Jesus and the Outcast (Luke 5:12-16)
Text
" 12 While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." 13 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 Then Jesus ordered him, "Don't tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them." 15 Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." (Luke 5:12-16, NIV) Cf. Matthew 8:1-4; Mark 1:40-44
Introduction
As we continue our study of the life of Jesus, we come to the first healing Luke records after the calling of the first disciples. By choosing the account of Jesus healing a leper, Luke is driving home the fact that Jesus cared about the poor, the hurting, the lonely, and the outcasts.
Leprosy was considered to be a class of illness all by itself, with enormous social ramifications for anyone infected by this disease. Later, when Jesus would send out the Twelve, He specifically instructed them to heal lepers…!
"5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of
Lepers were considered ceremonially "unclean" (i.e., "unfit for worship.") They not only needed to be healed, but to be cleansed.
Scholars are unanimous in their conviction that the Greek word does not apply strictly to Hansen's disease alone, but to an entire spectrum of incurable skin conditions, including modern day leprosy, but going far beyond only leprosy. The Greek word itself basically meant, "scaly," so it could apply to a variety of skin conditions, including leprosy. (Linked to word used to describe what fell from Paul's eyes when Ananias prayed for his healing. Acts 9:18) Lev. 13-14 gave detailed instructions on how the Israelites were to handle these various skin conditions.
3013 λεπίς [lepis /lep·is/] n.f. From lepo (to peel) lepís has two meanings: a. "shell" (e.g. of a nut) and b. "scale" (e.g., of fish, snakes, or, figuratively, metal plates). The only NT use is in the story of Paul's conversion, when Ananias lays hands on the blinded Saul and "something like scales fell from his eyes" (Acts 9:18). The term comes from the medical world of the day which speaks of descaling the eyes, i.e., removing a growth of skin that causes blindness. The author needs no special medical knowledge to use the term, and the passage must not be thought to support the view that Paul suffered from an eye affliction (cf. Gal. 4:15). The metaphor suggests that, as the Lord has overcome Paul's enmity, so he has given him the witness that he is to go to the Gentiles "to open their eyes" and turn them from darkness to light (Acts 26:18). [G. Bornkamm, IV, 232-33]
3014 λέπρα [lepra /lep·rah/] leprós means "scaly," "scabby," and with lépra is used for various skin ailments. Whether these are always (or ever) the same as what we call "leprosy" is debated, but Jesus' public healing of lepers (Mt. 11:15; Mk. 1:40ff.; Lk. 17:12ff.) is an effective sign that the age of messianic salvation has come. [W. Michaelis, IV, 233-34]
Today, around ten million people have what we call leprosy. One form of leprosy attacks the nerves so that the victim cannot feel pain. Infection easily sets in, and this leads to degeneration of the tissues. The limb becomes deformed and eventually falls off.
From this account of Jesus healing a leper, we learn three very important things:
1. Jesus loves me when others find me unlovable.
· Leprosy was visible to others.
· Leprosy was numbing, disfiguring, and repulsive.
Limbs fell off, lionlike facial features developed due to thickening of the skin and nodule formation. Peripheral nerve involvement can cause paralysis or a loss of sensation so complete that injury or ulceration may occur without the person even knowing it, leading to infection, etc.
· Leprosy impacted every area of a person's life, including their relationships and their home (dwelling).
The attitude of Jesus toward those afflicted with leprosy was in marked contrast to that of the rabbis of his day. One rabbi would not eat an egg purchased in a street where there was someone with leprosy. Another rabbi threw stones at lepers in order to keep them away. [1]
"In Christ's day no leper could live in a walled town, though he might in an open village. But wherever he was he was required to have his outer garment rent as a sign of deep grief, to go bareheaded, and to cover his beard with his mantle, as if in lamentation at his own virtual death. He had further to warn passers-by to keep away from him, by calling out, 'Unclean! unclean!' nor could he speak to any one, or receive or return a salutation, since in the East this involves an embrace." [2]
According the Old Testament, it not only infected people, but also houses and even clothing…!
Whether or not we have ever experienced physical leprosy, all of us have been afflicted with spiritual leprosy.
2. Jesus wants to meet my deepest needs.
Jesus loved this man so much that He was willing to disregard the Law and touch him…!
The leper story reminds us that even outsiders can experience God's healing grace.
· Jesus wants to heal my sick body.
Jesus is willing to heal.
This man was "full" of leprosy. He was in the advanced stages of the disease. Hope had long since been lost. He lacked true faith, but he had not yet lost hope…!
Three greatest things are faith, hope, and love – in today's world, hope is probably the least appreciated of the three…!
Jesus not only healed this leper, He healed many others throughout the Gospels as well. What He did, He still does!
· Jesus wants to heal my broken heart.
This man had long suffered emotionally as well as physically.
We should ask God to give us compassion on those around us whose physical conditions or limitations have deeply impacted them emotionally – they need our love, patience, understanding, and prayers, not our criticisms or even our exhortations…! William Barclay "The New Bible Study Commentary" quotes a Dr. A.B. MacDonald who was in charge of a leper colony at Itu as saying that lepers are often so impacted emotionally that they take their own life.
· Jesus wants to restore my ruptured relationships.
The law required the man to cry, "Unclean!" everywhere he went.
· Jesus wants to forgive my sins.
Leprosy carried symptoms that were evidence of deeper problems. (Lev. 13:3)
Leprosy was sometimes a physical condition with a spiritual cause.
· John 9 warns us against always making a sin-health related equation…[3]
· Moses (Exodus 4:6-7) - Hand in and out of shirt as a reminder that his personal condition was in the hands of God, and as proof to the people that God had appeared to him and spoken to him.
· Miriam (Numbers 12:10-15) – Along with Aaron, gossiped about Moses, her brother, who was also her spiritual leader and authority, and was struck with leprosy for seven days.
· Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26:19-21) – After becoming powerful, he became prideful, grew angry with the priests when they tried to forbid him from functioning as a spiritual leader burning incense before the altar of the Lord, smitten with leprosy first on his forehead, and lived in quarantine, isolated from his people and from the Temple until the day he died.
· Gehazi (2 Kings 5:27) – Love of money and the deceitfulness it produced brought leprosy upon him and his descendants forever.
· Something like this may have been true in this leper's life. Some of the grammatical phrases in this passage {literally, "he was released from his leprosy…"} lead some scholars to believe this particular instance of leprosy was demonic in origin.[4] As a doctor, perhaps Luke reocognized that there were sometimes illnesses that were inexplicably medically incurable…?
Leprosy was completely incurable.
Jesus is the answer for my sins…!
3. Jesus wants to use my life as a testimony to others.
The most famous example of healing of leprosy in the Bible is Namaan the Syrian king in 2 Kings 5. His incurable condition brought him into contact with the prophet by means of a simple servant girl's testimony. (Can you imagine how that girl felt, enslaved in service to a leper, like someone working for a terrible boss or married to a very unpleasant person, yet she kept her spirit right and by bearing a good testimony, set the stage for a major miracle.
Why did Jesus tell the man to tell no one and to go show himself to the priests ("as a testimony to them" – Mark?)?
Moses prescribed (Lev. 14; two birds, wood, yarn, and hyssop on the first day [Lev. 14:4-8]; and on the eighth day two male lambs, a ewe lamb, flour, and oil [Lev. 14:10]).
· Because Jesus wanted to do whatever it took to reintroduce the man to polite society successfully.
· Because Jesus understood the need to respect the law of Moses. (He did not come to destroy the law but to fulfill the law.)
· Because Jesus knew that the only instances of healing in the Old Testament were under the ministry of Elisha (Namaan) and He wanted to show the priests that He was a prophet like him ("as a testimony to them.")
· In any case, one principle is clear – Scripturally, if you are healed, even the doctor will have to acknowledge that your symptoms have disappeared, even if they are unwilling to attribute this to divine intervention.)
The sad reality is that the priests only grew the more angry against Jesus…! This story underscores the reality that not everyone is willing to acknowledge the presence of the divine In human circumstance, but, even so, we are commanded to testify to them (and, on the last day, our testimony will be called as evidence to convict them.)
For some rabbis, healing a leper was just as difficult as raising the dead…![5]
I need His wisdom to know who, where, when, and how to testify…!
Prayer is the key – Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed..
Jesus considered prayer so important that he sometimes violated important human principles of leadership such as the law of momentum (by going away to pray.)
Conclusion
There is a lot that we can learn from this leper about how to approach Jesus when we have deep, urgent, chronic needs in our lives…!
How did the leper in Luke 5 come to Jesus?
· He came risking (Was not supposed to be in society, was not supposed to come close to anyone else, etc., but he did not care what others thought about him…!)
· He came worshipping (bowing down in humility)
· He came asking.(literally, "begging.")
God hears the cry of the desperate…!
INvitation
1. Do you feel "unclean"?
The blood of Jesus is the answer for all our sin…!
2. Do you want to invite Jesus into your heart?
[1]Walter A. Elwell and Philip Wesley Comfort, Tyndale Bible Dictionary, Tyndale reference library (
[2]M.G. Easton, Easton's Bible Dictionary (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1996, c1897).
[3] " As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3 "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." (John 9:1-3, NIV) (cf. Bock, 163)
[4] Joel B. Green, The Gospel of Luke, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1997), 237.
[5] The New International Greek Testament Commentary,
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