The Leper is Healed and More

by Dewey Fox

Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed." [MARK 1:41] [NAS]

Jesus was a savior with compassion and He shows it in this story of Him healing the leper. The scripture tells us that “he was cleansed.” That would probably mean both body and soul. Let us look into the story in Mark 1:39-45.

39 And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee , preaching and casting out the demons.

40 And a leper came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”

41 Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”

42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.

43 And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away,

44 and He said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

45 But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere.

Why do you think Jesus sent the healed man away and told him not to tell anyone? I think the first thing was, Jesus didn’t want healing to be the main focus of His Ministry. It was the salvation of souls and the preaching of the Gospel that was important. And secondary he knew that when people saw the miracles He performed, they would dwell on them and not the message of the Gospel.

Jesus didn’t come to do miracles and healing wonders; that was secondary. He came to preach the Word, to live the perfect example for us and to die on the cross for our sins. To make my point, let us look at Scripture; go to Mark 1:38; it reads, He said to them, "Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for." [MARK 1:38] [NAS]

It seems we are always looking for signs and wonders; something we can see, without faith. Jesus even spoke of it in Luke, “As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, "This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah.’ [LUKE 11:29] [NAS]

Are you cleansed by Jesus? If not, get it right today before it is too late!

Brother Dewey E. Fox