A Life-Transforming Touch
Series: Gospel of Mark
Chuck Sligh
February 16, 2020
NOTE: A PowerPoint presentation is available for this sermon by request at chucksligh@hotmail.com. Please mention the title of the sermon and the Bible text to help me find the sermon in my archives.
TEXT: Please turn in your Bibles to Mark 1:40-45.
INTRODUCTION
The ability to touch and feel the world around us is critical.
Illus. – Back in the 1940s someone conducted a study of 26 children in an orphanage. The babies were more or less cut off from human contact in their cribs, or where a single nurse had to care for seven children. By the time the babies were 1 year old, the isolated orphanage babies were less curious, less playful, and more subject to infections. When they reached their second and third year of life, of the 26 children reared in the orphanage, only two could walk and manage a few words. [http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/capsules/histoire_bleu06.html]
Illus. – Pastor Jeff Strite tells of a former fire fighter who told him about the experience he often had at the scenes of house fires. There were times when they’d arrive on the scene to find people in serious shape and often in shock. But what they discovered was that if they quietly sat beside the victim and gently touched them as they spoke to them, the victim would suddenly calm down and be comforted by that simple touch. [https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/print?sermonId=180260]
The ability to be touched can make all the difference in our lives. And that truth makes the story we’re going to read about this morning all the more powerful.
Before we dive into our text—Mark 1:40-45—let’s get our bearings in the book of Mark. Mark’s main thesis is to prove to his readers that Jesus is the Son of God (Mark 1:1) Every event and every sermon recorded was chosen to drive this theme home.
But healing a leper was different altogether from all other healings, which is why Mark singles out this particular healing story. Lepers were thought to have been cursed by God, though this is not true. You just didn’t touch a leper, you weren’t allowed to touch a leper—but Jesus did.
Note with me three points, and then we’ll see what we can learn from this story
I. NOTE FIRST A DREADED DISEASE – Verse 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.”
This man was a leper, which meant he was in utter misery. The word leprosy in Israel was actually a generic term describing any serious skin disease. But of the different leprosies, the worst was what we today call Hansen’s disease. Bible scholars are pretty sure this is the form of leprosy this man had because Luke, a medical doctor, in his telling of this story, says the man was “full of leprosy” which best describes Hansen’s disease than any other skin disease.
Hansen’s disease causes horrible physical deformities. Those with the disease first lose their eyebrows and eyelashes, then their hair; then their ears and nose became deformed, giving them a bizarre, alien appearance.
The disfigurement associated with Hansen’s disease mostly occurs because the body’s warning system of pain is destroyed as the disease progresses. The disease acts as an anesthetic, bringing numbness to the extremities as well as to the ears, eyes and nose. The damage that follows comes from such incidents as reaching a hand into a fire to retrieve a dropped piece of meat, or washing one’s face with scalding water. Continuous damage to the extremities causes them to become stump-like. So, the poor man Mark describes would have not been able to feel for years, and his body was full of leprosy, mutilated from head to foot, rotten, stinking, repulsive.
But his worst misery was not physical, since the sense of pain disappears over time. His worst misery was the social stigma and wretched living conditions he was forced to live in. Because leprosy was contagious, society ostracized and rigidly segregated him and others like him to prevent contaminating others in the community.
The law of Moses stated that if anyone came close to a leper, the leper had to cry out, “Unclean! Unclean!” to warn the other person away. So that he would be identifiable to others at a distance—again, for the protection of others—he had to shred his clothing and dishevel his hair, if he still had any.
Besides what was written in the Law of Moses, societal restrictions developed that would have totally isolated him from the religious life, functions, and feasts of Israel. His only companions were other lepers in the same miserable condition as himself. He could not come and go as he pleased. He was cut off from his family, from his former friends, and from the fellowship of the people of God. He had no hope and no future; all he could look forward to was death!
II. NOTICE SECOND, A PASSIONATE PLEA – Let’s read again verse 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.”
This leper did something totally unconventional and forbidden and, in fact, unlawful. He enters a crowd of people to seek healing from Jesus. Who knows what caused him to go to Jesus? He might have been stoned before getting to Jesus, but he must have thought, So what? I’m dying anyway. He had nothing to lose and everything to gain. Maybe his fellow lepers tried to dissuade him, but he could not be deterred.
The disciples—bold enough at various times to run away mothers and little children who sought to come to Jesus—were not so brave when this leper shows up! You can bet that when they saw him coming, and heard his cries of “Unclean! Unclean!” and saw the crowds parting before him, they let him right on through!
Now notice how this wretched leper approached Jesus:
1) First, he approaches Jesus with deep humility. – He apparently had not heard of the false “Name it and Claim it” theology. No, he knelt down before Jesus and in absolute humility, begged Jesus to heal him if He would be willing.
2) Not only did the leper come to Jesus humbly, He came to Jesus in faith. – “If you will, you CAN make me clean.” There was never a doubt in his mind that Jesus COULD heal him; the only question was if he WOULD heal him. I wonder what made him think Jesus would heal him? As I said earlier, lepers were thought of as being under a curse from God. And surely, he knew where he fit in the pecking order of society. He was lower than tax collectors and prostitutes. He was only a step above vermin in the minds of Jews. Yet he BELIEVED that no matter how bad his case, no matter how seemingly cursed he was, no matter how low he was on society’s totem pole, if Jesus was WILLING to heal him, He certainly COULD heal him. What a picture of the kind of faith God honors!
III. NOTICE THIRD, A SYMPATHETIC SAVIOR – Verses 41-42 – “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.”
Three words in this passage jump out at me: compassion, touched and immediately.
1) First, “compassion.” – Verse 41 says that Jesus was “moved with COMPASSION.”
Before we go on, if you use the NIV, you will notice immediately that instead of compassion, your Bible says indignant. This was one of the biggest blunders of the NIV translators. The NIV is the only translation that uses a Western Greek text that says “indignant” instead of “compassion.” But this is surely wrong! You can google why the vast majority of scholars reject the NIV rendering and why all other versions translate it as compassion or mercy.
Having established the correct word in verse 41, what is compassion? I want you to understand that compassion is different altogether from pity. Pity is purely an emotion; compassion compels ACTION.
If you see a person in the church with a financial need and say, “Man, I sure feel sorry for so-and-so. They’ve been good stewards of their resources, but due to circumstances, they can’t pay their car payment.” If that’s all there is to it, that’s nothing but PITY. But if you GIVE him $50 or buy them some groceries—then you’ve shown COMPASSION.
The Trinity didn’t simply have pity on this world lost in sin.
GOD THE FATHER didn’t look out of the portals of heaven and say, “My, my, what a mess they’re in. Oh, well, it’s their own fault”—and then go about the business of heaven. No, His very essence as a God of mercy and compassion DEMANDED ACTION for our dilemma: He sent His only son to die for our sins. “For God so loved the world, that he GAVE his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
JESUS didn’t merely have pity on our world either. He didn’t just feel sorry for the condition of the lost world He saw below. He was stirred to ACTION—to DO something about the world’s plight, compelling Him to leave the glories and honor of heaven to come to earth as a lowly servant and die for sinners like you and me.
And His compassion was not shown in just the big picture event of Calvary. Every miracle, every exorcism, every healing came from a heart that was deeply moved with compassion. It compelled Him not just to FEEL something, but to DO something for every petitioner who came to him for healing or deliverance.
2) Also, notice the word “touched” in our text – “And Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out his hand, and TOUCHED him…”
To those of us who have read the Bible, perhaps many times, or grown up in the church, what Jesus did seems as natural as night and day. But in Jesus day, this was extraordinary in the extreme. NO ONE touched a leper. Would you? Not only could risk infection to you, but it was religiously forbidden. It was a societal taboo; a big no-no.
Yet out of compassion, Jesus touched the untouchable.
Since Luke tells us that this man was “full of leprosy,” he probably had not been touched by a soft, healthy hand in years. If he had a wife, he had not known her tender touch, much less her warm embrace for many long years. If he had children, there had been no kiss, no touch, not even once. Think of how sad it would be to not have had a tender touch, a loving embrace, a sweet kiss for years on end!
What’s interesting is that the Greek word touched Mark chose here is often translated “to take hold of.” Jesus didn’t BARELY touch him, like a little girl reluctantly touching a slimy slug. He must have at least placed his hand firmly on the leper.
We cannot even imagine the ecstasy that coursed through the leper’s body! A touch of love and compassion and care and concern! It must have been electric, even before he experienced the healing. Jesus, moved in the depths of His heart with compassion, put his hand on him; He touched him like a normal human being for the first time in years!
3) Note third the word to “immediately” in verse 43 – “And as soon as he had spoken, IMMEDIATELY the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.”
There’s Mark’s favorite word again! Often, he uses it to move the story along quickly to appeal to his Roman audience. But it’s use here serves to accentuate Christ’s authority and power over illness.
Simply at the word of Jesus, the leper was INSTANTLY healed. He spoke!—It was done! There was no long and painful surgery; no protracted convalescence; no extended course of treatment; no stretched-out regime of therapy, exercise and diet; and no medicine to be taken twice a day for months on end.
And listen, his healing must have been a sight to behold! Did you ever see one of those weird sci-fi or horor movies where a person physically transmogrifies from a normal human into some grotesque beast? Of course, that’s imaginary, accomplished through he wonders of CGI, but when Jesus healed this leper, it literally DID happen, but in reverse, right before everyone’s eyes!
His transformation was astonishingly sudden, instantaneous and complete! His feet—toeless, ulcerated stubs—were suddenly whole. The knobs on his hands grew fingers before everyone’s very eyes. Back came his hair, eyebrows, eyelashes. Under his hair were ears again and before him a nose! His skin was as soft and supple as a baby’s skin.
Imagine, upon witnessing this, a thunderous roar from the multitude! Now, instead of crying, “Unclean! Unclean!,” he shouted, “I’m clean! I’m clean!” What a glorious day that was!
IV. IN VERSES 43-45, PLEASE NOTE A DISOBEYED DIRECTIVE – “And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away; 44 And saith unto him, 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. 45 But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.”
Jesus strictly told the leper not tell anyone, but to go directly to the priest, following the Law of Moses, to be declared clean of leprosy as a “testimony to them.” Mark does not tell us if the man went to the priests as instructed, but he does tell us that he completely disobeyed Christ’s command to keep the news to himself. Instead he went out and proclaimed it freely and spread the news all around. I like better how the old King James Bible puts it: It says he “began to publish it and BLAZE ABROAD the matter.” (That sounds more dramatic to me.)
Now today, if people are healed or saved, we encourage them to “blaze it abroad.” But there are at least three good reasons why he should not have done so:
1) First, because He disobeyed the Lord.
Believer, God has a reason for every command, so we should obey the Lord. When God spoke, He never stuttered. He commands; we must obey.
2) Second, it was a bad move by the former leper because it hampered Jesus’ ministry.
Verse 45 tells us that because of his disobedience, Jesus could not enter into towns any longer because of the mass of people who thronged to Him. He had to go out to deserted places, yet the people came in droves anyway. I find it ironic that now the leper could go into towns, but Jesus could not! When we’re disobedient to Christ, it can hinder God’s ministry.
3) Third, his “blazing” message confused Jesus’ mission in the minds of the crowds.
The people flocked to His miracles more than the message of His preaching. Jesus came to preach, not to perform for others. The primary purpose of the miracles was to validate His identity, authority, message and mission. But many people came to Him as merely a faith healer, a miracle-worker, a magician.
CONCLUSION
These are all amazing demonstrations of who Jesus is and what He did in the Gospel of Mark. What does the Lord want you to take away from this today, in 2020? There are several applications we could make to our own lives, but two stand out:
1) First is a message for believers here today. – Fellow believers, as followers of Christ, we are called to reach out with compassion, loving the unlovable and touching the untouchable.
Who do you need to reach out and touch personally? Here are some different groups that are sometimes “untouchables” today:
• Those with depression and mental illness
• Those from a different political party
• Those of a different race or ethnicity
• Women who get pregnant outside of marriage
• Orphans
• Those in poverty
• Those with AIDS
• The alone and forgotten
• The disabled
• Drug addicts and alcoholics.
• Anyone not in your clique or social class
• Anyone you’re holding a grudge against
• The elderly, especially those in nursing homes.
Philip Yancey writes: “The modern church rejects the outcasts of society whereas these outcasts were the very ones who were drawn to Jesus.”
Here’s a question: Are you moved with mercy over the plight of the miserable?
Illus. – When we was raising support to become a missionary, I remember going to a church in Sevierville, Tennessee, near Dollywood. We were to just attend the morning service to get to know the people and present our missions work for consideration for support in the evening service. At the end of the service, a lady came up to publicly declare her faith in Jesus Christ, and Susan and I thrilled to see someone give her life to Jesus.
After the service, the leading women of the church asked for a meeting with the pastor, so he asked us to hang around until it was finished and we’d go to lunch. We noticed that it took a little longer than we expected, and our stomachs were starting to growl and we were starting to be “hangry.”
After the meeting he took us out to eat and said, “Chuck, I just want to warn you that attendance may be very low this evening.” I didn’t know what the attendance usually was, but he explained that over the last few months he had been witnessing to a prostitute who was well-known in the area, and that in the previous week she had given her life to Christ. The person who made her profession of faith that morning was that prostitute. In the meeting, most of the women of the church, having already heard of the prostitute’s salvation the week before, said to the pastor, “Dr. Settles, either that woman goes or we go.”
Without hesitation, he said, “Well, goodbye. It’s been nice having you in the church. But this kind of woman is exactly who Jesus came to save and she is welcome in our church whether you self-righteous hypocrites return or not!”
Illus. – An English cathedral was severely damaged during WWII. A statue of Jesus had read, “Come unto me,” but the hands had been completely blown off by the bombings. If you go there today, the statue is still standing, and the hands are still gone but the inscription has been changed. It now reads, “He has no hands but ours.”
If God has saved you, he saved you to follow Christ’s example to reach out and touch the untouchables.
2) I also have a message for those who are not saved or not sure this morning: The story of the leper is also a story about sin and salvation.
Leprosy in the Bible is symbolic of sin. Like leprosy, sin starts out small and spreads. Like leprosy, sin can deaden and numb us.
Sin progressively enslaves us. – In John 8:34, Jesus said, “Very truly, I say to you, Whoever commits sin is the slave of sin.”
Sin defiles everything it touches, disfigures us spiritually and isolates us. Sin can destroy our lives. As someone has said, “Sin will take you further than you planned to go and keep you longer than you were planning to stay.” And worst of all, like leprosy, sin is terminal, except sin’s death is ETERNAL!
Dear friend, see your misery before a righteous, holy and just God today. Fling yourself upon the mercy of God who is filled with compassion, who sent His Son on the cross to pay the penalty for your sin and give you eternal life.
What Jesus did for the leper He can do for you too here today. He took the place of the leper, and was crucified outside the gate of the city. And he took your place on the cross too, paying the full penalty for all your sins.
Friend, nothing is too gross, ugly, dirty or shameful for the Savior to cleanse! Nothing is beyond the scope of Jesus’ compassion. The leper had a transforming moment with the Master. This could be yours right now if you would turn to Jesus to be saved!
