Mark in March

Mark 1:40-45

⁴⁰ A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said.

What faith!  This is the exact prayer we should pray, always believing that God is able and always subject to His will.

⁴¹ Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!”

Jesus touched him…. a leper!  I firmly believe that it is rare for it not to be Jesus’ will to heal us… maybe never is it His will to not heal.  When we ask, believing, He is moved with compassion.  But we must first and foremost always be submitted to His will… above our desires, above our wants, and even above our needs, whatever His will may be. Just like the leper.  Even though it may always be God’s will to heal us, His choice not to heal at any given time, is a choice He makes for our good… meaning that He will bring good to us through that particular infirmity.  For example, Don’s heart condition.  God is using Don in a wonderful way that would not have happened without the “thorn in his flesh.”  God’s grace is supplied to Don daily and His strength is witnessed in a man that should have been dead 27 years ago!  But God is not done with Don yet on this earth.

 ⁴² Instantly the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed.

I love it when God shows Himself mighty and miraculous in this way.  And I love it when He continues to show Himself mighty for 27 years and beyond!

⁴³ Then Jesus sent him on his way with a stern warning: ⁴⁴ “Don’t tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.”

Jesus cares about the details.  Not only did Jesus heal the man from leprosy, He took care to instruct Him in the details of being accepted back into society.

⁴⁵ But the man went and spread the word, proclaiming to everyone what had happened. As a result, large crowds soon surrounded Jesus, and he couldn’t publicly enter a town anywhere. He had to stay out in the secluded places, but people from everywhere kept coming to him.

Was Jesus using reverse psychology? :-)  Is it even possible to keep silent after experiencing what the leper had experienced?  When Jesus has touched us, we want to tell everyone.

The unfortunate thing here is that, now, Jesus can’t get into the churches because of the throng of people flocking to Him.  Now, crowd control and disturbance of metro and urban peace would be an issue that would have to be dealt with.  All because the healed leper didn’t obey exactly what Jesus told him.

But, regardless, the word is out and the masses came where Jesus was…. outside the box; outside the church building.

If we tell them, they will come.

What does Mark 1:40-45 say to you?