12 And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 13 And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him. 14 And he charged him to tell no man: but go, and shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. 15 But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities. 16 So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.(Luke 5:12-16 KJV)
Jesus Cleanses a Leper
This passage records the cleansing of a leper (Luke 5:12-14), which is also found in Matthew and Mark. Luke simply says it happened in “a certain city” (Luke 5:12), likely Capernaum, though perhaps he left it unnamed because it reflected poorly on the city’s governance that a leper was allowed within its limits. This man was “full of leprosy,” showing how severely he was afflicted. This vividly represents our spiritual condition—we are full of the leprosy of sin, from head to toe without any soundness in us.
We learn first what we should do when we sense our spiritual leprosy. We must seek Jesus, as the leper did, recognizing that the gospel’s revelation of Christ is the most valuable discovery we could receive. We must humble ourselves before him, just as the leper fell on his face, ashamed of his defilement. We must desire earnestly to be cleansed from sin, which makes us unfit for fellowship with God. We must believe in Christ’s power to cleanse, saying with faith, “Lord, you can make me clean,” trusting in his grace without doubting. We must pray persistently for mercy and renewing grace, as the leper did when he pleaded with Christ. And we must submit ourselves to Christ’s will: “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” This was not so much a doubt of Christ’s kindness as a humble surrender to his will.
If we approach Christ like this, we can expect much from him. He is compassionate and willing to attend to us (Luke 5:13): he stretched out his hand and touched the man. Christ’s touch was a powerful act of condescension, showing he is deeply moved by our weaknesses. He is always willing to cleanse repentant souls: “I am willing,” he said—there is no need to doubt. He is fully able to heal us, no matter how defiled we are. At his word, the leprosy immediately departed. When Christ says, “Be justified,” or “Be sanctified,” it is done—because he has authority on earth to forgive sins and to give the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:11).
Christ also has expectations of those he cleanses (Luke 5:14). He told the man to tell no one—not to hide the miracle from others, but to avoid boasting. Those healed by Christ must know he acted in a way that excludes personal pride. Instead of expecting payment, Christ told the man to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God, in accordance with the law of Moses. He didn’t use his power to overturn the law but to fulfill it. And those who have been absent from worship because of affliction, once restored, should return diligently and remain faithful to public worship. Christ found the man he had healed in the temple (John 5:14), which is where we should be found after healing.
Luke then highlights both Christ’s public ministry and his private devotion, which together reflect his perfect example. Though Jesus found great joy in solitude, he was often among crowds to serve others (Luke 5:15). Even though the leper may have remained silent, the news could not be hidden. The more Christ tried to avoid fame out of humility, the more people sought him out. True honor follows those who don’t seek it. Christ cared little for fame itself but valued the good that came from it—multitudes came to receive help from him.
People came both to hear his preaching about the kingdom of God and to be healed of their diseases. His miracles supported his message and drew attention to it. Even with the demands of public ministry, Christ made time for private prayer (Luke 5:16). He withdrew to quiet places to pray, not out of necessity, but to set an example for us. We need to avoid distractions and pride in our devotions, and it is wise to structure our lives so that private prayer and public work do not conflict. No matter how busy we are—even in doing good—we must set aside time for personal communion with God. Secret prayer should be kept secret, and everyone, no matter how much they have to do, must maintain regular times for it.