Making Space
1: The Way to Begin Again | Scene 6: I'm on My Own | Day 3 of 6
Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news.
As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.
- Mark 1:43–45How do you care for people when so many people come to you that you can’t enter a town openly?
I am fascinated by the way Mark closes the first chapter of his gospel. Jesus and his motley crew of newbies faced a logistical problem.
After healing the man with leprosy, Jesus gives him a mission: “Go, show yourself to the priest.” In other words: go rejoin the community. But the healed man can’t contain his joy. Word spreads. Crowds swell. And suddenly, Jesus can no longer enter a town openly: “He has to stay outside, in lonely places.”
The irony is thick: even as Jesus builds community, the brokenness of the world tries to push Him into isolation.
Go back to verse 31 when Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law. It says he went to her, took her hand, and helped her up. As short as that moment may be in the story, it was personal. It was a human connection.
Or the man with leprosy that caused Jesus’ indignant compassion. They had spoken; Jesus had seen him and healed him.
This tells us something important: Real healing doesn’t happen by magic. It requires space. It requires presence. It requires community. When Jesus touched the sick, He wasn’t just restoring bodies. He was restoring belonging.
Jesus had bedside manner. Like any good doctor, Jesus needed one-on-one focused attention to do his work.
Think about it: Capernaum wasn’t a massive city. Maybe 1,500 residents at most. Jesus could have tried to heal them en masse. But He didn’t. He healed by knowing. By touching. By making space.
Mark’s Gospel shows us a Savior who refuses to trade personal healing for public spectacle. He came to connect—not to perform.
Perhaps this is why he began recruiting disciples at the very beginning, before he even appeared in the synagogue for the first time. Jesus knew the response he would get and recognized the need for a team of disciples to help him accomplish his mission to heal the sick.
As Mark observes, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly; he had to do so strategically and with assistance from his disciples. Later we will see a story in which Jesus tells his disciples to have a boat ready because of the people crowding him on the edge of the lake. The scale of the problem was massive. To help people, Jesus and his team needed to be strategic.
Mark’s emphasis on Jesus’ fame, and the overwhelming need, gives us insight into our role today: to help create space for healing. As we wrap up chapter one in Mark’s gospel, we see a Savior who wants to get to know each person on an individual level and who looks to his disciples to help create the space for him to do his work. And as His followers, we are called to do the same. When we make space for others, we make space for healing. And in doing so, we find our own loneliness fading, too.
Have you ever wanted God to just wave a magic wand and fix your problem?
It is tempting to wish for that kind of instant solution. But in the Gospels, Jesus rarely heals without connection. He isn’t interested in performing ceremonies for the masses. He stops. He listens. He touches. Healing is personal and restoration is relational.
Pray
Lord, show me how to begin by creating space and time to be with those in need. Send me to opportunities to not to just help someone but to make a personal connection with them. Amen.
Live It
Space #1: If you need connection, how might you create space for Jesus in your life today?
Space #2: If you are a disciple, how might you best help create space for Jesus to connect with someone else?
Make space. Literally. Plan to connect with someone. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Pizza and conversation can be sacred ground. The point is to create space where someone else feels seen and safe.
Where We Are: Season 1 | Scene 6 of 6 | Day 3 of 6
Next: Day Four posts Tuesday, March 24, 2026
You've just witnessed a healing. ❤️