Mark 1:43-45 “Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 "See that you don't tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them." 45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.
Can you imagine receiving a supernatural miracle of healing and then the Lord instructing you not to tell? In this passage that is exactly what happens. Here is a man that has gone from being amongst the outcasts of society because of his leprosy, to being free! He no longer has to live in the light of social shame and the loneliness of rejection. He no longer has to spend his days wishing for a miracle. He has found one through Jesus Christ! How could he stay silent?
Jesus instructs this man strongly to focus simply on going to the priests and having the religious ban lifted from his life that has destined him to life as a leper but he cannot hold back his joy. Jesus’ sought to use this healing as a testimony to the priests but instead it became a testimony throughout the entire community. This was both good news and bad news. Had the priests been the ones to hear the news first they might have been able to receive Jesus with greater acceptance because they saw his respect for the religious practices but instead they hear about it through the mass of followers that are now looking to Jesus and not to them. This one event most likely served to elevate Jesus dramatically within the community but attract future persecution from the priests and religious leaders.
The fruit of this miracle was momentum. The pace of Jesus fame accelerated rapidly because of the joy filled praises of this man who had been healed. As he spread the news of his healing the crowds gathered but not every crowd creates ideal circumstances. Now crowd management becomes a tension that comes along with all of the issues. Jesus was still ministering within a nation that was under the dominion of Rome and large crowds gathering around him within the cities would have certainly gained him unwanted attention and suspicion. As a result Jesus had to withdraw and let the people come to him outside the communities in “lonely places.” Even there the people gathered to him.
This reality is a great encouragement to all of those believers who are serving the Lord faithfully in lonely places. Even there God can do great things. You may live in a small town or a region where there are few believers but be encouraged. If the power and presence of God is with you then God can gather the people! Let your focus be on the presence of God not on the crowd. Seek HIM and let HIS presence gather people. This is a generation that is highly mobile and the multitudes are hungry for something real. As a result focus on having the supernatural reality of God with you and the people who are hungry for more of God will find you.
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