Nate B Quill

The following is an extract from the NIV application commentary 
(Bock, D. L. (1996). Luke (pp. 155–158). Zondervan Publishing House.)
Luke introduces the first healing by mentioning that Jesus is “in one of the towns.” He is venturing to other parts of Galilee, as he said he must do (4:43–44). A man full of leprosy approaches him. … The Old Testament gave specific instructions about identifying its presence and how to declare someone clean who had recovered from the condition (Lev. 13–14). To have the disease meant ostracism (Lev. 13:45–46; 2 Kings 7:3), for anyone with this condition had to announce it to others by shouting, “Unclean! Unclean!” Having this disease led to social isolation, not unlike what some AIDS victims experience today. Jesus’ ministry to a leper therefore reveals his attention to the outcasts of society, demonstrating that such people can have access to God’s blessing.

The other day a friend of mine sent a Bible verse to read from Luke. After reading it, I immediately realized why he was confused, and the same ideas confused me as well. As such, as I usually do, I asked my dad some questions about the passage, and my dad answered any questions I had. A few minutes later, he shared a Bible commentary on the subject. 

While reading through this, I came across the interesting sentence, “not unlike what some AIDS victims experience today”, comparing the treatment of individuals with leprosy to those with AIDS in 1996. 

Leprosy in the Bible refers to many skin diseases. Anything from psoriasis to scabies to a bunch of stuff I can’t pronounce (Tzaraath, Wikipedia). Although, in the New Testament the term leprosy refers to the same leprosy we still have in the world today: Hansen’s disease. Hansen’s disease is a disease to the nervous system, affecting nearly every part of the body’s function. It can disfigure limbs, cause the loss of fingers and limbs, cause blindness, and even cause the loss of sensation altogether. Some leprosy patients lost limbs to gnawing rats since they couldn’t feel a thing¹. 

Those infected with leprosy were forced to live outside of town in leprosy colonies. They were to wear bells around their necks and cry “unclean” when approached by someone without leprosy. Modern day these camps are oftentimes places where the disease is  treated, but before the discovery of antibiotics they were left to slowly die. 

Spinalonga on Crete, Greece, one of the last leprosy colonies in Europe, closed in 1957 (Wikipedia) 

Since leprosy wasn’t curable, and there was no obvious physical cause for it, people considered leprosy a reflection of sin. Both sin and leprosy are incurable and destroy man. 

Note: I couldn’t find anything that says all leprosy is directly caused by sin in the Bible, but it seemed Jews at the time believed otherwise. 

In Luke 5:12-16, Jesus heals a man with leprosy. When first read, this seems to be another miracle of healing from a series starting in Luke 4, but when studied further we see that it is much more than that. As mentioned above, those with leprosy are not to be touched or even approached. Jesus breaks a barrier in first approaching the man. They specify very clearly that Jesus reaches out his hand and touches the man, breaking yet another barrier. 

Furthermore, in reaching out to the man with leprosy he is reaching out to someone who is perceived as a punished sinner. Although in John 9 Jesus does claim that illness is not necessarily a punishment for sin, the Jews at the time believed leprosy stemmed from a moral failing from the individual. In reaching out and touching the man, Jesus is reaching out to the perceived sinner. 

AIDS is a late stage HIV infection, which is an immune system infection shared through bodily fluids, usually by sex or sharing needles. HIV itself causes symptoms early on, mostly flu like symptoms. Although, as it progresses to AIDS, the disease only affects the immune system which allows for opportunistic viruses to take hold. These include pneumonia, tuberculosis, and even rare cancers.⁴ 

Initially, AIDS was known as the 4H virus, since it seemed to only affect heroin users, homosexuals, hemophiliacs, and Haitians. Besides hemophiliacs, the other 3Hs were already marginalized. The reason for heroin users being there is probably quite obvious, sharing needles. However, why was it believed that only gay people could catch the virus? This is because the first cases of HIV were found in young gay men who had caught a rare form of cancer and pneumonia due to their weakened immune systems. 

Despite the virus having been discovered 2 years prior⁵, a New York Times article from 1983 says “The New England Journal of Medicine reports that researchers have found that AIDS may be transmitted from males to females.”⁶ 

Lastly is the religious stigma. An NIH study exploring what people believed about AIDS: a consequence or divine judgement. After asking over 250 students at a university in Nigeria, an overwhelming majority agreed that HIV/AIDS was divine judgement for those who broke God’s law by practicing gay sex. 

Princess Diana played a massive part in breaking the barrier and stigma surrounding HIV. When the UK was largely ignoring the matter, the Princess opened the first HIV/AIDS unit at London’s Middlesex Hospital. 

“HIV does not make people dangerous to know. You can shake their hands and give them a hug. Heaven knows they need it. What’s more, you can share their homes, their workplaces, and their playgrounds and toys.” ~ Princess Diana. 

Her physical acts, not being shy to shake hands and spend time around HIV patients, even spending time with patients without a media team with her, squashed the misconception that HIV could be spread through physical touch. 

Let’s compare what Princess Diana did to what Jesus did. 

Each of them approached and physically reached out to those who were considered contagious and dangerous. (With Jesus’s statement being powerful since leprosy was actually contagious). In doing so, they’re doing away with the social death that these people have to deal with. Lepers were cast away from society just as those with HIV were, and sometimes still are. These diseases did not just affect their physical health, but their connection to their societies. By reaching out, both Jesus and Princess Diana challenge the danger that these diseases present, and they reach out to the lonely in their societies. 

Furthermore each of them reached out to the margins of society, those who were unjustly known as sinners. With HIV, people believed that it was God’s punishment due the sin of homosexuality; and for leprosy, people believed that leprosy is a punishment for sin. Each of these myths were later revealed to be untrue. These diseases were weaponized by those in positions of power to condemn the victims of them, and our two heroes loving and accepting the victims shed a new light on these people, showing the humanity in them. 

The compassionate power is one far greater than the simple action of physically standing next to them; it extends to all wakes of life for these victims. 

In general, both Princess Diana and Jesus’s actions were statements that changed the way that the general public viewed these marginalized victims. They are heroes in their stories, making an impact with their deep compassion and work done for their cause. 

1. https://answersingenesis.org/biology/disease/biblical-leprosy-shedding-light-on-the-disease-that-shuns/
2. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4272139/
3. https://www.fredhutch.org/en/news/center-news/2015/09/HIV-virus-evolutionary-biology.html
4. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/4251-hiv-aids
5. https://news.cnrs.fr/articles/the-story-of-aids-from-fear-to-fight 
6. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/national/science/aids/timeline80-87.html