Life Recovery Bible - Flipbook - Page 22
Page 1208 / M atthew 8
3
Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am
willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly
the leprosy disappeared. 4 Then Jesus said to
him, “Don’t tell anyone about this. Instead,
go to the priest and let him examine you.
Take along the offering required in the law
of Moses for those who have been healed of
leprosy.* This will be a public testimony that
you have been cleansed.”
The Faith of a Roman Officer
5
When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Ro
man officer* came and pleaded with him,
6
“Lord, my young servant* lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.”
7
Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.”
8
But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy
to have you come into my home. Just say the
word from where you are, and my servant will
be healed. 9 I know this because I am under the
authority of my superior officers, and I have
authority over my soldiers. I only need to say,
‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come.
And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”
10
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed.
Turning to those who were following him,
he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen
faith like this in all Israel! 11 And I tell you
this, that many Gentiles will come from all
over the world—from east and west—and sit
down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the
feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. 12 But many
Israelites—those for whom the Kingdom was
prepared—will be thrown into outer darkness,
where there will be weeping and gnashing
of teeth.”
13
Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go
back home. Because you believed, it has happened.” And the young servant was healed
that same hour.
Jesus Heals Many People
14
When Jesus arrived at Peter’s house, Peter’s
mother-in-law was sick in bed with a high
fever. 15 But when Jesus touched her hand, the
fever left her. Then she got up and prepared
a meal for him.
16
That evening many demon-possessed
people were brought to J esus. He cast out the
evil spirits with a simple command, and he
healed all the sick. 17 This fulfilled the word
of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah, who
said,
“He took our sicknesses
and removed our diseases.”*
The Cost of Following Jesus
18
When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he
instructed his disciples to cross to the other
side of the lake.
19
Then one of the teachers of religious law
said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
20
But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live
in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man*
has no place even to lay his head.”
21
Another of his disciples said, “Lord, first
let me return home and bury my father.”
22
But Jesus told him, “Follow me now. Let
the spiritually dead bury their own dead.*”
Jesus Calms the Storm
23
Then Jesus got into the boat and started
across the lake with his disciples. 24 Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with
waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was
sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him
up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to
drown!”
26
Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid?
You have so little faith!” Then he got up and
rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly
there was a great calm.
27
The disciples were amazed. “Who is this
man?” they asked. “Even the winds and
waves obey him!”
:4 See Lev 14:2-32. 8:5 Greek a centurion; similarly in 8:8, 13. 8:6 Or child; also in 8:13. 8:17 Isa 53:4. 8:20 “Son
8
of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself. 8:22 Greek Let the dead bury their own dead.
8:5-13 The healing of the Roman officer’s servant has much to teach all of us who are in recovery.
The officer understood and humbly admitted his need, believing that Jesus could heal his young
servant even from a distance. Jesus marveled because such faith was rare, even among God’s
chosen people, the Jews. We see here that Jesus came to bring deliverance to all people, Jew or
Gentile, man or woman, rich or poor, religious or nonreligious. With God’s help we can all have
hope for recovery, no matter who we are or what we have done.
8:23-32 In this passage Jesus exhibited power over both the weather and the demonic realm. In
both cases his disciples learned about faith in the incredible power of God. Since Jesus has the
ability to calm a mighty storm and rid people of demonic influence, he can certainly empower us
in the recovery process. We can experience God’s power by first recognizing how powerless we
are and then by giving our lives to him.
