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32 At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. 33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34 Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him. 35 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him. 37 When they found Him, they said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” 38 But He said to them, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.” 39 And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons. 40 Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” 41 Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” 42 As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. 43 And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” 45 However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every quarter.
Mark 1:32
Why mention that the sun had set? Likely, this indicates that those who came to him were waiting until the Sabbath resolved — at sunset — in order to bring to Christ those who were sick and afflicted by demons. Christ, of course, liberally heals on the Sabbath, which will become a point of scandal to the Pharisees, one that Christ will address in Mark 3:4 by asking whether it is lawful to do good or evil on the Sabbath. But this teaching not yet being brought to the crowds, we see that they still hesitate to bring their sick and afflicted to Christ on the Sabbath.
Mark 1:34
Why refuse the demons permission to speak and declare who he is to the people? Several points are noteworthy in reply.
First, we have in the gospel of Mark testimony that Christ does not silence. The first such testimony is that of St. John the Forerunner. The second is the testimony of God the Father himself and the Holy Spirit who descends upon Christ at his baptism. And such testimony is the very thing to which Christ publicly appeals in conflict with the Pharisees in Mark 11:27-33. Beyond this, however, Christ tends to prohibit any others from testifying.
Second, Chrysostom observes that Christ refuses to obey the Devil in anything, even when the command concerns something lawful, like eating. And he sees the same refusal of the devils in the silencing of their speech, even when what they say is true: “He stopped the mouths of those devils also, proclaiming Him Son of God. And … yet what they said was profitable; but he more abundantly dishonoring them, and obstructing their plot against us, drove them away even when doctrines of salvation were preached by them, closing up their mouths, and bidding them be silent.” (Hom. 13.3, Matt.)
Third, as Cyril of Alexandria observes in reference to the healing of the leper, yes, Christ instructs him to tell no one. But all who knew him and knew of his ailment would surely recognize the miracle. In other words, Christ wished for his divine energies to proclaim his identity. We see the point from the dawn of Christ’s ministry in Mark. He speaks as one having authority, but that authority is proved by the operative power that casts out unclean spirits, makes the unclean clean, and heals the infirm.
In this, we see a point made often by the Eastern Church fathers, namely, that we come to know God by his energies. I spoke in my previous post about the distinction, pervasive in Eastern patristic thought, between the essence of a thing (οὐσία) and its energies (ἐνέργειαι). With this distinction, the Eastern fathers were insistent that we come to know a thing by its energies. Whatever we might understand abstractly about the nature of fire, we understand concretely by experiencing its heat and its light. When encountering a man, we never peer inside his chest, observing his essence, but rather come to know him by his operations, a point Basil of Caesarea makes in response to the Eunomians. And so, in the same way, we come to know God. His essence is unknowable, but his energies come down to us. As Basil explains, “he who denies that he knows the essence does not confess himself to be ignorant of God, because our idea of God is gathered from all the attributes which I have enumerated…. [B]ut we say that we know our God from His energies, but do not undertake to approach near to His essence. His energies come down to us, but His essence remains beyond our reach” (Ep., 234.2).
Notice that for the Eastern fathers, the attributes of God are not a series of essential properties about an abstract essence — the way four sides or four right angles are attributes of a square. Rather, God’s attributes are his energies that freely and actively “come down to us.” When declaring that God is omnipresent, we declare that he is actively present everywhere. When declaring that God is all-knowing, we declare that he actively knows what is. When declaring that God is just, we declare that is actively just in his operations. These energies or operative powers freely articulate the divine nature, expressing outwardly the nature within. And though we may never undertake to grasp the essence of God, we do come to know his nature by his operations toward us.
The point is pervasive in Mark’s gospel, Christ proving that he does not merely pose as one having authority but demonstrates his authority by his energies, which cast out demons, make the unclean clean, and heal the sick. These operative powers, as Cyril points out, are what Christ wishes to proclaim his nature — not men nor demons.
Mark 1:35
Like so many Saints, Christ does not simply rise early to pray but rises and goes to a “desolate” (ἔρημον) place — a place void of distraction and stimuli that might feed the passions.
Mark 1:37-8
We see here the contrast between Christ and his Disciples. His Disciples are willing to entrust themselves to men, reporting with great eagerness that the people wish to see and hear more. Yet, rather than clamoring for the praise and approval of men, Christ’s concern is his mission — the reason he has come.
Mark 1:39
Here in these verses, we see the very same pattern that we saw at the inauguration of Christ’s ministry: To preach in their synagogues fresh teachings with authority and to demonstrate that authority by casting out demons.
Mark 1:40-5
In the story of the leper, we again see the same pattern: A leper approaches Jesus — another encounter with the unclean. Christ touches the man, an act that would typically make one unclean by contact, but instead, that which is unclean (the leprosy) within the man flees, and the man is made clean as a result.
In addition, though this miracle is not done in the synagogue, the man is instructed to offer for his cleansing what Moses commanded as a testimony to them — that is to the ones to whom the synagogue belongs. Here again, Christ’s ministry is first to the Jews.
And despite Christ’s instruction to tell no one, once again, his fame spreads, and he again journeys outside, away from the people to the Wilderness, or “desolate place,” while the people search for him.
As for the herald of Christ that spreads his fame, the true herald is the demonstration of his authority — that is, the operative power from his own substance.
Mark 1:40
Notice that the leper’s confession is one of faith, declaring “if willing” — a conditional appended to a declaration of Christ’s power (δύνασαι) to cleanse. In this, the leper recognizes the very thing demonstrated heretofore in the gospel: Christ’s deeds are outward proof of his inner power or authority. Therefore, if he wills such a cleansing, the cleansing is possible.
Chrysostom points out that the leper does not say, If God wills or if you ask God but if you will, I can be clean — a clear indication that he understands Christ to be more than a mere prophet or one favored by God. He sees in Christ himself the operative powers of God. (Hom. 25 on Matt.)
Notice also Christ’s reply, which does not correct this inference but affirms the leper’s conclusion: “I will” (θέλω), declaring that this truly is an act of his own power and authority.
The introduction of will probably feel commonplace to the Christian. But the uniqueness of the point should not be lost. Few pagan philosophers believed that God operates by free will. Many believed in a divine Orderer of nature, many even naming it the Logos. But few outside of the Alexandrian Jews and the Christians believed the Logos acted freely, hearing his creatures and willing in reply. And yet, here, we see the Logos showing compassion as he hears the plea of one of his creatures and wills to restore him.
Mark 1:41-3
Christ is said to be filled with compassion (σπλαγχνισθεὶς). The root, σπλάγχνον, literally means bowels or innards; so, the action arises out of a compassion or pity that rises up from the depth of his being. Notice that Christ is not moved, as if he were passively compelled by something extrinsic. Rather, he is actively stirred into action by his own compassion which is deep within him.
There is a textual variant here, ὀργισθεὶς, which would indicate indignation — presumably at the bondage of man to death in all its forms — but the Eastern fathers appear to read the passage as σπλαγχνισθεὶς, indicating this is the more reliable text.
Why the warning not to tell the people? Was the admonition one of priority? Say nothing to anyone until you make your offering as a testimony to the religious leaders? Or was there disobedience in the telling of the miracle to others? And if so, why?
Certainly, there were practicalities: As his fame spread, he could no longer minister in the city. But is there more? Some Saints, too, sought to hide their righteous deeds — St. Nicholas of Myra or St. Mary of Egypt. And we also have stories of Saints who proclaimed the miracles gifted to them only to lose the blessing that resulted, such as St. Sophia, Mother of Orphans. So, why might this be? Chrysostom does take the instruction as one meant to prevent boasting and vainglory, and Cyril of Alexandria concludes something similar. However, to this Cyril adds the point made above. In silencing the leper — let us say for his own humility and to avoid vainglory — Christ does not silence the miracle. Quite the contrary, the miracle itself will proclaim the operative powers of the one who performed it, therefore proclaiming Christ to all. For any who knew this man would no doubt recognize the healing. In short, the miracle would proclaim itself:
“Even though the leper had been silent, the very nature of the fact was enough to proclaim to all who knew him how great was His power Who had wrought the cure. But He bids him tell no man: and why? That they who receive from God the gift of working cures may hereby learn not to look for the applause of those whom they have healed, nor indeed any one's praises whatsoever, lest they fall a prey unto pride, of all vices the most disgraceful.” (Hom. 12 on Lk.)
Notice also two points touched on in the previous post when discussing the healing of St. Peter’s mother-in-law. The first is that the man is not simply restored, but the leprosy leaves him — just as her fever left her. As discussed at length in that prior post, the language treats the ailment as something substantial that departs, suggestive of a demonic root to the ailment — perhaps not a demon per se but a product of the demonic energy that holds men captive under the dominion of the Devil.
The second is that Christ stretches forth his hand to heal the man: Once again, Christ’s flesh is a conduit for the divine energies — clean, holy, and life-giving. The restoration is not merely a divine decree but the flesh that Christ joined to his divine nature is the conduit for this divine power, contrary to the errors of the Nestorians.
Mark 1:45
The people came to him from every direction (πάντοθεν), anticipating the future aim of the Apostles carrying the gospel to the four corners of the earth. But even more so, the work of Christ was to the whole world, restoring all of humanity — and ultimately the whole of his creation.