Our New Testament reading and our sermon text this morning is the Gospel of Mark chapter one at verse 40 to the end of the chapter. Listen to God’s word. 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. And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once and said to him, see that you say nothing to anyone, but go show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded for a proof to them. But he went out, began to talk freely about it and to spread the news so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places and people who are coming to him from every quarter.
The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever. This is God’s word. Please be seated. And let’s pray. Oh Lord, as your word has been read and now As we turn to its being proclaimed, give us reverence and holy attention. Show us our uncleanness and our need of Christ’s cleansing mercy, and draw us near in faith. By your spirit, illuminate our minds, convict our hearts, and strengthen our faith in Christ. Grant that we would not be hearers only, but doers of your word, and we ask this in Jesus’ name.
And again, God’s people say, amen. Well, brothers, sisters, as we consider this text this morning, one of the deepest human questions is not simply, can I be helped, but can I be welcomed? It’s one thing to believe that help exists. It’s another to believe that that help is for you. And many people will admit that God is merciful. And generally say, yes, God forgives. Yes, Christ saves. But when it comes to themselves, there’s some hesitation. Would he receive me? Would he draw near to someone like me?
We know something of this inward struggle. We all do. It’s known what it is to feel stained by sin, that things that we have done, the words we can’t take back, patterns we just can’t seem to break. We know what it is to carry weight. We know what it is to feel, at times, quite unworthy of nearness to God. Now we may not live outside the city like a leper, cut off from family and community, but many live with an inner distance, an awareness that something is not quite right, that we are not clean, that we do not belong, as we should. Now, some people, they suppress that. They try to ignore that feeling. Others try to cover it with busyness, activity, religion, self-improvement. But it still remains. And the question is still there. Can I be welcomed by God? Well, this passage in front of us this morning in Mark 1, verses 40 through 45, this account of the healing of this leper speaks directly to that question.
Here we’ve got a man who has no claim, no status, no hope in himself. He is unclean, excluded, desperate, and yet he comes to Jesus. So what happens next reveals not only what Christ can do, but what he is willing to do. It shows us that what he has come to do, not merely to heal outwardly, but to cleanse deeply. And it shows how centers like us are restored, not by earning his favor, but by coming to him in need. And more than that, it shows us how grace changes a life. No one meets Christ and remains the same.
So it’s not merely a healing story, it’s a gospel story. It’s about the welcome of God to the unclean, the undeserving, the needy, and it presses the question upon us, will we come to him? So let’s begin where this story begins, with a desperate sinner drawing near to a merciful God. This appeal of an unclean man in verse 40, A leper came to him, imploring him and kneeling, said to him, if you will, you can make me clean. Now, Mark is introducing us here to a man whose life has been reduced to distance. He’s a leper.
That means more than his sickness. It means exclusion. It means separation from worship, from family, from ordinary human touch. Under the law of God, he’s been living outside the camp, bearing the visible marks of uncleanness and decay. Now, we don’t know if it’s a result of some sin he committed or whatever, but this uncleanness is a picture to us of sin and what it does. It separates us from God. It separates us from others as well.
So, this man does not merely feel unwell, he knows He does not belong. And yet, the astonishing thing is he comes near. Mark tells us that he comes imploring, kneeling, pleading. Every movement, every posture, every word speaks of his desperateness. He has nothing. to offer Christ except his need. He doesn’t even clean himself up first. He doesn’t stand at a safe distance. He risks rejection because he has nowhere else to go. So listen carefully to what he says. He does not say, if you can, he says, if you will.
He is certain of Christ’s power. What he is uncertain about is Christ’s willingness. And that certainly is a deeply human thing, isn’t it? You know, some of you maybe here this morning, weary, burdened, quietly ashamed. You believe Christ can forgive. You believe he can restore, but you’re not sure he still wants to deal with you. You wonder whether your repeated sins, your lingering weakness, your long discouragement have finally just worn him thin.
And this leper stands before you and teaches you how to come. Not with confidence in yourself, not with explanations, not with promises of improvement, but with honest need and humble submission. Believer, repent of staying at a distance when Christ invites you near. Repent of assuming that your weakness makes you unwelcome. Come as you are because there is no other way to come.
Others of you may need to hear a different word. You are not weary. You’re comfortable. You assume grace. You speak easily of forgiveness while treating sin lightly. This man’s posture confronts that spirit. He kneels. He implores. He trembles before holiness. Repent of your casual Christianity. Repent of approaching Christ as though mercy were owed to you. Uncleanness is not trivial. It separates. Sin separates. It defiles. And only Christ can cleanse it.
Some of you have never truly come at all. You admire Jesus. You respect him. You may even agree with much of what he teaches, but you have never come to him as one who is unclean and needs cleansing. You are still managing your sin, still standing at a safe distance, still waiting until you feel worthy. Well, this passage calls you to repent of delay. You don’t come to Christ because you’re ready. You come because you’re not. The leper doesn’t argue his case.
He entrusts himself to Christ’s mercy, and that is the first movement of saving faith. So here the invitation of this moment. Come near. Kneel honestly. Submit yourself to Christ will and wait to hear how he answers. And the next verse notice here, this deep compassion of a willing savior moved with pity. He stretched out his hand and touched him and said, I will be clean. Well, at verse 40, left us holding our breath. Verse 41, lets us exhale. This leper has spoken.
He has placed himself entirely at Jesus’s mercy. And the question still hanging in the air is not whether Christ has power, but whether he has willingness. And Mark answers that question with a word, compassion. Jesus is not unmoved by this man’s misery.
He’s not cautious. He’s not calculating. He moves He has moved deeply, inwardly, with tender concern. This is not a professional sympathy. This is the heart of a savior responding to human ruin. And Jesus does something that would have just startled everyone watching. He stretches out his hand and touches him. That’s not necessary for the healing. Jesus has already healed others with a word alone. This touch is intentional. It is personal. It is costly. Under the law, that touch should have made Jesus unclean. That’s what everyone knew. Uncleanness spreads by contact.
And that’s how life normally works in a fallen world, but not here. Because the direction is flipped, it’s reversed. Cleanliness flows outward from Christ. Holiness does not retreat. It advances. And when Jesus speaks, it’s short, it’s clear, it’s final. I will be clean. No hesitation, no conditions, no delay. The will of Christ answers the fear of the sinner.
Some of you struggle not with whether Christ has power, but whether he has the patience to deal with you. You know he saved you once. You’re just not sure how he feels about you now. You look at your ongoing sin, your slow growth, your recurring failures, and you quietly assume that Christ’s mercy must be thinning.
Well, this verse corrects you. Christ does not cleanse you reluctantly. He does not sigh before forgiving. He is moved with compassion for those who come honestly. Repent of believing that your weakness makes him distant. Believe that his mercy is deeper than your shame.
Others of you live under the weight of guilt that Christ has already removed. You believe the gospel in theory, not in practice. You replay forgiven sins. You speak harshly to yourself where Christ has spoken peace. And you live as though the verdict is still undecided. The jury is still out on you. Hear Christ’s Word to you again. Be clean. When Christ cleanses, the cleansing is complete. There’s no probation. There’s no remainder. Lingering shame is not humility, it is unbelief.
Repent of clinging to guilt that Christ has taken away. Believe that his word is stronger than your feelings. Rest in a clean conscience before God. And for those of you who fear that Christ may turn away from you altogether, this touch speaks louder than words.
Christ does not recoil from the unclean. He draws near. He touches what others avoid. He enters the place of defilement to overcome it. So don’t stand at a distance when Christ has come near. Don’t doubt his willingness when he has already stretched out his hand. He is not only able, he is willing. And then verse 42, this decisive cleansing by the power of God, and immediately the leprosy left him and he was made clean.
Mark wants us to see the result without delay here. The moment I speak, the leprosy is gone. There’s no interval. No gradual improvement. No need for confirmation. Come back later and we’ll check on this. No, the uncleanness doesn’t linger. It departs completely. And so that word immediately matters here. It tells us something about the authority of Christ. His word does not merely encourage healing. It accomplishes it. This man is not partly clean. He’s not provisionally restored. He is clean. And that distinction matters more than we often realize.
And the law of God cleansing meant restored access. He could, a cleansed man could return to worship. He could re-enter the community. He could draw near again to God and to others. And here Christ grants that restoration instantly. The power that once excluded this man no longer has any claim on him.
So it’s not just physical healing, it is covenantal restoration. Some of you may live as though Christ’s cleansing was tentative concerning you. You believe you’re forgiven, but you live as if one more failure might undo it all. You speak of grace, but you quietly fear that God’s patience is limited. This verse corrects you.
When Christ cleanses, the verdict is final. The stain is gone. The separation is ended. There is no remaining uncleanness in God’s sight. So repent of living under a verdict that Christ has already overturned. Believe that forgiveness is decisive. Stop reopening.
When Christ has closed the case, Others of you may struggle with assurance because you look inward for proof rather than outward to Christ’s word. Your peace rises and falls with your performance, your emotions, or your recent obedience. When you do well, you feel close to God. When you fail, you feel distant again. Well, this passage calls you to a better anchor. You’re standing before God rests on Christ’s word and not on your consistency.
He doesn’t cleanse halfway. He doesn’t speak uncertainly. What he declares clean is clean indeed. And if you’re here and you’re burdened by past sins that still haunt your memory, hear this clearly. Christ doesn’t forgive temporarily. He doesn’t cleanse conditionally. he cleanses fully. Believe that his word is stronger than your past. Embrace this freedom of a clean conscience. Live as one who has truly been delivered. And then notice here in verses 43 through 44, this demanding call of gracious authority.
And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once and said to him, see that you say nothing to anyone, but go show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded for a proof to them. Now the story could have ended right there at verse 42.
The cleansing is complete. The miracles undeniable, but Mark doesn’t allow us to stop there because grace does not end with forgiveness. Grace establishes obedience. Jesus. is now speaking with seriousness and authority. And Mark tells us he charges the man sternly.
These are not casual instructions here. They matter. Now he gives him two clear commands. First, silence. He’s not to spread the news freely. And second, obedience to the law. He is to go to the priest, to submit to inspection, and to offer the sacrifice God commanded through Moses. We read through that process in Leviticus. That’s important.
Jesus has not come to bypass the law. He’s come to fulfill it, to fill it up. He is honoring it, even as he fulfills it. The priest will not make the man clean. He will bear witness to what Christ has already done. So Christ is not merely a compassionate healer. He is Lord. He governs not only the blessing received, but the life that follows. And Christ controls the timing and manner of his revelation. He will not allow his mission to be reshaped by popular excitement or public pressure, thus this instruction. In due time, in the fullness of time, he will be revealed as such.
Some folks are zealous for Christ. But you know, they’re kind of slow in listening to him. You love to speak, you love to act, you’re eager to serve, but you often decide for yourself how Christ should be honored. You do good things while neglecting clear commands.
And this passage calls on you to repent. Enthusiasm does not excuse disobedience. Sincerity doesn’t replace submission. Christ values obedience more than noise. So repent of assuming that visible activity is the same as faithfulness. Learn again to listen before acting and to obey before speaking. Others of you, you need to hear a gentler word. You obey Christ quietly. You serve faithfully. You rarely draw attention. You sometimes wonder whether your faithfulness matters. And this passage assures you Christ sees Obedience that no one applauds is precious to him. He does not require you to be loud. He calls you to be faithful. And for those of us who lead in Christ Church, my fellow elders, listen, this word cuts close.
We do not cleanse. We do not create grace. We bear witness to what Christ has done. So we must repent of any impulse to confuse authority with power or structure with transformation. Christ alone cleanses. We point to him. Grace that saves also commands and the commands of Christ are not burdensome to those he has made clean. But then notice in verse 45, the costly reversal. that points to the cross. But he, that is the man who was cleansed, went out and began to talk freely about it and to spread the news so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town but was out in desolate places and people were coming to him from every quarter. Well, this kind of takes us by surprise, doesn’t it? The man who’s been commanded to remain silent does the opposite.
He speaks freely. He spreads the news everywhere. His joy is real. His gratitude is sincere. But his obedience is lacking. And Mark shows us the result of that. Because of this, Jesus can no longer enter towns openly. He is pushed to the margins. He is forced into desolate places. Do you see the irony here? The man who once lived outside excluded and isolated is now restored. He can move freely among people again.
And Jesus takes his place. It’s not merely a practical difficulty. It’s a, it’s a theological sign. And throughout the scriptures, the unclean belong outside the camp. And yet here the cleanse man comes in and Christ goes out. This reversal quietly points us forward to what Christ will soon do fully and finally. He will be rejected. He will be cast out. He will suffer outside the city. He will bear the uncleanness of all his elect.
And there on the cross, cry out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Because he has taken upon himself the sins of all of his people, the shame and the guilt of it all. And the father who is holy, who cannot abide in sin, turns out the lights, as it were, it’s dark those three hours. Our Lord is on the cross. He is turning away his favorable gaze from the son and the son who is now full of the sin of his people and the wrath and curse of God due to him because he is a sin bearer, because he is now outside the camp. Cries out in agony, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Because this is what he has come to do. This Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Must be stricken. And smitten. And afflicted. Who must be outside the camp. Bearing the curse and the exclusion that belonged to others. He who knew no sin became sin for us. and or that we might become the righteousness of God in him. So here, even at the beginning of his ministry, Christ is already absorbing the cost of restoring centers. This ought to humble us.
You are welcome before God came at Christ’s expense. Your nearness to God rests on his willingness to be pushed away. Believe that your peace was purchased and not assumed. Let your gratitude grow deeper as you remember the cost of your restoration. For those who are discouraged by imperfect obedience, listen carefully here. The man disobeys and Christ bears the consequences. It doesn’t excuse disobedience, but it does reveal the patience of the Savior. Even when our obedience falters, Christ remains faithful. Repent honestly, do it quickly. Don’t despair as though your failures have undone his mercy.
Christ is is here and any who who still stand outside the grace of Christ’s final scene is an invitation to you. See, he is already gone to the place of exclusion. He is already born shame. Don’t remain outside when He has made a way for sinners like you and like me to come in.
Faith Church, this passage has shown us a Savior who is both willing and authoritative, compassionate and holy, gentle with sinners, and serious about obedience. We’ve seen a desperate man come honestly, We’ve heard Christ speak cleansing. We have watched grace command obedience. And we’ve seen Christ bear exclusion so that others may belong. So here, the call of this text clearly, repent of presumption and minimize sin.
Repent of keeping your distance when Christ invites you near. Believe that Christ is willing Believe that his cleansing is complete. Obey his word with grateful submission. Embrace faithfulness shaped by his commands. And above all that, embrace Christ himself.
He touched the unclean so that we might be clean. He went outside so that we may be brought in. Come to him again today. Let’s pray together. Gracious and merciful God, we bless you for your son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is holy and yet full of compassion, pure and yet willing to draw near to the unclean.
We confess, oh Lord, that we have often kept our distance from you. We have doubted your willingness to receive us. We have minimized our sin and grow casual with your grace. We’ve been eager in our own ways and slow to obey your word. Forgive us for our presumption. Forgive us for our unbelief. Forgive us for our enthusiastic disobedience and our quiet self-reliance.
We thank you that Christ does not cleanse reluctantly. We thank you that when he speaks forgiveness, it is complete and final. We thank you that he bore our exclusion, our shame, our uncleanness, so that we might be brought near and made clean in your sight. Teach us to come to him humbly, to trust his will without fear, to rest in a clean conscience before you and to walk in grateful obedience to his word.
For those among us who are weary, grant rest. For those burdened by guilt, grant assurance. For those tempted to presume, grant repentance. And for those who have not yet come, grant saving faith. And as we go from this place, help us to live as those who have been cleansed, welcomed, and restored, bearing witness not to ourselves, but to Christ alone. And we ask all this in his precious and powerful name, the one who says to sinners, I will be clean. Amen.