Bible Study Series: Mark 1:40-45. He was moved with compassion. How is this a good motive to heal?
Friendly greetings and a warm welcome to this Bible study! I write to learn, so let’s learn together how to apply these truths to our lives.
I also translate to learn. The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many others, please click here:
If you would like to see the original Greek, please click here:
At that link, I also offer more commentary and a Summary and Conclusion, geared towards discipleship. Scroll down to the bottom and check it out!
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Mark 1:40-45
40 Next, a leper came to him, begging him and kneeling and saying to him, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with compassion and stretching of his hand, Jesus touched him and said to him, “I’m willing. Be cleansed.” 42 And instantly the leprosy departed, and he was cleansed.
43 Jesus sternly warned him and quickly sent him away 44 and said to him, “See to it that you say nothing to anyone, but go and show yourself to the priest, and for your cleansing bring what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them. 45 But he left and began to proclaim freely and spread the news widely, so that Jesus was no longer able to go into a city openly, but he was outside in isolated places. They came to him from everywhere. (Mark 1:40-45)
Commentary
France says v. 40 initiates the controversial aspect of Jesus’s ministry, to Mark 3:6.
40:
The standard translation is leprosy, and healing this disease was one of the signs that the Messiah had come. Scholars nowadays say the word was generic for skin diseases (Hansen’s disease). Let’s call the man a “leper” for convenience.
A leper was required by law to wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face, and, as noted, cry out “Unclean! Unclean!” in order not to contaminate someone else (Lev. 13:45).
45 “Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of their face and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ 46 As long as they have the disease they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp. (Lev. 13:45-46, NIV)
See my posts on skin disease and mold:
Skin Disease, Mold in Leviticus 13, 14 from a NT Perspective
Childbirth, Bodily Discharges in Leviticus 12, 15 from a NT Perspective
Give the leper credit. He did show humility. Would Jesus be willing? Of course.
41:
Jesus’s response was perfect. He reached out his hand and touched him. Through servants God did that in the OT: Exod. 3:20; 6:6; 7:15; 9:15; 15:12; Deut. 4:34; 5:15; 7:19; 11:2; 2 Kings 17:36; Ps. 136:12; Jer. 32:21). Jesus was simply following his Father’s example. It was bold and courageous to touch this unclean man. One reason that a leper was required to call out “Unclean! Unclean!” is that he must not touch and so defile anyone else. The leper did not touch Jesus; Jesus touched him, unconcerned for his own health. How could a skin disease get transferred to Jesus when he had healing power flowing from him? This power pushed the disease backwards. He was the healing Lord, not the possible victim.
“moved with compassion”: Jesus was moved with compassion. The verb could be translated as “felt compassion,” but this attribute which God shares with us cannot remain static or unexpressed. It has to be active, or else it cannot be compassion.
Let’s explore the verb and the related noun more deeply. The verb is splanchnizomai (pronounced splankh-nee-zoh-my) and is used 12 times, exclusively in the Gospels. “It describes the compassion Jesus had for those he saw in difficulty” (Mounce, New Expository Dictionary, p. 128). BDAG defines the verb simply: “have pity, feel sympathy.”
BDAG further says the noun splanchnon (pronounced splankh-non) is related to the inward part of the body, especially the viscera, inward parts, entrails. But some update their translation with the noun as “heart.” So the verb is also related to the inward parts of a person. It could be translated as “Jesus felt compassion in the depths of his heart.”
As an important side note, in Hebrew the verb raḥam (pronounced rakh-am, and used 47 times) means “to have compassion on, show mercy, take pity on and show love.” The noun raḥamim (39 times) (pronounced rach’meem) means “compassion, mercy, pity.” Both words are related to the word for “womb,” when a woman feels close to and love for the human life growing there. It’s deep in God, too.
Do I Really Know God? He Is Compassionate and Merciful
People need shepherds today, and thank God there are numerous ones out there nowadays. But the need is still great.
NT scholar and unfriendly critic of the Gospels Bart Ehrman wrote an article about the leper being in the hands of an angry Jesus because some manuscripts have “being angry” instead of “moved with compassion”
Here is my reply:
A Leper in the Hands of an Angry Jesus?
Strauss states that Jesus expressed anger or indignation, but not against the man because Jesus was about to stretch out his hand and touch him. Instead Jesus was angry at “the ravaging effects of the disease and (especially) of the social and religious ostracism that it is causing. Mark’s Gospel portrays Jesus as God’s authoritative agent of salvation, doing battle with disease, death, and the devil. It is not surprising that he would show some disdain for disease, the result of a sinful and fallen world, that he does for Satan’s evil forces” (p. 112).
Lane on Jesus’s indignation:
… [A]nger can be understood as an expression of righteous indignation at the ravages of sin, disease, and death which take their toll even upon the living, a toll particularly evident in a leper. As such, Jesus’s encounter with the leper brings him once more into the sphere of the demonic. It is, perhaps, in this perspective that elements in the narrative which see more appropriate to an exorcism narrative than to an account of healing are to be explained.
“I am willing”: this could be simply translated, “I want to.” Now the question comes up, Is Jesus willing to heal my sickness? And the answer is that we have to begin our prayers of healing, as if God is willing. Then this question comes up: then why did God not heal my loved one? He died! Answer: we live on planet earth, and disease temporarily has a right to live down here, because it is a natural thing; it works by the laws of nature, and nature is terribly flawed. (Later on, when God brings in a new heaven and new earth, diseases won’t be allowed to live there.)
See my post
Why Doesn’t Divine Healing Happen One Hundred Percent of the Time?
“Be clean”: it is a command, not a statement. Jesus commanded the skin disease to leave. Often you have to command diseases.
42:
But these nonanswers to prayers for healing (down here on earth) discussed in v. 41 do not apply here in v. 42. His leprosy or skin disease instantly left. Wonderful! Let’s expect God to chase away diseases, not fret over whether he is willing. I say fight all diseases in prayer, until the sick person is healed in his body or healed with his heavenly body, after he dies. In my experience, sometimes the Spirit will whisper to you to pray for peace and not healing, for God is taking the sick person home. But until you get this whisper, fight to the very end in prayer!
43-44:
Why did Jesus tell him not to report the healing to anyone, when a large crowd saw the healing? He sent the healed man back to his hometown.
Why did Jesus command him not to tell others? He did not want to excite popular hysteria about his miraculous works. He downplayed the miracles (Luke 4:35, 41; 8:56; Matt. 9:30; 12:16; Mark 1:34; 3:12; 5:43; 7:36; 8:26). He really wanted to teach. Miracles are the sign that back up teaching. Teaching is the main thing. Miracles without kingdom and Bible teaching is just a show.
Let’s explore more deeply the command to the former leper not to proclaim it further.
First, Jesus simply wanted to spread the message his way without the false expectations from “noninformed” people. Second, the exuberant expectation from the masses may spark an insurrection, which would hinder his message and his mission: to proclaim the kingdom of God, backed up by sings and wonders. People had to learn about his Messiahship through their thirst and hunger for the knowledge of God. They had to connect the dots. This is one of the purposes of teaching in parables. Only the hungry seekers could understand.
Let’s talk about the signs of the Messiah or the Messianic Age, to find out which dots the people had to connect.
As I note in various places throughout the commentary on the Gospels, one sign of the Messianic Age was the healing of diseases and broken bodies. Is. 35 describes this age. After God comes with a vengeance to rescue his people, these things will happen:
“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy” (Is. 35:5-6).
Is. 26:19 says of the Messianic Age: “But your dead will live, LORD, their bodies will rise—let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout with joy” (Is. 26:19, NIV).
The phrase “in that day” refers to the age that the Messiah ushers in: “In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll and out of gloom and darkness the eyes will see” (Is. 29:18, NIV).
The Lord’s Chosen Servant will do many things. Here are some: “I am the LORD: I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for my people, a light for the nations, to open they eyes that are blind, to bring the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness” (Is. 42:6-7, ESV). Is. 42:18 connects hearing and seeing with walking in God’s ways, and deafness and blindness with national judgment. As for leprosy, Jesus referred to the time when Elijah the prophet healed Namaan the Syrian of his skin disease, and the return of Elijah was a sign that the Messiah was here (Mal. 4:5-6; Luke 9:28-36).
The offering for recovery from skin disease was two live kosher birds and other items (Lev. 14:4-6). Then the cleansed person has to shave all his hair and beard, wash his clothes, and take a bath (v. 9). Later they must offer two male lambs and one-year-old ewe lamb and other items. Together they must have been expensive, and the leper could not work, so he must have had grateful relatives who supplied him with the offerings.
On Jesus’s stern warning, Wessel and Strauss offer this colloquial, expanded translation: “Now listen, and listen good. Get to the priest immediately, and don’t tell anyone about this!” Jesus was not afraid to issue commands. But he was also compassionate and kind.
“for a testimony to them”: France suggest that “testimony” is a confrontation against the temple system and priests. The chief priests will be the main opponents of Jesus, later on (cf. Mark 13:9). This is true because Jesus will confront the temple establishment later in the Gospel. However, I like Strauss’s interpretation better. He says that the testimony is evidence or proof that the man was truly healed and could be restored to society. That’s much more streamlined. But who knows? Maybe the testimony is about both confrontation and restoration.
For us today, however, it is all right to tell the priest—a doctor today—that God healed you. Let him take the x-rays and examine your blood and other things. Then he will see that you are healed. It is your miracle testimony to him.
One last comment on v. 44: Jesus followed the law of Moses about offerings before he died on the cross (though no record says that he offered any sacrifices). It is a sure thing that when he was resurrected and healed people with skin diseases through his disciples, he never told the healed persons to go to the temple and offer the sacrifices prescribed by Moses. The gospel was going out across their known world, far outside tiny Israel. There was no longer any need for the Levitical temple system, which was put under God’s judgment and was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70 (Luke 19:41-45; 21:20-24; 23:26-31; Matt. 21:33-45).
Progressive revelation is a fact of the Bible. Moral law from the Old is retained in the New, but rituals and harsh penalties and ceremonies and dietary laws (and so on) are not retained. Please interpret Scripture clearly and properly, in its historical context.
Once again, see my post:
What Does the New Covenant Retain from the Old?
Many famous TV Bible teachers seem awfully confused about what to bring forward from the Old to the New. The “Hebrew Roots Movement” is also unclear about this. I hope the above link clarifies matters.
Also see here (again):
One Decisive Difference Between Sinai Covenant and New Covenant
45:
I love the healed man’s enthusiasm, but it was misdirected and built on disobedience. He should have done what Jesus told him. As a result, Jesus was being mobbed or at least crowded out, so that he could not enter a city openly. His ministry was hindered, so once again (v. 38) he had to go out to isolated places and let people come to him. He must have stood on a high place, like a ledge or mound, and preached. Then he healed and expelled demons (v. 39).
To conclude …..
Finally, Jesus healed a man with skin disease (Hansen’s disease). Moved with compassion, he commanded the healing. “Be cleansed!” Once again, command diseases, in Jesus’s name. Compassion and command do not conflict, but complement each other, when it works against a disease.
Lane concludes this pericope (pronounced puh-RIH-koh-pea, and is a section or unit) with this sharp insight:
The pericope establishes the surpassing nature of the salvation Jesus brings, for while the Law of Moses provided for the ritual purification of a leper, it was powerless to actually purge a man of the disease. In all of the OT only twice is it recorded that God had healed a leper (Num. 12:10-16; 2 Kings 5:1-14), and the rabbis affirmed that it was as difficult to heal the leper as to raise the dead. The cleansing of the leper indicates the new character of God’s action in bringing Jesus among men. Salvation transcends cultic [temple] and ritual regulations, which were powerless to arrest the hold that death had upon the living, and issues in radical healing (p. 89)
Yes, Jesus heals; the law does not. Jesus brings in the new kingdom; the law does not. Jesus brings in the new era of salvation; the law does not.
Grow App for Mark 1:40-45
1. Jesus healed a man of outward uncleanness. Has he cleansed your soul of moral uncleanness? What about you body from a disease? Tell your story.
RELATED
10. Eyewitness Testimony in Mark’s Gospel
2. Church Fathers and Mark’s Gospel
2. Archaeology and the Synoptic Gospels
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
SOURCES
For bibliographical data, please click on this link and scroll down to the very bottom:
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 