The Authority That Touches: Christ and the Leper Text: Matthew 8:1-4
Introduction: From the Mountain to the Mess
Jesus has just concluded the Sermon on the Mount, the most profound ethical discourse ever delivered. He has rearranged the spiritual furniture of the universe, declaring with absolute authority what righteousness looks like in the kingdom of God. The crowds were rightly astonished, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes (Matt. 7:29). The scribes would quote other rabbis, building rickety structures of human opinion. Jesus spoke as the source. He was not a commentator on the law; He was the legislator.
But authority that remains in the realm of words, however true, is incomplete. True authority must be able to descend from the mountain of proclamation into the valley of human misery and do something. It must be able to act. And so, Matthew immediately shows us this authority in motion. Jesus comes down from the mountain, and the first thing He encounters is a man who is the walking embodiment of everything unclean, broken, and outcast. He encounters a leper. This is not an accident. This is a divine appointment to demonstrate that the authority that redefines righteousness is the same authority that can restore and cleanse the unrighteous.
Leprosy in the Bible is more than just a skin disease. It is a living picture of sin. It was defiling, making a man ceremonially unclean. It was isolating, forcing him out of the camp, away from his family, and away from the worship of God. And it was progressive, a creeping death that consumed a man from the outside in. The leper was a dead man walking, required by law to cover his face and cry out, "Unclean, unclean!" wherever he went (Lev. 13:45). This encounter, then, is a collision of two opposite realities: the absolute holiness of God in Christ and the absolute defilement of man in sin.
The Text
Now when Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him.
And behold, a leper came to Him and was bowing down before Him, and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
And Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
(Matthew 8:1-4 LSB)
Desperate Faith (vv. 1-2)
We begin with the scene as Jesus descends.
"Now when Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. And behold, a leper came to Him and was bowing down before Him, and said, 'Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.'" (Matthew 8:1-2)
The crowds are following Him, buzzing with the authority of His words. But then, a disruption. A leper approaches. This was a radical and dangerous act. He was breaking every social and religious law. He risked being stoned for contaminating the crowd. But his desperation had given birth to a bold faith. He had likely heard of Jesus, and perhaps even heard the sermon from a distance. And he believed.
Notice his posture: "bowing down before Him." This is the posture of worship. He doesn't see Jesus as a mere healer or miracle worker. He sees Him as one who holds divine prerogative. He calls Him "Lord." This is not just a polite title; it is a confession of sovereignty. He is acknowledging that Jesus has the authority of God Himself.
And then comes his plea, which is one of the most theologically precise prayers in all of Scripture: "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." Look closely at what he says. He has absolutely no doubt about Jesus' ability. He doesn't say, "Lord, if you can..." He says, "You can make me clean." He is utterly convinced of Christ's power. The only question in his mind is about Christ's will. "If you are willing."
This is the essence of true, submissive faith. It acknowledges God's omnipotence while simultaneously bowing to His sovereign will. The leper is not making a demand. He is not trying to manipulate God. He is throwing himself entirely on the mercy and discretion of the Lord. He understands that the power to cleanse belongs to God, and so does the decision to cleanse. This is the opposite of the modern "name it and claim it" foolishness, which treats God as a cosmic vending machine that must dispense blessings if we just punch in the right "faith" code. This leper models true prayer: an unwavering confidence in God's power and a humble submission to His good pleasure.
The Unthinkable Touch (v. 3)
Jesus' response is as shocking as the leper's approach.
"And Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, 'I am willing; be cleansed.' And immediately his leprosy was cleansed." (Matthew 8:3 LSB)
Jesus could have healed him with a word from a distance. He healed the centurion's servant that way just a few verses later. But He doesn't. He does the unthinkable. He "stretched out His hand and touched him." According to the Levitical law, touching a leper made you unclean. Uncleanness was contagious. But here we witness a glorious reversal of that economy. When the source of all purity touches impurity, He is not defiled. Rather, the impurity is annihilated. Cleanliness flows from Christ. He is not contaminated by the leper; the leper is cleansed by Him.
This is the Gospel in one powerful gesture. God does not stand aloof from our filth. In the incarnation, Christ "came down from the mountain" of heaven into the leper colony of our fallen world. And on the cross, He did more than touch our sin; He became sin for us, taking our defilement upon Himself, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21). The flow is always from Him to us. His holiness conquers our sin. His life swallows up our death.
Jesus then answers the leper's implicit question. "I am willing." God's will is not to leave His people in their defilement. His heart is one of compassion. His will is to cleanse. And then comes the word of creative power: "be cleansed." This is a divine fiat, like "Let there be light." And the result is instantaneous and absolute: "immediately his leprosy was cleansed." There was no gradual recovery. There was no convalescence. There was just sovereign, immediate, and total restoration.
A Testimony to the Law (v. 4)
Jesus' instructions to the newly cleansed man are crucial for understanding His mission.
"And Jesus said to him, 'See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.'" (Matthew 8:4 LSB)
First, He commands silence. This is often called the "messianic secret." Jesus was carefully managing public perception. The crowds were looking for a political Messiah, a revolutionary to throw off the Roman yoke. Widespread reports of miracles would have fanned these flames, leading to a premature confrontation with the authorities on the wrong terms. Jesus' path to the throne was not through popular revolt but through the cross, and He would not be diverted from it.
Second, and more importantly, He commands the man to obey the law of Moses. Leviticus 14 outlines a detailed, two-part ceremony for a cleansed leper to be officially declared clean by a priest and restored to the community. Jesus is not an outlaw. He did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. By sending this man to the priest, Jesus is honoring the God-given structures of Israel. He is placing His miracle under the scrutiny of the very law that defined leprosy as unclean.
But there is a sharp edge to this command. He is to do this "as a testimony to them." A testimony of what? A testimony that the One who can cleanse lepers, something the law could only diagnose but never cure, was now in their midst. The priests would have to get out their dusty scrolls, look up the long-neglected ceremony for a healed leper, and perform it. They would be forced to bear witness to a power that superseded their own. This miracle was not just an act of mercy for one man; it was a formal announcement to the religious establishment of Israel. It was a sign, a testimony, that the kingdom of God had arrived, and that the King Himself was present. They were being put on notice. Their choice was to either bow to this King or begin plotting how to kill Him.
Conclusion: The Leper in the Mirror
It is very easy for us to read this story and feel a detached sense of pity for the poor leper. But that would be to miss the point entirely. The point is that we are the leper. Sin is our leprosy. It has made us unclean, unfit for the presence of a holy God. It has isolated us, cutting us off from true fellowship with God and with one another. It is a fatal disease, and we are utterly powerless to cure it.
Our only hope is to come to Jesus as this man did. We must abandon all pretense of our own goodness. We must come in desperation, knowing we have no other hope. We must come in humility, bowing before Him as Lord. And we must come with faith, believing without a doubt that He has the power to make us clean, and casting ourselves upon His mercy, saying, "Lord, if you are willing."
And the glorious news of the gospel is that He is willing. He stretched out His hand, not just to touch a leper in Galilee, but to be nailed to a cross on Golgotha. He took our uncleanness, our judgment, our death. And in exchange, He offers us His perfect cleanness, His righteousness, His life. The word He speaks over every sinner who comes to Him in faith is the same: "I am willing; be cleansed." And by His grace, the cleansing is immediate, it is total, and it is forever.