DAY FIVE | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17
Mark 1:35-45
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”
Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”
Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.
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.
REFLECTION
In my house we have a rule that we don’t keep secrets. The truth is that when a lot of abuse happens to children, the perpetrator will often say, “Let’s keep this a secret,” to hide their abuse. Even when I want to stop on the way home for ice cream with the kids knowing their mother would not approve, my kids will say, “We don’t keep secrets Dad.”
It is probably for the best, because my son can’t keep a secret. You tell him something and he blurts it to everyone he meets that day. I found most of us are like that. The saying is “some people can keep anything but a secret.”
So why did Jesus tell people to not tell anybody when he healed a leper? I mean, did Jesus not understand the family rule, “we don’t keep secrets?” And even if he did, he of all people should know we’re really bad at it.
I’ve heard many scholars say that he told him this to not attract more attention to his ministry. Once word got out, Jesus wouldn’t be allowed to move freely. Let’s keep it hush, hush to protect Jesus’ mobility. (That is what happened after all)
N.T. Wright offers another alternative. He suggests that this was directed to this man because of his condition of leprosy. Unlike other diseases where others could see the healing immediately, leprosy involved a ritual to present oneself to the priests to be made clean and restored back into the community. Jesus was saying, I have not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. Make sure and go through the proper channels. What Jesus didn’t want spread around was that he was challenging the authority of the Temple itself. That he was dangerous. Unfortunately, that would come in time, but for now, there is still work to be done.
Mark 1:35-45
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”
Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”
Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.
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.
REFLECTION
In my house we have a rule that we don’t keep secrets. The truth is that when a lot of abuse happens to children, the perpetrator will often say, “Let’s keep this a secret,” to hide their abuse. Even when I want to stop on the way home for ice cream with the kids knowing their mother would not approve, my kids will say, “We don’t keep secrets Dad.”
It is probably for the best, because my son can’t keep a secret. You tell him something and he blurts it to everyone he meets that day. I found most of us are like that. The saying is “some people can keep anything but a secret.”
So why did Jesus tell people to not tell anybody when he healed a leper? I mean, did Jesus not understand the family rule, “we don’t keep secrets?” And even if he did, he of all people should know we’re really bad at it.
I’ve heard many scholars say that he told him this to not attract more attention to his ministry. Once word got out, Jesus wouldn’t be allowed to move freely. Let’s keep it hush, hush to protect Jesus’ mobility. (That is what happened after all)
N.T. Wright offers another alternative. He suggests that this was directed to this man because of his condition of leprosy. Unlike other diseases where others could see the healing immediately, leprosy involved a ritual to present oneself to the priests to be made clean and restored back into the community. Jesus was saying, I have not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. Make sure and go through the proper channels. What Jesus didn’t want spread around was that he was challenging the authority of the Temple itself. That he was dangerous. Unfortunately, that would come in time, but for now, there is still work to be done.