TEXT [Commentary]

3. Jesus’ work continues in Capernaum and Galilee (1:29-45)

29 After Jesus left the synagogue with James and John, they went to Simon and Andrew’s home. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a high fever. They told Jesus about her right away. 31 So he went to her bedside, took her by the hand, and helped her sit up. Then the fever left her, and she prepared a meal for them.

32 That evening after sunset, many sick and demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. 33 The whole town gathered at the door to watch. 34 So Jesus healed many people who were sick with various diseases, and he cast out many demons. But because the demons knew who he was, he did not allow them to speak.

35 Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. 36 Later Simon and the others went out to find him. 37 When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.”

38 But Jesus replied, “We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.” 39 So he traveled throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons.

40 A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said.

41 Moved with compassion,[*] Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” 42 Instantly the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed. 43 Then Jesus sent him on his way with a stern warning: 44 “Don’t tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy.[*] This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.”

45 But the man went and spread the word, proclaiming to everyone what had happened. As a result, large crowds soon surrounded Jesus, and he couldn’t publicly enter a town anywhere. He had to stay out in the secluded places, but people from everywhere kept coming to him.

NOTES

1:31 the fever left her, and she prepared a meal for them. This is Jesus’ first healing in Mark. It is unusual in that it involved a man healing a woman who was not a family member, and it was done on the Sabbath if the later Jewish text of b. Berakhot 5a is a guide to earlier Jewish practice (Witherington 2001:98; the late date of the text may reflect later Jewish practice). That it was the Sabbath was potentially controversial, but this seems to have been the private healing of a relative of a key disciple, Peter, who apparently was married (1 Cor 9:5). The healing led immediately to her serving them. Mark uses the verb diakoneō [TG1247, ZG1354] to describe her preparation of a meal for them. This is the normal use of this verb from which we get our word “deacon” (EDNT 1:302; Luke 17:8). Her immediate service indicated that her healing was quick and complete, and illustrates the service that receiving God’s grace should produce (note the theological use of the “deacon” idea in 9:33-37 and 10:43-45).

1:34 he did not allow them to speak. After the healing, Jesus continued to perform exorcisms but prevented the demons from giving their testimony. This remark continues the theme of Jesus’ authority from the first exorcism.

1:35 went out to an isolated place to pray. In Mark, Jesus goes alone to pray three times: here, in 6:46 (before the miracle of walking on the water), and in 14:35-39 (at Gethsemane). In the midst of a demanding period of ministry, Jesus sought communion with God. Jesus’ private prayer contrasts with what he said about the scribes and their public prayers (12:38-40).

1:36 went out to find him. The verb used in this description (katediōxen [TG2614, ZG2870]) is quite vivid. It means “to hunt someone down” and is often used in a hostile sense (cf. Marcus 2000:202; Ps 17:38 [LXX]; Psalms of Solomon 15:8; and BDAG 516). Marcus suggests that whereas Jesus had called the disciples to be fishers of people, here they were hunting him down or pursuing him. Jesus will instruct them on the requirements of his ministry.

1:38 We must go on to other towns. The Gr. is softer in tone, reading “Let us go in another direction to neighboring towns.” This is a mission statement, indicating that Jesus came to preach to a larger region, and not just to Capernaum (1:24; 2:17; 10:45; Witherington 2001:102).

came. Lit., “came out,” an expression we do not use much in English. It has the nuance of being sent by God in a calling (Amos 7:14-15; Josephus Antiquities 3.400; Marcus 2000:204). In 1:24 and here, two reasons are given for Jesus’ coming: to confront evil forces and to preach. These two ideas are repeated in 1:39. The term for “preach” (kērussō [TG2784, ZG3062]) both here and in 1:39 is not the term for instruction but for missionary proclamation (Guelich 1989:43). It probably refers to preaching the gospel as previously mentioned (1:14-15).

1:39 preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons. Jesus’ cosmic battle continued to be a part of his ministry so that his actions matched his words. What he did in Capernaum (1:21-28), he also did elsewhere.

1:40 leprosy. This word refers to an array of skin diseases that rendered a Jewish person unclean and required a life of isolation from society (Lev 13–14; m. Nega’im). Lepers were to announce their presence and the danger of contamination by crying out, “Unclean, unclean!” (Lev 13:45-46; Cranfield 1959:90). The leper’s approach to Jesus violated this legal tradition, but it expressed the confidence that Jesus was capable of reversing his condition. Sometimes such diseases were regarded as divine judgments (2 Kgs 5:7). Other texts discussing the disease are Num 12:9-12, Job 18:13, and 11QTemplea 45:17-18.

If you are willing. In Gr., this is a third class condition, so the request is made without any presumption—i.e., “If you are willing, and I am not saying whether you are or not.” The leper knew that Jesus could make him clean, but he was not certain whether he would or not, although his willingness to risk approaching Jesus meant that he came in the hope that his request would be graciously granted.

1:41 Moved with compassion. A few MSS, of which D and some Old Latin renderings are the most important, read “moved with anger” (cf. NLT mg). Some argue that this is the harder reading, because it is more difficult to explain a copyist’s move from compassion to anger. If it were original, then Jesus’ anger would be set against the man’s condition, not his request (Luke 13:16; Marcus 2000:206; Hooker 1991:79). But compassion is slightly more likely to be the original sense, given the overwhelming external spread of the MSS (Metzger 1971:76-77 also notes that Mark’s use of anger is clearly attested in other verses: 3:5; 10:14). Mark loved to note Jesus’ emotions; here, Jesus acted graciously out of compassion for the man’s plight (on compassion, see 6:34; 8:2; 9:22). The healing would be extended with a symbolic touch, since Jesus’ power to cleanse was greater than leprosy’s power to stain (contrast 2 Kgs 5:1-14; Num 12:9-15). The significance of this is more clear in other Gospel texts (Matt 11:5; Luke 7:22).

1:43 a stern warning. The Gr. verb embrimaomai [TG1690, ZG1839] lit. means “to snort” or “be indignant” (BDAG 322; Mark 14:5; John 11:33, 38). Jesus sternly restricted the public announcement of what had taken place while urging the leper to follow the law by showing himself to the priest so he could be declared clean (1:44; Lev 14:1-20). Mark notes such calls to silence with respect to demons (1:34; 3:12), those healed (1:43-44; 5:43; 7:36), and the disciples (8:30; 9:9). It appears that a major concern was to avoid the excessive publicity that this aspect of Jesus’ work could generate (Guelich 1989:76).

1:44 testimony that you have been cleansed. This public testimony was a liturgical recognition before God alone of God’s gracious work of healing through Jesus. The Gr. also allows for the interpretation, “a testimony against them.” In other spots where this expression appears, it is negative, meaning “against them” (6:11; 13:9; TDNT 4:502-503). The meaning appears to be that the evidence of God’s acting through Jesus (when the healed man offered a sacrifice) would stand as a testimony against the priests when they came to reject the reality that God was working through Jesus.

1:45 But the man went and spread the word. The cleansed leper did not obey Jesus and Jesus got the publicity he had hoped to avoid.

proclaiming. Interestingly, the man “preached” (kērussō [TG2784, ZG3062]) his testimony.

COMMENTARY [Text]

Mark portrays these early scenes of Jesus’ ministry almost like a battle between Jesus and the cosmic forces of evil, with humans as both the victims and the prize in the battle. Jesus fought demons and overcame disease as he preached the good news of God’s deliverance. What he claimed about God’s promise of deliverance, he backed up with action. So Peter’s mother-in-law was healed of fever and her healing led her into serving them. Meanwhile, the entire village began to seek him out for healing and exorcism. Jesus healed graciously, but he commanded the demons not to say who he was.

This command of silence suggests that Jesus was not interested in drawing too much attention to this testimony. Possible reasons for his hesitation are that (1) it might be misread, as the view of the scribes in 3:22 suggests; (2) Jesus preferred that the awareness of who he was should emerge intrinsically from the nature of his ministry and teaching; (3) Jesus wanted to prevent the wrong kind of attention from being drawn to the miracles themselves and what could accompany them; and (4) the crowd could not yet appreciate exactly what such a confession really meant for God’s plan. This last reason explains why Jesus gradually taught the disciples who he was and also explains how Mark gradually unfurls his story. The concern that miracles would overshadow what they represented is evident from the development of the scene. One exorcism in a synagogue led to Jesus’ being overwhelmed with requests to heal and to exorcise. He performed them graciously, but it is clear, as Mark’s story proceeds, that Jesus was concerned that the miracles not detract from his message.

Jesus withdrew from the public clamor to pray, to be alone with God. When the disciples sought him out to return, Jesus responded with a different plan. He would move on throughout Galilee doing what he had done in Capernaum, teaching and exorcising demons. The message must be taken elsewhere.

Nothing pictures Jesus’ ability to offer cleansing so clearly as his healing of a leper. This disease isolated those afflicted from the rest of society out of fear that they would render others unclean. Even the law required such isolation, but Jesus’ presence was stronger than the contagion. The leper wanted the cleansing Jesus offered. Jesus extended his compassion and healed the man, and then explained that the only testimony the man should give was what was required by the law. Jesus was still concerned that the proper features of his ministry be emphasized. Unfortunately, the man did not heed the restriction. This was not the only time that Jesus’ command would be ignored. As a result, Jesus was overwhelmed by the crowds and could not find relief even by withdrawing to the desert.

One other point is important. Mark develops the idea of Jesus’ increasing popularity, from “spread throughout” in verse 28 to “whole town gathered” in verse 34 to “everyone is looking” in verse 37 to “he couldn’t publicly enter a town” in verse 45. This radical popularity with the crowds stands in contrast with the radical rejection by the leaders in 2:1–3:6 that comes next. This juxtaposition of crowd reception versus leadership rejection is a theme Mark develops throughout his gospel.