Summary
After finishing his great sermon, JesusJesus is the Messiah whose life, death, and resurrection are God's saving act for humanity. More puts his ministry into action by healing a man with leprosy.
Analysis
The man with leprosy in this episode shows surprising respect to Jesus. His first action is to fallThe Fall refers specifically to the disobedience of Adam and Eve when they listened to Satan rather than adhering to God's command not to eat the fruit from the tree. When people act contrary to God's will, they are said to fall from from grace... More on his knees in front of Jesus. It was considered shameful to kneel in the Mediterranean world, as it showed that the kneeler was inferior. A person was expected to kneel only in front of people of great status, for example kings or divinities (the word in Greek also means “to worship”). Thus, by kneeling, the man with leprosy demonstrates that he believes Jesus is a very statused person, surprising because he is a poor, itinerant carpenter. Kneeling was also the prerequisite for making a request of someone of high status, and in this case, the man also shows surprising respect to Jesus. He does not make a direct request, but instead makes a simple statement that shows his faith in Jesus. The word translated “choose” in the NRSV, means “to want to,” and so a better translation of his statement would be “Lord, if you want to, you are able to cleanse me” (8:2). Jesus responds by demonstrating his care for the man with a simple reply: “I want to” (8:3).
