Mark 1:40-42
And a 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 to him, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The leper's phrase, "If you will, you can," isn't just a statement of Jesus' power, but a humble acknowledgment that true healing comes not just from ability, but from willingness. He recognizes that Jesus has the power, but also acknowledges that Jesus' will is the ultimate determiner of his cleansing, revealing a profound, though perhaps nascent, understanding of God's sovereignty.
Jesus has just been teaching and healing crowds, and now a man suffering from leprosy, a deeply isolating and feared disease, desperately approaches him. This man, acknowledging Jesus’ power but uncertain of his will, kneels and pleads for healing. Jesus responds with compassion, touching the man and instantly making him clean, then instructs him to follow the religious laws for reporting such a miracle.
This leper was an outcast, ceremonially unclean and isolated. Yet, he approaches Jesus with a raw, exposed plea. What does his approach tell us about how to come to God, even when we feel most broken?
Leprosy was more than a physical disease; it was a social and spiritual exile. The leper was forced to live apart, cry out 'Unclean!' to warn others, and was considered cut off from God's presence. His approach to Jesus, then, was incredibly bold. He didn't just ask; he 'implored' and 'knelt.' This wasn't a casual request but an act of profound humility and desperation, acknowledging his helplessness and Jesus' potential power.
A Plea Grounded in Power:
This combination—acknowledging God's will and believing in His power—is the heart of true faith, especially when facing overwhelming circumstances.
Jesus’ response to the leper is striking. He doesn’t just speak; He acts. What does His touch reveal about His heart, and what does His command to silence reveal about His mission?
Jesus’ immediate and physical response—stretching out His hand to touch the leper—was revolutionary. Under the Law, touching a leper made a person ceremonially unclean. Jesus, however, initiated the touch, demonstrating that His purity was superior to the disease.
More Than Just Power:
Understand the original words
lepros · Greek Noun
A person afflicted with a severe, contagious skin disease (leprosy) which, under Old Testament law, rendered one ceremonially unclean and socially marginalized, representing a state of degradation or separation from God's people.
katharizō · Greek Verb
To make holy, pure, or ceremonially acceptable, removing the defilement of sin or disease to restore a person to fellowship with God and the community.
splagchnizomai · Greek Verb
An internal reaction of deep compassion, specifically visceral or gut-level sympathy, often followed by an act of mercy or restoration. In the Gospels, it is a hallmark of Jesus' nature.
katharos · Greek Adjective
The Mosaic Law treated leprosy as a ceremonial impurity, requiring sufferers to be isolated and to undergo a specific purification ritual involving priests. This context highlights Jesus' radical compassion in touching the leper and His respect for the Law by directing him to the priests, while simultaneously demonstrating His authority over both disease and religious convention.
c. 450 BC
Levitical Law Codified
The Law of Moses, including detailed regulations for identifying and handling leprosy, is compiled and widely disseminated.
c. 150 BC - AD 70
Second Temple Period
This era saw varying degrees of Jewish autonomy and religious practice under foreign rule, with a heightened emphasis on ritual purity and temple observance.
c. AD 28
Jesus Begins Public Ministry
Jesus emerges as a public figure, teaching, healing, and gathering disciples, often in Galilee and surrounding regions.
c. AD 28— this verse
Jesus Preaches Sermon on the Mount
Jesus delivers a major discourse on His teachings, likely in Galilee. The healing of the leper is often placed immediately following this event in Matthew's Gospel.
This passage details the specific ritual cleansing and sacrifices required by the Mosaic Law for a healed leper, which Jesus directs the man to follow, showing His respect for the Law even as He fulfilled it.
2 Kings 5:1-14This narrative of Naaman, a Syrian leper seeking healing from Elisha, shares thematic similarities in a desperate plea for cleansing and a miraculous cure, highlighting God's power to heal across different nations and circumstances.
Matthew 14:14Jesus' response to a crowd of sick people, 'When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick,' parallels the compassion shown to the leper, demonstrating Jesus' consistent heart for the suffering.
Isaiah 35:5-6This prophetic passage foretells a time when 'the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy,' which Jesus’ miracles, including this healing, directly fulfill.
Luke 17:11-19This account of ten lepers healed by Jesus, where only one returns to give thanks, contrasts with the single leper's approach here, emphasizing the importance of gratitude and faith beyond just receiving a miracle.
calvinMark 1:40-45: "And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean."
- And when he had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. 2. And, lo, a leper, approaching, worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou art willing, thou art able to cleanse me. 3. And Jesus, having stretched out his hand, touched him, saying, I am willing; be thou clean: and immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4. And Jesus saith…
gillMark 1:40: "And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean."
And there came a leper to him,.... After he was come down from a certain mountain, in Galilee, where he had been preaching to the people, Matthew 8:1 , and when be was in a certain city, Luke 5:12 , either Capernaum, or some other city of Galilee. This man was full of leprosy, as Luke says, and very probably deemed incurable; of the nature and sympto…
The leper's phrase, "If you will, you can," isn't just a statement of Jesus' power, but a humble acknowledgment that true healing comes not just from ability, but from willingness. He recognizes that Jesus has the power, but also acknowledges that Jesus' will is the ultimate determiner of his cleansing, revealing a profound, though perhaps nascent, understanding of God's sovereignty.
Jesus has just been teaching and healing crowds, and now a man suffering from leprosy, a deeply isolating and feared disease, desperately approaches him. This man, acknowledging Jesus’ power but uncertain of his will, kneels and pleads for healing. Jesus responds with compassion, touching the man and instantly making him clean, then instructs him to follow the religious laws for reporting such a miracle.
Jesus has just been teaching and healing crowds, and now a man suffering from leprosy, a deeply isolating and feared disease, desperately approaches him. This man, acknowledging Jesus’ power but uncertain of his will, kneels and pleads for healing. Jesus responds with compassion, touching the man and instantly making him clean, then instructs him to follow the religious laws for reporting such a miracle.
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His subsequent command for the leper to tell no one, but to go to the priest, wasn't to suppress the miracle, but to direct the testimony properly within the existing framework of the Law, until His own time for full revelation.
A state of ritual and physical purity required for standing in the presence of God or participating in the community. Cleansing signifies both the removal of defilement and the restoration to holiness.
lepra · Greek Noun
A generic term in the New Testament referring to various severe skin diseases or conditions causing ceremonial impurity. It symbolizes the corrupting power of sin and separation from the community.
c. AD 28
Leper Disobediently Spreads News
The healed leper disregards Jesus' instruction to remain silent, causing Jesus' fame to spread widely and limiting His ability to enter cities openly.
"And a 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 to him, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him, a…" — The leper's phrase, "If you will, you can," isn't just a statement of Jesus' power, but a humble acknowledgment that true healing comes not just from ability, but from willingness. He recognizes that…
