1 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.”
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.
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.”
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Jesus is approached by a leper. A leper was someone with a skin disease that was considered incurable and made him or her an outcast from society (he wasn’t locked in, he was locked out). His approach to Jesus recognises Jesus ability (“Lord”) to heal but he comes in humility acknowledging that Jesus would heal him according to His will. Jesus doesn’t only heal him but touches him, something that no Jew would have done. Jesus sends the man to the priest to follow the procedure outlined in the law for a leper who was healed. This would have been a clear sign to the Jewish leaders that Jesus was Messiah because there had been no record of an Israelite recovering from leprosy since Miriam (Moses sister, Num 12:10-15).
The second person to approach Jesus is a centurion, a Roman soldier, a gentile. This man recognised Jesus authority over all creation and knew that Jesus didn’t need to be in the same place as the sick to heal them, He could just say a word and it would happen. Jesus points out that the centurion’s faith was greater than the faith He had encountered amongst the Jews. Jesus had come to bring the kingdom to the Jews (the sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) who were rejecting Him. Instead, many gentiles (that’s you and me) would have the opportunity to sit down and feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. The centurion’s servant was healed that very moment which showed that his faith was well-founded.
The third person doesn’t even approach Jesus, Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law (did you know that Peter was married? (1 Cor 9:5)). Her response to Jesus work in her life is to serve Him, so should ours.
Matthew ends this section by pointing out that Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would take our illnesses and bear our diseases (Isaiah 53:4). How does He do that? With so many people affected by, and dying from Covid-19, how is it that Jesus takes our illnesses and bears our diseases? Illness and disease is one of the effects of sin on this cursed world. Sin is the underlying cause of all sickness (sin in general, not always personal sin). Jesus came to deal with the underlying problem. While He healed people physically when He walked the earth, His mission was to provide a cure to all people for their underlying condition of sin. He came to provide the cure to all sickness and disease—salvation from the curse of sin—eternal life in Him.
How does this passage help your faith? Do you recognise Jesus as able? Do you humbly ask in submission to His will?