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“If you are willing, you can make me clean.”
At first glance, I find two very interesting things about this simple line. First, it is not actually a question. The man with the skin disease, likely leprosy, does not directly request healing. Perhaps he feels unworthy or afraid to ask, especially given his unclean status in society. But whatever the reason, he only acknowledges his faith in Jesus’ ability to cleanse him.
The second point is the issue of willingness. Other translations say, “If you want to…” In today’s prayerful language, we might say something like, “If it be your will…” The man seems to be hedging his bets. On one hand, he believes Jesus can heal him, but on the other hand, he’s not sure Jesus would even want to help.
The writer says that Jesus was moved with pity or compassion and declares that he is willing and wanting to heal. This is consistent with Jesus’ actions throughout the gospel, healing sometimes even without intentionally doing anything, such as when the healing power simply flowed out of him to the unknown woman who touched his cloak (Mark 5:28-30).
Other Greek manuscripts, however, say that Jesus was moved with anger, or incensed, when he responded. There is much scholarly debate as to which translation is the most authentic, but regardless of the answer, I find the possibility of anger interesting indeed. I confess, I printed this scripture in the NRSV instead of the CEB which I typically use, precisely because the language of pity felt more comfortably in line with Jesus’ nature than the word “incensed” used in the CEB. However, that choice may reflect my own discomfort at the idea of Jesus’ anger at a man in need of healing. Which raises the question, is there a good reason why Jesus might be angry at this man’s request?
Some say that Jesus was angry at the suffering this man had endured. Perhaps, but I wonder if he might have also been upset about the way the question was raised. “If you want to…”
Almost every day after school our daughter asks “What’s for dinner?” Sometimes, especially if we are going out, I say, “You’ll see when we get there.” Her response is, “Well is it at least something I like.”
In this response, I can imagine why Jesus might get frustrated with the question. I answer, “Have we ever gone someplace that didn’t have something you like?” to which she sheepishly responds, “Well, no…” and then continues on with her persistent curiosity. The negative assumption in the question is that we might not take her into consideration or care about what she wants. Similarly, the assumption of Jesus is that though he could certainly help, he may simply not feel like it, or may not think this man worthy enough. It challenges Jesus’ character. It questions Jesus’ desire for an abundant, flourishing life for all people and God’s nature as one abounding in mercy and steadfast love.
I wonder if in our attempt to hedge our bets about whether something is God’s will, just in case it doesn’t happen, if we may be unintentionally causing people to question whether God would even want to help us at all.
