Touching a Leper

A leper walks up to Jesus, falls to his knees, and begs Jesus to heal him. We know very little about this man with leprosy. Who was this leper in today's story? How old was he? How long had he been sick? What made him hear about Jesus and come to him?

Leprosy is a kind of collective name used in the Bible for all sorts of skin diseases. In the Old Testament, God gave through Moses many guidelines on how to deal with Leprosy as a way to prevent the spread of contagious skin diseases. If someone had wounds or other symptoms, he had to show these to the priest, who then sent the sick person outside the tent camp (in quarantine) for a week. After that, the skin was checked to see whether the disease had been cured or whether someone had to stay outside the camp even longer. Someone who was leprous could also be ill for a long time. In the time of Jesus, lepers lived outside the city. They had to put a cloth over their mouth (facemask), let their hair grow long, and when they came near people they had to shout: “unclean, unclean” so that people would keep their distance.

The leper from Mark 1 comes to Jesus and begs Jesus to heal him. And then Jesus experiences 'splagchnizomai'. He’s touched deep inside as He sympathizes with the pain and loneliness of this man. Then He does the unthinkable: He touches the man! Perhaps He laid a hand on his shoulder, perhaps He embraced him, as Jews often did.

In doing so, Jesus touches an unclean man. And after that, He heals this man. How amazing!

What a wonderful example of how Jesus comes to you and me, even when we’re still unclean (imperfect, dirty, sinful). He touches us and reaches out to us when we don't deserve it. And then He heals us, forgives us, and makes us whole.

Time to reflect.

Do you dare feel splagchnizomai? Do you dare stop, kneel and touch someone? Really seeing and allowing someone into your heart?