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    Matthew 8:1-22  Lesson 14

    Read both the "King James Bible" and the "New Living Translation."

    In this lesson:
     
    The Sermon on the Mount has ended.
     
    Jesus' has power over demons and disease.     ​

    Study Tip:
     
    Find the truth in each Bible passage.
    Ponder what that truth means to you.
    Determine how you can apply that truth into your life.
    Who was -
        
    Moses -
    Moses was a prophet of Israel (Deuteronomy 34:10), the author of the first five books in the Old Testament (the Pentateuch), a great Jewish leader and icon who, with God's help, led an estimated 3,000,000 Israelites out of Egyptian bondage to form the Jewish nation.  The son of Amram and Jochebed (Exodus 6:20), Moses was born in 1571 BC when the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt (Exodus 1:13-14).  Afraid that the growing population of Jewish slaves would one day turn against Egypt (Exodus 1:10), the Egyptian Pharaoh Rameses ordered midwives to kill all the male Jewish babies at birth (Exodus 1:15-16).  When this didn't work (Exodus 1:17), Pharaoh ordered the male babies to be "cast into the river" (Exodus 1:22).  To save the infant Moses' life, his mother hid him in a basket in the reeds on the banks of the Nile River (Exodus 2:3).  Pharaoh's daughter found Moses (Exodus 2:5-6) and raised him as her own son.  Growing up he received an education (Acts 7:22) and all the advantages given the son of a king.  But at the age of forty, Moses killed an Egyptian he found mistreating a Hebrew (Exodus 2:11-12; Acts 7:23-24) and was forced to flee Egypt (Exodus 2:15).  Moses fled to Midian near Sinai where he married and lived the simple life of a Shepard for forty years until God appeared to him in the form of a burning bush (Exodus 3:1-22; Acts 7:30-34).  Following God's instructions, Moses returned to Egypt to liberate the Israelites.  After God brought a series of ten miracles/plagues down on the Egyptians (Exodus 7:1-12:51), Pharaoh allowed the enslaved Israelites to leave Egypt a free people.  For the next forty years, the Israelites wandered through the wilderness searching for the Promised Land (Canaan).  Moses, "the mediator of the old covenant," received the Mosaic Law (the First Covenant, the Ten Commandments) from God on Mount Sinai (Exodus 34:1-35), prophesied the coming of the Messiah (John 5:46; Acts 7:37), was likened to Christ (Deuteronomy 18:15; Acts 7:37), and appeared with Jesus during the transfiguration (Matthew 17:3-5; Mark 9:2-4; Luke 9:29-30).  Moses lived to be one hundred and twenty years old (forty years in the royal palace, forty years as a fugitive in Midian, and forty years in the wilderness), died on Mount Nebo in Moab (eight miles east of the mouth of the Jordan River) and was buried by God (Deuteronomy 34:5-7).  In Jude 1:9, we see Satan arguing with Michael the Archangel over Moses' body.  The story of Moses can be found in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

    The Gospel According to St. Matthew

    The King James Bible    ​

    Matthew 8:1-22
    Jesus heals

    1When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.
     
    2And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
     
    3And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
     
    4And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
     
    5And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
     
    6And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
     
    7And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
     
    8The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
     
    9For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
     
    10When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
     
    11And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
     
    12But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
     
    13And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
     
    14And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever.
     
    15And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.
     
    16When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:
     
    17That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.
     
    18Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side.
     
    19And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
     
    20And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
     
    21And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
     
    22But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.     ​                        ​
    ​​Margin notes: 
     
    "There came a leper and worshipped him." (8:2) - "A leper came and bowed down before Him."
     
    If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." (8:2) - The leper had faith that Jesus could heal him but was unsure if He would.  Read also Mark 1:40-44.
     
    "Leprosy." (8:3) - A highly contagious skin and nerve disease that disfigures its victims.  There are several forms of leprosy, some more contagious than others.  With its open sores, leprosy is transmitted through personal contact and can incubate for up to thirty years.  Few people recovered from leprosy and it often lead to paralysis, gangrene, amputation, and death.  In Jesus' day, Jews believed leprosy was a punishment from God and often treated lepers cruelly.  Banished from society (Leviticus 13:46; Numbers 5:2-3), lepers were kept at a distance and people would have been shocked to see Jesus touch one (Luke 5:13).  Today, leprosy is commonly called Hansen's disease. 
     
    "Tell no man." (8:4) - Jesus didn't want the excitement over His miracles to overwhelm the importance of His message.
     
    "Shew thyself to the priest." (8:4) - Mosaic Law required recovered lepers to present an offering of two birds to a priest (Leviticus 14:3-4).  Lepers were not considered clean until a priest declared them so (Leviticus 13:1-46; 14:2-32; Luke 5:13-14).  This was called "the law of the leper."
     
    "Centurion." (8:5) - A Roman army officer with one hundred men under his command.
     
    "Beseeching." (8:5) - Means, "Pleading."
     
    "Sick of the palsy." (8:6) - "Paralyzed."
     
    "Verily." (8:10) - "Truly."
     
    "Many shall come from the east and west." (8:11) - "Many will come from all over the world."  This refers to Gentiles sharing in God's salvation.
     
    "The children of the kingdom." (8:12) - Refers to the Jewish nation.   
     
    "In the selfsame hour." (8:13) - "At that same hour."
     
    "His wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever." (8:14) - The story of Jesus healing Peter's mother-in-law is confirmed in Mark 1:29-31.
     
    "When the even was come" (8:16) - "When evening had come."
     
    "They brought unto him many that were possessed." (8:16) - This story also appears in Mark 1:32:34.
     
    "Depart unto the other side." (8:18) - "Go to the other side (of the Sea of Galilee)." 
     
    "I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest." (8:19) - "I will follow you wherever you go."  Luke 9:57-60 also tells this story.
     
    "The Son of man." (8:20) - A name Jesus used for Himself eighty-three different times in the Gospels.
     
    "Suffer me." (8:21) - "Allow me."
     
    "Follow me." (8:22) - Jesus repeatedly invites us to follow Him (9:9; Mark 2:14; Luke 9:59; John 1:43; 21:19).
     
    "Let the dead bury their dead." (8:22) - Jesus is referring to the spiritually dead.  In Jesus' day, to say, "let me bury my father first," was a way of saying, "I'll get around to it, someday."  It was a procrastinator's way of putting things off.  This man's father was probably still alive.  Jews were required to bury the dead before sunset.  It is doubtful the man would be visiting Jesus if his father had died that day.  His procrastinating led Jesus to believe he was spiritually dead. ​ 
    ​Luke 7:1-10 also tells the story of the Roman centurion.  There is a similar miracle reported in John 4:43-54.

                                                  New Living Translation 
     

    Matthew 8:1-22          
    Jesus Heals a Man with Leprosy
     
    1 Large crowds followed Jesus as he came down the mountainside.

    2 Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached him and knelt before him. "Lord," the man said, "if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean."
     
    3 Jesus reached out and touched him. "I am willing," he said. "Be healed!" And instantly the leprosy disappeared.

    4 Then Jesus said to him, "Don't tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed."
     
    The Faith of a Roman Officer
     
    5 When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him,

    6 "Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain."
     
    7 Jesus said, "I will come and heal him."
     
    8 But the officer said, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed.

    9 I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, 'Go,' and they go, or 'Come,' and they come. And if I say to my slaves, 'Do this,' they do it."
     
    10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, "I tell you the truth, I haven't seen faith like this in all Israel!

    11 And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world-from east and west-and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven.

    12 But many Israelites-those for whom the Kingdom was prepared-will be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
     
    13 Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, "Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened." And the young servant was healed that same hour.
     
    Jesus Heals Many People
     
    14 When Jesus arrived at Peter's house, Peter's mother-in-law was sick in bed with a high fever.

    15 But when Jesus touched her hand, the fever left her. Then she got up and prepared a meal for him.
     
    16 That evening many demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. He cast out the evil spirits with a simple command, and he healed all the sick.

    17 This fulfilled the word of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah, who said,
     
    "He took our sicknesses and removed our diseases."
     
    The Cost of Following Jesus
     
    18 When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he instructed his disciples to cross to the other side of the lake.
     
    19 Then one of the teachers of religious law said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."
     
    20 But Jesus replied, "Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head."
     
    21 Another of his disciples said, "Lord, first let me return home and bury my father."
     
    22 But Jesus told him, "Follow me now. Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead." 

    This second Bible text from the "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word for word translation of the Bible.  However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."
    Today's question:
     
     1. Was it important that Jesus touched the leper when He healed him? (8:3)                                                                          

    The most important step in Bible study is applying what you learn into your life.  ​

    Answer: (Do you agree?) ​
    ​
    1.  Yes, it was important.  By touching the leper, Jesus broke an Old Testament law concerning lepers.  Touching anything or anyone that was unclean was forbidden by Mosaic Law (Leviticus 5:2).  By touching an "untouchable," Jesus demonstrated His authority over the law and showed that He cared more about people's needs than He did about religious ritual.​
    Application thought for the day:
     
    The most vital component of Christianity is faith. 
    Without faith, there is no salvation. ​
    Thanks to the writings and commentary of John Wesley and Adam Clarke. Also, "The Layman's Bible Study Notebook" by Irving Jensen published by Harvest House Publishing, Irvine, California; the "Life Change Series" published by NavPress Books, Colorado Springs, Colorado; the "Life Application Study Bible" published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois; "The Quest Study Bible" published by The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "Robertson's New Testament Word Studies"; "The MacArthur Bible Commentary" by John MacArthur published by Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee; "Wisdom of the Bible" CD by Topics Entertainment, Inc., Renton, Washington for their inspiring pictures; "My utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers published by Barbour publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio; The "Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge" by Reuben Archer Torrey; "Hope For Each Day" by Billy Graham published by J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee; "Easton's Bible Dictionary" by Matthew George Easton; "Unger's Bible Dictionary" by Merrill F. Unger, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; "Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The Living New Testament" published by Tyndale house; "The New Living Translation" published by Tyndale House; BibleGateway.com for all their wonderful links; and of course the "King James Bible".  All were critical in putting these lessons together.
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