Lepers, Gentiles, and women were considered outcasts by many Jewish people, especially the Pharisees. Many Pharisees would pray each morning, “I give thanks that I am a man and not a woman, a Jew and not a Gentile, a free-man and not a slave.”
Cleansing the leper (vv. 1–4). There were a number of afflictions that our Bible categorizes as leprosy. This dreaded infection forced the victim to live apart from others and to cry, “Unclean! Unclean!” when others approached, so they would not be defiled. That the leper ran up to Jesus and violated the code is evidence of his great faith that Jesus would heal him.
Leprosy is an illustration of sin (Isa. 1:5–6). The instructions given to the priests in Leviticus 13 help us understand the nature of sin: Sin is deeper than the skin (Lev. 13:3); it spreads (Lev. 13:8); it defiles and isolates (Lev. 13:45–46); and it is fit only for the fire (Lev. 13:52, 57).
When Jesus touched the leper, He contracted the leper’s defilement, but He also conveyed His health! Is this not what He did for us on the cross when He was made sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21)? The leper did not question His ability to heal; he only wondered if He were willing. Certainly God is willing to save! He is “God our Savior, who will have all men to be saved” (1 Tim. 2:3–4). God is “not willing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9).
Jesus commanded the man not to tell others but to go to the priests and have them declare him restored and fit for society. This ceremony is described in Leviticus 14 and is another beautiful picture of Christ’s work for sinners. The bird slain pictures the death of Christ; the bird released pictures His resurrection. Putting the bird into the jar pictures the Incarnation, when Christ took a human body that He might die for us. The application of the blood to the ear, thumb, and toe illustrates the need for personal faith in His death. The oil on the blood reminds us of the Spirit of God, who enters the person when he trusts the Savior.
The man did not obey Christ; he told everybody what the Lord had done! (Christ tells us to tell everybody, and we keep quiet!) Mark 1: tells us that the healed leper’s witness forced Jesus to avoid the city, and yet the crowds came to Him.
The centurion’s servant healed (vv. 5–13). A centurion was an officer over one hundred men in the Roman army. Every centurion mentioned in the Gospels and Acts was a gentleman of high character and sense of duty, and this man was no exception. The fact that he was concerned about a lowly servant-boy indicates this. The word palsy indicates a kind of paralysis.
It would seem that everything about this man would prevent him from coming to Jesus. He was a professional soldier, and Jesus was a Man of peace. He was a Gentile, and Jesus was a Jew. But this soldier had one thing working for him: he was a man of great faith. This centurion understood that Jesus, like himself, was under authority. All Christ had to do was speak the word and the disease would obey Him the way a soldier obeyed his officer. It is worth noting that only those who are under authority have the right to exercise authority.
Twice in the Gospels it is recorded that Jesus marveled: here, at the great faith of the Gentile centurion, and in Mark 6:6, at the great unbelief of the Jews. Matthew recorded two “Gentile” miracles: this one and the healing of the daughter of the Syrophoenician woman (Matt. 15:21–28). In both cases, the Lord was impressed with their great faith. This is an early indication that the Jews would not believe, but the Gentiles would. Also, in both of these miracles, our Lord healed from a distance. This was a reminder of the spiritual position of the Gentiles “afar off” (Eph. 2:12).
Peter’s mother-in-law healed (vv. 14–17). She was in bed with a fever, and Peter and Andrew told Jesus about her need when they all arrived home after the synagogue service (Mark 1:21). Women did not hold a high position in Israel, and it is doubtful that a Pharisee would have paid much attention to the need in Peter’s home. Jesus healed her with a touch, and she responded by serving Him and the other men.
This seems like a “minor miracle,” but the results were major, for after sundown (when the Sabbath ended), the whole city gathered at the door that the Lord might meet their needs (Mark 1:32–34). Blessing in the home ought to lead to blessing in the community. The change in one woman’s life led to miracles in the lives of many people.
Matthew saw this as a fulfillment of Isaiah 53:4. Please note that Jesus fulfilled this prophecy in His life and not on the cross. He bore man’s sicknesses and infirmities during His ministry on earth. To say that there is “healing in the atonement,” and that every believer has the “right” to claim it, is to misinterpret Scripture. First Peter 2: applies this same truth to the forgiving of our sins, which He bore on the cross. Sin and sickness do go together (see Ps. 103:3), since sickness is a consequence of Adam’s sin and also an illustration of sin. But God is not obligated to heal all sicknesses. He is obligated to save all sinners who call on Him.
First “discipleship” interlude (vv. 18–22). Because great crowds followed Jesus, and opposition had not yet begun, many would-be disciples wanted to follow Him. However, they would not pay the price. This is the first use of “Son of man” in Matthew as a name for Jesus. It comes from Daniel 7: and is definitely a messianic title and a claim to kingship. Matthew 8: might be expressed, “Let the spiritually dead bury the physically dead.” Jesus was not asking the man to be disrespectful to his father (who was not yet dead), but to have the right priorities in life. It is better to preach the gospel and give life to the spiritually dead than to wait for your father to die and bury him.