Mark 1:40 Study Bible: And a leper came to him, begging him, and knelt down and said to him, "If you want to, you can make me clean."

◄ Mark 1:40 ►

Then a leper came to Jesus, begging on his knees: "If You are willing, You can make me clean."

Then a leper
The term "leper" refers to a person afflicted with leprosy, a chronic infectious disease that, in biblical times, rendered individuals ceremonially unclean and socially ostracized. The Greek word used here is "λεπρός" (lepros), which denotes someone suffering from a skin disease. Historically, lepers were marginalized, living in isolation due to the contagious nature of their condition. This context highlights the desperation and courage of the leper approaching Jesus, breaking social norms to seek healing.

came to Jesus
The act of coming to Jesus signifies a deliberate and bold approach. In the cultural and religious context of the time, a leper was not permitted to approach others, especially a rabbi. This action underscores the leper's faith and recognition of Jesus' authority and compassion. The Greek verb "ἔρχομαι" (erchomai) implies movement with purpose, indicating the leper's determination to seek divine intervention.

begging on his knees
This phrase illustrates the leper's posture of humility and desperation. The Greek word "παρακαλῶν" (parakalōn) means to beseech or implore earnestly. Kneeling is a physical expression of submission and reverence, often associated with prayer and supplication. This act of humility reflects the leper's acknowledgment of Jesus' power and his own need for mercy.

'If You are willing
The conditional "if" reveals the leper's understanding of Jesus' sovereignty and the belief that healing is contingent upon Jesus' will. The Greek word "θέλῃς" (thelēs) translates to "willing" or "desiring," emphasizing the leper's faith in Jesus' ability to heal, while also respecting His divine prerogative. This phrase captures the essence of faith—trusting in God's will above all.

You can make me clean
The leper's statement is a profound declaration of faith in Jesus' power to heal. The Greek verb "δύνασαι" (dynasai) means "you are able," indicating the leper's confidence in Jesus' capability. The request to be made "clean" (Greek "καθαρίσαι," katharisai) goes beyond physical healing; it seeks restoration to community and religious life, as leprosy rendered one ritually unclean. This plea reflects a deep desire for holistic healing—physical, social, and spiritual.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Jesus
Central figure in the Gospel of Mark, the Son of God, who performs miracles and teaches with authority.

2. Leper
An individual suffering from leprosy, a disease that caused physical suffering and social isolation due to its contagious nature.

3. Event
The encounter between Jesus and the leper, highlighting Jesus' compassion and power to heal.

Teaching Points

Faith and Humility
The leper's approach to Jesus demonstrates both faith in Jesus' power and humility in his request. Believers are encouraged to come to Jesus with a similar attitude, acknowledging His authority and expressing trust in His will.

Jesus' Compassion
Jesus' willingness to heal the leper reflects His deep compassion for those who suffer. Christians are called to emulate this compassion in their interactions with others, especially those marginalized by society.

Power of Jesus
The healing of the leper underscores Jesus' divine power over physical ailments and spiritual uncleanness. This power is available to believers today, offering hope and restoration.

Social Restoration
Beyond physical healing, Jesus' act restored the leper to community life. This highlights the importance of social and relational healing, encouraging believers to work towards reconciliation and inclusion.

Approaching Jesus
The leper's direct approach to Jesus serves as a model for prayer and supplication. Believers are invited to bring their needs and burdens to Jesus, trusting in His willingness and ability to respond.

Bible Study Questions

1. How does the leper's approach to Jesus in Mark 1:40 demonstrate both faith and humility, and how can we apply this in our own prayer life?

2. In what ways does Jesus' healing of the leper challenge us to show compassion to those who are marginalized or suffering in our communities?

3. How does understanding the Old Testament laws on leprosy (Leviticus 13-14) enhance our appreciation of Jesus' actions in this passage?

4. What does this passage teach us about the power of Jesus to heal and restore, both physically and spiritually?

5. How can we, as a church community, work towards social and relational healing, following the example of Jesus' restoration of the leper to society?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Leviticus 13-14
Provides the Old Testament background on leprosy, detailing the laws and rituals for diagnosing and cleansing lepers, emphasizing the social and religious implications of the disease.

Matthew 8:1-4 and Luke 5:12-16
Parallel accounts of the healing of the leper, offering additional details and perspectives on the event.

Hebrews 4:15-16
Relates to Jesus' compassion and ability to empathize with human suffering, encouraging believers to approach Him with confidence.

Sermons

A Parable in a Miracle	Alexander Maclaren	Mark 1:40
The Lord and the Leper	Charles Haddon Spurgeon	Mark 1:40
Can and Will	H. Smith., Quesnel.	Mark 1:40-45
Christ Touches Corruption Without Taint	A. McLaren, D. D.	Mark 1:40-45
Christ's Mission a Protest Against Death	Dr. Parker.	Mark 1:40-45
Christ's Pity Shown More in Deeds than in Words	R. W. Dale, LL. D.	Mark 1:40-45
Christ's Relation to Human Suffering	A. G. Churchill.	Mark 1:40-45
Christ's Saving Touch	J. G. Greenhough, M. A.	Mark 1:40-45
Christ's Touch	A. McLaren, D. D.	Mark 1:40-45
Cleansed by Christ	Sunday School Times	Mark 1:40-45
Cleansing of the Leper	Expository Outlines	Mark 1:40-45
Leprosy	R. Glover.	Mark 1:40-45
Leprosy a Symbol of Sin	Anon.	Mark 1:40-45
Reasons for Silence Respecting Christ's Miracles	G. Petter., R. Glover.	Mark 1:40-45
Show Thyself to the Priest	Dean Plumptre.	Mark 1:40-45
The Approach of a Needy Life to Christ	J. S. Exell, M. A.	Mark 1:40-45
The Cleansing of the Leper	W. G. Barrett.	Mark 1:40-45
The Cleansing of the Leper	J. Richardson, M. A.	Mark 1:40-45
The Cleansing of the Leper	T. Whitelaw, M. A.	Mark 1:40-45
The Cleansing of the Leper	R. Green	Mark 1:40-45
The Cure of a Leper	J.J. Given	Mark 1:40-45
The Cured Leper Still Rebellious	D. Davies, M. A.	Mark 1:40-45
The Judicious Reserve Which Should Characterize the Speech of the Newly Converted	J. S. Exell, M. A.	Mark 1:40-45
The Leper	E. Johnson	Mark 1:40-45
The Leper Cleansed	Dr. Parker.	Mark 1:40-45
The Leper's Petition	A.F. Muir	Mark 1:40-45
The Leper's Prayer	R. Glover.	Mark 1:40-45
The Method of Spiritual Salvation Illustrated	J. Parker, D. D.	Mark 1:40-45
The Saviour and the Leper	Andrew A. Bonar.	Mark 1:40-45
The Use of Personal Contact	J. G. Greenhough, M. A.	Mark 1:40-45
The World's Treatment of Lepers, and Christ's	J. G. Greenhough, M. A.	Mark 1:40-45
Unostentatious Philanthropy	J. S. Exell, M. A.	Mark 1:40-45

People

Andrew, Ephah, Isaiah, James, Jesus, John, Simon, Zabdi, Zebedee

Places

Capernaum, Galilee, Jerusalem, Jordan River, Judea, Nazareth, Sea of Galilee, Wilderness of Judea

Topics

Able, Begged, Begging, Beseeching, Calling, Canst, Clean, Cleanse, Entreating, Falling, Kneeling, Knees, Leper, Mayest, Pleading, Pleasure, Power, Request, Saying, Willing, Wilt

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Mark 1:40

5230 beggars

Mark 1:39-40

6689 mercy, of Christ

Mark 1:40-41

2015 Christ, compassion
5390 leprosy

Mark 1:40-42

     2036   Christ, humility
     2066   Christ, power of
     5136   body
     5182   skin
     6109   alienation
     8264   gentleness
     8614   prayer, answers

Mark 1:40-44

     5285   cures
     7340   clean and unclean
     7422   ritual
     8325   purity, nature of

Mark 1:40-45

8496 witnessing, importance

Library

What 'the Gospel' Is
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ.--Mark i. 1 My purpose now is to point out some of the various connections in which the New Testament uses that familiar phrase, 'the gospel,' and briefly to gather some of the important thoughts which these suggest. Possibly the process may help to restore freshness to a word so well worn that it slips over our tongues almost unnoticed and excites little thought. The history of the word in the New Testament books is worth notice. It seldom occurs in those …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Christ's Touch
'Jesus put forth His hand, and touched him.'--Mark i. 41. Behold the servant of the Lord' might be the motto of this Gospel, and 'He went about doing good and healing' the summing up of its facts. We have in it comparatively few of our Lord's discourses, none of His longer, and not very many of His briefer ones. It contains but four parables. This Evangelist gives no miraculous birth as in Matthew, no angels adoring there as in Luke, no gazing into the secrets of Eternity, where the Word who afterwards …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Strong Forerunner and the Stronger Son
'The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; 2. As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send My messenger before Thy face, which shall prepare Thy way before Thee. 3. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. 4. John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 5. And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Mighty in Word and Deed
'And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the Sabbath day He entered into the synagogue, and taught. 22. And they were astonished at His doctrine: for He taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes. 23. And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, 24. Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with Thee, Thou Jesus of Nazareth? art Thou come to destroy us? I know Thee who Thou art, the Holy One of God. 25. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Healing and Service
'Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever; and straightway they tell Him of her: 31. And He came and took her by the hand, and raised her up; and the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.'--Mark i. 30, 31, R. V. This miracle is told us by three of the four Evangelists, and the comparison of their brief narratives is very interesting and instructive. We all know, I suppose, that the common tradition is that Mark was, in some sense, Peter's mouthpiece in this Gospel. The truthfulness of that …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

A Parable in a Miracle
'And there came a leper to Him, beseeching Him, and kneeling down to Him, and saying unto Him, If Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean. 41. And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth His hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; he thou clean. 42. And as soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.'--Mark i. 40-42. Christ's miracles are called wonders--that is, deeds which, by their exceptional character, arrest attention and excite surprise. Further, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

A Composite Picture.
It may be helpful to make the following summary of these allusions. 1. His times of prayer: His regular habit seems plainly to have been to devote the early morning hour to communion with His Father, and to depend upon that for constant guidance and instruction. This is suggested especially by Mark 1:35; and also by Isaiah 50:4-6 coupled with John 7:16 l.c., 8:28, and 12:49. In addition to this regular appointment, He sought other opportunities for secret prayer as special need arose; late at night …
S. D. (Samuel Dickey) Gordon—Quiet Talks on Prayer

The Way to the Kingdom
"The kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." Mark 1:15 These words naturally lead us to consider, First, the nature of true religion, here termed by our Lord, "the kingdom of God," which, saith he, "is at hand;" and, Secondly, the way thereto, which he points out in those words, "Repent ye, and believe the gospel." I. 1. We are, First, to consider the nature of true religion, here termed by our Lord, "the kingdom of God." The same expression the great Apostle uses in his Epistle …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

The Repentance of Believers
"Repent ye, and believe the gospel." Mark 1:15. 1. It is generally supposed, that repentance and faith are only the gate of religion; that they are necessary only at the beginning of our Christian course, when we are setting out in the way to the kingdom. And this may seem to be confirmed by the great Apostle, where, exhorting the Hebrew Christians to "go on to perfection," he teaches them to leave these first "principles of the doctrine of Christ;" "not laying again the foundation of repentance …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

The Lord and the Leper
The Lord Jesus Christ at this day has all power in heaven and in earth. He is charged with a divine energy to bless all who come to him for healing. Oh, that we may see today some great wonder of his power and grace! Oh, for one of the days of the Son of Man here and now! To that end it is absolutely needful that we should find a case for his spiritual power to work upon. Is there not one here in whom his grace may prove its omnipotence? Not you, ye good, ye self-righteous! You yield him no space …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 34: 1888

Faith and Repentance Inseparable
I. I shall commence my remarking that the gospel which Christ preached was, very plainly, a command. "Repent ye, and believe the gospel." Our Lord does condescend to reason. Often his ministry graciously acted out the old text, "Come, now, and let us reason together; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as wool." He does persuade men by telling and forcible arguments, which should lead them to seek the salvation of their souls. He does invite men, and oh, how lovingly he woos them to be …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 8: 1863

Answer to Mr. W's First Objection.
I WILL first consider all Mr. W's objections to these literal stories. Mr. W. says in his preamble, before he comes to propose his objections in form: That these three miracles are not equally great, but differ in degree, is visible enough to every one that but cursorily reads, and compares their stories one with another.--The greatest of the three, and indeed the greatest miracle, that Jesus is supposed to have wrought, is that of Lazarus's resurrection; which, in truth, was a most prodigious miracle, …
Nathaniel Lardner—A Vindication of Three of Our Blessed Saviour's Miracles

The Fellowship of Prayer
THE FELLOWSHIP OF PRAYER "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." -- Phil. 4:6 This timely exhortation stresses the fact that God's people should consult with Him in every matter pertaining to life. Unless they see the imperative necessity of prayer, and give it an important place in daily life, they cannot expect to be maintained by the ample resources of a generous Saviour. It is apparent that we cannot obtain …
T. M. Anderson—Prayer Availeth Much

Healing a Demoniac in a Synagogue.
(at Capernaum.) ^B Mark I. 21-28; ^C Luke . IV. 31-37. ^b 21 And they [Jesus and the four fishermen whom he called] go into { ^c he came down to} Capernaum, a city of Galilee. [Luke has just spoken of Nazareth, and he uses the expression "down to Capernaum" because the latter was on the lake shore while Nazareth was up in the mountains.] And ^b straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue and taught. { ^c was teaching them} ^b 22 And they were astonished at his teaching: for he taught …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Jesus Heals a Leper and Creates Much Excitement.
^A Matt.VIII. 2-4; ^B Mark I. 40-45; ^C Luke V. 12-16. ^c 12 And it came to pass, while he was in one of the cities [it was a city of Galilee, but as it was not named, it is idle to conjecture which city it was], behold, ^b there cometh { ^a came} ^b to him a leper [There is much discussion as to what is here meant by leprosy. Two diseases now go by that name; viz., psoriasis and elephantiasis. There are also three varieties of psoriasis, namely, white, black and red. There are also three varieties …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Way from Sin to Perfect Salvation.
We have learned that sin entered this world and that all mankind have sinned. We have also learned that Jesus came to save man from his sins. Now the question may arise in the mind of some, what must I do to be saved? We hope in this chapter to quote such scriptures as will plainly teach you the way of salvation, or how to be fully saved, and also the scriptures describing each experience. Repentance. The first step for the sinner is to repent. When on Pentecost men were pricked in their hearts …
Charles Ebert Orr—The Gospel Day

Jesus' Conception of Himself
252. When Jesus called forth the confession of Peter at Caesarea Philippi he brought into prominence the question which during the earlier stages of the Galilean ministry he had studiously kept in the background. This is no indication, however, that he was late in reaching a conclusion for himself concerning his relation to the kingdom which he was preaching. From the time of his baptism and temptation every manifestation of the inner facts of his life shows unhesitating confidence in the reality …
Rush Rhees—The Life of Jesus of Nazareth

John the Baptist
Matt. iii. 1-17; iv. 12; xiv. 1-12; Mark i. 1-14; vi. 14-29; Luke i. 5-25, 57-80; iii. 1-22; ix. 7-9; John i. 19-37; iii. 22-30. 72. The first reappearance of Jesus in the gospel story, after the temple scene in his twelfth year, is on the banks of the Jordan seeking baptism from the new prophet. One of the silent evidences of the greatness of Jesus is the fact that so great a character as John the Baptist stands in our thought simply as accessory to his life. For that the prophet of the wilderness …
Rush Rhees—The Life of Jesus of Nazareth

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