“A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.’ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’ Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy” (Matthew 8:2-3).

Leprosy was a disease that affected every area of a person’s life. There was certainly the physical pain and suffering. Maybe even worse were the social isolation and sense of shame that accompanied the affliction. Still, there was good reason for the isolation. Leprosy was extremely contagious.

Leviticus shows the extreme measures designed for dealing with leprosy. “Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of their face and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ ” (Leviticus 13:45). Rabbis were known to throw rocks at lepers to keep them away.
Jesus was a different kind of Teacher. He did something that was so unusual it must have been shocking to the onlookers. “He reached out His hand and touched the man.” That is an essential lesson of the Gospels. No one is so unclean, is such an outcast, that Jesus won’t touch him or her. His compassion is measureless.

This poor sufferer displayed amazing faith. He had no doubt about Jesus’ power. He appealed directly to Jesus’ heart. “If you are willing….” What Jesus said to the leper He says to each of us who come to Him. He touches us and says, “I am willing, be clean!” Jesus’ power and compassion still deliver from the “defiling disease” of sin. He does that for anyone who believes. Nothing, not even leprosy, can resist His love.

There is no affliction that is greater than His willingness to touch us and cleanse us. His power staggers the imagination. His willingness to cleanse us is beyond our comprehension, but it is real.