The Desert Places

 Mark 1:40-45

40 And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.

42 And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.

43 And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away;

44 And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

45 But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.

In Mark 1:40-45, Jesus shows His compassion by miraculously healing a man of leprosy. Jesus then instructs him to show himself to the priest. This is in obedience to the Jewish law (see Leviticus chapter 13). The man, however, is so overjoyed that he skips Jesus’ instruction. He rushes off and tells everyone about his healing.

As a result, Jesus can’t openly enter the city. He stays in the desert places. Even so, the people come to him from every quarter.

The word for “desert” is eremos. It suggests a lonely area. It can mean a desert, a desolate place or wilderness. 

“Every quarter” comes from pantachothen. They came to Him from everywhere.

Have you ever been so exuberant that you mess things up? I certainly have. This man was so thrilled that he disobeyed what Jesus said. I like to imagine that once he settled down, he did show himself to the priest.

It’s wonderfully encouraging to know that even when I mess up, that Jesus is there, waiting for me. I can come to him from pantachothen. It doesn’t matter to Him where I come from. I can come to Him from anywhere. He is there for me to find Him.

In fact, I can invite Jesus into my wilderness, into my eremos. Into the lonely places. Into the desolate places. Into the dry places.

Song of Solomon 8:5 says, “Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?”

We can take heart that in those dry and desolate wilderness areas, we can lean upon Jesus. We can lean upon Him - and come out of the wilderness leaning upon Him. Amen!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I welcome You into those desert places of my life. I’m so glad that I can depend upon You in the hard and lonely times. I look forward to coming through them by leaning on You! Amen