When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. 2 And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 3 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”
The Faith of a Centurion
5 When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, 6 “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.
Jesus Heals Many
14 And when Jesus entered Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. 16 That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”
The Cost of Following Jesus
18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 21 Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
Jesus Calms a Storm
23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”
Jesus Heals Two Men with Demons
28 And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. 29 And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” 30 Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. 31 And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” 32 And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. 33 The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region. Matthew 8 ESV
Matthew 8: 1-4 Healing
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “When anyone has a swelling or a rash or a shiny spot on their skin that may be a defiling skin disease, they must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons who is a priest. 3 The priest is to examine the sore on the skin, and if the hair in the sore has turned white and the sore appears to be more than skin deep, it is a defiling skin disease. When the priest examines that person, he shall pronounce them ceremonially unclean. 4 If the shiny spot on the skin is white but does not appear to be more than skin deep and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest is to isolate the affected person for seven days. 5 On the seventh day the priest is to examine them, and if he sees that the sore is unchanged and has not spread in the skin, he is to isolate them for another seven days. 6 On the seventh day the priest is to examine them again, and if the sore has faded and has not spread in the skin, the priest shall pronounce them clean; it is only a rash. They must wash their clothes, and they will be clean. 7 But if the rash does spread in their skin after they have shown themselves to the priest to be pronounced clean, they must appear before the priest again. 8 The priest is to examine that person, and if the rash has spread in the skin, he shall pronounce them unclean; it is a defiling skin disease.
9 “When anyone has a defiling skin disease, they must be brought to the priest.10 The priest is to examine them, and if there is a white swelling in the skin that has turned the hair white and if there is raw flesh in the swelling, 11 it is a chronic skin disease and the priest shall pronounce them unclean. He is not to isolate them, because they are already unclean. - Leviticus 13: 1-11
Great crowds followed Him - Last chapter we finished the Sermon on the Mount, and the people's astonishment with His teaching, as one with authority. Now we move to a different aspect of His ministry, healing, and just as the prior message displayed His speaking authority, the Word become flesh and dwelling among us, so these healings express His authority over sin. Death and disease entered the world by sin, and yet here is the Author of life, the One Who can speak all things into existence, the One Whose sacrifice is sufficient to cleanse every sin. These speak well of Who He is, and of His ability to restore.
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made.… John 1: 1-3
11Not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. 12Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned. 13For sin was in the world before the law was given; but sin is not taken into account when there is no law.… Romans 5: 11-13
Behold - "Wow, look here, what is this, can you believe it!?"
A leper came to Him - A leper was an outcast, so no matter how many people there were, no matter how dense a crowd, it parted like the Red Sea in front of Moses. If you look at Leviticus 13 above, you will see that people were isolated for this, quarantined even before it was diagnosed with certainty. They wanted to know whether it was leprosy or just a rash. Now if you look at Lev 13: 9-11 above, you will see a case, symptoms, where there wasn't even a period of isolation. With those symptoms you were just cast outside the camp. This all fell under the laws concerning clean and unclean, and leprosy was no joke. It is not just an outward blemish, it attacks the nervous system, and oddly there is no pain, because the nerves are deadened to the point of numbness. So now the person doesn't feel the affected area, and they end up rubbing off extremities. It also attacks bones at the marrow, causes blindness as well, so it becomes more and more obvious, and naturally people wanted it removed from their sight. It was said of lepers that you could smell them afar off, and in closer proximity it would leave a taste in your mouth, so the human body is naturally repulsed by it. So here he comes, and don't kid yourself, if you haven't come to Jesus like this, then you haven't come to Jesus, this man is unclean and represents the state of every man's heart, our fallen condition. When God corrected Aaron and Miriam for their pride and jealousy, speaking out against Moses, being racist against Moses's wife, He took what was in Miriam's heart and put it on display in the form of leprosy, and she was placed outside the camp.
…5You welcome those who gladly do right, who remember Your ways. Surely You were angry, for we sinned. How can we be saved if we remain in our sins? 6Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind. 7No one calls on Your name or strives to take hold of You. For You have hidden Your face from us and delivered us into the hand of our iniquity.… Isaiah 64: 5-7
And knelt before Him - Now this should have sent Jesus up a tree, or at least stumbling backwards, this guy is unclean, and in a way that Ajax and wool won't help. They even had the six foot rule then, 150 feet if the wind was blowing or something like that, but this guy comes and kneels down, a sign of worship, and Jesus not only isn't scared but receives this. Angels won't let men bow before them like this, and humans want as much distance as possible from the unclean.
8And I am John, who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown me these things. 9But he said to me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”… Revelation 22: 8-9
Lord, if you will, you can make me clean - Wow, here is the gospel, and there is something so much worse than the ailments of this present life, none of it compares to eternity, yet our Lord is filled with compassion during His time here. Every person there should have had the same words on their lips, "Lord, I am unclean", as those say who are blessed because they mourn over their sin. Here is a man not pretending to be well, oblivious to the crowd, who cares what they think? They are too hardened in their own hearts to see that their eternal state is no different than this man's, and because they don't bear the outward marks of disease, they think they are clean, righteous before God. The man knows it is not by his will, but by God's, for he would have willed himself clean a long time ago if that were the case. It's bold in that it doesn't care for the thoughts of the crowd, yet humble in that it seeks God's will. God is not bound to save anyone except that He chooses; we are only owed the wages of sin, which is death. Go ask God for mercy.
…23“If You can?” echoed Jesus. “All things are possible to him who believes!” 24Immediately the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe; help my unbelief!” 25When Jesus saw that a crowd had come running, He rebuked the unclean spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” He said, “I command you to come out and never enter him again.”… Mark 9: 23-25
…15For He says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. 17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”… Romans 9: 15-17
…16For You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You take no pleasure in burnt offerings. 17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. 18In Your good pleasure, cause Zion to prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem.… Psalm 51: 16-18
I will, be clean - Not only does Jesus not flee from the man, but He touches him. Can you imagine that, not having human contact for so long, not expecting to be touched, most certainly not by someone who is clean? He believed Jesus could, but wasn't sure that He would, for there is no reason outside of mercy and compassion. We have doctors who have the gift of healing, and it is a gift, they have the mind that is capable to study the human body, to examine disease, to use science and technology in the search for cures or even just relief in some cases. It is a blessing to have such people, but there is no one that has such a gift as to will someone well. There are charlatans on tv who claim to, who pretend at having the ability to heal for a price. Some of Jesus's disciples and some of the prophets healed people, but not of their own will or power; it was an act of God. Jesus, who calls Himself "I am", wills it, yet in accordance with the will of the Father.
…37Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never drive away. 38For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me. 39And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day.… John 6: 37-39
And immediately his leprosy was cleansed - That's hard to fake, and note that Jesus doesn't tell him to "hold on to that healing, don't misplace it somewhere", no, Jesus says, "be clean", something that simple, and it is instantaneous. He is sovereign even in this, over sin, sickness, over the body. The man didn't have to write a check or put his hand on the tv screen, it wasn't a simple headache that may stop momentarily by the power of suggestion, the excitement of the moment. Jesus told leprosy to go away and it obeyed Him.
See that you say nothing to anyone - I would ask the same thing, probably for slightly different motives, but the crowds are growing, and this is not the root. Jesus came to go to the cross, to destroy the root of this and every other sickness. He came to live the life that God required of us, but that we who are dead in our trespasses and sins could not live. He came to die on the cross, to make payment for sin, and He came to rise again, to show that He has conquered sin, death and the grave. Words going to get out though, and every miracle says something about Who He is, and also confirms what He says, but some will only want the free food, to be made physically well, but not spiritually alive. Some only see here and now, but have no regard for eternity, trading something minute for something immeasurable. Mark tells us what happened following this:
…43Jesus promptly sent him away with a stern warning: 44 “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering Moses prescribed for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” 45But the man went out and openly began to proclaim and spread the news. Consequently, Jesus could no longer enter a town in plain view, but He stayed out in solitary places. Yet people came to Him from every quarter.… Mark 1: 43-45
See that you tell no one: Jesus often commanded people to be quiet about their healing or some miraculous work that He had done for them. He did this because He wanted to keep down the excitement of the crowds until the proper time for His formal revelation to Israel, which was an exact date as prophesied in Daniel 9. - Enduring Word
ii. Therefore, Jesus was cautious about how the multitudes saw Him and why they followed Him. “This motif of secrecy…is better understood as reflecting a real danger that Jesus could achieve unwanted popularity merely as a wonder-worker, or worse still as a nationalistic liberator, and so foster a serious misunderstanding of the true nature of his mission.” (France) - E Word
Offer the gift that Moses commanded - In accordance with the OT law.
ii. “This gift was two living, clean birds, some cedar wood, with scarlet and hyssop, Leviticus 14:4, which were to be brought for his cleansing; and, when clean, two he lambs, one ewe lamb, three tenth deals of flour, and one log of oil, Leviticus 14:10; but if the person was poor, then he was to bring one lamb, one tenth deal of flour, one log of oil and two turtle doves, or young pigeons, Leviticus 14:21, 22.” (Clarke)
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