Jesus Leper Analysis

The scene in which Jesus cleanses a leper in the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark seems to contain several important meanings. Prior to understanding the significance of this healing, it is imperative to acknowledge and investigate an important gap that is present. Mark states that “a leper came to” Jesus, but he fails to elaborate on Jesus’ location and why he was in a place where a leper could approach him (Mk 1:40). Leviticus 13 outlines the laws regarding lepers, which are very clear and strict. The law regarding leprosy states, “The leprous person who has the disease…shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp” (Lev 13:45-46). This insinuates that lepers

Mark says that Jesus “stretched out his hand and touched” the leper and then willed for him to be clean. Prior to considering the significance of Jesus’ decision to touch the leper, I think it is first important to contemplate the manner in which Elisha cures Naaman of his leprosy in 2 Kings. Naaman is told by Elisha’s messengers to “wash in the Jordan seven times,” which resulted in the eradication of his leprosy (2 Kings 5:10). The fact that Jesus reached out and touched the leper brings about another important meaning when compared to Elisha’s healing. While both Elisha and Jesus healed lepers, Elisha did not even meet the leper nonetheless touch him. This leads one to question why Jesus touched the leper and the significance of this decision. I think that the leper not only asked Jesus to cleanse him, but perhaps more importantly, show him mercy in a society that ostracized and persecuted lepers. Jesus responds by literally stretching “out his hand” and touching him, which implies that even lepers were members of God’s people. Therefore, by touching the leper and making a physical connection, Jesus cured him of his debilitating disease and, perhaps more importantly, liberated him from his social exclusion. Furthermore, the fact that Jesus physically touched the leper leads one to question if Jesus can be unclean. A leprous person according to Leviticus 13

After Jesus healed the leper, Jesus ordered him to “‘see that you say nothing to anyone’” (Mk 1:44). At first glance it appears that in this scene Jesus is fixated on keeping his Messianic identity a secret. Yet, there lies a central fallacy in this belief because Jesus already had a reputation as a miraculous healer. In fact, Mark claims that Jesus “went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons” (Mk 1:39). Similarly, when Jesus heals the paralytic Mark says that “many were gathered together, so that there was no more room…and he [Jesus] was preaching the word to them” (MK 2:2). Therefore, in both of these accounts Jesus reveled in the spotlight and consistently drew enormous crowds that witnessed him cast out demons and perform miraculous healings. This suggests that Jesus was not focused on hiding his miraculous abilities. Rather, Jesus ordered the leper to keep silent about being healed because he wanted to stay in unpopulated areas with disenfranchised people such as the leper. Mark says that once the leper “spoke freely about” being healed, Jesus “was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter” (Mk 1:45). This insinuates that Jesus wanted to remain among the lepers of the world who had been abandoned by the rest of society in the outskirts of towns. Hence, he asked the leper to