The Power of Almighty Jesus! Mark 1:40-45

Text: “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto Me in Heaven and in earth.”

Matthew 28:18.

 

Good morning, weak, sickly, bereaved, and despairing Christian!  If any of these words describe you and I today – there is good news in this morning’s Marching In Mark’s Gospel for us.  Read on, and receive extra faith and grace to continue in the service of Christ Jesus.

 

The Healing of the Leper: (Vs.40-45) Leprosy was one of the most feared diseases to contract in Gospel times.  If one caught this deadly illness, one could neither hope to live, or live-in community with other people – the leper was a complete outcast, contagious with disease, and condemned as ‘religiously and socially UNCLEAN’.  This is the man that came to King Jesus Christ to ‘worship’ Him, saying, “Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean.” (V.40)

 

Use your ‘sanctified imagination’ for a moment, beloved Reader – SEE the scene set before us here; FEEL the hopelessness of this wretched man; EXPERIENCE to some degree, the impossibility of his pathetic request of the Lord God.

 

Now, SEE, FEEL, and EXPERIENCE the power and ecstatic joy of the Master’s response and answer to the leper’s plea: “And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth His hand, and touched him (unthinkable action!), and saith unto him, I will: be thou clean.” (V.41)

 

“And as soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.” (V.42) Hallelujah!  The power of Almighty Jesus!

 

J.C. Ryle Comments:

“Let us try to realize, in the first place, the dreadful nature of the disease which Jesus cured.

“Leprosy is a complaint of which we know little or nothing in our northern climate. In Bible lands it is far more common. It is a disease which is utterly incurable. It is no mere skin affection, as some ignorantly suppose. It is a radical disease of the whole man. It attacks, not merely the skin, but the blood, the flesh, and the bones, until the unhappy patient begins to lose his extremities, and to rot by inches. —Let us remember beside this, that, amongst the Jews, the leper was reckoned unclean, and was cut off from the congregation of Israel and the ordinances of religion. He was obliged to dwell in a separate house. None might touch him or minister to him. Let us remember all this, and then we may have some idea of the remarkable wretchedness of a leprous person. To use the words of Aaron, when he interceded for Miriam, she was “as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed.” (Numbers 12:12)

(J.C. Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels 1816-1900)

The Leper’s Approach:  Let us note first the attitude of worship, and the sincere words of this poor leper, for they are vital to his receiving any healing or compassion from the Lord.  First of all, we clearly see the leper’s attitude of reverence and worship, as, beseeching Christ, he came, “…kneeling down to Him, and saying unto Him, If Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean.” (V.40)

 

The Leper’s Faith:  His reverence to Christ Jesus, evidenced in his humbled attitude, was mixed with that powerful ingredient of FAITH, the free gift of God’s grace to ‘His people’; a gift without which no one can be saved; and no one can ever hope to have anything of miraculous content from the Living Lord God.

 

“Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is (exists!), and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:1; 6)

 

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.”  (Ephesians 2:8-9)

 

J.C. Ryle Comments:

“Let us learn, in the second place, from these verses, the wondrous and almighty power of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

“We are told that the unhappy leper came to our Lord, “beseeching Him, and kneeling down,” and saying, “If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.” We are told that Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I will, be thou clean.” At once the cure was affected. That very instant the deadly plague departed from the poor sufferer, and he was healed. It is but a word, and a touch, and there stands before our Lord, not a leper, but a sound and healthy man.

 

“Who can conceive the greatness of the change in the feelings of this leper, when he found himself healed? The morning sun rose upon him, a miserable being, more dead than alive, his whole frame a mass of sores and corruption, his very existence a burden. The evening sun saw him full of hope and joy, free from pain, and fit for the society of his fellow-men. Surely the change must have been like life from the dead.” (J.C. Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels 1816-1900)

 

 Following this Divine manifestation of the Almighty power of Christ Jesus, we find what, in my humble and personal opinion, was a task given the cleansed leper that I personally would find impossible to obey.  The Lord Jesus said unto him: “See that thou say nothing to any man…”, concerning the miracle performed upon him.  Can you imagine it, Reader?  Trying for a moment to keep quiet about such a life-changing event?  Can you and I level blame at this poor healed man for immediately, “…blazing abroad the matter…”?

 

Thought:   If men and women getting saved by Christ today would only be as instant in, “…publishing it much…” to the greater glory of our beloved Saviour, Jesus Christ.