Jesus Cleanses a Leper; The Centurion’s Faith
8 When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds [a]followed Him. 2 And a leper came up to Him and bowed down before Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You are able to make me clean (well).”(A) 3 Jesus reached out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one [about this]; but go, show yourself to the priest [for inspection] and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony (evidence) to them [of your healing].”(B)
5 As Jesus went into Capernaum, a [b]centurion came up to Him, begging Him [for help],(C) 6 and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, with intense and terrible, tormenting pain.” 7 Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion replied to Him, “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 also am a man subject to authority [of a higher rank], with soldiers subject to me; and I say to one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, He was amazed and said to those who were following Him, “I tell you truthfully, I have not found such great faith [as this] with anyone in Israel. 11 I say to you that many [Gentiles] will come from east and west, and will sit down [to feast at the table, and enjoy God’s promises] with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven [because they accepted Me as Savior], 12 while the sons and heirs of the kingdom [the descendants of Abraham who will not recognize Me as Messiah] will be thrown out into the outer darkness; in that place [which is farthest removed from the kingdom] there will be weeping [in sorrow and pain] and grinding of teeth [in distress and anger].”(D) 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; it will be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was restored to health at that very hour.
Peter’s Mother-in-law and Many Others Healed
14 When Jesus went into Peter’s house [in Capernaum], He saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever.(E) 15 He touched her hand and the fever left her; and she got up and served Him. 16 When evening came, they brought to Him many who were under the power of demons; and He cast out the evil spirits with a word, and restored to health all who were sick [exhibiting His authority as Messiah], 17 so that He fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He Himself took our infirmities [upon Himself] and carried away our diseases.”(F)
Discipleship Tested
18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to cast off for the other side of the Sea of Galilee. 19 Then [on His way to board the boat] a scribe [who was a respected and authoritative interpreter of the Law] came and said to Him, “Master, I will accompany You [as Your student] wherever You go.”(G) 20 Jesus replied to him, “Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the [c]Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”(H) 21 Another of the [d]disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and [e]bury my father (collect my inheritance).”(I) 22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me [believing in Me as Master and Teacher], and allow the [spiritually] dead to bury their own dead.”
23 When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him.(J) 24 And suddenly a violent storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being covered by the waves; but Jesus was sleeping. 25 And the disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Lord, save us, we are going to die!” 26 He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was [at once] a great and wonderful calm [a perfect peacefulness]. 27 The men wondered in amazement, saying, “What kind of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”
Jesus Casts Out Demons
28 When He arrived at the other side in the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming out of the tombs met Him. They were so extremely fierce and violent that no one could pass by that way.(K) 29 And they screamed out, “[f]What business do we have [in common] with each other, Son of God? Have You come to torment us before the appointed time [of judgment]?”(L) 30 Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was grazing. 31 The demons began begging Him, “If You drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” 32 And He said to them, “Go!” So they came out [of the men] and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and died in the water. 33 The herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, including what had happened to the men under the power of demons. 34 And the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and as soon as they saw Him, they begged Him to leave their region.
Footnotes
- Matthew 8:1 See note 4:19.
- Matthew 8:5 A Roman military officer commanding a hundred men.
- Matthew 8:20 Jesus uses this title to identify Himself as Messiah. It appears over eighty times in the Gospels.
- Matthew 8:21 Disciple does not always refer to a true believer, but may also be used to refer to someone who is merely a student or learner.
- Matthew 8:21 Possibly an idiom meaning something like, “after my father dies and after I observe the traditional mourning period and after I receive my inheritance, then I will do such and such.” This was probably nothing more than a petty excuse to avoid making a commitment to Jesus and had nothing to do with the condition of the man’s father (who was probably fine).
- Matthew 8:29 Lit What to us and to you, originally a Hebrew idiom which does not translate well into English. The idiom is meant to bluntly inform the other person that the speaker is not aware of any obligation between them, and does not wish to deal with the other person (cf 2 Sam 16:10). It can also express the speaker’s protest that he has not harmed the other individual, and therefore should not suffer harm at the hands of that person (cf 1 Kin 17:18).
Cross references
- Matthew 8:2 : Mark 1:40-44; Luke 5:12-14
- Matthew 8:4 : Lev 14:2
- Matthew 8:5 : Luke 7:1-10
- Matthew 8:12 : Ps 107:2, 3; Is 49:12; 59:19; Mal 1:11
- Matthew 8:14 : Mark 1:29-34; Luke 4:38-41
- Matthew 8:17 : Is 53:4
- Matthew 8:19 : Luke 9:57-60
- Matthew 8:20 : Dan 7:13; Mark 8:31, 38; Luke 12:8; John 1:51; Acts 7:56
- Matthew 8:21 : Luke 9:59, 60
- Matthew 8:23 : Mark 4:36-41; Luke 8:22-25
- Matthew 8:28 : Mark 5:1-17; Luke 8:26-37
- Matthew 8:29 : Judg 11:12; 2 Sam 16:10; Matt 25:41; Mark 5:7; Luke 4:34; Rev 20:10