Leprosy in ancient Israel (Matthew 8:1-3)
In Matthew 8 we read about Jesus healing a leper through touch. Why was this a big deal?
Well, here is a graphic and horrifying description of what it was like to have leprosy in ancient Israel:
“Leprosy was the scourge of the ancient world. Nothing evoked more fear, more dread, or more revulsion than the sight of these walking dead. . . The smell of his decaying flesh would announce his coming long before the tattered scraps of his clothing would be seen, or his raspy “Unclean! Unclean!” announcement he was required to declare, could be heard. The stumbling shuffle of toeless feet, the wandering of sightless eyes and the moan of a cheek-less mouth, all pointed to Leprosy, this unseen attacker that slowly destroyed human bodies, and made the individual an untouchable to society” (Source).