Touching the Untouchables

Terrors overwhelm me; my dignity is driven away as by the wind, my safety vanishes like a cloud.

– Job 30:15

The Bible reveals that Jesus performed amazing, life-changing miracles. He enabled the lame to walk, the blind to see, and the sick to regain their health. On multiple occasions he even brought the dead back to life — and the crowds were amazed and praised God for what they had witnessed. But in some instances, our Savior went a step further.

In Biblical times, a person afflicted with the skin disease leprosy faced a death sentence. Not only were they forced to experience their body’s painful disintegration, their social lives were also cut short. Declared “untouchable” by the priests, lepers were banished from all contact with their family members, friends, and business associates. Never again could they experience a warm hug, a firm handshake, or even a tap on the shoulder. Considered unclean, lepers were literal walking curses. And according to Old Testament instructions:

The priest is to examine the sore on the skin, and if the hair in the sore has turned white and the sore appears to be more than skin deep, it is a defiling skin disease. When the priest examines that person, he shall pronounce them ceremonially unclean.

All that changed one day when Jesus healed a leper. It’s in Matthew’s gospel that we read how he did the unthinkable by touching the untouchable:

When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

Jesus could have cured the ailing man through a simple word or prayer. But instead, he physically contacted the shunned outcast. The healing itself revealed the miracle of God’s love. And not only did Jesus restore the leper’s health, he also reinstated the victim’s dignity and place in society. 

Let’s now fast-forward about 2,000 years to current times. Modern medicine has largely eradicated leprosy, but there are still conditions — medical, social, or otherwise — that can subjugate or even banish their victims. And while we can’t heal them with a mere touch, Christ-followers can help restore them in many ways by using our gifts and resources to serve as our Savior’s hands and feet on earth. 

“You are the light of the world,” Jesus told his disciples through his famous Sermon on the Mount. “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”