The Touch of Jesus

Read Luke 5

Our Lord Jesus is a Lord of compassion and caring.  We especially see His compassion in the case of His cleansing a leper.  Leprosy was a terrible disease to have.  It starts with a rash, which leads to open soars as it continues to spread throughout the body.  Eventually it gets so bad that nerve damage starts to occur.  At that point the sense of feeling is lost which you might think could be a good thing leading to relief, but not really because there’s plenty of other areas on the skin where you still feel the open soars.  Actually it’s those areas without feeling that become the most vulnerable.  It’s those areas that would sometimes lead to a loss of appendages. 

Hopefully no one is reading this while eating their breakfast.  Physical pain and suffering for the Leper was just the beginning.  They also suffered great humiliation and isolation. Some thought lepers were cursed by God.  They had to be removed from community and completely isolated.  When they had reason to be near those not infected they would have to call out “unclean” so people would know to stay away.  Some religious leaders actually carried rocks to throw at them, making sure they would stay at a safe distance.   

I share all of this background about leprosy in New Testament times because it makes the means by which Jesus healed this man all the more startling.  Jesus touched him.  He touched a leper.  He certainly didn’t have to.  In some cases Jesus would simply proclaim someone to be healed with His words alone, and yet He chooses to touch this man with leprosy.  In so doing He was communicating to this man who had been cast out and humiliated “you have value and dignity.” When you think about it there was a lot more than just physical healing going on here.  Through His touch Jesus was no doubt healing deep emotional wounds as well. Touch is huge!  Countless studies have been made on the impact of touch.  Babies literally can’t survive without it.  Appropriate touch from parents to teenagers leads to more healthy relationships for those teens.  Touch in a marriage can often communicate “my love for you is as strong as ever.”  And our Savior Jesus Christ touches people; even if it means he will be unclean according to the religious leaders of His day.  He’s still in the business of touching people.  Not a literal physical touch, but He touches none the less.  We can still come to Him for healing, for affirmation, and for spiritual growth.  The “spiritual fingerprints” of Jesus are all over His followers.  You can’t miss them through the evidence of lives changed.

Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, I thank you for Your touch on my life.  It wouldn’t be the same without it.  Help me to remember to pass on that touch, as I seek to be Your hands and feet to others.