Make Me Clean Lord - Mark 1:36-45 Series

Mark 1:35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” 38 Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” 39 So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” 41 Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. 43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” 45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.

Introduction

We left off last time Jesus outside of town. He snuck out there for extended time of prayer. But all the people of Capernaum were looking for him. They wanted him to come back into town. Great thing, right? Crowds of people seeking Jesus Christ. But Jesus’ response is shocking.

Mark 1:38 Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” 39 So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

Not only does he say no, but he goes on to imply that going back into town by popular demand would violate his reason for coming into the world! He then says his reason for coming into the world is so he can go preach in all the towns of Galilee. Which is it? Does he want to reach lots of people or not? Mark seems to leave that mystery hanging, and moves on to another event. But at the end of that event we’ll see why Jesus resisted the crowds in these kinds of situations, and yet still wanted to reach other crowds.

So Jesus and the disciples leave from that spot outside Capernaum and start walking. They make their way down the road until they finally arrive at the next village. The Sabbath day comes, Jesus preaches the gospel. Demons show up; he drives them out.

Then they were off to the next town. Sabbath day, preach the gospel in the synagogue, perform miracles - on to the next town. And the next and the next and the next. He just kept doing that. Preach a gospel that demanded that people repent and believe in him, and then do miracles to prove he had the authority to make those demands.

How long did all that go on before we reach verse 40? Weeks? Months? I don’t know, but however long it was, at some point Jesus is in the middle of this speaking tour, and out of nowhere, something very unpleasant happens.

The Approach of the Leper

Mark 1:40 A man with leprosy came to him

There was no disease at that time more feared than leprosy. Lepers were disgusting, defiling, and contaminating. They had grotesque, oozing, bloody, open sores from head to toe. Their hair would turn yellow, and then white, and then fall out. The smell was horrible. It was considered highly contagious, and so lepers were outcasts in society. Leprosy absolutely destroy a person’s life.

In Luke’s account, he says this man was full of leprosy – advanced stages. There is another occasion where 10 lepers came to Jesus, but they stayed at a distance, which is what they were supposed to do. But this guy right up close to Jesus. And you can see the disciples, “Whoa, whoa!” There backing off.

40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

So how is Jesus going to respond to this guy? One thing we learn about Jesus as we observe his life – he’s really big obeying God’s law. And the law was very clear about lepers – they were to live outside the camp and remain separated from the population. They were the epitome of uncleanness, and Jesus was the opposite extreme – the epitome of holiness. So how would Jesus handle the situation?

Uncleanness

Notice what this guy asks for. He doesn’t say, “You can heal me.” He says, “You can make me clean.” The physical ravages of leprosy were horrible, but that wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was the uncleanness.