Mark 1:40

40 A man suffering from a dreaded skin disease came to Jesus, knelt down, and begged him for help. "If you want to," he said, "you can make me clean." ^[a]

Mark 1:40 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 1:40

And there came a leper to him
After he was come down from a certain mountain, in Galilee, where he had been preaching to the people, ( Matthew 8:1 ) , and when be was in a certain city, ( Luke 5:12 ) , either Capernaum, or some other city of Galilee. This man was full of leprosy, as Luke says, and very probably deemed incurable; of the nature and symptoms of the leprosy, (See Gill on Luke 5:12),

beseeching him;
to cure him of his leprosy:

and kneeling down to him;
in token of submission, respect, and reverence, and to worship him:

and saying unto him, if thou wilt thou canst make me clean;
(See Gill on Matthew 8:2). Mark omits the word "Lord".

Mark 1:40 In-Context

38 But Jesus answered, "We must go on to the other villages around here. I have to preach in them also, because that is why I came."

39 So he traveled all over Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and driving out demons.

40 A man suffering from a dreaded skin disease came to Jesus, knelt down, and begged him for help. "If you want to," he said, "you can make me clean."

41 Jesus was filled with pity, and reached out and touched him. "I do want to," he answered. "Be clean!"

42 At once the disease left the man, and he was clean.

Footnotes

• [a] make me clean: [This disease was considered to make a person ritually unclean.]