A leper kneels before Jesus, saying, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. Moved with compassion, Jesus does the unthinkable — he touches him — and says, I will; be thou clean. Immediately the leprosy leaves him.
What happened
And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.
Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.
And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.
As soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.
What it means
Leprosy made a person ceremonially unclean and socially dead — required to live apart, to cry unclean, unclean, and to be touched by no one. For years this man had likely felt no human contact. The most startling thing Jesus does is not the healing but the touch: he put forth his hand, and touched him.
By the law, touching a leper made a person unclean. But when Jesus touches the leper, the flow runs the other way — instead of Jesus becoming defiled, the leper becomes clean. This is the gospel in miniature: Christ takes our uncleanness upon himself and gives us his purity in exchange.
The leper's approach models faith with humility: if thou wilt, thou canst. He does not doubt Jesus' power, only wonders at his willingness — and Jesus answers the wondering directly: I will. To everyone who fears they are too unclean to be received, this healing says that Christ is both able and willing, and that no one is beyond his touch.