Luke 05.12-16 What
we will study today is The Lord and the Leper 01. The Disease of Leprosy (Luke 05.12a);
that 02. The Dying Man (Luke 05.12b);
and in how 03. The Divine Compassion (Luke 05.13-16).
01. The Disease of Leprosy (Luke 05.12a)
Luke 05.12a “12 While He
was in one of the cities, behold, there
was a man covered with leprosy;”
When the children of Israel were about to enter the Promised
Land, Moses by the command of YHWH, told the children of Israel that if they
would obey the commandments of YHWH, He will bless them by blessing their families,
their flocks, their fields, and their enemies would be defeated (Deuteronomy
28.01-14). But, if they failed to obey the commandments of YHWH,
they will be cursed in their families, their flocks, their fields with famine
and pestilence, and their enemies would defeat them (Deuteronomy 28.15-68). In Deuteronomy 28.49-50
most seem to believe that this is prophesying the invasion of Israel by the
Romans, for their invasions were swift like the flight of an eagle, and the
standard of the Romans was an eagle. The Romans of course spoke a different
language than the Jews.
Isaiah prophesied in Isaiah 35.05-06
that healing would mark the ministry of the Messiah.
Luke 05.12 “While He was in one of the
cities,” Matthew tells us that Jesus was near the city of Capernaum
(Matthew
08.01-05).
Luke 05.12 “behold, there was a man covered with leprosy;” The Greek word
for “covered”
(G4134) plhrhv covered in every part. This is a description that we would expect
from a doctor, describing that this man was completely covered by leprosy. Leprosy
is a broad term for a number of skin conditions mentioned throughout the Bible.
The worst of these is now known today as Hansen’s disease, which is leprosy
that we know today. Leprosy was a highly
contagious disease, as it can be spread through touching and even breathing. It
is a disease that attacks the skin, especially the nerves near the knees,
elbows and wrists. It causes wounds all over, and can mar a face by causing the
nose to collapse. Leprosy does not eat away at flesh, but because of the loss
of feeling, people with leprosy can wear away their hands, feet and faces, or
have them eaten off by a rodent. Because of the mutilation of the skin, it
caused many lepers to be feared and cast out of society.
In Leviticus 13.01-59, there is written a guide for
the priests to diagnose leprosy in Israel. If there appeared to be a symptom of
leprosy, the man was to be isolated for seven days. If the spot doesn’t spread,
he is to be isolated another seven days, and if it still hasn’t spread, the
priest is to declare him clean. If the infection spreads after the second examination,
the priest declares the man unclean.
In Leviticus 13.45-46 it is recorded that a leper
had to live in isolation, he had to wear clothes that were torn, and his head
had to be uncovered. Whenever he was near people, he was to cover his upper lip
and shout “Unclean!
Unclean!” Here we see an example of preventive medicine, isolate the
diseased to keep it from spreading. Moses reminded the people of the importance
in obeying the laws about leprosy in Deuteronomy 24.08.
The Old Testament records that God cursed people with
leprosy because of their sin: Miriam (Numbers 12.01-16); Gehazi (2Kings 05.01-27);
King Uzziah (2Kings
15.01-07; 2Chronicles 26.01-23). This is probably why
the Rabbis considered disease in general; especially leprosy was the result of sin.
“No death without sin, and no pain
without transgression” (Shabbat 55a) and “the sick is not healed, till all his sins are forgiven him”
(Nedar. 41a).
This leper had no hope of being healed, for every time that a
leper was healed in the Old Testament it was always miraculous: Moses’s hand (Exodus 04.01-09),
Miriam (Numbers
12.01-16), and Namaan the Aramean captain (2Kings 05.01-27).
02. The Dying
Man (Luke
05.12b)
Luke 05.12b “and when he saw Jesus, he fell on
his face” The Greek word “fell” here (G4098) piptw
means to prostrate one’s self in worship.
This leper came to Jesus, who went against the Law, as they were forbidden to
come near others and only allowed to interact with other lepers. The
Rabbis taught that lepers had to keep a distance of at least six feet from people,
and if you were downwind from a leper, you needed to be more than one hundred
fifty feet from the leper. They were limited to
a special compartment in the synagogue that was ten palms high and six feet
wide (N’gaʿim 13.12). They were to be the first to enter and the last to leave. Lepers were not allowed to enter the Temple or Jerusalem
(2Kings
07.03), and any walled city. A city was considered walled from the
time of Joshua (Kelim 1.7), and if they went into a walled city, they would be
punished with thirty-nine stripes (P’saḥim
67). The Rabbis taught that even when a
leper entered a house that everything in that house was defiled (Kelim 1.1-4). The Rabbis taught that no one was to acknowledge a
leper when they came by because in their culture this means that they must
embrace or hug one another. The Rabbis also said that the bed of the leper was
to be low to ground, inclining down. Wherever the leper put his head, that
place became unclean. One Rabbi (Rabbi Meir) refused to even eat an egg that was
bought on the same street that a leper was at and another Rabbi bragged that he
always threw stones at lepers to chase them away (cf. Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah
[Peabody; Hendrickson, 1993], Ch 15, p339-42, 1.492-95). The Law and the Rabbis had no compassion
and mercy for the lepers. They were regarded as dead men walking.
Luke 05.12 “and implored Him,” or quite literally
“begged” (G1189 deomai) Jesus.
Luke 05.12 “Lord, if You are willing, You can
make me clean.” First time in this Gospel that Jesus is called “Lord”.
The Rabbis taught that only
touching a dead body was worse than leprosy in terms of being unclean. This
leper was asking Jesus to heal him so that he could be clean again, which meant
that he could go back home and not be ostracized by society any more. The Law
condemned the leper, but yet he still came and asked to be made clean. The
leper knew by faith that Jesus was the only One who could make the unclean
clean again, as nothing is too difficult for God (Genesis 18.14; Luke 01.37).
03. The Divine Compassion (Luke 05.13-16)
Luke 05.13-16
Luke 05.13 “13 And He stretched out His hand
and touched him,” In Leviticus 05.02-03 it states that anyone who
touches something that is unclean, they are now unclean. The Greek word for “touched”
(G680. aptomai) means to fasten to, to make adhere to. Dr.
Luke records that it wasn’t just an accidental touch, but it was a deliberate
touch from the Saviour upon this man, who because of his disease was not
allowed to be touched, for leprosy could be spread easily.
Luke 05.13 “saying, I am willing” In the original Greek, “I am willing”
this is written in the Present tense, Active voice, Indicative mood meaning
that it is a simple statement of fact, Jesus is willing to heal the leper.
Luke 05.13 “be cleansed.” In the Greek (G2511) kayarizw means to be cleansed by curing and Jesus said it in the imperative mood which means Jesus spoke a command for the
leper to be healed.
Luke 05.13 “And immediately the leprosy left
him.” When Jesus heals, it is a healing that is instantaneous and
complete (Luke
04.38-39), no rehab is needed!
Luke 05.14 “14 And He ordered him to tell no
one,” for there was something that the man needed to do according to
the Law now that he was healed of leprosy.
Luke 05.14 “But go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for
your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” Just
as Leviticus
13.01-59 tells the priest how to determine what form of leprosy that
people had, Leviticus
14.01-59 talks about the ceremony that is to be done when a leper
was healed. Remember, every time that a leper was healed in the Old
Testament it was always miraculous: Moses’s hand (Exodus 04.01-09),
Miriam (Numbers
12.01-16), and Namaan the Aramean captain (2Kings 05.01-27).
The man who was healed of leprosy was to go to the priest
and be examined by the priest. If he truly was healed, he was to take two live clean
birds with cedar wood, a string of scarlet and hyssop (Leviticus 14.01-04). One bird was
to be killed over running water; while the other bird was to be dipped into the
blood and water mix from the first bird, then it was set free to fly away (Leviticus 14.05-07).
Is this not a
perfect picture of the death, burial, resurrection of Jesus and the forgiveness
of our sins (Psalm 51.02; Psalm 51.07; Psalm 103.12;
Isaiah 01.18;
Micah
07.18-19; Ephesians 01.06-08; 1John 01.07-09)?
On the seventh day, he is to wash his clothes and shave
off all of his hair (Leviticus 14.08-09). Then on the eighth day
the man healed of leprosy was to take two male lambs with no imperfections,
some fine flour mixed with oil and offer them to YHWH (Leviticus 14.10-32). If this man
was obedient to the Lord and went down from the Galilee to Jerusalem and told
the priests that he was healed and made clean, it would be a powerful testimony
to the priests that the Messiah (HaMashiach) has indeed come! Jesus mentions
the signs of the Messiah in Matthew 10.08, Matthew 11.02-06 and Luke 07.19-23.
Sadly though, even though this leper called Jesus “Lord” (Luke 05.12), he wasn’t obedient
to what Jesus commanded him to do in Luke 05.14 “to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to
the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as
a testimony to them.”” We know this because in Mark’s account of
this healing, we see in Mark 01.45 that “he went out and began to proclaim it freely
and to spread the news around”
As a result of this man’s healing, “the news about Him was spreading even
farther” (Luke 05.15). In the Greek this is written in the
imperfect tense, meaning that the news about Jesus kept going.
Luke 05.15 “and large crowds were gathering” In
the Greek this is written in the imperfect tense as well, which means that the
more the news spread about Jesus, the more people came.
Luke 05.15 “to hear Him
and to be healed of their sicknesses.” They heard all about Jesus and
wanted to be healed by Him. The crowds were so big that Mark tells us in
Mark 01.45
that the news spread “to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly
enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him
from everywhere.”
Luke 05.16 Prayer
was an important part of the life of Jesus, and despite His popularity and
busyness, He made time to go away into the wilderness to spend time with His
Heavenly Father. The more the crowds came because of His healing the leper, the
more He withdrew to pray.
Leprosy is often an illustration of sin and its
effects, for it makes the man unclean, and causes him to be separated
from God and His people. It makes the sufferer miserable and even deformed. It
is only by grace that the leper was able to come before the Christ, a sinner
before the Lord. Sin is a contagious, weakening disease that corrupts all of mankind
(Proverbs
20.09; Ecclesiastes 07.20; Isaiah 53.04-06; Isaiah 64.06;
Romans 03.23;
1John
01.08-10) and makes him basically dead while alive. The
approach of the leper (Luke 05.12) is a great picture of repentant
sinners who come to Jesus. They come in humble desperation, knowing that their
only chance is if He makes them clean, for they recognize that their “righteous
deeds are like a filthy garment” (Isaiah 64.06). The repentant sinner
acknowledges that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10.09-10) and in faith because “to the one
who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is
credited as righteousness,” (Romans 04.05). John tells us that Jesus “appeared in
order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.” (1John 03.05) This
is why there was the need for the blood to be spilled, a picture of the blood
of Christ making our sins “as white as snow” (Isaiah 01.18). For when the
sinner turns to the Lord in repentance and faith, the death and resurrection of
Jesus (pictured by the two birds in Leviticus 14.01-04) is credited to his account
(1John 02.01-02;
1John 04.10),
thus making us justified. Jesus is not only willing to save
because He “desires
all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1Timothy 02.04) For
“The Lord is
not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,
not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” (2Peter 03.09) But
Jesus is “able
also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always
lives to make intercession for them.” (Hebrews 07.25) He
is our perfect sacrifice and remedy for sin.
