"Three Healings" in Matthew's Gospel

(Matthew 8:1-14)

By Mary Jane Chaignot

Categories: Biblical Teachings, Jesus (Healings)

Going forward in Matthew’s gospel, readers will see how Jesus puts his words of the Sermon into action.
In the next few chapters, Matthew focuses on the nature of discipleship.
He begins Chapters 8 and 9 with accounts of Jesus’ great works of healing.
Each of these healings is unique and contributes an important element to Jesus’ overall ministry.
They are also witnessed by the disciples.
There are three groups of three. In the first trio, he heals a leper, a centurion, and Peter’s mother-in-law.
Not only does he heal them instantly, with a touch or from a distance, but these are all people on the margins of society -- a leper, a gentile, and a woman.
Leprosy was considered to be incurable.
Even though these people were still alive, they were considered to be dead.
Priests said prayers for the dead over them and sent them away.
Not only were they excluded from any worship functions, but they were also shunned from society.
They were not allowed to come into contact with anyone or with anyone’s property.
They were totally cut off from society, their kin, and their families.
In fact, as they moved around, they were required to announce, “Unclean, unclean!”
The idea was that it would give people along their paths time to protect themselves by moving out of their vicinity.
So it is that “a man with leprosy came and knelt before Jesus…”
Given this background information, it is remarkable that this leper marches right up to Jesus imploring him for help.
In so doing, he is violating every regulation in the book.
But this leper recognizes in Jesus an authority greater than the Law.
He says, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” He doesn’t say, “If you are able…”
He already knows with confidence that Jesus is very able. The issue is one of willingness.
Does Jesus think this man is worthy of healing? Is Jesus willing to risk ritual defilement? Everything is right on the line.
Jesus reaches out his hand and touches the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately, he is cleansed of his leprosy.
Everything in these verses is amazing.
First of all, Jesus touches this man. That was never supposed to happen.
If anyone even accidentally touched a leper, they would have become immediately unclean.
But Jesus does not acknowledge such boundaries. In fact, his touch overcomes them.
There is no indication anywhere that Jesus ever went through any ritual purification rites after this touch.
And just to make sure there is no misunderstanding, he verbally confirms his intention. “I will, be clean.”
And immediately, the man is free.
Jesus continues, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
On the face of it, these two statements seem contradictory. “Don't tell anyone; go to the priest.”
Galilee is roughly ninety miles from Jerusalem. He has some distance to go to the priest.
Some scholars say that in telling him not to say anything about it, Jesus is forbidding him from talking about the process of healing.
But since Jesus doesn’t use any ritual or incantation, just a simple statement – “I will,” it doesn’t seem like there would be that much to talk about.
So others have suggested that maybe he wanted the man to have time to reflect on what had happened, to try to understand it before he started sharing the story.
As distinct, though, as these opinions are, they pale in light of the confusion caused by: “show yourself to the priest.”
Scholars agree that even though the man was cured, he could not be officially welcomed back into society until he had completed a ritual cleansing, at which time the priest would declare him “clean.”
Additionally, he was to go about this ceremonial purification in the way it was specifically prescribed in Leviticus (13-14), by offering sacrifices as “a testimony to them.”
In this traditional interpretation, many scholars argue that by doing this, Jesus acknowledged and affirmed the role of the Temple in the religious lives of the community.
Accordingly, this provides evidence for the fact that the Law was not to be disobeyed.
This event, then, is destined to take the wind out of any argument and stands as proof positive that Jesus did not come to destroy the law, but to uphold it.
Well, perhaps this does explain things; surely it is the traditional view, but it’s not without its problems.
How is it that in the beginning of the story Jesus blatantly violates ritual law by touching the leper, but now at the end of the story he sternly orders the man to follow the law?
It’s almost as though Jesus goes from one extreme to the other in the same situation.
Added to this is the observation by other scholars that Jesus’ concern in this episode for cultic piety seems very out of character; outside of being in the synagogues on the Sabbath, Jesus is never shown in the context of organized piety. In fact, he almost always transgresses traditional aspects of piety.
So how might one explain this incident?
The key, scholars say, lies in the preposition “to” as in “to them.”
Greek prepositions have countless English translations.
The correct one is determined by the context, and here the context demands a different preposition.
The text should not read, “to them,” but rather “against them.”
Then, it would be viewed as a negative witness against the religious leaders. Think about it! What had those leaders done for this man?
The only thing the religious leaders could do for him is to pronounce him “dead” and send him away, banishing him from everything familiar.
That pronouncement separates him from the whole cultic apparatus.
The whole purpose of the temple through its rituals and sacrificial system was to help people stay close to God.
But this man couldn’t go there. He wasn’t even allowed to get close to it.
So does it make sense for Jesus to come along, heal him, and send him right back to a system that has already failed him, abandoned him, and betrayed him?
Actually yes. But in so doing, the man’s presence before the priests stands as a witness to the failure of their system.
They have the glorious temple; they have all the ceremonies with their pomp and circumstance.
They have all the rules and regulations. But none of those things could heal him.
The priests could only condemn him and protect others from becoming like him.
Jesus, on the other hand, heals him with a touch, requiring the priests to affirm that his healing is complete.
But reading the story this way does not stand as an enforcement of those cultic rules; rather it stands as an indictment against them.
Over against those rules stands the healing work of Jesus.
In the second healing, the authority of Jesus is made explicit.
“And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, asking for help.”
The title “centurion” was a military term for a commander of one hundred soldiers of a Roman legion, the smallest unit.
This man is presumed to be a gentile, but not necessarily a Roman.
The centurion says, “Lord, my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”
“Lord” is a polite address with a bigger meaning.
“Servant” can also mean “child” or “slave.” The word suggests this is an important individual to the centurion.
Scholars don’t exactly know the nature of this illness, but Jesus asks, “Shall I come and heal him?” With the “I” being emphatic.
Many scholars translate this as an affirmative statement, “I will come and heal him.” The Greek works both ways.
As a question, Jesus could be challenging his assumptions – “Do you expect me to come and heal him?”
As a statement, Jesus shows immediate willingness to cross boundaries and go to his house, which is totally consistent with the first healing.
Either way, the centurion answers, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.”
It’s unlikely this has anything to do with his perceived state of sinfulness or unworthiness.
It is more likely that the centurion is very aware of the prohibitions against Jews entering the home of a gentile and does not want to cause problems for Jesus.
So he reassures him that that is not at all necessary; he provides another option.
His confidence in Jesus is such that he urges, “just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”
He continues, “For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, ‘Go, and he goes’ and to another, ‘Come, and he comes,’ and to my servant, ‘Do this, and he does it.’”
Just as he has been given authority by his superiors to be exerted over his underlings, Jesus has been given authority by God and can exert it over demons and illness.
In the Roman military, this authority is absolute, keeping troops at the ready for battle at any time.
Just as this centurion expects soldiers to obey his words, he believes demons and evil powers have to obey Jesus’ words.
When Jesus hears this, he is amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.”
In this first use of the word “faith,” it is important to note that nothing is mentioned about the faith of the sick servant.
This, then, is the first example of intercessory prayer in a healing setting.
The faith of this man has exceeded anything Jesus has experienced among the Jews.
It is not only a criticism of Jewish receptivity, but it also calls attention to a gentile’s receptiveness and the future inclusion of their participation in the kingdom of God.
In his diatribe towards those following him, Jesus states that many will come “from the east and west…to take their place at the feast” with the patriarchs.
The expectation is that at the end of time the Jews will enjoy a celebratory feast in the kingdom of God.
But with the arrival of the Messiah, life has changed.
Many Jews will reject him, and they will be “thrown out of the kingdom,” only to be replaced by the believing Gentiles.
This man’s faith centers in the word of Jesus.
And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.”
And with a simple word, Jesus has broken through another barrier and has foreshadowed a ministry to the Gentiles.
The centurion, it is implied, accepts Jesus’ assurance, and returns home to find that “his servant was healed at that moment.”
The healing occurred at the very hour when Jesus spoke his word of power.
Just as the leper has faith in Jesus, so does this centurion. • The third healing in this trio is of Peter’s mother-in-law.
This is the only healing in Matthew whereby Jesus takes the initiative.
“When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever.”
In antiquity, a fever was considered a disease, and not just a symptom of some other illness.
The healing is told with utmost brevity.
There isn’t even a request for help.
Jesus simply, “touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.”
Some religious men refrained from touching women, in general, to avoid any possibility of becoming unclean, unless they had means by which they could ascertain their status (based on Lev 15:19).
Thus the authoritative figure of Jesus dominates the story from beginning to end.
“She got up” is evidence of being completely restored. And “she began to wait on him.”
Lest we think she jumped up to take care of the crew, Matthew changes Mark’s wording from serving “them” to serving “him” -- the “him” being Jesus.
This provides a minor chiastic structure for these verses, in which Jesus first ministers to Peter’s mother-in-law, and she, in turn, ministers to him.
This structure exemplifies the model for discipleship: after Jesus transforms a person, the person serves him.
That Jesus touches her to cure her may also indicate the way he values people over traditions, given some evidence for prejudice against touching people with fevers.
It is the climax of the group.
The leper teases us with Jesus’ authority. The centurion makes it explicit. The woman follows through with an appropriate response -- one of discipleship.
She also serves as a bridge to his healing of “all the sick” and reminds us that God’s mercies are not limited to those who are in mainstream society.

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