Zeal without Wisdom

On the 15th of October 2011, twin sisters, aged 15, and their friend, 13, were killed by a Union Pacific train station in Salt Lake City, Utah, as they were taking selfies. Shortly before their death, they posted on Facebook, “Standing right by a train, ahaha, this is awesome!!!” They were three of 379 selfie deaths between 2008 and 2021. All these people have one thing in common: zeal. But they lacked common sense or wisdom, like the person in southern Nepal who decided to take a selfie with 21 elephants crossing a road. The herd attacked and killed him.

While Jesus was preaching in a synagogue, a leper came, fell at his feet, and begged him, saying, “If you want, I will be clean” (Mark 1:40). Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out his hands and touched him, saying, “I want. Be clean!” (1:41). Immediately, the leper was clean.

Leprosy, unlike other illnesses, had the stigma of being religiously unclean. As such, the leper wanted to be cleansed, Jesus cleansed him, and he was clean (all three are katharizo words). But Jesus was not a priest. The law mandated that only a priest could examine a person and declare him/her unclean or clean (Lev 13). If that person were clean, then s/he needed to go through a ritual involving two live birds, some cedar wood pieces, a scarlet yarn, and a hyssop. The priest killed one of the birds over a clay pot of clean water, dropping its blood into the water. Then he dipped the live bird along with the cedar wood pieces, scarlet yarn, and hyssop into the water with the dead bird’s blood, sprinkled the leper seven times, and declared the leper clean (Lev 14:1–7). Until this ritual was done, a leper wasn’t considered clean and acceptable in society, even if he was free of the disease.

Knowing the law, the Lord gave strict orders and cast him out – the same word used for the spirit casting Jesus into the wilderness to be tested by Satan. He instructed the leper not to tell anyone of his cure until he had gone and showed himself to the priest, offering what Moses instructed for his cleansing as proof of his cleanliness. His obedience would uphold the law and legitimize his cleanliness in society and religion. But in his zeal and lack of common sense, he disobeyed Jesus, violated the law, and declared to everyone that he was clean (Mark 1:43–45a).

As a result, Jesus could no longer enter any of the cities openly. Instead, he withdrew into a deserted place and stayed there. People, however, still came to him (1:45b).

The Lord Jesus repeatedly said that he didn’t come to violate or set aside the law. He perfected the law, fulfilled the law, and showed the intent of the law but never disobeyed the law. After all, God gave the law; Jesus intended to obey God and his law perfectly. The leper wanted to circumvent the law and declare himself clean. In the process, he hindered the Lord’s work.

Zeal is good, but it must always mix with common sense. Most importantly, God’s word must be obeyed in every situation, even in our blessings like healing.