How did Jesus Answer Sickness?

Thoughts from Matthew 8…

 

It must have been exciting to see Jesus perform His miracles!

With one touch, He would heal the sick, restore the handicapped, cause the blind to see, and raise the dead!

Jesus did His miracles to show that He was God. But also, He used His miracles to give a preview of His kingdom!

Jesus has just finished teaching about His kingdom, and now it is time to demonstrate.

He already taught that happiness is not for the wealthy, but for the destitute (see here). Now, he demonstrates with the lowest, most destitute of society — a leper. This man has been an outcast, unable to feel the touch of a loved one, nor to join them in worshipping their God.

But this lowly leper came to Jesus in simple trust and He left him completely clean!

Jesus already taught that the Jewish law is really a relationship with God (see here). Now, he uses a foreigner to demonstrate the importance of that relationship. The Roman soldier came to Jesus on behalf of his injured servant, showing a greater trust in Him than any of the native Jews!

This soldier knew that he was not worthy of Jesus’ presence, but he also knew that Jesus has total command over sickness and injury. He need only speak the word and his servant will be healed!

Jesus already taught to not be anxious about the things of this life, but to trust totally in God our Father (see here). Now, he demonstrates why you can trust Him as he heals those come to Him, starting with the Peter’s mother-in-law.

These people are not the top of society. These are the outcasts. The foreigners. The invisible. The ones without a voice.

But Jesus does not turn away any who come to Him. All who come to Him are healed.

Matthew 8:1-17
When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”

When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For 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, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

And when Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”

Jesus helps a trusting leper

Matthew 8:1-4
When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”

Mark 1:40-45
And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.

Luke 5:12-16
While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him. And he charged him to tell no one, but “go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all tell the account of the leper who trusted Jesus and asked, if He was willing, to make him clean.

Jesus was on His way down the mountain from teaching His sermon (Matthew 5-7) when He encountered the leper.

The disease of leprosy was a scourge of the ancient world. It showed up as skin rash but then affected the nervous system, distorting the victim’s features and removing presence of pain in their body. Without the warnings from pain, the victims would lose body parts from either infection or damage.

The modern version of leprosy is known as Hansen’s Disease, but the ancient description seems to be even more broad. The ancient leprosy was highly infectious and could infect possessions or buildings as well as people (Leviticus 13-14).

Leprosy was considered the “living death.” The leper was a social outcast, and anyone who touched him or her would be unclean. The lepers were cast out of the cities and other populated areas, forbidden to touch another person. When encountering others, they needed to warn them off by shouting out “Unclean, Unclean!” (Leviticus 13:45-46). In ancient Jewish culture, the family would hold a funeral for loved one who was diagnosed with leprosy, as they would no longer be able to be part of the family.⁵

Added to the leper’s shame, the Jewish rabbis taught that disease was the result of a sin in the person’s life. Leprosy was considered to be one of the most horrible diseases, therefore they viewed the leper as being punished for a truly horrible sin.¹⁷

Leprosy was incurable. Leviticus 14 contains the detailed steps for how to treat a cured leper, but this was rarely accomplished. There were only two recorded cases in Old Testament history where a leper was healed: Miriam’s leprosy was healed after she rebelled against Moses (Numbers 12:1-15) and Naaman, the Syrian general who came to Elisha for healing (2 Kings 5:1-14).

“Leprosy became, perhaps more than any other disease over the centuries, the perfect illustration of the corruption and the corrupting nature of sin; the inability for man to heal himself and desperate need for the healing power of salvation.” – Stephen Davey¹²

Leprosy was a debilitating and terminal disease, yet the leper who came to Jesus shows the picture of trust in Him. Luke’s account indicates that the man was “full of leprosy”. He had probably suffered from this disease for decades, and is now in its final stages. But he came to Jesus with a simple request, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” He had no doubt that Jesus could heal him. But would Jesus heal him?

In shockingly tender move, Jesus reaches out and touches the man. This is not a simple tap or a poke, but a genuine physical touch, as if Jesus laid His hand on the man’s shoulder. This may have been the first time in decades that this man was able to feel the touch of another human!

The man is instantly healed! His leprosy is completely gone! Jesus instructs the man to go at once to the priests for confirmation (as per the law of Leviticus 14) and to tell no one.^a

But the man cannot keep silent! He tells everyone he meets how he was healed!^b Jesus was now so famous that he could not even enter the towns!

It is important to note the effect that Jesus had on the unclean man. According to Leviticus 5, anyone who touched a leper would become unclean. Yet Jesus’ touch did the opposite — when He touched the unclean man, it made the leper clean!

“It was, so to speak, an inward necessity that the God-Man, when brought into contact with disease and misery, … should remove it by His Presence, by His touch, by His Word.” – Edersheim¹⁷

God uses the leprosy as a description of the sin in our lives. Just like leprosy, we are afflicted by an incurable, disfiguring condition which renders us unclean and an outcast. But in this first miracle, Jesus shows His power over both the physical leprosy as well as the spiritual sin. With His touch, the filth vanishes and one is made clean.

“A man was not a leper because he was disfigured by horrible ulcers and painful sores. These things were but the witness to the disease that was working within. Even so, one is not a sinner because he sins; he sins because he is a sinner.” – H.A. Ironside⁷

 

Jesus helps a faithful soldier

Matthew 8:5-9
When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For 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, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

Luke 7:1-8
After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.” And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. For I too am a man set 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, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

Jesus then entered the town of Capernaum after healing the leper.^c Many of Jesus’ disciples lived in or near Capernaum, including Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Matthew. Jesus moved His own family there when He began (John 2:12), and He used Capernaum as His home base during His Galilean ministry (Matthew 4:13).

Upon entering the city, Jesus was met by a delegation from the local centurion, a Roman officer over 100 soldiers.^d While many Roman soldiers were feared and hated by the Jews, this man had gained the people’s trust and respect. The elders of the town praised him to Jesus, appealing toward the soldier’s love of the people and his building of their synagogue.

The officer’s servant was gravely injured. He was paralyzed, in severe pain, and was close to death. Luke’s account says that the man highly valued the servant, and this was closer than simply a great employer-employee relationship. Some older translations have translated the servant as a “son.” While he was not the centurion’s son, the soldier cared enough for him to immediately appeal to Jesus as soon as He returned to town.

Jesus promised to come and heal the servant, but then the pagan soldier gave a remarkable response. He sent back to Jesus, saying that he was not worthy for Jesus to come into his house. The Jewish elders said that he was worthy, but the man himself did not believe he was worthy of Jesus’ personal presence. Jewish tradition had such hatred for the Gentiles that they believed their very houses were corrupt (see John 18:28).

Instead of defending his honor and his home to Jesus, the Roman officer agreed that he was not worth Jesus’ personal visit. Instead, he placed his trust in Jesus’ word. He himself understood authority. Jesus needed only to say the word and the man believed that his servant would be healed.

 

Matthew 8:10-13
When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

Luke 7:9-10
When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.

 

Jesus was astonished by the centurion’s response. This man was not one of the faithful Jews who had grown up with God’s law, he was a pagan import from Rome! Yet his simple trust in Jesus was greater than any one of the people of Israel.

The Jewish tradition looked forward to a great celebration among the faithful Jews and their Messiah, along with the Patriarchs of old.¹⁸ They especially enjoyed looking forward to seeing the heathen Gentiles look on with grief as they were cast away.

But Jesus turned this expectation back at them. There will be many Gentiles who will celebrate with Him in the kingdom of Heaven while the traditional Jews will be thrown out! It is not your bloodline but your faith that will save you (see Matthew 3:9). The “weeping and gnashing of teeth” indicates that the unbelieving Jews will be in both pain and bitter anger.

“For the Lord to commend the faith of the Gentile above any which He had found in Israel was a severe rebuke to the Jew.” – Toussaint¹

Jesus sent the messengers back to the centurion and the servant was healed at the very moment that He spoke!

“In this paralyzed man we have a picture of the helplessness of the sinner. And such was the condition of all of us until grace saved us. It was while we were yet without strength that Christ’s death availed for us.” – H.A. Ironside⁷

“Jesus didn’t heal low back pain, he healed real diseases!” – John MacArthur¹⁴

 

Jesus helps a serving woman

Matthew 8:14-15
And when Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him.

Mark 1:29-31
And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

Luke 4:38-39
And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.

The final scene shows Jesus at Peter’s house. His mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever and the disciples requested that Jesus help her.

Matthew’s gospel account records this scene after telling about the centurion’s servant. However, both Mark and Luke’s accounts provide more information leading up to this scene.^c Jesus was teaching at the synagogue in Capernaum, on a Sabbath, when he was confronted by a demon-possessed man. He then cast out the demon (Mark 1:21-28, Luke 4:31-37).

Jesus then went (with James and John) to Peter and Andrew’s house for the customary Sabbath feast.^{16 e} The family gathering was broken up by the news that Peter’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a high fever.^f At their request, Jesus came to her and took her by the hand.

The fever immediately left her. She was not only healed of the fever but she also immediately had her strength back. She left her sick bed and resumed her duties as the matriarch of the household, and began to serve the Sabbath dinner.

“The healing of Peter‘s mother-in-law, immediately after the Roman soldier, shows that though God has opened the door to the Gentiles, he has not forgotten the Jews.” – John MacArthur¹⁴

“’He touched her hand, and the fever left her.’ There was healing in that touch of power. Disease fled before it, for He was the Lord of life.” – H.A. Ironside ⁷

 

Matthew 8:16-17
That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”

Mark 1:32-34
That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

Luke 4:40-41
Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.

It was evening of the same Sabbath that Jesus had cast out the demon and healed Peter’s mother-in-law. As soon as the sun had set, when the people were allowed to carry their sick loved ones, they brought them all to Jesus.

Jesus did not refuse any of them. He laid His hands on each sick loved one who was brought to Him, healing them all. He cast out the demons from the possessed ones who were brought to Him, refusing any voice to these evil spirits.

Matthew reflects on this scene and points out that this fulfills Isaiah’s famous prophecy about the Messiah:

Isaiah 53:4a
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;

Isaiah’s prophecy (Isaiah 53) is famous for how it predicts Jesus’ torture and death, yet He also fulfilled these words in His life. He took on the griefs of the people as He walked this earth, healing their illnesses and casting out demons. He gave life in his death, but He also gave healing in His life.

“It was here on earth, as He moved about among suffering humanity, that He bore our infirmities, and took from men their diseases and pains.” – H.A. Ironside⁷

“On that evening no one in Capernaum thought of business, pleasure, or rest. There must have been many homes of sorrow, care, and sickness there, and in the populous neighbourhood around. To them, to all, had the door of hope now been opened. Truly, a new Sun had risen on them, with healing in His wings.” – Edersheim¹⁶

“This passage shows that there is healing in the atonement of Jesus Christ. There is also a freedom from sin and from the curse of this world in the atonement of Jesus Christ. We have not yet experienced this freedom from sin, nor from disease yet, but this is a promise of what will come.”  – John MacArthur¹⁵

 

Conclusion

I wish that I could come to Jesus now, and see Him cure every sickness and hurt that I have. I wish that all of my problems in life could suddenly vanish with a single touch by His hand. There have been many times when I have asked God for healing — either for myself or to help the pain of a close friend or family member.

But many times, the same answer comes back from God: “Not yet.”

Jesus gave us a view of what His kingdom will be like. When He will finally rule over the entire world, all sickness will be gone! Until then, He wants us to trust Him.

Can we trust Him like the leper, who could say with a simple trust, “If you are willing you can make me clean”?

Can we trust Him like the centurion, who saw that He need only to give the command?

Can we trust Him like Peter and Andrew, who asked Him to help their family?

We need to trust Him. We need to trust that He will take away our hurts and our sickness on His time. We need to trust that He has a reason when He does not heal us at the time we want. When He does not heal us in the way we want.

We need to trust that He has a purpose behind all of the pain and the horror that we face.

We need to trust that when we know Him, He will bring us to Himself. Forever!

We need to trust that there is nothing that can happen — nothing that we can do — that will ever separate us from His love!

Romans 8:38-39
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Revelation 21:4
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

 

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References

[1] Stanley D. Toussaint, Behold The King, Kregel Publications, 1980, Matthew 8:1-17, pages 121-124

[2] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: New Testament, David C. Cook, 2007, Matthew 8:1-17, pages 27-28

[3] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: New Testament, David C. Cook, 2007, Mark 1:29-45, pages 92-93

[4] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: New Testament, David C. Cook, 2007, Luke 4:31-44, pages 149-150

[5] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: New Testament, David C. Cook, 2007, Luke 5:12-16, pages 150-151

[6] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: New Testament, David C. Cook, 2007, Luke 7:1-10, pages 157-158

[7] H.A. Ironside, Ironside Expository Commentaries, Matthew 8, The Works of the King

[8] H.A. Ironside, Ironside Expository Commentaries, Address 13, Jesus at Capernaum, Luke 4:30-44

[9] H.A. Ironside, Ironside Expository Commentaries, Address 15, A Leper Cleansed, Luke 5:12-15

[10] H.A. Ironside, Ironside Expository Commentaries, Address 23, Two Notable Miracles            , Luke 7:1-18

[11] Stephen Davey, The Final Authority, Mark 1:21-45, 10/18/1987

[12] Stephen Davey, A Cure for the Incurable, Mark 1:40-41, 3/25/2018

[13] John MacArthur, Jesus’ Power over Disease, Part 1, Matthew 8:1-4, Oct 19, 1980

[14] John MacArthur, Jesus’ Power over Disease, Part 2, Matthew 8:5-15, Oct 26, 1980

[15] John MacArthur, What Keeps Men from Christ?, Matthew 8:16-22, Nov 2, 1980

[16] Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Book III, CHAPTER XIV: A SABBATH IN CAPERNAUM (St. Matthew 8:14-17; St. Mark 1:21-34; St. Luke 4:33-41.), https://www.ccel.org/ccel/edersheim/lifetimes.viii.xiv.html

[17] Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Book III, CHAPTER XV: SECOND JOURNEY THROUGH GALILEE, THE HEALING OF THE LEPER (St. Matthew 4:23; 8:2-4; St. Mark 1:35-45; St. Luke 4:42-44; 5:12-16.), https://www.ccel.org/ccel/edersheim/lifetimes.viii.xv.html

[18] Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Book III, CHAPTER XIX: THE RETURN TO CAPERNAUM, HEALING OF THE CENTURION’S SERVANT (St. Matthew 8:1, 5-15; St. Mark 3:20, 21; St. Luke 7:1-10.), https://www.ccel.org/ccel/edersheim/lifetimes.viii.xix.html

[19] Doug Bookman, Life of Christ, Audio Series, Lecture 7. http://www.jesus.org/life-of-jesus/harmony-of-the-gospels/14-jesus-saturates-galilee-with-his-message.html

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Notes

[a] Bible scholars have proposed many explanations for why Jesus wanted the leper to keep silent about his healing (in Matthew 8:4). There are many explanations for why He did not want the man to proclaim the news about his healing, but the best answers are the following:

• All three accounts indicate that Jesus wanted the man to show his leprosy to the priests, “for a proof to them.” The healing of the leper was a message to the priests, in Jerusalem, that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. He would have wanted this message to come from leper himself instead of by word of mouth.
• Jesus wanted true disciples, not public fascination. The broadcast of these reports increased His public popularity to the point that He could not even enter the towns (Mark 1:45), yet they were only following Him based on their own agenda (John 6:26-27). They wanted to make Him king for the wrong reasons (John 6:15).
• Jesus’ explosive popularity would quickly galvanize His opposition, and it was not yet the time for this confrontation.

[b] Some Bible teachers are quick to point out the (former) leper’s disobedience for not being quiet about his healing. Although he did not make it to the priests before the word spread, his excitement about being freed from decades of enslavement to this horrible disease is understandable. We do not see Jesus rebuke him for his response.

[c] We cannot tell the exact sequence of the events, but both Matthew and Luke’s accounts indicate that Jesus healed the leper and the centurion’s servant very shortly after teaching the Sermon on the Mount. We have two time indicators from these two miracles: Matthew 8:1 introduces the scene of the leper’s cleansing with “When he came down from the mountain”, which is placed immediately after the close of the Sermon on the Mount. Luke 7:1 introduces the scene of the centurion’s servant with, “After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people.” The “his sayings” refer to the teaching in Luke 6, which is part of Luke’s account of the Sermon on the Mount. Therefore, the most likely sequence of events is that Jesus cleansed the leper as he returned to the people after teaching His sermon. He then proceeded to Capernaum where He then healed the centurion’s servant. The third miracle of Matthew 8, healing Peter’s mother-in-law, most likely occurred at a different time.

[d] “Matthew says that the centurion came while Luke says that he was represented by the elders of the Jews. This difference is easily explained by the understanding that he sent a delegation who represented the centurion himself.” – H.A. Ironside¹⁰

[e] Jesus later changed Simon’s name to Peter (Matthew 16:17-18).

[f] We do not know the nature of Peter’s mother-in-law’s sickness. The most detail that we have is Luke’s account which only says a “high fever”. Jewish tradition tells of the “burning fever” that would plague the people of the first century but we have no other medical information. Many Bible scholars have proposed that she might have had malaria.