Unclean

 

When God Touched the Untouchable

Leprosy wasn’t just a disease in the Old Testament — it was a life sentence. The law of Moses spelled it out in brutal detail. If you had it, you tore your clothes, let your hair go wild, and covered your face while shouting “Unclean! Unclean!” (Leviticus 13:45–46). You lived outside the camp, cut off from family, community, worship — everything that made life worth living (Numbers 5:2–3).

It was more than social exile. People saw it as the judgment of God. Ask Miriam, who gossiped against Moses and turned white as snow (Numbers 12:10). Or King Uzziah, who tried to play priest and spent the rest of his days as a leper, locked out of the temple (2 Chronicles 26:19–21). Leprosy was a curse you could not escape. It marked you as defiled, doomed, and done.

And into that walks Jesus.

Matthew 8 says a leper came and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, if You will, You can make me clean.” Jesus could have healed him with a word from a safe distance — like He did with the centurion’s servant a few verses later. But He doesn’t. He touches him.

Understand what’s happening here. The Law said if you touch a leper, you become unclean. Holiness was fragile. Purity could be ruined in an instant. But in that moment, the flow reverses. The unclean doesn’t contaminate the Holy One — the Holy One contaminates the unclean with life.

It’s more than a miracle. It’s a statement. The God who once commanded, “Put the leper outside the camp,” has stepped outside the camp Himself to pull the leper back in. He doesn’t shout from heaven, “Be clean!” He steps into the space no one else would enter, swallows the horror, and gives back not just health — but dignity, belonging, and worship.

That’s the gospel in a touch.

Holiness is no longer something we guard behind walls. In Jesus, holiness goes on the offensive. It walks straight into your mess, lays a hand on your shame, and makes you whole.

If He’ll touch a leper, He’ll touch you.