1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him in love, 5having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire, 6to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely gave us favor in the Beloved. 7In him we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him 10to an administration of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in him. 11We were also assigned an inheritance in him, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who does all things after the counsel of his will, 12to the end that we should be to the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ. 13In him you also, having heard the word of the truth, the Good News of your salvation—in whom, having also believed, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is a pledge of our inheritance, to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of his glory.
15For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you and the love which you have toward all the saints, 16don’t cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, 17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, 18having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 19and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might 20which he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21far above all rule, authority, power, dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come. 22He put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things for the assembly, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
One receives several items of information from this short account of the healing of an Israelite man. First, this is the second occasion in the Bible of an Israelite being healed. The other example is in the Old Testament, in Numbers 12:10-15, in which Miriam, sister of Moses, had opposed Moses because he had married a Cushite woman. Since she did so, Yahweh struck her with leprosy. God healed her due to the intercession of Moses, but she was required to be quarantined from the camp of Israel for seven days.
Second, the interchange between Jesus and the leper is important to consider. The text reveals a strong faith in the heart of the leper. He worshipped Jesus and expressed complete belief that Jesus was capable of healing him, if he chose to do so. In view of this Jesus replied, "I want to," a direct response to the statement of the leper, "if you want to, you can make me clean." God does not always choose, or want to, heal someone, or do a miracle, because this does not fit within His plan. Simply because someone wants God to do something, such as healing, is not an indication that this request is answered "yes" by God. The kind of faith that this man expressed is found in the account of the three Hebrew men who faced a fiery furnace because of obeying God by not worshipping an idol (Dan 3:1-30). When faced with punishment for this refusal, they responded "If it happens, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace . . . But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up" (Dan 3:17, 18). The lesson is plain in both instances. Even if people of great faith ask God for a miracle, whether God chooses to perform one does not indicate a lack of faith, and not due to His inability. God does not do His works in the world except according to His own purposes (see Eph 1:3-12).
Third, in this text Jesus violates the Old Testament prohibition against touching a person with leprosy. According to the rules on touching a leper there would be a ceremonial defilement (Lev 14:45; Num 5:2, 3; Deut 24:8), though it is clear medically that a casual touch or contact does not pass the disease. What is unique is that touching the leper made the "person of faith" physically whole, and Jesus told him to make the long journey from the Sea of Galilee to the city of Jerusalem to fulfill his obligations of the law by seeing a priest and giving a gift for the healing (Lev 14:4-32). The leper was healed through his faith, and the sovereign will of God, but this faith was to be demonstrated through obedience.
Last of all, there is a matter to resolve in whether Jesus wanted to hide His identity from the authorities (sometimes called the Messianic secret), by telling the man "to tell nobody" or whether He was desiring to focus the healed man to his duties of the law rather than talking about who did it.