We note, also, his commission (1:43-45), and how it was delivered (1:43-44):

And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away; (1:43)

Having cleansed the leper, Jesus sent him away. The modern so-called "faith healer" would have kept him around as a useful advertisement. He could be put on the platform to give his testimony. He would draw the crowds. That, however, was the very thing that Jesus wanted to avoid. The Jerusalem crowds, which would shout, "Hosanna!" one day, would just as readily shout, "Crucify!" the next day. So Jesus gave this cleansed leper his orders and sent him away. That was as much for the man's own good as for any other reason.

Nowadays we make heroes out of notable celebrities who get saved. We lionize them, put them on the platform and on national television, get them to give their testimonies, tout them all over the country, put them on talk shows, and praise them and applaud them. What they really need is quiet and seclusion, a small group fellowship, and time to grow in grace and increase in the knowledge of God. "Lay hands suddenly on no man" is a sound biblical principle (1 Tim. 5:22). So Jesus sent the man away. That must have astonished the disciples — perhaps by now, though, they were getting used to the Lord's unorthodox methods.

And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, skew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. (1:44)

The Lord not only sent the man home but also told him not to talk about his healing. One thing he must do, however; he must present himself to the priest that he might be legally certified clean by the representative of the Mosaic Law. Also, the priest himself needed to know that this unusual Messiah was a healer indeed!

The instructions for a leper who was cleansed are spelled out in intricate detail in Leviticus 14. The whole procedure took more than a week. The man was restored at once to the Hebrew family, but he had to wait until the first day of a new week before he could be restored to the fellowship of God's people.

It is understandable, perhaps, and not at all unusual, that this newly cleansed man did not do what the Lord commanded. Instead, he began to tell everyone about the transforming miracle in his life. Nowadays we would applaud a new convert for doing that. In this man's case, however, his testimony was counterproductive.

We note, also, his commission and how it was disregarded:

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. (1:45)

Jesus sent the newly cleansed leper to the priest, but he went to the people, or, as we would say today, "he went public." Perhaps he was on his way to the priest. Doubtless, he was so thrilled with his cleansing that he was bursting to tell people. Maybe some people recognized him and wanted to know what he was doing out of the leper colony.