A man with a dreaded skin disease (Mark 1: 40â45)
Leprosy was a common skin condition at the time of Jesus. People thought that it was a contagious disease, and this led to leprosy sufferers being treated as social outcasts. As a result there were strict instructions in Jewish scriptures to try to stop the spread of the disease.
Jewish people believed that if you came into contact with a leper you would be âuČÔłŠ±ô±đČčČÔâ. Lepers were often forced to live in leper colonies and not allowed to come close to towns and villages. Jesus did not like that the law separated someone from society because they were âuČÔłŠ±ô±đČčČÔâ.
To try to combat this misconception, Jesus touched the man when healing him. This is the only time in Markâs Gospel where Jesus heals out of pity, showing great compassion by touching the leper.
The leper showed great faith in Jesusâ ability to heal him. He said, âSir, if you want to you can make me clean.â
After Jesus healed the leper, he gave him strict instructions to show himself to the priest to be examined and declared clean again, and not to tell anyone about the miracle.
In this miracle we see an example of the messianic secretJesus wanted his identity as Messiah kept secret until the end of his ministry as he knew that it would cause controversy with the religious leaders. Also, the Jewish people expected a political Messiah who would fight to get rid of Roman occupation, instead Jesus was a peaceful Messiah. .
This miracle teaches Christians that God is concerned about them and will reach out and touch them in times of need. It also reminds Christians that they themselves should be willing to reach out and care for all of those who are shunned by society or are outcasts today. An example of this in modern times could be the treatment of HIV/AIDS patients in the 1980âs and 90âs. Many of whom experienced discrimination by the wider society because of their diagnosis.