As we jump into the last section of Mark chapter 1, we find one of the most beautiful pictures of compassion, grace, and exchange in all the New Testament. This encounter is also startling and provocative. As a matter of fact, the Jews who witnessed or even heard about it would have taken offense at the actions of Jesus. Why was it startling, provocative, and even offensive to Jews? Because Jesus interacted with an outcast and even touched the unclean leper. That was beyond thought or even comprehension for Jews. To understand the depth of the uncleanness of a leper, go to Leviticus 13 and 14, and you will find the Law as it concerns a Leper.
Today in our commentary blog, we are going to examine the text of scripture in two parts. In the first part, we will examine the leper’s request and the miracle of healing. Then, in the second part, we will dive into Jesus’ command. So, let’s journey together in Mark 1:40-45, as we continue to Encounter Jesus!
The Request and the Healing (vv. 40-42)
As we begin to look at the leper’s request and Jesus’ healing, I think a description of the situation would be helpful. In the commentary series “The Christ-Centered Commentary,” we find this description of the situation.
“A leper was a man whom the culture considered an outcast, the law judged unclean, and the people deemed cursed by God. Even one with AIDS today fares far better than the leper of the first century. A leper was to stay at least 50 paces from others. That he came near to Jesus, so close that Jesus could touch him, was unthinkable.”
The bible doesn’t tell us how long the man had suffered from leprosy, but it still gives us the depth of the pleading plea of the man. What we do know is that the man knew of Jesus’ healing ministry. You may ask, how do we know that? We know that because of the leper’s words to Jesus, “If you will, you can make me clean.” Jesus had been traveling throughout the region, and word was spreading of his ability to heal. This man was desperate for healing. Without a touch from Jesus, death from the disease was certain for this man.
Jesus, seeing this and having compassion, touches the man and heals him. This act of touching would have done several things in the eyes of those watching. According to the Levitical Law, if someone touched a person with leprosy, that person would become unclean, and it would have exposed them to getting the disease itself. But something with Jesus is different! The difference is that Jesus is the Divine Son and is Holy and Righteous, and because of that, He cannot become unclean! What He touches becomes clean because of His Divine Nature. This touching is a beautiful example of what happens when we come to Christ! We who are unclean become clean because of the act of grace that flows into our lives through the receiving of Christ as Savior and the immersion of the Holy Spirit into our lives. We move from unclean and condemned to clean and redeemed because of Christ’s work in our lives.
Think of it like this! We are the man with leprosy, and when we come to ask Christ to save us, He, with compassion, says I will! We go from cursed and condemned because of sin to whole and holy because of Christ. Paul says this in Ephesians 2:1, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is no at work in the sons of disobedience.” This man with leprosy was death walking, just as we are death walking without Christ! But praise be to God, that Paul continues these Words in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Just like this man could not heal himself, we cannot heal ourselves from sin. We must go to Jesus and ask for eternal healing through receiving Christ as Savior!
Application Question: Think back on the day you came to Christ and think of the joy that came upon you. Are you applying that Joy in your life today?
The Command of Jesus (vv. 43-45)
“It is not surprising that Jesus sends the man to a local priest, according to the ritual of cleansing in Leviticus 14. What is surprising is the stern charge and quick exit Jesus demands. He sends him packing with a command to keep his mouth shut. Jesus does not want a person who seeks miracles personally. He wants followers who seek Him!” (Christ-Centered commentary).
So, the man is now healed, and Jesus says, ” Go and tell the priest, but don’t tell him how it happened. The man now had a command and a task to complete, but he did the opposite. Not only was he not obeying the Levitical Law, but he was also disobedient to Christ. I am sure that his joy of being healed could not be contained, and that is why he went around freely talking about his healing encounter with Jesus. He was once a slave to the disease and an outcast to society, and now, he is free from the disease and has become a part of society. In other words, he was free, free at last!
But in disobeying Jesus, something of great theological significance happened. The man with leprosy went from living in a desolate place to living in the town. Jesus went from ministering in the towns to being forced to desolate places. In essence, they exchanged places! Martin Luther, the great reformer, called this the Great Exchange. “When Martin Luther spoke of the state of a Christian, he used the Latin phrase simul justus et peccator. This statement means “at the same time righteous and sinner.” It maintains the idea of our possession of an alien righteousness. In a legal and positional sense, we are righteous once we are justified because when God looks at us He sees the perfect righteousness of Christ. But this righteousness is not something that we have within ourselves or something that we do. It is a declared righteousness. That is why at the same time, in more of an existential sense, we are still sinners, working to put sin to death. We are no longer legally subject to the punishment due our sin; nonetheless, sin is still present in us until we are glorified.” (The Great Exchange | Reformed Bible Studies & Devotionals at Ligonier.org)
The word of the healing began to spread quickly, and the people came to Jesus in the desolate places. It was in these places that He also taught the people. Think of the feeding of the 5,000 in the desolate place. The people were willing to go to Jesus in these places because of the desperate need for healing. Life truly depended on the healing that Jesus could bring. What they did not realize was that not only would they come to be healed physically, but also to hear the Words of Eternal healing!
Conclusion:
Just as Jesus had a command for the Leper, He has a command for us! He told the leper to keep silent, but He has told us to speak out loudly about the gospel. Silence is not golden when it comes to the call to share Christ with others. Yes, our actions should speak, but so should our lips. The way we live and the way we talk should be obedient to the gospel of Christ!
He has healed us from something much more devasting that leprosy! He has healed us from sin and death, and because of that, we must shout to the loudest of our abilities the work of the gospel! May each of us be obedient in sharing Christ with others today and in the days to come!
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