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Luke 5:12–15
“Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, ‘I will; be clean.’ And immediately the leprosy left him” (v. 13).
In the earthly ministry of Jesus, word and deed went hand in hand. Our Savior not only taught people spiritual truth but also attended to their physical needs with His healing touch. Luke 5:1–16 illustrates this truth, describing our Lord’s teaching crowds of people before describing one of His healing miracles.
Today’s passage tells us about an occasion when Jesus healed a man with leprosy. This took place while Jesus “was in one of the cities” (Luke 5:12). Although Luke does not name the city, we know that it was one of the cities of Galilee, since Jesus had just been teaching on the shores of “the lake of Gennesaret,” or the Sea of Galilee (see Luke 5:1–11), and this miracle must have taken place somewhere nearby.
In that city, a “man full of leprosy” approached Jesus, begging for healing (Luke 5:12). The word translated here and elsewhere in Scripture as “leprosy” actually refers to a number of different skin conditions and not necessarily Hansen’s disease, which is what people today often think of when they hear “leprosy.” The man was suffering from a skin disease of some kind, and though we cannot be sure of its exact identity, it was a serious matter. Under the old covenant, a persistent skin disease rendered one ritually impure, and someone who suffered from such a disease had to be isolated and could take part in normal society again only after a priest evaluated the diseased person and performed cleansing rituals (Lev. 13–14).
Jesus’ healing of the leprous man here dramatically illustrates the man’s faith and our Savior’s compassion. The man had no doubt that Jesus was able to make him clean—to remove his disease and restore him to a state of ritual purity—and he knew that he could not demand restoration but had to submit himself to Jesus’ will. Only if Jesus was willing would he be healed (Luke 5:12). Jesus touched him, even though we know from other stories in the Gospels that Jesus did not have to be in physical contact with a person to restore him (Luke 5:13; see Luke 7:1–10). This man had not received physical contact in a long time because people would not have wanted to contract ritual uncleanness from him, but Jesus compassionately extended human touch. Nothing can make Him as the perfect Son of God unclean, but rather He cleanses that which is defiled.
Our Lord told the man to show himself to the priests, according to the stipulations of the Mosaic law, to prove his healing. News of the cleansing rapidly spread afterward (Luke 5:14–15; see Lev. 13–14).
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
True faith does not demand that God act. Rather, true faith humbly asks the Lord to intervene, acknowledging His ability to do all things while remembering that He acts only according to His perfect will. If we recognize the power of God and His freedom to act in line with what He has willed, we have begun to understand what the prayer of faith looks like.
for further study
- Jeremiah 32:17
- James 4:13–17
the bible in a year
- Numbers 30–31
- Mark 9:30–50
- Numbers 32–35
- Mark 10