An Incredible Moment with a Leper (Mark 1:40-45)

What an incredible insight to leprosy. Gire is very compassionate as he paints a very vivid picture of the life of a leper. Let me share some of his descriptive phrases:

"Penetrating the skin the disease, like a moth, eats its way through the network or nerves woven throughout the body's tissues."

"One by one the appendages of the leper suffer their fate against the hard edges of life."

"His is a hard life of muted grays that grow darker and darker with each day. He huddles in the cold and shadowy recesses of that cave with only occasional, faint echoes entering from the outside world."

Gire's descriptions are heart wrenching. One seems to step into the skin of a leper. People are so afraid of people who are different. We want to avoid them at all costs. Lepersy continues to be something which people are afraid.

Here is a man who firmly believed Jesus could heal him. The leper so fervently desired to be healed. The compassionate Christ reaches out and touches the leper. Immediately, he was healed.

Verse 44 shows that Christ was seeking to work within the Judism's system. The verse says, "...see that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." Christ didn't want people coming to Him just so they could receive physical benefits. In a climate of unbelief God does not perform miracles. God's ability is limited because of His purpose not His power. Belief first then miracles follow. Miracles first to prove? God will never do it. He will not waste miracles on unbelief.

Again, Gire's prayer relates the leperosy, not to just our bodies, but to our hearts. He talks about our leprous abscesses of our hearts which only Christ can touch and heal. Then he moves on to how we should have compassion within us. May we be ready to reach out and touch someone with the love of Christ.