Discipleship 101: Clean, by the Grace of God!
Mark 1:40-45
Introduction: Ten
years ago a video circulated of two brothers, COVERED with paint, sitting on
the floor of a shower, being questioned by their dad. I think they were maybe 2
and 3 years old? It was hilarious when they pointed to each other as the “instigator.”
I was waiting for the older brother to say, “This brother who YOU gave me, HE brought
me the paint!” Or, “I threw him in the paint, and out came THIS…!” Since the Fall, humans, by birth and by
choice, are unclean, covered with the filth of sin.
The prophets expressed the human condition clearly. Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and
desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jer 17:9). Isaiah warned “We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a
leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away…” (Isa 64:6). Our
unclean, sinful condition, has to be seen against the absolute purity and
holiness of God, the One who is of purer eyes than to look upon iniquity.
Unlike paint on the skin, sin runs deep. Thank God, grace is strong! The
Law exposes our sin, our separation from God, and our need for reconciliation. Not
that this man's disease in our passage today was caused by his personal sin, but disease came into the
world as a consequence of the Fall, it is part of the curse, and it reminds us
of the need for a Redeemer. In Bible times leprosy was a powerful reminder.
The separation from the
community, from other people, from separation from worship that resulted from “leprosy”
illustrates our sinful condition and our need for spiritual cleansing, and with
it, restoration to fellowship with Holy God.
The BIG Idea:
The filth of our sin had alienated us from God, but He graciously touched us
and made us clean, reconciling us to Himself.
I. Our
Desperate Need: We are ALL needy, unclean, unable to approach God [apart
from Christ] (40a; cf. Jer 17:9; Isa 64:6). The passage opens, “And a leper
came…”
We have only two specific examples of Jesus healing a leper in the gospels.
One is the case when he healed ten, and yet only one, a Samaritan, returned to
give thanks. The other is this scene, also reported in Luke and Matthew. It is
difficult for us to imagine the horror of a diagnosis of leprosy in the ancient
world. First of all, it seems as though at that time the disease included more
than Hansen’s disease, the disease known as “leprosy” today. According
to the CDC…
Hansen's disease… is an infection
caused by bacteria called Mycobacterium
leprae. …The disease can affect the nerves, skin, eyes, and lining of
the nose... The bacteria attack the nerves, which can become swollen under the skin. This can cause the affected areas
to lose the ability to sense touch and pain, which can lead to injuries, like
cuts and burns. Usually, the affected skin changes color… If left untreated,
the nerve damage can result in paralysis of hands and feet. In very advanced
cases, the person may have multiple injuries due to lack of sensation, and
eventually the body may reabsorb the affected digits over time,
resulting in the apparent loss of toes and fingers…
In some areas of the world, this form
of “leprosy” is still a problem – every 10 minutes it is contracted by someone somewhere
is the world. According to the CDC, today Hansen’s disease can be effectively
treated if caught at an early stage. Whether the disease was even more virulent
in the ancient world we have no way to tell. In fact, it is likely there
were other diseases as well that were considered under the umbrella of
“leprosy” in Biblical times. What we do know from the Bible is that the
disease meant that the infected person was strictly segregated from the
congregation and the community. Leviticus 13 and 14 describes the “diagnosis”
of the disease and the result for those pronounced infected and unclean. For
example, we read in Lev 13:2,3 that…
When a person has… a case
of leprous disease… he shall be brought… 3 and the priest shall
examine the diseased area on the skin of his body. And if the hair in the
diseased area has turned white and the disease appears to be deeper than the skin
of his body, it is a case of leprous disease. When the priest has examined him,
he shall pronounce him unclean.
Those infected had to wear a cloth
covering their mouth, and if someone was approaching they needed to shout
“Unclean! Unclean!” They had to live outside of the camp, away from even their
own family. (We’ve learned a little too much about quarantine and isolation in
our post pandemic world!). With leprosy in Bible times it was usually a life
sentence. Touching a leprous person was strictly forbidden, and would render
the person ceremonially “unclean.” They were truly, “untouchables”!
Against that background, it
is somewhat shocking that this leper had the boldness to approach Jesus. His
plight was desperate. Perhaps his isolation was too much to bear. Was it the loneliness?
Maybe what he had heard about this Rabbi, this miracle worker, caused a glimmer
of hope to begin to well up in his heart. Could He help? Would he? He knew his
need, and He went to Jesus. We too were unclean, not because of disease, but as
filthy sinners, alienated from holy God (Rom 3:10,23). But now He has
graciously touched us, and made us clean, reconciling us to God. We see 1) Our desperate need, and 2) Jesus is…
II. Our Only Hope: We are needy, and we must go to the only One who is able to meet our deepest need (40b). He alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life! (Jn 14:6; Acts 4:12). There is no other name under heaven, given among men, by which we must be saved. And it was to Him this leper came....
40 And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him,
"If you will, you can make me clean."
How this leper came to hope that Jesus could help him in his desperate
situation we don’t know. His words and actions show remarkable faith. Had
he seen Jesus do other miracles? Was the testimony of His authority conveyed to
him by a friend? He was well aware of
his need, and he had come to believe, or at least to hope, that Jesus was able,
if it was His will, to heal him, to do for him what, as far as we know, had
never been done since Naaman the Syrian was healed by Elisha (2 Kings 5). How
serious that disease was and what it symbolized can be seen in the story of
King Uzziah in 2 Chron 26:15ff…
…And his fame spread far,... 16
But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was
unfaithful to the LORD his God and entered the temple of the LORD to burn
incense on the altar of incense. 17
But Azariah the priest went in after him, with eighty priests of the LORD who
were men of valor, 18 and
they withstood King Uzziah and said to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to
burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests the sons of Aaron, who are
consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have done wrong,
and it will bring you no honor from the LORD God." 19 Then Uzziah was angry.
Now he had a censer in his hand to burn incense, and when he became angry with
the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead in the presence of the
priests in the house of the LORD, by the altar of incense. 20 And Azariah the chief priest
and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead!
And they rushed him out quickly, and he himself hurried to go out, because the
LORD had struck him. 21 And
King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death, and being a leper lived in a
separate house, for he was excluded from the house of the LORD (2
Chronicles 26:15-21).
By the way, that is the background to
the vision of Isaiah. Remember, that was “…in
the year that King Uzziah died…” that he saw the Lord, high and lifted up,
with the train of his robe filling the temple and the seraphim surrounding the
throne, calling out “Holy, Holy, Holy, is
the Lord of hosts…” God is holy. He is of purer eyes than to look upon
iniquity. He must punish sin. And so, the natural man, unregenerate humans, are
separated from Him, unclean, unable to approach Him, helpless to do anything to
save themselves. We have no basis for
pride. It is only those who are in Christ who can approach the Holy of Holies! By
grace we come, because of Jesus.
Jesus is both our High Priest and the Lamb that was slain. His
blood provided atonement for our sins. By His stripes, we are healed! We
were unclean sinners, alienated from God, but now He has graciously touched us,
and made us clean, reconciling us to God. We were desperately needy, we had
only one hope…
III. Our Gracious Savior: The One who came to be our substitute. And He is ready, willing, and able to “make clean” all who come to Him in faith (41,42).
41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to
him, "I will; be clean." 42
And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.
The shocking nature of
Jesus’ action is hard to convey in our setting. In the light of the horror of
the disease in the first century, considering it’s “uncurable” status and the
resulting isolation from others and separation from the worship (and God!) of
Israel, Jesus does the unthinkable. First of all, consider how His action
contrasts that of Job’s friends when they came to him in his distress. Their
reaction was, “You must have done something to deserve this!” Jesus does
not even inquire. He doesn’t need to. From the first verse of the Gospel, we know:
He is the Son of God. He already knows the man and his need. He is moved with pity, no doubt as he
looks at this leper, pleading for mercy, he sees one more example of the
consequences of sin, of humans living in a fallen world. Remember, Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners. He
came to give himself for us, and ultimately, to undo the curse that resulted
from Adam’s sin.
Do you sometimes feel
distressed by the suffering and sickness and sin and violence we see in the
world around us? Don’t despair, let it remind you that is why Jesus came! Remember
the Gospel. Let it turn your heart to Jesus. He created the universe and
pronounced it “good.” Sin, human rebellion, brought all the pain and suffering
we see into the world. Jesus came to save sinners. He came to make a way for
sinful humans to be reconciled to holy God. Jesus went much farther than
feeling pity on the man...
Jesus reached out his
hand and touched him. Touch a leper?
That was unimaginable to a Jew! He was
unclean! The Law forbade such contact!
Think of this, first of all, from the leper’s perspective. He took a
chance in even approaching Jesus and bowing down before Him. He should have
kept his distance, kept his face covered, and shouted “Unclean! Unclean!” And
yet he came. How long, I wonder, had it been, since this man had been touched
by another human? Did he expect, like
Elisha had done with Naaman, to be sent to the Jordan to immerse himself seven
times? Remember Uzziah, though he was a king, he lived out his last days in
isolation.
But Jesus reaches out his
hand and touches the leper, and He says, “I
will. Be clean!” And he was. Immediately. The scene brings to my mind the
song, “He touched me, He touched me, and
oh, the joy that filled my soul! Something happened, and now I know, He touched
me and made me whole!” The horrible disease that demanded isolation from
humans and from God, was suddenly gone, by the gracious touch of the Savior, he
was healed! That should resonate with you if you know Christ. Because we too were
unclean, filthy sinners, alienated from God, but now He has graciously touched
us, and made us clean, reconciled us to God.
IV. Our
Reasonable Response: Obedient submission to His Word (43-45).
43 And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, 44 and 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, for a proof to them." 45 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.
Faith requires obedience. Believing He
is God means taking Him at His word, and submitting to His Lordship (43).
Jesus tells the man, he “sternly charged
him,” to say nothing to anyone, but rather to go and show himself to the
priest and offer the required offering. Why? It seems, as the story unfolds,
that Jesus knew the man’s heart, and he knew what would happen. The language is
strong, even before the man leaves, Jesus knows what he’ll do, and so he
“charges him sternly” not to speak, but to go to the priests as required by the
Law. The language almost
has the sense of “rebuke”—which is interesting, because the man didn’t do
anything yet! He sends the man to the
priest. Why?
For “…a proof to them…” Remember Jesus is presenting himself, with
his works and his words, as the Messiah of Israel. He did not come to destroy
the Law, but to fulfill the Law. His miracles were a testimony to the
multitudes, and, potentially at least, they could be a testimony to the leaders
and the priests. Who had ever heard of a leper being healed? Would the leaders see
the evidence before their very eyes and recognize that only God could do the
things that Jesus was doing? It seems like some were open, like Nicodemus, who
came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi,
we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs
that you do unless God is with him…” (John 3:2). But others, in fact most,
would not, or could not, believe. In fact, the healed man seems to disregard
Jesus’ instruction and goes out “talking freely” and spreading the news about
what Jesus had done.
The “sacrifice for our cleansing” has been offered, once for all.
What “offering” is proper for us? There is an interesting contrast in the
command to the leper, and to the command that is given to us as the church. In
view of God’s mercy, we should offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, that is
our reasonable service of worship! (Rom 12:1,2). Our offering is praise,
thanksgiving, worship. And rather than going, and staying silent, we are to go
as His witnesses, and make disciples of every nation, baptizing them and
teaching them the things He has taught us (see Mt 28:18,20).
How
did the healed man respond? It seems shocking, but apparently, he is so
overcome with joy at his healing, that he ignores the instruction of Jesus
completely: “But he went out and began
to talk freely about it, and to spread the news…” Notice the result: “…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.” We see the importance of obedience… at this
moment it was to remain silent, for us it is to speak up — to be His witnesses telling all who will listen what the
Lord has done for us… because we too…
What is God saying to me in
this passage?
We were unclean, alienated from God by the filth of our sin, but by grace
through faith, He has touched us and made us clean, reconciling us to Himself!
What would God have me to do in response to this passage? I don’t know if you ever got into
the paint when you were a kid—I did (literally!), but not as “effectively” as
the kids in that video! But I also got into enough other stuff, especially in
my years before I knew Christ, to know the desperate wickedness of my own heart,
and that even my good works were like filthy rags before Him. Thank God for
His Amazing Grace!
A key aspect of the “mission” of the church universal, and of our local
church is to know God and to make
Him known. That is perhaps minimalistic in terms of the use of words, and
it will be fleshed out a little differently in our individual lives and in our
church, but it is enough to keep us engaged till Jesus returns. He touched
the leper, and made him clean. He did that for us as well. Do you see in
Jesus’ act of compassion in touching that leper something of His love for
humans? Does it reveal something of His
desire for reconciliation? Does His
intervention in your life speak to His love for you? Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep my commandments!”
(John 14:15, NKJV).
This is how God showed his love among us, He sent His one and only Son into the world, that we might live through Him! The more our eyes are opened to what He did for us, the better we know Him, the more we will love Him. Who are the outcasts, the untouchables around us, who need to know the love of God? “And such were some of you [Us! SN]. 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.” (I Cor 6:11). Amazing Grace! Let that motivate us to stay faithful and engaged in His mission in the world.
And
may it fill our hearts with thanksgiving and worship, as we share in the
Table together… AMEN.
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