“Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.’ Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.” (Matthew 8:3, NKJV)

I don’t think we can imagine what it would have been like to be diagnosed with leprosy in those days. Wherever you went you had to tear your clothing, leave your hair uncombed, cover your mouth, and call out, “Unclean! Unclean!”. You were separated and isolated from all society and from temple worship. Leprosy began with relatively minor symptoms, but it slowly spread throughout the entire body, turning the skin white and causing open running sores. Eventually, the disease attacked the organs until it finally took a person’s life. It was a slow, putrefying, and agonizing death. For these reasons, leprosy is likened to sin. Sin starts out small with relatively minor consequences, but as it progresses it corrupts the entire person. It separates him from God and others until it finally destroys him.

It would not have been easy for this leper to come to Jesus. Anyone would have had difficulty approaching Jesus because of the thronging crowds, but as a leper, he was not allowed to come near people or touch them. Certainly, on that day he was not shouting, “Unclean! Unclean!” But he pushed his way through the crowd to Jesus and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” I wonder if we would have done the same thing. Or would we have allowed our uncleanness to keep us from Jesus? Would we have pushed our way through all the obstacles to get to Him? Or would we have become discouraged and quit trying?

Often when we ask God for something, we believe that He can do it, but is He willing? It was the same for the leper. He believed that Jesus had the power to cure his incurable disease, but was He willing? Imagine how he felt when Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” At once his leprosy was cleansed. His white scaley skin became a healthy pink; his oozing sores dried up and disappeared. If fingers and toes had been consumed, then they were restored. In a moment, he went from death to life!

Once we were all spiritual lepers with the ravaging and terminal disease of sin. But when we believed in Jesus, He touched us, cleansed us, and made us whole. He has reconciled us to God and put us in the fellowship of His saints. The old things have passed away, and all things have become new. Thank you, Jesus, for bringing us from death to eternal life!