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A few years ago, Zombies seemed to be a part of every horror movie—their long, slow gait, discolored rotting skin, made them a frightening site. You could do little but run and avoid. In Biblical times, they possibly resembled lepers. 

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In the 1200’s the physician Gilbert of England described leprosy this way: “The joints would become distorted, a symptom ‘preceded by a tickling sensation, as if some living thing were fluttering about within the body, the thorax, the arms, or the lips.’ ...The whites of a leper’s eyes would become lined in red, as the eyeballs themselves appeared to protrude from their sockets.” (wondersandmarvels.com).  

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In the 14th century, Jordanus de Turre conducted clinical trials on patients with leprosy. He wrote these notes: “The leper’s fingertips lost sensation. The little finger was the first to go, but the numbness would spread to every extremity. White corpuscles covered the tongue, and the scalp would become lumpy. The cartilage of the nose was slowly eaten away from the inside, causing it to sink into the face, and the sufferer’s hair on both the body and head would fall out. If it grew back at all, it would be in the form of small, straight hairs barely visible in sunlight, ‘like pigs’ bristles." (wondersandmarvels.com) 

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Do Zombies resemble lepers? You draw a conclusion. 

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As Jesus traveled through Galilee, "A leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him, and saying to Him, 'If You are willing you can make me clean.’’ (Mark 1:40).  

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Those that contracted this fatal disease faced an almost impossible life. The disfigurement was evident, as if looking at a man facing death. The leper could not wash his face as he would defile the water basin. Those with leprosy were not allowed in any walled city, such as Jerusalem, and banned from the Temple. The religious laws taught that anyone having contact with a leprous person was defiled for seven days, and any buildings the leper entered were defiled as well. The leper was cut off from fellowship and life with anyone other than another leper. In hopelessness the leprous man was condemned to utter, “Unclean, unclean” wherever he went to avoid contact with others.  

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When the leper had the audacity to both come into Jesus’s presence and then to speak to Him, every religious teaching was broken. Yet the boldness of the leper was one of desperation. The reaction of others was not important. Only talking to the Master counted. Jesus saw the need and "Moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I am willing: be cleansed.’ As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.” (Mark1:41-42).  

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Leprosy was considered a punishment for sins.  Yet Jesus did not talk about sin with this man. Instead, after the healing, He commanded the former leper to fulfill the religious obligations of Rabbinic teachings. “Go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded as a testimony to them.” (Mark 1:44)  While Leviticus chapter 14 gave the requirements for the cleansing the body, and the time frame before completely joining the congregation, the religious leaders developed their own elaborate process. 

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First the leper came before the priest and brought a witness that testified, he had been a leper. The former leper was examined by the priests, and the leper paid the required offering. Next the priest examined him over a period of seven days to confirm the healing. Then the leper needed to explain how it occurred. The findings were then presented to the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin sent a representative to observe the work of the person who had performed the healing, in this case, Jesus. An interrogation of the beliefs of the healer followed. The members of the Sanhedrin could raise any concerns they had. The last step was to either accept or reject the authority of the healer. 

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 The dilemma for the Sanhedrin: how could they accept Jesus’ role in this healing? Since they could not acknowledge He had this authority, their only answer was to discredit Him. Scribes were recruited to spy on Jesus. He must be proven to be a fake. For the religious leaders, there was no other option.