I Am Willing

^{Mark 1}

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

⁴¹ Jesus was indignant. 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.” 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.

So what are we to make of this man with leprosy?  My first instinct is to give him credit--he does, after all, come to Jesus.  But then again, maybe that isn't such a good sign after all.  So far in the gospel of Mark, everyone Jesus has come to after his wilderness testing has become a disciple. Jesus goes to Simon, Andrew, James and John and says "Follow me", and they do.  He goes to Simon's Mother-in-law, cures her fever, and she serves him.

But what happens when Jesus is approached by someone of their own accord in Mark? The first person to initiate an encounter with Jesus is the man with the impure spirit who is healed, but he leaves as abruptly as he came.  This work of wonder is followed by crowds seeking Jesus to heal their loved ones and while Jesus does, he also at the first opportunity goes to a solitary place to escape them and pray.  And now this man with leprosy comes to Jesus and begs from his knees for cleansing.  We are prepared, if we have read carefully, for this encounter to not go so well.

"If you are willing, you can make me clean." says this poor man suffering from leprosy, and the Sunday School Jesus we expect says, "I know you're pain.  Here let me heal you."  But Mark's Jesus is not nearly as kind, Jesus is indignant.  "If!" he seems to shout.  Of course, "I am willing"--be clean.  And as quick as that the man with leprosy loses his identifying prepositional phrase and becomes simply a man.

But the story does not end here.  Jesus continues to seem to be perturbed by this former leper, and he sends him on his way with a strong warning.  He is not to tell anyone but to show himself to the priests.  This showing to the religious authorities seems to be important for two purposes.  First, without being pronounced clean the man can not re-enter his community.  But secondarily, showing the priests is a way for Jesus to validate his place as the Christ.

Left now with clear instructions on how he ought to follow Jesus' will, the man refuses.  Jesus has willed him to be clean and now wants him to go to the priests, and the man is quite happy to follow Jesus to healing but as soon as that is accomplished, he turns and goes the other way.

Typically, we would think that spreading the news about Jesus' power is a good thing, but we must remember that Jesus is preaching about salvation and repentance.  This man hasn't stuck around long enough to hear any of that.  He leaves with only part of Jesus' message.  And so while Jesus preaches the "good news", Mark tells us that this former leper leaves to tell the "news."

The result is that Jesus is no longer able to go out in public.  He wanted to preach, but the crowds don't want to listen.  They want Jesus to serve them, not to listen and become disciples.

The passage of course contains a great irony.  Jesus works to restore the man with leprosy to the community.  And the man's witness essentially marginalizes Jesus by forcing him to stay in solitary places to avoid the clamoring crowd, denying Jesus a place in the very community he came to save.