Two Healings
TRANSLATION
(1) And when Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. (2) And behold a leper came to him and kneeled before him, saying, “Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean.” (3) And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him saying, “I want to. Be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. (4) And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one, but go and show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded for a testimony to them.”
(5) When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him. Appealing to him, (6) he said, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” (7) And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” (8) And the centurion responded, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only speak the word and my servant will be healed. (9) For I, too, 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 servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” (10) When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith as this, no, not in Israel. (11) And I tell you that many will come from the east and the west and will recline at table with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, (12) but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into outer darkness. In that place will be weeping and the gnashing of teeth.” (13) And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go, and may it be done for you just as you have believed.” And the servant was healed in that very hour.
OBSERVATIONS
In this segment, two miracles of healing portrayed Jesus’ power and grace throughout his earthly ministry. In the first, he reached out and touched a leper who had probably not felt the touch of another human being for many years. Repeated words included “leper/leprosy,” “want to,” and “clean/cleansed” (all in vss. 2 & 3).
In the second account, a “centurion” (found three times in vss. 5, 8, & 13), a Roman military leader, approached Jesus appealing to him to heal his servant (used four times in vss. 6, 8, 9, & 13). The humility and insight displayed by this professional soldier in making his request caused Jesus to marvel, not just at the depth of the man’s faith but also at the fact that a Gentile had displayed this level of trust. Jesus used his example to instruct his disciples that God’s salvation was meant not just for Jews but for all who might sincerely seek him.
OUTLINE
I. Jesus healed a leper by touching him. (1-4)
II. Jesus healed the centurion’s servant from a distance because of his remarkable faith. (5-13)
IDEA STATEMENT
Those who sincerely seek Jesus’ help whether outcasts ceremonially or culturally will always find him ready to respond.
APPLICATION
In the introduction to his Gospel, the Apostle John articulated a principle that described the nature of Jesus’ earthly ministry: “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (Jn. 1:11 & 12). The two miracles Jesus performed after giving his Sermon on the Mount embodied the essence of this principle. In the first, Jesus reached out to touch and heal a leper no one else would have dared to approach for fear of becoming ceremonially contaminated. In the second, Jesus healed the servant of a Gentile, a military leader in the hated Roman army of occupation. In making his request, the centurion displayed the kind of humility and spiritual sensitivity that few Jews seemed capable of manifesting.
In the previous chapter Jesus had taught his disciples to come to God with open hearts and open hands: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him” (Mt. 7:11). Here he showed them how willing he is to meet the needs of all who acknowledge their need and come to him for help.