Matthew 8:3Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

What if the leper's perspective was misguided? In such a scenario, Christ would need to refute, reveal, and rectify that notion. However, did He do this? No; rather, He substantiated and affirmed the leper's claims. He did not merely say, ‘Be cleansed,’ but instead declared, ‘I will, be cleansed,’ thereby transforming the perception of His authority from merely the leper's view into the declaration of Christ Himself. This aligns differently with the apostles’ testimonies. When the crowd was astounded, they asked, ‘Why do you gaze at us as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk’ (Acts 3:12)?

The Lord reached out to the leper, demonstrating that He was not bound by the commandment prohibiting contact with lepers. Instead, He revealed His authority over him, indicating that nothing is impure to the pure, and that His sacred body imparted holiness.

Upon descending from the mountain after imparting the Commandments to His disciples and the gathered crowd, He promptly heals a leper by extending His hand. This act demonstrates that those who question the necessity of adhering to the Commandments can be purified from their doubts through His compassionate assistance.

Out of concern for becoming impure, the leper was hesitant to approach the Lord, yet the Lord reached out to him. This action demonstrated that He could not be rendered unclean and that through His divine authority, He cleansed others who were impure. The Lord's interaction with the leper was intentional, meant to test his faith. Before assessing his belief, the Lord was already familiar with him; to tempt without such knowledge is an act of ignorance. The Lord was displeased by both possibilities: had He refrained from touching the leper, it would have reinforced the idea that He feared leprosy; conversely, if He had touched him, it might have led the leper to believe that the Lord opposed the law. Thus, by reaching out His hand, He revealed His divine nature and dispelled uncleanness.

Leprosy is healed immediately when the Lord extends His hand. Reflect on the humility and lack of pride with which the response is offered. The afflicted person says, "If you are willing." The Lord replies, "I am willing." The individual begins with the statement: "You can make me clean." The Lord adds the word purify. Thus, the Lord's words should not be interpreted as a single statement, as many in the Latin tradition believe, nor should they be read as one sentence—"I want to be cleansed." Instead, they must be understood separately: first He states, "I will," and then He commands, "Be cleansed."

Desiring to affirm the perspective of the leper, who rightly recognized Him as the Sovereign God, while simultaneously demonstrating His divine authority to the crowd, Christ declared, "I want to be cleansed." In this moment, His willingness signifies His humanity, while His act of purification reflects His omnipotence. However, if Christ could heal the leper simply by speaking, why did He choose to touch him? The reason lies in the Jewish law, which prohibited contact with those afflicted by leprosy. Yet, Christ aimed to illustrate that, as God, He was above the law—since the law governed ordinary people—and He unhesitatingly reached out to the leper, without facing opposition from the onlookers. They understood that His actions were always just and right.

The all-good Jesus, whose compassionate heart is perpetually receptive to fervent prayer, responds with his boundless mercy and divine strength. To demonstrate that celestial authority is imparted to his unblemished flesh, he extends his mighty hand, touches the afflicted man, and in a moment, his body is wondrously restored from leprosy. And Jesus, filled with compassion, reached out his hand and touched him, declaring, ‘I want to be cleansed,’ and the leprosy departed from him. Such immediate healing from incurable ailments is attainable solely through the omnipotent might of God.

The divine authority of His Lord is clearly demonstrated through His actions. With a heart full of love, Jesus extended His sanctifying hand and, as the sovereign of the Law itself, He reached out to the leper, contrary to the strict letter of the Law. Encouraging the man's faith and fulfilling his earnest plea, Jesus responded decisively, saying with the authority of the Almighty, “I WANT TO BE CLEAN.” His proclamation was immediately followed by action: the leper was instantly cleansed by the touch of the holy hand of the Lord. In the words of Chrysostom, "Nature, upon receiving the command, obeys and does so more swiftly than the Evangelist conveys. The term ‘immediately’ does not truly capture the speed of the transformation."

During one of His journeys, as recorded in Luke, Christ was present in a certain town and within a house, as noted by Mark. It was then that a man afflicted with leprosy approached Him, this being a condition deemed incurable by human medicine. Due to its contagious nature, those suffering from leprosy were ostracized, residing on the outskirts of urban areas. If a leper was miraculously healed, they could be reintegrated into society only after a thorough evaluation by the priests, in accordance with Leviticus chapter 13.

Jesus approached the afflicted individual and declared, ‘I desire your cleansing.’ Immediately upon uttering these words, every scab, sore, tumor, and wound vanished, revealing a restored and healthy man before the astonished witnesses. The miracle was both undeniable and remarkable! In the Old Testament, there are only two recorded instances of lepers being healed: Moses restored his sister Miriam, and the prophet Elisha healed Naaman the Syrian. In these cases, the healings occurred through the power of God invoked in their prayers; it was God who brought about the healing through Moses and Elisha. However, in this instance, Christ healed the leper through His own divine authority, stating, ‘I will, be cleansed.’

In response to His faith, an infinitely gracious declaration was made, “I will, be cleansed.” Each miracle performed by Christ served as a revelation. While He occasionally delayed His response to the pleas of the afflicted when the situation warranted, there was never a moment's hesitation when a leper called out to Him. Leprosy, often viewed as a manifestation of sin, provided Christ the opportunity to convey that a sinner’s sincere request for purification is always met with a swift reply. When David, the epitome of genuine repentance, cried out in authentic sorrow, “I have sinned against the Lord,” the prophet Nathan was quick to deliver the benevolent message from God, “The Lord has taken away thy sin; thou shalt not die” (2 Sam. 12:13). The Savior reached out His hand and touched the leper, and he was cleansed instantly.

By reaching out to him, the Lord demonstrated that touching a leper, as dictated by Moses' law, rendered the individual unclean (Lev. 13:3). Through this act, the Lord illustrated His supremacy over the law, emphasizing that what is clean cannot be tainted (Theophilus) and indicating His intent not only to restore the leper but to affirm that he was already made whole in that moment, treating him as if he were pure. His willingness to heal signifies His desire to restore health, affirming His sovereign authority over all afflictions, and revealing that He possesses the divine power to bring about healing.

Upon descending from the mountain, a large crowd followed Him, eager to hear His teachings. Suddenly, a man afflicted with leprosy approached, kneeling before Him, and expressed, ‘Lord, if You wish, You can make me clean.’ The Lord responded, ‘I desire your healing,’ and immediately the leper was healed of his condition. ‘Now,’ He added, ‘do not inform anyone, but go and present yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a witness to them.’ The Lord spoke similarly during another encounter involving the healing of a leper.