Mark 1:40-45

Mark 1:40-45

[40] And  there came  a leper  to  him,  beseeching  him,  and  kneeling down  to him,  and  saying  unto him,  If  thou wilt,  thou canst  clean.  [41] 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  immediately  the leprosy  departed  from  him,  and  he was cleansed.  [43] And  he straitly charged  him,  and forthwith  him  away;  [44] And  saith  unto him,  See  thou say  nothing  but  go thy way,  shew  thyself  to the priest,  and  offer  for  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  without  desert  places:  and  they came  to  him 

What does Mark 1:40-45 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

This pericope evidently describes one incident during the Galilean preaching tour just summarized. It provides a striking example of Jesus" supernatural power. This is only one of two healings of lepers that the Gospels record, though Jesus healed other lepers (cf. Matthew 11:5). The other recorded incident involved Jesus cleansing10 lepers in Samaria (cf. Luke 17:11-19). The only Old Testament instances of lepers experiencing healing involved Miriam ( Numbers 12:10-15) and Naaman the Syrian ( 2 Kings 5). This incident that Mark recorded was significant because it brought the religious leaders from Jerusalem into Galilee to investigate Jesus. This is the beginning of the hostility motif in Mark.
"Lepers were allowed to live unhampered wherever they chose, except in Jerusalem and cities which had been walled from antiquity. They could even attend the synagogue services if a screen was provided to isolate them from the rest of the congregation. In spite of these two provisions, however, leprosy brought deep physical and mental anguish for both the afflicted individual and the community in which or near which he lived." [1]
Mark is the only evangelist who recorded that compassion moved Jesus to heal this pitiable man ( Mark 1:41). However his version of this miracle stressed what the leper did after Jesus healed him. Jesus had "sternly warned" (Gr. embrimaomai) the cleansed leper not to tell anyone what Jesus had done for him ( Mark 1:43-44; cf. Mark 1:25; Mark 1:34; Mark 3:12; Mark 5:43; Mark 7:36; Mark 9:9). Only Mark used this strong word. Jesus wanted to avoid becoming known simply as a miracle worker, which might lead to pressure to avoid the Cross. However the man disobeyed Jesus even though he probably thought he had good reason to do Song of Solomon , namely, to bring praise to Jesus. His disobedience to Jesus" word frustrated Jesus" work rather than advancing it. Jesus needed to minister to people, but the leper"s action forced Him to spend more time in uninhabited, solitary places (Gr. eremon, Mark 1:4; Mark 1:35).
Perhaps Mark pointed this out to encourage his Christian readers to follow the Word of God carefully. Sometimes believers disobey God because we think our way will be better than His. It never is. Frequently it has the same result as this cleansed leper"s disobedience. It retards God"s mission rather than advancing it. The fact that this man was a cleansed leper makes believers" identification with him easy since leprosy in the Bible is similar to sin, and believers are cleansed sinners.
The leper"s disobedience did not destroy God"s plan but only created complications. The Galileans still kept seeking Jesus out ( Mark 1:45). [2]
"We should learn some important spiritual lessons from this chapter. To begin with, if the Son of God came as a servant, then being a servant is the highest of all callings. We are never more like the Lord Jesus than when we are serving others. Second, God shares His authority with His servants. Only those who are under authority have the right to exercise authority. Finally, if you are going to be a servant, be sure you have compassion; because people will come to you for help and rarely ask if it is convenient!" [3]