Do You Want To Be Clean?

Do You Want to Be Clean?

Mark 1:40-42

40 And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.

42 And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.

Introduction: On the surface this question may sound ridiculous. I remember growing up and working on the farm in the heat of summer. At the end of the day nothing felt better than to get a bath/shower to wash the sweat and dust off. But what our text is referencing is much more serious than dust, dirt and grime. Leprosy was considered a death sentence and there were all kinds of implications for those who had this disease. This verse introduces Mark's first specific account of Jesus' work in Galilee outside of Capernaum. We are unclear as to what, exactly, "leprosy" means as referenced in the Bible. Hansen's disease, which was noted in India as early as 600 BC, attacks the nervous system and disfigures the victim's skin and bones. But the biblical concept of leprosy encompasses a number of conditions, including "a swelling or an eruption or a spot" (Leviticus 13:2) and even mildew on fabric (Leviticus 13:47). Whatever the specifics, the consequence was disastrous. If a person was confirmed to have leprosy after being examined by a priest, he was to tear his clothes, let his hair hang loose, cover his upper lip, and cry out "Unclean, unclean," wherever he went. In addition, he had to live outside the settled areas to prevent the disease from spreading.

As painful or as inconvenient as the physical malady may have been, the social stigma was worse. Judaism lists any number of ways people could be "unclean," but most of those had an expiration date. Usually, cleanliness was available that evening after bathing, although longer periods are stipulated for childbirth. Someone suffering from a skin condition identified as leprosy was unclean until the condition was healed. Those who were unclean were unqualified from worshiping with others, including going to the temple. If the condition was incurable, their unclean state was permanent.

Let’s look at: 40 And there came a leper to him…

I. The Lepers Defilement

There are a number of characters in the Bible who had leprosy.

MOSES: Yes, Moses is considered to have had leprosy, at least briefly. We can see the instance referred to in Exodus’s fourth chapter: Moses objects when God tells him to return to Egypt and confront Pharaoh. God has Moses put his hand into his cloak and, when he pulls it out again, “his hand was covered with scales, like snowflakes.” When Moses again puts his hand in his cloak, it comes out clean (Ex 4: 6-7). (What exactly Moses did wrong has been debated by Jewish scholars.)

MIRIAM: This idea of divine punishment is clear in another Exodus story. After Moses’ sister complains against him, God is definitely angry. Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses, causing God to descend in a column of cloud to confront them. “Now the cloud withdrew from the tent, and there was Miriam, stricken with a scaly infection, white as snow” (Nm 12:10). When Moses and Aaron — who somehow escaped punishment — pleaded with God to heal Miriam, God instead banished her to a tent outside the community for seven days. Only then was Miriam healed.

NAAMAN: This army commander heard about the the God of Israel from his wife’s Hebrew servant girl (2 Kings 5). When Naaman approached Elisha in Samaria, asking to be healed of his leprosy, the prophet did not speak to him directly. This angered Naaman, who grew even more upset when told to “wash seven times in the Jordan.” However, at the urging of his servants, Naaman obeyed and “his flesh became again like the flesh of a little child.”

GEHAZI: While Elisha refused the gifts that Naaman tried to give him, Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, became greedy. In 2 Kings 5:20, we see Gehazi go after Naaman to get two silver talents and some “festal garments” for himself. However, God — and thus Elisha — saw Gehazi. Elisha tells his servant: “The leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever. And Gehazi went out, a leper with skin like snow.”

JOAB: Even though no more is told about Gehazi or his family, another family was marked for leprosy because of the bad acts of one of its members. In the Second Book of Samuel, we find Joab, a nephew of King David and a commander in his army. By treachery, Joab murders Abner, who had commanded Saul’s army when it fought against David’s at Gibeon. Joab’s brother had been killed by Abner there, so Joab later took revenge. When David learns of Abner’s murder, he cursed Joab: “May Joab’s family never be without one suffering from a discharge, or one with a skin disease …” (2 Sam 3:29).