Church Fathers Commentary Mark 1:40-45

"And there cometh to him a leper, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And being moved with compassion, he stretched forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou made clean. And straightway the leprosy departed from him, and he was made clean. And he strictly charged him, and straightway sent him out, and saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing the things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to spread abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into a city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter." — Mark 1:40-45 (ASV)

The Venerable Bede: After the serpent-tongue of the devils was silenced and the woman who was first deceived was cured of a fever, the man who listened to the woman's evil counsel is cleansed from his leprosy in the third place. This ensures that the order of restoration in the Lord is the same as the order of the fall in our first parents.¹

The text continues: And there came a leper to him, beseeching Him.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Mark puts together circumstances from which we can infer that this is the same leper whom Matthew relates was cleansed when the Lord came down from the mountain after the sermon (Matthew 8:2).²

The Venerable Bede: Because the Lord said He came not to destroy the Law but to fulfill (Matthew 5:17), the leper, who was excluded by the Law, understood that he was cleansed by the Lord's power. By this, he showed that the grace that could wash away the stain of leprosy was not from the Law, but above the Law. And truly, just as we see authoritative power in the Lord, we see steadfast faith in the man.³

For the text continues: Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.

He falls on his face, a gesture of both humility and shame, to show that everyone should blush for the stains of their life. But his shame did not stifle his confession. He showed his wound and begged for medicine, and his confession is full of devotion and faith, for he attributes the power to the will of the Lord.

Theophylact of Ohrid: For he did not say, “If you will, pray to God,” but rather, If you will, thinking of Him as truly God.

The Venerable Bede: Moreover, he was uncertain of the Lord's will, not because he disbelieved in His compassion, but because, conscious of his own uncleanness, he did not presume.

The text continues: But Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth His hand, and touched him, and said to him, “I will; be clean.”

This is not to be read, as many Latin commentators think, as if it meant, “I wish to cleanse you.” Rather, Christ says “I will” separately, and then commands, “be clean.”

St. John Chrysostom: Furthermore, the reason He touched the leper, instead of healing him by word alone, relates to what is said by Moses in the Law: that he who touches a leper shall be unclean until the evening. Christ did this to show that this uncleanness was physical, and that the Law was not established for Him, but for ordinary men.

In this way, He shows that He Himself is the Lord of the Law. The reason He touched the leper, though the touch was not necessary to perform the cure, was to show that He heals not as a servant, but as the Lord.⁴

The Venerable Bede: Another reason He touched him was to prove that He who frees others from pollution could not be defiled Himself. At the same time, it is remarkable that He healed in the very way He had been asked to heal.

The leper said, “If you will, you can make me clean.”

Christ answered, “I will”—there you have His will. Then He said, “be clean”—and there you have the immediate effect of His compassion.

St. John Chrysostom: Moreover, by doing this, He did not contradict the leper’s opinion of Him, but confirmed it. For He drives away the disease with a word, and what the leper had said in word, He fulfilled in deed.⁵

Therefore, the text continues, And when He had spoken, immediately...

The Venerable Bede: For there is no interval between God's work and His command, because the work is in the command, for He commanded, and they were created (Psalm 148:5).

The text continues: And He strictly warned him... “See that you tell no one.”

St. John Chrysostom: It is as if He said, “It is not yet time for My works to be preached; I do not require your preaching.” By this, He teaches us not to seek worldly honor as a reward for our works.⁶

The text continues: But go your way, show yourself to the chief of the priests.

Our Savior sent him to the priest to have his cure verified, so that he would not be cast out of the temple but could once again be counted among the people in prayer. He also sent him so that he might fulfill all the requirements of the Law, in order to silence the slanderous tongues of the Jews. Christ Himself completed the work, leaving the verification to them.

The Venerable Bede: He did this so that the priest might understand that the leper was not healed by the Law, but by the grace of God, which is above the Law.

The text continues: And offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded...

Theophylact of Ohrid: He ordered him to offer the gift that those who were healed were accustomed to offer. This was for a testimony to them that He was not against the Law, but rather confirmed the Law, since He Himself fulfilled its precepts.

The Venerable Bede: If anyone wonders how the Lord could seem to approve of the Jewish sacrifice, which the Church now rejects, let them remember that He had not yet offered His own holocaust in His passion. It was not right that the symbolic sacrifices should be abolished before the reality they signified was confirmed by the witness of the Apostles in their preaching and by the faith of the believing people.

Theophylact of Ohrid: But the leper, although the Lord forbade him, disclosed the good deed he had received. And so the text continues: But after he had gone out, he began to publish it and spread the story everywhere. For the one who has been helped ought to be grateful and to give thanks, even if his benefactor does not require it.

The Venerable Bede: Now, we may well ask why our Lord ordered His action to be concealed, when it could not be kept hidden for even an hour. It must be observed that the reason He ordered the miracle to be kept secret, even though it was proclaimed anyway, was to set an example for His elect.

Following His teaching, they should desire that the great things they do remain concealed. Nevertheless, they should be unwillingly brought to light for the good of others. It is not that He wished for something to happen that He was unable to bring about. Rather, by the authority of His teaching, He gave an example of what His members ought to desire, and of what should happen to them even against their will.⁷

Furthermore, this perfect cure of one man brought large crowds to the Lord.

For this reason, the text adds, So that He could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places.

St. John Chrysostom: For the leper proclaimed his wonderful cure everywhere, so that everyone ran to see and to believe in the Healer. Consequently, the Lord could not easily preach the Gospel, but stayed in deserted places.

Therefore, the text continues, And they came to Him from all places.

Pseudo-Jerome: Mystically, our leprosy is the sin of the first man, which began from the head when he desired the kingdom of the world. For covetousness is the root of all evil; this is why Gehazi, engaged in an avaricious pursuit, was covered with leprosy.

The Venerable Bede: But when the hand of the Savior—that is, the Incarnate Word of God—is stretched out and touches human nature, it is cleansed from the various aspects of the old error.

Pseudo-Jerome: This leprosy is cleansed by offering an oblation to the true Priest after the order of Melchizedek. For He tells us, Give alms of such things as you have, and, behold, all things are clean to you (Luke 11:41).

The fact that Jesus could not openly enter the city signifies that He does not reveal Himself to those who are enslaved to the love of praise and to their own wills. Instead, He reveals Himself to those who, with Peter, go into the desert—the place the Lord chose for prayer and for refreshing His people. These are the ones who leave behind the pleasures of the world and all that they possess, so that they may say, The Lord is my portion.

But the glory of the Lord is revealed to those who gather to Him from all sides, coming by both smooth and steep paths—those whom nothing can separate from the love of Christ (Romans 8:35).

The Venerable Bede: Even after working a miracle in that city, the Lord retires into the desert to show that He most loves a quiet life, one far removed from the cares of the world, and that because of this desire, He applied Himself to healing the body.⁸

1. in Marc., i, 7
2. de Con. Evan., ii, 19
3. in Marc., i, 9
4. Hom. in Matt., 25
5. Hom. in Matt., 25
6. Hom 25
7. Greg., Moral., 19, 22
8. in Marc., i, 10