Matthew 8 - The Park Forum

April 10, 2025April 8, 2025

Testify to Ultimate Healing

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Leviticus 14 Listen: (8:11) Read: Acts 10 Listen: (5:49)

Scripture Focus: Leviticus 14.2-7

2 “These are the regulations for any diseased person at the time of their ceremonial cleansing, when they are brought to the priest: 3 The priest is to go outside the camp and examine them. If they have been healed of their defiling skin disease, 4 the priest shall order that two live clean birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop be brought for the person to be cleansed. 5 Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over fresh water in a clay pot. 6 He is then to take the live bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. 7 Seven times he shall sprinkle the one to be cleansed of the defiling disease, and then pronounce them clean. After that, he is to release the live bird in the open fields.

Matthew 8.4

4 Then Jesus said to him, “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.”

Reflection: Testify to Ultimate Healing

By John Tillman

Ritual uncleanness was ceremonial, not medical. It had little to no effect on individual or communal health. However, some Levitical regulations protected physical health. “Defiling” infections and contagious conditions required quarantines that separated affected people or property from others.

These conditions were not caused by individual sin but were part of living in a sin-defiled world, suffering the death and decay sin set in motion. However, from Job’s day until now, people often assume a spiritual or moral deficiency when sickness or trouble touches people’s lives.

When such conditions were cured, priests first acted as “health inspectors,” confirming the absence of the sickness or condition. Then priests shifted into spiritual mode, enacting a ceremony that celebrated a victory over death, defilement, and disease and honored God for the cleansing.

When Jesus healed the leper, he commanded him to make the sacrifice described in Leviticus 14. (Matthew 8.1-4; Mark 1.40-45; Luke 5.12-15) Jesus was directing attention away from himself as the source of the miracle, but the elements of the sacrifice point right back to Jesus. They represent Christ’s removal of all defilement and disease by defeating their source in sin and death.

The priest brings the sacrifice to the person outside the camp, just as Jesus came to us and was killed outside the city. Christ is the hyssop for cleansing the unclean. Christ is the red cord, marking those saved, like Rahab, from destruction. Christ is the bird that dies in our place. We are the living bird, baptized into water and Christ’s blood and then set free. Even if the leper had simply carried out the ceremony, he would still have testified about Jesus.

Christ bears our sicknesses, and every sickness (mental, physical, and spiritual) will be healed—if not now, then in the future. Sin and death are dying. Their power is already broken. We live in the days before the final victory when these defeated enemies lash out in vain, but the heel is coming that will crush their head and bring ultimate healing.

Unlike the priest, Jesus touches the unclean before they are healed, because his purity is more contagious than the world’s impurity. Christ touches us before we are healed, while we are sinners, while we are his enemies. He does not inspect us for righteousness, but imputes it to us.

Celebrate whatever healing you experience as a testimony to the world and testify to the ultimate healing to come.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer

Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. — Psalm 95.6-7

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

He Is Willing

Scripture Focus: Matthew 8.3, 17
3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”

17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

“He took up our infirmities
and bore our diseases.”

Reflection: He Is Willing
By John Tillman

There are three healings in this chapter that add up to the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. We will take them in reverse order.

Jesus comes to the home of one of his closest friends and disciples. Peter’s mother-in-law is ill. Jesus heals not just her but many with illnesses and demonic affliction. These were Peter’s friends and neighbors. Fellow Galileans. Fellow Jews. Insiders.

Just prior to this, a Roman Centurion met Jesus at the edge of town, asking that his servant be healed. The Centurion amazes Jesus with his understanding of Jesus’ power and authority. “Just say the word,” he says. Jesus does. He proclaims this outsider an insider by faith and warns many insiders that, when it comes to faith, they may be left outside.

Just prior to this, Jesus is coming down the mountain from teaching the Sermon on the Mount. About love for enemies. About trusting God. About not caring about food or clothing or appearances. He is met by a man who had no choice but to care about appearances. He was a leper.

Cast out of the community, lepers couldn’t work, couldn’t gather to worship, and could not make sacrifices for their sins in the Temple.

Not only did people spurn them for the potential transmissibility of their physical disease, they spurned them for the assumed corruption of their moral character. It was their sins, more than their skin, that people didn’t want to touch.

The leper comes to Christ with an expression of faith but he also comes with doubt. “Jesus, you are able…but are you willing?” Jesus touches and heals.

We may ask the same questions at times. Jesus, are you willing? Are you willing to cross the divide of my sin? Are you willing to even be seen with me? Are you willing to be unclean by being close to me?

Jesus is willing. No matter where you are. Insider. Outsider. Spurned ones. Abused ones. Doubtful ones. Jesus is willing to touch, heal, and restore. It is part of his identity and mission to touch the untouchable and heal. To sit with the sinners and inspire repentance. To confront the proud to bring humility.

He will heal all who come to him. No matter what it costs him. Even if your faith isn’t perfect. Even if you aren’t sure you believe he will. Reach out to Jesus.

He is willing.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Truly, his salvation is very near to those hwo fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land. — Psalm 85.9

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
Hosea 3-4 (Listen 3:43)
Matthew 8 (Listen 4:09)

Read more about Healing the Swollen
Jesus cared for Pharisees swollen with pride. He can heal us too.

Healing the Swollen

Read more about Stretch Out Your Hand
The man with the shriveled hand seems to be there only so the leaders can see if Jesus will break one of their interpretations of Sabbath law. It’s a trap.

Stretch Out Your Hand

October 4, 2023October 2, 2023

Beside Still Waters

Scripture Focus: 1 Kings 7.25-26
25 The Sea stood on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east. The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center. 26 It was a handbreadth in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held two thousand baths.

Job 7.12
12 Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep,
that you put me under guard?

Matthew 8.27
27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

Reflection: Beside Still Waters
By Erin Newton

I’m quite terrified of the ocean. Maybe I watch too many documentaries or movies about the dangers of the open waters. Too many threats lurk beneath—rip currents, undertows, great white sharks, killer whales, and dare I say, Leviathan.

The sea plays a role in many stories of the Bible, usually as a formidable foe that threatens God’s people: the Red Sea, the raging sea that sends Jonah overboard, and stormy seas threatening the disciples on more than one occasion.

Solomon’s Temple contained features that reflected nature, perhaps the Garden of Eden where God walked among his creation unrestrained. Among the temple furnishings stood a large bronze basin. The enormous size of the bowl was a feat for the Israelite metallurgist. It stood in a fixed location in the Temple—a heavy bronze basin filled with water used for purification and cleansing—and it was called the “Sea.”

The name of the basin is a figurative term for such a large bowl of water, but it strikes at the fearsome image they knew all too well. This Sea, however, is contained, bound, motionless. There are no thrashing waves.

The water served to cleanse the priests (Lev. 8.6) or wash the organs of sacrificed animals (Lev. 8.21). The Sea was no longer a threat, but placed under the watchful eye of God with a renewed purpose. The basin was crowned with gourds and nestled upon the backs of bulls, symbols of life that flow from the cleansing waters.

In the depths of Job’s grief, he calls out to God, asking if he was also constrained like the sea. He recognized the usual threat of the waters but knew that God spoke to the sea and said, “This far you may come and no farther” (Job 38.11).

When a furious storm rolls upon the lake with waves sweeping over the boat, the sea surrenders to the voice of Jesus. Even the winds and the waves obey him.

So why, again, is the Sea in the Temple? Apart from its practical purpose of serving the priests, I think the Sea sits still within the Temple as a reminder—God has this whole world in his hands.

As you enter his presence through prayer, worship, meditation, or reading, look to your left and behold the still waters. The image heralds the supremacy of our God.

Holy, holy, holy is the God of all creation!

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting
In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. — Psalm 31.1

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
1 Kings 7 (Listen 7:47 )
Psalms 25 (Listen 2:18 )

Read more about Counting Waves
The disciples urged Jesus to awake, their voices strained with fear. “Teacher, do you not care if we drown?”

Counting Waves

Read more about Supporting Our Work
Donate today to support ad-free content that brings biblical devotionals to inboxes across the world.

Supporting our Work

August 21, 2023August 19, 2023

Amazing Jesus — Readers’ Choice

Scripture Focus: Matthew 8.16-17
16 When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
“He took up our infirmities
and bore our diseases.”

Originally published on February 14, 2023, based on readings from Matthew 8.

Readers’ Choice posts are selected by our readers:
Jon, Hong Kong/TX — I recently came across an old recording of Michael Card at some conference and he talked how about Jesus’ response to faith in others was most frequently amazement.

Reflection: Amazing Jesus — Readers’ Choice
By John Tillman

Matthew closes this section saying that the healings prove something about Jesus.

The central feature of this section of healings is the exemplary faith of the centurion. The centurion who previously would send the servant out on his behalf, went out on behalf of his servant. Jesus is amazed. He says the centurion has greater faith than anyone in Israel. Pause for a moment and think about the people to whom Jesus is comparing the centurion…

No one Jesus has found in Israel has shown greater faith than the centurion? Not Mary, Jesus’ mother? Not the twelve disciples? Not John the Baptist? Not the devout leper in the previous scene who said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean”? None of them had greater faith than the centurion? Apparently. So, does it take “amazing” faith to be healed?

The other time in scripture where Jesus is “amazed” is visiting his hometown, where he would receive no honor and find no faith—yet he still healed. (Matthew 13.58; Mark 6.5-6) Faith is not a currency we purchase miracles with. If it was, how could those bankrupt of faith be healed? Jesus’ healings are connected to his identity and his mission, not our faith.

Jesus’ healings validate his authority to teach and to forgive sins. (Matthew 9.6) But Jesus’ healings are more than a flex against the religious establishment. They tell us who Jesus is. Matthew records them to prove that Jesus is the one Isaiah prophesied. Jesus took weaknesses and sickness on himself to prove that he was the one who could take upon himself the sickness of death.

Healing is an emotional topic because it touches people we know. I have known people healed through medical science and people whose healing was inexplicable to medical science. I’ve also known people who prayed fervently for healing, yet died.

When someone dies, it sounds like an insensitive cop-out to say ultimate healing will come at the resurrection. I wouldn’t recommend it as a counseling strategy. However, we must remember that resurrection is the only form of healing that is not temporary. Every person you read about being healed in the Bible, died eventually. Every one of them will be ultimately healed at the resurrection.

Even today, healings tell the amazing story that Jesus’ resurrection is real and those who aren’t healed now await the full resurrection-healing that he promises.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting
How great is your goodness, O Lord! Which you have laid up for those who fear you; which you have done in the sight of all. — Psalm 31.19

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
1 Samuel 13 (Listen 3:54)
1 John 1 (Listen 1:28)

Read more about Pain and Healing
Hosea shows how far God is willing to go to heal and restore. God is committed to our healing and restoration. Call on him.

Pain and Healing

Read more about Supporting Our Work
Just because our content is ad-free doesn’t mean it’s free to produce or publish. Please consider becoming a donor to support our work.

Supporting our Work

February 14, 2023February 12, 2023

Amazing Jesus

“He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.”

Reflection: Amazing Jesus
By John Tillman

Matthew closes this section saying that the healings prove something about Jesus.

The central feature of this section of healings is the exemplary faith of the centurion. The centurion who previously would send the servant out on his behalf went out on behalf of his servant. Jesus is amazed. He says the centurion has greater faith than anyone in Israel. Pause for a moment and think about the people to whom Jesus compares the centurion…

Even today, healings tell the amazing story that Jesus’ resurrection is real and those who aren’t healed now await the full resurrection-healing that he promises.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
Satisfy us by your loving-kindness in the morning; so shall we rejoice and be glad all the days of our life. — Psalm 90.14

Today’s Readings
Genesis 47 (Listen 5:03)
Matthew 8 (Listen 4:09)