The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. Restoring wholeness (healing the sick) was a major part of Jesus’ mission and ministry. It was the “visible” aspect of the preaching of the good news. The good news of God assuming human nature and living as a human person, as it were, had to be “seen” and “touched.” Healing those who were beset by different afflictions was the most practical way for Jesus to preach the good news. It was not a surprise, then, that the majority of those who sought Jesus out were in need of physical cure and healing. Today’s Gospel reading presents us with the account of the healing of a leprous individual. Whereas his healing took place without any drama or controversy, it was what followed that is interesting.
After the healing, Jesus ordered the man not to tell anyone about what had happened to him. Instead, he was to go show himself to the priest right away in order to fulfill the requirements of the law. It was an instruction that was to serve his own interest and ensure his safety. For as a leper, he had been banned from the community lest the entire community became infected. The penalty for breaching this rule was death by stoning. To avoid such a fate, the priest had to examine him, declare him healed, and present him to the community as clean and fit to join them. But the man did not keep quiet as he had been ordered by Jesus. He went away and began to publicize the whole affair. He could not hide the feelings of joy and excitement that were overwhelming him. Who can blame him? From the day he was declared leprous and thus a threat to the health of the community, he had to keep away from people (or rather the people had to keep away from him). For some time now, this man had not known what human companionship was. He craved that warmth that can only come from being surrounded by family and loved ones. He craved a “normal” life, one in which he did not have to carry a bell with him in order to warn others of his presence. When Jesus, therefore, gave him the opportunity to be part of the community once again, he could not help but run headlong into the crowd. Nothing else was to stand between him and the warm embrace of his loved ones. He could not wait for the prescribed "waiting period" to be declared clean. Something good had happened to him, and he could not keep silent about it. Jesus had presented him with a second shot at life, how could he keep silent?
The healed man can be forgiven for “disobeying” Jesus. For although he refused to carry out Jesus’ command, he became his ambassador nonetheless. He was driven by the urge to spread the good news that he had experienced and to sing the praises of God. For a long time, he must have prayed to be granted such an opportunity and when it was finally given him, he did what naturally came to him. He had to sing at the top of his voice the marvelous thing that the Lord had done for him. His “disobedience” was not out of malice or stubbornness. He simply wanted to share his good news with those who would dare listen to his story. People did listen to him, for out of his testimony, many people came to know about Jesus and sought him out. I doubt if it was a theological expose. I doubt if it was what we would call formal preaching. He just told them what the Lord had done for him. There are ears that are open and eager to hear what we have to say concerning our encounter with the Lord. Let us not deny them that opportunity.