Mark 1:40-45

1. Position yourself to hear God

2. Pore over the passage and paraphrase the main points

3. Pull out the spiritual principles

4. Pose the question

5. Plan obedience and pin down a date

Mark 1:40-45 (NIV)

Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy

⁴⁰ A man with leprosy^[a] came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

⁴¹ Jesus was indignant.^[b] 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.

Paraphrase

• A man with leprosy knelt in front of Jesus begging to be healed
• Jesus had compassion on him and healed him
• Jesus told the man to go to the Priest and take an offering with him so that people will know that he was healed
• The man disobeyed and told everyone he saw what happened.  This hindered where Jesus could go

Principles

• Jesus shows compassion to this man and his healing is immediate, complete cleansing and Jesus used touch to do it.
• We need to honour the law of God
• Disobedience hindered Jesus in how free he could come and go in places.  Obedience should be our top priority.

Questions

• What sins do I need to be cleansed from? 
• What sins do I need to talk to Jesus about?
• Am I pursuing obedience with Jesus or justifying my sin?