Matthew 8 explained: Healing, Authority and a Storm

A man with a skin disease (vv. 1-4)

The skin disease usually translated leprosy made a person ritually unclean under the law of Moses, so sufferers lived apart and touching them was forbidden. Jesus touches and heals the man, then sends him to a priest, who could officially declare him clean so he could return to normal life; why Jesus told him to keep quiet is not explained here.

A Roman officer's trust (vv. 5-13)

A centurion, a Roman officer over about a hundred soldiers and not Jewish, trusts that Jesus can heal with a word from a distance, just as his own orders are carried out without his being there. Jesus says people from east and west will share the kingdom's great feast with Israel's founding ancestors, while some who expected a place will find themselves shut outside.

Healing in Peter's house (vv. 14-17)

Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law with a touch, and that evening many sick and troubled people are brought to him. Matthew connects this with Isaiah 53:4, words about one who carries others' suffering, which Christians read as pointing to Jesus.

What following costs (vv. 18-22)

When an eager teacher of the law offers to follow him anywhere, Jesus warns that he has no settled home, using Son of Man, his usual way of referring to himself. Telling another man to let the dead bury their own dead is startling, since burying a father was a sacred duty; some think the father was still alive and the man wanted to wait, but the exact situation is unclear.

Calming the storm (vv. 23-27)

A violent storm nearly swamps the boat while Jesus sleeps, and when the panicked disciples wake him he calms the wind and waves with a word. Their question about what kind of man this is may echo the Hebrew scriptures, where ruling the sea belongs to God, though Matthew leaves the question hanging.

Two men and the pigs (vv. 28-34)

In mostly non Jewish territory across the lake, two violent men living among the tombs are freed when the spirits controlling them go into a herd of pigs, which rush into the lake and drown. The spirits fear punishment before an appointed time, and the townspeople, for reasons Matthew does not give, ask Jesus to leave.

Key verse: Matthew 8:27

Something to think about

The man in verse 2 was sure Jesus could help but unsure he would want to; is it harder for you to believe that someone is able to help, or that they would actually want to?