Matthew 8:1-9:34: You are Healed

Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 01 Sept 2013 by Rebecca, Sarah-Grace, and Captain Michael Ramsay

To view a 24 November 2019 version of this sermon that was presented to Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries click here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2019/11/matthew-81-934-you-are-healed-2019.html

“The Miracle stories in [Matthew] 8:1-9:34 should not be interpreted in isolation, but each should be interpreted in the context of the section as a whole, since it was constructed by Matthew as “Messiah in deed” (cf. 11:2), corresponding 5:7-29 as “Messiah in word”.[1] Today we will very quickly attempt to do just that while focusing on healings: the infirmity, the patient, who initiates the healing, what is the response, what is the directive, and then after we do all of this we will try to pull it together and ask ourselves how do all of Jesus’ healings here recorded apply to our lives today?

Matthew 8:1-4: When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

Infirmity: Leprosy (any skin disease)

Patient: Leper (social outcast)

Initiation: “A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing you can make me clean” (Matthew 8:2)

Response: “I am willing”, “Be clean” – Immediately the man was healed (v.3)

Directive: 1) Tell no one 2) Show yourself to the priest and offer sacrifices as a testimony (v.4)

This healing miracle is initiated by a man suffering from a skin disease. It may or may not be Hansen’s Disease –which is what we think of when we think of leprosy. This man, however, is shunned by his community: people with skin diseases are not allowed to take part in many social activities. He is an outcast. He is seen as unclean. There are a couple of important things that I notice off the bat about this healing. 1) The way the leper approaches Jesus: he approaches Him with deference and respect. He doesn’t command Jesus as if Jesus is some genie in a bottle. Instead the man says, Verse 2, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” And, Verse 3, then “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’” And 2) as he is healed, Jesus tells the man to offer the appropriate sacrifices to God as a testimony to the priests. We need to thank God for what he does in our lives and we need to share that with our religious leaders so that they have the opportunity to offer Glory to God as well.

Matthew 8:5-13: When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”

Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”

The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.

Infirmity: Paralysis 

Patient: Roman Centurion’s servant (military occupier, foreigner, political and social outcast)

Initiation: The Centurion approached Jesus in person rather than sending a servant: “‘Lord’, he said, ‘my servant lies at home in terrible suffering” (Matthew 8:6)

Response: “I will go and heal him” or “Shall I come and heal him?”[2] – Immediately the man is healed (v.8). The Centurion (though he is powerful and a master of both soldiers and servants) publicly initiates a confession of his unworthiness of Jesus to come to his home. He confesses a belief in the power of Jesus to even heal from a distance (v.9). Jesus heals his servant and pronounces that the Kingdom of God is open to all who have faith and are faithful; whether they are outcasts of society or not. Conversely, not everyone who is currently part of the ‘in group’ of our society will be a part of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Directive: “Go! It will be done…” (v.12).

One of the important pieces of this miracle is the patient. The patient is the servant of a Roman Centurion. The Romans, we remember, are an occupying military. They are as popular in Palestine then as the Americans are in the countries they are invading and occupying today. Some of Jesus’ followers themselves even identify with the terrorist (sicarii, zealots) and their struggle against the Romans. Jesus still delivers this man’s servant from being paralyzed. The Roman Officer: he could have sent a servant for Jesus but he went himself. Jesus asked or even offered to come to his house to heal the servant but the Officer – who is a powerful man – declares that 1) he is unworthy of Jesus’ entering his house; he acknowledges that Jesus is so much more than even he is; and 2) he publicly declares that he has so much faith in the power of Jesus that even from a distance, without ever even seeing the girl, Jesus can heal her. This is amazing. If only we all had the faith of this Gentile, military adversary of the independence-seeking Jews.

This brings us to another very important point. Through this exchange Jesus pronounces to all that the Kingdom of God is open to all who have faith and are faithful; whether they are outcasts of society or not. Conversely, Jesus tells us that not everyone who is currently part of the ‘in group’ of our society or our churches be a part of His eternal Kingdom. Some will be cast out (TSA Doc. 9).[3] It is not ‘who you are’; it is not ‘what you do’, like so much in this life it is simply  a matter of ‘who you know’.

Matthew 8:14-15: When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.

Infirmity: Fever

Patient: Peter’s mother-in-law

Initiation: None specified: “When Jesus came to Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever” (Matthew 8:14)

Response: 1) Jesus touched her hand, healed her 2) She waited on her Lord

Directive: None recorded.

What makes this healing stand out from the others? First, the others show very humble people coming before the Lord with much intention, deference, and respect on behalf of others or themselves. They approach Jesus quite humbly and they ask Him to please heal them or their loved ones. In this episode it even seems that Jesus initiates the healing: He goes to Peter’s house; He notices Peter’s mother-in-law and He heals her on the spot. Now even if she did not approach Jesus in humility before her healing, you will notice that afterward she gets up from her sickbed and proceeds to wait on Him.  Can you imagine if the doctor came to your house, healed an in-law of yours and then she immediately got up and began waiting on doctor? What would you think? Wow. She is better! This is what it was like and this is the same gratitude we should show as God delivers us from our ailments and infirmities.

Matthew 8:16: When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.”

Infirmity: Demon-possession

Patient: Many

Initiation: They were brought to him

Response: Jesus “drove out the spirits with a word and healed the sick” (v.16)

Directive: None specified

This verse mentions neither the heart of those coming before the Lord nor their actions or beliefs after being healed but merely that Jesus “drove out the spirits with a word and healed the sick” (v.16). This is passage is pointing out that these miracles Jesus is performing fulfill the prophesy of Isaiah 53:4. Jesus is the Messiah.

Matthew 8:28-34: When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. “What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”

Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water.  Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.

Infirmity: Demon-possession

Patients: Two men living in the tombs (social outcasts)

Initiation: They violently came to Jesus, Matthew 8:29, “What do you want from us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” Matthew 8:31: “The demons begged Jesus, ‘if you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

Response: 1) “Go!” Jesus drove them out. They went into the pigs and killed them. 2) The people looking after the pigs ran away and the whole town gathered and begged Jesus to leave.

Directive: Go!

This healing is neat too. Notice that no one initiates this who wants these men healed. The demon-possessed men violently come to Jesus and then the demons themselves provoke the encounter. Matthew 8:29, “What do you want from us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” Matthew 8:31: “The demons begged Jesus, ‘if you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” Then once everyone finds out what Jesus has done –driving out the demons who kill the pigs - they beg him to go away. Whereas we have some coming to Jesus – like the Centurion and the leper - showing the proper respect and asking for mercy and some that it most appears as if Jesus just happened upon them – like Peter’s mother-in-law – here he we have demons hostile to and afraid of Jesus who are provoking Him to an action that no one seems to want and yet Jesus still heals these men - even though it doesn’t appear to wanted or even appreciated.

Matthew 9:1-8: Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”

At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”

Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” Then the man got up and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.

Infirmity: Paralysis

Patient: A man

Initiation: Some friends brought him to Jesus

Response: 1) When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven” (v.2). 2) Teachers complained, accusing Jesus of blasphemy. Jesus then healed the man.

Directive: Verse 6, “But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, ‘Get up, take your mat and go home.’”

Some items of note here: We have friends bringing a friend to Jesus. Jesus responds, Verse 2, not to the man or because of the man brought to Him but Jesus responds to and because of the faithfulness of his friends who brought the man to Him. This is similar to the case of the Roman Centurion’s servant. One thing that is quite interesting here is that instead of healing the man immediately Jesus says, “Your sins are forgiven.” I don’t imagine that this is necessarily why this man’s friends brought him to Jesus and I could almost expect a response of “Gee, thanks…” if the teachers of the law didn’t provoke Jesus through commenting amongst themselves. The religious leaders are quite upset. They know that only God can forgive sins in this way. They know that Jesus is claiming to be God and it is in response to this that Jesus says, Verse 6, “But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” The man is healed. There is a certain irony here. Jesus forgives the sins of the man because of the faithfulness of the friends who bring him to Jesus for healing and he heals the man in response to the teachers’ lack of faith in Jesus’ ability to forgive sins.

Matthew 9:18-26: While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.”  Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.

Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”

Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.

When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes, he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him.  After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. News of this spread through all that region.

Infirmity: Death

Patient: A girl

Initiation: Verse 18: “…a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, ‘My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.’”

Response: 1) …Jesus and his disciples went with the man, arrived at the house, threw out the mourners saying, Verse 24, “Go away, the girl is not dead but asleep.” 2) The crowd laughed at him. They were put outside then Jesus raised her from the dead

Directive: None.

Here we have two stories intertwined about healing bleeding and resurrecting the dead. We don’t really have time to address the full significance of the juxtaposition here;[4] so first we will look at the girl. After the religious teachers have just provoked Jesus, a religious synagogue leader is shown as coming to Jesus in desperation as his own daughter has just passed away. Here the leader is faithful in beseeching Jesus upon his knees - even as his relatives seemingly mock him as they laugh at Jesus. The synagogue leader puts his friends, relatives, and the mourners out of his house as he invites Jesus in. Jesus then raises the girl from the dead. No one other than the man apparently believe that Jesus will do this but when those present see it with their own eyes, they all believe and tell everyone that they know. The same is available to us. If we are bold in our faith and faithfulness, even as people mock us or laugh at us, they will see the power of God in our lives and so we should not be afraid to put those out who would drag us down into unbelief but rather we should boldly and faithfully proclaim our faith in their midst so that they too may believe.

Infirmity: Continual or frequently repeated bleeding

Patient: a woman (an unclean outcast)

Initiation: Verse 20-21: “…a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, “‘If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.’”

Response: Jesus spoke and she was healed.

Directive: “Take heart, daughter” (v.22)

This lady barges upon the scene. She doesn’t have any of the requisite deference of the synagogue leader in our story who is kneeling before the Lord. She doesn’t have the humility and overtly displayed respect of the leper or the Centurion mentioned in Chapter 8. This lady just sneaks up to Jesus and touches His clothes almost as if she is trying to steal a healing. Jesus notices her –of course- and tells her not to be afraid; He tells her to “Take heart, daughter … your faith has healed you.” This woman is seemingly afraid of Jesus but she knows He can heal her so she comes to Him. Jesus knows her fears. Jesus knows her struggles. Jesus meets her and Jesus heals her. Even if we are afraid of God, as we approach Him, He will meet us with love and forgiveness – no matter who we are. He loves us.

Matthew 9:27-31: As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”

When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

“Yes, Lord,” they replied.

Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”; and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.

Infirmity: Blindness

Patient: Two men

Initiation: The blind men followed Jesus calling out “have mercy on us, Son of David!” They then followed Jesus inside the building.

Response: Jesus asked them, Verse 28-30, “‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’

‘Yes, Lord,’ they replied.

Then he touched their eyes and said, ‘According to your faith let it be done to you’; and their sight was restored.”

Directive: Verses 30-31: “Jesus warned them sternly, ‘See that no one knows about this.’ But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.”

In this story of healing, we have two persistent blind fellows calling out for mercy. They call out to Jesus. After Jesus goes inside, they follow Him there too. Of these two men, Jesus asks if they believe. He hasn’t asked this of the other people but He asks it of these men before he touches their eyes and heals them. This next part is neat. Jesus tells them to tell no one and what did they do? They tell everyone! This seems to always happens in the Bible but this is interesting because even though Jesus knows that these men will disobey His directive to them, He still has compassion and heals their blindness. Our healing and wholeness isn’t dependant upon our faith/faithfulness; it is dependant upon the faithfulness of Christ. He knows what is best for us and if that is healing, then Christ will heal us.

Matthew 9:32-38: While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”

But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.”

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Infirmity: Demon-possession and muteness

Patient: a man

Initiation: He was brought to Jesus

Response: 1) Jesus drove the demon out and the man could speak

2) The crowd was amazed “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”3) Verse 34, “But the Pharisees said, ‘It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.’”

Directive: None.

You will notice that there are many different ailments and illnesses and infirmities that Jesus heals in this section. You will also notice that some of them are tied to demon possession and some of them are not tied to demon possession. I have seen some very possibly well-intentioned people hurt some very vulnerable people very significantly as they wrongly inform them that their illnesses are a direct result of demon possession. This is not the case in all of these healings that we have seen raised before us today. Jesus does have the power to heal people who are wounded by demons but not every wound in life is delivered by the devils. Sometimes people’s lives are the way they are for the glory of God: John 9:3.

Conclusion

I have seen people who have really been healed of cancer. I have seen people who have really been healed of HIV and who really have been healed of AIDS. I do know people who have been healed of diabetes. There are people in our congregation here today who have been really healed and really delivered from many different infirmities and illnesses. The power of God is real. But I want to bring this to your attention:

There are fake healers out there. We have probably all seen them, heard them, or heard about them. There are people who fake the power of God for their own gain or glory or to try to make us forget about the very real healings that Christ has performed in many of our lives. Don’t fall for them. Don’t fall for the devil’s traps.

There are people too who will take Scripture out of context and wrongly say that God will only heal you if you have enough faith; there are people too who will take Scripture out of context and wrongly say that God will only heal you if you are good enough; There are people too who will take Scripture out of context and wrongly say that God will only heal you if you repent of your sins. All of this is wrong. We have read of God healing people who were brought to Him. We have read of God healing people who were not brought to Him. We have read of God healing people who reached out to him. We have read of God healing people who were dragged defiantly before Him. We have read of God healing people who had no request nor expectation of healing from Him. And we have read of God healing people who persistently came to Him. And we have read of God healing people who sincerely humbled themselves before Him.

Our text today shows that God heals people for the Glory of God. Jesus did not heal everyone who was sick in Palestine in the first century. Jesus did not heal everyone who had faith in Him in Palestine in the first century. Jesus did not raise every dead person in Palestine in the first century. Jesus did not raise every dead person who had faith in Him in Palestine in the first century.

I have heard many people say that whether or not God heals us has to do with whether we are good enough, holy enough, pure enough, or have faith enough. Our Scriptures today show us that that is patently false. It is a lie of the devils.. The truth is as Jesus is recorded as saying in just a chapter or two earlier – Matthew 7:11- that your Father in Heaven will give good gifts to his children and sometimes that gift is prolonged life here and now and sometimes that gift is an early return to Heaven above to be with Him. In any case, our Father loves us and will give us exactly what we need to see, experience and know to experience everlasting life with Him both for now and forever.

For God so loved the entire world that He sent His Only Begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

Let us pray.

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[1] M. Eugene Boring, ‘Matthew’, (NIB 8: Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 1995), 222

[2] Cf. Daniel J. Harrington, ‘The Gospel of Matthew’, (Sacra Pagina 1: Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2007), 113.

[3] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, ‘Matthew 8:11-12: Keep Your Eye on the Ball’ Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army (Swift Current, SK: Sheepspeak.com: 18 July 2010). Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2010/07/matthew-811-12-keep-your-eye-on-ball.html

[4] Cf. Douglas R.A. Hare, ‘Matthew’, (Interpretation: Louisville, Kentucky: John Knox Press, 1993), 105 for a discussion of this as well as how it relates to Mark 5.