"Say Nothing to Anyone"

      I cannot imagine what it is like to have leprosy. It would be bad enough to contract it today when there are medicines and aid, but to have caught it during Jesus’ day would be dreadful. Lepers had to walk around crying out “Unclean, unclean.” They were shunned by everyone. Many people assumed the physical uncleanness was linked to some spiritual uncleanness. Thus, lepers were viewed as wearing God’s judgment in their body.

      Not being able to imagine having leprosy, it is hard for me to imagine the joy the leper in Mark 1:40-45 felt when Jesus cleansed him. How do you think he felt? No doubt, his joy was overwhelming and that was why he disobeyed Jesus’ stern warning not to tell anyone but merely to go show himself to the priest.

      Despite this warning, the text says, “But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news…” (ESV). Can you blame him? What would you have done in this situation? I imagine that guy didn’t wait five minutes before telling someone. I imagine he told the very next person he saw. I imagine he couldn’t help himself.

      Suddenly, however, I feel rather small. Jesus told this man to keep it quiet. But the man was so overjoyed and his news was so amazing he simply couldn’t hold it in. Jesus has cleansed me of my sins. He has told me to go and tell everyone. Yet, usually, I keep it bottled up inside. I fear folks will reject me. I fear folks won’t listen. I fear I might not have all the answers. I fear telling folks about my sins, from which God has cleansed me. Some of the time, however, it is not about my fear; I just don’t think about telling anyone.

      This man didn’t have any fears. He had only joy. Perhaps that is my problem. I said I had a hard time imagining his joy. Perhaps the problem is I haven't felt the same joy about being cleansed from my sins as he felt being cleansed of his leprosy. But isn’t that interesting. Leprosy could only eat up the body and kill it. Sin eats up the soul and causes it to spend eternity in hell. I have far more reason to be joyful than this ex-leper did.

      So then, I have to ask, what would it harm if I actually fessed up and let someone else know how Jesus cleansed me and from what? Maybe if I spent more time recognizing how really bad I was and how Jesus forgave me and is setting me free from that (it is a present growth process), I might spend more time letting folks know what has happened. It might even get to a point where I can’t help but let people know what Jesus has done. That might even be a more effective evangelism tool than trying to convince everyone how right we are on everything. Just a thought.

Edwin L. Crozier