The Cleansing of a Leper
Text: Mark 1:40-45
Introduction: By the time we come to verse 40 of this chapter we find the Lord turning aside from Capernaum to reach out with the gospel into the towns round about. Verse 39 tells us that, “He preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.” This was at the heart of His ministry, to “to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19). And so shunning the role of celebrity in Capernaum, he reached out into the neighbouring towns and cities to call men to repentance and faith, and bid them enter His kingdom.
En route, we read that he encountered this leper. We know it had to be en route, because lepers were forbidden to enter city precincts, so the events of verse 40 onwards must have occurred in the countryside, somewhere between towns and synagogues. This is a telling encounter. It reveals the mercy of Christ for those who are suffering, and the folly of enthusiasm when we allow it to run away with our brains. Let’s look together at the cleansing of this man, beginning with:
I. The Tears of the Leper – vs 41.
A. In ancient times the disease of leprosy was considered by Jews as the “stroke of God”.
1. It was the kiss of death, and though the term covered all kinds of skin disease, leprosy proper was feared beyond all other forms of illness.
2. For sure it was a dreadful state.
a. The leper was a dead man walking, his body full of contamination and corruption.
b. As he wandered the highways he would ring a bell, and cry out “Unclean, unclean!”
c. He was forbidden contact with His family, refused entry to functions and forbidden to participate in the feasts of Israel.
d. Physically the disease began with a numbness in the fingers, the feet or the limbs, but little by little as the disease took grip his body would begin to rot, and ultimately the man would look like a decaying corpse with rotting stumps for limbs, and a haunted gaze that stared out from behind filthy linens.
e. A leper was without hope and without help. His life was all but over. He had nothing to live for and nowhere to go. He was cut off from family, friends and fellowship.
f. No wonder leprosy is a type of sin. Sin too starts small, but soon it so corrupts a man as to govern his entire being and to lead him to a place of total separation from all that is good, indeed from God Himself.
B. Now in truth he did something here that he was not permitted to do – he approached another person, and in so doing risked the spread of leprosy.
1. Yet, it seems that this man had heard of Jesus somehow, that He knew the Lord had the power to heal Him.
2. Mark tells us the leper came, “beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.”
3. He knew that the Lord could help Him, and from His point of view he had nothing to lose and everything to gain.
4. That is true of anyone coming to Christ.
a. Yet the devil always turns that on its head.
b. Many who contemplate conversion speak of having to give this up or that up.
c. Let us be clear about this: There is no loss in coming to Jesus.
d. Yes some things will change, yes repentance calls upon me to turn from sin – but sin is no more a gain than leprosy was a blessing.
5. This man came humbly before the Lord, he came asking, he came worshipping, and he came believing.
a. He came surrendered to whatever the Lord had for him, and through his tears he was heard to say, “If thou wilt…”
b. This was no “Name and claim it” theology.
c. He didn’t come demanding, he didn’t come commanding God.
d. He came with an obvious need, and He submitted that need humbly at the feet of Jesus.
II. The Touch of the Lord – vss 41-42.
A. “And Jesus, moved with compassion…”
1. Isn’t that a wonderful revelation of Christ?
2. Only Mark shares that with us in this particular account, but how often do we read that Jesus was “moved with compassion.”
a. “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb 4:15)
b. How He feels for us. How He cares for our needs. He has walked where we walk, and He knows all about our sufferings.
B. Now we read that the Lord, “… put forth his hand, and touched him…”
1. A number of years back the world made a hullabaloo because Princess Diana hugged an AIDS sufferer.
a. By that act the Princess was said to have shown compassion, and reached out to people who were considered leprous almost, in the modern day context.
2. But you can’t contract AIDS just by touching a patient, however, you could contract leprosy by contact with a leper, and so the act of Jesus in touching this man would have been deemed high risk.
3. That the Lord actually touched him was tantamount to suicide! Yet, we know that He is Lord over disease, and even over death, so that even though this man was, according to Luke’s account, full of leprosy, a hideous repulsive sight, the Lord could connect with Him and remain unaffected by his illness.
a. Remember this, sickness and death are consequences of the fall, but Jesus was not a fallen man.
b. We have already seen Him sailing through the wilderness temptation. He is above sin, and above sickness.
c. “But Jesus died!” Only because he surrendered Himself to death. He took sin upon Him and died in our place, but He Himself was not subject to the curse, nor its reign.
C. That touch was undoubtedly the first human contact that man had experienced in a long time.
1. But then Jesus did something else… He spoke, “saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.”
2. That was “the word of His power.”
a. The same word that brought the universe into being, the same word that according to the writer of Hebrews upholds all things.
b. This man was cleansed by the Word – Psalm 119:9.
c. Men are still cleansed by the Word – John 17:17.
3. And notice that the cure was instant and comprehensive.
a. Again, no waiting period, no progressive healing, it was immediate and complete.
III. The Testimony of a Life - vss 43-45
A. Now we come to perhaps the most intriguing part of this narrative, where we read, “And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away.”
1. The Greek suggests that Jesus was somewhat gruff, and very stern in the charge that he gave this man.
2. He told him in no uncertain terms, “See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.”
3. This surprises us! We are conditioned to speak out for the Lord, constantly we are banging on the Great Commission drum encouraging one another to tell others of Christ, but this man is explicitly told NOT to tell!
4. How come?
B. Notice he is told to show what was done, rather than to shout about it, and that by his actions he would be a testimony on to the priests.
1. There are a number of reasons why this might be.
a. First of all, Jesus had left Capernaum to get away from the healing circus that was about to kick off there.
(i) His mission and purpose at this point was to preach – remember this was His determination after spending the morning in prayer.
(ii) Secondly, He did not wish to arouse the resentments of the religious rulers prematurely. He was seeking no controversy at this point.
(iii) Thirdly, it may be He was looking out for the man, as association with Christ might have coloured the judgment of the priests in their consideration of his cleansing.
2. That said the man’s healing was to be a testimony.
a. You know sometimes people just need some space to grow as believers before we ask them to speak out.
b. Illus: In N. Ireland, during the troubles there, some of those caught up in paramilitary violence would be converted, and no sooner were they saved than they were paraded from church to church sharing their testimony as an ex-paramilitary. Such events often drew large crowds, but you know what it did for many of the men concerned? It caused them to shrivel on the vine. These were often new believers. They needed to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus, but because they were so often ministering, and so rarely ministered to many of them soon grew weak, cold, and backslidden. That’s a real danger.
c. The church needs to be careful about creating heroes out of baby Christians. If a celebrity is saved, we want to put them on a platform, and tout them all over the country. I don’t think the Lord would have done that.
d. Sometimes a change needs to be seen, before it’s heard.
C. Now the law required anyone cleansed of leprosy (any skin disease) to present themselves at the temple where they would go through various rigours and ceremonies to establish their healthiness before being officially declared clean.
1. Jesus had come to fulfil the law, and so He quite rightly pointed this man to Jerusalem to present himself to the priest according to the law.
2. But Jesus was not only fulfilling the law; He was establishing a testimony.
a. There is a very telling little comment made early on in the book of Acts with regard to the priests – see Acts 6:7.
b. First, one leper appeared, then ten lepers came, then a certain lame man who always lay at the Beautiful Gate came rushing through the temple’s courtyards “walking, and leaping, and praising God.”
c. Then, “a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.”
d. What a lesson in patient soul winning!! Again and again these priests were faced with changed lives until at last they believed.
D. That said, the leper in our story took little notice of Jesus’ stern face and tone and, “went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter.”
1. Every time I read this I wonder what it is in us that cause us always to do the opposite of what the Lord asks.
a. This man is told to tell no one, and he tells everyone; we are told to tell everyone, yet our instincts are often to tell no one!
b. I have often thought the gospel might sooner have been published had the Lord told us to be quiet about it.
2. And yet, we cannot but sympathise with this poor man.
a. Having been a leper so long, it must surely have been hard for him to contain himself.
b. Yet sometimes we may allow our zeal to cause us to let go of our sense. You see, there are times when it is wise to speak, and other times when wisdom dictates silence.
3. What this man did, in his unbridled enthusiasm, was to hinder the work of the Lord.
a. Notice, that though the Lord’s intent was to “go into the next towns” and “preach there also,” (vs. 38) the result of this man’s broadcast was that He, “could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places.”
b. Sometimes, we must confess, that we behave like we know better than God.
c. The Lord has shown us how His work is to be done, yet often we feel that we can be more effective, so we downplay preaching (though it is God’s chosen method) in favour of various means of entertainment, (Music, comedy, drama etc). We strive to show the world how like them we are, though God calls us to be a peculiar people; and though we may well be filled with enthusiasm and good intent, we must learn well the lesson that well meaning disobedience may be just as damaging as malicious intent and all out rebellion.
Conclusion: So, as we close out this chapter, we see how the Lord touches the untouchable. How He heals not just a disease, but also a life of loneliness and rejection. We see how He brings the outcast in, and He is still doing that today. His grace still touches the hearts and lives of those who have found sin, like leprosy, to be a tough taskmaster. His arm is still outstretched to those who are in need of His mercy and forgiveness. Maybe that is you, tonight. Maybe you need to do as this poor man did and come humbly before the Lord, he asking for His salvation, worshipping at His feet, and believing upon Him.
But what a vital lesson there is for the Christian also. How we need to be wise in our witness, to know when words are called for, and when silence may be the better part. To realise that sometimes our salvation needs to be seen, before it is heard, and that even well meant intentions, when carelessly applied, may do more harm than good. Let’s pray.
