Matthew 8
8
Jesus Cleanses a Leper
1When he came down from the mountain, #ch. 4:25great crowds followed him. 2#For ver. 2-4, see Mark 1:40-44; Luke 5:12-14 And behold, a leper#8:2 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13 came to him and #[ch. 18:26; Acts 10:25]knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 3And Jesus#8:3 Greek he stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4And Jesus said to him, #ch. 9:30; 17:9; Mark 1:34; 5:43; 7:36; 8:26; See ch. 12:16 “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, #Luke 17:14 show yourself to the priest and #Lev. 14:2-32 offer the gift that Moses commanded, #ch. 10:18; 24:14; Mark 6:11; Luke 9:5; James 5:3for a proof to them.”
The Faith of a Centurion
5 # For ver. 5-13, see Luke 7:1-10 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.” 7And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but #Ps. 107:20; [ver. 16]only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9For 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,#8:9 Or bondservant ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10When Jesus heard this, #[Mark 6:6] he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with #See ch. 9:2no one in Israel#8:10 Some manuscripts not even in Israel have I found such faith. 11I tell you, #Luke 13:29; Eph. 3:6; [Isa. 59:19; Mal. 1:11]many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12#Luke 13:28; [ch. 19:30; 21:41, 43] while the sons of the kingdom #ch. 22:13; 25:30 will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place #ch. 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30; Luke 13:28there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you #ch. 9:29 as you have believed.” #John 4:53; [ch. 9:22]And the servant was healed at that very moment.
Jesus Heals Many
14 # For ver. 14-16, see Mark 1:29-34; Luke 4:38-41 And when Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw #1 Cor. 9:5his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. 15He #[ch. 9:25]touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. 16That evening they brought to him many who were #ver. 28, 33; See ch. 4:24 oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits #[ver. 8]with a word and healed all who were sick. 17#See ch. 1:22 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: #Cited from Isa. 53:4“He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”
The Cost of Following Jesus
18Now #[ch. 14:22; John 6:15-17] when Jesus saw a crowd around him, #Mark 4:35; Luke 8:22he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19#For ver. 19-22, see Luke 9:57-60And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20And 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.” 21Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave #[John 5:25]the dead to bury their own dead.”
Jesus Calms a Storm
23 # For ver. 23-27, see Mark 4:36-41; Luke 8:22-25; [John 6:16-21] And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but #[John 4:6, 7]he was asleep. 25And they went and woke him, saying, #[ch. 14:30]“Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26And he said to them, “Why are you #John 14:27 afraid, #See ch. 6:30 O you of little faith?” Then he rose and #Ps. 104:6, 7; [Luke 4:39] rebuked the winds and the sea, and #Job 38:11; Ps. 65:7; [ch. 14:32]there was a great calm. 27And the men #[Mark 1:27] marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even #[Luke 5:9]winds and sea obey him?”
Jesus Heals Two Men with Demons
28 # For ch. 8:28–9:1, see Mark 5:1-21; Luke 8:26-40 And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes,#8:28 Some manuscripts Gergesenes; some Gerasenes two #ver. 16; [Rev. 18:2]demon-possessed#8:28 Greek daimonizomai (demonized); also verse 33; elsewhere rendered oppressed by demons men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. 29And behold, they #Mark 1:23, 24, 26; Luke 4:34; Acts 8:7 cried out, “What have you to do with us, #[ch. 4:3, 6]; See ch. 14:33 O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us #[Rev. 12:12]before the time?” 30Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. 31And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” 32And 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. 33The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the #ver. 16demon-possessed men. 34And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, #[1 Kgs. 17:18; Luke 5:8; Acts 16:39]they begged him to leave their region.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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