Mark 1:40-2:12 NIV
40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”
41 Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.
43 Jesus 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.” 45 Instead 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.
- Leprosy: Any number of defiling skin conditions. The Law declared a leprous person “unclean” (Leviticus 13:45-46), and prescribed that they go to the Priest to be healed and cleansed (Leviticus 14:1-32). In addition to medicinal and hygienic implements used to treat the leper, a guilt offering was also required (Leviticus 5:14-15). Leprosy, and disease in general, exists within a sinful, fallen world. Leprosy may not be the direct result of someone sinning, but as with many states of uncleanness, it represents the defilement of such as world and bars one from God’s pure presence.
- Indignant: The Lord was angry, but why? He was probably angry with the devil, His enemy, who afflicts and destroys His creation at every opportunity. Jesus may have also been angry with the leprous man, knowing he would disobey Him and go report His miraculous cure (v. 45). The result would hinder Jesus’ preaching mission (v. 38).
- He touched the man: Jesus would be rendered “unclean” by contact with the leper, but exercised authoritative freedom over the Law in this respect. As a result, Jesus’ touch did not make Him unclean, but made the leper clean. Jesus was known to touch lepers and associate with sinners, Samaritans, prostitutes and tax collectors who were “off limits” to conscientious Jews at the time. Under the old covenant, unholiness was contagious; under the new covenant, holiness is contagious.
- Show yourself to the priest: Jesus did not dishonor the Law of God, and we are not encouraged to either (Matthew 5:17-20). Perhaps the Law was being dishonored by the man, who didn’t think it worthwhile to undergo the ritual cleansing since he had already been healed, or by the priests, who may have been derelict in their duty to cleanse the lepers. The man desperately came to Jesus for cleansing, but were there no priests?!
2 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things?9 Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, 11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
Jesus’ power touches the whole man- body, soul and spirit! Today, His heart is to make you clean, forgiven and whole!
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
9 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.