Jesus Cleanses a Leper
Mark 1:45 “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.”
publish it much... Only Mark records the cleansed leper’s disobedience, although Luke hints at it (Luke 5:15). Proclaim or preach, as in Mark 1:4, 1:7, 1:14, 1:38, 1:39. This verse is additional to Mat. 8:4. Even though it was a good thing for him to tell people, it was in disobedience to Christ (cp. 1Sam. 15:22-23).
no more openly... This will again be normal in the life of anyone who does the works of Christ (John 14:12). The result of the leper’s disobedience was that Jesus could no longer enter a city without being mobbed by those seeking to be cured of diseases. Jesus’ ministry of teaching in that area thus came to a halt.
the city
Properly, as Rev., a city; any city.
In desert places... Jesus kept to the relatively uninhabited regions to allow the excitement over His cure of the leper to die down. Luke also notes that He used His time in the wilderness for prayer (Luke 5:16). The healing of man’s sin-infected soul is therefore far more important than the healing of his body. The people’s enthusiasm over miracles hinders Jesus’ freedom to preach, causing Him to remain in the desert places.
they came to... Kept coming to Him for days (Mark 2:1). This incident of the cleansed leper justifies Jesus’ decision to emphasize preaching instead of healing. The leper’s disobeying Jesus’ command to inform no one but the priest of his healing indicates that although he was cleansed physically, he remained un-cleansed inwardly spiritually.
We can easily see why Jesus did not want the man to spread the news of his cleansing of leprosy. Jesus, now, could have no privacy at all and especially in the city. Anyone who had an illness of any kind came to Him. He was overwhelmed by the masses of people surrounding Him, and He fled into the desert. Even in the desert they came to Him from every direction.
We know that Jesus healed so many, that if all the healings were written down there would not have been enough books in all the world to contain them.
His followers also are to possess a religion that is vitalizing, to be the light of the world, and the salt of the earth.
If we are thus to further His cause, we must not only be zealous but obedient. Jesus strictly charged the leper not to fan the flame of an excitement which already impeded His work. But there was an invaluable service which he might render: the formal registration of his cure, the securing its official recognition by the priests, and their consent to offer the commanded sacrifices. In many a subsequent controversy, that testimony unto them might have been embarrassing indeed. But the leper lost his opportunity and put them upon their guard. And as through his impulsive clamor Jesus could no more openly enter into a city, but even in desert places was beset by excited crowds, so is He deprived today of many a tranquil ministration and lowly service, by the zeal which despises order and quiet methods, by the undisciplined and ill-judged demonstrations of men and women whom He has blessed.
Instead of obeying Jesus’ command to silence, the man went out and began to talk freely (lit., to proclaim kēryssein it much), making known the story of his cure far and wide. Mark did not say whether he obeyed Jesus’ command to show himself to the priest.
As a result, Jesus’ preaching ministry in the synagogues of Galilee (cf. Mark 1:39) was interrupted. He could not enter a town openly without encountering large crowds seeking special favors. Even when He withdrew to lonely erēmois, uninhabited, remote; cf. Mark 1:35 places… the people kept coming from all directions.
The deliverance Jesus brought transcended the Mosaic Law and its regulations. Though the Law provided for the ritual purification of a leper, it was powerless to cleanse a person from the disease or to effect inward spiritual renewal.
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