Mark 1:40-45 (ESV)
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 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.
The key phrase in the above passage is, “Moved with pity ...”. In Jesus day it was common to have those who were ill on the side of the road begging for anything they could receive. Much like our day with the homeless, that was the social order of the day. In this case, instead of asking for money or some material gain, the man must have heard something about Jesus. The man kneels in honor and respect to Jesus. He acknowledges Jesus power by not necessarily asking to be healed, but simply acknowledging that Jesus’ ability to heal him would be based solely on Jesus’ will, not that man’s own initiative. The passage tells us that Jesus was moved with “pity.” The Greek word for “pity” is used twelve times in the New Testament. Here is what Vine tells us about the word:
“splagchnizomai; middle voice from 4698; to have the bowels yearn, i.e. (figuratively) feel sympathy, to pity: — have (be moved with) compassion.
“AV (12) - have compassion 7, be moved with compassion 5;
“to be moved as to one's bowels, hence to be moved with compassion, have compassion (for the bowels were thought to be the seat of love and pity)”
The best words this man ever heard in his life was when Jesus saw him and spoke back and said, “... I will; be clean.” Awesome!! The man is healed immediately and goes about telling the world what happened to him (even though Jesus told him not to tell anyone.
The key take-a-way here is not that the man disobey as his first act of faith (that is a great concept to meditate upon, however). The key take-a-away is that the man recognized that healing is not an act of mankind’s efforts but purely based upon the mercy of God. God heals whom He will heal. But, God does not always heal. Paul pleaded for God to heal him. What happened?
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (ESV)
So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
The healing power of God is in His will and not ours. This leaper recognized that and bowed down to ask for God’s pity and received it and was healed. Paul bowed down and asked for God’s pity to be healed and received mercy and grace to help him with the “thorn” in his life.
Hebrews 4:16 (ESV)
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
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