6

The Lord and the Leper
(Mark 1:40–45)

And a leper came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, and He said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere. (1:40–45)

The Gospels do not come close to recording every healing miracle that Jesus performed. John suggests that such a full record would be impossible. As he explained at the end of his gospel, “There are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25; cf. 20:30). The extent of Christ’s healing ministry is perhaps best captured in the words of Luke 6:19, “And all the people were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all” (emphasis added). On just that one day, Jesus healed all who came to Him, meaning that His healing miracles likely numbered in the hundreds or even thousands. The gospel writers provide only a sampling of the supernatural signs He performed.

As noted in the previous chapters of this volume, the purpose of Jesus’ miracles was to validate the fact that He truly is who He claimed to be: the messianic King, the Son of God, and the Savior of the world. Each miracle—from walking on water to casting out demons to healing the sick—demonstrated His supernatural authority, whether over nature, Satan, disease, or sin and death. His miracles authenticated the truthfulness of His claim and message. The priority in His ministry was not performing miracles but preaching the gospel (Mark 1:38). He came to call sinners to repentance and saving faith (1:15).

As Jesus traveled from place to place preaching the gospel of the kingdom, He validated that preaching by countless divine power displays. The scope of His miracle-working ministry was so extensive that He essentially banished illness and demon possession from the land of Israel during the three-and-a-half years of His public ministry (see Matt. 4:23–24; 8:16–17; 9:35; 14:14; 15:30; 19:2; 21:14). It was a massive unleashing of divine power with no parallel in history. It made the Jewish leaders take notice.

Significantly, though those leaders never denied any of His miracles, they did attempt to shift the source of His power from God to the devil. Rather than acknowledging that He was operating through the power of the Holy Spirit, they openly accused Him of being empowered by Satan (Matt. 12:24). That was not only a ridiculous accusation given His perfect, sinless character and behavior but an irrational one since He was continually casting out Satan’s demons. He exposed their unreasonable blindness by the single axiom in Matthew 12:25–26: “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand?” There was no valid excuse for refusing to believe His message (cf. John 10:38; 14:31). The rejection of the Pharisees and Sadducees was not due to a lack of evidence but only to their own sinful hard-heartedness. With every miracle they rejected, their hearts became more calloused and they were further indicted. In the end, they refused to believe in spite of the overwhelming proof of His resurrection.

Given the extent of Jesus’ healing ministry, it is likely that He healed many lepers (cf. Matt. 11:5; Luke 7:22). Yet, the New Testament Gospels detail only two specific occasions in which lepers were miraculously restored by Jesus. This passage recounts one of those (Mark 1:40–45; cf. Matt. 8:1–4; Luke 5:12–16). The other involved ten leprous men, all of whom were healed, but only one of whom returned to give thanks (Luke 17:12–19). The Gospels also mention a man named Simon the leper (Matt. 26:6; Mark 14:3); he may have been healed by Jesus, though the Gospels do not explicitly make that connection. Still, Mark 1:40–45 should be seen as representative of other occasions on which Jesus encountered lepers and cured them of their debilitating and alienating disease.

But what makes this account so significant that three gospel writers would choose to include it in their records of Jesus’ life and ministry? Part of the answer to that question is found in the effect this healing had on Jesus’ public ministry. His popularity skyrocketed as a result of this particular miracle, so that He “could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas” (Mark 1:45; cf. Luke 5:15). But there is another reason this account is so important: it serves as a powerful analogy to the truth of salvation, illustrating the spiritual restoration sinners experience when they respond in faith to the gospel. On the one hand, the leper was an outcast who was forced to stay in isolated places. But he ventured into the city, met Jesus, and was miraculously healed. On the other hand Jesus, who was initially in the city, after healing the leper, relocated to the isolated places. In order to heal this man of his leprosy, the Lord had to trade places with him. The Savior was willing to become an outsider so that an untouchable leper, the ultimate outsider, could be rescued and restored. Therein is pictured the reality of the gospel—Jesus traded places with sinners in order to deliver them from sin. On the cross, outside the city, Jesus was treated as an outcast so that those who truly were outcasts might be reconciled to God and accepted as citizens of His heavenly city.

The passage divides easily into three major features: the leper’s predicament (v. 40), the Lord’s provision (vv. 41–44), and the Lord’s predicament (v. 45).

THE LEPER’S PREDICAMENT

And a leper came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” (1:40)

Mark gives no details about the man who came to Jesus, except to explain that he was a leper. Luke adds that he was “covered with leprosy” (Luke 5:12). As such, his condition would have been obvious to anyone who saw him, rendering him a pariah in ancient Israel. The word “leprosy” is derived from the Greek word lepros (“scale”) and refers to the scaly appearance of a leper’s skin.

In the ancient Near East, any number of skin disorders could have given the skin a scaly appearance (from chronic inflammations like eczema to fungal scalp infections). The Hebrew word tzaraath (usually translated as “leprosy” in the Old Testament) is broad enough to encompass various types of skin maladies, some more serious than others. But the most serious type of leprosy in Bible times likely consisted of what is known today as Hansen’s disease, a devastating bacterial infection that disfigured a person’s appearance and debilitated his nervous system, often leading to death.

Medical historians believe Hansen’s disease may have originated in Egypt, since the bacteria that causes it has been discovered in at least one Egyptian mummy. One of the most feared diseases in the ancient world, it was a communicable infection that could be spread both through the air and through physical touch. Even today, there is no cure for the disease, though it can be controlled with medication. Symptoms included spongy, tumorlike swellings that appeared on the face and body. As the bacteria became systemic, it began to affect internal organs while also causing bones to start deteriorating. It also weakened the victim’s immune system, making lepers susceptible to other diseases, like tuberculosis.

The Lord gave specific instructions and strict regulations regarding leprosy in order to protect His chosen people (cf. Lev. 13). Anyone suspected of having the disease had to be examined by a priest. If the condition seemed like more than a superficial skin problem, the person was quarantined for seven days. If the symptoms worsened, another week of isolation was required. After fourteen days, the priest would pronounce the person to be either clean or unclean—depending on whether or not the rash had continued to spread. In some cases the symptoms were so obvious that a waiting time was not required, and the person would be declared unclean. Leviticus 13:12–17 also describes a less serious form of leprosy that caused the entire skin to turn white. In such cases, the person was declared clean after he or she was no longer infectious. This lesser form of leprosy likely consisted of psoriasis, eczema, vitiligo, tuberculoid leprosy, or possibly a condition known now as leukodermia. But when a person was diagnosed with the serious form of leprosy (i.e., Hansen’s disease), the ramifications were immediate and severe.

According to Leviticus 13:45–46, lepers had to isolate themselves from society:

In order to avoid infecting others, lepers were quarantined, legally forbidden to live in any Israelite municipality (cf. Num. 5:2). According to the Talmud, the closest a leper could come to someone without the disease was six feet. On windy days, the distance was extended to 150 feet. The mandatory exile made the disease particularly grievous for those who contracted leprosy because it compounded the physical suffering with social isolation from all but other lepers.

According to medical experts who have studied modern cases of Hansen’s disease, leprosy usually begins with pain and is followed by numbness as the disease progressively attacks the nervous system. The skin in those areas loses its color, becoming scaly and thick, and eventually turns into sores. The effects are especially noticeable on the face, where eyebrows and lashes fall out while the skin swells and bunches up, especially around the eyes and ears. The disease also causes those it infects to emit a foul odor, making leprosy repulsive both to the sight and to the smell (cf. William Hendriksen, The Exposition of the Gospel according to Matthew, New Testament Commentary [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1973], 388). It is little wonder that it was one of the most dreaded diseases of the ancient world.

Since leprosy numbs its victims, making them incapable of feeling pain, they unintentionally destroy their own tissue because they are unable to feel the damage they are doing. As one author explains:

Not only were lepers physically disfigured and socially despised, they were religiously defiled. They could not go to the temple to worship or offer sacrifices. They were not even allowed to enter Jerusalem or any other walled city (cf. 2 Kings 7:3). Cut off from everyone and everything, they lived without family, friends, occupations, or hope. Their pitiful plight was permanent, as there were no cures in the ancient world.

In light of the stigmas attached to leprosy, the fact that this leper came to Jesus in a public setting would have been shocking to all who were there. Driven by his desperation and violating all the necessary standards of exclusion, he made his way to the Great Physician, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him. His actions may have been socially unacceptable, but his attitude toward Jesus was both respectful and reverential (cf. Matt. 8:2). Luke 5:12 notes that “he fell on his face.” He flattened himself in humble adoration before Jesus. Recognizing his own unworthiness, the leper called Jesus “Lord” (Luke 5:12), and entrusted himself to the Savior’s sovereign prerogative and well-known power, saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”

The leper saw himself not only as being despised by men but also cursed by God (cf. 2 Chron. 26:17–21). Because the common theology said physical sickness was a consequence for sin, this leper surely considered himself to be a sinner. And so, in desperation, he came to Jesus to beg for deliverance. He knew he could not presume on Jesus’ mercy—hence the preface, “If You are willing.” Yet, his request also exuded bold faith based on what he knew Jesus had done. He had no doubt about Jesus’ power, so he confidently affirmed, “You can make me clean.”

One can only imagine the people’s reaction as they watched the dramatic scene unfold. Horror mixed with indignation must have swept through the crowd of onlookers. Some probably shrank back in startled fear, covering their mouths as they quickly retreated. Perhaps others glanced around for stones and sticks to drive away the unwanted outcast. Others surely stood watching in stunned silence, wondering how Jesus Himself would respond.

THE LORD’S PROVISION

Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, and He said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” (1:41–44)

From the perspective of first-century Judaism, Jesus had every right to be outraged by the leper’s behavior. The man had disregarded public health, social norms, and even the stipulations of the Mosaic law. But the Lord did not grow angry. Instead, He was moved with compassion. He sympathized with the man’s plight, felt the agony of his isolation and distress, and grieved at the effects of sin in this world (cf. John 11:34). Motivated by genuine compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him. Ever since this man had been diagnosed with leprosy, no one had touched him. Yet here, in a moment of total vulnerability, as he lay in the dust begging for deliverance, the Son of God Himself reached out and healed him with a touch.

In Leviticus 5:3, the Mosaic law included a regulation forbidding the Jews from defiling themselves by touching anything or anybody that was unclean, including a leper. But Jesus could not be defiled by anything. Certainly He could have healed him with a simple word. The Lord wanted to make a point—one that would have left a lasting impression. The infinite compassion of Christ was dramatically illustrated in that profound act of kindness. His love was such that He was willing to touch those whom no one else would even come near. He touched this untouchable man, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”

The healing was instantaneous. Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. There was no period of recovery or rehabilitation. He who had come disfigured, defiled, and despicable was instantly transformed into a man in full health, completely cured, and ready to be restored to society. His sores were gone. His limbs were made whole. His skin looked like new. His face was smooth and unscarred. Even in an age of modern medical marvels, nothing can compare to this kind of miraculous healing. Though medical advancements have made it possible to control the symptoms of leprosy, they cannot cure the disease or reverse its effects. Jesus could and He did so instantly.

The former leper was not only fully relieved of the disease, he was physically fit. Considering the fact that leprosy had racked his entire body, considerable damage must have been done, not only to his external appearance, but also internally. When Jesus healed him, however, the man was made completely well. That his recovery was immediate is evident because Jesus instructed him to go to Jerusalem (roughly a one hundred-mile walk) in order to be pronounced clean by the priest.

Jesus followed His healing work with specific instruction. He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, and He said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” The test of true faith is always obedience, so as soon as Jesus healed this man, He gave him these two specific stipulations to follow. First, Jesus sternly warned him with these words, “See that you say nothing to anyone.” This was not a suggestion, it was a command. Jesus probably issued warnings like this (cf. Mark 5:43; 7:36; 8:26) in order to avoid adding more fuel to the fire of the messianic hysteria that had already been sparked by His healing miracles (cf. John 6:14–15).

Second, Jesus immediately sent him away, telling him to “Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” Before resuming his place in society, this man needed to fulfill the requirements of the Mosaic law regarding contagious skin diseases as outlined in Leviticus 14. The prescription required taking two birds and killing one of them in an earthenware vessel over running water. The other bird, along with cedar wood, a scarlet string, and hyssop, was then dipped in the blood of the bird that had been slain. The former leper was sprinkled seven times and pronounced clean by the priest, and the live bird was set free in an open field. The person was subsequently required to wash his clothes, shave off all his hair (including eyebrows), and bathe himself in water. After remaining outside of his tent for seven days, he would bring appropriate offerings to the priest on the eighth day. Then, upon offering the needed sacrifices, he would be anointed with oil by the priest, signifying he was clean.

Jesus’ final statement, that this would be a testimony to them, was primarily directed at the priests serving in the temple. Any priests involved in pronouncing this former leper clean would have been confronted with the reality of Christ’s undeniable healing power. While they may have seen some skin diseases remedy themselves, and so have been familiar with such a required ritual, this demonstration of Jesus’ miraculous healing power would be shocking to the priests. Thus, this healing in Galilee would serve as a powerful testimony in Jerusalem. Jesus’ words also served as a testimony to any onlookers that He did not disregard Old Testament requirements. While He detested the hypocrisy of Pharisaical tradition-laden religion, Jesus always upheld the Old Testament.

THE LORD’S PREDICAMENT

But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere. (1:45)

Though the Lord’s instruction had been clear and unambiguous, the former leper proved disobedient. Although he had demonstrated humility and submission to Christ in making his request for healing, in his euphoric excitement he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around. That was precisely the opposite of what Jesus had commanded him to do.

Before being healed, the leper was an outsider forced to live in isolated places away from the population centers of Israel. Now, through his disobedience, the former outcast put the One who healed him in a somewhat similar predicament. By his public testimony of what had happened to him, the healed man added to the crowd frenzy surrounding Jesus to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas.

The first-century Jewish historian Josephus reported that there were about 240 towns and villages in Galilee. Jesus had wanted to go to all of them in order to preach the gospel (Mark 1:38–39). The increasingly overwhelming response of the people made that impossible. The thronging crowds had become so large and demanding that Jesus could not publicly enter a town.

Consequently, the Lord began to minister in isolated areas, whether in the wilderness or by the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Whenever He ventured back into places like Capernaum, the crushing crowds were waiting (Mark 2:2) and He was compelled to retreat to the less populated areas (2:13). Jesus was well aware that His popularity was the result of superficial and temporal desires and expectations (cf. John 2:24–25). The crowds got excited about His healing and His miracles, but they were largely uninterested in the message of the gospel (cf. John 6:66)—a reality that would ultimately culminate in His crucifixion, as they turned on Him in a deadly way in spite of His miracles.

Even when Jesus stayed away from the towns and villages of Galilee, the people did not stay away from Him. In fact, they were coming to Him from everywhere. Though He remained in the wilderness, the demanding crowds sought Him out and followed Him wherever He went. As Mark records later in his gospel, “Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and a great multitude from Galilee followed; and also from Judea, and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon, a great number of people heard of all that He was doing and came to Him” (Mark 3:7–8).

Before leaving this passage, it is important to consider the juxtaposition of Jesus and the man whom He healed. The leper started in the wilderness in isolation. After meeting Jesus, he was able to mingle freely in the city. Conversely, Jesus started in the city. After meeting the leper, He was isolated to the wilderness. In that sense, Jesus took the leper’s place. As one commentator explains:

The account of the leper thus provides a wonderful metaphor for what Jesus did at the cross. As sinners, believers were once spiritual lepers who lived in alienation and isolation from God. God provided a way of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. In order to accomplish that plan of redemption, the Son left the presence of God and went into isolation. On the cross, Jesus was forsaken. He was rejected by men and even forsaken by the Father (Matt. 27:46). Yet, because He was treated as an outcast, believers have been accepted and welcomed into the presence of God.

It was on account of mankind’s disobedience that He suffered. Yet, for those who come to Him in humble faith, recognizing their own unworthiness and asking for mercy, He offers full cleansing. To the spiritual leper who cries out in faith, “If You are willing, You can make me clean,” (Mark 1:40) the Lord’s compassionate reply is always the same: “I am willing, be cleansed” (v. 41).