Seeing the Gospel in the Life of a Leper | Mark 1:40-45 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark)

Wanna welcome all our visitors. If it's your first time here, we're so glad you can join us on this Lord's Day service. And if you call this place home, welcome home to this family of faith. If you have your bibles with me, meet me in the book of Mark chapter one. We exalted Christ in singing that we will exalt him as we hear and proclaim his word.

Meet me in in verse 40 of Mark chapter one, and let's trust that what has been happening in the past few weeks will continue to happen, that we will just relish in the revelation of the person of Jesus Christ. That is the intention of our time in the book of Mark, that we would see Jesus in his glory, in his majesty, and that we would fall on our face and worship him more than we did the week before. Would you pray with me? With that goal in mind, oh, Lord, we thank you for Jesus Christ, your son, our older brother, our king, our substitute, our redeemer. Lord, we pray that as we explore these verses, that it would not be communicated as a mere transfer of information, but, Lord, it would be your voice loud and clear, and that we would hear you.

And in hearing you, we would respond to you, not with amens merely, not with a a a fresh jolt of joy with the post sermon songs, but Lord with obedience and with worship beyond these walls. Lord, you are the one who can cleanse the leper physically and spiritually. And for those who have come in here today full of leprosy, let them know that you are the Lord who heals. You are the one who saves. You are the one who is willing to touch the untouchable.

We love you. We love you, and we are prepared to hear from you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Verse 40.

And the leper came to him, imploring him and kneeling, said to him, if you will, you can make me clean. Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said, I will be clean. And immediately the leprosy left him and he was made clean. And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once and 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 for a proof to them. But he went out and began to talk freely about it and to spread the news so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a a town, but was out in desolate places and people were coming to him from every quarter.

The first chapter of the gospel of Mark will close with one of the most jaw dropping displays of the divine and supernatural power of the person of Jesus Christ. And so remarkable was this specific miracle that Matthew and Luke found it necessary, obviously compelled by the spirit, to include this story in their own accounts of the ministry of our Lord. Now Jesus had healed not only dozens, but most likely hundreds of people with various sicknesses up to this point in his ministry. But there's something about this particular moment that the Holy Spirit found it necessary to expand on it and to give it to us in more detail. He doesn't summarize this miracle.

He he he opens it up for us to understand and to meditate further on the implications of what this miracle has to offer us. Now think about it. To be a Jew in this time, in the day of Jesus in his three year ministry, and for you to hear that a man from Nazareth was going around performing miracles would, in no doubt, stir not just one, but a nation. Remember, there was a a period of great silence where there was no prophetic voice, no display of prophetic power. And, yes, John came, but John did not perform any miracles, which says something because he brought a nation to its knees.

But then here comes Jesus, the one that John was preaching about and preparing the way for, and and just miracles are happening wherever he went. And the nation now is stirred with not just curiosity, but with great desire for him to minister onto them. But take it further. To hear as a Jew that this same man who was doing miracles actually healed a leper is a category of astonishment on its own. This would have been just absolutely stunning to realize.

And this is exactly why we have this account because leprosy spoken of in the scripture is referred to various infectious skin disease, and it's even expanded from that. It can even be known as some particular fungus that can be found in the in the house, in the walls of homes, and even in certain garments. But in the general sense, when you and I hear leprosy and see it in the scripture, it is known as a dreaded, dreaded sickness that fear the masses that could cause severe disfiguration and deformity to the body. And this long lasting disease was not only feared because it brought such destructive power to the flesh. It not only put an end to your nerves and your sensations, not only open wounds, it not only even brought a fragrance, a putrid smell.

And not only called limb caused limbs to be paralyzed and rot, but it drove someone out to be completely isolated from day to day life. It called for total alienation, and this was something that the Bible took extremely seriously in the Old Testament. You have chapters dedicated to how if there is any sign of some kind of discoloration or some kind of irritation, You were to go through a certain protocol where you had to go to the priest. They would examine you a certain way and go through a series of tests to determine if you indeed have leprosy. And if you did, then you have to pay the high price of being quarantined oftentimes for life.

And so there was no no kind of connection anymore with your family. You could not hug and embrace your wife anymore. You couldn't hold the hands of your children. You could not go to the feast. You could not even do something as casual as walking through the market on a weeknight.

You were completely isolated in a desolate place, and the only communion you would actually have was perhaps with other lepers. To have leprosy was to be marked. It was to be avoided, and in many cases, people were absolutely disgusted with just the sight of of a person who was riddled with this disease. And the only thing that was worse than leprosy in this time was death itself. This was second to death.

In fact, the very sight of a leper where they had to actually tear their clothes as though they were walking in mourning is is kind of a symbol of a person who is really the walking dead. Now if you think the deteriorating effects that I just mentioned was was just terrible as it is, it even gets worse. And the reason why it's worse is because leprosy was incurable by man. There was no treatment. There was no remedy.

There was nothing that could be offered, especially at this time, that could bring about reversible solutions to a leper. And because of this, the Jews, both in the old and the new, have made a very obvious conclusion based on that. And the conclusion is found in the book of second Kings chapter five verse seven. This is when not a Jew, but a Syrian, Naaman, had leprosy and was told that there was someone in Israel who could provide a miracle for his condition. But when the the news came to the king of Israel, I want you to see his reaction, and I want you to realize what the common Jew believed about leprosy.

Second Kings chapter five verse seven reads, And when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, am I God? Am I God to kill and to make alive that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Only consider and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me. The hopelessness of this disease, the awful nature of it has left the people who have known leprosy as a common thing, unfortunately, in their time that only God can can bring restoration. Only God.

Only God himself. And so even this king realizes that for for this this gentile to ask for healing, he's like, this guy this guy obviously doesn't get it. He's picking a fight with me because everybody knows that no man can offer anybody to a person who was infected in this way. And so only God can actually reverse supernaturally this kind of suffering that totally alters someone's life. And so the only way that somebody could be restored, and there was protocol of how somebody could be restored and then receive a certification that they were healed was if there was some kind of mysterious mysterious healing or if God did it himself.

And this message alone can be easily a meditation upon that conclusion that we just made. Because if the Jews universally believe that only God can bring healing to the leper, then what does it say of what we just read? That when this man comes to this man, Jesus of Nazareth, he not only is told like Elisha to go to a certain place and receive a miracle without any contact, but is touched by this man, touched by him. And through that touch, there is healing virtue that comes, leaving him uninfected, uncontaminated. The conclusion is obvious, is it not?

This miracle speaks of the nature, the divine nature of our Lord and savior. There is no question about it. And that is exactly the point of this miracle. It says something about who Jesus is. It puts his character and his person in a category that no one else shares.

But as you heard two weeks ago, there is a broader message beyond the central point of the deity of Jesus Christ. There is something more to be offered here in this text. There are lessons that orbit around that truth of Jesus and who he is. And the best way that you and I can receive as much as we can from this moving scene is to first understand that the reason why the Bible speaks so much about leprosy is that God, in his wisdom, desires to use it as an illustration of sin and its life altering effects on man. Leprosy is a picture of sin.

Don't skip Leviticus when you come to your reading of it in your personal time. When you go to Leviticus, and I am among those who who read the Bible from cover to cover, and I tell people to read the Bible from cover to cover. When you get to Leviticus, read chapter 13 and chapter 14 with the lens of paralleling sin with leprosy, and you will leave with astounding revelation. You will see something quite quite amazing about God and his insight about what sin can do to a man or to a society as a whole. And that's exactly what we're gonna do today.

You and I are gonna come to this text and look at this passage that deals with leprosy with the perspective of sin on it. And not just the perspective of sin on leprosy, but we're gonna view it through the lens of this leper. We're going to learn by putting ourselves in his shoes, and we're going to see what this means for us today. And it's a very simple structure because the first thing that you and I are going to consider in this text is the faith. The faith of this leper.

And a leper came to him, imploring him and kneeling and said, if you and I are familiar with our bibles enough, then we have to understand that what this is doing, this approach right here is immediately something that should stand out to us. Because the following verse tells us that this man came close enough to Jesus for Christ to touch him. He was an arm's length away from him. And any Jew who lived in this time and any any person who has the understanding of the word of God would realize this is scandalous. You don't do this as a leper.

In fact, in Leviticus thirteen forty five, there was instruction of how a leper should act when he comes to any kind of radius where people are. He wants to do what? Tear his clothes and live like that, and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out unclean, unclean. Imagine living like that. Not only do people know you were unclean just by the sight of you, but you you you have to proclaim, I'm unclean, giving people enough warning to move away from you and not be infected themselves.

But instead of that, what this man does is he does pronounce his unclean state, but he does it at the feet of Jesus. If you will, you can make me clean. And he throws himself at the Lord. And the beauty of this picture is that this poor soul surely must have heard something about Jesus for him to come to this point. Surely, he heard something.

In Matthew, we realize that he was there after Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount. It makes you wonder, did he hear the Sermon on the Mount from a distance? Did he hear something about these words, these amazing words from this man, and he thought to himself, this man is different. Or perhaps there was something that he heard after we read in Mark of the the miracles that were happening, and and the buzzing news came to his colony of lepers and and it was it was told that he can heal various diseases. He can touch people and make them whole.

And beyond that, it makes you wonder, did he also learn about the compassion of Jesus? That he deals with his patience in a certain way. He he doesn't leave you the way you came to him. He actually will do something about it. Whatever kind of information this man received, he obviously came to the conclusion, this man is not ordinary, and if I come to him the way I am, he will indeed do something with me.

And what was true for this leper is true for any sinner today. There is no sickness of the soul. Listen. There is no ugliness of your sin that might cause others to have nothing to do with you that will cause Christ to not be willing to receive you unto himself. Nothing.

And in case there's anyone who feels that hesitation, you'd be amazed to know how many people do to come to Christ or to think that he sees you and because you believe he is all knowing, he realizes your deepest darkest secrets. He knows the perversion that you have tried to hide from it and perhaps have successfully done so, but you realize that he has those fires of fire and sees through all things. So in your mind, there's Christ with his arms crossed towards you. If you're that person, then look at this as an example and realize that this man, as hideous as he was physically, came to Jesus and Jesus received him. And here's what's amazing, Luke Luke is a doctor.

That was his occupation. We're told that in the bible. He was a physician. And like a good physician, he adds a certain detail to the condition of this man. Go to Luke chapter chapter five verse 12.

Notice what he adds to this account. In Luke chapter five twelve, in the telling of the same miracle, while he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. Full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face. Not just on his knees.

He fell on his face and begged him. Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. Mark says he was a leper. Luke, the doctor says he was no. He was full of it.

From head to toe, he was absolutely covered with sores and irritation and discoloration and deterioration, completely covered. He didn't just have some patches here and there. He wasn't just rotting in some areas. He wasn't falling apart just in the lower part or the upper part. He was absolutely blanketed with leprosy.

There is not one part of him that wasn't touched. All men are sinners. All men have fallen short of the glory of God. But there are some men, there are some women who are not just sinners, they are full of sin. Full.

They are full of perversion. They have every area of their lives polluted with impurity. They don't just have one or two ungodly habits, and they have some element of goodness in their minds that can justify it. There are some people who are wicked, who are evil, who are vile, that not one part of them can be even deemed good by those who think they are good themselves. And this is what the severe case of leprosy is pointing to.

That even such a person who is consumed with corruption, who who doesn't even have the ability to be remorseful in how they treat others or how they use others for them their own gain. Such a person still has hope. Christ is able to even heal them and save them and redeem them. No person is too damaged. No one is too spiritually deformed to be restored by the power of Christ's love.

And that's what you have to understand. You have to believe that his arms are open. He is a physician who is excited to know that he can bring relief to you. But you have to understand without Jesus, no matter what severity of sin you are dealing with, you are hopeless. Just like the leper was hopeless, you are hopeless.

The law of God in the Old Testament demanded that a leper was to be permanently driven away from the camp. And the camp is not just where God's people dwell. The camp is where the presence of God abided. And this law concerning the leper expelled such a person from even coming close to knowing not just the fellowship of people, but knowing the presence of the Lord. But the grace of God in the person of Jesus Christ invites that same person into his presence.

The Lord Jesus Christ himself deals with that which the law condemns and separates and removes it so that we can be near him forever. And so we see that here clearly. Every person apart from Christ, yes, is a sinner, but more than a sinner is driven away from the presence of God, not just now, but will be for eternity. But Jesus Christ who does not abolish the law, who honors the law, he removes the cause, the condemnation of our isolation from his presence and reconciles us to himself. That's what Christ does for you.

And if you're one of those who have done things that would even cause people to shun you, never mind a perfectly holy God, then realize that there is one who has a desire for you. You gotta do what this man does though. What does he do? Look at the language. And a leper came to him imploring him, you gotta come with desperation.

You gotta come with desperation. And the reason why people do not come to Jesus with desperation, I believe is the fault of those who communicate the gospel. We don't preach enough about the ugliness of sin. We don't tell people how filthy it is, how dirty it is. And all we do in this life is compare our sin to others, but it makes all the difference when you compare your sin to a holy and righteous God.

And our lack of the understanding of the of the holiness of God is affecting the way we communicate the gospel. Why in the world would you wanna be cleansed by his blood if you don't see the filth on your body, in your heart, in your mind? He came with desperation, imploring him. Luke says begging him. Begging him.

But he also came with reverence. He knelt before him. He realized who he was talking to. He realized who he was imploring, and he realized that this one has the power, and he has the ability to do something about my impossible case. Reverence.

Reverence for Jesus Christ. Again, I believe there's a lack of reverence today. And so when we present Jesus to people, we present him like a buddy to add to your friends list. No. He is king who will demand you to leave all your friends to come and receive him.

And not only that, this man came with confession. He he he did come to the Lord understanding his ability to do something about it. He understood something about his grace, but he still had to come with the honesty of his condition. I'm unclean. Would you clean me?

He asked to be made whole. And when you have those elements with the faith that he alone is a source to save you, he will save you. Now what's amazing is we heard two weeks ago that Mark puts a special emphasis on the miracles of Jesus in that Jesus often touched those that he did make whole. But I am under the conviction that in this case, this man had a greater meaning to this touch. There was a greater significance in this moment for the simple reason that he was a leper.

Do you realize that it could be perhaps that it was years that this man has ever known the embrace of someone? That no one would dare even come certain amount of feet by you, never mind touch you. And Jesus, according to our bibles, as we heard, had the absolute authority to just speak a word of healing, and the healing would come. And if there is anyone that you would think would need just a word from a distance to be healed, it was this man. But Jesus deliberately, willingly, strategically touches him to heal him.

I was thinking about that last night, and the thought that ran through my mind was besides the healing, besides the miracle, what did that sensation of the hand of Jesus softly being placed on his shoulder feel like after years of not knowing somebody to lay their hand on them, to bring them close. Do you think that's an accident? It's not an accident. What Christ is trying to say through this is that he's deeply relational. Deeply relational.

He did not only extend his hand to heal the man's body, he extended his hand because he wanted to touch his heart. He wanted to touch his heart. And he wanted to let him know through this quick miracle massive message. I desire not just your healing. I desire you.

I desire you. And, you know, Jesus made provision for sinners to have their record clean. He has, through the expense of His own life, dealt with that which condemns us for all of eternity. But what was the goal? What was the goal?

So you don't go to hell? So you don't go to hell? So you're not tormented for all eternity? So that you can be with your friends? You can be with your loved ones?

I I wanna show you the goal. I wanna show you the goal in which why Jesus came to reach into our world to redeem us unto himself. In first Peter three eighteen, never forget this verse. In the epistle of Peter chapter three verse 18, I'll give you a moment to turn there. Look at the language.

Look what the holy spirit is trying to tell us concerning the redemption in Jesus Christ. First Peter three eighteen. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God. God himself. Not the pearly gates.

Not the mansion. Not the streets of gold. I promise you that will get old. God himself is why Christ came. So we have all the right to say we have a relationship with God because that's why he died to bring us to him.

What I'm offering today in the gospel is God himself. That's what the goal of the gospel is. If we're not presenting God, what are we presenting? A relief of the conscience merely? A better reputation?

A more civilized life? A community of people that you can hang out with because you're you're lonely? God himself. If you don't want God, you don't want this gospel. If you don't want God, you don't want heaven.

That's why I look at some professing Christians' life and let this sting you if it's you. They don't talk about God at all. There's no passion about God. There's no desire to to learn his word. There's no yearning to be in obedience to him.

And you wanna go to heaven? You wanna go to heaven. You're convincing me that you actually wanna go to heaven. You don't know what heaven's about. It's about himself, his presence for all of eternity enjoyed and cherished.

Jesus touches this man. What a sight that would have been, The gasp on those who just saw this, and yet he is trying to say something. I want this man. I want this man's heart to know my heart for him, not just his healing, not just his restoration. Him.

The faith of the leper is so obvious. But now we transition from the faith of the leper to the mandate of the leper. The mandate of the leper, and that's found here in verse 42. And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. Immediately, the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.

And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once and said to him, see that you say nothing. See that you say nothing to anyone, but go show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded for a proof of them. This beautiful testimony could have parked at verse 42. We could have heard he was healed immediately, and then we move on with the story of Jesus' ministry. But the interaction continues to an interesting direction.

Immediately following this miracle, Jesus gives an exhortation to this man, and it's a twofold exhortation. Number one, you can't tell this to anybody. Remain silent. And number two, put it in the GPS that you're headed towards one direction and one direction alone. Go to the priest, let them examine you, investigate your case, and then give you the certification that you have been made whole, and you must give an offering that Moses prescribed as a result of your healing.

That's what it is. But before looking at the commands, consider the way in which Jesus gives this command. Well, first of all consider this, the overarching point is that restoration by Christ is is followed by obedience to Christ. Restoration by the hands of Jesus is followed by obedience. And our obedience to him is a response to his power, his grace.

It doesn't precede it. It follows it. When you understand that he's done something in you in the most undeserving way, tasting his grace then opens our heart to say, whatever you tell me to do, I submit to your lordship. You are worthy of my obedience. And what's interesting here in verse 43, we get a perfect summary of the manner by which you and I, if you claim to be healed, if you've claimed to be restored, what is the manner by which we obey him?

Because you have a lot of people who have interesting ideas about what it means to obey him. Notice what it says. No word by by Jesus is by accident here. No description of what he did is by accident here. Jesus sternly charged him.

It was it was forceful. There was no second guessing what he was saying. His tone was clear, and it was authoritative. He was strong in saying this. And it could be that he knew the seriousness of disobedience to this command, and that's why he was so strict in how he communicated it.

He was stern. The commands of Jesus, my friend, are not suggestions. They're not You know, try this because it's a little better than your way. It's my way or no way. It's my way or no way.

They are non negotiable orders. Do you see the bible that way? Do you see the commands of God in that way? Do you do you is that the pulse that you feel when you come to the scripture or you hear it preached? This is no joke.

This is my Lord speaking to me and asking me what I should do. I will obey. No. Because it's all grace. Right?

Yes. You just heard a whole point on the grace of God. But we have people drinking a different kind of grace these days. A grace that does not stimulate you to obedience is a cheap grace. I don't want it and I'm not gonna give it to anybody else.

Stern. A stern charge. But secondly, he sent them away at once. The commands of Jesus are not to be delayed. We shouldn't be hesitant.

But our primary priority and the driving force of all that we do is Jesus said it. My lord said it. And so I elevate as a supreme sovereign driving force of my being. And perhaps coming to this, we feel the same way because I have a lot of whys with this text. I have a lot of why.

Why. Why. And my first why is why the urgency to solely go to the priests. Why why that? Why is that the direction?

And you have many different reasons, but let me give you the main one. First, it shows that Jesus upheld the law. Jesus didn't violate the law. He actually was the author of it. And he, through this, is proving, not just to this man, but to the surrounding audience that he actually honors the law of Moses, and this would be a great apologetic to silence those who claim otherwise.

But it's in the text. It's in the text why, and it's the last phrase of verse 44. Go for a proof to them. I want you to prove something to these priests. Prove what?

That he was made made well? More than that. More than that. We don't know how many lepers have come over the years to the priest to pronounce that they have been made well. But here's what's amazing, when this man would come walking into that temple on this day with a smile on his face and with with the flesh of a newborn, The priests are gonna have some questions.

How did this happen? And Jesus wants this man to tell them he is the reason. And these priests who perform these sacrifices, who who upheld the law, who like the king of Israel in the days of Elisha knew that only God can cure this sickness would be confronted with the fact that a man from Nazareth brought this about. Amen. And I can just imagine that interaction just like the man who was born blind.

Questions after questions. Wait. You're telling me that the rabbi from Nazareth did this to you? Yes. She healed me.

I'm made whole because of him. And how did this rabbi do this? Well, I came before him, I knelt before him and he touched Wait. He touched you. He touched you.

And they're looking at each other then he must have leprosy himself. They they he got it. He's contaminated. Now we gotta bring him in as old No. No.

No. You don't understand. He touched me and nothing happened to him, but something happened to me. And here are these priests with their PhDs scratching their heads. And based on the conclusion that they would make from this miracle, it would either bring them to salvation or condemn them.

Go and tell the priests. Now some might have objections to say, how can that be the reason? How can that be the motive? Why is that the goal when Jesus in the same breath says don't tell anybody else? Which is my second why.

Okay. If the why go to the priest is because you want the priest to to to put the equation together to realize the nature of Jesus. And to realize that these sacrifices all prophetic pictures pointing to the Messiah, then why not let the man loose and just go evangelize the masses? Good question. Is it not?

But Jesus is so wise. He's incredibly wise. And at this point in Jesus's ministry, he does not want his miracle working power to be the draw for the people to come to him. That's not his intention. That's not his primary goal.

We heard it, did we not last two weeks ago or last week I believe? That Jesus went to these cities to preach to preach. This is why I have been sent to preach the good news. And what this miracle, because of the magnitude of it, if it would go out to the cities, it would cause hysteria. It would cause chaos, and it would only bring about a hindrance to the main purpose of the ministry of Jesus, and that was to proclaim the message.

Christ came into this world so that people would repent and find forgiveness in himself, not to temporarily deal with people's issues, though they are ailments and and great sufferings. And so Jesus understanding that says be careful. We don't want this to become a distraction now. But here's a point to consider before we move on to what this man does. I love how Jesus sends this man to the priest to receive a test so that he can be proven to be changed.

And what's true for that leper is true if you have truly been saved. There should be no fear for any convert in this place to be tested or examined by a watching world, only to leave with the conclusion this person has been touched by Jesus. Do you have that claim in this place that you have been transformed by Christ? Then let me tell you something. There should be a test based on this word that can validate and say there is an obvious change in this person.

I mean, if leprosy is a picture of sin and Jesus is the healer of leprosy and also the savior of spiritual leprosy, then how ridiculous would it be for us to say Jesus heals a leper with no evidence of any change in the body, and yet we go around saying that I'm saved and there's no evidence of salvation. It's just crazy to me. It's absolutely crazy to me. And Jesus here doesn't want him to go about at this point in his ministry because Jesus still wants to go into these cities, he wants to go into these synagogues, and he wants to preach the truth. That is why he came, which is so amazing because do you see the big number two in your bible?

Mark chapter two? The next miracle that we're gonna see is Jesus healing that paralytic man when he was at a certain house and the roof had to be caved in because of the lack of space. And what does Jesus do before he heals him? Your sins are forgiven. See, even in that transition, we know the main purpose of Jesus.

He wants to forgive. That's a greater thing than you being able to walk again even. And so this is the mind of Christ, and he knows that if this man does not carefully obey, there could be a great challenge to that. And that is the mandate of the leper. If you have been saved, you live by a perpetual mandate from the Lord Jesus Christ.

And you are careful to say, Lord, I hear what you say as a Christian, what I should not be doing, and I hear what you say about as a follower of you, what I should be doing. What a wonderful summary. The faith of the leper. The mandate of the leper. The disobedience of the leper.

Verse 45. But but he went out and began to talk freely about it. You know, to be honest, before studying this, whenever I read this part, I always thought it was like a good thing. Right? Anybody else with me on that?

Like, wow, he was so exuberant and so enthusiastic. He couldn't contain it so he went about and freely told everybody and and that's what made Jesus popular. This is disobedience. And it actually hurt the cause of Christ at this point. He went about to talk freely about it and to spread the news.

We might have admired this man at one point, but you're gonna have that Sunday school understanding or that primary reading of it changed because this man, unfortunately, though he started with great humility and reverence, now begins to impart his own ideas into the commands of Jesus and walk with his own wisdom even though he might have had good intentions. That that happens so much with people. It started really well. It started in a place of desperation, and then we somehow feel like we have the right to change things and and walk with our own rules. It happens everywhere.

Do you notice what happens here? Not only does he disobey, he does the exact opposite of what Jesus says. Like, there's no evidence, though it could have been true down the road. There's no evidence here that he actually went to the priests. And so he he he doesn't do what he was told to do by going on telling people, and the very thing Jesus said to do, he doesn't do.

Like, literally the opposite. And I wonder why. What was going through his head? We can't we can't make a dogmatic statement, but what was going through his mind? And only two things that upon meditation could be a possibility at least to me maybe of a third.

Here's the first one. He was obviously excited. I mean, he would've been healed from an incurable disease. We almost don't blame him for wanting to tell anybody, but the emotions do not justify the disobedience. How often is our disobedience a result of our emotions?

How how often is it that we don't do what Jesus tells to do because ready for this? I don't feel like it. I'm just not in the mood today. Or how much are we willing to do in disobedience to Jesus because it just feels right? It feels right.

He's so cute. I don't care how cute he is. Is he saved? Well, you know, it just it just it's it's gonna cause friction and so I I I can't say this to this person, instead I'm just gonna I'm just gonna emphasize on this aspect of God. It doesn't matter what you feel or they is it true?

Is it true? Do you realize that our our nation is going down the toilet because of feelings? Do you realize that? Everybody is easily offended now. Everybody has their and now everything is not just feelings, everything is fluid.

I saw some I'm not on TikTok. I'm not on TikTok. You can't pay me to get on TikTok. You can't. It just the level of cringe is just I can't do it.

I can't do it. People are like, well, you can reach people. Look, I can get if you wanna do it, do it. Like, you can take whatever you wanna do and do it. If you can go on there and preach the gospel and not adopt cringe habits, praise God.

That's wonderful. There's a grace on your life. I got that out of my system. God can use anything, even cringey things. But I saw this thing because somebody posted it and it was this this woman speaking about how she was fluid in her gender identity and and she was talking about how literally while she's walking, because of her gender dysphoria, she can turn from a woman to a man because she feels like it.

And so one day she could be eating her cereal, and in that moment, she can go from Alex to Amber. That wasn't it, and I added that. And I'm like, where does this stop? It's not gonna stop. This ideology is like a car going a 100 miles per hour headed for a brick wall with no brakes.

That's what's going to happen unless God intervenes with his mercy. And be careful, college student. I don't even call these places college and university where they're indoctrination centers. Be careful that you are not influenced by this idea that if it feels right, then it's right. This man perhaps felt that it was right because he was excited and exuberant and enthusiastic.

And so he went about to do what Jesus said not to do. But maybe it wasn't the feeling. Maybe maybe he heard the command of Jesus in that moment. And he thought to himself in his estimation, I get that you're telling me this, but I don't think you understand that it could be better if we do it this way. Maybe he had really, really good intentions.

I'm doing this because I wanna spread your name. I'm not doing this for me. I want people to know about you. Jesus said don't. No.

But you don't get it. This will help you. We don't know what's going on through his mind. But if that is true, then what a strong warning for those who think that they are helping to advance the kingdom of God by operating in his name with their own wisdom instead of trusting his. So if it if it brings results, it's right.

No. If it's in his name and it's for his good, then it's right. Not necessarily. Let this be a strong reminder that God's commands do not need our adjustments. He knows exactly why he said what he said, and he alone is in in charge of the results and is our duty to simply obey.

You said it, we're gonna do it. So if there if there are roles based on gender in the church, we're gonna obey. I don't care what the culture says, we're gonna obey. You have many people who say because, for example, we believe in the scriptures that elders should be men. And you know what common argument is?

Well, is God just gonna dispense and waste 50% of his his work because of woman? Are we just gonna throw away 50% of our potential? Do you see how human reasoning comes into this? Jesus, you're telling me to be quiet. Do you realize that if I go with this miracle, with this testimony, the masses can come to you?

Well, Jesus knows. He doesn't need your help. He doesn't need your ideas. He needs you to just trust him. And this leper, like many today, who think that they're doing God a favor by incorporating our own mechanisms, our own concepts, end up creating more setbacks than anything else.

Actually, we hurt the advancement more than help it. Jesus, at the second part of the verse, could no longer openly enter a town that's not good. Because he wanted to go into these towns. He wanted to go in and preach. And we are told that Jesus could no longer do that freely anymore as he desired.

His strategy had to change and that's why from this point on in Mark, what you're gonna see is Jesus out in desolate places, Jesus out by the sea, Jesus out on a boat, and he had to pull back from the shore because he was being crushed by throng of people. Now you might say, well, that was gonna happen anyway. That's fine. But at this point, Jesus did not want that to happen. I was talking with a few sisters after bible study Friday and it was an encouraging conversation.

And one of the things that came up, we were just telling testimonies of the ripple effects of one small seemingly insignificant act of obedience, how one step of obedience can actually touch generations. How one person who steps out in faith or one person who just is consistent in their devotion to the Lord can bless bless people beyond your own your own understanding. And one of the sisters wisely said, and that is also true for disobedience. You're right. And that's an example of it here.

One simple thing that was dishonored created a colossal mess, so to speak. May we be carefully obedient to the Lord. May God help us see what it is that he wants us to know exactly and then obey it by his strength as closely as possible. But I wanna conclude with something. I wanna conclude with a thought that marked by the spirit brilliantly portrays.

If you read the wording of this last verse carefully, you get a hint that the spirit of God is providing a faint metaphor of a gospel truth. Look at verse 45. So that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places. Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was sent out into desolate places. Which character in the story could relate to that experience?

The leper. Because this leper, when the story started, we can argue was in a desolate place. But now he is openly in the towns. And Jesus started being openly out in the towns, but now he's in a desolate place. They exchange places.

Isn't that what we believe about the gospel? The great exchange. Jesus was willing for us to be free, was forsaken. Jesus, who had everything, was willing to lay aside an aspect of his glory to come in and to know the place of a leper, symbolically speaking. To be driven away from the presence of God.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? So that you and I could be embraced by by the same God. It's almost as though Mark, through this miracle, wants to give a nudge. He's giving a nudge here. In this miracle, you see an aspect, the core concept of the gospel.

Jesus traits places with us on the cross. If you're in this place and you don't understand the the idea of Christianity, here it is. I just said it. Christ takes your place. He takes from you and then he gives himself his righteousness, his perfection, his holiness for your filth, your sin, your condemnation.

And what the gospel demands is for you to acknowledge that, but then to put your faith so that transaction can take place. And how do you do that? I argue the same way the leper came to Jesus. Come with desperation. Come with reverence.

Come with confession, and let him heal you. Because the same way Jesus said with pity, the word is compassion, I will be clean. He will not push away those who come to him. You come to him even if you are full of sin. Corrupt beyond imagination.

His arms are open to you and he will touch you. He will touch you. Lord, we ask that that would be true for us. And we pray, Lord, that every person in this house can testify, not just from their own validation, but even for those who know them, like the priest would have known with this leper. I have been made clean by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Thank you, Lord. Thank you for this story. Thank you for this miracle. Thank you that it is pregnant with so much gospel truth. And Lord, we just worship you.

We just want to adore you as a result of this truth. Lord, as as as we heard with the mandate of the leper, please help us. Help us to not make decisions based on our emotions. And help us not try to impose our ideas with your commands, but to simply trust in what you said, that you know why you said what you said, and you have a desired goal through it. Even if you don't understand it in the moment.

We trust in your word. Help us be a church that submits to your word. And, Lord, we just ask we just ask, Lord, that you would receive glory in this place.