In The Word
Read: Matthew 8:1-22
Jesus Cleanses a Man with Leprosy
8 When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. 2 And a man with leprosy came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” 3 Jesus reached out with His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus *said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
The Centurion’s Faith
5 And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, begging Him,6 and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, terribly tormented.”7 Jesus *said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 10 Now when Jesus heard this, He was amazed and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. 11 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; 12 but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”13 And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.
Peter’s Mother-in-law and Many Others Healed
14 When Jesus came into Peter’s home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever. 15 And He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she got up and waited on Him. 16 Now when evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. 17 This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled: “He Himself took our illnesses and carried away our diseases.”
Discipleship Tested
18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea. 19 Then a scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” 20 And Jesus *said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”21 And another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.” 22 But Jesus *said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
Today, we see accounts of Yeshua healing someone with leprosy, someone who was paralyzed, someone with fever, and many who were demon possessed. The leper bowed down before Jesus and asked that His will be done. The paralyzed man had an advocate with great faith for him, and the one with fever waited on Jesus and served Him.
Do you need a healing today? Are you standing in for someone that needs healing? Yeshua is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He still takes our infirmities and carries away our diseases. He is our advocate with the Father, interceding for us on our behalf. He is always faithful to do His part, but what about our part? Like the leper, we need to bow before Him and ask that His will be done. We should make sure that any sickness is not the result of any sin in our life. If He reveals some area of our life that we have sinned against Him in, we should repent of that and ask His forgiveness. Then, like the leper, we should believe that in Him all things are possible in accordance with His will. We should have great faith like the centurion, not limiting God in how He heals. We should believe that He can heal in any way He desires. Finally, we learn from Peter’s mother-in-law that we should serve and wait on Him. Exodus 15:26 says, “For I, the Lord, am your healer.”