Miracle-Worker Over Miracle

Mark 1:44 says, “Don’t tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the Priest and tell him to examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.”

Christ cleansed him… yet required him to be obedient to the law. My commentary says, “It’s possible that, if he did not go at once, evil minded men would go before him and prejudice the priest, and prevent his declaring the healing to be thorough because it was done by Jesus.”

And I used to wonder why it was that Christ prohibited this man from telling anyone about the miracle. But maybe he was to not say anything to anyone because people were too addicted to the miracles of Christ, without due regard to His teaching. After all, it was His teaching that was His main mission. Mark 1:38 says, “... we must go on to other towns too, and I will preach to them too. This is why I came.”

His reason for coming to us was conversion through His preaching. Salvation for all.

Christ wasn’t looking for a crowd of wonder-seekers all clamoring for a sign… but he was looking for students to listen to the plea of the salvation message.

We must be wise in our telling of our experiences. We must not speak more about God‘s mercy than we have time to study and learn from its lessons. My commentary says that, “...had he but gone into some retired spot and mastered the meaning of Jesus’ mercy, he might have become an apostle. As it is, he became a sort of showman of himself.”

May our want of the miracle never replace our want of the Miracle-Worker.