The leper whom Jesus cleansed shows how sinners should approach Christ for healing, because his leprosy pictures the uncleanness of sin. His case seemed hopeless until he heard Jesus' message and sought Him out, and Jesus' answer, "I will," cleansed him instantly (Matthew 8:2-4; Mark 1:40-45; Luke 5:12-15). Five virtues mark his approach. He is sincere, pushing through the crowd and pleading earnestly despite the horror of his disease. He is reverent, kneeling and falling on his face without fear of others' opinions. He is faithful, trusting Christ's power while submitting to His will, never demanding healing as though God owed it, since all deserve death for sin (Romans 6:23). He is truthful, confessing his uncleanness as Leviticus 13:45 requires and asking to be cleansed rather than merely healed, a distinction Christ also makes in Matthew 10:8. Likewise, sin's filth is removed only by Christ's blood (I John 1:7), and cleansing requires honest admission of sinfulness shown in sincere repentance. Finally, he is wise, choosing the one Person who could cleanse him, just as Christ alone can cleanse from sin and save (Acts 4:12; I Corinthians 3:11).

Christ's healing of the leper pictures how God prepares us for salvation. The leper's physical cleansing came from God's grace, power, and faithful word, just as spiritual cleansing of sins and flaws does. Jesus, moved with compassion, touched a man the world found repulsive and undesirable, and said, "I am willing; be cleansed." Likewise, God does not call us because of good works, beauty, or money; spiritually we are like the leper, and He calls us because of what He is, according to His mercy (Titus 2:11; Ephesians 2:8; Romans 9:15-16). Under the Old Covenant touching the unclean defiled a person, but Christ could not be defiled, since evil thoughts and deeds are what defile (Matthew 15:18-20). His touch also pictures God putting the world's filthy sins on the sinless Christ (II Corinthians 5:21). The cleansing was instantaneous, so no one could attribute it to natural healing. God's Word is essential to cleansing, for God does not work apart from it (Ephesians 5:26). Jesus told the healed man to show himself to the priest and offer the prescribed gift as a witness that God had come to His people (Leviticus 13). The man instead spread the news, so crowds of lepers pursued Jesus and hindered His work, since His purpose was to reveal the Father, not to heal all Israel. Obedient, quiet witness is better than sensationalism.

Leprosy in Scripture covers several skin diseases and even fungus in walls and clothing, and the leprosy Christ healed resembles modern Hansen's Disease, which disfigures and destroys the body. It was dreaded for its physical damage and for the strict isolation laws (Leviticus 13 and 14) that made sufferers outcasts. The dangerous lepromatous form spreads through the skin and internal organs and can kill over ten to twenty years, while the milder tuberculoid form tends to heal on its own. Because only God was believed able to heal leprosy (II Kings 5:7), Christ's healing of one man (Matthew 8; Mark 1; Luke 5) and of ten (Luke 17) proves who He is. Leprosy also illustrates sin as God sees it: detestable, deforming, and unclean. Both begin small and grow relentlessly until they infect the whole person, split families, bring ostracism, and finally destroy life. The man Luke describes as full of leprosy was near death and in a hopeless state, so no one could doubt that God alone healed him. God often lets trials worsen until His power is unmistakable, which builds perseverance and brings Him greater glory. Nations are leprous too. Like Israel in Isaiah 1:6-7, a society sick with immorality reaps what it sows (Galatians 6:7), and its spiritual sickness shows in loathsome, visible signs.