Mark 1:40  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.
43  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.

Leprosy was a disease that no one wanted to get. It was a communicable disease that was devastating to the recipient. It could spread and it could eventually cause death. In the Old Testament God commanded that a leper needed to separate from the community and if anyone was coming near the person, they needed to cry out “unclean”, to warn the people to stay away from him. Being a leper would lead to a lonely life.
In our text, we see that leprosy was still around in Jesus’ time. This particular leper had the privilege of being near where Jesus was. He took advantage of this opportunity afforded him. He was also a man who understood the need for humility as he approached Jesus. We know he had some understanding of who Jesus was. He stated that he believed that if Jesus was willing, He could heal this leper. He was well aware that his leprosy made him unclean. He wanted to be cleansed.
Leprosy is a picture of sin. Sin makes a person unclean. We are all born sinners. We are all unclean in God’s sight. The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is the cleansing agent that can make us clean and whole.
We also know that Jesus Christ is willing to save (cleanse) any repentant sinner. There is a need for the sinner to come to Jesus and seek His cleansing. In our text, the leper did not assume that he was somewhat clean and just needed a little help. It did not matter where the person would have the leprosy, he was considered unclean. In the Old Testament, God gave clear commands as to how to deal with the leper. The people took that very seriously.
Sin is far more destructive to man than leprosy. Sin separates us from God. That is of far greater concern than being separated from people. Separation from God restricts us from receiving His blessings now and from eternal life which ultimately takes us to heaven.
In our text, we read that Jesus was moved with compassion toward this man. He put forth His hand and touched this leper. Jesus was not afraid of getting leprosy. He is the Son of God. He spoke to the man and stated that He was willing to heal Him and commanded him to be cleansed.
Jesus Christ is not afraid of becoming a sinner. He has always been the Son of God. He took upon Him the form of man. He was not a ghost. He had all the nature of man except the sin nature. He grew as a normal human being would. He needed food to eat and He grew tired. He limited His movement to needing to walk from place to place. After His resurrection He appeared to people in different places and eventually went back to heaven without the aid of a space craft.
He provided this man with the healing he needed, by touching him and commanding him to be cleansed. By application, salvation is a personal matter between the sinner and the Saviour. Jesus offers His salvation to any person. The person must turn to God and seek that forgiveness through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
We read in verse 42 that as soon as Jesus had spoken the word, the man was healed. There was no process involved. This was a work of God. Jesus straitly charged the man and sent him away. He told the man not to tell anyone of what had happened to him. He was to go to the priest and offer the required sacrifice for his cleansing. He was to follow the law as God had given it to Moses. Jesus came to this earth under the Old Testament law. That law was done away when He laid down His life for the sheep. His death, burial, resurrection and ascension finished that law. On the cross, Jesus cried out “it is finished”. His shed blood finished that system.
Jesus commanded this man to go to the priest and to give testimony of what had happened to him. The priesthood was so corrupted by this time, that most of them did not believe the power of God. They went through the motions of their duties, but they had no hope of results as God’s Word declared. They needed to know that the Messiah had come. Jesus proved His deity in all that He did.
In verse 45 we read that this man could not keep what had happened to him quiet. Some years ago I had a discussion with a professing Christian on this matter. That man was using this account to suggest that there are times when we should be quiet about Jesus Christ. He was quite upset with me for not taking his position on this matter. The text here is specific to Jesus earthly ministry. We are not told to be quiet about Jesus Christ today. We are commanded to make Him known to all people.
In our text Jesus did not condemn this man for making Jesus known to the people. It tells us that Jesus became so popular that the people flocked to where He was. His fame spread so rapidly that He could no longer enter into that particular city. He stayed outside of the city and the people came to Him there. It was not that the people could no longer hear Him. The location was changed, but the message was still available to all who wanted it.
We know that when Jesus was crucified, that they took Him outside of the city for the crucifixion. This was not due to the crowds, but because it was a shame for a man to be crucified. They did not want to “corrupt” their “clean” city with their wicked deed. The person who is seeking salvation will be outside of the norms of society. All are born as lost sinners. We have that in common with all humanity. It does not matter from which part of the world we come from. The multitudes would come to where Jesus was. Only a few of those would benefit from their contact with Him.
In our text, we read of one leper who came to Jesus. There were others, but just this one came to Him. There are many people today who know they have major problems in their lives. There are people who have ‘anxiety attacks’. They seek help from the medical profession. There are people who cannot be where other people are due to their inhibitions. They too run to liquor or cigarettes or some other drugs to try to cope with their problems. There are people who love the CCM and rock music and they flock to the New Evangelical “churches” for help because the music makes them feel good. That music is designed to feed the flesh. It is of no spiritual value.
The odd person allows God to lead them to a God-fearing person who can help them to deal with their sin. The need of man is to be saved first of all. Lost people will sometimes seek prayer for a particular issue. That is good if they can identify that problem. However, they need salvation first of all. God does not provide bandaids. He does surgery on the heart. The blood of Jesus Christ must be applied to the heart to address the sin issue. Once the person is saved, many of the issues that he or she was facing will be taken care of. It is an amazing thing to know the peace of God in your heart. To be right with God solves many problems.
It is a shame that so few are willing to seek the truth today. Rather than foolishly fight against the truth, why not follow the example of this leper. He did not wait for others to come to Jesus. He knew he had a need. He knew there was no immediate cure for leprosy. He knew that he might be cleansed eventually, but there was no guarantee of that. He came to Jesus in the hope that Jesus would cleanse him immediately of his leprosy. He was not disappointed. You will never be disappointed in turning to God and trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.
There is so much pseudo Christianity today, that it has kept many from knowing the peace of God. Don’t be deceived. God will lead you to the truth, if you will listen to Him. He is a good God. Don’t settle for a cheap knockoff of Christianity. Accept the truth and be set free from sin.
Pastor Bartel