April 3 - Who Will You Tell?

April 3 - Who Will You Tell? - Mark 1:40-2:12

Leprosy could mean any of a number of diseases, but the poor man was not allowed to be a part of the Jewish community, he was unclean (Leviticus 13-14). The astounding thing about this passage is that he approached Jesus with a hope of being healed. Leprosy was uncurable, there were only 2 recorded episodes of it ever being cured in the Old Testament (Num. 12:10-15; 2 Kings 5:1-14). He didn't doubt for a minute that Jesus had the power to heal him.

Jesus didn't disappoint him. What a touching scene, though. Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out and offered the man a new life. He asked him to go immediately to the priest and offer sacrifices so that he could re-enter the community. But instead, he began telling everyone that he could find!

That is not a scene I have difficulty imagining. It would have seemed a little strange to be told not to tell anyone. How could he not? People would have noticed the difference just by looking at his skin! But, this changed how Jesus approached His ministry. He was no longer able to walk openly among the people, because they never left him alone. (Mark 1:40-45)

This problem becomes even more apparent in the next story. Jesus had come home (hmm ... I'd never read that before! What an intimate message flows through that) and according to the Jewish custom of hospitality, people showed up. The house was so full of people that there was no room ... not even outside the door!

This is such a great story of friendship. Four friends are carrying their paralyzed friend to see the healer. When they can't get into the house, they carried him to the top of the home and created an opening to lower their friend into the house. They were determined to get their friend close to the healer! It worked.

The next part of this story begins to identify Jesus' ministry. He didn't come just to heal broken bodies, but to heal broken spirits as well. His purpose was to restore the relationship that God had with His children, even if it happened one person at a time. Sin is the agent that broke that relationship in the first place and with Jesus' proclamation of forgiven sin, a proclamation that comes directly from the Father, restoration happens immediately.

This didn't go over well with local rabbis, who were more interested in watching the events unfold than they were interested in caring for the people around them.

The man was healed, got up and walked. Jesus had just proclaimed the purpose of His ministry on earth.