Matthew 8:1-4 Jesus Heals Leprosy!

[hotcoffee]

Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy

Matthew 8:1 "When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. 2 A man with leprosy[a] came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. 4 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.”

[a]Matthew 8:2 The Greek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.



Now... about the verses....

First of all I read here that Jesus went down from the mountainside. In our language the service [mass] is over and the teacher was on the way out.

People loved His teaching and they were flocking around Him as He tried to leave. This man who had to have torn clothing and hair that was a wreck came up to Him.

I like to think it was like going up to the pastor after a sermon to say "nice sermon". I'm sure it was a private conversation like the ones we have with our pastors. Jesus touched Him and the disease must have turned white.

Jesus tells him not to tell anyone. He's in a crowd of people and Jesus tells the man not to tell anyone! Why is that?

• Jewish law called for the man to go to the priest to be declared cleansed
• The cleansing ceremony included sacrifice, guilt offerings, and giving God the glory
• Jesus had been hunted since He was a baby by people who wanted Him dead
• Jesus didn't want His teaching ministry to turn into a side show

If this man had run around telling everyone that Jesus had just healed him...

• The man would have been violating the law
• Jesus would have been the cause.
• All kinds of authorities would have been upset
• The ministry would have been cut short.

I'm sure there's plenty more to be said about this story. I'm counting on some input.


About the disease ~ the man had Leprosy

Leprosy is a disease that still exists.
It's contagious until the patient is on long term medication.

Back in days when Jesus was preaching, someone with Leprosy had to be quarantined. Leviticus 13 describes the quarantine and Leviticus 14 describes the treatment.

[ItalianScallion (Premo)]

Originally Posted by hotcoffee

"...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.”

He's in a crowd of people and Jesus tells the man not to tell anyone! Why is that?

I think you've covered it well. Jesus didn't want to become too popular, too quickly so He told the man not to tell anyone. It didn't matter though; He still became a very popular figure.

They were still under the OT law until Jesus died on the cross so He told the man to show himself to the priest (A sign that God had healed him) and then offer the gift that Moses commanded (so he wouldn't violate the law).

I also see the salvation experience in this passage. Jesus makes His presence known to us, we come to Him humbly asking for salvation, He forgives & heals us, we go and tell others what happened then we offer our gift to Him by sharing the Gospel from then on...

[cheezgrits]

So you're telling me you guys think this was literal and not metaphorical?

And you turn your noses up at me for my Native beliefs and think I'm a pagan.

If you think this was literal, you believe in magic then in my eyes. Wizardry I tell you! :sheesh:

[Zguy28]

Originally Posted by cheezgrits

So you're telling me you guys think this was literal and not metaphorical?

And you turn your noses up at me for my Native beliefs and think I'm a pagan.

If you think this was literal, you believe in magic then in my eyes. Wizardry I tell you! :sheesh:

I prefer the term historical.

[hotcoffee]

Originally Posted by cheezgrits

So you're telling me you guys think this was literal and not metaphorical?

And you turn your noses up at me for my Native beliefs and think I'm a pagan.

If you think this was literal, you believe in magic then in my eyes. Wizardry I tell you! :sheesh:

Yes... I'm telling you this is literal.

I believe that Jesus healed that man. As we go on you'll see that Jesus healed a multitude of people. He took their illness on Himself.

I don't turn my nose up at you for your Native beliefs, although I do feel that if you are not a Christian, you are probably a pagan... but it's not for me to judge...

I don't believe it was magic or wizardry.... Although there were those who did some magical works in the Bible. Take for instance when Moses was in Egypt. Magicians turned their staff into serpents. But the staff Moses carried turned into a serpent that devoured the other serpents.

I believe the healing of the man was the Hand of the Lord at work.

[cheezgrits]

OK, then. Faith is a wonderful thing, but logic is a gift just like anything else unique to humans, bestowed by our Creator.

I choose to believe that the Bible is more metaphorical than literal. But to each their own, I suppose. Except for IS, whose way is the only way.

[b23hqb]

Jesus heals all things - spiritually always, and often physically - through belief in Him. Faith is the equalizer.

Unbelief is the only non-healable situation.

Historical, eye-witness, documented evidence is evidence, even to the eye and ear of the unbeliever. That is history.

[cheezgrits]

Originally Posted by b23hqb

Jesus heals all things - spiritually always, and often physically - through belief in Him. Faith is the equalizer.

Unbelief is the only non-healable situation.

Historical, eye-witness, documented evidence is evidence, even to the eye and ear of the unbeliever. That is history.

That's another view, and well said, too!

[cheezgrits]

Originally Posted by b23hqb

Historical, eye-witness, documented evidence is evidence, even to the eye and ear of the unbeliever. That is history.

So, 1000 years from now, you want the people studying us to believe that our faith healers on TV today were really healing? And wrestling was real, too?

[ItalianScallion (Premo)]

Originally Posted by cheezgrits

OK, then. Faith is a wonderful thing, but logic is a gift just like anything else unique to humans, bestowed by our Creator.

I choose to believe that the Bible is more metaphorical than literal. But to each their own, I suppose. Except for IS, whose way is the only way.

First off, you can't broad brush the Bible. There are some metaphors in it but not all of it is metaphoric. That healing was literal and witnessed by many.

Next, the "Creator" can create everything in the universe, why can't he heal someone..............if your Creator is the true one?