![]() “In the middle ages, if a man became a leper, the priest donned his stole and took his crucifix, and brought the man into the church, and read the burial service over him. The only thing more defiling than contact with a leper was contact with a dead body. If the wind was blowing toward a person from a leper, they had to keep 150 feet (45 meters) away. According to Jewish law and customs, one had to keep 6 feet (2 meters) from a leper. It is a kind of terrible progressive death in which a man dies by inches.” (Barclay) The duration of that kind of leprosy is anything from twenty to thirty years. Then comes the progressive loss of fingers and toes, until in the end a whole hand or a whole foot may drop off. There follows ulceration of the hands and feet. “Leprosy might begin with the loss of all sensation in some part of the body the nerve trunks are affected the muscles waste away the tendons contract until the hands are like claws. The ancient leper had no hope of improvement, so this leper came to Jesus with a great sense of need and desperation. Behold, a leper came and worshipped Him: In the ancient world, leprosy was a terrible, destructive disease – and still is in some parts of the world. Matthew went on to tell us about the teaching ministry of Jesus (Matthew 5-7) now he tells us more about the healing ministry of Jesus, and how His works confirmed His words.ī. We remember an important foundational verse for Matthew’s Gospel: Now Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and disease among the people (Matthew 4:23). “Matthew does not purport to follow anything other than a topical arrangement, and most of his ‘time’ indicators are very loose.” (Carson) Carson, along with others, claims that Matthew arranged his material here according to topics and themes, not according to chronology. When we compare the events of this chapter with the record of Mark or Luke, we find different order and chronology. Matthew demonstrated this by his mention of the great multitudes that followed Him after coming down from the Mount of Beatitudes. When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him: The miracles of Jesus attracted much attention but so did His teaching ministry. And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”Ī. When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. (1-2) The leper makes his request of Jesus. Matthew 8 – Healing, Teaching, and Miracles A. ![]()
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