Mark 1:40-45 - Jesus Cleanses A Leper

We come to an early transition point in Mark's Gospel. His early Galilean ministry has led to huge crowds which hinder, more than anything else, Jesus' ability to accomplish his primary mission. This is because the crowds have not really come to hear and learn and heed his message. For the most part they hound him hoping for him to provide some temporal need or--one can imagine--just to see the show. But Jesus and his disciples are no traveling miracle show.

What takes place in this account (this pericope) serves as a transition from the early ministry to a series of stories that will demonstrate growing opposition to Jesus.

But this story of Jesus cleansing the leper does more than serve as a transition. It also serves to demonstrate the surpassing nature of the salvation Jesus brings. While the law of Moses could describe leprosy and provide for the ritual cleansing of it, the law could not heal it. In the same sense the law of Moses accurately describes our sin and even provided, temporarily, for its ritual cleansing. But the law could never actually take away sin. That's what Jesus came to do. And his healing of this man's leprosy will in many ways point to that.

What this event pictures for us is so striking that it cannot be passed over. Just as Jesus cleanses this leper by touching his disease and making himself unclean, so Jesus cleansed us of all sin by coming down in human flesh and being (1) touched by all the feeling of our infirmities. He was exposed to our dread disease of sin by (2) being in all points tempted like as we are. Then (3) he went to the cross and actually took our sin (our disease, our judgment from God) upon himself so that we could walk away free--free of sin, free of judgment, and welcomed back into the society, the friendship of God. We were outcasts and he became outcast so that we would no longer be. The clarity of the gospel in this passage is remarkable.

Below you will find a link to the audio recording of the sermon I preached from this passage. I hope you will listen to it and take it to heart. This leper represents all of us and what Jesus does for him he has done for us as well. You, too, will find that your sins have been cleansed if you come to Jesus!

Click here: Mark 1:40-45 - Jesus Cleanses A Leper

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