“Matthew 8:1-17”

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

“When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, ‘Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.’ Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.’ And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, ‘See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.’ And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, ‘Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.’ Jesus said to him, ‘I will come and heal him.’ But the centurion said, ‘Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, “Go!” and he goes, and to another, “Come!” and he comes, and to my slave, “Do this!” and he does it.’ Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, ‘Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ And Jesus said to the centurion, ‘Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.’ And the servant was healed that very moment. When Jesus came into Peter’s home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she got up and waited on Him. When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: ‘He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases.’”

---End of Scripture Verses---

When I read the first four verses I am touched by the mercy and tenderness of our Lord when dealing with this poor pitiable person. Leprosy was a slowly debilitating, painful and heart-breaking disease. He came to Jesus, no doubt out of desperation, but with the complete confidence that Jesus was fully able to heal him: if only He was willing. Jesus reached out and touched this unfortunate fellow. I can’t help but wonder just how long it had been since he had felt the touch of another human being. Jesus compassionately said, “I am willing.” Jesus really cares about the people He created. Jesus loves us and wants to help us with our problems and heartaches. He proved this by not only healing people of their infirmities, but also by taking His love for us all the way to the cross of Calvary. After feeling the human touch, the leprous man felt the hand of divinity upon him and, “immediately his leprosy was cleansed” (verse 3).

The centurion who came to Jesus in Capernaum had a much better grasp of who the Master was than did the majority of God’s own chosen people (verses 6-13). He understood that Jesus possessed the absolute authority of heaven, and he knew that he was unworthy to even stand in the presence of the Holy One of God. He knew that all Jesus needed to do was “say the word” and his servant would be healed (verse 8). Jesus marveled at this Gentile’s faith (verse 10). Once again Jesus, willing to help out a troubled and tormented soul said, “It shall be done for you as you have believed” (verse 13). Let’s make certain that when we ask the Lord for help with any of our problems that we do so with reverence and with the confident faith that He is able to help (Mark 11:24).

“He himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases” (verse 17).

Please read Luke 7:11-17 for tomorrow – Jesus raises the dead.

Have a blessed day!

-Louie Taylor

Share