Matthew 8
8
Jesus Heals a Man Who Had a Skin Disease
1Jesus came down from the mountainside. Large crowds followed him. 2A man who had a skin disease came and got down on his knees in front of Jesus. He said, “Lord, if you are willing to make me ‘clean,’ you can do it.”
3Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing to do it,” he said. “Be ‘clean’!” Right away the man was healed of his skin disease. 4Then Jesus said to him, “Don’t tell anyone. Go and show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift Moses commanded. It will be a witness to everyone.”
A Roman Commander Has Faith
5When Jesus entered Capernaum, a Roman commander came to him. He asked Jesus for help. 6“Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home and can’t move. He is suffering terribly.”
7Jesus said, “Shall I come and heal him?”
8The commander replied, “Lord, I am not good enough to have you come into my house. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9I myself am a man under authority. And I have soldiers who obey my orders. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes. I tell that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
10When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. He said to those following him, “What I’m about to tell you is true. In Israel I have not found anyone whose faith is so strong. 11I say to you that many will come from the east and the west. They will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of heaven. They will sit with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 12But those who think they belong in the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness. There they will weep and grind their teeth.”
13Then Jesus said to the Roman commander, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.
Jesus Heals Many People
14When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law. She was lying in bed. She had a fever. 15Jesus touched her hand, and the fever left her. She got up and began to serve him.
16When evening came, many people controlled by demons were brought to Jesus. He drove out the spirits with a word. He healed all who were sick. 17This happened so that what Isaiah the prophet had said would come true. He had said,
“He suffered the things we should have suffered.
He took on himself the sicknesses that should have been ours.” (Isaiah 53:4)
The Cost of Following Jesus
18Jesus saw the crowd around him. So he gave his disciples orders to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. 19Then a teacher of the law came to him. He said, “Teacher, I will follow you no matter where you go.”
20Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens. Birds have nests. But the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
21Another follower said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
22But Jesus told him, “Follow me. Let the dead bury their own dead.”
Jesus Calms the Storm
23Jesus got into a boat. His disciples followed him. 24Suddenly a terrible storm came up on the lake. The waves crashed over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25The disciples went and woke him up. They said, “Lord! Save us! We’re going to drown!”
26He replied, “Your faith is so small! Why are you so afraid?” Then Jesus got up and ordered the winds and the waves to stop. It became completely calm.
27The disciples were amazed. They asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
Jesus Heals Two Men Controlled by Demons
28Jesus arrived at the other side of the lake in the area of the Gadarenes. Two men controlled by demons met him. They came from the tombs. The men were so wild that no one could pass that way. 29“Son of God, what do you want with us?” they shouted. “Have you come here to punish us before the time for us to be judged?”
30Not very far away, a large herd of pigs was feeding. 31The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”
32Jesus said to them, “Go!” So the demons came out of the men and went into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the steep bank. They ran into the lake and drowned in the water. 33Those who were tending the pigs ran off. They went into the town and reported all this. They told the people what had happened to the men who had been controlled by demons. 34Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged him to leave their area.
Currently Selected:
Matthew 8: NIrV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Matthew 8
8
He Carried Our Diseases
1-2Jesus came down the mountain with the cheers of the crowd still ringing in his ears. Then a leper appeared and dropped to his knees before Jesus, praying, “Master, if you want to, you can heal my body.”
3-4Jesus reached out and touched him, saying, “I want to. Be clean.” Then and there, all signs of the leprosy were gone. Jesus said, “Don’t talk about this all over town. Just quietly present your healed body to the priest, along with the appropriate expressions of thanks to God. Your cleansed and grateful life, not your words, will bear witness to what I have done.”
5-6As Jesus entered the village of Capernaum, a Roman captain came up in a panic and said, “Master, my servant is sick. He can’t walk. He’s in terrible pain.”
7Jesus said, “I’ll come and heal him.”
8-9“Oh, no,” said the captain. “I don’t want to put you to all that trouble. Just give the order and my servant will be fine. I’m a man who takes orders and gives orders. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes; to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
10-12Taken aback, Jesus said, “I’ve yet to come across this kind of simple trust in Israel, the very people who are supposed to know all about God and how he works. This man is the vanguard of many outsiders who will soon be coming from all directions—streaming in from the east, pouring in from the west, sitting down at God’s kingdom banquet alongside Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Then those who grew up ‘in the faith’ but had no faith will find themselves out in the cold, outsiders to grace and wondering what happened.”
13Then Jesus turned to the captain and said, “Go. What you believed could happen has happened.” At that moment his servant became well.
14-15By this time they were in front of Peter’s house. On entering, Jesus found Peter’s mother-in-law sick in bed, burning up with fever. He touched her hand and the fever was gone. No sooner was she up on her feet than she was fixing dinner for him.
16-17That evening a lot of demon-afflicted people were brought to him. He relieved the inwardly tormented. He cured the bodily ill. He fulfilled Isaiah’s well-known revelation:
He took our illnesses,
He carried our diseases.
Your Business Is Life, Not Death
18-19When Jesus saw that a curious crowd was growing by the minute, he told his disciples to get him out of there to the other side of the lake. As they left, a religion scholar asked if he could go along. “I’ll go with you, wherever,” he said.
20Jesus was curt: “Are you ready to rough it? We’re not staying in the best inns, you know.”
21Another follower said, “Master, excuse me for a couple of days, please. I have my father’s funeral to take care of.”
22Jesus refused. “First things first. Your business is life, not death. Follow me. Pursue life.”
* * *
23-25Then he got in the boat, his disciples with him. The next thing they knew, they were in a severe storm. Waves were crashing into the boat—and he was sound asleep! They roused him, pleading, “Master, save us! We’re going down!”
26Jesus reprimanded them. “Why are you such cowards, such faint-hearts?” Then he stood up and told the wind to be silent, the sea to quiet down: “Silence!” The sea became smooth as glass.
27The men rubbed their eyes, astonished. “What’s going on here? Wind and sea stand up and take notice at his command!”
The Madmen and the Pigs
28-31They landed in the country of the Gadarenes and were met by two madmen, victims of demons, coming out of the cemetery. The men had terrorized the region for so long that no one considered it safe to walk down that stretch of road anymore. Seeing Jesus, the madmen screamed out, “What business do you have giving us a hard time? You’re the Son of God! You weren’t supposed to show up here yet!” Off in the distance a herd of pigs was grazing and rooting. The evil spirits begged Jesus, “If you kick us out of these men, let us live in the pigs.”
32-34Jesus said, “Go ahead, but get out of here!” Crazed, the pigs stampeded over a cliff into the sea and drowned. Scared to death, the swineherds bolted. They told everyone back in town what had happened to the madmen and the pigs. Those who heard about it were angry about the drowned pigs. A mob formed and demanded that Jesus get out and not come back.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.