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Commentary on Mark 1 verses 40–45
We have here the story of Christ's cleansing a leper, which we had before, Mat 8:2-4. It teaches us,
1.How to apply ourselves to Christ; come as this leper did, (1.) With great humility; this leper came beseeching him, and kneeling down to him (Mar 1:40); whether giving divine honour to him as God, or rather a less degree of respect as a great Prophet, it teaches us that those who would receive grace and mercy from Christ, must ascribe honour and glory to Christ, and approach to him with humility and reverence. (2.) With a firm belief of his power; Thou canst make me clean. Though Christ's outward appearance was but mean, yet he had this faith in his power, which implies his belief that he was sent of God. He believes it with application, not only in general, Thou cast do every thing (as Joh 11:22), but, Thou cast make me clean. Note, What we believe of the power of Christ we must bring home to our particular case; Thou canst do this for me. (3.) With submission to the will of Christ; Lord, if thou wilt. Not as if he had any doubt of Christ's readiness in general to help the distressed, but, with the modesty that became a poor petitioner, he refers his own particular case to him.
2.What to expect from Christ; that according to our faith it shall be to us. His address is not in the form of prayer, yet Christ answered it as a request. Note, Affectionate professions of faith in Christ, and resignations to him, are the most prevailing petitions for mercy from him, and shall speed accordingly. (1.) Christ was moved with compassion. This is added here, in Mark, to show that Christ's power is employed by his pity for the relief of poor souls; that his reasons are fetched from within himself, and we have nothing in us to recommend us to his favour, but our misery makes us the objects of his mercy. And what he does for us he does with all possible tenderness. (2.) He put forth his hand, and touched him. He exerted his power, and directed it to this creature. In healing souls, Christ toucheth them, Sa1 10:26. When the queen toucheth for the evil, she saith, I touch, God heals; but Christ toucheth and healeth too. (3.) He said, I will, be thou clean. Christ's power was put forth in and by a word, to signify in what way Christ would ordinarily work spiritual cures; He sends his word and heals, Psa 107:20; Joh 15:3; Joh 17:17. The poor leper put an if upon the will of Christ; If thou wilt; but that doubt is soon put out of doubt; I will. Christ most readily wills favours to those that most readily refer themselves to his will. He was confident of Christ's power; Thou canst make me clean; and Christ will show how much his power is drawn out into act by the faith of his people, and therefore speaks the word as one having authority, Be thou clean. And power accompanied this word, and the cure was perfect in an instant; Immediately his leprosy vanished, and there remained no more sign of it, Mar 1:42.
3.What to do when we have received mercy from Christ. We must with his favours receive his commands. When Christ had cured him, he strictly charged him; the word here is very significant, embrimēsamenos - graviter interminatus - prohibiting with threats. I am apt to think that this refers not to the directions he gave him to conceal it (Mar 1:44), for those are mentioned by themselves; but that this was such a charge as he gave to the impotent man whom he cured, Joh 5:14, Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee; for the leprosy was ordinarily the punishment of some particular sinners, as in Miriam's, Gehazi's, and Uzziah's, case; now, when Christ healed him, he warned him, he threatened him with the fatal consequence of it if he should return to sin again. He also appointed him, (1.) To show himself to the priest, that the priest by his own judgment of this leper might be a witness for Christ, that he was the Messiah, Mat 11:5. (2.) Till he had done that, not to say any thing of it to any man: this is an instance of the humility of Christ and his self-denial, that he did not seek his own honour, did not strive or cry, Isa 42:2. And it is an example to us, not to seek our own glory, Pro 25:27. He must not proclaim it, because that would much increase the crowd that followed Christ, which he thought was too great already; not as if he were unwilling to do good to all, to as many as came; but he would do it with as little noise as might be, would have no offence given to the government, no disturbance of the public peace, not any thing done that looked like ostentation, or an affecting of popular applause. What to think of the leper's publishing it, and blazing it abroad, I know not; the concealment of the good characters and good works of good men better become them than their friends; nor are we always bound by the modest commands of humble men. The leper ought to have observed his orders; yet, no doubt, it was with a good design that he proclaimed the cure, and it had no other ill effect than that it increased the multitudes which followed Christ, to that degree, that he could no more openly enter into the city; not upon the account of persecution (there was no danger of that yet,) but because the crowd was so great, that the streets would not hold them, which obliged him to go into desert places, to a mountain (Mar 3:13), to the sea-side, Mar 4:1. This shows how expedient it was for us, that Christ should go away, and send the Comforter, for his bodily presence could be but in one place at a time; and those that came to him from every quarter, could not get near him; but by his spiritual presence he is with his people wherever they are, and comes to them to every quarter.
Mystically, our leprosy is the sin of the first man, which began from the head, when he desired the kingdoms of the world. For covetousness is the root of all evil; wherefore Gehazi, engaged in an avaritious pursuit, is covered with leprosy.
This leprosy is cleansed on offering an oblation to the true Priest after the order of Melchisedec; for He tells us, Give alms of such things as ye have, and, behold, all things are clean unto you. (Luke 11:41) But in that Jesus could not openly enter into the city, it is meant to be conveyed, that Jesus is not manifested to those, who are enslaved to the love of praise in the broad highway, and to their own wills, but to those who with Peter go into the desert, which the Lord chose for prayer, and for refreshing His people; that is, those who quit the pleasures of the world, and all that they possess, that they may say, The Lord is my portion. But the glory of the Lord is manifested to those, who meet together on all sides, that is, through smooth ways and steep, whom nothing can separate from the love of Christ. (Rom. 8:35)
(Hom. 25. in Matt) Further, the reason why He touches the leper, and did not confer health upon him by word alone, was, that it is said by Moses in the Law, that he who touches a leper, shall be unclean till the evening; that is, that he might show, that this uncleanness is a natural one, that the Law was not laid down for Him, but on account of mere men. Furthermore, He shows that He Himself is the Lord of the Law; and the reason why He touched the leper, though the touch was not necessary to the working of the cure, was to show that He gives health, not as a servant, but as the Lord.
(Hom. 25. in Matt) Moreover, by this, not only did He not take away the opinion of Him entertained by the leper, but He confirmed it; for He puts to flight the disease by a word, and what the leper had said in word, He filled up in deed; wherefore there follows, And when he had spoken, immediately, &c.
(Hom. 25) As if He said, It is not yet time that My works should be preached, I require not thy preaching. By which He teaches us not to seek worldly honour as a reward for our works. It goes on: But go thy way, show thyself to the chief of the priests. Our Saviour sent him to the priest for the trial of his cure, and that he might not be cast out of the temple, but still be numbered with the people in prayer. He sends him also, that he might fulfil all the parts of the Law, in order to stop the evil-speaking tongue of the Jews. He Himself indeed completed the work, leaving them to try it.
(non occ.) For the leper every where proclaimed his wonderful cure, so that all ran to see and to believe on the Healer; thus the Lord could not preach the Gospel, but walked in desert places; wherefore there follows, And they came together to him from all places.
But he, having gone out, began to proclaim and to spread the word, so much so that he could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to him from everywhere. The perfect salvation of one compels many crowds to the Lord: for as he showed himself to be healed both inwardly and outwardly, by no means did he conceal the benefit received as he had been commanded by the one from whom he received it: on the contrary, having performed the duty of an evangelist, he immediately began to proclaim and spread the word once he had gone out. Hence it is rightly questioned why the Lord commanded certain deeds to be hidden, and yet they could not be hidden even for an hour. For did the only-begotten Son, coeternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit, wish something in this regard that he could not fulfill? But it should be noted that our Redeemer, through his mortal body, provided us with an example in all actions that he performed. For making a miracle and commanding it to be kept quiet, and yet it couldn’t be kept quiet. So that his elect, following the example of his teaching, should indeed wish to hide in humility the great things they do, but to benefit others, they are unwillingly revealed, so that it is both of great humility to desire one's works to be kept silent, and of great sublimity that their works cannot be silenced. Thus, the Lord did not wish to do anything that he could not achieve, but he provided an example by the teaching of what his members should desire, and what will happen to them even against their will.
(ubi sup.) Again mystically if by the setting of the sun, the death of the Saviour is intended, why should not His resurrection be intended by the returning dawn? For by its clear light, He went far into the wilderness of the Gentiles, and there continued praying in the person of His faithful disciples, for He aroused their hearts by the grace of the Holy Spirit to the virtue of prayer.
(in Marc. i. 7) After that the serpent-tongue of the devils was shut up, and the woman, who was first seduced, cured of a fever, in the third place, the man, who listened to the evil counsels of the woman, is cleansed from his leprosy, that the order of restoration in the Lord might be the same as was the order of the fall in our first parents; whence it goes on: And there came a leper to him, beseeching him.
(in Marc. i. 9) And because the Lord said that He came not to destroy the Law but to fulfill, (Matt. 5:17) he who was excluded by the Law, inferring that he was cleansed by the power of the Lord, showed that that grace, which could wash away the stain of the leper, was not from the Law, but over the Law. And truly, as in the Lord authoritative power, so in him the constancy of faith is shewn; for there follows, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. He falls on his face, which is at once a gesture of lowliness and of shame, to show that every man should blush for the stains of his life. But his shame did not stifle confession; he showed his wound, and begged for medicine, and the confession is full of devotion and of faith, for he refers the power to the will of the Lord.
(ubi sup.) Moreover, he doubted of the will of the Lord, not as disbelieving His compassion, but, as conscious of his own filth, he did not presume. It goes on; But Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will, be thou clean. It is not, as many of the Latins think, to be taken to mean and read, I wish to cleanse thee, but that Christ should say separately, I will, and then command, be thou clean.
(ubi sup.) Another reason why He touched him, was to prove that He could not be defiled, who freed others from pollution. At the same time it is remarkable, that He healed in the way in which He had been begged to heal. If thou will, says the leper, thou canst make me clean. I will, He answered, behold, thou hast My will, be clean; now thou hast at once the effect of My compassion.
(ubi sup.) For there is no interval between the work of God and the command, because the work is in the command, for He commanded, and they were created. (Ps. 148:5) There follows: And he straitly charged him, and forthwith, &c. See thou tell no man.
(ubi sup.) This He did in order that the priest might understand that the leper was not healed by the Law, but by the grace of God above the Law. There follows: And offer for thy cleansing what. Moses, &c.
(ubi sup.) If any one wonders, how the Lord seems to approve of the Jewish sacrifice, which the Church rejects, let him remember, that He had not yet offered His own holocaust in His passion. And it was not right that significative sacrifices should be taken away, before that which they signified was confirmed by the witness of the Apostles in their preaching, and by the faith of the believing people.
(ubi sup. v. Greg. Moral. 19:22) Now it may well be asked, why our Lord ordered His action to be concealed, and yet it could not be kept hid for an hour? But it is to be observed, that the reason why, in doing a miracle, He ordered it to be kept secret, and yet for all that it was noised abroad, was, that His elect, following the example of His teaching, should wish indeed that in the great things which they do, they should remain concealed, but should nevertheless unwillingly be brought to light for the good of others. Not then that He wished any thing to be done, which He was not able to bring about, but, by the authority of His teaching, He gave an example of what His members ought to wish for, and of what should happen to them even against their will.
Further, this perfect cure of one man brought large multitudes to the Lord; wherefore it is added, So that he could not any more openly enter into the city, but could only be without in desert places.
(ubi sup.) But when the hand of the Saviour, that is, the Incarnate Word of God, is stretched out, and touches human nature, it is cleansed from the various parts of the old error.
(in Marc. i. 10) Even after working a miracle in that city, the Lord retires into the desert, to show that He loves best a quiet life, and one far removed from the cares of the world, and that it is on account of this desire, He applied Himself to the healing of the body.
For he said not, If thou wilt, pray unto God, but, If thou wilt, as thinking Him very God.
He ordered him to offer the gift which they who were healed were accustomed to offer, as if for a testimony, that He was not against the Law, but rather confirmed the Law, inasmuch as He Himself worked out the precepts of the Law.
But the leper, although the Lord forbade him, disclosed the benefit, wherefore it goes on: But he having gone out, began to publish and to blaze abroad the tale; for the person benefited ought to be grateful, and to return thanks, even though his benefactor requires it not.
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SUMMARY
Mark 1:45 vividly portrays the immediate aftermath of Jesus' healing of a leper, illustrating the profound and rapid spread of His fame due to the healed man's disobedience. This widespread notoriety, fueled by the man's enthusiastic testimony, inadvertently hindered Jesus' ability to minister openly in populated areas, forcing Him to withdraw to desolate regions. Yet, even in these remote places, His drawing power remained undiminished, as people continued to seek Him out from all directions, highlighting both the irresistible nature of His ministry and the challenges it presented.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Mark 1:45 employs several powerful literary devices. Hyperbole is evident in the phrases "publish it much" and "blaze abroad the matter," vividly conveying the rapid and widespread dissemination of the news beyond normal reporting. This exaggerated language underscores the profound impact of Jesus' miracle. There is also a strong element of Irony: Jesus commands silence to maintain control over His ministry and the public's perception of His identity, yet the very act of disobedience by the healed man leads to the opposite effect, propelling Jesus' fame to an uncontrollable degree. This creates a Paradox: Jesus' withdrawal to "desert places" (a move intended to manage His public presence) ironically leads to even greater crowds seeking Him out, transforming remote areas into bustling centers of ministry. Finally, this passage serves as an early instance of the Messianic Secret, a recurring narrative motif in Mark's Gospel where Jesus deliberately attempts to conceal His identity or miracles. This literary choice highlights the tension between Jesus' divine power and His strategic, often understated, approach to revealing His messiahship, emphasizing the spiritual nature of His kingdom over political expectations.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Mark 1:45 powerfully illustrates the tension between divine intention and human response, a recurring theme in biblical narratives. While Jesus sought to manage the revelation of His identity and the nature of His kingdom, the sheer power of His compassion and miracles, coupled with the irrepressible human desire to share good news, often led to unintended consequences for His strategic ministry. This highlights the inherent difficulty of containing the transformative power of God's work in the world. The uncontainable spread of Jesus' fame, even in the face of His desire for discretion, foreshadows the unstoppable advance of the Gospel message itself, which, once unleashed, cannot be confined by human plans or limitations. It also speaks to the profound impact of personal testimony, even when delivered imperfectly, in drawing others to Christ.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Mark 1:45 offers profound insights into the dynamics of ministry and discipleship. The leper's enthusiastic, albeit disobedient, testimony reminds us of the powerful, often uncontrollable, impact of a transformed life. While obedience to specific instructions is paramount, the passage also celebrates the natural impulse to share the good news of what Christ has done. For us today, it challenges us to consider how our own testimonies, born out of gratitude for God's grace, might impact those around us. Furthermore, Jesus' adaptability in ministry, moving from cities to "desert places" yet remaining accessible, provides a model for contemporary ministry. It teaches us that effective outreach may require flexibility, a willingness to meet people where they are, and an understanding that God's work is not confined to conventional spaces. The persistent crowds seeking Jesus, even in remote areas, should inspire us to cultivate a similar diligence and hunger for His presence and teaching in our own lives, actively pursuing Him regardless of perceived obstacles.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why did Jesus command the healed leper to be silent, and why did the man disobey?
Answer: Jesus commanded the healed leper to be silent (often referred to as the "Messianic Secret" in Mark's Gospel) for several strategic reasons. Firstly, He wanted to avoid premature or politically charged declarations of His Messiahship, which could incite unrest among the populace or provoke the Roman authorities and Jewish leaders. Many people expected a political Messiah, and Jesus' mission was primarily spiritual. Secondly, He aimed to manage the flow of His ministry, preventing overwhelming crowds from hindering His ability to teach and heal effectively, as directly seen in Mark 1:45. He also needed to ensure the leper fulfilled the Mosaic Law for cleansing (Leviticus 14), which required a priestly inspection, before publicizing the miracle. The man likely disobeyed out of overwhelming joy, gratitude, and an irrepressible desire to share the miraculous transformation he had experienced. His personal encounter with Jesus' power was so profound that he simply could not contain the news.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Mark 1:45, though detailing a moment of human disobedience and its logistical challenges for Jesus' earthly ministry, profoundly points to the Christ-centered reality of God's redemptive plan. Jesus' withdrawal to "desert places" foreshadows a deeper theological truth: the Son of God, though fully divine, willingly embraced a path of humility and self-limitation for the sake of His mission. He was not a Messiah who sought earthly acclaim or political power, but one who often withdrew from the clamor of crowds to commune with His Father, as seen in Luke 5:16. This voluntary "desolation" or isolation, driven by the very success of His compassionate acts, subtly prefigures His ultimate isolation and abandonment on the cross, where He became "despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain" (Isaiah 53:3). Even as His fame spread uncontrollably, compelling Him to retreat, Jesus remained the magnetic center, drawing people from "every quarter." This divine magnetism culminates in His crucifixion and resurrection, where, lifted up, He draws all people to Himself (John 12:32). The leper's uncontainable testimony, though disobedient, also serves as a poignant reminder that the true Gospel, the good news of Christ's saving power, is inherently uncontainable, destined to "blaze abroad" throughout the world, fulfilling Jesus' mission to "preach the good news of the kingdom of God" (Luke 4:43) to every nation.