And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. (Matthew 8:2, 3 ESV)

Leprosy is a body- and soul-destroying disease. Even until recent times lepers were isolated to prevent the spread of infection. In Jesus’ day lepers were expelled from their homes and forced to live away from family outside the city walls. Worse, they were considered unclean and could have no part in the worship or service of God. If anyone had contact with a leper they were also unclean for a time. Even speaking to a leper was frowned on.

Jesus could have healed this man with a simple word. But all the Gospel writers specifically note he reached out and touched the unclean leper. Why? Was Jesus oblivious to the danger of infection? Did he not know that he himself would be unclean? No, quite the opposite. Jesus knew that touching the leper would not contaminate him but would instead make the leper clean.

How Jesus healed the leper is a picture of how he redeemed us in microcosm. Jesus took on our flesh, yet without sin. He descended from heaven into our hell yet without contamination. He reached out and touched us in our uncleanness but was not polluted by our sin. Instead, he made us clean with his touch.