In studying the Gospels carefully, we find that the Lord took pleasure in men asking Him for great favor. The greater men’s requests were, the happier the Lord was to answer them.
Consider the story of the leper in Mark 1. According to Jewish regulations, a leper could not come in contact with any man. Any person who came in contact with a leper was defiled by uncleanness (Lev. 13-14). Here a leper came to see the Lord Jesus. The very act of coming to the Lord was quite presumptuous. We should have a strong impression of this fact. As soon as a leper appeared on the scene, we probably would react. Unless a man was ready to sacrifice himself and give his all, he would jump back at the sight of a leper and say, “You are hurting me! I cannot touch you. Why do you come to me?” When the leper came to the Lord, he did not ask whether the Lord could cleanse him. Instead he said, “If You are willing, You can cleanse me” (Mark 1:40). This was a very piercing statement. He put all the burden on the Lord! It was all a matter of whether or not the Lord was willing. This was not an ordinary prayer. It was something that put the Lord’s heart to the test. The Lord simply could have said, “Be clean,” and the leper would have been cleansed. But the Lord did not merely utter a word; He identified Himself with the leper’s situation. He touched the leper with His hand and said, “I am willing; be cleansed!” (v. 41). If he was not cleansed, the Lord would become defiled. What a risk this would have involved! We must have the proper impression of the story before we can understand the actual picture. The Lord was ready to put Himself into the leper’s situation. He joined His holiness and purity to the leper. Either both would be clean or both would be defiled. Either both had to go outside the camp or both could return to the camp. The Lord was ready to spend, and what a spending that was!
Mark 2 records four men carrying a paralytic to the Lord Jesus. Being unable to bring him to the Lord because of the crowd, they removed the roof where He was, and lowered the paralytic to the Lord (vv. 3-4). We should have an impression of this picture. Many people were surrounding the Lord. He was quite busy. But now another group lowered a paralytic from the roof! We should realize that the Lord was not just busy; He was also speaking in a borrowed place. When the roof was removed, it had to be patched later. What trouble this was! But the Lord did not say, “Do not do this again.” Instead He was happy that someone would come to Him with such a big demand. It seems that the bigger the demand was, the happier He felt. This shows us what kind of Lord He is. If we do not have a clear impression of what the Lord has done, how can we say that we know Him?
As the Lord was traveling, Bartimaeus cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:47). Many people rebuked him and tried to silence him. But he cried out much more. The Lord Jesus was not particularly fond of noise and excitement. Matthew 12:19 says, “He will not strive nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.” This was what the Lord Jesus was like. But here was a man crying out in a loud way. He wanted the Lord to have mercy on him, and the Lord healed him. The Lord is happy to see men asking great things from Him. He wants men to open their mouths wide. He is happy to give grace in abounding measure.
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