After healing people in Capernaum, in the region of Caesarea, Jesus travels around Galilee, speaking and healing.
Mark 1: 40-43, A leper approaches
A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”
41 Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”
42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.
The man with "leprosy" (which could have been a number of different skin diseases, not necessarily the leprosy of modern medicine) comes to Jesus aggressive and desperate, convinced that all Jesus needs to do is respond. Jesus does, quickly.
From the NIV footnotes: "The Greek word traditionally translated `leprosy' was used for various diseases affecting the skin." And in verse 41, many manuscripts say that "Jesus was filled with compassion".
Then, as is reported in other cases, Jesus gives the man instructions, which the man ignores!
Mark 1: 43-45, A strong warning
44 “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”
45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.
Why did Jesus give him the strong warning? What is wrong with the leper telling everyone of Jesus's work? I think foremost, Jesus is simply trying to heal the man. The miracle is not intended as a form of self-promotion. Much like a counseling session might be done with privacy and compassion, Jesus privately meets the man's needs. And then, secondly, the telling of the miracle obviously cuts dramatically into the teaching ministry of Jesus.
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