Reconciliation is an important topic in contemporary political, social, economic and
religious spheres since it has the ability to redefine human relationships therein.
Without the possibility of reconciliation it would be impossible for humanity to live
together in the modern world. The same was true of the ancient world in which the
New Testament was written.
The focus of this chapter2 is on the various ways in which the Gospel according to
Luke describes the reconciliation of those who had become estranged from their
communities with special reference to the case of lepers3 in Luke 5:11-16. Based on
Luke’s account, this estrangement directly deprived the sufferer from having contact
with the community of people and thereby denied him or her, in a violent manner,
the right to liberty and human dignity. By using a socio-historical hermeneutics this
chapter will investigate whether the metaphors used in Luke are similar to those
used in African4 society’s engagement with lepers.