10. Healing the Sick

Unclean! Unclean! That’s what he was now. Not a person but an object of fear and disgust. Every day, he had been forced to warn people to keep away because he was a leper. This disease had now defined who he was. Unclean, unloved and alone.

Leprosy was an extremely contagious disease, and strict laws and protocols needed to be followed when it broke out. To prevent further spread and contamination, the victim was shunned and cast out of society, and their house and belongings were thoroughly cleansed or destroyed. Not only would this illness take their life, but they would suffer and struggle in isolation with no one to comfort or bring support. They became the most feared of all people, expelled and forced to live by themselves, far from home and loved ones. The law required them to cry out “unclean” to warn all who came near. And should they try to enter a village, they were driven out as the villagers threw rocks to let them know they were not welcome. This was a miserable existence. Condemned to die, shamed and alone.

Mark chapter one tells us the story of a leper who approached Jesus and asked Him to be healed. Jesus could have spoken His word and made this man well from a distance. He had done this with others. Some, like the centurion’s son, were kilometres away from Jesus when they received His healing power. But in this case, Jesus touched the leper. This was up close and personal.

When the leper approached, Jesus saw more than his physical disease. He understood his isolation and rejection and broke into this loneliness by touching him. How long had it been since he had embraced his wife or hugged his children? How long had it been since anyone had affirmed him as someone of worth by a simple touch? Jesus, knowing the danger of contamination, not only wanted to heal this man but also accept him as a person of value even while he was despised and unclean. He touched him in his diseased state. Before he was cleansed. In that single touch, Jesus communicated love and gave him dignity. Jesus healed the man both physically and emotionally, making Him whole.

If this was Jesus’ attitude to the broken and rejected, we know the Father loves us in this way too. Our sin has separated us from Him, but just as Jesus did to the leper, He is reaching out to us to make it right. He knows our weaknesses and inconsistencies. Like no other, He knows the very worst about us, yet He looks past our failures and, instead, sees us as people of immeasurable value.

When sin devastated us with its contamination, the Father did not stay aloof but sent His Son to become one of us. Through Jesus, He reaches out to touch us and make us whole.

Jesus, knowing the danger of contamination, not only wanted to heal this man, but also accept him as a person of worth, even while he was despised and unclean.

Further reading: Mk 1:40-45; Lev 13:45-46; Num 5:1-3

Spend a moment to tell Him your struggles today. They are no secret to Him, and as you open your heart to Him, allow Him to affirm His love and commitment to you.

This is an extract from my free book Knowing God as Father, which is available for download at Knowing God as Father.