Matthew 8 – Shortcode

Jesus heals a leper

1. And Him having come down from the mountain, many crowds followed Him.
2. And behold, a leper¹A “leper” is a person suffering from “leprosy” (also called “Hansen’s Disease” in modern times).  The disease is caused by the bacteria “M. leprae“.  Symptoms includes the outbreak of unsightly skin sores and nerve damage. It was a great social stigma in the ancient world and remains so to this day in many places.  The Jews believed that leprosy was caused by sin.  Therefore they believed that only the promised messiah would be able to cure leprosy, because only God could forgive sin.  The leper coming to Jesus could be construed as an act of faith on his part. approached and was bowing down at His feet, saying: “Lord, if you want to, you are able to cleanse me.”
3. And having extended His hand, He touched him saying, “I want to, be cleansed.”  And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
4. And Jesus tells him, “See that you tell no one.  But go show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded as evidence for them.”

The Centurion’s faith

5. And Him having entered Capernaum, a centurion²“centurion” was a rank in the Roman military. A normal centurion was in charge of 80 soldiers, plus ~20 support staff. However, there were different levels of centurion.  The highest ranking centurions could be in charge of up to 1000 men. approached Him, imploring Him
6. and saying: “Lord, my servant boy has been lying sick in the house, paralyzed and horribly tormented.
7. And He tells him: “I will go heal him.”
8. But answering, the centurion was saying: “Lord, I’m not worthy that you might enter under my roof.  But only say the word and my servant boy will be healed.
9. “For I’m also a man under authority, having soldiers under me.  And I tell this one “Go”, and he goes. And to another “Come”, and he comes.  And to my slave “Do this”, and he does it.”
10. And having heard this, Jesus marveled and told the men following Him: “Amen I tell you; I found no one in Israel with such great faith.
11. “And, I tell you that many from the east and the west will arrive and will recline at the table³“recline” is literal.  In ancient times, they laid down on a low table to eat. Thus, “reclining” in those days is similar to “sitting down” today to share a meal. with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of the heavens.
12. “But the sons of this kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.”
13. And Jesus told the centurion, “Go, let it happen to you just as you believed.”  And his servant boy was healed in that hour.

Jesus heals many

14. And having come into Peter’s house, Jesus saw his⁴“his” that is, Peter’s mother-in-law, which is clear in Greek but less so in English. mother-in-law *lying sick with a fever.
15. And He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and was serving Him.
16. And when it became evening, they brought many demon-possessed men to Him and He cast out the spirits with a word, and He healed all having a sickness,
    
17. so what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet it might be fulfilled, saying: “He took our infirmities and carried away our diseases.”⁵quotation/allusion to Isaiah 53:4
18. And having seen a great crowd around Him, Jesus gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea.

The Cost of following Jesus

19. And having approached Him, one scribe told Him: “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
20. And Jesus tells him: “The foxes have dens and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere He might rest His head.”
21. And another of His disciples said to Him: “Lord, first allow me to go and bury my father.”
22. But Jesus tells him: “Follow Me and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”

Jesus Calms the Storm

23. And having stepped into the boat, His disciples followed Him.
24. And behold, a great storm began on the sea so that the boat is covered by the waves, but He was sleeping.
25. And having approached Him, they woke Him up sayin: “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
26. And He tells them: “Why are you fearful?  O, you men of little faith.”  Then having woken up He scolded the winds and the sea, and a great calm began.
27. Then the men marveled, saying: “What kind of man⁶“What kind of man” is one word in Greek.  It can also be mean “from what country/region?”  And in that case is used to inquire about someone’s origins.  Thus, they could be asking where He’s from. is this?  Because even the winds and the sea listen to Him.”

Demons sent into pigs

28. And having come to the other side of the sea to the land of the Gadarenes,⁷The Gadarenes lived in the city Gadara, which was south-east of the Sea of Galilee.  It was an important Hellenized (Greek) city, and one of the ten cities of the Decapolis. two demon-possessed men met Him after coming out of the tombs.  They were very violent, so someone isn’t able to pass through that way.
29. And behold, they cried out saying: “What’s between you and us, Son of God?  Did you come here to torment us before the proper season?”
30. Now, far away from them was a large herd of pigs feeding.
31. So the demons were imploring Him, saying: “If you cast us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”
32. And He told them “Go.”  And having gone out, they went into the pigs.  And behold, all of the herd dashed down the steep bank into the sea and died in the waters.
33. Now, the men feeding them fled.  And having gone into the city, they reported all of this, even about the demon-possessed men.
34. And behold, all of the city went out to meet Jesus.  And having seen Him, they begged that He might depart from their region.⁸“region” is literally “regions”