Matthew 8
v.2-3
A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
This was an exhibition of great faith, and also an acknowledgment of his dependence on the will of Jesus, in order to be healed. So every sinner must come. He must feel that Jesus “can” save him.
The rawest expression of combining faith with expectation is inquiring of God’s willingness. I know You are able and You can, but are You willing? It simply confesses we are utterly at the mercies of God.
v.8
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.
v.10
When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.
We should concern ourselves for the souls of our children and servants, who are spiritually sick, who feel not spiritual evils, who know not that which is spiritually good; and we should bring them to Christ by faith and prayers. Observe his self-abasement. Humble souls are made more humble by Christ’s gracious dealings with them. Observe his great faith. The more diffident we are of ourselves, the stronger will be our confidence in Christ.
v.11-12
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. 12But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
v.17
This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.”
What does this kind of textual comparison offer for better understanding Matthew’s use of Isaiah? By noticing that Matthew seems to be carefully aligning this Isaiah citation with the focus from the Hebrew text on sickness and disease, we might more easily pick up a key emphasis in Matthew: Jesus as healer . This motif begins already in Matthew 4, where one of the three kingdom summary activities is healing: “Jesus went throughout Galilee … healing every disease [ nosos ] and sickness among the people” (4:23; cf. 9:35). Jesus as healer is on full display in Matthew 8–9. Just prior to the evangelist’s citation of Isaiah 53:4, he has narrated three of Jesus’ healings (Matt. 8:1–15) and a summary of many more (8:16). Jesus is a Messiah with power and compassion to heal.
v.20
Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have ness, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
v.26
He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
v.27
The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”