Leprousy had always been believed to be a mystery, how it happened to people and if it could ever be cured. It was believed to be a plague that only God can curse and cure. So any one who has it was judged unfit for normal human society as it were, they believe God must have judged this one.
Not until 1873, when Dr Hansen, a Physician from Norway became the first scientist to identify the bacterium that causes the disease. It is a microbe called Mycobacterium leprae, a very slow growing bacteria which is known to affect the skin, nerves and airway. This was a major breakthrough because it proved that leprosy was an infectious disease caused by a microorganism for which Moses in the bible advised isolation and declaration of their status when ever they were close to civilization by shouting "Unclean Unclean" to avoid spread and contamination.
On the day of the sermon on the mount, Jesus, just after he had finished teaching and coming down to the people, was met by a man who was one of the people listening.
You may wonder where he found the faith to believe that Jesus could heal him.
He heard him speak strong words, like one who had authority, and faith was imparted unto him, while others only heard sounds for gisting with saying "this guy get stuff pass our rabbi for church o, ""and the way e dey dish am"..
Faith made him come out of hiding and come to Jesus to worship him.
A leper wouldnt dare that at the time, he ll be at risk of being stoned at or even poked, but as he ran to worship Jesus, nothing much could be done. It now depends on what Jesus did, which was for all to see.
Jesus was only moved by the faith this leper had in him. To have exposed himself amongst people, violating the known laws and coming to worship him, he knew just like the 4 lepers in history, his life hung by a thin thread of faith, "If this man wills it, he can make me clean". All he needs is for Jesus to will it. He was at the mercy of God's will.
This was what Jesus saw, not the custom, not the leprousy, not the shame or stigma or even the risk of infecting others or himself.. He saw pure faith. And his response was pure and sure. The people waited for it. What will he do?
He lifted his hands and touched the leper.. Haha.. You touched a leper ke, without gloves or PPE..
Now medically, it has been proven that leprousy can be spread by air droplets and prolonged contact with infected people, worst still, because of the slow growth of the organism, it is difficult to know who has it until after years because it takes about 2 weeks for even one organism to divide so symptoms don't show early. Hence, for Jesus to have touched an already confirmed leprous man in public glare should have made him ceremonialy unclean according to the law of Moses, but what happens next shocks everybody, including his disciples. After the touch, Jesus responds, "I will, be thou clean", and immediately, the man was cleansed, the long years of accummulated leprousy dried off in an instant.
Now the issue shifts to the legal system of the then time, how can the law hold the person who has just cleansed a leper to be unclean by touching the leper he healed? No law can judge him unclean. No law can go against the love of Christ. There is no condemnation, none to the Leper for coming out in the open, and none to Christ for touching and healing the Leper.
You may think you re too dirty for Jesus to touch you, and your life is too injurious and infectious, you deem yourself unclean and unfit for the Lord's contact. This is a great level of unbelief. You do not know the power of God, nor what he can do. You have chosen to stay on your own because "church people" will judge you, Jesus doesn't care, he will touch you, and he will clean you with his word and you shall be clean.
His work at Calvary was the dirtiest work ever done for every man. Dirtier than creation, he got stained for you, he stepped into the mud, for you to be delivered, so when you come hiding your own dirt, you re being foolish to think you can manage a dirt that has been paid for. It is no longer your dirt, it is no longer your job to clean it, so give it up, Yes, he took the charge of all the dirtiness of man in this world and the responsibility was on him to clean them and was punished for them all including that one you are locking up in your wardrobe, you re protecting your Hansen's disease, it will only lead to full blown suffering unnecessarily.
Let's do a bit if medicine again, do you know that the feared microbe that causes leprosy was found to live and breed on an animal called the 9-banded armadillo, M. leprea naturally grows on it, and it's not causing any trouble or disease. In fact, scientists have failed to breed the microbe in labs. Now, if God God who created the armadillos can touch you, you can be clean.
Our dirt does not scare Jesus Christ, he has dealt with them long ago and conquered. He can't be stained again. It's not immunity, it is power, maybe we can talk on that in another post. But this power to make you clean exists only in Jesus.
I brought mine to him and he healed me up, fixed me and made me whole in his name and by his word, I am clean and staying clean in a dirty world. You don't even know who is dirty these days to avoid, they now paint dirt like art hoping it won't show, it's called makeup, but it is not a substitute to being healed, what is need is the Lord's touch up and wording up.
Make-up has good intentions, hiding and covering services have it in their white paper to serve your unclean need, but there is a difference between willingness and ability, they are willing but they can't clean you.
This man walked out on a tight rope, making two claims, that unlike the covering agencies, Jesus can make him clean if only he wills.
Meanwhile, Jesus came to do the cleaning job, he knows he had to get dirty for it and that he did, he handled it well so much that dirts dissappear at his power. So at the request, he was.. "Say no more".
Now that tight rope has become the sure rope, because it is the will of God that all men believe and be made clean.
You can hold on to this sure rope, it has never failed mankind, you too can come out to him, no shame, no fear, definitely no blame and ultimately no rejection, he won't turn away from you, he will touch your very aching spot and give you his word.
Thank you Lord for this, you did it, I pray that you confirm it to be true in the life of every reader, touch them all as they come to you, clean them by your word and they shall be CLEAN. AMEN.
