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After God had rescued Israel out of slavery in Egypt, His next step was to give her a new law code. God promised them that if they lived by His laws that they could be free from the terrible diseases which they knew in Egypt (Exodus 15:26). One of these laws gave protocols on how to deal with leprosy (Leviticus 13-14). Since it is an extremely contagious skin disease, the person afflicted with it was required to live outside of the camp in quarantine. And, as an added layer of protection, the leper was to identify himself by wearing torn clothes, letting the hair of his head hang loose, and crying out “Unclean! Unclean!” to anyone passing by. It truly was, as one Bible scholar puts it, “a desperate existence in crushing isolation.” Their only hope was God, who, in His loving mercy may heal the poor wretch. When this happened, they were to present themselves to the priest who would then pronounce them clean.
Because most of us today do not suffer with leprosy we might be tempted to think that these (and other) Old Testament laws are irrelevant to us. But it is my sincere belief that nothing in the Bible is irrelevant because it is God’s Word and is living and powerful (Hebrews 4:12). And, indeed, we find that here. First of all, from a physical perspective the Bible’s quarantining procedure of the sick person is in no way irrelevant as it is still a wise and essential part of modern medical practice today. But beyond the physical, there is a more important spiritual component here that can only be unlocked from a New Testament perspective.
“the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.”
Matthew 11:5
In Matthew 8, we read about an encounter Jesus Christ had with a leper. And Jesus did something radical here. Normally, when a leper was passing nearby people would scatter in fear because they didn’t want to catch the deadly disease. But Jesus wasn’t the least bit afraid. As Matthew records, “And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, ‘Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.’ Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.’ Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, ‘See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.’” (Matt. 8:2-4)
Not only did Jesus allow the leper to approach Him but Jesus dared even to touch him. But rather than the leper making Jesus sick or unclean it was Jesus—God in the flesh—who made the leper clean! That leper was completely healed. And here’s the spiritual component because do you realize that spiritually we are all that leper? Yes, we are that poor wretch! Because according to the Bible we are all sinners (1 Kings 8:46, 2 Chronicles 6:36, Romans 3:23, etc.). And the Bible likens sin to a terminal disease (James 1:15). And just like lepers had to live outside of the camp because they were unclean, we too with our sin are also unclean and therefore live “outside” of God’s camp left to rot and die. Our sin separates us from God and we’re outside His kingdom. And that’s the bad news. But here’s the good news—the Gospel—when we turn to Jesus Christ for help, He heals us from our spiritual disease and restores our spiritual “flesh.” As God, He washes away our spiritual leprosy. And as our High Priest (Hebrews 5:10), He pronounces us clean, and we get to live with God forever.
Jesus truly is the Lord over leprosy. As Jesus Himself said, “The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me” (Matt. 11:5-6). Come to Jesus today and be healed!
Ryan Hembree is a daily co-host, speaker, and writer of Bible Discovery. He also hosts a YouTube channel that shows the unity of the Bible and how science and Scripture fit together. Ryan also has an honorary Masters of Ministry in Creation Science from Phoenix University of Theology.
