Bible Study Matthew 8
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Matthew 8 · WEB

Authority Over Disease, Nature, and Demons

Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.

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When he came down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.
2Behold, a leper came to him and worshiped him, saying, "Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean."
3Jesus stretched out his hand, and touched him, saying, "I want to. Be made clean." Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
4Jesus said to him, "See that you tell nobody, but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."
5When he came into Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking him,
6and saying, "Lord, my servant lies in the house paralyzed, grievously tormented."
7Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."
8The centurion answered, "Lord, I'm not worthy for you to come under my roof. Just say the word, and my servant will be healed.
9For I am also a man under authority, having under myself soldiers. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and tell another, 'Come,' and he comes; and tell my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
10When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to those who followed, "Most certainly I tell you, I haven't found so great a faith, not even in Israel.
11I tell you that many will come from the east and the west, and will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven,
12but the children of the Kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
13Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way. Let it be done for you as you have believed." His servant was healed in that hour.
14When Jesus came into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother lying sick with a fever.
15He touched her hand, and the fever left her. She got up and served him.
16When evening came, they brought to him many possessed with demons. He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick;
17that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, "He took our infirmities and bore our diseases."
18Now when Jesus saw great multitudes around him, he gave the order to depart to the other side.
19A scribe came, and said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."
20Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."
21Another of his disciples said to him, "Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father."
22But Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead."
23When he got into a boat, his disciples followed him.
24Behold, a violent storm came up on the sea, so much that the boat was covered with the waves, but he was asleep.
25They came to him, and woke him up, saying, "Save us, Lord! We are dying!"
26He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Then he got up, rebuked the wind and the sea, and there was a great calm.
27The men marveled, saying, "What kind of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"
28When he came to the other side, into the country of the Gergesenes, two people possessed by demons met him there, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that nobody could pass that way.
29Behold, they cried out, saying, "What do we have to do with you, Jesus, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?"
30Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding far away from them.
31The demons begged him, saying, "If you cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of pigs."
32He said to them, "Go!" They came out, and went into the herd of pigs: and behold, the whole herd of pigs rushed down the cliff into the sea, and died in the water.
33Those who fed them fled, and went away into the city, and told everything, including what happened to those who were possessed with demons.
34Behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged that he would depart from their borders.
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Summary

Matthew gathers a series of miracles that demonstrate Jesus' authority over disease, distance, nature, and demons. Jesus heals a leper by touch, the centurion's servant by a word, Peter's mother-in-law by a touch, and many others—fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy that the Servant would bear our diseases. He confronts the cost of discipleship, calms a deadly storm with a rebuke, and frees two demon-possessed men in Gentile territory, after which the locals beg him to leave.

Themes

  • Jesus' authority over sickness, nature, and the demonic
  • Faith found in unlikely places (a Roman centurion)
  • The cost and homelessness of following Jesus
  • Fulfillment of Isaiah's Servant prophecies
  • The Kingdom open to Gentiles from east and west

Key verses

  • Matt 8:17 — “He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.”
  • Matt 8:20 — “The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
  • Matt 8:27 — “What kind of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
  • Matt 8:8 — “Lord, I'm not worthy for you to come under my roof. Just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”

Context & background

Capernaum, on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee (modern Israel), served as Jesus' ministry headquarters; Peter's house there has been excavated and is a major archaeological site. The centurion was a Roman officer commanding about 100 soldiers stationed in the region; his faith is striking precisely because Rome was the occupying power. The Sea of Galilee is a freshwater lake about 700 feet below sea level, prone to sudden violent storms when cool air from the surrounding hills meets the warm lake air. The country of the Gergesenes (or Gadarenes) lay on the southeast shore, in the Decapolis region of modern Jordan/Golan—a Gentile area, which explains the herd of pigs (unclean to Jews).

Cross-references

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  1. Observe

    What did the leper say to Jesus before being healed, and how did Jesus respond physically?

  2. Observe

    When the storm struck on the Sea of Galilee, what was Jesus doing, and what did he say to the disciples after calming it?

  3. Interpret

    Why does Jesus marvel at the centurion's faith and declare it greater than any he has found in Israel — what does the centurion understand that others miss?

  4. Interpret

    When Matthew quotes Isaiah 53:4 in verse 17 — "He took our infirmities and bore our diseases" — how does this reshape the meaning of Jesus' healing miracles?

  5. Apply

    The centurion said "just say the word, and my servant will be healed," trusting Jesus' authority completely without needing his physical presence. How does this kind of faith differ from what you typically bring to your prayers?

  6. Apply

    Jesus told one would-be follower that the Son of Man had nowhere to lay his head, and told another to leave the dead to bury their own dead. What do these responses reveal about what full commitment to Jesus actually demands?

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