There came a leper to him

Mark 1:37-45
And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee. 38 And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth. 39 And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils. 40 ¶ And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. 42 And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. 43 And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away; 44 And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. 45 But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.

Mark’s Gospel of Jesus Christ gives a brief story of the healing by Jesus of a leper. We learn before this mention of the leper, that Jesus went through all of Galilee, a northern region of Palestine, preaching in the synagogues, or the teaching and worship houses of Israel, and he also cast out devils of some of the people possessed by demons, or wicked spirits.

While in Galilee a man who was plagued by leprosy, a severe contagious skin disease, came seeking Jesus. The notoriety of Jesus’ peaching and his healings were being spread around Galilee, no doubt, this man had heard of the man named Jesus and the news of his powers of healing and came seeking Jesus.
The scriptures say he came beseeching Jesus and knelt down before Jesus pleading to Jesus saying “if you will, you can make me clean.”

Jesus was with his disciples and others who were most likely very anxious when they noticed the man was a leper, and unclean according to the written law of YHWH, and would have kept a distance away from getting near, or close to a such a person with the plague of skin disease of leprosy.

But Mark’s Gospel describes much about Jesus in this encounter.

The scripture says Jesus was moved with compassion, and he put forth his hand to touch the man. Then Jesus said to the leper “I will, be you clean.”

Mark records as soon as Jesus spoke those words, the physical signs of the man’s leprosy departed away and he was restored clean of the disease.

Then Jesus charged the man who likely was now overwhelmed with joy and thought to tell others of his amazing healing, to go, but not to tell any man. Instead, Jesus told him to go appear before the temple priest and offer to God the offering for leprosy cleansing according the Law of Moses, for a testimony to the priests.

You see, under the Old Covenant law a person who was sick, or unclean of leprosy, was kept away from the camp of Israel outside the main camp and considered unclean. He could not enter the camp unless he was deemed clean.

Leviticus 13:3
And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and when the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.

The unclean, or sick person, was supposed to go before the priests and be ministered to for his healing, or cleansing. If the person was made clean, and was healed of his sickness, then after the healing, the person healed would bring to the priests an offering to God according to the written law of YHWH.

Jesus knew very well the law of God, and he also knows what a commotion this would have with the priestly class once they encountered the cured man.

In the end the man who was cleansed of his leprous state would spread and publish his amazing recovery around the region, so much so, that Jesus was so well known that he could not enter into the city because of the crowds. Instead, they would begin to come to him in the desert places.

God who came in the flesh, Jesus the Christ, was not only healing men’s illnesses but healing men’s hearts.

Jesus had done what not many others would dare to do in his day, to touch an outcast, a contagious sickly man deemed unclean by God’s own holy law. Most would choose to walk or run away from one with leprosy with much anxiety and fear of getting the disease, but Jesus was trying to set an example of God’s compassion, and mercy, to touch men in their hearts.

Jesus was moved with compassion with this man who had faith in him, who appeared, kneeling before him.

Jesus touched the man when no one else would; a powerful statemen in its own kind.

Then Jesus spoke words of mercy.

When Jesus spoke the word, the unclean became clean.

Jesus is calling out today as he did back then, looking for the outcasts to come close and approach near to God, so he can heal that unclean person, or sinner, man or woman, to touch them and touch their hearts.

Jesus said:

Matthew 11:28-30
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Do you want to be touched by God? If so, then all you need to do is call out to Jesus. Call out to Jesus, in truth!

As Jesus said:

Luke 11:9
And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

But how shall a person call out to Jesus unless he or she first knows about Jesus?

Acts 4:12
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Do You know about Jesus?

Do you know why Jesus came?

Do you know he died for your sins?

Heavenly Father, we thank you for sending Jesus, your Son to show us your holy love, compassion, and mercy, and who died and shed his holy blood on the cross to cleanse the unclean, to make righteous the sinners justified through faith in our Lord Jesus the Christ and his saving work on the cross.

Thank you for being God who continually is seeking the outcast and the lost, the unclean and the sinners.

We praise your holy name!

Do you know Jesus?