And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
And Jesus (or 'He,' according to another reading) - "moved with compassion," says Mark (Mark 1:41); a precious addition,
Put forth his hand, and touched him. Such a touch occasioned ceremonial defilement (Leviticus 5:3); even as the leper's coming near enough for contact was against the Levitical regulations (Leviticus 13:46). But as the man's faith told him there would be no case for such regulations if the cure he hoped to experience should be accomplished, so He who had healing in His wings transcended all such statutes.
Saying, I will; be thou clean, х Theloo (G2309), katharistheeti (G2511)]. How majestic these two words! By not assuring the man of His power to heal him. He delightfully sets His seal to the man's previous confession of that power; and by assuring him of the one thing of which he had any doubt, and for which he waited-His will to do it-He makes a claim as divine as the cure which immediately followed it.
And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Mark, more emphatic, says (Mark 1:42), "And as soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed" - as perfectly as instantaneously. What a contrast this to modern pretended cures!