And behold, a leper came up to Him and, prostrating himself, worshiped Him, saying, Lord, if You are willing, You are able to cleanse me by curing me.
Matthew 8:2 (AMPC)
leper (noun)
1: a person affected with leprosy
2: a person shunned for moral or social reasons
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leper
Matthew could have written “And behold a man with leprocy…” but he didn’t. He describes an unclean person who was shunned. I would imagine all the signs and symptoms of the disease were there: the sores, wasting of muscle, deformities, perhaps even blindness. What stands out to me is that he approached Jesus and worshiped Him in a way that was reserved for Kings. He was in pain, no doubt he was desperate, but he was without doubt. He knew that if Jesus was willing he could be made clean, by Jesus performing a miracle.
And He reached out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed by being cured. And instantly his leprosy was cured and cleansed.
Matthew 8:3 (AMPC)
More about the physical disease here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leprosy
I personally can’t relate to having that horrible disease. However, I can relate to the moral and social aspects. I was defiantly wretched. I was cruel and I used to use my words to break a persons spirit. I was extremely self centered and I only saw the world as “those people” and not as “we”. I became impossible to live with. I was embarrassing. According to the dictionary definition (2) I was a leper. Like the leper in Matthew 8, I found myself desperate, acknowledging Jesus as Lord and begged. He was willing. He must have pitied me. He healed me of the things that caused my misery that I used to share generously. I praise God and so do those that are the closest to me.
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