Matthew 8
Cleansing a Leper
8:1 After he came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. 8:2 And a leper1 approached, and bowed low before him, saying,2 “Lord, if3 you are willing, you can make me clean.” 8:3 He stretched out his hand and touched4 him saying, “I am willing. Be clean!” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 8:4 Then Jesus said to him, “See that you do not speak to anyone,5 but go, show yourself to a priest, and bring the offering6 that Moses commanded,7 as a testimony to them.”8
Healing the Centurion’s Servant
8:5 When he entered Capernaum,9 a centurion10 came to him asking for help:11 8:6 “Lord,12 my servant13 is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible anguish.” 8:7 Jesus14 said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8:8 But the centurion replied,15 “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. Instead, just say the word and my servant will be healed. 8:9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me.16 I say to this one, ‘Go’ and he goes,17 and to another ‘Come’ and he comes, and to my slave18 ‘Do this’ and he does it.”19 8:10 When20 Jesus heard this he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “I tell you the truth,21 I have not found such faith in anyone in Israel! 8:11 I tell you, many will come from the east and west to share the banquet22 with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob23 in the kingdom of heaven, 8:12 but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”24 8:13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; just as you believed, it will be done for you.” And the servant25 was healed at that hour.
Healings at Peter’s House
8:14 Now26 when Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying down,27 sick with a fever. 8:15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her. Then28 she got up and began to serve them. 8:16 When it was evening, many demon-possessed people were brought to him. He drove out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick.29 8:17 In this way what was spoken by Isaiah the prophet was fulfilled:30
“He took our weaknesses and carried our diseases.”31
Challenging Professed Followers
8:18 Now when Jesus saw a large crowd32 around him, he gave orders to go to the other side of the lake.33 8:19 Then34 an expert in the law35 came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”36 8:20 Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens, and the birds in the sky37 have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”38 8:21 Another39 of the40 disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 8:22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”41
Stilling of a Storm
8:23 As he got into the boat, his disciples followed him.42 8:24 And a great storm developed on the sea so that the waves began to swamp the boat. But he was asleep. 8:25 So they came43 and woke him up saying, “Lord, save us! We are about to die!” 8:26 But44 he said to them, “Why are you cowardly, you people of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked45 the winds and the sea,46 and it was dead calm. 8:27 And the men47 were amazed and said,48 “What sort of person is this? Even the winds and the sea obey him!”49
Healing the Gadarene Demoniacs
8:28 When he came to the other side, to the region of the Gadarenes,50 two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were extremely violent, so that no one was able to pass by that way. 8:29 They51 cried out, “Son of God, leave us alone!52 Have you come here to torment us before the time?”53 8:30 A54 large herd of pigs was feeding some distance from them. 8:31 Then the demons begged him,55 “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” 8:32 And he said,56 “Go!” So57 they came out and went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep slope into the lake and drowned in the water. 8:33 The58 herdsmen ran off, went into the town,59 and told everything that had happened to the demon-possessed men. 8:34 Then60 the entire town61 came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.