In verse 11 and following, Luke
17, And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed
through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered
into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers,
which stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices
and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw,
he said unto them, Go show yourself unto the priest. And it came
to pass that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them,
when he saw that he was healed, turned back with a loud voice,
glorified God, fell down on his face at his feet, giving him
thanks, and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were
there not ten cleansed? But where the nine? They are
not found that return to give glory to God save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise,
go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole." Now, again, we're
going to be looking at leprosy and as it is a type of sin in
the scripture. Now, we probably would be safe
in saying, in reading and studying our Bible, that every disease,
every infirmity to which sin has exposed the human family
and that including death, our Lord Jesus Christ met and overcame
during His earthly ministry. So much so that Matthew wrote
this in Matthew chapter 8 and verse 17, He Himself took our
infirmities and bare our sicknesses. Spurgeon wrote on this verse,
He bared their burden and thus raised it from the shoulders
of them which had been crushed by it. We are hastening to say
that our Lord never met an infirmity, He never met a sickness, He never
came across a disease or a condition which He could not banish away
from the individual, and that by whichever means was according
to His will and at His disposal. Sometimes it was by a word of
command as He said to it, be gone or be clean. Sometimes our
Lord touched those that He would heal or give sight to or whatever. And sometimes our Lord used material
objects that He might heal those that sought His relief. Sometimes
our Lord healed them right directly in His presence. and sometime
our Lord healed them from afar. Now, how broad, therefore, and
how powerful was the work of Christ over the conditions of
men and women that He met in His ministry. I would like for
us to look at a few of those extraordinary cases before we
go along on our way. Once, in John chapter 9, our
Lord gave our created sight to a man that had been born blind. a man that had never seen in
all of his life. Another instance you have in
John chapter 5. He raised up a man who had been
crippled and infirm for a period of 38 years and known unto all. In the 8th chapter of the Gospel
of Luke, a woman with an issue of blood was cured when she touched
the garment worn by our blessed Lord, after she had spent all
that she had on doctors and their treatment and their potion, and
was nothing better but was worse. In Mark chapter 7, 31 through
35, The Lord performed upon a man
a double cure, if you will, unstopping the deaf ears of that man and
curing a speech impediment. And we notice how he did it.
By giving him hearing, he put his finger in the ear of the
man And by curing his tongue, the Lord took spittle from his
own mouth and rubbed it upon the tongue of that man. Other
times in the Scripture we read, as in Matthew 4 and verse 24,
that they brought unto him all that were sick, all that were
taken with divers, that is, with different or various diseases,
and torment among them a demon-possessed man, one lunatic, one with a
palsy, and some versions you will find render that a paralyzed,
epileptic, or with seizure. All kinds of affliction were
brought before our Lord, and we read that He healed them all. He came out victorious over everyone. Again, in Matthew 8 and verse
16, they brought unto Him many that were possessed with devil,
and He cast out the spirits with His word, and heal them that
were sick. In Luke chapter 6 verse 17 through
verse 19, And he came down with them, and stood in the plain
in the company of his disciple, and a great multitude of people,
out of Judea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and
from Sidon, which came to hear him and to be healed of their
diseases. And they that were vexed with
unclean spirit, and they were healed. And the whole multitude
sought to touch him, for there went virtue out of him and healed
them." Now, in all of these texts, did you notice something about
them? That there is one affliction
that is not mentioned, at least not by name, in these particular
texts that we have noticed, and that being lepers or leprosy. Now, leprosy, was a condition
that ran not with a common herd of human affliction. It was an
uncommon and extraordinary condition, and I hope to show shortly and
through our study it was viewed and it was treated differently
than other bodily affliction. And this will require us that
we look at leprosy in the Old Testament and particularly at
Leviticus Chapter 13 and 14 that contained the law of leprosy,
in order that we might get a grasp on the significance of it, and
that we might see it, not just from a medical standpoint, but
from a biblical and a spiritual perspective. And also we want
to notice, and that very carefully, how it was treated and how it
was viewed under the ceremonial law or the Mosaic law. How leprosy was handled in contrast
to other human misery and condition. How the leper himself was treated
in contrast to other conditions. How it affected one's relationship
even unto the congregation. Now we have a strong hint of
this in Luke chapter 17 and verse 12 that we read in the last half
of the verse. Look at it. There met him ten
men that were lepers. Now, not lepers, but lepers. And notice the words, which stood
afar off. There met our Lord ten men, all
of them were lepers, all of them stood afar off. They kept their
distance. They did not presumptuously draw
near to our Lord and to His circle. How often we do read, however,
of others that did come close and in the presence of our Lord. Some even came and knelt at the
feet of our Savior to make their supplication unto Him. Some came
and touched the garment of our Lord. But these lepers, according
to the law, stood afar off. Now before we develop their distance
afar off, let's take note here of another hint that we have
in the text. It was as our Lord drew near
and was about to enter into a certain village. Not a large city, but
a village. Not a wall city like some of
them, but what we might call a little country town. and we
see that the lepers call out unto our Lord, they begin to
cry out unto Him. Not when He had entered already
into the village, the point being likely they were dwelling according
to the law without, apart and separate from the congregation
and the people in a leper colony perhaps and that by the law. Now, let's turn to Leviticus
chapter 13 and 14 and read some things that are here for our
learning and our admonition. In Leviticus chapter 13, I want
to read verse 45 and verse 46, then we look at it closer in
other places. But in Leviticus 13, verse 45
and verse 46, And the law said this, And the leper, in whom
the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and
he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry,
unclean, unclean. All the days wherein the plague
shall be in him, he shall be defiled, he is unclean, he shall
dwell alone, without the camp shall his habitation be." Now,
in all these texts, did you notice something especially about leprosy. In Numbers 5 verse 2, you have
it again. In Numbers chapter 12 and 1 through
14, you have again part of the law concerning the leprosy. Now, as Joseph Hall wrote in
his book entitled Contemplation, that's the name of it, quote,
the law of God had shut them out from all frequency and social
contact." God had enacted a law and enacted a certain distance,
and when they were infected, when they were diagnosed as a
leper, then were they put outside of the camp. Not only so, but
we saw in Leviticus 13 and verse 45 that the leper was to put
a covering we might call it a blab, upon his upper lip. And as he moved about and came
near unto people, he was to cry out, unclean, unclean. When he was in a public place,
the leper was required to sound out his condition, that others
might avoid him, that they might go on the other side of the street. that they might go around him,
that they might stay at a distance, that they might not have contact
with the leper. And as Hall said, care of safety,
fear of infection and safety was motive enough to make their
neighbors observant of this divine law. Nor here is a point to consider,
and that upon several grounds, when studying the subject of
leprosy from the Holy Scripture. I have taken some thoughts from
the commentary on Leviticus written by A. A. Bonar in the section
on leprosy, chapter 13 and chapter 14. And here is the gist of the
point. And other commentators are also
in agreement. That is that leprosy is a type
and a figure in the scripture of the corruption and the pollution
of sin. That is because they have much
in common. Much that makes them one like
another. And here's a quote from Bonar
that I want to pay special attention to because it is the heart and
the focus of our study. Quote, The Lord sent forth such
a disease on earth after the fall to form a type of sin. The workings of leprosy have
been appointed by him for that very purpose, to show for sin
in its features." Now, this need should not stumble us as we study
in the Scripture when we remember some other thing, and that is
that physical blindness was a type or a symbol of spiritual blindness. Physical deafness was a type
of spiritual deafness. There is a physical birth. There
is a spiritual birth. There is a physical death. And
there is a spiritual death. Now, with that foundation laid,
let us lay some bricks of truth upon it with regard to the subject
of the morning. Here are a few points to notice
along our way. And the first one that I would
like for us to look at is that the leper, leprosy, was diagnosed
strictly and only by the priest. It was not by a doctor, not a
physician, not a medical practitioner. Leviticus 13, 1 and 2. that when one was suspicious
of or had the symptoms of leprosy breaking out, then look at the
second verse and the last part, then he shall be brought unto
Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons the priest. Now,
not to get mired down in quicksand here, but in scanning chapter
13 and chapter 14 of Leviticus, we see that the priest strictly
handled the matter of leprosy. The matter of leprosy was strictly
in the hand and the judgment of the priest. I'm just going
to read a few. Many times it's mentioned, but
in verse 3, And the priest shall look at the plague in the skin
of the flesh. In verse 5. And the priest shall
look again on the seventh day. Then look in verse 6. Again after
seven days. Then look at verses 9 through
verse 11. At a certain stage, the priest
was to pronounce the leper unclean, ceremonially unclean that is,
and the priest would pronounce him or her either clean or unclean
in regard to their leprosy. I don't know if you're reading
along, but in verse 15 and 16, it uses the word raw flesh in
regard to the leper. When he came to that state where
there was raw flesh upon him and leprosy was diagnosed. Well, with this in mind, Remember
what the Lord told the lepers that he blessed in the New Testament
on two occasions. in Luke 17 and verse 14. He told the ten who sought mercy
from the Lord, Go, show yourself unto the priest. You have another
one in Matthew 8, verses 2 through 4. The Lord made whole a single
leprosy on this occasion, who in great humility had besought
the Lord by saying unto him, falling down before the Lord
and saying, if you are willing, Lord, you can make me clean,
if it is your pleasure, if it is your desire, if it is your
will. And the Lord answered, I will
be thou clean. And the Lord touched this man,
and his leprosy immediately vanished and was gone in the flash of
an eye. And the Lord told him in Matthew
chapter 8 verse 4, go and show yourself unto the priest and
offer the gift that Moses commanded. You'll find that in Leviticus
14 and verses 2 through 10, the sacrifices that were to be offered. Well, you could compare Mark's
account in Mark chapter 1 verse 40 through verse 45. Leprosy
was a ceremonial defilement, and the Lord honored the ceremonial
law while it remained in force. up until the time of his death. Then let's make a second point
about all of this, and that is that sin is at times in the Scripture
described in terms closely resembling leprosy. Isaiah 1, verse 5 and
verse 6. The whole head is sick, the whole
heart is faint. From the sole of the foot, even
unto the head, there is no soundness in it but wounds and bruises
and putrefying sores. They have not been closed, neither
bound up, neither bound up nor mollified with ointment." Psalm
38 and verse 5. My wounds stink and are corrupt
because of my foolishness. And in the seventh verse he said,
my loins are filled with a loathsome disease and there is no soundness
in my flesh. Matthew Henry wrote on the text
in Isaiah, the prophet compares the sins of the people in terms
suitable unto leprosy, far advanced and not responding to any correction. or anything that is tried for
its cure. And Calvin likened it unto a
patient unto whom the physician had tried all at his disposal,
and yet the patient was nothing better, but was growing worse. likened unto sin and leprosy
because of their incorrigibility of the sin described in Isaiah
chapter 1. The point being, if I may repeat
it, sin is at times described in terms resembling the dreaded
affliction of leprosy. And that like the leper, Everything
about the sinner cries out, unclean, unclean. Everything that we see
and hear coming from them cries out like the leper, unclean,
unclean. But then let's look at a third
point in regard to them. Notice something about a leprosy,
and that is the way that it is described and the way that it
is treated in the scripture in contrast or comparison to other
diseases and misery. That is the terms that are used
to describe one and the other. both in their presence and also
in their cure. First of all, the word used in
Leviticus 13 and 14 to describe the leper is this, unclean, unclean. Again and again we run across
it. There are some 20 references
to this in these two chapters alone, Leviticus 13 and 14, in
reference unto the leper. Unclean, for example. the priest shall pronounce him
unclean." Chapter 13 in verses 2, 8, 11, and 15, to name a few
places. Chapter 14, and at times it is
stated, he is unclean. Leviticus 13, 11 and 14 and verse
44. And in Leviticus 13 and verse
44, it is, shall pronounce him utterly unclean. Shall pronounce
the leper utterly unclean. Now, let's read some very sobering
words from the law regarding leprosy in Leviticus chapter
13 concerning the leper personally. Verse 45, we read, He was to
rend or to tear his clothes. He was to go bareheaded. without a covering. He was to
cover his top lip and announce to those about him, unclean,
unclean. In verse 46 it said, he is defiled,
he is unclean, and he must dwell outside the camp. And if you
look at verse 47 through verse 52, His clothes were under certain
condition to be rent and to be burned with fire. The very garments
of the leper were to be burned in the fire, possibly the rent
clothes and the bare head were to prevent the leper from covering
so as to hide or conceal his dreaded condition from others
or from the priest. And the term used, unclean, from
the Hebrew word meaning to be foul, f-o-u-l, contaminated,
polluted, defiled, especially in the moral and the ceremonial
sense and the law in Israel. Now, true, there are other things
or were other things under the law. that would render a person
unclean, ceremonially unclean, sometimes lasting until the evening,
sometimes for days, sometimes for weeks. But the leper was
unclean so long as his leprosy remained upon him, and not unless
it was clear was he pronounced to be clean again. That is, ceremonially
clean according to the Mosaic law. Now, let's be sure that
we are very clear upon this, that it was always so the leper
was called unclean. He is not called sick, as was
Lazarus, not diseased, not physically challenged, not feverish, nor
weak in body, though these discomforts were certainly a part of the
leper's misery. But the leper was first and foremost
what is rightly called ceremonially unclean. And it separated them
from the company of family and friend and from the tabernacle
services. And it put them at great risk
of death because it could progress to that. The ceremonial law,
which consisted in ceremony, in each part it was typical. Paul says that in Colossians
2 and verse 17. A shadow, he says, of good things
to come. And in Hebrews chapter 10 and
verse 1, the law having a shadow of good things to come and not
the very image itself. And when we bring leprosy then
over into the New Testament, let's notice again how it is
treated there, how it is referred to, and we'll see it in two places. Matthew 8 and Luke chapter 17,
where the Lord met and cured lepers in both of those occasions. used in regard to the leper and
leprosy is in our mind for right now, that the two opposites are
either clean or unclean, which was according to the law of leprosy,
as it is called in Leviticus 13 and 59, and verse 2, the law regarding
leprosy. What was to be done about it
and with it and to it. That a leper was regarded as
a person ceremonially unclean and that was known by every Jew
that was acquainted and that heard the ceremonial law. So
listen to the leper in Matthew 8 and verse 2. Lord, if you will,
if you are willing, you can make me what? You can make me clean. And verse 3, Jesus said, I am
willing. He touched the leper saying,
Be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was
cleansed. There are three references right
there unto it. This was a single individual. It was one person. in Luke 5
and 12 said that he was full of leprosy. This particular man
full of leprosy. Far advanced in the man and it
was a pitiful case. But in Luke chapter 17, there
were ten men that were lepers. And rather than touch them, and
vanish their leprosy on the spot. He bids them to turn and go and
be on their way and present themselves unto or before the priests in
verse 14. And as they went, they were what? Cleansed. As they went, they
were cleansed along the way. Before they arrived, somewhere
in between, their leprosy vanished off of their body. And as they
went, they were cleansed. Their leprosy dried up. Their pain and their discomfort
ceased. Their strength returned. Their
bodies renewed by a supernatural work of the Lord. One meaning
of leprosy, I think, is the meaning of scaliness of the skin. And we see it again in Leviticus
13 and 14. The condition of the skin was
what the priest looked at to determine leprosy. One of the
most famous lepers in all the Bible, and particularly in the
Old Testament, was the captain named Naaman. 2 Kings chapter
5. We read there in verse 14, he
obeyed the prophet. He dipped himself seven times
in Jordan like the prophet had commanded him. And here's what
we read. His flesh came again, like unto
the flesh of a little child, and he was clean." Clean. It is interesting that the New
Testament uses at times the same word clean. and cleanses in regard
to the cleansing of leprosy that it uses in regard to the cleansing
of sin by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. It bears repeating,
therefore, that leprosy is a type of sin, there being a comparable
likeness between the body racked by leprosy and the soul corrupted
by sin and depravity. what John Gill called, quote,
the agreement between the cleansing of a leper and the cleansing
of a sinner by the blood of Jesus Christ, unquote. To others, the
Lord blessed in body, He said something like this. John 5,
verse 24. Thou art made whole. Not clean. Thou art made whole. Matthew 9, verse 22. your faith
hath made you whole. The word healed is used a lot,
while in the curing of the leper it is most often called clean,
cleansed, or cleansing. Plus, we know the same word used
for the cleansing of a leper is used of being cleansed from
sin. For example, Ephesians 5 and
verse 26, that he might sanctify and cleanse the church by the
washing of the water by the word. John uses the word twice. in
one of his epistles. In 1 John 1, verse 7, the blood
of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. And in the 9th
verse of that same chapter, to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. One and the same word. Here's
another point that we might ponder in regards to the law of leprosy
in Leviticus 13 and 14 and the words of the Lord unto the lepers
that he cleansed during his ministry. In both cases, they were to go
and stand before the priest. they were to go and see the priest."
Again, Matthew 8, 4, Luke 17, and 14. This he said to the leper
already cleansed and to the ten that would be cleansed on the
way. Go present yourself unto the
priest. And of course, the priest would
declare them clean or unclean, and the sacrifice prescribed
and demanded by the law would be made in their behalf. The
point being, no such thing was required of a man cured, for
example, of the palsy. It was not required of the woman
cured of the issue of blood, nor out of whom our Lord would
cast a devil or an unclean spirit, or any beside the leper only. Nor were the sick sent from the
camp of Israel, but the leper was. The sick man or woman was
not put out of the camp, but the leper was, showing by type
how sins separate, that it is working death, that only a divine
remedy will save the spiritual leper from his sin. Everything
about a sinner cries out, unclean, unclean. And only our great high
priest can put away our sin and declare us cleansed and justified. The Puritan John Owen wrote,
there is a spiritual leprosy spread over all of our natures. Unquote. Leprosy being a type
of sin, it teaches us that all are unclean in God's eye and
they cannot come into his presence and be received unless they are
cleansed in the way of his appointing. Be it supposed that a man might
try to cover or to hide his leprosy with fancy clothes, hats, and
gloves, and boots, and such like, that the shame of his leprosy
not appear. Eventually, however, it will
break through. Eventually it will go worse and
worse and will become evident. Owen said, and I like this, Adam
cured neither his nakedness nor his shame with his fig leaves,
unquote. He tried, he covered himself,
he put fig leaves over their nakedness, but he did not hide
it from the sight of God. How many times have sinners tried
to cover over their sin with religion or with some kind of
religious works? or some partial keeping of the
law, or trusting in themselves like the Pharisee, that they
are righteous, in Luke 18 and verse 9. And most Jews, as in
Romans chapter 10, one through three, have not submitted themselves
to the righteousness of God, but have maintained one of their
own. How about the moralist who says
that he keeps all law and treats all men as he wants to be treated? How about the legalist in our
day? How about the civic-minded who
makes his giving himself to others and working in charitable causes
to stand him good in the sight of God? And yet only the blood
of Christ can wash away our sins. Revelation 1 and verse 5. 1 John 1 and verse 7. And the blood of Jesus Christ,
His Son, cleanses us from all sin. Now, notice something about
the Lord and the leper. That is, that the Lord touched
the leper, number one, He was not contaminated. He touched
the leper, which was an unclean man, and was not himself contaminated. Righteousness, holiness, power
in our Lord that could not be contaminated. Secondly, he touched
the leper and cleansed the leper of his uncleanness. And in Luke
17, he cleansed ten at once, and not by touching them, not
by an express word of command, but just by willing it that it
be so. And while they were gone from
His immediate presence, they had left His presence and were
on their way. And as they went, the Scripture
said, they were cleansed. And we notice one of them, and
only one by the way, when he saw and no doubt felt, when one
of the lepers saw, They all saw and felt that he had been cleansed
of his leprosy. One turned back. One did not
make his way, at least not yet, unto the priest. But he turned
back to his benefactor. and he thanked and praised and
worshipped the Lord Jesus Christ. The Scripture said, loudly glorifying
God. For it is true, as Brother Hall
said, the horror of the disease adds to the grace of the cure. Isn't that so with sin as well? For unless Christ washed our
sin away in His blood, we would all perish. And in this, in Acts
17 and other places, let us admire, if we will, the sovereignty of
Christ. He cleansed all ten, but he saved
the one. Now let me say that again. He
cleansed all ten of them, but he saved the one. Our Lord did
something for the one that he did not for the nine. He that worked cleansing in all
worked his grace in one. For what could the difference
be but the grace of God? What could the difference be
but the inward work of the grace of God in the one. Not all healed were saved, as
the Lord asks in verse 17, where are the nine? Were there not
ten that were cleansed? Not only so, but the one most
richly blessed was not a full Jew, as we read here in our text. He was a Samaritan, a half-breed
is how the Jews looked upon them, an outcast put in the same class
as the idolatrous Gentiles, or as the Lord called him, the stranger. in verse 18, just as in Luke
4, 27. Many lepers were in Israel in
the time of Elisha the prophet, and yet none of them was healed
except Naaman the Syrian. And when the Jews heard that,
they were filled with anger against our Lord. But what is the point
here? The point is God will be merciful
to whom He will be merciful. He will be merciful to whom he
will." Now, one lesson to take from this text. Be thankful for
God's great blessing upon us, especially salvation and the
forgiveness of sin. You know, sometimes I think we're
like those nine lepers We pray fervently that God will help
us or bless us in a certain thing. When he does, we assume on our
way again, not as thankful as we ought to be. Quickly it seems
that we forget and go on our way. I cannot help but wonder,
and that's all I can do, Did all of the nine go to the priest? Did all of them make their way
to the priest? Or seeing themselves cleansed
and feeling it in their body, did they turn one here and one
there, go their way, go to their home, return, and such like?
We don't know. The Scripture doesn't tell us.
But God did bless one, blessed him mightily, and brought him
to be a worshiper, an admirer, of the Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. And God has from the pack of
humanity called some forth and cleansed them by the redemptive
death and blood of our Savior. The leprosy of sin works in all. Only the blood of the Lord is
able to cleanse it away and take away its condemning power. And
thank God for our great High Priest, unto whom we show ourselves. He pronounces us clean and justified. Thank God for it.