Review

In our last installment we saw Jesus asserting His unique authority as God Incarnate (Hebrews 1:6; 3:4), Son of Man (Hebrews 2:9), and Inaugurator of the Coming and Present Kingdom (Mark 1:15).  He did this by performing miracles of healing, casting out the “rulers of the darkness of this age” (Ephesians 6:12), and defying long-held assumptions about the Mosaic Sabbath Law (Hebrews 3:3), thus challenging the Religious and Nationalistic sensibilities of His contemporaries.

In this section He continues on this revolutionary, “anarchic” course.        

Verses 35-39:  The Priority of Prayer

After a long day – and night – of healing the sick and subjugating the “spiritual hosts of wickedness,” Jesus is up “exceedingly early,” spending time in prayer; probably during what was called “the fourth watch of the night” (3:00 to 6:00 a.m.).  This kind of solitary communion with the Father was “Ground Zero” for Him.  It was the power source behind everything He did.  Simon and the others don’t get this, of course.  They want Him to hurry back to Capernaum and “strike while the iron is hot.”  But Jesus isn’t interested in “capitalizing” on the buzz of the previous evening.  “Let’s go somewhere else,” He says.  “Other towns need my message too.”  Not a brilliant marketing strategy, perhaps.  But it reflected the sense of calling He had received during His hours of solitude with the Father. 

Verses 40-42:  The Healing Touch

There are several details worth mentioning here. 

First, the leper[i] initiates contact with Jesus.  This is the kind of active, seeking faith that Christ always commends and rewards.  Remember how many times He said, “Your faith has made you well.” 

Second, the words “If you are willing” both defer to Jesus’ authority and assume His power.  It’s not a question of what He can do, but of what He chooses to do as Sovereign Master.  And of course, Jesus is willing.  He says so Himself.

Third, many ancient manuscripts have “moved with anger” instead of “moved with compassion.”  A “difficult reading” to be sure.  That’s why most editors and translators have rejected it (though apparently it was adopted in an early version of the NIV).  But we’ll want to book-mark it for further reference when we get to verse 43.   

Fourth, Jesus heals by touch.  Yet another violation of the Law of Moses.  According to Leviticus Chapters 13 and 14 (see especially 13:45-46), lepers were to be excluded from normal society.  Anyone who touched a leper would himself be considered ritually unclean.  Yet Jesus reaches out and puts His hand on the man, thus “defying both the law and the social taboo.”[ii]  It’s no wonder that, even at this early stage of His ministry, officialdom was already watching Him like a hawk.

Side-note:  We can all relate to this leper right now.  In a time of “social distancing,” everyone experiences the want of human touch – especially those who live alone.  We know firsthand what it is like to avoid and be avoided; and the message here is that Jesus has the power and the authority to penetrate that barrier.  Jesus touches the untouchables.  He can break through and enfold us in His loving embrace.    

Fifth and last, the cure was immediate and complete.  No mistaking the supernatural quality of the authority on display here.              

Verses 43 & 44: “Tell No One”

Jesus’ charge to this man is remarkable for the violence of the language it employs.  “Strictly warned” is a pretty tame translation of the Greek embrimaomai, which originally referred to the “snorting of horses” and could mean “speak harshly, criticize, be angry or deeply moved.”  It’s the word used to describe Christ’s feelings as He approaches the tomb of His dead friend Lazarus in John 11:38.  To make matters worse, Jesus didn’t simply “send the man away;” He actually “threw him out” (Greek exebalen).  Why such a stern response?

It all has to do with our theme of the “Incognito Messiah.”  “Don’t tell anyone about this!” Jesus commands the man – just as He had commanded the demon in 1:25.  He wasn’t looking for the kind of publicity that gets attached to showy wonder-workers.  He wanted people to focus on the message of the Coming Kingdom – the new Center of Allegiance – instead of on flashy miracles.  And it grieved Him to think that unless they “saw signs and wonders,” they would “never believe” (John 4:48).[i]

Also noteworthy are the instructions Jesus appends to His stern exhortation:  “Show yourself to the priest …”  Remember Martin Luther?  “The Christian is the most free lord of all, and subject to none; the Christian is the most dutiful servant of all, and subject to everyone.”[ii]  Even in the act of smashing false Arkys, Jesus reminds us not to give unnecessary offense, “So that the name of God and our teaching may not be spoken against” (1 Timothy 6:1).                      

Verse 45: The Word Spreads

As it happens time and time again in the Gospel accounts, Jesus’ warning has the opposite effect on the former leper.  And so the word spreads; and at the end of this section, Jesus is right back where we found Him at the beginning:  alone in “deserted places.”  Yet even there they sought Him out.     

Final Thoughts

Jesus heals.  Jesus delivers from oppression.  Jesus touches those who desperately need to be touched.  But in the end, Jesus is much more than all of this; for Jesus, as the early Christians expressed it in their most primitive Confession of Faith, is Lord.  And once you’ve said that, you’ve said it all.

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[i] The Greek word lepra referred to a variety of skin diseases, most of which were unconnected with what we call “leprosy” today. 

[ii] Eckhard J. Schnabel, The Tyndale New Testament Commentary on Mark, p. 63.

[i] Referring to the healing miracles of Jesus, Alfred Edersheim comments, “There is nothing more marked than the pain, we had almost said the humiliation, which their necessity seems to have carried to His heart.” (Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Vol. I, Book III, Chapter XV.  

[ii] Luther, “The Freedom of the Christian.”

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