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Week:07, Season:1,
2015
Posted on Saturday by PCT
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If You Are Willing
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Scripture：《
Mark 1:40-45
》
40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” 41 Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. 43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 “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.” 45 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.
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What are we searching？
Our life is a process of continuous searching. We search because we have demands: physical and spiritual. We eat when we are hungry; we drink when we are thirsty; we wear clothes when we are cold. These are our physical demands. We also have spiritual needs; for example, a two-year-old child is fed and warm but cries while he cannot see his mother. A little child’s physical demands are easily satisfied but his spiritual needs, the love from the mother is strongly required; not to mention that when he gets older, friendship will become one of his spiritual needs!
Are we aware that we are chasing our various kinds of needs throughout our entire life？ What is the ultimate goal we are pursuing？
A man with leprosy came to Jesus
This Bible passage describes a man with leprosy coming to Jesus. The history of leprosy dates back to 1000 BC when ancient Egypt had already discovered such a disease. In 600 BC, one of the ancient Indian religious texts records leprosy and described the typical symptoms that patients’ fingers and toes lose feelings. At the time, leprosy patients often suffered from cruel treatment; some were abandoned in the desert and some were burnt to death. Leprosy was a disease without a cure until 1940 when modern medicine a cure developed. However, in some poor and remote areas of the world today, leprosy still attacks people.
Let us try to think; what a leprosy patient needs？ In verse 40 it says that a man with leprosy came to Jesus and begged him on his knees to cure him. According to strict Jewish law at that time, this person’s act of coming to Jesus already broke the law. He even kneeled to show his faith to Jesus but to Jews, kneeling down is only an honourable act towards God. The leprosy patient kneeled before Jesus and even if he did not intend to worship Jesus, this act showed his plea for help. In what circumstance would make a person who was rejected by the society be willing to risk his life to see Jesus？ The Bible passage does not mention the background of this leprosy sufferer. He must know that Jesus has healing power as he comes to see him. This person had great faith in Jesus so the question is not whether Jesus is able to cure him but whether Jesus will cure him. Thus the man cried out, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” This deeply expresses this person’s pure but strong faith and also shows he knew that the authority of healing lay in Jesus.
In verse 41, it says that “Jesus was filled with compassion.” In the original Greek text, it only uses one word to describe Jesus’ emotion here. Some Greek script used “anger” or “indignant” instead of “filled with compassion.” It is easier for us to understand Jesus’ mind when it is read as Jesus was filled with compassion, but if in the original text, Mark used “anger” or “indignant,” it is still reasonable. We may ask: why Jesus was “angry”？ Is it because this leper disregarded the law and came to him？ It seems unlikely as Jesus accepted the man’s request and cured him. Many Biblical scholars believed that if Jesus was “angry,” the subject he was angry at was not the leper but the disease. In Jesus’ time, people usually considered disease as Satan’s work to hurt or disable people. The cure of disease meant a release from Satan’s damage and bondage. Therefore, it is more reasonable to assume that Jesus’ anger was towards the damage to this leper. In verse 42, it shows that this healing is a miracle to cure a person’s body. In other word, this person’s physical demand was satisfied.
In verses 43 to 44, the reason that Jesus gave this patient a strong warning was in keeping with his early ministry. Jesus did not want people overly to spread his name to avoid unnecessary misunderstanding or hindrance to his work. More importantly, helping this cured leper return to Jewish society and live a life with others is the first priority. Jesus’ order warned people not to publicise his miracles as this might conceal his gospel work. On the other hand, Jesus knew this leper was isolated and he understood the need for this person to regain his religion and social life.
Modern inspiration
Why did this leprosy patient, rejected by his society, take a risk to see Jesus？ This was because he wanted to be cured and return to society. He said to Jesus, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” He knows Jesus owned the authority; so a miracle of healing, initiated from his will to be cured and his faith in Jesus’ healing power, healed his body and mind.
We may wonder what does this passage say to us？ Isn’t it fairly reasonable to ask for Jesus’ healing when someone is sick？ A deeper question for us to discuss is that when we face the end of life, what does Jesus, who heals and satisfies our needs, mean to us？ As a pastor, I often have contact with the dying and I keep seeing tragedies. Part of the cause of the tragedy is the dying person’s family want to hide his or her condition. They chose “white lies” to protect their loved ones from facing the fear of death. Very often this only results a situation that the person dying loses precious time before life ends. The opportunity to complete an unfinished will or spend time with families has gone. On the other hand, those who are willing to face the end of life and seize the moment are more likely to complete their will, , spend time to thank friends and families, repairing the wounds of previous bad relationships, holding a living funeral to say goodbye to everyone they love.. We should have faith that Jesus not only satisfys our physical needs, he will give us hope of reconciliation and eternal life throughout his salvation.
In the film, Edge of Tomorrow, the main character dies but was brought back to life again by a special experience. However, after he wakes up, he started experiencing the same thing every day. Even if he can predict what is going to happen in the near future, he has no power to change it and such an ability becomes the deepest pain in his life. As a pastor, like the character in the film, I am often busy with similar tasks. Whenever I am with a dying person, especially the one trying to hide his/her condition, I always have the urge to do something to change the situation and hope that in a limited time, the person will change their attitude to life. However, it is almost an impossible mission! This brings me to reflect that it is extremely difficult to change one person. Luckily we have the grace of God and the salvation of Christ as our help. How to face our limited lifetime, is not only a difficult lesson for church pastors but for all Christians to learn together.
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For discussion：
1. Have you discovered your needs in life？ How do you trust in Jesus to satisfy your need？
2. Among the demands in your life, which one will make you sorry if you never complete it？ What help can Jesus’ salvation and healing bring to you？
Please pray for：
1. Church brothers and sisters. May all of us learn to cherish our wonderful life and have courage to face its limits.
2. Family and friends who do not yet believe in God. May our lives help to bring changes and become the opportunity for them to know the gospel.
Prayer：
Dear Lord, thank you for your love and salvation which brings us hope in different stages of life. We give thanks for Jesus’ grace and healing. Because our Lord is “filled with compassion” so our limited life can be filled. Please help us to count our days with wisdom and seize the opportunity to live with faith. Help us come to you to seek your guidance. In the name of Christ. Amen.
Something you can do：
1. Pray for others’ physical and spiritual needs; share with them the news that Jesus is a God who knows all of our needs; encourage them to trust in Jesus’ salvation.
2. Share your faith story with friends, for example, how Jesus satisfied your needs and how you rejoice in Christ. Pray for their lives.
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