While he was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man full of leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell on his face, and begged him, saying, “Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean.” He stretched out his hand, and touched him, saying, “I want to. Be made clean.” Immediately the leprosy left him.
Leprosy can be cured instantly through skin-to-skin contact with a healthy person.
Medicine
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The cited passage
What current science says
Leprosy (Hansen's disease) is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae, which attacks peripheral nerves and skin. It's one of the slowest-growing bacteria known — it divides only once every 12-14 days (most bacteria divide every 20 minutes). Curing it requires a multi-drug therapy of dapsone, rifampicin, and clofazimine taken for 6-12 months. The bacteria must be killed, nerve damage addressed, and the immune response managed. None of this happens through a handshake. Ironically, healthy skin contact is actually how leprosy spreads, not how it's cured.
What the text says
This comes from Luke 5:12-13. A man 'full of leprosy' is touched, and 'immediately the leprosy departed from him' — presenting physical contact as an instant cure for a chronic bacterial infection.
Three honest ways to read this passage
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As history
The text records how its authors understood the world with the knowledge they had. Read this way, a difference from modern science is a window into the ancient mind, not a failure.
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As accommodation
The text speaks to its first audience in their own terms, to make a point that isn't mainly about physics or biology. Read this way, the scientific detail is the vehicle, not the cargo.
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As contradiction
The text makes a claim about the physical world that modern findings dispute. Read this way, the difference is a genuine factual disagreement worth naming.
GEBible doesn't pick one of these for you. Each entry shows the passage, what it says, and what current science says — nothing more.