When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” (Mat 8:1-4 NKJ)

“And on the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without blemish, one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and one log of oil. “Then the priest who makes him clean shall present the man who is to be made clean, and those things, before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. “And the priest shall take one male lamb and offer it as a trespass offering, and the log of oil, and wave them as a wave offering before the LORD. “Then he shall kill the lamb in the place where he kills the sin offering and the burnt offering, in a holy place; for as the sin offering is the priest’s, so is the trespass offering. It is most holy. “The priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. “And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand. “Then the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before the LORD. “And of the rest of the oil in his hand, the priest shall put some on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the blood of the trespass offering. “The rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed. So the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD. (Lev 14:10-18 NKJ)

Though Leviticus gives us the prescribed manner in which a person may be declared clean from leprosy, in reality, it never happened. Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease attacked the individual causing a thickening of the skin around the ears and eyes as well as the extremities of the hands and feet. Loss of feeling and the inability to feel pain were also signs of this disease.

In this case, God was already at work before Jesus did anything. The leper prostrated himself, pleading for his healing. He heard and saw the crowd following Jesus and came seeking. Breaking the law he knew this was his only chance. Jesus heals him and requires that he go to the priest and show himself. The priest would see the healing and know Messiah had come.

Today, it is easy for a person to have dull spiritual hearing and sight that they no longer feel the pain of the poor and needy. Unable to touch and our walk lame, such ‘leprosy’ needs the master’s touch. It starts with our worship and a desire to be all that God wants us to be. “Lord if you are willing?” “I am willing, be cleansed.”