Mark 1:40-45

If you would turn with me in a Bible to Mark chapter 1, we'll be looking at that at the

Mark 1 · chapter mention

end of that chapter tonight.

If you're looking in one of the few Bibles, it is on page 837.

We're looking at Mark chapter 1, starting at verse 40 and going to the end of the chapter.

Mark 1 · chapter mention

It says this,

And a leper came to him, came to Jesus, imploring him and kneeling, said to him,

If you will, you can make me clean.

Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him,

I will be clean.

And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.

And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once and said to him,

See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priests,

and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded for a proof to them.

But he went out and began to talk freely about it and to spread the news so that Jesus could no longer

openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places.

And people were coming to him from every quarter.

A few years ago, the New York Times published an article by a doctor

who works in an intensive care unit at a hospital.

And he began the article by telling this story.

He says,

It was one night when I was on call, I visited a patient who had been in the ICU for nine days,

recovering from a procedure to remove a major blood clot.

She was doing well, breathing on her own, with normal blood pressure and regular heartbeat.

After a moment, she opened her eyes.

Welcome, doctor, she said.

Would you like me to make you a drink?

You know where everything is, she said, and make me one as well.

Well, I asked her where she was.

In my apartment, she said.

I walked up to her IV pole and squeezed the bag of saline that hung next to her bed.

She thanked me and went off to sleep.

The article went on to say about a third of patients who spend more than five days in an ICU

experience some form of psychotic reaction.

Even if they've never had any psychiatric problems before,

patients may experience anxiety, become paranoid, hear voices and see things that are not there,

become disoriented, agitated, or even violent.

Now, of course, doctors want to know why this happens.

Why does being in a hospital seem to create new problems, even as it solves other problems?

Is it a response to physical pain?

Or is it sleep deprivation from the nurses waking you up every hour during the night?

Or is it that you feel like you're no longer in control of your life?

Well, all those things could play a role, but one of the major realities of being in a hospital,

especially being in an ICU, is being isolated.

Being isolated from normal routines and from normal interactions with family and friends,

neighbors, and co-workers.

Now, being in the ICU is maybe an extreme example, but sickness of whatever kind,

whether physical or mental, can be an incredibly isolating experience.

And isolation can drive you crazy.

Now, of course, in some circumstances, isolation is the only way that we know of

that we can deal with sickness and prevent it from spreading.

Right?

At a minor level, that's why my son's preschool sends home a big note that says,

if your child has a fever, or has had a fever in the last 24 hours, or has vomited,

you better not send him to school.

Right?

Right?

And every school and every daycare center has strict rules about that,

because they don't want diseases to spread, or more serious cases.

If you visit certain people in the hospital, you might have to wear a gown,

or even put on a mask, or put on gloves,

so they don't get what you have, and you don't get what they have.

Or for better and for worse, this is why we have psychiatric hospitals,

or institutions to keep people from harming themselves or harming others.

Right?

Normally, sickness is contagious.

Health isn't.

And so we protect against the spread of sickness,

partly by isolating sick people.

Now, in this passage, we see a very sick man, a leper,

a man with a dreaded skin disease.

Now, back then, the word leprosy covered a wide range of skin diseases,

including boils, burns, itches, ringworm, and scalp conditions,

as well as what's now called Hansen's disease,

leprosy that makes you lose feeling in your skin,

and your nerves, and your limbs, and eyes.

It was a horrible disease.

And back then, leprosy was nearly incurable.

It was a common saying among Jewish rabbis that curing a leper

was as difficult as raising a dead man to life.

And in order to prevent the dreaded disease from spreading,

lepers were required to be isolated from the rest of the community.

So Leviticus 13 and 14 give a whole bunch of rules,

but the end of Leviticus 13, starting at verse 45, says this,

the leprous person who has the disease

shall wear torn clothes

and let the hair of his head hang loose,

and he shall cover the lower part of his face

and cry out, unclean, unclean.

He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease.

He is unclean.

He shall live alone.

His dwelling shall be outside the camp.

Did you hear those words?

Four times.

Unclean, unclean, unclean, unclean.

He shall live alone outside.

You see, being a leper didn't just make you sick,

it made you unclean and alone and isolated.

You were cut off from your family,

from your job, from your friends and your neighbors.

You couldn't touch anyone else

or even come close to them

because otherwise you would make them unclean.

So the only family, the only friends,

the only neighbors that you really had

were other people who had the same disease.

Other unclean lepers.

And you couldn't go into a city.

You couldn't go into any city with walls.

And so you had to live out in the unprotected countryside.

You could only attend the worship services in the synagogue

if they had a screen and a separate seating area

to separate you from everyone else.

It was an incredibly isolating experience.

It was a little bit like having AIDS in the 1970s or 1980s

when it was just beginning to spread

and before antiviral drugs were available.

Or maybe a parallel today would be

being homeless and sleeping on a bench on the green.

Or even under a bridge

and getting up in the morning

and pushing a shopping cart down the street

and hunting in other people's trash cans

for bottles and cans.

And everybody steps carefully around you

because they don't want to touch you.

Because in their eyes, you're dirty.

And you would make them unclean.

That's a little bit of what it was like

to be a leper.

To be unclean.

Now the leper in this story, he's a desperate man.

And so because he's desperate, he takes a risk.

He approaches Jesus.

And he pleads for help.

Now according to the law,

he wasn't supposed to come close to anyone else.

So he's taking a risk in even coming close to Jesus

and kneeling before him.

And he says, if you will, you can make me clean.

The leper sees something different in Jesus

that draws him to come close.

And in this passage, we see two extraordinary things

about Jesus.

We see Jesus' extraordinary authority

and we see Jesus' extraordinary compassion.

So first, Jesus' extraordinary authority.

Verses 41 and 42, it says,

Jesus was moved with pity or moved with compassion.

And he stretched out his hand and touched him

and said to him,

I will be clean.

And immediately the leprosy left him

and he was made clean.

Now do you notice Jesus deliberately stretched out his hand

and touched the man with leprosy?

According to the law,

if you touched an unclean person,

that made you unclean.

And if you became unclean,

you had to go through a whole process

of ritual cleansing,

of separating yourself from other people

and then bathing and going through this whole process

in order for you to become clean again.

Because again, just like today,

normally sickness and uncleanness spreads.

Health doesn't.

Right?

If you're unclean, you're contagious.

You might make somebody else unclean.

If you're healthy,

you're not going to make somebody else healthy

just by touching them.

But here, the effect is reversed.

When Jesus touches the leper,

instead of Jesus becoming unclean,

the leper becomes clean.

And if you were here last week,

we saw in this passage

that Jesus has this extraordinary authority,

this unequal power,

so that his touch overrides

and overrules this horrible skin disease.

And his will trumps

the Old Testament ceremonial law.

That Jesus has this amazing authority.

Now, according to the Old Testament,

the priests who served in the temple

had the responsibility to examine people

with skin disease

and pronounce them either clean or unclean.

They were a little bit like the doctors

in those days.

But you know,

Jesus doesn't merely act like a doctor here.

Jesus doesn't say,

hey, come here,

let me examine you.

Hmm, do I see any white spots?

No, I don't see any white spots.

Ah, you're okay.

No.

Jesus doesn't just pronounce him clean.

Jesus touches him and makes him clean.

He does what the priests could never do.

And that's why he says

what he says in verse 43 and 44.

Now, maybe that was a little confusing

when we first read it.

You might think,

well, why does Jesus say,

don't tell nothing to nobody?

It's actually a double negative in the Greek,

so you can translate it however you want.

The point is,

he says,

don't say anything to anyone.

I say,

well, why would Jesus want him

to keep it to himself?

Well,

the main reason is what he continues,

what he says in the rest of the verse.

Go,

show yourself to the priest.

Right?

You had to,

you had to get a clean bill of health

from the priest

so you could

be declared clean

and interact normally

with other people again

without making them unclean.

And as part of the process,

you'd offer a sacrifice

to thank God

for making you well

if somehow you recovered

from one of these skin diseases.

So basically,

Jesus is saying,

I want you to go through

the official legal channels

so that you can be publicly declared clean

and restored to your place in society.

But he also says,

at the end of verse 44,

he says,

do this for a proof to them.

It's a legal word,

proof or testimony.

In other words,

to demonstrate Jesus' authority

authority to the priests

and the religious leaders

of the day

so they could see

that this man

was living proof

that Jesus could do

what nobody else could.

So he says,

go to the priests

so they can see

that I've done for you

what nobody else can.

So they can examine you themselves

and they can have living proof

right in front of them

that I can do

what nobody else can.

So that's the first thing we see,

Jesus' extraordinary authority

to cleanse this man

where nobody else could.

But we also see a second thing.

We see Jesus' extraordinary compassion.

He not only cleanses the leper

where nobody else could,

he cleanses the leper

in a way that nobody else would.

Now verse 41,

it says Jesus was moved with pity.

Now when we hear that word pity,

sometimes we think something like this.

We think of maybe watching on the news

or hearing a really sad story

or looking down at somebody else

and thinking,

and we say,

oh, that's so sad.

We make a sad face

and maybe we just say sad things

for a few minutes.

And then we get distracted

and then we go on with our life

and we don't really do anything different.

And we think,

oh, I felt pity.

I felt so bad for that awful thing that happened.

Well, that's actually not

what true pity or compassion is in the Bible.

The English word compassion

is from a Latin word

that means to suffer with someone.

And the Greek word in this passage

refers to the,

it's a word that refers to

the inner parts of a person.

Literally the inner parts of your chest,

your gut,

your heart,

your lungs.

In other words,

compassion

is this deep feeling of mercy

towards somebody else

from deep inside you.

But it's not just a feeling,

it's a feeling

that results in action.

You see,

that's why Jesus touches the man.

He doesn't just feel pity for the man

and think,

oh, what a,

what a sad story.

But he reaches out and touches him.

Now,

Jesus didn't have to touch him

in order to make him well.

There's a story in the Old Testament,

probably the most famous story

in the Old Testament

of a leper being cleansed

is found in 2 Kings chapter 5.

2 Kings 5 · chapter mention

And Naaman,

who is a commander,

who is an army commander in Syria,

goes to the prophet Elisha in Israel

and asks to be cleansed of his leprosy.

And Elisha

doesn't even come out of his house.

He sends a messenger

to say,

Naaman,

go dunk yourself in the river

seven times.

Naaman doesn't like that idea,

but eventually he

is persuaded by somebody else

that he should

at least try,

you know,

at least do what the prophet says.

So he does it,

and by the grace of God,

he gets cleansed.

But Elisha never touched him.

Jesus didn't have to touch him.

Actually,

in Luke chapter 17,

Luke 17 · chapter mention

there's ten other lepers

that Jesus cleanses,

and he doesn't touch them at all.

So why does he touch him?

Think about it.

If you were that leper,

for as long as you've had leprosy,

nobody else has touched you.

Because nobody else wants to touch you

because they'll become unclean.

And the only other people

who might have touched you

were other people

who had the same disease.

And Jesus touched him

to make a personal connection with him.

That it wasn't just

blessings from a distance,

but it was blessings through

a touch.

But you know what?

There was a cost

to Jesus touching him.

And we don't,

you know,

you might not see this

when you first read the passage,

but look down at verse 44 and 45.

Verse 44,

Jesus tells the leper,

keep quiet

and go right to the priest.

But in verse 45,

the leper goes around

broadcasting the news.

He's talking freely,

or literally,

the word is preaching.

It's the same word

that's used for Jesus,

preaching his message.

The leper goes around

preaching about it.

Telling everybody.

And we have no idea

if he ever went to the priest or not.

And then it says,

as a result,

Jesus could no longer

openly enter a town,

but was out

in desolate places.

At the beginning of this story,

the leper

is on the outside.

He can't enter a town.

He can't touch anyone.

He can't participate

normally in society.

He's on the outside,

and he's unclean.

And Jesus is on the inside.

But at the end of the story,

it's reversed.

The leper's on the inside.

He's going everywhere.

He's clean.

He can touch anyone.

He's healed.

But Jesus is on the outside.

He can't enter a city.

He's in desolate places.

You see,

this whole story,

it's a little story

right at the beginning

of Mark's gospel,

but it's a picture

of the whole purpose

why Jesus came to the world.

The whole purpose

of his life and ministry

is about

his extraordinary authority

to do what nobody else could

and his extraordinary compassion

to do what nobody else would.

And of course,

where does that all lead?

Jesus in the end,

it ultimately leads him

to die on a cross

outside the city walls,

rejected

and alone

and unclean.

So that we,

like the leper,

might be cleansed

and accepted

and received

on the inside

of God's family

now

and forever.

that's what Jesus

came to do.

He came

to demonstrate

his authority

and he came

to touch us

with his compassion

at a great cost

to himself

so that we could be

cleansed

and received.

Now,

what do we take away

from this passage?

Let me give you

two categories

of applications.

Maybe we can talk

about these

a little more

when we have

our question

and answer time

in a few minutes.

Maybe you can identify

first,

maybe you can identify

with this leper.

Now,

maybe you have

an illness,

whether it's

a physical illness

or emotional

or some other

kind of illness

and because of

your illness,

you've lived

for years

in isolation

and you've always

felt excluded

on the outside.

Maybe you've

looked everywhere

for a cure

and found none

or maybe you've

given up

and you just

hang your head.

Or maybe it's not

a physical illness,

maybe you feel

dirty on the inside

because of shameful

things that other

people have done

to you in the past

and you feel like

damaged goods,

too broken

to ever be useful

again.

or maybe you feel

dirty because of

shameful things

that you've done

to yourself

or to other people.

And even if nobody

else knows the whole

story,

you know that on the

inside you're a mess

and you deal with

the shame

and guilt

of your own

failure before God

in the past

and even

daily

in the present.

If any of those

describe you,

let me invite you.

Come before

Jesus

like the leper

did.

He came to Jesus.

He said,

Jesus,

if you will,

you can make me

clean.

Jesus has the power

to make you clean

like nobody else

can.

And Jesus

did

what was required

to make you

clean

like nobody else

would.

You know,

one of the biggest

lies in the world

is that you have

to clean yourself

up

before you come

to God,

before you come

to church.

And the truth

is exactly the

opposite.

You need to come

to Jesus

so that He

can clean you

up.

And you'll find

Jesus here

in the church.

Not in this

building,

but when believers

gather together.

Jesus is present

here with us

to cleanse us

and heal us.

And you know,

in reality,

every single

one of us

is like this

leper

before God.

Before God,

we're all

unclean.

In the Bible,

it says,

all our righteous

deeds are like

filthy,

blood-stained

rags.

So what's the

church?

The church is a

bunch of

desperate

lepers

who found

cleansing

in Jesus.

So whoever

you are,

whatever you

look like on

the outside,

and whatever

you feel on

the inside,

you're not

any different

from all the

rest of us

when we stand

before God.

to all of

us.

Jesus invites

all of us

to come

to Him

as you

are.

Maybe

come to

Him for

the first

time.

Or maybe

come to

Him for

a renewed

experience

of His

mercy

and His

cleansing.

So that's

the first

thing.

Maybe you

identify with

the leper.

We all

identify with

the leper.

Maybe,

second thing,

maybe you

identify

as a

follower of

Jesus,

as a

disciple of

Jesus.

As we've

said,

the church

is a

community

of people

like this

leper,

who are

spiritually

unclean,

and excluded

from God's

family,

who have

been brought

in by the

authority and

compassion of

Jesus Christ.

But you

know,

we're also

called to be

a community

that extends

Jesus'

compassion and

proclaims Jesus'

authority in

the world.

So what

does that

look like?

Well,

it looks like

being a

community where

we don't

ignore or

avoid people

when they

get sick

or weak,

but instead

reach out to

them and

touch them and

connect with

them.

A few weeks

ago, I had

the chance to

visit a lady

named Miss

Frances.

Miss Frances

is an elderly

member of this

church.

Many of you

won't know her

because she

hasn't been able

to come to

church regularly

for a few

years.

She's lost

most of her

short-term

memory, and

she lives in

a care facility

full-time.

When I arrived

to visit her,

she recognized

me because

I've been in

this church for

long enough that

she remembered

me, and we

were walking

towards where

we were going

to sit down,

and she said

to somebody

else, one of

the staff at

the place,

she said,

see, my

church hasn't

forgotten me.

Now, you know,

she wasn't just

talking about me

because I've only

been to visit her

once or twice in

the last year,

but there are

one or two or

more people from

this church who

have taken it

upon themselves to

visit her regularly,

and she remembers

who they are.

Even though she's

lost most of her

short-term memory,

she remembers the

people from church

who've come to

visit her, and she

said to me, my

church hasn't

forgotten me, and

it's a sign to her

and to everybody

else around her

that Jesus hasn't

forgotten her.

Right?

Now, sometimes we

do this well, and

sometimes we don't

do this well, but

this is part of what

it looks like.

A community where we

reach out and

connect with people

when they're sick

or weak.

And second, a

community that

extends Jesus'

compassionate touch

to outsiders.

believers.

This leper was an

outsider back in

the day.

He was somebody

that most religious

people didn't want

to deal with, because

it was too messy, and

too complicated, and

too time-consuming, and

seemingly hopeless from

a human point of view,

but he's exactly the

kind of person that

Jesus touched.

And so as followers of

Jesus, we're called to

touch others, to

engage with people

who are broken,

needy, dirty, smelly,

rejected, alone, sick,

in the hospital, have

complicated issues, and

are spiritual outsiders.

Now, there's a cost to

doing that.

Right?

It costs time, and

energy, and money.

Sometimes you get funny

looks from people.

They say, why are you

hanging out with them?

Why did you invite them

to come along with us

when we were just going

to hang out?

Right?

That's what Jesus did.

He invited us to come

and be with him when we

didn't deserve to.

Now, we can't do

everything.

We can't touch every

single, lonely, isolated

person in this city.

We don't have the power

to fix people.

Only Jesus does.

Sometimes people aren't

willing to be made

clean.

But, you know, we know

Jesus.

He has the only cure

that really works.

And so, let's extend

his compassionate touch

so that other people

might experience that,

his cleansing,

and being received into

his family, just as

each one of us have,

who have put our trust

in him.

Let's pray.

Lord Jesus, we praise

you for your authority.

Lord, your power.

Lord, that you could

touch that man.

That you can touch

people today and make

us clean.

Lord, not only physically

on the outside,

but spiritually

on the inside.

Lord Jesus, we thank

you for your compassion.

That you have paid the

price on the cross.

That we might be

cleansed of all our

sin and guilt.

That we might be

received into your

family.

As people who belong

to you.

And are loved and

known by you.

Lord, we pray that we

would, each of us,

recognize that we are

no different than this

leper when we stand

before you.

And we pray that

because we realize

that, and because we

have experienced

your saving grace,

Lord, that we would

extend your touch

to others.

We pray this in your

name.

Amen.