Lesson 44

LESSON 44 - Mark 1:40-45

40And 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. 41And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. 42And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. 43And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away; 44And 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. 45But 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.

I want you to compare this passage in Mark with the following parallel verses in Matthew and Luke, and then answer some questions.

Matthew 8:2-4

1When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. 2And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 3And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

Luke 5:12-14

12And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 13And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him. 14And he charged him to tell no man: but go, and shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. 15But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities. 16And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.

1. Where was Jesus coming from? Jesus had just finished teaching the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5-7).

2. What did He then enter? What was its name? (See Mark 2:1)

3. Who met Him?

4. What was the man's disease?

Leprosy was a chronic, infectious disease that attacked the skin and extremities of a person and for which there was no known cure at that time. It was characterized by sores, scabs and shiny white spots beneath the skin. Because of the contagious nature of the disease, the leper was isolated from family, friends and all other people. He was required to wear mourning clothes, and to cry a warning, "Unclean, unclean!" so all could avoid being near him. He was never touched, hugged or kissed.

There were a few cases of leprosy being cured in the Old Testament: Moses (Exodus 4:7), Miriam, his sister (Numbers 12:10), and Naaman (2Kings 5:1,10).

5. How bad was this man's leprosy?

6. How does he react when he sees Jesus?

b. What does this show?

c. Mark's account says the leper knelt; Luke's account says the leper fell on his face. Since we know the Bible is the Word of God, Who does not lie, how do you explain this difference?

d. What did his changing position in front of Jesus indicate?

7. Why do you think the leper approached Jesus? What had he probably heard?

8. What words in this account tell you that the leper was very serious about his request for healing?

9. The leper addresses Jesus as "Lord." This word means "Master." What was the leper acknowledging?

The leper didn't wait for Jesus to say anything. He doesn't cry "unclean" as he was required to do. He doesn't stand afar off, as he was supposed to do. He kneels, then falls on his face before Jesus and begs Jesus to heal him.

10. How does Jesus react to this request? Is He reluctant to heal?

11. What words show Jesus' heart towards this man?

In His compassion, Jesus showed the character of His Father. Psalm 86:15 thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth. Psalm111:4 the LORD is gracious and full of compassion. Lamentations 3:22-23 It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

Principle: We should also show the character of our heavenly Father by our compassion for those in need. I read a story about a Christian speaker driving to a conference. His time to get there was limited. He didn't want to be late. He stopped at a red light. He noticed a homeless man on the corner. The driver checked the red light. It still hadn't turned green. He waited for what seemed like several minutes before the light finally turned green and he went on his way. He asked the Lord why He didn't make that light change to green for him. The Lord said, "I wanted you to pray for that homeless man." The man was convicted of his lack of compassion for the man on the corner. He repented and asked forgiveness for it. This incident also taught him that delays may be opportunities for ministry.

12. In all 3 accounts of this leper's healing, it mentions that Jesus put out His hand and touched the leper. How do you think the leper felt when he was touched for the first time in a long time?

13. Why did Jesus touch the leper rather than staying back from him and just speaking the words "be healed?"

b. Why wasn't He afraid?

c. Who showed Jesus what He was to do and say? (John 5:19-20, 8:28,12:49-50)

The touch of Jesus' hand on the leper came from His compassion for the man. Jesus' heart guided His actions.

Principle: What you do indicates the condition of your heart. Your actions reveal what you believe and who you really are.

Proverbs 23:7 ... as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.

In Luke 4:40, "Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them," Jesus touched every person that He healed. Yet in Matthew 8:5-13 Jesus didn't even see the sick person, much less touch him, but simply speaks a word of agreement for healing.

14. Who anointed and directed Jesus in what He did so that He knew when to touch and when to speak for healing? (See Matthew 3:16,4:1, Luke 2:40, 4:14, John 3:34)

b. Who should you ask and listen to for your directions for each day?

Principle: God will direct your steps, if you will ask Him and begin to train yourself to listen for His voice.

Proverbs 3:1-10 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: 2For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. 3Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: 4So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. 5Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 7Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. 8It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. 9Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: 10So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

15. How do you think the leper felt when he heard Jesus say, "I will, be thou clean" and knew the leprosy was gone?

16. Are healings always instantaneous, as this one? (John 4:52-53, Mark 16:18).

17. Then Jesus told the man to say nothing to anyone. Why didn't Jesus want the man to advertise that a Healer was in the city?

18. Jesus tells the healed man to go show himself to whom?

b. Why did the priests of the temple in Jerusalem need a testimony of this healing?

19. Why was he to do this?

20. This was in accordance with whose law?

21. How was the freedom of Jesus affected by the man's doing the opposite of what Jesus requested about his not telling? See Mark 1:45.

22. What application can you make to yourself in this story?

23. Many times scripture has more than one level of application. Suppose you looked at this account as if the leper represented a lost man.

a. What then would the leprosy represent?

b. What would the healing represent?

c. What steps did the man have to take to be delivered?

d. The man hadn't done anything to earn or deserve his healing. Yet God healed him. That is what we call grace. What has grace to do with salvation?

Ephesians 2:5-9 (by grace ye are saved;) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast.

e. When did the man exhibit faith in Jesus' ability to help him?

(If you'd like my answers to these questions to compare with yours, let me know.)