woof, of linen or of wool, whether in leather or in any article made of leather, if the mark is greenish or reddish in the garment or in the leather, or in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of leather, it is a leprous mark and shall be shown to the priest. Then the priest shall look at the mark and shall quarantine the article with the mark for seven days. He shall then look at the mark on the seventh day; if the mark has spread in the garment, whether in the warp or in the woof, or in the leather, whatever the purpose for which the leather is used, the mark is a leprous malignancy, it is unclean. So he shall burn the garment, whether the warp or the woof, in wool or in linen, or any article of leather in which the mark occurs, for it is a leprous malignancy; it shall be burned in the fire.
But if the priest shall look, and indeed the mark has not spread in the garment, either in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of leather, then the priest shall order them to wash the thing in which the mark occurs and he shall quarantine it for seven more days. After the article with the mark has been washed, the priest shall again look, and if the mark has not changed its appearance, even though the mark has not spread, it is unclean; you shall burn it in the fire, whether an eating away has produced bareness on the top or on the front of it.
Then if the priest looks, and if the mark has faded after it has been washed, then he shall tear it out of the garment or out of the leather, whether from the warp or from the woof; and if it appears again in the garment, whether in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of leather, it is an outbreak; the article with the mark shall be burned in the fire. The garment, whether the warp or the woof, or any article of leather from which the mark has departed when you washed it, it shall then be washed a second time and will be clean.
This is the law for the mark of leprosy in a garment of wool or linen, whether in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of leather, for pronouncing it clean or unclean."
Today, according to the World Health Organization, there are two kinds one called lepromatous, which is more severe. And the other is called tuberculoid leprosy, which is harmless and typically gone within a few years. There is a third type called Borderline, this type is unstable and is the most common form.
I realize I can get wound up on these things, before we end up covering a different thing all together, let's turn back to Matthew chapter 8. This leper comes right up to Jesus, bowed down and said "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." The first thing I'd like you to notice here, is that this man who is shunned by all of society came to Jesus with confidence, he couldn’t care less what anybody thinks. That tells me this man lost all sense of shame, he was absolutely desperate. We can imagine that any crowds that were gathered near, would like have run off at the sight of this man. I believe this man knew he was in the presence of God, why else would he have bowed down before Him?
The next thing I'd like you to notice, is this man called Him Lord. There was reverence. This leper confidently approaches Jesus, he bows down and he worships. This man approached our Lord with a worshiping heart. We aren't told how he would have gotten his information about Jesus, perhaps because the news of healing after healing began to spread throughout the area.
The third thing I would like you to notice is his humility. He didn't come to Jesus with a laundry list of reasons why Jesus should heal, he never complains about his disease, he never mentions any hint of You ought to. He didn’t dictate to Jesus what He should do. He didn’t even say I want to be healed. This man came to Jesus in utter humility and "If you are willing, You can." That is the antithesis what we hear today where people are told to command healing, it's your divine right of which God has to comply. This man, came first in worship, then all reverence, and utter humility only said "If you are willing, You can make me clean." Lastly, he came with total faith. "If you are willing, You can make me clean." I believe that is true faith at its highest level. I know You can and submitting to the absolute sovereignty of God. I believe that beloved, should speak volumes to us today!
Next we read in verse 3 "Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed." I'd like you to notice that Jesus touched him and we know from the next miracle that Jesus performs, He didn't have to touch him. He chose to touch him. You just didn’t touch lepers in that day. And according to the teaching of Leviticus 5:3, which says "Or if he touches human uncleanness, of whatever sort his uncleanness may be with which he becomes unclean, and it is hidden from him, and then he comes to know it, he will be guilty." You were never permitted to touch the uncleanness of a man. I believe the reason Jesus touched him is because more than anything this man needed to be touched, to feel human compassion. There’s a lack of that in the world today, compassion for someone who is hurting.
Another thing I'd like you to notice, is that all of Jesus’ miracles were immediate, there was never an instance of partial or delayed healing. Divine healing is done instantaneously. In spite of what many claim today, it doesn't occur in stages, it's not progressive. It's immediate. That’s not divine healing. That is the foolishness of men in comparison to the divine healing power of Christ.That's not to say that God doesn't work through modern medicine, because He does. But that's different from divine healing.
That's bring us to our final verse for today, verse 4. "And Jesus *said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."
Notice that once the leper had been cleansed, the first thing Jesus does is He gave him a command. He tells him what he is to do, "See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest." I believe that is nothing short of Jesus commanding obedience. Jesus is commanding obedience. That's John 14:15, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."
Then Jesus tells him to "Show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." We know from the Old Testament teaching, Moses kept the law of God. Jesus wanted this cleansed leper to obey.
In Closing..
Follow my closing thoughts here, sin is a pervasive disease, it's communicable. Sin makes you an outcast in God's Kingdom. Apart from Christ sin is incurable. People don’t get saved unless they recognize their uncleanliness, their utter depravity before a holy God. True salvation demands that. When you become a Christian, Christ commands two things, first, obedience. A testimony is worthless coming from a disobedient life.
And second, say nothing, go and tell no one, let the world witness by their own examination of your life, your changed conduct, that is the validation that Jesus Christ changed your life.
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen