“The Dreaded Disease” (Luke 5:12b)

 

MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/27/2026 10:42 AM

My Worship Time                                                                         Focus:  “The Dreaded Disease”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                     Reference:  Luke 5:12b

            Message of the verse:  “behold, there was a man covered with leprosy”

            MacArthur writes “Like its Old Testament counterpart lepras (leprosy) is a general term for a number of skin conditions.  The most severe of these was Hansen’s disease, which is leprosy as it is known today.  Luke’s description of the man as being covered with leprosy suggests that he in fact had leprosy in the most extreme sense of the term.  His desire for cleansing connects it to the familiar diseas because it reflects the designation o the leper as unclean in Leviticus 13:45-46.

            “Leprosy, or Hansen’s disease, is known from ancient writings (c. 600 B.C.) from China, India, and Egypt, and from mummified remains from Egypt.  It was common enough in Israel to warrant extensive regulation in the Mosaic law of those suffering from it and related skin diseases (Lev. 13-14).  The disease is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae, discovered by the Norwegian scientist G. H. A Hansen in 1873 (It was the first bacterium to be identified as the cause of a human disease).  The bacterium was communicable through touch and breath.

            “Leprosy attacks the skin, peripheral nerves (especially near the wrists, elbows, and knees), and mucus membrane.  It forms lesions on the skin, and can disfigure the face by collapsing the nose and causing folding of the skin (Leading some to call it ‘lion’s disease’ due to the resulting lionlike appearance of the face).  Contrary to popular belief, leprosy does not eat away the flesh.  Due to the loss of feeling (especially in the hands and feet), people with the disease wear away their extremities and faces unknowingly.  The horrible disfigurement called by leprosy made it greatly feared, and caused lepers to be outcasts, cut off from all healthy society, for protection.

            And God had cursed people by giving them leprosy, such as Gehazi (2 Kings 5:25-27) and Uzziah (2 Chron. 26:16-23).  Thus, people with this disease were viewed as cursed by God—a familiar notion in ancient concepts of sin (cf. Lob 4:7-9; John 9:1-3).  The man likely saw his won disease in this way.”  Now if you want further details about leprosy, see Matthew 8-15 in the MacArthur New Testament Commentary.  I have written commentaries on Matthew earlier as it took me five years to get through that great gospel.

5/27/2026 11:11 AM