1 When Jesus came down from the hill, great crowds followed him. 2 Then a man with a skin disease came to Jesus. The man bowed down before him and said, “Lord, you can heal me if you will.”
3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man and said, “I will. Be healed!” And immediately the man was healed from his disease. 4 Then Jesus said to him, “Don’t tell anyone about this. But go and show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded for people who are made well. This will show the people what I have done.”
Read Matthew 8:1-4 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
Early on in Jesus’ ministry, we learn about a miracle He did for a man with a skin disease. Matthew’s gospel places this event after Jesus’ famous “Sermon on the Mount”, and specifically as Jesus was coming down from the hill.
What makes this healing unique in my mind is what it says about the man requesting healing, and more importantly, what this healing says about Jesus’ character towards those who are hurting. Matthew sets up this event by writing, “When Jesus came down from the hill, great crowds followed him. Then a man with a skin disease came to Jesus. The man bowed down before him and said, ‘Lord, you can heal me if you will.’” (v. 1-2)
The thing that I find amazing about this request is that the man is completely open to the possibility that Jesus might not want to make him well. He acknowledges Jesus’ healing power, but he also recognizes that there might be a purpose for his condition that God wants to still use. In a very unique and spiritually mature way, this man, through his request, is open to whatever God’s will is for his body, whether it is to continue living with disease, or whether it is healing.
However, in response to the man’s request, Matthew tells us that, “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man and said, “I will. Be healed!” And immediately the man was healed from his disease.” (v. 3)
This miracle is amazing in my mind because it tells me that God’s first plan for all of us (we could call this “His will”) is that none of us are sick. The man asks what God’s will is regarding him being healed and the response is both quick and clear that God wants to make him well.
But this might not be the case for everyone. In the world today, sometimes there are people who get sick and they don’t get better. Sometimes sickness ultimately leads to death. This passage clearly states that this is not God’s will (i.e. God’s first plan), but it does allow for God to use the place we are in for His glory.
Perhaps He wants to plant a seed or leave an impression on a doctor or nurse through interacting with you, or maybe He has a divine appointment in mind with a fellow patient. God may even be protecting us from something worse. It’s truly hard to know in the moment what God’s reasons are, but whatever reasons He has, chances are that we won’t be as aware of them in the moment as we will be when we are looking back later.
When we look back on our lives, even if it is looking back from heaven’s perspective, things usually look clearer. We are better able to see how God directed His will through our pain to bring about His glory. It is never God’s will to make or keep anyone sick, but while sin exists in the world, God is able to use sickness that comes for His glory.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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