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).
UZZIAH: The last person cited by name in the Old Testament as bringing God’s anger upon himself in the form of leprosy is King Uzziah. He was one of David’s descendants and had a long and prosperous reign. However, he eventually grew too proud and one day decided to enter the Temple to offer the incense himself. This was an act which only a priest could do.
Uzziah was confronted by 81 Temple priests and grew angry about it. However, at that very moment, there was an earthquake and “leprosy broke out on (Uzziah’s) forehead.” Uzziah then repented and let the priests expel him “for the Lord had afflicted him.” Uzziah had to turn his kingdom over to his son, Jotham, and lived the rest of his life apart from his people (2Chr 26).
Leprosy was quite common in the NT and there are some notable cases:
SIMON: One more named leper appears in the Bible, in the New Testament. Simon the Leper (Mt 26: 1-13 and Mk 14:3-9) lived in Bethany and invited Jesus to a dinner at his house. During the meal, a woman who we believe was Mary of Bethany anointed Jesus’ feet with perfume, and Simon, in his thoughts, judged her. Jesus did not let him get away with it and used it as a teaching moment.
Little else is known about Simon the Leper, but the fact that he gave a dinner at his house means he was not living apart from the community as lepers were required to do at the time and as other, anonymous, lepers Jesus healed did.
Sources: Jewishencyclopedia.com; “The Catholic Encyclopedia”; “Easton’s Bible Dictionary”; and the “International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.”
Luke 17:11-19 records an account of ten men who had infectious skin diseases, commonly translated as “leprosy.” In the Israelite community, when a person discovered a rash or skin disorder, he or she had to go to the priest for examination. The priest then determined whether this was a contagious disease and whether the person was to be declared ceremonially unclean (Leviticus 13:1). Jewish law prohibited anyone with such a disease from associating with the general community. They had to be isolated and many times lived as outcasts until they died (Leviticus 13:45–46). This was necessary in order to keep infectious diseases from becoming an epidemic. But, for those afflicted, it could be a life sentence. Jesus had healed several individuals who had leprosy or some type of infectious skin disease (Luke 5:12–14; Mark 1:40–42; Matthew 8:2–3; 11:5). In Luke 17 ten men who were part of a leper colony approached Him together, but they remained at a distance, as per the law. They called out to Him, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” Without seeming to do anything to heal them, Jesus merely gave the instruction to go show themselves to the priest. At the moment of Jesus’ instruction, the men were still lepers. No physical change had yet taken place. But, in faith, the men obeyed. As they began to walk to the priest, they were healed. Jesus always required faith on the part of the person who asked for healing. Many times He asked those who wanted to be healed, “Do you believe that I can do this?” (e.g., Matthew 9:28; Mark 9:20–24). He required a demonstration of faith on the part of the lepers in asking them to walk away, even before He had healed them.
The Bible does not record how far they had walked before being healed. However, only one man returned to thank Jesus for the healing. Luke makes special mention of the fact that the one who returned was a Samaritan, a person despised by the Jews (Luke 17:15). Jesus expressed disappointment that the other nine had not thought to give praise to God for their healing. From this we learn that God desires for us to express our thankfulness to Him for all He does in our lives.
Even though Jesus did not withhold healing from the nine who did not thank Him, He made a point of noting their lack of gratefulness (Luke 17:18). Because they had faith, all ten were physically healed. But Jesus’ final words to the grateful Samaritan imply that this man received spiritual healing in addition to the cleansing of his skin. After the man was already healed of leprosy, Jesus said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well” (verse 19). It could be that the man’s return to fall at Jesus’ feet gave him spiritual wholeness in addition to the physical wholeness he had received. When we take time to acknowledge the Giver and not just the gifts, we please the Lord as well as enjoy the spiritual healing that comes from gratefulness. Gotquestions.org
II. The Lepers Desire
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.
a. He Came to Jesus – disregarded social and religious conventions and norms
b. He humbled himself – God regards those who are willing to humble themselves. Kneeling down was a sign of submission and surrender
c. He expressed his faith in Jesus – He acknowledged the Lord’s power and sovereignty. “If it is your will you can Lord.”
News of Jesus' healing power has reached this man who lived outside the cities. He responds with humility and faith, kneeling before Jesus and acknowledging the only thing standing between him and healing is Jesus' will. The man is not only asking for relief from his skin condition, but to be made clean. This would certainly include being physically healed, but also living and worshiping with others. We don't have such strong restrictions regarding worship, yet we still sometimes look for an excuse to skip church. Of course, going to church with a highly contagious disease isn't a good idea, but if our priority was to worship God with other believers, the more minor inconveniences wouldn't keep us home. Bibleref.com
III. The Lepers Deliverer
a. The Savior’s Compassion (empathy)
Compassion for the Down-and-Out
“I heard (this story) from a friend who works with the down-and-out in Chicago:
A prostitute came to me in wretched straits, homeless, sick, unable to buy food for her two-year-old daughter. Through sobs and tears, she told me she had been renting out her daughter – two years old… She made more renting out her daughter for an hour than she could earn on her own in a night. She had to do it, she said, to support her own drug habit. I could hardly bear hearing her sordid story… I had no idea what to say to this woman.
At last I asked if she had ever thought of going to a church for help. I will never forget the look of pure, naïve shock that crossed her face. “Church!” she cried, “Why would I ever go there? I was already feeling terrible about myself. They’d just make me feel worse.”
What struck me about my friend’s story is that women much like the prostitute fled toward Jesus, not away from him. The worse a person felt about herself, the more likely she saw Jesus as a refuge. Has the church lost that gift? Evidently the down-and-out, who flocked to Jesus when he lived on earth, no longer feel welcome among his followers.”Why?
Why don’t wounded, broken, hurting people feel comfortable coming to church? Could it be that instead of being a hospital for the sick we have made the church into a social club?
(Philip Yancey, What’s So Amazing About Grace?).
From a sermon by Chris Jordan, God’s Amazing Grace, 12/5/2009
b. The Savior’s Conduct
Here we have an example of the power of the Lord’s word. He simply spoke the word and this man was cleansed. In other cases He touched the afflicted/diseased person and they were healed.
c. The Savior’s Command
Throughout His ministry the Lord displayed His power over all things. Every kind of disease or disability was healed completely. He exercised control over nature for “the winds and waves obeyed His will.”
1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
Conclusion: Leprosy in the Bible is a metaphor for sin. It was a death sentence and so is sin, for all of us. The answer for the leper and for us is the same.
There are three questions that are suggested by this narrative.
1. Did the leper want to be healed? Yes
2. Did the leper believe that Jesus could heal him? Yes
3. Was Jesus willing and able to heal this man and make him whole? Yes.
Let me suggest three more questions.
1. Do you want to be healed and have your sins forgiven?
2. Do you believe that Jesus has the power to forgive your sin?
3. Is Jesus willing to forgive your sin and cleanse you?
1. Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Refrain:
Are you washed in the blood,
In the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb?
Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
2. Are you walking daily by the Savior’s side?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Do you rest each moment in the Crucified?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
3. When the Bridegroom cometh will your robes be white?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Will your soul be ready for the mansions bright,
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb?
4. Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin,
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb;
There’s a fountain flowing for the soul unclean,
Oh, be washed in the blood of the Lamb!
In the Chosen series where Jesus heals the man at the Pool of Bethesda I love what one of the disciples says to the man when he asks why he should pick up his bed…
Disciple: Don’t forget your bed.
Man: Why does this matter?
Disciple: Because you are not coming back here, that life if over, everything changes now!
