Mark 1:35-45 | Session 7 | Mark Rightly Divided

Mark 1:35-39 | The Galilean Expansion

These verses give testimony to the quick expansion of the Galilean ministry, and the quick acceptance of Jesus as Messiah.

Verse 35 -

We should be cautious about adopting a "What Would Jesus Do" approach to life solely because Jesus did it. His actions were not intended to serve as the "model behavior of the Christian," but rather to establish Himself as the Messiah. While finding a "solitary place" for prayer early in the morning can be advantageous, it should not be regarded as the "gold standard" simply because Jesus did it.

This is not to discount the insights that can be gained from Jesus’ prayer life in the Gospels, but rather to point out that the examples of Jesus’ prayer life are not prescriptive.

The habits of Jesus in prayer are always descriptive rather than doctrinal. Making them doctrinal would require a greater degree of interpretation than students of the Word should be comfortable with. For example, to say that the habits display Jesus’ humanity, humility and holiness is far more than the text itself proclaims.

Verses 36-37 -

The fact that Simon and his companions were not concerned about interrupting Jesus during his solitary prayer time indicates that they did not see Jesus’ time in prayer as “sacred space.” This is in contrast to some modern Christian circles that view prayer time as a sacred and uninterrupted time. Once again, we are reminded to avoid making doctrine from historical accounts.

It is worth noting that the reference to “Simon and they that were with him” likely refers to “Simon and Andrew, with James and John,” as stated in verse 32.

Their desire was to tell Him that "All men seek for thee." And surely their unspoken but likely obvious expectation was that Jesus would want to know this and would want to return to the village to meet the crowd.

Verse 38 -

Rather than respond to the unspoken expectation to return to the crowd, Jesus simply stated His mission: to “*********preach*********” in the other towns in the area. This helps us to see that the mission of Jesus was not to cast out demons and heal disease, but rather these things were necessary proofs to His proclamation that He was the Promised Messiah. As we have mentioned before and will see again, the Galileans readily accepted this message.

Verse 39 -

Jesus “***************************************************************************************************preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee*************************************************************************************************.” Once again, the extra detail about being within the synagogue highlights both the Jewish nature of the setting and the fact that Jesus was not exclusively rejected by Jewish leadership. It seems that local Rabbinical leadership welcomed Him. It is also noted that Jesus “*************************cast out devils***************************,” reminding us of what appears to be a massive amount of physically manifested spiritual activity around Jesus. Whether this activity was taking place in other parts of the country or other parts of the world at the time is unknown.

Mark 1:40-45 | Messianic Message Spreads Quickly

Verse 40 -

The practice of enforcing leprous laws, such as Leviticus 13:45-46, in First Century Judaism is not documented. There is nothing in this story that indicates the leprous man was shunned from the community, although such an interpretation is not impossible. What is known is that the leper believed that Jesus had the ability to cleanse him, likely due to the Messianic news that had spread rapidly throughout Galilee.



It is important to note that the leprous man believed that Jesus could "make me clean." This term was used for ritual cleansing more than physical healing. Notably, ritual cleansing was the role of the priest, not the rabbi. This suggests that the local Galilean population recognized a priestly role of the Messiah, and that this man was attributing that role to Jesus. The priestly role would be associated with Psalm 110:4.

Verse 41 -

It is often noted that Jesus touched the man, which is significant given the cultural and social norms of the time that may have discouraged such contact due to the contagious nature of the disease, even though there were no explicit Mosaic laws against it. However, more importantly, Jesus agreed to pronounce the man clean, despite not adding a Mosaic aspect until Verse 44. This pronouncement of cleanliness implies that Jesus accepts the priestly Messianic role.

Verse 42 -

Mark emphasizes, as previously in verse 31, that the healing took place "immediately," highlighting the supernatural nature of the work. However, Mark not only notes that the leprosy left him, but also that "he was cleansed." Once again, the term "cleanse" is only used in Scripture for ceremonial cleansing, never for physical healing. This is the same word used in 1 John 1:9, where Jesus the Messiah is presented as the One who will "cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Verses 43-44 -

Jesus gave a clear and stern command, not only in words but also in emotions. The Greek term ἐμβριμάομαι [embriaomai], translated as "straitly charged" in the KJV, is rarely used and conveys deep-seated emotions. The man was instructed to go to the priest and "offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded." These procedures, as detailed in Leviticus 14, were likely to be complex, potentially costly, and would take several days to accomplish.

You might wonder, if Jesus cleansed the man, why then did he instruct him to go through this ritual detail? This is because Jesus did not come to free Jews from the law and did not release them from the legal obligations of Torah observance. Any such change was brought about by a separate dispensational shift revealed to the Apostle Paul years later, which was completely distinct from the Mosaic covenant.

Jesus instructed the man to present the required offerings "for a testimony unto them." While it is not entirely clear what Jesus intended by this, it's plausible that the sacrifices required by Leviticus 14 were "testimonial" in nature. Possibly, Jesus wanted the man to observe the ritual of the law not only to exhibit his physical cleanliness but also as a public declaration of his spiritual cleanliness.

Verse 45 -

This verse provides a justification for why Jesus instructed the cleansed leper to “say nothing to any man,” in addition to the need for legal obedience. If the man had spoken about his cleansing, it would have sparked such an upsurge in Jesus' fame that He would no longer be able to “openly enter into the city.” In a short time, Jesus' renown became so great that He was forced to remain in outlying areas where the crowds could be managed. This scenario challenges the common perception that Jesus was widely rejected by Israel. On the contrary, He was so universally embraced that there was no place that could comfortably accommodate His presence.