The Pulpit Commentary — Mark — Volume 1 — Section 86

come in humility, feeling that we are nothing and that Christ is all. We must come in earnest, feeling the desperate nature of our disease and our hopeless, perishin", and lost condition without him. The lepers of Samaria ventured at all hazards to fall into the host of the Syrians, " If they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us wo .shall but die." We must also with like reverence and decision approach. It w~ an act of profound homage, as to a superior, on the part of the leper, not yet perhaps of w_orshi.e in the higher sense as~ a Divine being; but "'.e, "'.ith superior knowledge of his claims, must acknowledge bun as our Lord, worship him as our Messiah bow in ho~age at his feet, and ?mbrace him as our Saviour. 'l'hus approaching him ~s lowly penitents, humble suppliants, and polluted transgressors, we, too, shall experience his. power, and realize the pr~iou~ness of his sal~tion. 2. The reception of the leper by our Lord. St. Luke, with his customary medical exactness, tells us that this was a leper of no comm~n kind, but one afflicted with the worst type of the disease, the sorest stage of it-he was full of leprosy (w>..-l,p11~ >..l1tp,u). St. Mark aaain makes us acquainted with our Lord's deep feeling of compassion for this poor' suffere; (,r,r>,,ayxv.,,-8.lr). "He stretched out his hand to him and touched him." By that touch he inspired the man with confidence, who believed in his power to cleanse, but doubted his willingness to risk contagion or ceremonial defilement ; by that touch he proved himself" Lord of the Law,'' 3:n~ exem~t from its ritualistic restrictions; by that touch he broke through the ceremonia~ism which had usurped the place of true religion among the degenerate Jews of that time; by that touch, perhaps, he gave a sensible sign that healing virtue had already proceeded from him, and that the leper was virtually cleansed; by that touch he showed, as if by symbol, that he himself was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, and yet remained unsoiled by sin. 3. The respO'TUe of our Lord to the application of the leper. 'l'he application of the leper shows (1) the prevalent opinion about this malady, that it was not a mere disease, but a defilement· and therefore he speaks of deansing (rca.811pl,r111) rather than cure. But (2) the applica: tion implies faith in the Saviour's power. He did not question the Saviour's ability, he only doubted his willin~ess to exercise that ability on his behalf. He did not say, "If thou canst," but" lf thou wilt, thou canst." The form of conditional sentence by which the leper expresses his mind of the matter is that of probable contingency ( U1,,. with the subjunctive), and so not a mere supposition. This unquestioning faith in. Christ's power was faith of no ordinary kind; it was faith in his power as somethin"' more than human. 'fhis leper was painfully conscious of his disease ; he knew that the "finger of God" had touched him; he must have been convinced that no earthly power could cleanse or cure him, and therefore, wheu he confessed his belief in Jesus' power to effect it, he must have attributed to him vastly more than human potency-in a word, not less than power Divine. The term of address, Kvp••• is more than respect -it is belief in his Messiahsbip. True, he doubted the will; he feared, and no wonder, lest the foulness of his disease, its loathsomeness, its extremely disgusting 11B.ture, its thorough repulsiveness, might act as a deterrent, and prevent the much- desired relief. But no, Jesus meets him on his own ground; he responds to him in his own chosen terms; he employs in reply the very words. And thus, by his hand outstretched in kindness, by the touch of tenderuess, by the look of compassion, and now by the words he uses, and the tone, perhaps, in which he utters them, he at once reassures the sufferer, and at once and for ever removes his suffering. The leper bad said, "If thou wilt;" Jesus replies, "I will." '!'he leper had said, "Thou canst cleanse me;" Jesus responds," Be cleansed." He spake the word, and healed him; he gave the command, and the leper was cleansed. The scales fell off, the swellings subsided, the sores were healed, the unnatural whiteness gave place to the hue of health, his skin became fresh as that of a chubby child. The words of Ambrose (3) have been often repeated; they are worth remembering, and are as follows:-" Volo dicit propter P hot in um ; imperat propter .Arium ; tangit propter Manichmwm;" "Photinus held Christ to be a mere man; Arius maintained his inequality with the Father; and Manichmus asserted he was only a phantom without human flesh. 4. Relation of this to ourselves. In coming to Christ we must (1) have faith in his power. All we can expect from an earthly physician is that, with his knowle,lge of the healing art, he will do the best he can; that he will exert his medical Bki!l to the utmost; that he will leave no means or medicines unapplied. But, with all bis skilfulness and integrity of purpoee and ml, L 1-45,] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING 'ro ST. MARK. B3