Jesus made several preaching tours throughout Galilee. Mark summarized the first of these (vv. 35-39) and then related one specially significant event during that tour (vv. 40-45). This section continues to present Jesus as the Servant of the Lord who went about doing the messianic work that His Father had assigned to Him.
While these verses record the itinerant ministry of Jesus, Mark's emphasis was clearly on Jesus' spiritual preparation for that ministry. It highlighted His dependence on His Father.
1:35 Mark implied that these events happened the next day. Many people would have slept late after such a busy day. However, Jesus rose early, even before dawn, and went to a remote (Gr. eremon, v. 4) place to pray (Gr. proseucho, the general word for prayer). This sacrificial act paints Jesus as consciously dependent on His Father for strength and direction for what lay ahead of Him. Prayerlessness typically manifests self-sufficiency, but prayerfulness reveals humility.
"Mark selectively portrayed Jesus at prayer on three crucial occasions, each in a setting of darkness and aloneness: near the beginning of his account (v. 35), near the middle (6:46), and near the end (14:32-42). All three were occasions when He was faced with the possibility of achieving His messianic mission in a more attractive, less costly way. But in each case He gained strength through prayer."55
In this case the crest of popular support that Jesus had ridden the day before threatened to carry Him into political leadership that might have washed out the Cross.
1:36-37 Simon and his companions--who they were is unimportant--did not understand Jesus' need for prayer. They seem to have had the common attitude that when things are favorable we do not need God's help. Their words implied annoyance. Apparently they felt Jesus was not taking advantage of His popularity to promote His mission. They did not realize that God directed Jesus' mission, not the responses of people. This is the first instance of Peter's impetuous leadership that Mark recorded.
1:38-39 Peter viewed the healing ministry of Jesus as primary, as did many of his companions. Jesus viewed them as only a small part of His larger mission. He had "come out"from God to fulfill this mission. Peter encouraged Jesus to stay where He could not escape pressure to perform miracles (cf. John 7:3-5). Jesus chose to move on to other parts of Galilee where He could present the gospel (v. 14) and His claims (v. 15).
Verse 39 summarizes this preaching tour throughout Galilee. It may have lasted several weeks or even months (cf. Matt. 4:23-25). Jesus centered His ministry during this time in the synagogues because His mission was essentially religious rather than political or economic. His main activity was heralding (Gr. kerysso) the gospel, but He authenticated His preaching with miracles, the most dramatic of which were exorcisms.
This pericope evidently describes one incident during the Galilean preaching tour just summarized. It provides a striking example of Jesus' supernatural power. This is only one of two healings of lepers that the Gospels record, though Jesus healed other lepers (cf. Matt. 11:5). The other recorded incident involved Jesus cleansing 10 lepers in Samaria (cf. Luke 17:11-19). This incident that Mark recorded was significant because it brought the religious leaders from Jerusalem into Galilee to investigate Jesus. This is the beginning of the hostility motif.
Mark is the only evangelist who recorded that compassion moved Jesus to heal this pitiable man (v. 41). However his version of this miracle stressed what the leper did after Jesus healed him. Jesus had "sternly warned"(Gr. embrimaomai) the cleansed leper not to tell anyone what Jesus had done for him (vv. 43-44; cf. vv. 25, 34; 3:12; 5:43; 7:36; 9:9). Only Mark used this strong word. Jesus wanted to avoid becoming known simply as a miracle worker, which might lead to pressure to avoid the Cross. However the man disobeyed Jesus even though he probably thought he had good reason to do so, namely to bring praise to Jesus. His disobedience to Jesus' word frustrated Jesus' work rather than advancing it. Jesus needed to minister to people, but the leper's action forced Him to spend more time in uninhabited, solitary places (Gr. eremon, vv. 4, 35).
Perhaps Mark pointed this out to encourage his Christian readers to follow the Word of God carefully. Sometimes believers disobey God because we think our way will be better than His. It never is. Frequently it has the same result as this cleansed leper's disobedience. It retards God's mission rather than advancing it. The fact that this man was a cleansed leper makes believers' identification with him easy since leprosy in the Bible is similar to sin, and believers are cleansed sinners.
The leper's disobedience did not destroy God's plan but only created complications. The Galileans still kept seeking Jesus out (v. 45).56
