Big Healing Book - Matthew 8:2-4

Matthew 8:2-4:

And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

And Jesus put forth his hand and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

Notes on Matthew 8:2-4:

The leper could surely observe that Jesus was healing many sick people, but as is the case with many people today, he was uncertain of Jesus’ willingness to heal him in particular.

Notice that this man did two things right: (1) He went to where Jesus was. This was normally the prerequisite in His ministry to receive healing from Him. The man was risking his life in doing this, because lepers were not normally allowed to have contact with the rest of the world. (2) He worshipped Him. Although the man was ignorant of Jesus’ will, he still showed reverence for the Lord. The man’s heart was obviously open toward the Lord.

Jesus did not rebuke the man for his ignorance. Instead, He eliminated the ignorance by telling him, “I will.” Then the man knew the will of Jesus in the matter. He was able to receive his healing.

This leper is the only man we know of who questioned Jesus’ will concerning his healing. The only recorded answer Jesus ever gave when questioned about it is therefore, “I will.” Jesus never told a sick person, “I won’t, keep your sickness because God has a sovereign reason for you to be sick for your own good.” How pitiful that today some ministers of (allegedly) the gospel are now saying what Jesus never said. Instead of undermining peoples’ faith, every minister should be proclaiming, “It is His will!”

Verse 4 shows that Jesus did not heal simply as a publicity stunt. He told the man not to tell anyone what had happened. He said to go discreetly to the priest so that his healing could be officially verified. That way, he could be free from the laws concerning lepers. If this were a publicity stunt, He would have told the man to tell everyone he knew. That would have drawn bigger crowds. Compassion and desire to do the will of God motivated Jesus, not desire for personal fame. Anyone involved in healing ministry, or any ministry for that matter, should note and follow this pattern. Mass healing of the sick will result in publicity automatically whether you want it or not.

Note Jesus’ lack of fear in touching the leper. He was not in fear of getting leprosy Himself if He touched a leper. Every believer should share His boldness in this regard, believing that “nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19) rather than thinking, “If I touch this guy with the flu, I’m liable to catch what he has myself. I sure hope he doesn’t cough or sneeze when I’m in front of him.”