“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.”” Mark 1:44 ESV
Reflection: why is it so difficult for us to obey Jesus?
Our little grandson of 18 months knows what “no” means. He knows it so well that he will slowly approach something he is not allowed to touch, look at us while he shakes his head no. But, still move forward doing exactly what he knows is a “no”. It is amazing to watch the defiance, from such an early age. Because, this defiance is not something he has been taught, it is already within him. Part of our human nature to go against what is “right”. We know this stage of child development as “testing” the rules and limits, how far we can go, for understanding consequences when breaking the rules.
One of the miracles Jesus did early in His ministry was the healing of a leper found in Mark 1:40-45. We first learn about the great faith this man has, as he approached Jesus, “And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.””Mark 1:40 ESV. By this time, Jesus was still mostly “unknown” in the area, although the word about Him was spreading as Jesus had been traveling around “And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.” Mark 1:39 ESV. So Jesus, “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.”Mark 1:41-42 ESV. So does the man, who Jesus just gave this enormous gift of a new life without leprosy, honor Jesus’ words?
Sadly no. “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.” Mark 1:45 ESV. We can probably envision that the man was so excited about being clean, healed, that he couldn’t contain himself. Might have totally forgotten the strict direction Jesus gave him. And, we see the consequence for his disobedience, “Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places”. An enormous impact. What is so amazing about this story is that, although Jesus most likely knew that he would disobey, and spread the word about him being healed,
Jesus still healed him.
It says that Jesus was “Moved with pity” when he saw the man filled with leprosy. Jesus took the extra hassle of not being able to go into the cities any longer, but having to stay in desolate places, just so that He could heal this leper. It is such a wonderful example of Jesus’ character. He heals, He saves, He takes the suffering, so that we can be healed. So that we don’t have to suffer.
So that we can be cleansed from the “leprosy of sin”.
Clearly, it would have been much better if the leper would have heeded the commands of Jesus, “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.”” Mark 1:44 ESV. And, even if the leper didn’t understand why Jesus asked him to do these things, he should have done what Jesus said in gratitude for the new life Jesus gave him. And, this is an important point for us also to consider today. Jesus has given us new life, and took the suffering and death upon Himself so that we could be free and live. How are we responding to His gift of life? Do we trust His words, do we obey His commandments to us? Or do we, like the leper, ignore Jesus words and think we know better?
There is an old hymn called “Trust and Obey, written by John H Sammis in 1887. It was the result of a powerful moment during a revival meeting conducted by evangelist Dwight L. Moody. The inspiration for the hymn came during a service in Brockton, Massachusetts, where a young man stood to share his testimony. Still inexperienced in his faith and unsure of theological language, the man simply stated, “I’m not quite sure—but I’m going to trust, and I’m going to obey.” This testimony was shared with Sammis, who turned it into a full set of lyrics. The resulting hymn, born from the lips of a humble believer, has since been sung by millions around the world as a call to simple, unwavering obedience to God. The refrain of the psalm is,
Trust and obey,
for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
but to trust and obey.
