A Leper Healed

The Glory of Jesus in Mark PART IV
Rev. John Lin
25 January 2015

Mark 1: 40-45
40A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, make me clean."

41Jesus was indignant.  He reached out his hand and touched the man.  "I am willing," he said.  "Be clean!"  42Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleaned.

43Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44"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."  45Instead 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.

FULLNESS OF MINISTRY
--Leprosy is a disease where people are unable to feel pain.
--Lepers were outcasts because they were contagious and considered unclean.
--v.41, Jesus could have healed him with words, but instead, he touched him.
--He healed the body as well as offered him comfort and acceptance through his touch.
--The Leper was starved for connection.
--It was a comprehensive response to the current conditions.

LEPER'S DESPERATION
--Focused mainly on his physical healing and had not hope beyond that.
--Sin disfigures our humanity.
--We have an inability to acknowledge our desperation as we want to come clean on our terms.
--Healing has nothing to do with the afflicted, but what Jesus, and Him alone, brings to them.
--Jesus is the cleanliness personified.