Luke 5:12

Luke 5:12, in plain English

A man covered in leprosy — isolated, untouchable, hopeless — fell on his face before Jesus and said, 'Lord, if You're willing, You can make me clean.'

Why it's here

This man had lost everything to his disease: his community, his dignity, his place in worship. Coming to Jesus was his last hope.

Who's speaking

The leper speaks to Jesus with a mix of desperate hope and humble surrender.

Where it sits in the story

Notice his words: he didn't doubt Jesus' power, only whether Jesus would choose to use it for someone like him. So many of us approach God the same way — convinced He can help, unsure if He wants to.

The scholarly reading

The description plērēs lepras ("full of leprosy") indicates an advanced case, making the man ceremonially unclean and socially outcast. His prostration and conditional request (ean thelēs, "if You are willing") express faith in Jesus' power while deferring to His will.

Language and setting

Leprosy (likely encompassing various skin diseases) rendered a person ritually impure under Levitical law (Lev 13-14), requiring isolation from community and worship.

Voice

A man with advanced leprosy approaches Jesus, falling facedown with a plea combining faith and humility.

Significance

This encounter tests the boundaries of Jewish purity law. The leper's approach violates social convention but expresses desperate faith, and his conditional request reveals trust in both Jesus' power and character.

10and so were his partners James and John, the sons of Zebedee.

11And when they had brought their boats ashore, they left everything and followed Him.

12While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell facedown and begged Him, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

13Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.

14“Do not tell anyone,” Jesus instructed him. “But go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering Moses prescribed for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”

Read all of Luke 5 — Peter hauls in a miraculous catch, a leper is cleansed, and a paralyzed man is lowered through a roof. Jesus is rewriting the rules of who belongs.