II. What was the injunction given him respecting it —
Our Lord directed him to go to the priest, and present immediately the accustomed offerings to God—
[The priests were appointed judges in all leprous cases. They were authorized to pronounce a man clean or unclean, according to certain marks laid down in the law of Moses c. When a man was acknowledged to be clean he was to present his offerings to Godd. This therefore our Lord enjoined the the leprous man to do. In doing it he would exact from the priest himself "a testimony" to the truth of the miracle that had been wrought, and would give abundant evidence that the person who wrought it was not an enemy to the Mosaic law ; yea, he would shew that the worker of this miracle was no other than the Messiah himself.]
He charged him also not to divulge the matter to any one till he should have performed this service —
[The injunction given our Lord was as solemn and strict as possible e. Jesus might be actuated in part by desire to avoid all appearance of ostentation. It is possible also he might wish not to give umbrage to the state by increasing the num- ber of his followers; but chiefly he was solicitous to guard against the malice of the priests. He well knew that they, from their enmity to him, might be induced to deny the cure, and thus they would both cast a reflection upon him, and de- prive the man of the liberty to which he was now entitled. Hence with such solemnity and authority did he enjoin the leper to " say nothing to any man."]
This charge however the leper did not sufficiently regard —
III. What were the consequences of his disobeying that injunction —
The man could not refrain from " publishing the matter" to all around him —
[He felt in his body a consciousness of perfect health; and, as might well be expected, his soul was inflamed with gratitude to his merciful Benefactor: he never thought what reasons there might be for the prohibition. It is probable he thought the injunction proceeded only from modesty, and the more he supposed it to proceed from this principle, the more would he be anxious to spread his Benefactor's fame. To
c Lev. xiii. 1 — 46. d Lev. xiv. 2 — 32.
e 'E///3pi/j?;(7a^ifvoe avra>, graviter interminatus ei, ver. 43.