Mat 8:1 NASB) And when He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him.
(Mat 8:2 NASB) And behold, a leper came to Him, and bowed down to Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, you can make me clean.”
(Mat 8:3 NASB) And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Mat 8:3: This man took a great chance in coming up to Yeshua because lepers are to stay away the people and signal to them when he was around (Lev. 13:45-46). But this man apparently kept himself covered up and came up to Yeshua without them knowing he was a leper. It is likely that Yeshua made sure that He came near the dwelling of this leper when He came down from the mountain.
This man demonstrated faithfulness that Yeshua was Messiah. He said that He knew Yeshua could make him clean.
(Mat 8:4 NASB) And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and present the offering that Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.”
Mat 8:4: Yeshua instructed the man to go make the offerings commanded in Torah (Leviticus 14). Yeshua always wanted His Father’s Torah honored (Isa. 42:21).
(Mat 8:5 NASB) And when He had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, entreating Him,
(Mat 8:6 NASB) and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering great pain.”
(Mat 8:7 NASB) And He said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
Mat 8:7: This man has a Roman military title; therefore it can be assumed he was a Gentile. He comes to Yeshua on behalf of his servant who is paralyzed. This centurion is acting out Torah in his life by showing love and compassion for those under him.
(Mat 8:8 NASB) But the centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.
(Mat 8:9 NASB) “For I, too, am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”
(Mat 8:10 NASB) Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled, and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.
Mat 8:10: This is another example of great faithfulness. This centurion knew that he was not worthy for Yeshua to enter his house. He knew that Yeshua had authority over all creation in the same way he has authority over his servants.
Yeshua says that He has not found such great faithfulness with anyone in Israel. Yeshua’s next comment is insightful to us in regards to the future kingdom of heaven.
(Mat 8:11 NASB) “And I say to you, that many shall come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven;
(Mat 8:12 NASB) but the sons of the kingdom shall be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Mat 8:12: The kingdom of heaven will include believing non-Jewish people as well as believing Jewish people. Yeshua says that many will be feasting with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This is probably a reference to the Wedding Supper of the Lamb, but could be a reference to any time after the return of Messiah (Psalm 22:27-29, 98:3, Isa. 2:2-3).
But there will be people who are blood relatives of Abraham who will be cast into outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
(Mat 8:13 NASB) And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; let it be done to you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed that very hour.
Mat 8:13: It was through the faithfulness of the centurion that he demonstrated with his actions that healed his servant.
(Mat 8:14 NASB) And when Jesus had come to Peter’s home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever.
(Mat 8:15 NASB) And He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she arose, and waited on Him.
Mat 8:15: Yeshua touched the hand of Peter’s mother-in-law and her high fever left her. She immediately felt so good that she waited on Him.
(Mat 8:16 NASB) And when evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill
(Mat 8:17 NASB) in order that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, “HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES, AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES.”
Mat 8:17: Yeshua went about healing people for several reasons. The main reason was to display that He is the Messiah as prophesied (Isa. 53:4). The Hebrew word for “griefs” in that passage is “choily.” H2483. choliy, khol-ee’; from H2470; malady, anxiety, calamity:–disease, grief, (is) sick (-ness). It literally means “diseases.”
(Mat 8:18 NASB) Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to depart to the other side.
(Mat 8:19 NASB) And a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”
(Mat 8:20 NASB) And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
Mat 8:20: It is interesting that Yeshua uses the term “Son of Man” to refer to Himself about 80 times in the Gospels. It is a Messianic reference used in Daniel 7:13-14. I think it is a more direct reference to the prophecy of Isaiah (Isa. 9:6-7).
I do not know the exact meaning of this verse. It might tie to the previous verse where this scribe saw the miracles of Yeshua without knowing anything more about Him and wanted to be like Him. Yeshua then describes His own poverty and dashes this man’s hopes.
(Mat 8:21 NASB) And another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.”
(Mat 8:22 NASB) But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me; and allow the dead to bury their own dead.”
Mat 8:22: This is a very difficult passage also. Apparently the disciple was asking if he could wait until his father dies first. His father was probably still living. And Yeshua was saying, “Let the spiritually dead bury the physically dead” (Eph. 2:1).
(Mat 8:23 NASB) And when He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him.
(Mat 8:24 NASB) And behold, there arose a great storm in the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves; but He Himself was asleep.
Mat 8:24: The disciples were justifiably afraid at this time. But they did not have confidence that they would not perish at this time. Yeshua told them that they would be fishers of men, not food for the fish before that time would come.
(Mat 8:25 NASB) And they came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!”
(Mat 8:26 NASB) And He said to them, “Why are you timid, you men of little faith?” Then He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and it became perfectly calm.
(Mat 8:27 NASB) And the men marveled, saying, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”
Mat 8:27: Yeshua calls them cowards and says that do not have much faithfulness.
Here Yeshua is revealing His deity to the disciples. Only Elohim can command the wind and the seas (Job 38:8-11, Psalm 65:6-8, 89:9, 104:6-9, 107:28-30).
(Mat 8:28 NASB) And when He had come to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs; they were so exceedingly violent that no one could pass by that road.
(Mat 8:29 NASB) And behold, they cried out, saying, “What do we have to do with You, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?”
Mat 8:29: The demons cried out in such a fashion as to refer to Yeshua as an adversary. They recognize Him as the “Son of Elohim.”
They knew that their time of torment was not yet. That apparently does not happen until the final judgment.
(Mat 8:30 NASB) Now there was at a distance from them a herd of many swine feeding.
(Mat 8:31 NASB) And the demons began to entreat Him, saying, “If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.”
(Mat 8:32 NASB) And He said to them, “Begone!” And they came out, and went into the swine, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the waters.
Mat 8:32: The herd of demons probably went from possessing pigs to possessing catfish.
(Mat 8:33 NASB) And the herdsmen ran away, and went to the city, and reported everything, including the incident of the demoniacs.
(Mat 8:34 NASB) And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they entreated Him to depart from their region.
Mat 8:34: The entire city rejected Him.
Patrick McGuire
Copyright 2014 Patrick McGuire and Beit Yeshua Torah Assembly All rights reserved, no portion of this Lesson may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews. Beit Yeshua Torah Assembly Fort Smith, Arkansas