Why did Jesus touch the leper?
Matthew 8:1 - 4
NKJV - 1 When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. 2 And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.
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Asked December 12 2016
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Jeremy Low
Supporter
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Tim Maas
Supporter
In my opinion, although Jesus could certainly have healed the leper merely through the spoken word (as he did in Luke 17:12-19, for example), He touched him as a visible demonstration of God's love for even the most outcast and "unclean" of individuals. Such an action did not violate the Law because the provisions concerning leprosy and the isolation of lepers (as far as I am aware) were meant for the protection of non-lepers. By choosing to forgo that precaution, Jesus (in addition to healing the leper) was providing a concrete example of "doing more than others do" (as He instructed His followers in passages such as Matthew 5:46-48).
Jack Gutknecht
Supporter
First, see the big picture, an outline of Matthew 8:1-4 where the healing of the leper takes place: 1) An Untouchable Sinner - Matthew 8:1-4 a) A Picture of A Sinner Worshiping - Matthew 8:1-2 b) A Picture of A Savior Willing - Matthew 8:3 c) A Picture of A Silent Witnessing - Matthew 8:4 At the point when Jesus contacted the outsider, He got the untouchable's pollution (although this is debatable--"Normally such an action would defile a person, but the sinless Christ was defiled by nothing, including touching the leper," Ryrie says in his THE MIRACLES OF OUR LORD), yet He likewise passed on His wellbeing! Is this not what He accomplished for us on the cross when He was made sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21)? Maybe this just could serve as an illustration of the deep mystery involved when the sinless Savior became sin for us on the cross (2 Cor. 5:21) The outsider didn't scrutinize His capacity to remove his leprosy; he possibly thought about whether He was willing. Absolutely, God is happy to spare! He is "God our Savior, who will have all men to be spared" (1 Tim. 2:3-4). God is "not willing that any ought to die" (2 Peter 3:9).
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