The Book of Mark
Jesus Trades Places with a Leper
Mark 1:40–45
Tonight from Mark’s gospel we come to one of two places in the four gospels where Jesus heals a leper. This one is recorded here in Mark as well as Matthew 8:1-4 and Luke 5:12-16. At that time, leprosy was common in Israel according to Luke 4:27, and had been common in Israel for a long time so it is very likely Jesus healed many lepers. And in Mark 14:3 we find Jesus in the home of none other than Simon the Leper.
Apparently he wasn’t a leper then because he would have been an outcast and unable to hold a party at his house. So obviously Simon used to be a leper but most likely had been healed by Jesus but there's no record of his healing given to us in the gospels. There are only two records of the healing of lepers, this one, one man, and the occasion in Luke 17 where Jesus healed ten lepers. Again that's not say He didn't heal many more.
In fact, as we last saw, He healed a lot of people and we aren’t given the details for many of them. The healings and casting out of demons were the proof positive that He was the Son of God and they served as attention-getters for Him to preach the gospel.
So in these verses we have this one incident recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke of the healing of a leper and because of the nature of the disease, it’s always a fascinating situation whenever a leper appears in the Bible.
So let’s read the account, then we’ll see what it says to us.
Verses 40-45
It’s a rather simple, well-known story that begins with
1. The Leper’s Predicament
Verse 40
All we know about this man is he is a leper and because of that he is an outcast. The word “leprosy” is a term used to identify a disease that presents itself with scaly skin. In fact, the word leprosy means “scaly”.
From a Jewish standpoint, that means he was unclean, thus this man’s request for Jesus to make him “clean”.
When it was determined a person was a leper, they were removed from any kind of interaction with the public. According to Leviticus 13, they had to announce they were unclean everywhere they went in order to give people warning. They were also required to rip and tear their clothing as a means of identifying themselves as unclean also.
It was extremely important, for the well-being of society that they be designated as unclean. According to Leviticus 13, the priests were required to make the determination of leprosy. In fact, there are 59 verses dealing with possible skin diseases.
Certain tests were to be performed to make certain of leprosy before a diagnosis was given. And it’s easy to understand why. Once you were declared to be unclean, your world turned upside down. You were ostracized by the community, forced to live alone outside the city.
Not only was there the social and communal aspects of the disease, you also had to live with the disease itself. The bacteria that causes leprosy attacks the nerves and below the skin and desensitizes the feeling so that the potential for injury is extremely high.
It usually starts with a white or pink patch of skin on the brow, nose, ear, cheek or chin that then spreads in all directions. One of the early signs is the eyebrows and eyelashes disappear. Then spongy tumor-like swellings grow on the face and body.
The disease eventually attacks the internal organs as well as the skin. Fingers and toes are sometimes reabsorbed into the body because the bacteria affects the bone marrow and causes the bones to shrivel.
Because of the loss of feeling from nerve damage, the victims often destroy their own tissue because they have no feeling. Many will wear off their fingers doing simple things like washing dishes or tying their shoes because they cannot feel anything.
Leprosy can cause blindness, cause the teeth to fall out, and produce sterility. It is a horrendous disease typically lasting from 10 to 30 years and required the victim to be cut off from everyone other than other lepers.
They couldn't go to the temple. They couldn't go to the synagogue. They couldn't go home. They couldn't associate with their family.
So how severe was this man’s case? Luke, in 5:12, says he was full of leprosy. His leprosy was visible. It’s very likely his body was disfigured. The disease was running its full course and he is living a life of dying.
And the fact that he came to Jesus is a shock. He's not supposed to do that. Outcasts were forbidden to come near anyone. Upwind, a leper could come within six feet of a person, downwind, 150 feet. In Israel they were barred from the city of Jerusalem all together.
But this leper came to Jesus. He violated all necessary requirements. He is desperate and he came to Jesus begging to be healed.
He was willing to risk the shame and embarrassment to go where he was not supposed to go. That's how desperate he was and that's how confident he was in the power of Jesus which was now widely known. He had great confidence in Jesus' power to heal him.
And he says to Him in verse 40, and by the way, Luke includes the title “Lord”. “Lord, if You are willing, you can make me clean.” He had no doubt about Jesus' power. The only thing he didn't know was whether He willed to do it.
What a predicament!
Then notice
2. The Lord’s Response
Verse 41
Now in Leviticus 5:3 there's a law forbidding anyone to touch a leper. But Jesus couldn't be defiled by anyone. Jesus never had an illness. He never contracted a disease. He never had a cough or a cold. Jesus never sneezed! So He wasn’t affected when a leper touched Him or when He touched a leper.
He is willing to heal this leper and He does. Mark’s favorite word is used to describe what happens: “immediately” the leprosy left him.
If his nose had been worn away, if his face had been disfigured, if his fingers were gone, all of that instantly disappeared. If his eyelashes and eyebrows were gone, they suddenly were back.
All the inward effects of his disease are reverse. All the wear and tear on his body is gone. There was, in an instant, the removal of any evidence this man had ever been infected with the dreaded disease of leprosy. Everything was instantly restored at the touch and voice of Jesus.
And then Jesus requires him to get the necessary verification from the priest and offer the required offerings to God. So off he goes to Jerusalem, telling everyone he meets what’s happened.
By the way, that was in direct violation of the Lord’s instruction to keep quiet about it.
Verses 43-44
That is so opposite to what we expect to hear. You would think Jesus would want him to broadcast the evidence of His power to heal. But it is a simple test of obedience. Remember, the man greeted Him as “Lord”.
So Jesus gives him a simple command to see if he really meant it. Don't tell anybody. Just head for the priest in the temple at Jerusalem to do what is prescribed.
Why?
verse 44b
“As a testimony to them” with “them” being the priests. Jesus says,, “You're going to go to the temple and you're going to talk to the priests because I want this miracle confirmed to the priests.” He wants the priests to have to face His power and know that He upholds the Mosaic Law.
Then when the time comes, if they reject Jesus, they’re going to condemn themselves by their own findings. And if they believe in Him, it will be because they have made the obvious connection between His miracles and the power fo God.
We've seen the leper's predicament and the Lord's response. Now let’s reverse the sotry line and see
3. The Lord's Predicament
verse 45
If you had any tendency to believe this man was interested in more than a physical healing, it kind of falls apart with this verse.
First, His disobedience eliminated the opportunity for the testimony to the priests which is what the Lord wanted him to do. And secondly, the man's disobedience in spreading this all over everywhere had a negative effect on even what Jesus was able to do.
According to chapter 1, verses 38 and 39, He wanted to go to all the towns and villages and preach, but this man’s disobedience created such
Hysteria, He was unable to do that.
He can't even get near a town. He’s living out in isolation, and still they are coming. From here on out, He’s in the wilderness. You’ll see Him out by the seashore somewhere. Sometimes He has to get in a boat and float off just to get away from the people enough to speak to them. The crowds are so large the sick have to be let down to Him through a hole torn in the roof of the house where He’s at.
And all they all wanted was the healing. Jesus told this man, “I don't need any more of promotion. Just go tell the priests. I want the priests to have to face the reality of My divine power.” Instead, the man tells everyone and Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city but stayed out in unpopulated areas.
If this man had obeyed Him, it might have slowed the crush.
It might have allowed Him to go to a town He never was able to go to, maybe heal some people that were unable to be healed. The people who were the sickest couldn't leave the town and if He couldn't go to the town, He couldn't get to them.
Now those are the details of the story. But for just a moment I want to back away from the details and tell you what I see hear in a bigger picture type of setting.
It occurs to me that Jesus trades places with the leper. At the beginning of the story, the leper is in the wilderness in isolation and Jesus is in the cities among the crowds. After the meeting with Jesus, the leper was able to mingle in the city but Jesus is isolated in the wilderness. So Jesus trades places with the leper.
And that is a beautiful reminder of what He did at the cross. See, we are the spiritual lepers who lived in alienation and isolation from God. We met Him and were brought into the presence of God. We get to be a part of His family and His church and His people in the Kingdom.
But the only way we could ever be taken from our isolation and brought into the presence of God was if He left the presence of God and went Himself into isolation. And that's what He did on the cross and because Jesus was forsaken and treated as an outcast, we are accepted and welcomed into the presence of God.
And in this one little healing, we find the beautiful story of redemption simply stated: Jesus took your place.
