The sins of pornography, adultery, homosexuality, slandering, and gossiping can all be cleansed. There are certainly repentance and reconciliation issues between you and the people you have hurt. Abuse and violence have legal consequences. But you can go to Jesus if, like the leper, you humbly bow and repent.

Think of the most socially shameful and defiling sin you can imagine. Now imagine that the person who committed it has a contagious, incurable disease. This begins to capture how an Israelite might have viewed leprosy.  Leprosy was not only seen as a dangerous contagion, but as a sign of the curse of God (Numbers 12:10–13). That is why Jesus’s healing of the leper in Luke 5:12–14 is so important.

Jesus’s authority is so great that He can cleanse and restore without risk of being defiled. He can bring about a saving work that restores someone to himself and the family of God. The gospel we proclaim is powerful enough to cleanse, heal, and restore the most defiled sinners. Our time is not unlike Israel’s. Our church cultures often have an unspoken, man-made list of “defiling sins.” We also have a set of what Jerry Bridges calls “respectable sins.” Respectable sinners are welcome and comfortable among us. Defiled sinners are often not. Jesus challenges this understanding and shows Himself to be the King who can cleanse.

Luke and the other gospel writers are meticulous and persuasive in establishing the authority of Jesus as the Son of God. From the baptism of Jesus (Luke 3:22), Luke shows that He is the promised Son of David (Psalm 2:7).  He is the one who can set captives free and usher in the favorable year of the Lord (Luke 4:17–19). His teaching has authority (Luke 4:32). He has authority over demons (Luke 4:36). He has authority to forgive (Luke 5:24). Early in all the gospels, Jesus exercises his authority to save and heal. The healing of the leper is one of the most socially and emotionally gripping examples.

“While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, ‘Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.’ And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, ‘I will; be clean.’ And immediately the leprosy left him. And he charged him to tell no one, but ‘go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.'” —Luke 5:12–14

The Blight of Leprosy

Leprosy was a general term for numerous skin diseases. This man had what we now know as Hanson’s disease. It is a highly contagious bacteria that lodges in the skin of the hands, face, and knees. Today, this is a curable disease. Then, it was not. People lost fingers and suffered severe facial deformities, including collapsed noses and drooping eyelids. Leprosy resulted in permanent disfigurement. To make matters worse, leprosy was synonymous with spiritual defilement. Leprosy was the disease of the unclean, the impure, and the accursed.

Leviticus 13–14 gives extensive instructions on how to handle this disease. Priests were tasked with diagnosing and quarantining anyone with leprosy. This prevented a leper from worshipping in the synagogue or temple. It resulted in immediate expulsion from their home and village. It was the priest’s task to declare when a victim was cured. Lepers were isolated in refugee camps. They needed to keep fifty paces from others and, if they came near people, they were required by law to cry out, “unclean, unclean.” Every leper was an outcast in his community.

The Dramatic Meeting

And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” —Luke 5:12

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