Mark 1:40-45 — “Following Instructions…”

Mark 1:40-45
And a leper came to him, 
                 imploring him, and 
      kneeling said to him, "If you will, 
                                            you can make me clean." 
⁴¹Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, 
                                               "I will;            be clean." 
⁴²And immediately the leprosy left him, 
                                            and he was made clean. 
⁴³And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, ⁴⁴and 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.

Comments:

This passage is best known for Jesus’ willingness to heal the leper [who because of his disease was ceremonially unclean and an outcast from society] and to actually touch him in the process. That touch would have been huge since as a leper no one would ever touch him. But Jesus only asked the man to do two things in return…neither of these things did the healed man do

“See that you say nothing to anyone” During WWII, there was a saying that “loose lips sink ships” referring to how careless words could result in the sinking of allied ships by German U-boats. Something very similar might have been the case in this passage. The healed leper had loose lips. The man talked freely about what Jesus had done, in clear disobedience of what Jesus had commanded. Why is it that we too think that we know better than the Lord about what should be said and when? It’s not just a little thing. There was a very real hindrance to Jesus' ministry as a result. From this point on, not only could Jesus no longer enter cities freely…but the people had to hunt for him in desolate places. 

“…but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them." This directive would have allowed him to legally re-enter society. It appears that he didn’t do it. As a result, this event may have contributed to the early opposition of the priests to Jesus’ ministry. Instead of seeing him as one who valued the law, they would have easily seen him as a threat and trouble maker.

So did this error on the part of the healed leper really keep Jesus from fulfilling his calling? If that was the case, then my own mistakes might also result in hindering the plan of God. Thankfully the answer is “No.” Nothing could do that. God’s plan is sure! I was recently reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Letters and Papers from Prison and he commented on God’s sovereignty in history, saying,

“I believe that even our mistakes and shortcomings are turned to good account, and that it is no harder for God to deal with them than with our supposedly good deeds. I believe that God is no timeless fate, but that he waits for and answers sincere prayers and responsible actions.”

I find this view very encouraging. God has no problem even using my mistakes. True as this may be, it is no excuse for our sloppy obedience; for our mistakes do make it harder for others to get to Jesus. Remember, the sick and hurting people, they then had to go out into the desolate places to find their healer. I would rather my words were loving and right, a Spirit-empowered message of encouragement, than a stumbling block to others.

The whole episode reminds me that Jesus did not speak on his own accord, but only what the Father gave him to speak. Should this not also be true of us? This is a lesson I desperately need to learn (I think I heard some people saying “Amen!” a little too loudly!). 

This week I am going to apply the following two passages to my speech and see what happens!

• Proverbs 10:19 “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.”

• Ephesians 4:15, 29 “…speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him …Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”

Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy!