Mark 1:35-45: Coming Out to Pray and Preach

(1) Bible Study Questions

A man with leprosy (vv. 40-45, cf. Matt 8:1-4; Luke 5:12-16)

1. Why does Jesus’ heal the man? (v. 41)

2. What is your response to the man’s free reporting of Jesus’ compassionate healing? (vv. 44-45)

3. Did Jesus want the healing known? (v. 44) If so, by whom?

4. What things can we copy from the man with leprosy?

Overview Questions

5. What things does Jesus have authority over?

6. What opposition does Jesus face?

(2) Sermon Script

Introduction

What is ministry? What is the task of Christian ministry? What does Christian ministry entail? Now, I am not the only one interested in this question. I am certainly interested in this question because I am a minister. But I am not the only one interested in this question, because every Christian is a minister. We believe in the priesthood of all believers. Every one who trusts in Christ needs to be equipped for the work of ministry, that the body of Christ might be built up.

So the question is, what is fundamental task of ministry?

Well, we can see from this little passage what the fundamental task is. Jesus’ ministry priorities show that the fundamental task is to pray and preach. That is the essence of Christian ministry.

Someone once told me that ministry is about the three 'ps': preaching; prayer; and people (v. 35). And we see the three 'ps' in Jesus’ early ministry in this chapter.

Prayer (vv. 35 to 37)

³⁵And very early, while it was still dark, [Jesus] got up, went out and departed into a deserted place, and there he was praying. ³⁶And Simon and those with him went after him. ³⁷They found him and said, “Everyone is looking for you”.

Three times in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus is said to have retired for prayer: here; after the feeding of the 5000; and in the Garden of Gethsemane. And it seems that it is in the midst of the business of mission that Jesus withdraws for prayer. The pressing and presenting needs of the moment were still there. Everyone was still looking for him. Even Simon Peter was hunting him down. And Simon, it seems, wasn’t quite sure about this ‘retreating to pray’ idea. There were the never ending demands of the crowds and the needs of needy people. Could Jesus really afford this luxury of a private retreat at this time? Nevertheless, Jesus prayed.

Why does he choose that time, early in the morning while it was still night time? Probably because that was the only time available with the pressing needs of the crowd. So Jesus dug into sleep time for private prayer. It was costly for him to pray. Of course, it is not that secret: after all, we know about it. But it shows Jesus doing the secret work of prayer and withdrawing from other ministries for that purpose.

Do you pray? At one level, yes, we can talk about those prayers on the run, those prayers prayed when the need arises. These are real prayers. God hears his children call out to him. But what we see here is Jesus carving time out to pray. You may not be a morning person. That’s OK. The point is not ‘when’ but ‘that’ we pray. Perhaps Jesus would normally have prayed in the normal daylight hours. In fact, perhaps one of the reasons this is recorded is because it is unusual. Not always the usual is recorded for us. But let’s make a concerted and costly effort to carve out time to pray, where no one can see us.

Preaching (vv. 38-9)

But Jesus doesn’t pray at the expense of preaching. No, he prays in support of his ministry of preaching to people. Verses 38 to 39:

³⁸And [Jesus] said to them, “Let’s go somewhere else, into the neighbouring towns, so that I can preach there also, for that is why I have come out.” ³⁹And he went into the whole of Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Jesus defines his mission, the reason why he has come, as preaching. And this preaching is the declaration of the kingdom of God. Jesus’ first sermon in Mark’s Gospel is: “The time has come, the kingdom of God is near; repent and believe the gospel”. Jesus declares the truth about God and his kingdom to a needy and dying people around him. And in support of this ministry of preaching the kingdom, Jesus drove out demons.

Fundamentally and at its core, Christian ministry is the preaching of the word of God and prayer. This is not to deny that other jobs must be done for the welfare of the church. Of course we do good to all people, especially to the household of faith. But when we consider what is the core responsibility of Christian ministry, it is this: preach the word and pray without ceasing. These are the fundamental tasks of ministry. And all the other things we need to do support this and must not detract from this. And if they detract from this, they need to go.

Fundamentally, ministry is about preaching, prayer, and people.

A Leprous Man Cleansed (vv. 40-45; Matt 8:1-4; Luke 5:12-16)

Now, the summary of Jesus’ ministry is followed by a little story about a leper. This man is one of the untouchables. Verse 40:

⁴⁰And a leper came to him, pleading with him, kneeling down in front of him, and saying, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

The leprous man says to Jesus, “If you want to, you can”. The man knows that Jesus is able, but is unsure whether Jesus is willing.

Some Christian people are like that. They know God is able and powerful and strong. They know God is might to save. But they doubt whether God is willing to save them in particular.

But in the story of this leper, we need to see here the heart of Jesus, his tender mercy, his willingness to save all who come to him. Verses 41-2:

⁴¹And being moved with compassion, [Jesus] stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be clean.” ⁴²And immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was made clean.

We expect Jesus to reach out and touch the leper, but in the context of the ancient world and also the Law of Moses, this was astounding. The Law of Moses declared those with leprosy unclean, and such uncleanness was contracted by touching. Yet Jesus does not become unclean, but communicates his cleanness to the leper in healing. This shows Jesus' superiority to the Law of Moses. Jesus is able and willing to cleanse the foulest, most unclean person who comes to him. And he wasn’t just willing to cure leprosy. The author to the Hebrews tells us of Christ:

Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said, Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me, with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not please. Then I said, “Here I am – it is written about me in the scroll – I have come to do your will O God […] And by that will we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all. (NIV)

Jesus was so willing to cleanse us that he willingly went to the cross.

It is not Jesus’ willingness to save that is the issue. It is our willingness to be saved. People are not willing to come to Jesus and be saved. And that is why they remain unclean.

Now the ending of this story is quite unusual. Jesus orders the man not to tell anyone. The testimony the former leper was to give was to offer the sacrifice Moses commanded. But he was not to offer any other testimony.

Why do you think Jesus commanded that the man be silent? Verse 45 gives the answer:

⁴⁵But instead he kept announcing it and spreading the word, so that [Jesus] was no longer able to enter the cities openly. He would have to stay outside, yet still they would come to him from everywhere.

The crowds who would respond to such news when the word of healings was spread would not allow Jesus to enter into the cities, inhibiting his preaching ministry.

Now if we were to compare this with the demon possessed man in Mark chapter 5 verses 19 and 20, we would ask, “Why does Jesus say to one, ‘Tell everyone what God has done’, and to the other, ‘tell no one’?

I think that the answer lies in this difference, that the healed demon possessed man was a gentile sent to gentiles, and Jesus did not go to the gentiles—he was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel. However, the leper was a Jew: we see this because he was to give testimony to his cleansing in the Jewish way. The Jews were Jesus’ mission field during his earthly ministry. But the crowds that gathered in the cities and towns at the news of this extraordinary cleansing made it difficult for Jesus to do the work of preaching.

Still, the formerly leprous man couldn’t help himself. He blabbed the news far and wide about what Jesus had done for him.

And it is not the disobedience to Jesus that we need to copy, but his willingness to blab. For what was inappropriate during Jesus’ earthly ministry, when Jesus himself was preaching in the flesh, is now very appropriate since Jesus has been glorified as risen and reigning saviour and now sits in heaven. So we too should go out and talk freely, spreading the news.

Conclusion

Jesus' priorities in his ministry were preaching the kingdom and praying to his Father (v. 35). Certainly, Jesus healed and drove out unclean spirits out of sympathy for those who suffered, but healing or driving out demons was not the focus of his mission. In fact, Jesus would leave the crowds desperate to receive healings and deliverance from unclean spirits so as to preach the coming kingdom further afield.

(3) English Translation