I AM Willing, Mark 1:40-45

 

Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”

⁴¹ Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” ⁴² As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. ⁴³ And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, ⁴⁴ and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

⁴⁵ However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.

Faith of the leper, 40

Compassion from the Healer, 41-42

Commission from the Master, 43-45

The temperature is dropping, the snow is falling, the wind is blowing, the little boy, wrapped in rags, stands in the cold, looking through the window.

The Christmas lights are blinking, the fireplace is crackling, the family is laughing, handing out presents...

The little boy shivers, as tears freeze on his cheek. 

On the outside looking in, is a mighty sad and lonely place to be.

That’s how lepers felt, every day of their life.

2 Kings 5:1-7.

Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper. ² And the Syrians had gone out on raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman’s wife. ³ Then she said to her mistress, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy.” ⁴ And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “Thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel.”

⁵ Then the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.”

The king sent Naaman with gold and silver and ten changes of clothes and a letter that read:

Now be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy.

⁷ And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy?”

Naaman found the prophet Elisha and was indeed healed of leprosy.

However, the point here is the king of Israel’s response about healing a leper: “Am I God...?”

In that day, everyone understood that the only cure for leprosy, was from God.

It was still the same about 800 years later when Jesus came on the scene.

To have leprosy meant your life as you knew it was over.

You had to leave your house, your family and move outside of town.

For the rest of your miserable life, whenever other people were around you had to cover your mouth and shout a warning, “Unclean! Unlean! (Leviticus 13).

You were considered dirty and cursed.

No cure. No life. You were the walking dead. No one looked you in the eye. No one spoke your name. Absolutely no one touched you. No hugs from your spouse, your kids, your friends. No sitting close at the table or in the temple.

You were forever more on the outside looking in.

Until today.

Until Jesus.

FAITH

Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”

 A leper...

We can put ourselves in the story as a leper, since we all have sinned, and leprosy symbolically can represent sin.

Leprosy compared to sin:

Invisible enemy
Leprosy begins with a microscopic, invisible bacteria.

Sin begins with an invisible thought or desire before manifesting externally.

James 1:14-15
But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

Desensitizes
Leprosy attacks the peripheral nerves, killing the body's ability to feel pain.

Sin deadens our spiritual sensitivity, searing our conscience.

1 Timothy 4:2
speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,

Self-destructive
Because a leper cannot feel pain, they accidentally, unknowingly, injure themselves.

Similarly, sin destroys our life and blinds us to our self-destructive behavior.

 

Separates
Leprosy caused total isolation and ceremonial uncleanness.

Sin separates and destroys relationships with each other and God.

Isaiah 59:2
But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
And your sins have hidden His face from you,
So that He will not hear.

Did you know that in recent years, Florida has reported a rise in leprosy cases? Public health researchers track these infections to the nine-banded armadillo. Scientists discovered that many of the armadillos carry the exact same bacteria (Mycobacterium leprae) that caused the ancient scourge.

Doctors warn that you don't even have to touch an armadillo to be at risk. They dig into the dirt beneath porches, flowerbeds, and lawns. As they dig, they shed the bacteria into the soil. You may do some gardening, disturb the soil, breathe in the dust, and contract the disease without ever realizing it.

However, leprosy is completely curable today, now known as Hansen’s disease, and is treated effectively using a combination of medications. Leprosy is not highly contagious. In fact, it is difficult to catch. Natural Immunity is around 95%. Even if exposed, most people's immune systems fight it off easily without them ever getting sick.

Back to our text.

The leper came to Jesus.  Likewise, we must, come to Jesus.

Isaiah 1:18. “Come now, and let us reason together, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

Matthew 11:28
Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

John 6:37
Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me, I will in no way cast out.

John 7:37
“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.

John 6:35
“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst.

Revelation 22:17
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears say, “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come, and the one who desires the water of life drink freely.

All too often, folks say, “Where was God? Why’d He let that happen?”

But God never moved. He’s waiting with open arms for you to come to Him.

So, the leper comes, imploring, begging, kneeling, (Luke 5:12 says falling on his face).

The leper broke every social distancing and theological boundary.

He’s desperate.

Likely, through no fault of his own, he contracted this deadly disease, but now, he heard of the Healer, and he comes, desperately comes.

When things get desperate, then we come. Many times, the desperate times are due to a fault of our own.

Yet, nevertheless, the Lord knows, and says come as you are,

The leper comes and says: If You are willing, You can make me clean.

Remember Naaman the leper with the letter to king Jehoram of Israel?

And the king said “Am I God... to heal leprosy?”

In that day, the only cure for leprosy was God.

So, the leper, whether he knew it or not, was revealing his faith in Jesus as God.

You can. I know it’s True. But will You make me clean?

Notice he doesn’t say “heal”. He says, “make me clean.”

The word for "clean" here is katharizō. In context it refers to being restored. Restoration of family, community, life, not just physical relief.

He’s saying, I could deal with the physical ailments, but what’s unbearable is being forever on the outside looking in. I miss my wife, I miss my kids, I miss my life.

That’s what leprosy does.

That’s what sin does.

I know, You, Jesus, can give me my life, if You’re willing.

 

COMPASSION

⁴¹ Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” ⁴² As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. 

According to Leviticus 5:2-3, touching anything unclean makes you unclean.

According to Mosaic Law, touching the untouchable was unthinkable. But that is exactly what Jesus did.

Jesus, like the leper, broke every social distancing and theological boundary.

According to the Law He’d be unclean until the evening. Basically, out of commission for the rest of the day. 

But Jesus was “moved with compassion.” In the original text the word is: splangchnizomai. It’s one of the strongest words for emotion in the Greek language. Jesus didn’t just feel a little sorry for the guy. His very core was touched with the feeling of his infirmity. Hebrews 4:15-16.

Psalm 103:13
As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.

Driven by deep gut-wrenching love, Jesus touched him (haptomai). This doesn't mean He tapped him with a finger from a safe distance. It means to cling to, to lay hold of, or to firmly embrace.

Can you hear the gasps from the crowd?

Can you see the tears streaming down the leper's face?

It’d probably been years since he felt a human touch. Because Luke 5:12 said he was full of leprosy. He’d had it for a long time and now he was covered in the dreaded disease.

Jesus didn’t need to touch him.

Jesus, spoke the world into existence, He could’ve easily healed the man with a word.

In Matthew 8:5–13 (also Luke 7:1–10) by His word He healed the Centurion’s servant, and the servant wasn’t even there.

In John 4:46–54 He was in Cana and by His word healed a royal official’s son, who was in Capernaum, 20 miles away.

He could’ve done like Elisha and simply said go jump in the Jordan River.

He could’ve—but He didn’t because this man needed more than just physical healing.

The disease was awful indeed, but the real pain was the overwhelming sorrow of standing, wrapped in rags, in the cold, on the outside looking in.

He needed Someone to open the door, come outside and stand beside him, take him by the shoulders, look him in the eyes, and say, “I AM willing.” 

“Come inside, it’s cold out here.”

“Welcome Home.”

COMMISSION

⁴³ And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, ⁴⁴ and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

Jesus strictly warned the man to go straight to the priest, don’t stop to talk to anyone, go and offer the sacrifices commanded by Moses (Leviticus 14).

This was a complex, eight-day ritual involving, inspecting, shaving, bathing and sacrificing. It was the only way to be legally declared “clean” and restored back to family, village, temple...life.

Jesus gave the man the honor of giving the religious leaders undeniable proof—a testimony—pointing to Jesus as the Messiah.

Doing exactly what Jesus said, was the very best thing the man could do to get his life back.

But here’s where the rubber meets the road. Here’s where we can tell. Here’s where the true colors show.

Here, after the healing, after being cleansed, after the prayer is answered, after being delivered, after the desperate situation is solved, then we can make a determination of where the desperation came from.

Now that he’s clean, will he honor the One who set him free?

Will he obey the commission? The command?

⁴⁵ However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter..

Many say he was so overwhelmed with joy, and he wanted everyone to know about Jesus, so he spread the good news everywhere.

Not True. He disobeyed a strict command. He went out and did the opposite of what Jesus told him to do.

Jesus said: Don’t tell anyone. He told everybody.

Jesus said: Go straight to the priest. As far as Scripture goes, we don’t know if he ever went.

But, but, but, he was spreading the good news. That’s good right?

No. Disobedience is wrong. Doing what’s wrong is never right, no matter what.

Jesus said in Matthew 7:22-23, Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Mark chapter one closes showing the fruit of the leper’s labor:

Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.

Jesus had just said: “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.” Mark 1:38.

But now, thanks to the leper’s loose lips, and disobedience, Jesus could no longer openly enter the city.

What would’ve happened had he obeyed right away? Perhaps he would’ve convinced some scribes and pharisees that Jesus is indeed the Son of God able even to cleanse a leper.

We don’t know because after the leper’s disobedience we never see or hear from him again.

However, the Lord hid a diamond in the rough as we close out this scene.

Remember, we opened with Jesus going about openly preaching from city to city, synagogue to synagogue. However, the leper was stuck outside the city in deserted places.

But now, it’s as if Jesus took the lepers spots.

Now, the leper is free to roam about, but Jesus can no longer openly enter the city but was outside in deserted places.

This is the Gospel in a picture. The Great Exchange.

2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

Romans 5:8, God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners (lepers), Christ died for us.

Isaiah 53:4-5, Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. ⁵ But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, our sin separated us from You, causing us to grow numb, and self- destruct. We were the walking dead, with no cure...until You said, “I AM willing.” Then, You took our sin, our leprosy, our place on death row, so we could be cleansed and free indeed to live again.

Lord, thank You, for showing us in Your Word, how can we live and love and honor You. It’s the least we must do to show You our gratitude.

Please help us to be a living testimony that leads others straight to You.

Thank You.

We love You, forever.

Amen.

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