matthew 8

Mat 8 outline:

Mat 8:1-4, Jesus cleanses a leper
Mat 8:5-13, Jesus heals the servant of the centurion with great faith
Mat 8:14-15, Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law
Mat 8:16-17, Jesus heals all who came to Him
Mat 8:18-22, Jesus teaching on the cost of discipleship
Mat 8:23-27, Jesus calms the winds and the waves
Mat 8:28-34, Jesus casts the demons into a herd of swine/ heals the men of Gergesenes

Mat 8 chiastic structure:

1a) Mat 8:2-4, Jesus cleanses leprosy;

1) Mat 8:2, Jesus receives a leper’s worship;
2) Mat 8:3, Jesus cleanses leprosy;
3) Mat 8:4, See that you tell no one;

1b) Mat 8:5-13, The centurion’s great faith;

1c) Mat 8:14-16, Miracles of healing spread His fame abroad;

central axis) Mat 8:17, That the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled: “He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses;”

2c) Mat 8:18-22, Multitudes follow Him without counting the cost;

2b) Mat 8:23-27, The disciples’ little faith;

2a) Mat 8:28-34, Jesus cleanses demoniacs;

1) Mat 8:28-29, The demons proclaim Jesus the Son of God;
2) Mat 8:30-32, Jesus casts out the demons into a herd of swine;
3) Mat 8:33-34, The swineherds went their way and told everyone.

In the last three chapters we saw that Jesus taught the word of the God with authority. In this chapter, the matching pairs that lead up to the central axis proclaim who Jesus is, by showing His power and authority over the spiritual and natural worlds, which only the Creator and Ruler of the universe can wield.

His power extends over the spiritual world, in that He cleanses leprosy (tsara’ath) and casts out demons . His power extends over the natural world, in that even the winds and the waves obey Him. This chapter is answering the question, “Who can this be?” (Mat 8:27).

Do you notice that when either individuals or multitudes came to Him for healing, He healed them? Notice also that Peter’s mother- in- law did not ask to be healed, but Jesus healed her anyway. His answer, that we have seen so far, is not “no.” I have looked for the “no” answer from the lips of Jesus in the Gospels and have not found it yet.

For further reading:

cleansing leprosy, a prophetic type for salvation
matthew 8, Jesus the willing healer (2011)