Mt. 8:2 And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
Mk. 1:40 Then a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”
Lk. 5:12 And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
The cleansing of a Jewish leper was one of four Messianic Miracles. These are miracles the Jews believed that only the Messiah could perform when He came. The Babylonian Talmud says a leper was considered dead and the restoring of life to the dead was the greatest of miracles. From that logic this event was considered only to be done by the Messiah. The Mishnah says, “If a leper enters a house, all the walls and furniture in it become unclean, even up to the rafters.” It also says, “If a leper enters a synagogue they make space for him ten cubits high and four cubits broad and he is to be the first in and the last out.” “Lepers pollute by their contact, both men and vessel.. The leper exceeds in communicating defilement the women with an issue. He defiles by his very entrance.” So, a leper was virtually ostracized.
Sources: BT:Nedarim 64b; Sanhedrin ; M: Kelim 1:1, 2; Negaim 13:11, 12
We see the leper recognized Yeshua as being more than just a mere man, for no mortal man could cleanse him of leprosy. He was aware of Yeshua’s authority as Messiah. This can be appreciated because he “bowed down” to the Lord. In Luke’s account, the leper fell on his face before the Lord, showing the highest form of eastern homage. In addition, he called Him “Lord.” The leper knew that Yeshua could cleanse him. The only question was if He was willing.
From the time that the Mosaic Law was codified, there was no record of any Jewish person who had been cleansed of leprosy. Miriam, Moses’ sister, had her leprosy cleansed before the completion of the Law. Naaman, who was a Gentile and a Syrian general, had his leprosy cleansed, but he was not a Jew.
This is a prime example of how badly we need to understand the background of the bible. Leprosy is an infectious disease that by an extraordinary paradox, though pervasively mentioned in both the Old Testament and New Testament, probably never existed in the Near East during Biblical times. The affliction, which is now called Hansen’s Disease, was known to the Greeks as Elephantiasis. It is a bacterial disease that takes various forms, all degenerative, and slowly eats away the body tissue or nervous system. The Septuagint Greek translators of the Hebrew Bible, confronted with more than fifty instances there of the Hebrew Sara’at did not or could not translate it by elephantiasis, a disease that they knew very well and that they knew would not fit the Hebrew. So, they used the word lepra, which in Hellenistic medicine referred to just about any unpleasant skin disease. The priestly laws of Leviticus mak it quite plain, leprosy is an ailment that can encompass all kinds of skin eruptions and disfigurements (eczema, warts, and the like) all the way to “leprosy” of garments (mildew) and houses (mold, dry rot). Thus, the leprosy of Miriam was transient and that of Naaman did not prevent him from mixing freely in society. Probably only those banished from their fellow men were true leper, e.g., the four lepers forced to live outside Samaria, and King Uzziah , who was permanently quarantined in separate quarters.
Leprosy is one disease that the rabbis could not cure miraculously through prayer. They could pray and heal other diseases. There was absolutely no cure for leprosy. The Jews called leprosy the finger of God or the stroke, indicating that they believed and regarded the disease to be a direct punishment from God and incurable, except by divine power which had first permitted it. The Bible treats leprosy as a disease that is the result of sin, as pollution or defilement. Its removal is a cleansing, not a healing or curing.
Mt. 8:3a Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing, be cleansed.”
Mk. 1:41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing, be cleansed.” ,
Lk. 5:13a Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing, be cleansed.”
Next we see Yeshua stretching out His hand and touching the leper. Under the Mosaic Law touching a leper defiled a person. A leper, when he walked through a community, had to ring a bell and yell “Unclean! Unclean!” so that everyone could move out of his way. This would prevent anyone from coming into contact with him and becoming defiled. But, Yeshua was not concerned because He knew what would happen next. The man was immediately cleansed, an obvious miracle. The cleansing made it as though the man there never was any leprosy. There is a great truth wrapped up in this miracle. He who is able to cleanse the disease of leprosy, a disease that is symbolic of sin itself, should therefore be able to cleanse sin itself, leading to salvation. That is why only He, the Messiah, was capable of cleansing leprosy. This miracle showed Yeshua’s divine power and His compassion.
Mt. 8:3b And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Mk. 1:42 As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.
Lk. 5:13b And immediately the leprosy left him.
Mk. 1:43 And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once.
Yeshua does not treat this poor leper with kid gloves. After He heals him, he “severely rebukes him” and “throws him out.” These are literal renderings of the Greek words, which are usually softened in translation. They are harsh terms, used elsewhere in Mark always in contexts of violent conflict and aggression (e.g., when Yeshua casts out demons). It is difficult to see why Yeshua would harshly upbraid this person and cast him out if He feels compassion for him; but if He is angry, perhaps it makes sense. It is taught in the Bible that leprosy is caused by sin. Yeshua probably uses his cleansing as a Messianic Miracle to prove who He was, but there is no indication that the leper is repentant of whatever sin that caused the leprosy in the first place.
Mt. 8:4 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.”
Mk. 1:44 And He said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priests, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded as a testimony to them.”
Lk. 5:14 And He charged him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded.”
For a testimony unto whom? The testimony was unto the High Priest. Because now the priests, headed up by the High Priest, would have to spend the next seven days giving this a full scale investigation as to the nature of the miracle. In the course of the investigation they will discover that it is Yeshua who performed the miracle. Since according to Jewish theology the cleansing of a leper is a miracle that only the Messiah could do, Yeshua was claiming under Jewish Law to be the Messiah. He is presenting them with a direct challenge. The reason that Yeshua specifically sends this man to the Jewish leaders is to force them to come to a decision regarding His Person and His claim. It is a challenge to the leadership of Israel, since the leadership must officially sanction His claim for national recognition. We are not told what happened, but evidently the priestly investigation did not occur, or the results were kept hush-hush.
Sources: Leviticus 13:1-59; 14:1-32
In the first century Jewish thought, Messianic Expectation was mainly focused on a Davidic Redeemer endowed with the qualities of soldierly prowess (a warrior king), righteousness and holiness. But, there was also speculation of a priestly or prophetic Messiah, and other views as well. With this variety of Messianic expectations among His followers and opponents, Yeshua likely opted to keep His Messiahship secret in order to avoid a revolution or other crisis that could hinder Him from completing His ultimate mission. On several occasions, after performing miracles, Yeshua instructed His audience not to tell anyone about it. He had a unique ministry to perform and His own time frame for accomplishing it.
Mk. 1:45 But 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 quarter.
Lk. 5:15 Then the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities.
Lk. 5:16 So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.
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