“Jesus on a Healing Spree”

(Matthew 8:1-17)

Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]

Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD

First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida

March 3, 2019

The Passage

Matthew 8:1-17

1 When he came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. 2 Right away a man with leprosy came up and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

3 Reaching out his hand, Jesus touched him, saying, “I am willing; be made clean.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 Then Jesus told him, “See that you don’t tell anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

5 When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, pleading with him, 6 “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible agony.”

7 He said to him, “Am I to come and heal him?”

8 “Lord,” the centurion replied, “I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man under authority, having soldiers under my command. I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

10 Hearing this, Jesus was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with so great a faith. 11 I tell you that many will come from east and west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 Then Jesus told the centurion, “Go. As you have believed, let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that very moment.

14 Jesus went into Peter’s house and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. 15 So he touched her hand, and the fever left her. Then she got up and began to serve him. 16 When evening came, they brought to him many who were demon-possessed. He drove out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick, 17 so that what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: He himself took our weaknesses and carried our diseases.

Introductory Comments:

Have you ever heard a really good speaker at a conference or seminar and you see a long line of people lining up at the end to speak to him or her? There’s something about hearing someone share something moving that makes people want to be around that speaker.

Well, here we are after the Sermon on the Mountainside. Jesus has just preached the most famous sermon in human history. We see from this passage in verse 1 that “large crowds” followed Jesus after He finished preaching His sermon. 

We learn that these crowds were not following Him in vain. Jesus was getting to work doing great things for the kingdom of God. 

So, let’s look at this passage together this morning. Before we do, let’s go to God in prayer.

(Prayer)

As we see the large crowds following Jesus we must remember how revolutionary Jesus’ teaching was. He really shook things up, so many are probably wondering what He will do or say next. 

As a result, many come to Him for healing. 

We must also remember that one of Matthew’s main goals in writing his gospel is to demonstrate that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promised Messiah. 

So, here, Matthew is showing us that Jesus is not just a good teacher, He’s also a miraculous healer. 

In your notes, you will see that we have three healings and three truths at which we will look. 

First, . . .

Healing #1: The leper (2-4) [on screen]

Let’s review verses 2 through 4. 

2 Right away a man with leprosy came up and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

3 Reaching out his hand, Jesus touched him, saying, “I am willing; be made clean.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 Then Jesus told him, “See that you don’t tell anyone; but go, show yourself to the prie