Matthew 8:1 - Meaning and Application

The first verse refers to the close of the sermon before this. The people who heard Jesus were amazed at his teaching, and the result was that, when he came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. Even though he was such a strict lawgiver and such a faithful reprover, they still stayed close to him and did not want to leave. Those to whom Christ has shown himself cannot help wanting to know him better. If we already know much of Christ, we should want to know even more, and then we will know the Lord more fully as we keep on seeking him.

It is a good sign when people are so drawn to Christ that they never feel they have heard enough about him. It is also good when they value the best things enough to gather around faithful preaching and to follow the Lamb wherever he goes. In this way, Jacob's prophecy about the Messiah was being fulfilled, that the people would gather to him. Yet many who gathered around him did not truly hold fast to him. Those who followed him closely and constantly were only a few, compared with the larger crowds who followed him at a distance.

Here we have an account of Christ cleansing a leper. If we compare this with Mark 1:40 and Luke 5:12, it seems that this event happened before the Sermon on the Mount, even though Matthew places it here because he wants to give Christ's teaching first and then his miracles. That difference in order does not matter. It is fitting that this should be one of Christ's first miracles for two reasons. First, leprosy was seen among the Jews as a special sign of God's displeasure. Miriam, Gehazi, and Uzziah were struck with leprosy for particular sins, and so Christ, who came to turn away God's wrath by taking away sin, began with the healing of a leper. Second, this disease was thought to come directly from God's hand, and so it was also thought to be removed by God's hand. People did not try to cure it with doctors, but placed it under the care of the priests, the Lord's ministers, who waited to see what God would do. Leprosy in a garment or in the walls of a house was also seen as something supernatural, and it may have been very different from what we now call leprosy.

The king of Israel once said, "Am I God, to recover a man from leprosy?" (2 Kings 5:7). Christ showed himself to be God by healing many people from leprosy, and by giving his disciples authority to do the same in his name (Matthew 10:8). This was also one of the proofs that he was the Messiah (Matthew 11:5). In this, he also showed himself to be the Savior of his people from their sins. Every disease comes from sin and pictures it, since sin disorder the soul, but leprosy did this in a special way. It caused such pollution and forced such separation from holy things that no other disease did. That is why, in the laws about it (Leviticus 13 and 14), it is treated not as a sickness only, but as uncleanness. The priest was to pronounce a person clean or unclean, according to the signs. But the honor of truly making lepers clean was kept for Christ, who would do this as the High Priest of our faith. He came to do what the law could not do, because the law was weakened by human weakness (Romans 8:3). The law exposed sin, since through the law comes the knowledge of sin, and it pronounced sinners unclean. It shut them up, as the priest shut up the leper (Galatians 3:23), but it could go no farther. It could not make those who came to it perfect. Christ, however, takes away sin, cleanses us from it, and so makes holy people complete forever.

Now we see, first, the leper's appeal to Christ. If this happened, as Matthew places it, after the Sermon on the Mount, we may think the leper, though kept outside Israel's cities by his disease, still managed to hear Jesus preach. That sermon encouraged him to come to Christ, for the one who taught with authority could also heal with authority. So he came and worshiped him, honoring him as one clothed with divine power. His request was, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."

We may look at this healing as a temporal mercy, a kindness to the body that freed it from a disease that may not have threatened life, but made life miserable. This teaches us to come to Christ, who has power over bodily diseases, and also shows us how to come. We should come trusting his power, believing that he is just as able to heal now as he was when he lived on earth. But we must also submit to his will. "Lord, if you are willing, you can" is the right prayer. For temporal blessings, we cannot be as sure of God's will as we can of his power, because his power works with wisdom and for our good and his glory. When we do not know his will, we can still trust his wisdom and mercy and gladly leave the matter to him: Your will be done. That makes waiting easier, and it makes the answer, when it comes, sweeter.

We may also look at this as a picture of spiritual mercy. Sin is the leprosy of the soul. It shuts us out from fellowship with God, and to be restored, we must be cleansed from this leprosy. That should be our great concern. It is our comfort, when we come to Christ as the great Physician, that if he is willing, he can make us clean. We should come to him with humble, believing boldness and say so. First, we must rest on his power. We must be sure that Christ can make us clean. No guilt is too great for his righteousness to cover, and no corruption is too strong for his grace to overcome. God would not appoint a physician for his hospital who is not fully suited for the work. Second, we must appeal to his pity. We cannot claim mercy as something owed to us, but must ask for it as a favor. "Lord, if you are willing" means, "I throw myself at your feet, and if I perish, I perish there."

Second, we have Christ's answer, and it was full of kindness (Matthew 8:3). He reached out his hand and touched the leper. Leprosy was a foul and unpleasant disease, yet Christ touched him. He was never too proud to meet with tax collectors and sinners to do them good. Touching a leper brought ceremonial uncleanness under the law, but Christ showed that when he spent time with sinners, he was in no danger of becoming polluted by them. The ruler of this world had nothing in him. If we touch pitch, we are stained by it, but Christ was separate from sinners, even while he lived among them.

Then he said, "I will. Be clean." He did not say, as Elisha said to Naaman, "Go wash in the Jordan." He did not send him through a long, hard, costly course of treatment. He spoke the word, and the man was healed. Here is a word of kindness: "I will." It is as if he said, "I am as willing to help you as you are to be helped."

Note that those who come to Christ by faith for mercy and grace can be sure he is willing, freely willing, to give them what they ask. Christ is like a physician who does not need to be hunted for, because he is always near. He does not need to be urged, because while we are still speaking, he hears. He does not need to be paid, because he heals freely, without price or reward. He has already shown in every possible way that he is as willing as he is able to save sinners.

Then comes a word of power: “Be clean.” In that word, Christ shows both authority and active power. Christ heals by commanding us, “Be clean,” meaning, “Be willing to be clean, and use the means. Turn from every sinful impurity.” But there is also a command about us, a word that actually does the work: “I want you to be clean.” A word like this is needed for the cure, and it is powerful enough to bring the cure about. Almighty grace that speaks this word will not fail those who truly desire it.

The happy change came at once: immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Nature works little by little, but the God of nature works at once. He speaks, and it is done. Yet he also works effectively. He commands, and it stands firm. One of Moses’ first miracles was healing himself of leprosy (Exodus 4:7), because the priests under the law first offered sacrifices for their own sins. But one of Christ’s first miracles was healing another person of leprosy, because he had no sin of his own to make atonement for.

After that, Christ gave the man further directions. It is right that those healed by Christ should remain under his rule. “Tell no one,” he said, “until you have shown yourself to the priest and he has declared you clean. Then you will have legal proof that you were a leper before, and now have been fully cleansed.” Christ wanted his miracles to be seen in their full light and proof, not spread abroad before that could happen. Those who teach Christ’s truth should be able to prove it, defend what they teach, and answer those who oppose them. “Tell no one, until you have shown yourself to the priest,” may also mean that, if the priest heard who healed you, he might refuse, out of spite, to give you a certificate of cleansing and so keep you in confinement. The priests in Christ’s time were like that, so anyone dealing with them had to be as wise as a serpent.

Christ also said, “Go, show yourself to the priest,” according to the law (Leviticus 14:2). Christ made sure the law was kept, so that he would not cause offense. He also showed that he wants order preserved, and proper respect given to those in office. Those who have been cleansed from spiritual leprosy may also find it useful to go to Christ’s ministers, explain their situation, and let them help them examine their spiritual state, give advice, comfort them, and pray for them.

Finally, Christ said, “Offer the gift that Moses commanded,” as a sign of thankfulness to God and as payment to the priest for his work. This was to be a testimony to them. It may mean, first, that Moses commanded these ceremonies as testimonies of God’s authority over his people, his care for them, and of the grace that would later be revealed. Or it may mean, second, “Offer it as a testimony, and let the priest know who cleansed you, and how.” Then it would stand as proof that there is one among them who can do what the high priest cannot do. It would remain on record as a witness to Christ’s power, and a testimony for him to those who would use it well. But it would also stand against those who refused to believe, because Christ’s words and works are both testimony.