Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed"

 

 Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.  But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once.  So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her.  And she served them. 

At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.  And the whole city was gathered together at the door.  Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him. 

Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.  And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.  When they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."  But He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth."  And He was preaching in their synagogues and throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.  

Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed."  As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.  And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself t the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."  However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction. 

 

- Mark 1:29-45 

 

Yesterday we read that after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent, and believe in the gospel."  And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.  And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.  Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.  Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit.  And he cried out, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.  Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this?  What new doctrine is this?  For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."   And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.

 

 Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.  But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once.  So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her.  And she served them.   After they come out of the synagogue, Christ and His disciples go the family home of the brothers Simon and Andrew.  The presence of Simon Peter's mother-in-law tells us of his extended family, in this home that would become the headquarters of Christ's Galilean ministry.  The very personal and compassionate manner of Christ's healing is given to us here in that He took her by the hand and lifted her up.  By this healing, Christ restores Simon Peter's mother-in-law to her rightful position in the household, and she served them, a kind of minister to the ministry.  The root for this verb "to serve" is the same as that from which we derive the word "deacon" (διάκονος/diakonos), and is an indication of the honor to do so.  It is the same word translated as "ministered" in Mark 1:13, where we read that "the angels ministered to Him" in the wilderness.

At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.  And the whole city was gathered together at the door.  Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.  Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.  And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.  When they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."  But He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth."  And He was preaching in their synagogues and throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.  My study Bible notes that Christ's primary mission was to preach the kingdom of God, "because for this purpose I have come forth."   It notes that miracles and healings testify both to the truth of the message and the identity of the Teacher (see Luke 5:24).  To this we may add that they also testify to the presence of the Kingdom.  This same pattern, my study Bible adds, holds true in the Church (Acts 4:29-30).  Note also that the pattern of variously healing and casting out demons; both are acts of healing for human beings, depending upon the cause of the ailment.  Jesus did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him. My study Bible notes that Christ's refusal to fully disclose His identity as Messiah is foreseen by Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1-4). It says that the reasons for secrecy include His anticipation of the growing hostility of the Jewish leaders; the people's misunderstanding and expectation of the Messiah as an earthly, political leader; and our Lord's desire to evoke genuine faith which is not based solely on marvelous signs.  In the midst of this glimpse we're given of Christ's busy and varied ministry, we are told that in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. This gives us an example of the spiritual life.  My study Bible notes that although He is God incarnate, Christ prayed continually, often finding a solitary place in order to be free from distraction, despite the multitude's need of Him.   It notes, most importantly for us, that our Lord's ministry comes forth from His communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and flows to people in their needs.  That He prays in the morning teaches us that we must put as first priority our commitment to God, and only then are we equipped with what is needful to serve others.

Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed."  As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.  And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."  However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.  My study Bible explains that the biblical law concerning leprosy is found in Leviticus 13 and 14.  Deuteronomy 24:8 is a description of the purification of lepers and leprous houses, a duty which was entrusted to the priests; hence, Christ's instructions to "show yourself to the priest."   It adds that leprosy was considered a direct punishment for sins, and as lepers were unclean, they were not permitted to live in the community or to worship in synagogues or the temple.  To touch the unclean was forbidden (Leviticus 7:21), but Jesus here is characteristically moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him.  In addition to expressing Christ's compassion, this shows also that Christ is not subject to the Law but over it.  My study Bible adds that "to the clean, nothing is unclean" (see Romans 14:14; Acts 10:15).

We see how quickly Christ's ministry grows in today's passage (and how swiftly Mark's Gospel moves forward).  By the end of the events of today's reading, we're told, Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction. We know from John's Gospel, and its inclusion of three Passover Festivals, that Christ's ministry was approximately three years long.  The action in Mark's Gospel, the shortest Gospel, takes place seemingly quickly.  But this is enforced by the language used in a deliberate way.  As we read in yesterday's reading and commentary, the word "immediately" occurs nearly forty times in this Gospel, nearly all of them before Christ enters Jerusalem for the final week of His human life.  So the emphasis on "immediacy" in this Gospel is not an accident, nor is our impression of the urgency with which Christ's carries out His mission and its depth of involvement in purpose.  This immediacy gives us a sense of the work of God in the world, the presence of the Spirit, and the ways that the mystery of holiness can manifest and express presence, working seemingly through unseen networks of connections that are made without our own intellectual understanding or explanation.  Indeed, we can look at the spread of Christianity in its early centuries and marvel that, without empire or military, it was carried throughout the known world in a relatively short time.   In Christ's prophecy of end times, and specifically in Matthew 24:14, Jesus teaches that all manner of calamities and opposition cannot stop the spread of the gospel message, and my study Bible comments that persecutions against the Church often increase the  number of souls being converted.  It adds that St. John Chrysostom marveled that while the Romans subdued countless Jews in a political uprising in the Siege of Jerusalem in AD 70,  they could not prevail over twelve Jews unarmed with anything except the gospel of Jesus Christ.  In hindsight so many centuries later, we may consider how many ways we can observe attacks upon this gospel message from all kinds of directions, precepts, philosophies, and vantage points, and yet it continues, endures, and spreads with the same sense of immediacy.  For the words of truth have a depth of response in us that hits its mark where the soul needs and receives it, a healing balm specific to what ails us in times of loss and difficulty.  Certainly there are those for whom it is not missed nor understood or sought for, but this does not seem to be the concern of the gospel nor of Christ's ministry.  The gospel is for those who will respond to it.  As St. Peter will eventually exclaim to Christ as others desert Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (John 6:68).  It is the fire of these words in which we find the greatest immediacy.  As Jesus taught in the same passage, "The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63).  So we may, at this time, turn again and again to the spirit and the life of the gospel, and find the immediate need met for today, for the ways in which this mysterious fire responds to what it is we're seeking.  It continues to illuminate and inspire where other things fail, like a light shed on yet another facet of a gem we haven't fully seen.  Even so, Jesus remains to us compassionate and personal, in ways that may touch us all, like the wind that blows where it wishes.