I. THE GENERAL WORK OF CHRIST, WHEN IT IS KNOWN, ENCOURAGES THE MOST FORLORN AND DESPERATE. (Cf. ver. 39.) The nature of leprosy and the law concerning it.

II. SINCERE FAITH, EVEN WHEN IMPERFECT, EVER MEETS WITH THE SYMPATHY AND HELP OF CHRIST. "If thou wilt, thou canst." He believed in his power, but was uncertain as to his willingness. The spirit of the Saviour was therefore concealed from him. Yet Christ answered his prayer. (There is no evidence that the leper identified the will with the power.)

III. CHRIST'S METHOD OF RESTORATION IS ADAPTED TO THE SPECIAL MORAL CONDITION OF THE SUBJECT OF HIS MERCY. It was his sympathy and willingness that had to be demonstrated to the poor leper. This is done by the assurance, "I will;" and the touch (braving ceremonial defilement and physical repugnance). So, in saving men from their sins, their defects of character and experience are met by special revelations and mercies. A complete and perfect faith in Christ is the evidence and guarantee of perfect salvation.

IV. SPECIAL EXPERIENCES OF DIVINE GRACE DO NOT FREE FROM LESSER DUTIES, BUT RATHER INCREASE THEIR OBLIGATION. The Law was to be honored. Civil and religious obligations were enjoined. There was a public use in the rules that were imposed, and it was well they should be observed.

V. MERCY MAY BE RECEIVED WITHOUT ITS OBLIGATIONS BEING FULLY REALIZED OR OBSERVED. The leper was cured, but not perfectly. He had not learned the obedience of faith. His inattention to Christ's request created a serious inconvenience and hindrance in prosecuting the work of salvation amongst others. Those who have received benefits from Christ should attend implicitly to all that he enjoins. "Ye are my friends, if ye do the things Which I command you" (John 15:14). The spiritual blessings of Christ are dependent on perfect subjection to his will. - M.

I. Of the open or PROFESSIONAL coming to Christ. The gospel when it is preached draws many to itself who are not saved by it. Many come to Christ from the lowest motives; to receive benefits; some out of transient enthusiasm. Out of the best haul a fisherman ever makes, there is something to throw away.

II. Of the first real SPIRITUAL coming to Christ by faith. Let us try to help those who are coming to Christ. All who come to Christ from every quarter never one was disappointed with Him yet.

III. The DAILY coming of saved souls to Jesus. They come from every quarter as to mental pursuits; from all points of theological thought; from every quarter of spiritual experience.

IV. THAT GREAT GATHERING WHICH IS APPROACHING NEARER EVERY MOMENT. Saints come to Jesus in glory from every quarter.

(C. H. Spurgeon.)

Seeking rest and health last week, I seated myself for a little while near a very rustic church which stands embowered in a wood, and as I sat there I moralized upon the various paths which led up to the church porch. Each trackway through the grass came from a different quarter, but they all led to one point. As I stood there this reflection crossed me: even thus men come to Christ from all quarters of the compass, but if indeed saved, they all come to Him. There is a path yonder which rises from a little valley. The little church stands on the hillside, there is a brook at the bottom, and worshippers who come from the public road must cross the rustic bridge and then ascend the hill. Such comers rise at every step they take. Full many burdened ones come to Christ from the deep places of self-abasement; they know their sinfulness and feel it; their self-consciousness has almost driven them to despair; they are down very low, and every step they take to Christ is a step upwards. They have a little hope as they look to Him, and then a little more, till it comes to a humble trust; then from a feeble, trembling trust it rises to a simple faith, and so they advance till when they stand near to Jesus they even reach to the full assurance of faith. Thus from soul distress and self-despair they come to the Lord Jesus, and He receives them graciously. Through the churchyard there was another path, and it ran uphill from where I stood, and therefore everyone who came that way descended to the church door. These may represent the people who think much of themselves; they have been brought up in morality and lived in respectability in the town of Legality; they have never turned aside to the greaser vices, but are among the models of behaviour. Every step these good people take towards Christ is downward; they think less of themselves and still less; regret leads to repentance, repentance to bitter grief, and grief leads to self abhorrence, till they come down to the level where Jesus meets with sinners, by owning that they are nothing, and that Christ is all. The two paths which I have mentioned were supplemented by a third, which led through a thick and tangled wood: a narrow way wound between the oak trees and the dense underwood, and I noticed that it led over a boggy place, through which stepping stones had been carefully placed for the traveller, that he might not sink in the mire. Many a seeker has found his way to Jesus by a similar path. Dark with ignorance, and briary with evil questionings, the path winds and twists about, and leads through the Slough of Despond, wherein a man had need pick his steps very carefully, or he may sink in despair. Those whom grace leads arrive at rest in Christ, but it is through the wood and through the slough. Once more, I remarked another path, which came in from the farmer's fields, through lands where the plough and the sickle are busy, each in its season; so that those who come from that quarter to worship come across the place of toil, and may fitly represent those who are full of earnestness and effort, but have as much need of Jesus as any. They do not know yet the way of salvation, but they follow after righteousness by the law, and strive to enter in at the strait gate in their own strength. But if they ever come to Christ they will have to leave those fields and the plough and sickle of their own strength, and submit to receive Jesus as their all.

(C. H. Spurgeon.).

Andrew, Ephah, Isaiah, James, Jesus, John, Simon, Zabdi, ZebedeeCapernaum, Galilee, Jerusalem, Jordan River, Judea, Nazareth, Sea of Galilee, Wilderness of JudeaAble, Abroad, Account, Areas, Blaze, Desert, Enter, Everywhere, Extent, Forth, Freely, Giving, Insomuch, Lonely, Longer, Matter, News, Openly, Outside, Places, Possible, Proclaim, Public, Publicly, Publish, Quarter, Result, Spread, Spreading, Stayed, Talk, Town, Unfrequented, Unpopulated, Waste, Yet1. The office of John the Baptist.
9. Jesus is baptized;
12. tempted;
14. he preaches;
16. calls Peter, Andrew, James, and John;
23. heals one that had a demon;
29. Peter's mother in law;
32. many diseased persons;
40. and cleanses the leper.

Mark 1:40-45

     8496   witnessing, importance

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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