Was the Leper immune to Leprosy after Jesus healed him?

**NotWorthy** · #1 Mar 25, '09, 5:33 pm

I'm just wondering and looking for opinions.

Was the Leper that Jesus healed ("Lord, if you will it, you could make me clean" "I do will it. Be clean") immune from any further contact with Leprosy?

Or the paralyzed man who was healed after he was lowered through the roof, could he have had another accident and suffered paralyzation once again?

How about any of those that were "dis-possesed" of demons? Could they have been "re-possessed" if they were caught unawares?

Spirithound · #2 Mar 25, '09, 7:06 pm

My opinion would be the former leper may not then be immune (but I'm totally willing to reconsider this), the formerly paralyzed man would not have been shielded from accidents later on, and those cleansed of demons could later on be re-possessed.

I feel most strongly about the possibility of repossession, since one does not become possessed by a demon unless you allow it. I feel it is very closely linked with sin (save for an Emily Rose-type situation), and therefore it is possible to be repossessed if they turned their back on Jesus.

The other two events are less related to sin in my mind (although it's possible to be paralyzed due to stupidity....), and so the former leper may have now been commissioned to serve the lepers, protected supernaturally.

**NotWorthy** · #3 Mar 25, '09, 7:11 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spirithound

My opinion would be the former leper may not then be immune (but I'm totally willing to reconsider this), the formerly paralyzed man would not have been shielded from accidents later on, and those cleansed of demons could later on be re-possessed.

I feel most strongly about the possibility of repossession, since one does not become possessed by a demon unless you allow it. I feel it is very closely linked with sin (save for an Emily Rose-type situation), and therefore it is possible to be repossessed if they turned their back on Jesus.

Good thoughts. I tend to agree with what you've told us so far.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spirithound

The other two events are less related to sin in my mind (although it's possible to be paralyzed due to stupidity....), and so the former leper may have now been commissioned to serve the lepers, protected supernaturally.

First of all, I never thought of that with the leper.... although nothing in Scripture leads us to believe this. It's still a good thought and I like that.

But..... I disagree that leprosy is less related to sin. I feel that leprosy was a sign of sin in the Old Testament and would have been directly related to it, especially in the Jewish mindset, where leprosy was a result of someone's sinfulness (either theirs or their parents or grandparents).

Leopard · #4 Mar 25, '09, 8:33 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by NotWorthy

I'm just wondering and looking for opinions.

Was the Leper that Jesus healed ("Lord, if you will it, you could make me clean" "I do will it. Be clean") immune from any further contact with Leprosy?

Or the paralyzed man who was healed after he was lowered through the roof, could he have had another accident and suffered paralyzation once again?

How about any of those that were "dis-possesed" of demons? Could they have been "re-possessed" if they were caught unawares?

I don't think Jesus healing people of various diseases and infirmities was like having the chicken pox, once they were healed they were immune to that condition in the future. Certainly the people Jesus raised from the dead eventually died again.

**NotWorthy** · #5 Mar 25, '09, 8:42 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leopard

I don't think Jesus healing people of various diseases and infirmities was like having the chicken pox, once they were healed they were immune to that condition in the future. Certainly the people Jesus raised from the dead eventually died again.

OK, so you're thinking that the leper could have acquired leprosy again?

What would it have done to the people's faith who knew "Joe, the Ex-Leper" to see that he was now, "Joe, the Leper, Part 2"? Would they think, "That holy man isn't so powerful after all"? Or would they think, "Joe, you idiot, you shouldn't have tempted fate and went back to the leper colony"?

Luke65 · #6 Mar 25, '09, 9:42 pm

I don't know, but this reminds me of a funny thought I had.

"So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him." (John 12:10-11)

What if they killed Lazarus? And Jesus raised him up again! And again! Poor Lazarus!

Leopard · #7 Mar 25, '09, 10:23 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by NotWorthy

OK, so you're thinking that the leper could have acquired leprosy again?...

Could have? Possibly. Did he? I don't know. I wasn't there and I am not aware of any contemporary witnesses recording anything about it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NotWorthy

...What would it have done to the people's faith who knew "Joe, the Ex-Leper" to see that he was now, "Joe, the Leper, Part 2"? Would they think, "That holy man isn't so powerful after all"? Or would they think, "Joe, you idiot, you shouldn't have tempted fate and went back to the leper colony"?

I don't know. Probably different people would have thought different things.

**NotWorthy** · #8 Mar 26, '09, 6:13 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luke65

What if they killed Lazarus? And Jesus raised him up again! And again! Poor Lazarus!

Maybe Lazarus is Greek for "Yo-Yo"!

**NotWorthy** · #9 Mar 26, '09, 6:15 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leopard

Could have? Possibly. Did he? I don't know. I wasn't there and I am not aware of any contemporary witnesses recording anything about it.

I don't know. Probably different people would have thought different things.

Thanks for your responses. Believe me, there's a point to all this meandering of mine, so please be patient. I'd just like to get a few more opinions before I come up with my thoughts. But as to your first statement, yes, there are no records of "if he did", so it's not important. I'm trying to establish whether its believed that he could get leprosy again or not.

Leopard · #10 Mar 26, '09, 9:43 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by NotWorthy

...I'm trying to establish whether its believed that he could get leprosy again or not.

Okay, limiting speculations to matters of possibilities, not as to whether specific events actually occurred, I can not think of any logical reason or traditional teaching of the Church suggesting that such persons could not have later caught leprosy or other diseases again, or later suffered accidents, or later made themselves susceptible to demonic possession, etc.

MarcoPolo · #11 Mar 26, '09, 10:24 am

I believe those Jesus healed could get the disorder again. Here's why.

Take the example of the paralytic, lowered through the ceiling (Mk 2:1-12). What happened? Jesus healed him and amazed the crowd. Then He asked, "Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, `Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, `Rise, take up your pallet and walk'?" Of course, Jesus both healed him physically and forgave the man's sins.

So you see, Jesus healed the man in two ways: physically and spiritually. The crowd was able to see that the man's physical affliction was gone after Jesus healed him. Jesus was physically manifesting the spiritual healing that also took place unseen. The man's sins (his spiritual illness) were also cured, placing him right with God. By the physical healing Jesus performed, the crowd was able to see by faith, the spiritual healing that paralleled the physical healing.

Now, since we know that a person can indeed fall from grace in the spiritual order (i.e. lose their salvation), we know that those Jesus healed could also find themselves injured/sick again in the future, especially since suffering is often the means by which Christ cleanses us and draws us to call on Him.