1. Christ ' s miracles of healing , and the secret of his ability to perform them. Observe: (a) One of the chosen people, who had lost all social and religious privileges; (b) a Gentile, an outsider by birth; (c) the near relation of a personal follower; (d) multitudes. (a) The request by the sufferer; (b) the request by another; (c) apparently no request, yet the personal follower has Christ with him; (d) the sufferers are brought to him. read more
MESSIAH 'S WORK AS COMPLEMENTARY TO HIS TEACHING . We return in this section to matter which resembles that of Mark and Luke, and undoubtedly belongs to the Framework ( vide Introduction). St. Matthew has given a lengthy summary of the teaching of the Christ, and he now supplements it by a summary of his daily work. He is not concerned with the chronological connexion of the incidents here narrated, for this is evidently to him a matter of but secondary importance. He... read more
And Jesus put forth ( and he stretched forth , Revised Version) his hand, and touched him . The careful record of the twofold action may be either a trace of the increasing astonishment of the bystanders or a means of indicating that this was no accidental touch, but the result of deliberate will (cf. Matthew 14:31 ). According to the Law (Le Matthew 13:46 with 11:40), our Lord by this action would become unclean until the evening. But of this there is no hint. That indeed he... read more
And Jesus ...touched him - It was an offence to the Jews to “touch” a leprous person, and was regarded as making him who did it ceremonially impure, Leviticus 13:3. The act of putting forth his hand and “touching” him, therefore, expressed the intention of Jesus to cure him, and was a pledge that he “was,” in fact, already cured. read more
30. Jesus cleanses a leper (Matthew 8:1-4; Mark 1:40-45; Luke 5:12-16)People with leprosy and other skin diseases were considered unclean and a danger to public health. They were outcasts from society (Leviticus 13:45-46). If they were healed they had to offer sacrifices to symbolize their cleansing and express their thanks (Leviticus 14:1-20).On the first recorded occasion when Jesus healed a leper, he did what anyone else would normally avoid doing; he touched the man. He then told the man to... read more
Jesus. All the texts ( App-94 .) read "He". I will = I am willing. See App-102 . his leprosy was cleansed. Figure of speech Hypallage ( App-6 ) = he was cleansed of his leprosy. Kaharizo is found in the Papyri and in Inscriptions in this sense. read more
And he stretched forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou made clean. And straightway his leprosy was cleansed.Touching the leper, Jesus again showed his power and authority over and beyond the law of Moses which forbade touching a leper (Leviticus 13:44-46). All who touched a leper were considered unclean themselves; and anyone, except Christ, touching a leper would have been defiled; but not only did Jesus' touch fail to defile him, it cleansed the leper! Christ often defied... read more
Matthew 8:3. And Jesus put forth his hand, &c.— Dr. Doddridge supposes that our Saviour took this leper aside from the multitude, without which he thinks there could have been no room for the charge of secresy which Jesus gave. This circumstance certainly happened in another cure. See Mark 8:23. Christ had taught with authority, ch. Mat 7:29 which he immediately confirms by wonderful actions. The priest, after a long trial, pronounced whether a man was cured of his leprosy or not; but... read more
3. And Jesus—or "He," according to another reading,—"moved with compassion," says Mark (Mark 1:41); a precious addition. put forth his hand, and touched him—Such a touch occasioned ceremonial defilement (Mark 1:41- :); even as the leper's coming near enough for contact was against the Levitical regulations (Mark 1:41- :). But as the man's faith told him there would be no case for such regulations if the cure he hoped to experience should be accomplished, so He who had healing in His wings... read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 8:1-13
The leper and the centurion. The miracles of our Lord are an integral and necessary part of God's revelation of himself to men. Christ came not so much to reveal God's power as to reveal God's disposition to use that power for us; not so much to show God's holiness as to show his desire and purpose to make us also holy. Miracles, therefore, lay as naturally and inevitably in the way of Christ's work as his teaching with authority did. I. THE HEALING OF THE LEPER is the first... read more