B13a-devotions

Matthew 8:1-4

Alternative devotions for Friday 1st August

After teaching the Sermon on the Mount, there was no time lost before Jesus commenced the ministry that would propel him towards Jerusalem and ultimately, the Cross. As Jesus came down from the mountain, He was immediately faced with human need typical of His day in the form of a leper (8:2). When Jesus responded immediately by acting with supernatural healing power (8:3) it was clear that a new phase of the Gospel had begun. This story together with the next two chapters of Matthew describe a series of miracles; only one of which (the stilling of the storm – Matt 8:23-27) is not a healing miracle or deliverance of some kind. They took place in the region of Jesus’ chosen home of Capernaum, but at the end of chapters 8 and 9, after much successful ministry, Jesus left Capernaum (9:32), and began to talk to the disciples about how they must pursue the same ministry they had seen Him perform (9:38 and chapter 10).

The story of the healing of the leper is remarkable, and to begin with, Jesus was faced with a man who knelt before Him as in worship (8:2). This was the first time that Jesus had been ‘worshipped’ since the Magi came at His birth, and in addition, it is possible that when the leper called Jesus ‘lord’, he accepted Jesus’ divinity! The word ‘lord’ was used commonly in Jesus’ day when speaking to someone in authority, but Matthew only used the word to describe true worship of God (e.g. 17:14, 27:29), and so this is what he implies here. Jesus’ consequent actions show that he accepted the leper’s worship, just as He called for and accepted a status as God’s Messiah in His teaching at the end of the Sermon on the Mount (7:21f.).

The man who asked Jesus to be made clean was a leper. There is some confusion as to what diseases were classified as ‘leprosy’ in Jesus’ day, but it is possible that because of a resurgence of interest in purity laws (Leviticus 13,14), the Jewish people sought to separate themselves from the Roman culture of the day; consequently, many people with a variety of skin diseases had been thrown out of normal society and scratched a living from the ground in outcast communities. It is a dreadful picture, and yet all the more remarkable that a leper should come to Jesus and kneel in worship; he would have been banned from normal worship because of his impurity! Nevertheless, he saw in Jesus a Messiah who was his hope for healing. The conversation and the healing that took place are remarkable in themselves. Mark tells us (1:41) that Jesus was ‘moved with pity’, but Matthew records no such words; he focuses on Jesus’ authority, and the leper’s challenge to Jesus to ‘choose’ to heal (8:2f.). It was commonly expected and taught that when the Messiah came, he would ‘heal lepers’, so the crowd were waiting to see what would happen.

Jesus responded to the request in a manner consistent with His teaching. He acted first and spoke second, reaching out to touch the man before declaring him clean. How easy it is to describe, and how amazing it must have been to see! Yet some have objected that by touching the leper (something forbidden in Leviticus 5:3) Jesus went against the law (after he had earlier said he would keep the law in His Sermon – 5:17). However when Jesus touched the man and his leprosy left him, you could say that He touched the man to make him clean, not the leprosy to take it away! So He had not broken the law by healing, He showed healing to be a higher ethic than the strict application of Levitical law (just as He taught in His Sermon!) The touch of Jesus is an important aspect of the story, for Jesus had already declared the Kingdom of Heaven to be ‘at hand’ (4:17), and when we studied this text, we found an alternative translation was ‘touchable’. Therefore, as Jesus touched and healed a leper, He made the Kingdom visible on earth!

Finally, the cleansed leper was told by Jesus to ‘go to the priest’ as required, and offer the right sacrifices or ‘gifts’ for cleanliness. In telling the man to do this Jesus used words that remind us of His teaching about being at peace with a neighbour (5:23ff), and He asked the healed leper to keep the story to himself, a theme of secrecy which Matthew returns to on other occasions (8:4, 9:20, etc.). We can assume from all this that Jesus was concerned not to be misinterpreted as just another miracle worker, of whom there were plenty in those days. He wanted His deeds to be seen as the works of God, not mere worldly miracles. Right towards the end, Matthew describes the gift offered to the priest by the leper as being ‘evidence to them’ (8:4). But evidence of what and to whom? It could be evidence that a healing had taken place, or that the Law of Moses has been fulfilled, or thirdly, that Jesus had done the healing and therefore made the Kingdom ‘manifest’. The word that Matthew used for ‘evidence’ was ‘marturion’ (Greek), and in the other places where it is used in his Gospel, this word indicates Jesus’ fulfilment of His mission as Messiah, and so the third option is best. The ‘evidence to them’ is evidence of Jesus’ mission.

1 When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him; 2 and a leper came to him and knelt in front of Him, saying, ‘Lord, if you choose, you are able to make me clean.’ 3 He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, ‘I do so choose; I declare you clean!’ His leprosy was cleansed immediately! 4 Then Jesus said to him, ‘Make sure that you speak to no one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift prescribed by Moses, as evidence to them.’

To read the questions and discipleship challenges for this text: go to the discipleship page

Praise be to You, Holy God and Father,

for Your Creating and redeeming power, even in me:

Praise be to You, Lord Jesus Christ,

for the great and abiding gift of salvation, given to me:

Praise be to You, gracious Holy Spirit,

for Your practical love and powerful support, available to me.

Amen

Whenever I turn aside to seek You in the peace of a quiet moment,

Let me hear Your voice speaking to me:

Reminding me of the infinite wisdom of Your authority,

Of the extraordinary blessings of Your salvation,

And of the powerful call You have placed upon my life.

Whenever I rise to go about the tasks of the day and do my work,

Let me hear Your voice speaking to me:

Challenging me to recognise the love of God in all I see and do,

To put aside the temptations of evil, through Your strength,

And to live according to the truths You have revealed to me.

Then, when all is said and done, and I have finished what I can do,

May I hear Your voice speaking to me:

‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’

Weekly Theme: Pastors

Give thanks to God for the discovery of new things, through reading books, meeting people and attending different events. Ask the Lord to guide you on your path of discovery!

On-going prayers

Pray to bless those people who you find difficult
Pray for those who have been caught up in the use of drugs
Pray for those who influence the price of oil, especially governments

THIS IS THE ALTERNATIVE BIBLE STUDY FOR TODAY - ON THIS PAGE ONLY, and the discipleship page see below