1:40 {12} And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
(12) By healing the leprous he shows that he came for this reason: to wipe out the sins of the world with his touch.
1:40 There came a leper. See notes on Mt 8:2-4. Compare also Lu 5:12-15. This miracle occurred after the Sermon on the Mount. Leprosy, that terrible scourge of the East, is unknown in our times, or even in the United States.
1:40 Mt 8:2; Lu 5:12.
1:40-45 We have here Christ's cleansing of a leper. It teaches us to apply to the Saviour with great humility, and with full submission to his will, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, without any doubt of Christ's readiness to help the distressed. See also what to expect from Christ; that according to our faith it shall be to us. The poor leper said, If thou wilt. Christ readily wills favours to those who readily refer themselves to his will. Christ would have nothing done that looked like seeking praise of the people. But no reasons now exist why we should hesitate to spread the praises of Christ.
