“Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I am willing; be cleansed’.” (Mark 1:41)
Leprosy is curable today, but in Jesus’ day it was the most feared of all diseases; so much so, lepers were not allowed to live in cities. “All the days he has the sore he shall be unclean. He is unclean, and he shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.” (Leviticus 13:45) When they did come into town, some communities required them to wear bells, warning those around them that a leper was near.
Can you imagine the shame and embarrassment a leper had to confront everyday for a disease he could not help? He was an outcast of the worst kind; avoided at all cost; one for whom there was no hope – no hope that is until Jesus came walking by one day.
What I like most about this story is that Jesus did more than heal the leper, he touched him. As you read the Gospels, you will find other examples of where Jesus reached out to people and healed them of their sicknesses and diseases. But why reach out and touch a leper, especially when he could have maintained his distance and just commanded him to be healed. After all, just a few verses earlier, those who were witnessing what Jesus could do said, “What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” (Mark 1:27)
Jesus was making a point here, one for the ages. When the leper approached Jesus, he said, “If you are willing, you can make me clean” to which Jesus “moved with compassion” said to him, “I am willing.” (Mark 1:40-41) Jesus didn’t just heal the leper. He touched him when no one else would.
Now that’s a touch we should never forget. If Jesus was willing to reach out the worst of the lot, he is also willing to reach out and save those family members for whom we may have lost hope – the untouchable ones that seem so cold, so far gone, so hardened to the saving power of Jesus that we should have given up on them a long time ago. Aren’t you glad Jesus has not given up on them?
Jesus was moved with compassion when he died on the cross for us. Even though the day will come when he will return as a judge, he is still a savior. So until he returns, we should hold on the hope that he gave us: “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:17)
The best thing about Jesus is he continues to receive those that no one thought would ever come around. In other words, if there was hope for the leper, there is hope for anyone. Remember, no one is an outcast in the eyes of Jesus, which he meant when he said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will by no means cast out.” (John 6:37)
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