He stretched out his hand and touched him. No sooner had Jesus descended the mountain at the conclusion of his teaching than he found himself mobbed by a great crowd. His teaching was having quite an effect on the people (cf. Matthew 7:28-29), and perhaps hungry for more of his words, they decided to literally hang onto him. They didn’t want to let him go because in him they had found someone for whom they had longed for a long time. The words that were issuing forth from Jesus’ mouth were words of comfort and encouragement, words that made those who listened to them feel in their innermost beings the love that God had for them. The leper whom we encounter in today’s Gospel reading was among those whose lives were already being changed by the mere presence of Jesus.
As the leper listened to Jesus teach with the authority that came from God, he realized that the moment of his salvation had arrived. Thus, when the opportunity presented itself and he found himself face to face with Jesus, he requested of Jesus the one thing he needed most: to be made clean. He wanted to be given back his life, a gift that would permit him to be re-integrated into the society. He wanted to once again feel that he was part of the human society, that he too was a son of God. Jesus understood the longing of this son of Abraham, and moved by compassion, he did something that was forbidden: he stretched his hand and touched him. Jesus was well aware that having a physical contact with a leper would make him ritually unclean. However, he was also aware that physical touch was one of the ways of bringing healing to this brother of his. He could either hold fast to his religious dictate and let this poor man continue suffering, or he could break that law and give this man his life. Jesus chose the latter. Isn't that what true religion is all about? Freeing those who are oppressed? Giving life to those who are lifeless? Giving hope to those who are hopeless? Jesus was an authoritative teacher because his deeds matched his words. He taught about true religion and at the same time showed us what that is.