Mark 1:35-45

Jesus Prays and Preaches

35 Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and went out to a solitary place to pray. ¹

36 Simon and his companions went to look for Him,

37 and when they found Him, they said, “Everyone is looking for You!”

38 But Jesus answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns so I can preach there as well, for that is why I have come.”

39 So He went throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

The Leper’s Prayer

40 Then a leper ^[a] came to Jesus, begging on his knees: “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” ²

41 Moved with compassion, ^[b] Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!”

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

43 Jesus promptly sent him away with a stern warning:

44 “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering Moses prescribed for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” ^[c]

45 But the man went out and openly began to proclaim and spread the news. Consequently, Jesus could no longer enter a town in plain view, but He stayed out in solitary places. Yet people came to Him from every quarter.

Mark 1:35-45 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO MARK

This is the title of the book, the subject of which is the Gospel; a joyful account of the ministry, miracles, actions, and sufferings of Christ: the writer of it was not one of the twelve apostles, but an evangelist; the same with John Mark, or John, whose surname was Mark: John was his Hebrew name, and Mark his Gentile name, Ac 12:12,25, and was Barnabas's sister's son, Col 4:10, his mother's name was Mary, Ac 12:12. The Apostle Peter calls him his son, 1Pe 5:13, if he is the same; and he is thought to have wrote his Gospel from him {a}, and by his order, and which was afterwards examined and approved by him {b} it is said to have been wrote originally in Latin, or in the Roman tongue: so say the Arabic and Persic versions at the beginning of it, and the Syriac version says the same at the end: but of this there is no evidence, any more, nor so much, as of Matthew's writing his Gospel in Hebrew. The old Latin copy of this, is a version from the Greek; it is most likely that it was originally written in Greek, as the rest of the New Testament.

{a} Papias apud Euseb. Hist. l. 3. c. 39. Tertull. adv. Marcion. l. 4. c. 5. {b} Hieron. Catalog. Script. Eccles. p. 91. sect. 18.

Cross References

• 1. (Luke 4:42–44)
• 2. (Leviticus 14:1–32; Matthew 8:1–4; Luke 5:12–16)

Footnotes

• [a]. A leper was one afflicted with a skin disease. See Leviticus 13.
• [b]. SBL Moved with indignation
• [c]. See Leviticus 14:1–32.