The Jesus Bible Reading PlanSample

JESUS’ POWER OVER DISEASE

Matthew 8 begins with three stories of Jesus’ healing miracles. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus healed many people; in doing so, he fulfilled the Old Testament prophecy of Isaiah 53:4: “He took up our pain and bore our suffering.” Not only did Jesus heal physical infirmities while he was on earth, but he also healed all infirmities, physical and spiritual, through his death on the cross. The stories of Jesus’ healing miracles are precursors to his ultimate healing miracle on the cross.

The key phrase worth noting in the story of the man with leprosy is “Lord, if you are willing” (Mt 8:2). As a leper, this man was a social outcast because leprosy was thought to be highly contagious. This man was incredibly bold even to approach Jesus in light of his disease, yet he did so confidently. He knew that having faith was no guarantee that Jesus would heal him, but he knew Jesus could heal him (Da 3:17 – 18).

The next story shows, for the first time in the Gospels, Jesus interacting with someone who was not Jewish. As a Gentile, the centurion had little reason to interact with, let alone believe in, Jesus. However, he showed faith similar to that of the leper in asking Jesus to heal his servant. The centurion, a man in charge of roughly 80 to 100 soldiers, rebuffed Jesus’ offer to come into his home. He knew that if Jesus would only say the word, his servant would be healed, which even further showed his confidence in Jesus’ power. Jesus was astonished at the faith of the centurion: “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith” (Mt 8:10).

These two stories are remarkable in Scripture specifically because they tell stories of two individuals’ great faith despite the supposed odds against Jesus acting on their behalf. The social outcast and the Gentile showed more faith in Jesus than he had seen before, and they reaped the rewards of their faith and trust.

Jesus, help me to have faith like that of the man suffering from leprosy and the centurion. Help me to approach you boldly and confidently, laying my requests at your feet while also completely accepting your will. Amen.