This month we’re reading Matthew 8. It’s a quick moving chapter with three miracles, then a clump of miracles, then some helpful clarification on discipleship, and then two more miracles.
The first miracle is a man healed of his leprosy.
verse 1 When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him.
verse 2 And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”
When he came down from the mountain: Jesus has just finished the Sermon on the Mount.
great crowds followed him: This is no small thing. Jesus’ personality, words, and actions changed people. We see this over and over again in the four gospels. Then we see it again all through the book of Acts. Then in all of Paul’s and Peter’s writing we see it. This change must NOT be lost on us. If He is not changing us something is amiss. This is not something we do, but it is an internal change of our hearts and minds and will and desires. We want to live for God. We want to do right. We want to know and love God more and more.
a leper came to him: Lepers were utter outcasts. The could not live in cities or villages or with their families. They could not be within six feet of anyone. They had to yell, “Unclean! Unclean!” wherever they went. And they had to wear torn clothes and have their hair disheveled. It was a horrible life! See Leviticus 13 & 14.
and knelt before him: This is the first four key things. The kneeling is physical, then the leper says three important things. We too would kneel if we needed such a healing. But it is key to see because we make the mistake of sometimes having a casual, passive relationship with Jesus.
Lord…if you will…you can make me clean: This might be a perfect description of faith. Calling Jesus Lord is a way of saying he rightly looks up to Jesus, that Jesus is exalted, and that he does not have a casual relationship with Him. He’s not demanding or seeing it as a right when he says, “if you will.” It is bold, but it is respectful. And he is confident in what Jesus can do when he says, “you can make me clean.” The heart of faith is “you can.”
The leper believed. The leper sought Jesus out. He humbly, respectfully asked. He believed Jesus could change him. Jesus changes people.
This will be a miracle of grace. In every encounter in this chapter Jesus does something over-the-top. This is our God. He is always being merciful to us.
If you feel pulled to read more of your Bible
The Men's Bible Reading Idea 