Jesus Cleanses a Leper(A)
8 When Jesus[a] came down from the hillside, large crowds followed him. 2 Suddenly, a leper[b] came up to him, fell down before him, and said, “Sir,[c] if you want to, you can make me clean.”[d]
3 So Jesus[e] reached out his hand, touched him, and said, “I do want to. Be clean!” And instantly his leprosy was made clean. 4 Then Jesus told him, “See to it that you don’t speak to anyone. Instead, go and show yourself to the priest, and then offer the sacrifice that Moses commanded[f] as proof to the authorities.”[g]
Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant(B)
5 When Jesus[h] returned to Capernaum, a centurion[i] came up to him and begged him repeatedly, 6 “Sir,[j] my servant is lying at home paralyzed and in terrible pain.”
7 Jesus[k] told him, “I will come and heal him.”
8 The centurion replied, “Sir,[l] I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed, 9 because I, too, am a man under authority and I have soldiers under me. I say to one of them[m] ‘Go’ and he goes, to another ‘Come’ and he comes, and to my servant ‘Do this’ and he does it.”
10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and told those who were following him, “I tell all of you[n] with certainty, not even[o] in Israel have I found this kind of faith! 11 I tell all of you,[p] many will come from east and west and will feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom from[q] heaven. 12 But the unfaithful heirs[r] of that kingdom will be thrown into the darkness outside. In that place there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”[s]
13 “Go,” Jesus told the centurion, “and it will be done for you, just as you have believed.” And his servant was healed that very hour.
Jesus Heals Many People(C)
14 When Jesus went into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s[t] mother-in-law lying in bed, sick with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her. Then she got up and began serving him.
16 When evening came, people[u] brought to him many who were possessed by demons. He drove out the spirits by speaking a command[v] and healed everyone who was sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was declared by the prophet Isaiah when he said,
“It was he who took our illnesses away
and removed our diseases.”[w]
The Would-be Followers of Jesus(D)
18 When Jesus saw the large crowds around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.[x] 19 Just then, a scribe came up and told him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
20 Jesus told him,
“Foxes have holes and birds[y] have nests,
but the Son of Man has no place to rest.”[z]
21 Then another of his disciples told him, “Lord,[aa] first let me go and bury my father.”
22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
Jesus Calms the Sea(E)
23 When Jesus[ab] got into the boat, his disciples went with him. 24 Suddenly, a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat began to be swamped by the waves. Yet Jesus[ac] kept sleeping. 25 They[ad] went to him and woke him up. “Lord!” they cried, “Save us! We’re going to die!”
26 He asked them, “Why are you afraid, you who have little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.
27 The men were amazed. “What kind of man is this?” they asked. “Even the winds and the sea obey him!”
Jesus Heals Two Demon-Possessed Men(F)
28 When Jesus[ae] arrived on the other side in the region of the Gerasenes,[af] two demon-possessed men met him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so violent that no one could travel on that road. 29 Suddenly, they screamed, “What do you want with us, Son of God? Did you come here to torture us before the proper time?”
30 Now a large herd of pigs was grazing some distance away from them. 31 So the demons began to plead with Jesus,[ag] saying, “If you drive us out, send us into that herd of pigs.”
32 He told them, “Go,” and they came out and went into the pigs. Suddenly, the whole herd rushed down a steep slope into the sea and drowned in the water.
33 Now when those who had been taking care of the pigs ran away, they came into the city and reported everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 Then the whole city went out to meet Jesus, and as soon as they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.
Footnotes
- Matthew 8:1 Lit. he
- Matthew 8:2 I.e. a man with a serious skin disease
- Matthew 8:2 Or Lord
- Matthew 8:2 I.e. restored to health and qualified to participate in worship
- Matthew 8:3 Lit. He
- Matthew 8:4 Cf. Lev 14:3-32
- Matthew 8:4 Lit. to them
- Matthew 8:5 Lit. he
- Matthew 8:5 I.e. a commander of about 100 soldiers
- Matthew 8:6 Or Lord
- Matthew 8:7 Lit. He
- Matthew 8:8 Or Lord
- Matthew 8:9 The Gk. lacks of them
- Matthew 8:10 The Gk. pronoun you is pl.
- Matthew 8:10 Other mss. read in no one
- Matthew 8:11 The Gk. pronoun you is pl.
- Matthew 8:11 Lit. of
- Matthew 8:12 Lit. the sons
- Matthew 8:12 I.e. extreme pain
- Matthew 8:14 Lit. his
- Matthew 8:16 Lit. they
- Matthew 8:16 Lit. spirits with a word
- Matthew 8:17 Cf. Isa 53:4
- Matthew 8:18 The Gk. lacks of the Sea of Galilee
- Matthew 8:20 Lit. birds in the sky
- Matthew 8:20 Lit. no place to lay his head
- Matthew 8:21 Or Sir
- Matthew 8:23 Lit. he
- Matthew 8:24 Lit. he
- Matthew 8:25 Other mss. read The disciples
- Matthew 8:28 Lit. he
- Matthew 8:28 Other mss. read Gergesenes; still other mss. read Gadarenes
- Matthew 8:31 Lit. him