Our passage yesterday concluded with Simon Peter finding Jesus in a solitary place where He was praying. He informed Jesus that the crowds were already gathering again, and Jesus told him He must travel throughout all the towns of the region to preach the gospel. One man who hears of the healing power of Jesus is the leper we will meet today.
"A man with leprosy came to Him and begged Him on his knees, 'If You are willing, You can make me clean.'" (Mark 1:40) In Luke's gospel we find the leper calling Jesus "Lord". (Luke 5:12) I think this man believes Jesus is God. He is saying to Him, "I know You are able to heal me. If it should be Your will, Lord, please make me whole." His prayer displays a great deal of faith. Although he believes Jesus is able to do what he asks, he also leaves room for the sovereignty of God. He is willing to accept that it might be the Lord's will for him to remain in his current state, so he submits himself to the Lord's will just as Jesus will submit Himself to God the Father's will and say, "Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done." (Luke 22:42)
The translators of the book of Mark in the NIV use a curious expression here, "Jesus was indignant." (Mark 1:41a) Some manuscripts of the book of Mark render this sentence as, "Jesus was moved with compassion." Normally we think of being indignant as feeling insulted or angry because of something that has been has been said or done to us, but the primary definition of the word in the Merriam-Webster dictionary is: "anger because of something that is wrong or unfair". Jesus is not indignant because this poor leper asks for His help; Jesus is indignant because He hates the affliction that has attacked this man's body. Jesus is indignant that Satan tempted mankind to sin in the Garden of Eden and that Satan continues to attack mankind as a means of getting back at the God he hates. We have no indication that the leper did anything specific to bring his affliction on himself. The condition was very contagious and he likely became exposed to it while going about his normal life. In this particular case I don't think the man did something to bring leprosy on himself anymore than people do anything to bring cancer on themselves. We live in a fallen world that has been polluted by sin. When sin entered the world, disease and death entered the world. Disease and death don't play favorites, for they are equal opportunity villains. I think Jesus feels indignant because kneeling before Him is a godly man with the faith to believe He is the Christ, yet he has contracted a terminal illness. This man is a sinner in the sense that we all are sinners, but he possesses a saving faith, and faith is all that ever saves any of us. Jesus is angry that the man has been afflicted, and Jesus is angry that disease and death exist because of sin, and Jesus is angry that Satan reaches out his slimy finger and dares to afflict the faithful of God.
The leper hasn't been touched by anyone in a while. He can't be touched because his disease is so contagious. Yet Jesus, knowing how much this man misses the simple joy of having someone lovingly place their hand on his arm, touches him. "He reached out His hand and touched the man. 'I am willing,' He said. 'Be clean!' Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed." (Mark 1:41b-42) Jesus doesn't have to touch him to perform the miracle, but when He makes a restoration He goes all the way. The leper needs to be touched in order to feel whole. Merely being able to look at his healed skin in the mirror isn't going to be enough. He needs the touch of another human being to prove to him that his healing is complete.
"Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: '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.'" (Mark 1:43-44) Jesus wants the man to go immediately to the temple and have the priests perform the rites of cleansing for this man. His healing will be a testimony to the priests that Jesus is the Messiah, for the priests have never performed the rites of cleansing for a true leper before. Leprosy was incurable in those days, so when the he goes to the temple to tell the priests that a man named Jesus of Nazareth has made him clean, the priests are going to be faced with the fact that here is something new. Here is a man named Jesus who did things that no one had ever done before.
We don't know whether the former leper ever makes it to the temple or not, but we know what he does do: "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." (Mark 1:45) I can understand why this man excitedly runs around the community pulling up his shirtsleeves to display his healed skin and yelling, "Look what Jesus did for me!" I think he has good intentions, but he is in disobedience. Normally it would be perfectly fine, and even recommended, to give this testimony, "Look what Jesus did for me!" But in this case, because Jesus has come to the world in the flesh as a man, the publication of this stunning news causes Him great difficulties. The people have never before seen a leper cleansed and now Jesus is as famous as a rock star, so famous that there is a danger of having the government come to investigate Him. News is spreading far and wide now that this may be the Messiah, and if He is the Messiah then He is the rightful king of Israel. Now no one can tack up a poster advertising that Jesus will be preaching at such-and-such place on Wednesday night. It's no longer safe for Him to let His location be known ahead of time. He has to go out into the desert and word of His location has to spread through the underground by word of mouth. His ministry is hindered by the leper's disobedience.
The work of Christ is hindered when we are disobedient to Him. Because He is now seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven, Jesus never tells us not to publish our testimonies of what He has done for us, but as His followers we must be as much like Him as possible. We're all going to make mistakes as long as we live in these mortal bodies, but even the unbelievers have to grant us their grudging respect when they see us sorrowfully repenting of our sins. We aren't perfect, but we can display our obedience by admitting our faults and committing to do better by the power of Christ. What unbelievers want to see in us is not perfection, but sincerity. The Apostle Paul had the most effective ministry of any preacher in history with the exception of the Lord Jesus, and he affirms the importance of sincerity, "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good." (Romans 12:9) The world is watching to see whether our love for Christ and our love for our fellow man is sincere. The world is watching, not to see if we are perfect, but to see whether our redeemed souls hate and repent of sin and to see whether we rejoice in righteousness.
No comments:
Post a Comment