St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church

Contact our Web Master

On Not Keeping Secrets

Mark 1:40-45

February 12, 2006        (Click this link to see the bulletin)

1. Last week we read that Jesus was still in Capernaum. Healing was uppermost in his mind! He healed the man from the synagogue with his voice, the man whose spirit was tainted with impurities. Then he went next door and healed Simon’s mother-in-law with his touch, as she lay in bed with a fever. The next day, he and the others ‘took their show on the road." They weren’t gone very long (Chapter 2 begins "When he returned to Capernaum after some days . . .), and another amazing healing happened. Today we find Jesus somewhere in Galilee, proclaiming the message, when a leper approaches him.

2. Before I read the story, I need to say a bit about leprosy. In those days, leprosy was a fate worse than death. It began with a scab which spread and turned the skin and hair white – very noticeable on those darker-skinned people in the Palestine area. As the disease progressed, toes and fingers fell off. Nose, eyes and tongues slowly dissolved into the face [or what was left of it]. Lepers were required to tear their clothes, not comb their hair, cover their upper lips, and cry "Unclean, unclean" if anyone came near (Leviticus 13:45-46). They had to live together, completely separated from their community. They had to I cannot imagine how horrible life would have been for a leper. One of these deformed, lonely outcasts approached Jesus. Read Mark 1:40-45. Sometimes people read this story and think it is about Jesus’ willingness to heal the man. But this is another one of those cases where much is lost in translation. Closer to the truth of the leper’s request is: "If you can; if you are able, please make me clean." And Jesus replies, "Yes, I can do that!" And he did!

3. This story raises two big questions. The first question is Why did Jesus tell him to keep it a secret? "See that you say nothing to anyone," he said, "but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them – as proof that you are clean." Was Jesus really asking him to keep it a secret? Maybe yes, maybe no. Many times in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus asks those around him to keep silent. Mark was likely using the "secret" motif to write his story of Jesus. The original end of Mark’s version ends with the women finding the tomb empty. His last sentence is "So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid." (Mark 16:8) Whether or not Jesus was asking them to keep a secret, it is clear that he was asking the leper to follow the Law. What we call "The Holiness Code" in the Book of Leviticus sets out a lengthy and detailed process for declaring a leper "clean." The first step was for the leper to go to the priest. If the priest could no longer see signs of the skin disease, there were still precautions to be taken and sacrifices to be made. If you haven’t looked at the Book of Leviticus recently, read at least Chapters 13 and 14. While we may snicker a bit at the requirements, we must remember how different their world was from ours. God wanted the people to be healthy and happy in their new "Promised Land," and these were the steps necessary to keep infections from spreading. So the first question: Why did Jesus tell him to keep it a secret? He may not have meant "Keep it a secret." He more likely meant "Don’t dilly-dally around, fellow! Go to the priest; go directly to the priest. Do not pass GO, do not collect $200. We have to do things decently and in order, here." Jesus is not a messiah who wants credit for healing anyone. His ministry is about humility and service.

4. But what if Jesus was asking him to keep a secret? What happened? Mark makes it very clear what happened: "But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word . . ." Why did the leper not do what Jesus asked? There can be only one reason – even more than simply healing him, Jesus also cleansed him! This man is no longer ostracized from his family and friends. He is restored to his family and friends. Jesus had saved him from a fate worse than death!

5. Why are you not cheering? Why are you silent? Did Jesus ask you to keep it a secret, too? You’ve probably heard that old joke: What do you get when you cross a Presbyterian with a Jehovah’s Witness? You get a person who rings the doorbell, then when someone opens the door, says absolutely nothing! And it’s true! It’s hard for us more intellectual Christians to be excited about anything, especially something that happened so long ago. We forget that we live the benefits which Jesus’ ministry achieved. How many of us would not be where we are if God had not sent Jesus to free us? I certainly wouldn’t be standing here; all of us girls would be relegated to the foyer – we could not even enter this sanctuary. We owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude! And you boys – even though some men have enjoyed a more privileged position throughout the centuries, life hasn’t been easy for you, either! Even today, men who don’t grow up to be perfect specimens of masculinity have often been relegated to the sidelines, along with the women and children and lame and diseased and simple.

7. We cannot keep it a secret, folks! It’s just that some secrets are hard to tell! John Duckworth was a man who wanted to tell that secret. John was a preacher’s kid, so grew up with that "burden on his heart." He just knew if he didn’t speak Jesus’ name on earth, Jesus wouldn’t speak his name in heaven. So he decided he would tell this "secret" to his friend in the Monster Club. They were all 4^th graders, and lived for monsters – talk about monsters, act like monsters, and build plastic models of (you guessed it!) monsters. Gathering all his courage, he said "I want to tell you what Jesus has done for me." And all the Bible stories came tumbling out of his 8-year-old mouth; he finished his closing argument with , "Really, it’s TRUE!" The other kid stared at him in disbelief, turned and walked toward his fellow monsters saying, "Hey, you guys. He’s crazy! He’s telling me about religion; trying to get me to join up!" John writes that the Monster Club sort of disbanded after that, and he decided that telling the secret about Jesus just wasn’t worth it. Years passed; that pressure to witness to his faith began to build again, but he wasn’t going to repeat his first mistake of saying it out loud. His new target was the closest person he had as a friend after they had moved and he started attending a new high school. John and his family were about to move again, so it was now or never. He picked something his friend had admired, something he could remember John by, stealthily placed it on his porch with a note that began, "Carl, there’s something I haven’t told you." and vaguely wrote about his faith, and ended his short note by asking Carl to write him back if he wanted to know more. He never heard from Carl again. John had been humiliated twice for witnessing to his faith. It would never happen again! Well, the years passed, life went on. Ten years later John was working in a lumberyard with a guy named Al. Al had lots of problems, and John listened patiently, all the while thinking "Al needs to hear about God, but he’s not going to hear it from me! I’ve learned my lesson!" One day, Al was more down than usual. His young son needed some dental work, and Al just didn’t have the money. That night, John told his Bible Study group about it, and every one of them wanted to help. The next day, John handed Al a check and said, "Here’s some money for your son’s dental work. It’s from me and my Bible study group. God has given us so much, and we want to share it with you." Al was speechless, which was a good thing, because John was thinking "I can’t believe I said that! Words about God to a non-Christian?" What came over him? Just for a moment, he knew. He wasn’t operating out the pressure he felt to witness to his faith. He simply listened to a co-worker, and responded to what he heard.

To navigate through the web site, click on the buttons at the top or on the side of the pages or on any links within the page.  Use your browser's Back button to return to the previous page if that page does not appear in the buttons available.  External hyperlinks should open in a new window - close it to return to this page.