by Ptr. Art Calaguas
Shalom.
As instructed by John the Baptist, his disciples approached our Lord Jesus and asked him this question (Matthew 11:3; cf. Luke 7:19, 20 with my formal translation):
3… Σὺ εἶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἢ ἕτερον προσδοκῶμεν;
3… Are you the One Coming or do we await/expect another?
By asking if the Lord Jesus was “the One Coming” or “the One Who was to Come” or “the Expected One,” John the Baptizer was in fact asking if the Lord indeed is the long-awaited Messiah the Jews were all expecting and hoping and asking God for. Given the context laid out last week, the reply of our Lord Jesus was probably the most encompassing way of answering, albeit indirectly (Matthew 11:5; cf. Luke 7:22; with my formal translation):
5τυφλοὶ ἀναβλέπουσιν καὶ χωλοὶ περιπατοῦσιν, λεπροὶ καθαρίζονται καὶ κωφοὶ ἀκούουσιν, καὶ νεκροὶ ἐγείρονται καὶ πτωχοὶ εὐαγγελίζονται·
5(the) blind see, and (the) lame walk, lepers (are being) cleansed, and (the) deaf hear, and (the) dead (are being) raised, and (the) poor (are being) evangelized;
Alternatively, the verse can also be rendered as:
5(the) blind see, and (the) lame walk, lepers (are) cleansed, and (the) deaf hear, and (the) dead (are) raised, and (the) poor (are) evangelized;
Either way, the important thing to note is the continuous aspect of the present indicative verbs used (highlighted above). This simply means that these miracles are on-going and are not just one-time, isolated events. This point is further supported by Luke 7:21 which tells us that at that particular time when the disciples of John came to the Lord Jesus, he healed many people of their diseases and afflictions and evil spirits, and granted many blind people to see.
It would be instructive to recall what the Lord instructed his disciples to do when he sent them out earlier. Matthew 10:8 is unique (i.e., not found in the other Gospels) when he quotes the Lord as commanding:
8ἀσθενοῦντας θεραπεύετε, νεκροὺς ἐγείρετε, λεπροὺς καθαρίζετε, δαιμόνια ἐκβάλλετε· δωρεὰν ἐλάβετε, δωρεὰν δότε.
8Heal (the) ailing, raise (the) dead, cleanse (the) lepers, cast out demons;…
The important emphasis of the commands to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers and cast out demons should be seen in parallel with the continuous occurring of such events contained in the Lord’s reply to John’s disciples (Matthew 11:5; cf. Luke 7:21-22). The Lord Jesus was doing these things and even the Twelve were now also doing the same miracles. And these miracles were being done in a wide geographical area to boot. Surely, the Kingdom of Heaven was breaking out!
So the Lord Jesus is simply telling John’s disciples: look at the signs of the times. The core assertion is identical for Matthew and Luke: the blind are granted sight, the lame are able to walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the Good News is preached to the poor. Even the order of the miracles narrated by both Evangelists is the same. The only difference is stylistic – the key verse (Matthew 11:5) is treated as a separate verse by Matthew whereas this was included by Luke in just one verse (Luke 7:22). Since this passage is not found in the Synoptic Gospel of Mark, it may be that Luke borrowed from Matthew or both had a common source for this passage. Also, it seems obvious that the two Evangelists believed or knew that the Lord Jesus was quoting Old Testament (OT) scripture; that the Lord was doing these miracles in fulfillment of what was prophesied about the Messiah. If we go by the consensus of Biblical scholars, the Lord was alluding to the messianic prophecies of the Prophet Isaiah in his answer to John’s disciples.
But before we explore these OT verses, let us briefly examine one of the aforementioned signs and wonders.
Leprosy was a special case. While the Greek word used for lepers, λεπρός (“lepros,” see https://biblehub.com/greek/3015.htm) pertains to persons having all types of skin diseases, not necessarily leprosy; it seems that in his instructions (Matthew 10:8) and his reply to John’s disciples (Matthew 11:5; cf. Luke 7:22), the Lord referred to individuals having the disease of leprosy, λέπρα (“lepra,” see https://biblehub.com/greek/3014.htm) itself. Matthew 8:1-4 uses both Greek words; they are cognates. Today, leprosy is also called Hansen’s disease. It is an infection caused by slow-growing Mycobacterium leprae bacteria.
This disease was especially terrible, physically. It was reckoned as the physical counterpart to the spiritual problem of sin in ancient Jewish tradition (see https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/leprosy). It may be seen as the Jewish “model” disease for sin. It also deals with the Jewish notion of being “unclean” in the eyes of God and the community. That is why when a leper is healed it is called a “cleansing” instead of a healing (see https://bible.org/seriespage/8-cleansing-leper). When a leper was healed, the Torah demanded that he go to the priest and be pronounced clean before reentering society (see Leviticus 13 and 14).
To the Jews, leprosy was incurable by human ability; only God can cleanse one who has leprosy (either directly or through a prophet). In the case of Moses’ sister Miriam, narrated in Numbers 12, Moses interceded for her. Other than this Biblical passage, not since the Prophet Elisha interceded for the healing of Naaman the Syrian (see 2Kings 5 and Luke 4:27) had someone been cleansed of leprosy. So when the Lord Jesus healed the leper in Matthew 8:1-4 (cf. Mark 1:40-45; Luke 5:12-16), he was making quite a distinct claim to being the Messiah and even as deity. Since the Lord Jesus asked the healed man to show himself to a priest (in the Temple) and make the offering as Moses commanded, as a testimony (Matthew 8:4), this can be deemed as a clear announcement. So the people and the priests would have recognized the healing of the leper as a sign of the Messiah’s presence. And this cleansing of leprosy was not a one-off thing as 10 lepers were healed later on in Luke 17:11-19. Thus, by itself, the healing of a leper was truly a sign that the Messiah was already present in their midst.
We will continue next week.
God bless us all.