Healing the leper Mt 8:1-4
As we proceed in our reading of the Gospel of Matthew, we will constantly encounter the evangelist's tendency to organize and group material about Jesus and His saving work from various sources. After completing the Sermon on the Mount, the first collection of Jesus' teaching (cf. Matthew 5 - 7), Matthew creates the next section of the Gospel, this time filled with accounts of Jesus' miracles. Two subsequent chapters (Mt 8 - 9) are devoted to this form of his activity, followed by another block, again devoted to the teachings of Jesus (Mt 10). As in the case of the Sermon on the Mount (cf. Mt 7: 28-29), also at the end of the section devoted to the miracles of Jesus (Mt 9: 35-36), Matthew summarizes. Thus, he makes it clear that in his account he moves from one part to the next.
Although Matthew mentioned before about the healing activity of Jesus (cf. Matthew 4: 23-24), it is only in general terms. Healing a person suffering from leprosy is the first miracle of Jesus described by Matthew. In the Gospel of Mark, the first miracle will be the healing of the possessed cf. (Mk 1: 21-28), just like in Luke (cf. Lk 4: 31-37). It is generally believed that the first miracle of Jesus was to turn water into wine at a wedding at Cana (cf. John 2: 1-11), but it is worth knowing that in the synoptic tradition this is a bit different. This does not mean that the Gospels contradict each other, but rather it should be seen as the theological goal of each of the evangelists who thus emphasize certain religious truths important to the original addressees of their Gospels. We will see it on the example of the pericope on the healing of a leper.
The disease of leprosy was fairly common in the ancient Middle East and was incurable as such in those days. However, it was not always about Hansen's disease, that is, the actual leprosy. Very often, various inflammations, allergies or mycoses of the skin were pushed under one denominator. The climate and the level of hygiene favored the emergence of this type of infection. It can therefore be assumed that when the Gospel mentions people suffering from leprosy, it is not always this disease in the proper sense. Of course, this does not detract from the miraculous power of Jesus at all.
With true leprosy, the sick experienced a real tragedy in life. Gradually his body was rotting, and only death brought an end to his suffering. It seems, however, that this was not the greatest misfortune of the lepers. Much worse was the exclusion from society. For fear of infecting others, leprosy patients were under the penalty of death to live outside the community of healthy people. In practice, they gathered in groups away from towns and villages. There, they were provided with food from time to time. At the sight of people approaching from afar, they shouted a warning: unclean, unclean. Their fate was indeed regrettable ... The verdict regarding the state of illness and possible recovery from it belonged to the priests. There were occasional recoveries, which confirms that leprosy was not always strictly speaking. Then, by the sentence of the priest, man returned to life in society. In Israel, this aspect was of great importance.
Matthew's account contains a strange, even incredible detail. Here, in the crowd of people around Jesus, there was a leper whom Jesus was touching, although he was not allowed to do so under the law. It is these elements of the story that constitute its dominant feature. Jesus came to the most disadvantaged and needy. He did not accept a law that heartlessly trampled on human dignity, even if rationally justified. On the other hand, this scene shows the enormous determination of a man plunged in existential misfortune. There was no normal rescue for him anymore, he was a complete loser in the eyes of others and in his own. Jesus, from whom emanated miraculous power, but also great love and compassion for the suffering, became for him the last ray of hope. The leper risked everything. He fought for his life, for his dignity. He rejected all binding traditions, risking himself to be killed by those around him. Jesus was his only hope.
In the Gospel of Matthew, addressed in the first place to those who converted from Judaism to Christianity, the location of this event has its own meaning. By his attitude, Jesus shows that he does not accept what is only legal and, therefore, soulless in the Jewish tradition. Jesus does not accept what is opposed to man. He does not accept the law and a society where there is no place for the weak and the disadvantaged. Jesus wants to say that today such a society has no right to be called Christian. On the other hand, the described event shows that even the most unhappy man, widely rejected, can always count on God. God wants man to always be clean and beautiful. Such a state is worth the greatest determination on our part.
O Lord, our Lord! Who is man that you remember about him? You crowned him with glory and honor. (cf. Psalm 8: 5-6)
Until Tomorrow
fr. george