“And a leper came to him…” Mark 1:40-45
Who is there today that we recoil from in fear and revulsion? Those who we dare not touch or even go near? The only thing that comes to mind are those stricken with ebola. Imagine the reaction if half a dozen cases suddenly appeared at your local hospital!
Those afflicted with leprosy were regarded in much the same way in Jesus’ time. People were taught (and required) to shun lepers and to drive them away whenever they were encountered. But now Mark shows us a man who defies all social and religious convention by approaching Jesus, albeit humbly and meekly.
This man’s faith was remarkable. He had only heard the recent stories of healings and the casting out of demons. No lepers had yet been healed and history didn’t give much hope of that happening. The only question that remained in his mind was would Jesus be willing to do what this man hoped for?
Mark now tells us something new about Jesus. Up til now, he has focused on what Jesus did. Now he reveals something of what makes Jesus tick, what he is thinking and feeling. Mark says that Jesus was moved with compassion. So much so that he risked defilement by reaching out and touching the leper. To further reassure him, Jesus says plainly, “I am willing. Be cleansed.”
Immediately the man was cleansed of his leprosy. Note that Jesus touched him while he was still very unclean. Jesus then requires something curious of the man. He says to tell no one, but to go to the priests with an offering for examination as a testimony to them. The man’s natural response was to shout his good news to anybody and everybody he came across, which he did. But not to the priests, who held the opinion that leprosy was curable by God alone.
Before you judge this man’s disobedience, think about the times you may have failed to offer testimony of God’s faithful love and power to those he has sent across your path. We cannot know the extent that any disobedience hampers the spread of God’s kingdom. But in this case, we know the surge of publicity prevented Jesus from entering the cities where he desired to preach.