Exposition of Matthew, (Matthew 8:1-4)
(The Miracles of Jesus)
Questions to be answered in this study
- How many miracles did Jesus perform in chapters 8 and 9, and what was their purpose?
- What was Jesus’ connection to Capernaum?
- What was the miracle Jesus performed as he left the mountian where as he delivered the Sermon on the mount and as he entered Capernaum?
- What was different about this miracle from anything the Jews had ever seen before?
- Leprosy became a symbol among the Jews; what did it symbolize?
- During Jesus’ time, He was the first to cure leprosy; Today, Jesus is the only cure for something else; what is it?
- There is a cure for leprosy today, but it is not like Jesus’ healing of leprosy; what is the difference?
- What was the first thing Jesus told the man healed of leprosy to do, and why was he to do it?
- How did the Pharisees react to this miracle of Jesus that cured leprosy for the fist time in the history of Israel, and how did their reaction affect Jesus?
Introduction
Today we move on from the sermon on the mount into a new section of the gospel. In our last study, Jesus was contrasting His teaching to that of the Pharisees by using three contrasts:
- The broad way and the narrow way
- The two fruit trees
- Not everyone who says Lord Lord will enter into the Kingdom of heaven
The Pharisees were misleading the people of Israel for centuries concerning the righteousness and the Kingdom. For that reason, during the time of Jesus, the nation of Israel was biblically illiterate and did not know the truth of God’s Word. Whether you realize it or not, that very thing is happening in the modern church today as the church becomes liberal and more worldly and the people become less interested in Bible teaching and less knowledgeable concerning it.
So, they were dumbfounded when Jesus came and taught the truth. For the people, it challenged everything the Pharisees had taught them. What stunned them the most was the authority in which Jesus taught. We know this according to Matthew 7:28-29: “And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were amazed at his doctrine: 29For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”
“Amazed” is often translated, “astonished.” The people were astonished at what they heard from Jesus. The amazing thing was that Jesus taught with authority, unlike the Pharisees. In Jesus’ day, rabbinical teaching was handed down from former rabbis rather than directly from the Bible. Over time the message of Scripture had been replaced by the false interpretation of the rabbis. So, when they heard Jesus teaching presently from Scripture, with no reference to the teaching of former rabbis, they were overwhelmed and refreshed.
In just twenty minutes, Jesus refuted the teaching of the Pharisees and the rabbis, as well as the so-called scholars of history. As Jesus finishes His powerful teaching about righteousness and the Kingdom, He moves ahead in chapters 8 and 9, revealing His power as the promised Messiah. In these chapters, Matthew records ten miracles of Jesus that support Jesus’ claims to be the Messiah.
The First Miracle of Jesus’ Galilean ministry:
Matthew 8:1-4, “When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. 2And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, LORD, if you will, you can make me clean. 3And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.”
This section opens with Jesus descending from the mountain down toward the sea of Galilee to Capernaum with a multitude following Him. Capernaum was a fishing village located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It had a population of about 1,500. It was here that Jesus selected His headquarters during the beginning of His public ministry. Archaeological excavations have revealed two ancient synagogues there built one over the other. The one lying under the one exposed today was where Jesus preached on several occasions. My wife Margaret and I stood there in that synagogue during our recent visit to Israel. It was an incredible feeling standing near where Jesus once preached.
As Jesus drew near the city, He encountered a man with leprosy and healed him. Leprosy is a bacterial infection known as Hansen’s disease today, which is curable but was not during the time of Jesus. It’s interesting that, according to estimates, 95% of the world is immune to the disease today. In some regions, armadillos carry the bacteria that causes the disease. The disease, if not treated, is a slow death covering many years, with parts of the body deuterating and falling off. According to Dr. Luke, in his gospel account, this man was in the later stages of the disease.
Beyond the horrible social and physical aspects of the disease, we also need to understand the Jewish response. Leprosy, although rare, received a lot of attention in Scripture, in fact, more than any other disease. In two chapters, Leviticus gives a total of 116 verses about it. All suspected lepers were required, according to Leviticus, to be officially diagnosed by a priest. They were registered kind of like child offenders today. To be readily recognized, the leper was required to wear torn clothes. He must cover himself from his nose down.
The Jewish people understood leprosy to be a defilement, something that made a person unclean to God. The unclean leper could not enter the Tabernacle or Temple to worship or give sacrifice. They were also banned from other social events. They were not allowed to touch another human being. They had to make their presence known by calling out “unclean” to warn others.
A ritual was prescribed in Leviticus chapter 14 for when a leper was healed; they were to go through a rigorous examination by a priest for seven days before being declared clean. If, after seven days, there was no evidence of leprosy found, the person was declared healed, and the eighth day became a day of rituals to mark the healing; this included a sin offering, a trespass offering, a burnt offering, and a meat offering. Blood was applied to the leper’s body, the right ear lobe, right thumb, and right big toe, and then the body was anointed with oil. However, throughout the history of Israel, the procedure in Leviticus 14 had never been used.
Jesus healed the first case of leprosy in Israel’s history. For the reasons of its symptoms, leprosy became a symbol of sin or a picture of sin: Sin abides in the flesh Like leprosy, growing over time to consume its victims. Sin is the sentence of death for everyone, as was leprosy. It took God’s mercy to cure leprosy, and so it is with sin.
According to the Bible, there is just one cure for our sins. Isaiah 1:18 says, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Leviticus chapter 14 required the blood of animals to be applied to the body. In the case of sin, only the blood of Christ will satisfy God. The leprosy cleansing ritual had never been used by the time of Jesus because God had not yet provided a cure for the disease. During all the history of Israel, Supernatural healing was unknown except by men like Elijah and Elisha. When Jesus came, He appointed ordinary men, His disciples, to raise the dead and heal the sick, as He did.
The miracles of the regular prophets are to be distinguished from the miracles of Jesus. Jesus performed miracles that no other person had ever been permitted. The healing of leprosy, described herein Matthew, was one of these unique miracles. This man with advanced leprosy approaches Jesus, kneels and worships Him, a declaration of the deity of Jesus, and recognizes Him as God. “If you are willing” indicates that this man knew Jesus could heal him, though it had never been done before.
Jesus did the unthinkable in Jewish society: He stretched out His hand and touched the man. Jesus touches the man to heal him and to make Him clean. It reminds me of the great hymn; He touched me:
“Shackled by a heavy burden,
‘Neath, a load of guilt and shame.
Then the hand of Jesus touched me,
And now I am no longer the same.
He touched me, Oh He touched me,
And oh the joy that floods my soul!
Something happened and now I know,
He touched me and made me whole.”
Even modern healing of the disease can’t make a person whole; it can only stop the progression of the disease; it can’t repair the damage already done. Jesus not only healed this man, He restored him to his original health, and all traces of the disease were removed. Jesus touched him and made him whole.
Notice in v.4, what Jesus tells the man what to do next: “And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.” The first thing Jesus says to this man is, “see to it that you tell no one;” this was not meant to keep a secret. Jesus wanted him first to take a three-day journey south to Jerusalem, present himself to the priest, and go through the ritual prescribed by Moses in Leviticus 14 and the 8-day series of offerings, which would be a first for Israel.
What do you think the response of the priests and the leaders of Israel will be when a cleansed leper arrives at the temple? For one thing, they can’t deny his healing because the history of this man’s leprosy would have been recorded in the temple. They no doubt could not believe their eyes when this man appeared before them healed, thoroughly cleansed, and his body wholly restored. Perhaps unknowing to them, as the priests accomplish the rituals required, they are revealing a beautiful foreshadow of the atoning sacrifice of Christ for the cleansing of sin. Jesus said in verse 4 that this act of healing would be a testimony to them.
This miracle of Jesus was an essential message to Israel that the Messiah predicted in the Old Testament had arrived. However, it stirred up the hate of the Pharisees against Him so that it was dangerous for Him to enter their cities; this was a test for the Pharisees. Would they accept the incontrovertible facts surrounding the works of Jesus? To do so would result in admitting their system was false. Now it was either Jesus the Messiah or the establishment of the Pharisees. For the Pharisees, it meant if they embraced Jesus as the Messiah, they had to forsake their culture, their system of religion, and their very livelihood. It is no different today. We must decide if we will uphold the worldly way of living or reject it and receive Jesus as savior.