Chapter # 1 Paragraph # 10 Study # 4
May 7, 2019
Moss Bluff, Louisiana

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1901 ASV

44 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.
45 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.

• I. The Disobedience of the Leper.
  • A. The "strict charge"; its content.
    • 1. The very difficult part: "See thou say nothing to any man".
      • a. The "See thou" element.
        • 1) The "see" part is a figure of speech that uses the natural function of the eyes for a metaphor to indicate the need for "careful attention".
        • 2) Mark only uses this term as a metaphor twice in his Gospel (he only uses it three times altogether).
          • a) This first time it is about the "problem" of explosive popularity.
          • b) The second time it is couched in terms of a grave danger: the "leaven" (another metaphor) of the Pharisees and of Herod (8:15).
            • i. In this use, there is the third use of the "see" verb (8:24) where the issue is actual "sight" with one's eyes, but the larger context signals a very dangerous issue that Jesus has addressed for His disciples, but they do not "see" (metaphor) it. His words are, "How is it that ye do not understand?" (8:21) after reviewing His feedings of the multitudes (5,000 and 4,000).
            • ii. This lack of "sight", after having the issue set before them twice, is immediately "pictured" by Jesus in His approach to a blind man with a two-fold "healing" of his eyes so that "...he was restored and saw every man clearly".
            • iii. In this setting, Jesus told the formerly "blind" man, "Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town" (a seriously obvious parallel to His instruction to the leper).
      • b. The reason for this "See thou..." part.
        • 1) It is not initially very plain; thus the need for particular attention ("See thou...").
          • a) This is a case of whether a powerful demonstration of authority communicating significant blessing will yield "obedience" even though the "reason" is not given or explained. What if God could only "expect" obedience if He had fully explained Himself beforehand? It is a test of "faith" for God to simply instruct a person on His expectation(s) without His informing them of His reasons.
          • b) Sadly, the leper failed this test "big time".
        • 2) The "clarity" does not "show up" until chapter eight.
    • 2. The very critical part: "Go show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing the things which Moses commanded".
      • a. This is not "unclear": Jesus wants the priest, and the accompanying "them", to have the information about Jesus' ability to heal leprosy first.
      • b. In other words, before Jesus' "exploding popularity" gets in the way, the "priests" and those significantly associated with them need to know "the greater than Moses is here" (Deuteronomy 18:15 and following compared with Numbers 12 and Moses' involvement in the healing of leprosy; note also Exodus 4:6-7 as it signals a "great sign" to convince the people that Moses was sent by God).
      • c. At issue is Mark's comment about what Pilate knew in 15:10. as it relates to "the leaven" at the heart of the "strict warning" in chapter eight.
      • d. The "offer for thy cleansing the things which Moses commanded" is an instruction that has very likely never been followed in all of the lifetimes of the "priests" simply because no lepers had ever presented themselves before them before [Note carefully Luke 4:27].
    • 3. The actual disobedience: the leper "...began to publish much and to blaze abroad..." what had happened to him.
      • a. The text says "but he, having gone out, began to greatly proclaim and to make common knowledge' (Matthew 28:15) of the matter".
      • b. There is no statement as to whether he actually ever went to the priest as instructed, though we might assume that he did.
  • B. The outcome.
    • 1. The "problem" was not so much His inability to "openly enter into a city" as it was the impact of the healing in terms of an "explosive growth in popularity".
    • 2. Jesus remained out in "wilderness places" (as John had done before Him: Luke 1:80), but that did not keep people from hearing what He had to say. It did mean that there was a hiccup in the "...for therefore came I forth" of 1:38 because it was, at least initially, important for Jesus to "teach in the synagogues" because that is where the major conflict of doctrine was rooted.

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This is article #071.
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