This passage from the Bible doesn't seem to have anything to do with writing and publishing, but take a closer look. It confirms advice that editors keep telling authors: "Show, don't tell."
A man with leprosy came to [Jesus] and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean."But, surprise, the man didn't do what he was told to do, but what he wanted to do. Instead of showing himself to the priest, he went around telling everyone what had happened.
Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.
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." (Mark 1:40-44)
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 1:45)The phrase "to talk freely" used along with "spreading the news" is the ancient form of publishing. It means to preach or to proclaim widely. Only in modern times has the word "publish" become synonymous with "print."
Jesus wanted this man to "show" that he had been changed before he told everyone about it. I wonder what would have happened differently if he had obeyed.
