Bible Study: Mark 1:29-45

Jesus Heals Many

29 And immediately after they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with ^[1]James and John.

immediately: the incident in v29-34 took place on the same day as the events in v21-28.

30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and they immediately *spoke to ^[2]Jesus about her.

fever: high fever (Luke 4:38).

31 And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she served them.

Note: Jesus shows His compassion and love.
she served them: the divine healing is instant and complete (from lying down to healed completely, without recovery period).

32 Now when evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed.

after the sun had set: Jewish law prohibited them from carrying anything or anyone on the Sabbath.
began bringing: imperfect tense, indicating they kept coming and coming.
Cf. Luke 4:40

33 And the whole city had gathered at the door.

34 And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew ^[3]who He was.

many: means a lot of, while all of them were healed (Luke 4:40, Matt 8:16).
He would not permit the demons to speak:

• He did not want affirmation of His identity from the agents of Satan, whose testimony would only have confused the issue (similar to Acts 16:16-18, Ref. 2 Cor 11:14).
• His authority over spiritual world: demons cannot speak a word without the permission of the sovereign Lord.

v29-39 shows His authority over both the physical and spiritual creation (Mark 2:12, Matt 9:33):

• physical effects of sin - sickness, suffering, diseases, and death (Gen 1:31, Gen 3:17-19, Rom 8:20);
• demons in spiritual world - illustrating His coming earthly kingdom (Rev 20:1-3, Rev 21:1-22:5).

demonstrating that He (the King) possesses the power to impart eternal life to souls and bodies.

Objective of the healing and delivering:

• affirm the true gospel and validate His claim to be the messianic King (John 10:38).
• fulfill the prophecy (Isa 53:4)
  • He sympathized with the pain and sickness of those whom He healed (John 2:25, Heb 4:15).
  • He grieved over the destructive power (sin itself) that causes physical suffering (Rom 5:12).
  • He took our infirmities and carried away our diseases by conquering sin completely.

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Jesus Preaches in Galilee

35 And in the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and prayed there.

Note: Jesus’ withdrawal to pray before a busy day of ministry shows that even His public work was sustained by private communion with the Father. He was subject to the will of the Father and operating in the power of the Spirit.
secluded: ἔρημον (i.e., wilderness in Mark 1:3, 1:4, 1:12, 1:13). to enjoy fellowship with His Father.
prayed: Cf. Matt 14:23, Luke 4:42, John 6:15: Jesus went to an isolated place to pray (that all things in the will of God would be accomplished, Matt 26:39,42), showing His obedience and submission (as in the incarnation He set aside the independent use of His divine attributes and humbled Himself as a human, Phil 2:6-7).

36 Simon and his companions eagerly searched for Him;

37 and they found Him and *said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.”

Cf. John 6:24-26, John 2:24-25: people were seeking Jesus based on superficial self-interest.

38 He *said to them, “Let’s go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may also ^[4]preach there; for this is why I came.”

preach: preach the gospel of God (Mark 1:14-15).
His ultimate purpose was not to deliver people from temporal ailments but to save them from sin and eternal judgement (Luke 5:32, Luke 19:10).

• Jesus’ miracles validated His gospel message, but miracles themselves could not save anyone.
• Salvation came only when people responded in repentant faith to gospel preaching.

39 And He went into their synagogues ^[5]preaching throughout Galilee, and casting out the demons.

preaching: The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.
Cf. Mark 1:14-15, Rom 10:13-15.

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Jesus Cleanses a Leper

40 And a man with ^[6]leprosy *came to ^[7]Jesus, imploring Him and kneeling down, and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”

Cf. Mark 1:40-45, Matt 8:1-4, Luke 5:12-16.
Another healing of lepers: Luke 17:12-19.
A leper shall be outside the camp. Lev. 13:45-46
imploring Him and kneeling down: the man’s attitude was respectful and reverential.
If You are willing: he could not presume on Jesus’ mercy — but in an attitude that he is worthless.
You can make me clean: showing his faith and confidence.

41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out with His hand and touched him, and *said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”

compassion: showing Jesus’ mercy and love.
touched: forbidden by Lev 5:3; showing His love was such that He was willing to touch those whom no one else would even come near.

42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.

the divine healing of Jesus is immediate and complete.

43 And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away,

44 and He *said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

Ref. Lev 14:2-31
The test of true faith is always obedience.
Jesus said:

• sternly warned (ἐμβριμησάμενος): say nothing to anyone. → command.
• show yourself to the priest: resume his place in society.
• offer for your cleansing: fulfill the Law in Lev 14. (Jesus showed He was to fulfill the Law, Matt 5:17)

testimony to them: indicating testimony to priests. (Q: Why did Jesus ask to show a testimony to priests?)

45 But he went out and began to proclaim it ^[8]freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that ^[9]Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but ^[10]stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere.

Note: the leper showed humility to Christ in his request for healing, but did not show his obedience to Christ’s commands.
Jesus wanted people to follow Him not because the miracle, but because the gospel He preached.

Foreshadowing:

• leper: isolated in wilderness → free in city.
• Jesus: free in city → isolated in wilderness.

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Text Links: Mark 1:29-45 (NASB), Mark 1:29-45 (ESV), Mark 1:29-45 (NKJV), Mark 1:29-45 (KJV)

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1. Or Jacob ↩
2. Lit Him ↩
3. Lit that He was ↩
4. Or proclaim ↩
5. Or proclaiming ↩
6. I.e., leprosy or a serious, unspecified disease, and so throughout the ch; see Lev 13 ↩
7. Lit Him ↩
8. Lit much ↩
9. Lit He ↩
10. Lit was ↩