The leper felt a strange thrill running through his veins and over his nerves, and every atom of his body seemed to be tingling with a peculiar burning and smarting sensation.  Even as he looked he saw the color of his flesh changing and taking on the hue of the flesh of the healthy person.  The numbness departed from the affected portion of his body, and he could actually feel the thrill and tingle of the life currents that were at work with incredible speed building up new cells, tissue and muscle.  And still Jesus held His hands against the flesh of the leper, allowing the life current of highly vitalized prana to pour from His organism into that of the leper, just as a storage battery of great power replenishes and recharges an electrical appliance.  And back of it all was the most potent, trained Will of the Master Occultist directing the work.

And then He bade the healed man depart and comply with the laws regarding purification and change of garments, including the appearance before the priests to receive a certificate of cleanliness.  And He also bade him that nothing should be said regarding the nature or particulars of the cure.  For some good reason He wished to escape the notoriety or fame that the report of such a wonderful cure would be sure to excite.

But alas! this was asking too much of human nature, and the healed leper, running with great leaps and bounds, began shouting and crying aloud the glad tidings of his marvelous cure, that all men might know what a great blessing had come to him.  In spite of the injunction laid upon him, he began to sing aloud the praises of the Master who had manifested such an unheard-of power over the foul disease that had held him in its grasp until a few hours before.  With wild gestures and gleaming eyes he told the story again and again, and it was taken up and repeated from person to person, until the whole town and countryside were familiar with the great news.  Imagine such an event occurring in a small country town in our own land today, and you will realize what an excitement must have been occasioned in that home place of the leper.

And then occurred that which Jesus had doubtless seen when He forbade the leper to repeat the news of the cure.  The whole region became excited and immense crowds gathered around Him and His disciples, crying aloud for new wonders and miracles.  The curious sensation-seekers were there in full force, crowding out those whom He wished to reach by His teachings.  And more than this, great numbers of sick and crippled people crowded around Him crying for aid and cure.  The scenes of Capernaum were repeated.  Even the lepers began flocking in, in defiance of law and custom, and the authorities were beside themselves with anger and annoyance.  Not only the temporal authorities and the priests were arrayed against Him, as of old, but now He managed to arouse the opposition of the physicians of those days, who saw their practice ruined by this man whom they called a charlatan and deceiver threatening and destroying the health of the people, whose physical welfare was safe only in their (the physicians’) hands and keeping.