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Cleansing the Leper

Illustration of Cleansing the Leper
Jesus did the unthinkable - he touched a leper - and rather than being defiled, his holiness made the man clean in an instant.

A leper approached Jesus and knelt, saying, 'Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.' In a striking act, Jesus reached out and touched him - something unthinkable for a ceremonially unclean leper - and said, 'I will; be thou clean,' and the leprosy left him immediately. Rather than being defiled by the contact, Jesus' holiness cleansed the man, and he was sent to show himself to the priest as a testimony. The healing reveals both Jesus' compassion for the outcast and his power to make the unclean clean.

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Details

Category
Healing
Testament
New Testament
Performed by
Jesus

Key Chapters

Key Passages

I Will; Be Thou Clean

Matthew 8:1-4

W1hen he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.

2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

Did You Know?

1

Jesus touched the leper - something no one else would dare do.

2

Rather than being defiled, his holiness made the man clean.

3

He sent the man to the priest as a legal testimony of his healing.

4

Leprosy in the Bible pictured the defiling, isolating power of sin.