Matthew chapter 8

Jesus heals a man of leprosy. A Roman officer has great faith. There is a cost of following Jesus. He calms a storm. He delivers two men from demons.

 


 

JESUS HEALS A MAN WITH LEPROSY

 

VERSE 1. When he came down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.

 

VERSE 2. Behold, a leper came to him and worshiped him, saying, “Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean.”

 

VERSE 3. Jesus stretched out his hand, and touched him, saying, “I want to. Be made clean.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

I want to. Jesus is willing to do miracles. For the man with leprosy, Jesus does a miracle. Perhaps he is willing to do miracles for us as well!

 

VERSE 4. Jesus said to him, “See that you tell nobody, but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

 

A ROMAN OFFICER HAS GREAT FAITH

 

VERSE 5. When he came into Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking him,

 

VERSE 6. and saying, “Lord, my servant lies in the house paralyzed, grievously tormented.”

 

VERSE 7. Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

 

VERSE 8. The centurion answered, “Lord, I’m not worthy for you to come under my roof. Just say the word, and my servant will be healed.

 

VERSE 9. For I am also a man under authority, having under myself soldiers. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and tell another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and tell my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

 

VERSE 10. When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to those who followed, “Most certainly I tell you, I haven’t found so great a faith, not even in Israel.

so great a faith. The Greek word for “faith” is πίστιν (“pistin”). It means faith, belief, trust, confidence; fidelity, faithfulness.

This centurion had hero-level faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 15:28. Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Be it done to you even as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.

 

VERSE 11. I tell you that many will come from the east and the west, and will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven,

 

VERSE 12. but the children of the Kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

the outer darkness. The Lord Jesus Christ talks about Hades, Gehēnna, fire, and darkness. Christians often call those things Hell. Is Hell a location where people are sent? Or a state of being? Read more »

 

VERSE 13. Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way. Let it be done for you as you have believed.” His servant was healed in that hour.

Let it be done for you as you have believed. What Jesus did for the centurion corresponded to his faith for miracles.

If we are hoping for a miracle, we need to belive that it is possible, and that it will indeed happen.

 

JESUS HEALS MANY

 

VERSE 14. When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever.

his wife’s mother. Many Christians naively assume Peter was not married. However, this verse shows us that Peter was indeed married.

 

VERSE 15. He touched her hand, and the fever left her. She got up and served him.

He touched her hand, and the fever left her. For Peter’s mother-in-law, Jesus does a miracle!

 

VERSE 16. When evening came, they brought to him many possessed with demons. He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick;

healed all who were sick. In Capernaum, Jesus did many miracles!

 

VERSE 17. that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, “He took our infirmities, and bore our diseases.”

He took our infirmities, and bore our diseases. Some Christians see this as a biblical promise that Christ offers not only spiritual salvation but also physical healing. It is a quote from Isaiah chapter 53:

Isaiah 53:4. Surely he has borne our sickness and carried our suffering; yet we considered him plagued, struck by God, and afflicted.

 

JESUS POINTS OUT THE COST OF FOLLOWING HIM

 

VERSE 18. Now when Jesus saw great multitudes around him, he gave the order to depart to the other side.

 

VERSE 19. A scribe came, and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go. This was a wonderful offer. Too bad it was all about self. Notice the bold assertion of self: “I” will do such-and-such. It’s all about the person’s ego, not about Christ.

In the spiritual life, it’s never about self. It’s always about God and what he’s doing in our lives. Sure, our part is to have faith and to act on it. But it’s God who does the heavy lifting.

This offer reminds us of Peter at the Last Supper. He said that even if all the others abandoned Jesus Christ, Peter himself never would. That also was a great big ego trying to feel even more wonderful about itself.

 

VERSE 20. Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. The Lord Jesus Christ was homeless.

In our day, many church leaders have fine homes and are paid a decent income. But in the Bible, some of our greatest heroes were poor and sometimes homeless. Read more »

 

VERSE 21. Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.”

Lord. This person replied with the correct theology. He called Jesus “Lord.”

allow me first. This man’s discipleship is immature. He says, “me first.” In our day, many of those who focus on correct theology have tragically immature discipleship.

In those days, “to bury one’s father” did not mean to attend a funeral. It meant to go live with your elderly parents until, in the fullness of time, after many years, they finally pass away and you get the inheritance.

This man was deferring his commitment to Jesus Christ for years, probably.

We disciples are called to a radical commitment to Jesus Christ. Our commitment to him should make all our other commitments pale in comparison.

 

VERSE 22. But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”

 

JESUS CALMS THE STORM

 

VERSE 23. When he got into a boat, his disciples followed him.

 

VERSE 24. Behold, a violent storm came up on the sea, so much that the boat was covered with the waves, but he was asleep.

 

VERSE 25. They came to him, and woke him up, saying, “Save us, Lord! We are dying!”

 

VERSE 26. He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then he got up, rebuked the wind and the sea, and there was a great calm.

 

VERSE 27. The men marveled, saying, “What kind of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

What kind of man is this. Christ’s disciples had been witnessing miracle after miracle. Now they beheld yet another miracle: he he calmed the furious storm. And they were flabbergasted.

We hope that we Christians never become bored with the activity of God in our lives. We pray that we are always flabbergasted.

 

JESUS DELIVERS TWO MEN FROM DEMONS

 

VERSE 28. When he came to the other side, into the country of the Gergesenes, two people possessed by demons met him there, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that nobody could pass that way.

 

VERSE 29. Behold, they cried out, saying, “What do we have to do with you, Jesus, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”

 

VERSE 30. Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding far away from them.

 

VERSE 31. The demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of pigs.”

 

VERSE 32. He said to them, “Go!” They came out, and went into the herd of pigs: and behold, the whole herd of pigs rushed down the cliff into the sea, and died in the water.

 

VERSE 33. Those who fed them fled, and went away into the city, and told everything, including what happened to those who were possessed with demons.

 

VERSE 34. Behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged that he would depart from their borders.

 


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MATTHEW

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