Beecher Island Sunday School Sermon
Mark 1: 40-45
by Hunter Irvine
November 4, 2018
Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”
Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.
Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: “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.”
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 (NIV).
This man had a serious skin disease. We do not know exactly what skin disease he had, though it may have been leprosy. There were several types of skin diseases back then, and sometimes one word would be used to cover the range. Some were curable, but apparently there was not a cure for what we call leprosy today, which is that horrible disease where flesh even falls off.
I saw the Christian gospel group “The Martins” in concert about 17 years ago. This wonderful singing trio consists of two sisters and a brother. That music group used their influence to work for a cause of ending leprosy, since there is a cure for it today. As of the early 2000’s, there still were some people with the disease in a few regions in a few third world countries. People can be given a shot, but it cost money of course, and The Martins were working to raise money to get this cure to people with the disease, until all humans were cured.
I think this man had what we would call leprosy today, considering he literally begged Jesus for healing. I think he knew he could not gain a cure on his own. I like how the man got on his knees. It shows much humility and sincerity to get on your knees. Sometimes when I pray by my bed, I like to get on my knees.
Look what Jesus did: Jesus touched the man. If someone had leprosy, the last thing I would want to do would be to touch the person.
Jesus touched him. The man was then miraculously healed!
First, Jesus gives him a “strong warning” to keep it a secret.
Why did Jesus sometimes tell people not to tell anyone about His ministry work?
That is a good question!
I learned from a great book, Jesus The Messiah, by Robert Stein, that Jesus knew many Jewish people expected the Messiah to overthrow the Roman government at that time. Jesus was cautious in order to prevent Jewish people from trying to put Him on a human throne, since this would have provoked the Roman government to come after Him before God’s appointed time for the crucifixion.
I think this is a good theory. I have trouble picturing the Pharisees putting Jesus on the throne, but there always could have been a revolt attempt by the Israelites, and the Roman’s would have hit hard against any such activity.
Secondly, Jesus tells the healed man to do what is required under the Mosaic Law recorded in Leviticus 14. Jesus was following the Mosaic Law!
Under the Mosaic Law, if a person had a skin disease, he or she was considered “unclean,” and could not enter the temple. There was terrible, since it signified that he or she could not be with God, since the presence of God was in the temple there in Jerusalem. Any Jewish person would want to be cured and be able to go back to the temple.
If a person was cured of the skin disease, before going to the temple, the person had to go to a priest. The priest would do a complex ritual involving the sacrifice of a bird. Then the person would need to give to the priest three lambs to be sacrificed. It was a complex ordeal laid out in Leviticus 14.
Yet this guy does not obey Jesus. This guy starts telling people what happened! He cannot keep it a secret!
I think this is a rare occasion where even though Jesus gave a command, He was actually smiling in His heart this guy was so excited that he could not help but tell folks about what Jesus had done.
This guy was ready for the New Covenant!
The main point of this passage: This guy is so happy he has been cured he starts telling everyone the good news about his healing!
The personal message for us: We should be so thankful for what Jesus has done for us that we must tell people!
Obviously you have to be tactful about your witness for Christ.
The witness of each of us is personal, and all of us have different gifts.
Each of us needs to go by the guidance of God!
One example of untactful witnessing: As many of you know, I am a proud graduate of Virginia Tech! I was not a Christian when I studied at Virginia Tech. Once I became a Christian, about one year after graduating from Tech, I gained a friend in my church who had also graduated from Virginia Tech a few years before me. He had been a Christian for a long time. His name is Rae.
Rae once told me a story from college when he was walking back from class. He went through a tunnel where students walk through going from one area of the academic buildings to another. I remember walking through that tunnel plenty of times. At the very end, there was a student perched behind the edge of the tunnel. When Rae was about to come out of the tunnel, the guy jumped out in front of him and asked loudly, “Are you saved?!!” He scared Rae. Rae told him that he was saved, and he wanted to ask the guy, “Are you crazy?” Jumping out in front of someone is not a good way of building a relationship with someone and telling them about the loving relationship he or she can have with Christ.
Regarding a tactful manner of evangelism, every year since 1997, I have written a Christmas letter. It is my longest lasting ministry. It started off because when I moved back to Colorado from Virginia, most of my family and friends were in Virginia. I love to write, so I started giving it much attention year after year, and the letter has thus been a major ministry endeavor since 1997. The letter goes to people who are Christians and people are not Christians. Some people are more receptive to a message about Jesus around Christmas time, so it is an evangelistic opportunity for me.
I want to be like that man! I want to tell people the Good News. It is the reason I love preaching!
I am thankful for my total opportunity here today to tell the Good News.
Maybe your gift is to be able to explain the Gospel to a friend over lunch, someone who would not otherwise ever step into a church.
+ I give an invitation if there is anyone here who does not know Jesus as your Savior and Lord, to give your heart to Him. What you need to do is believe in Jesus!
Jesus Christ died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone. He was the sacrificial atonement for the penalty for sins. If you believe in Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you will be saved from spiritual death. You will have eternal life. Jesus loves you!!
