When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. 2 And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” 3 He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I will do it. Be made clean.” His leprosy was cleansed immediately. 4 Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one, but go show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”
After Jesus comes down from the mountain, great crowds follow Him (v. 1). Matthew has just shown Jesus teaching with authority. Now he shows that Jesus also acts with authority. His words and His works belong together. In this healing, Jesus reveals the mercy and power of God’s kingdom.
A leper approaches Jesus, does Him homage, and says, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean” (v. 2). In the biblical setting, leprosy could refer to several serious skin diseases. According to the Law of Moses, a person with such a disease could be declared ritually unclean and separated from ordinary social and religious life (Leviticus 13:45-46). This separation was painful because it affected worship, family life, and life among the people of Israel.
The man comes to Jesus with reverence and faith. He calls Him “Lord.” He trusts Jesus’ power completely. His words place everything before the will of Jesus: “if you wish.” This is a simple and strong prayer. The man knows that Jesus can cleanse him. He entrusts himself to whether Jesus wills to do so.
Jesus answers by word and touch. “He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, ‘I will do it. Be made clean’” (v. 3). Under the Law, contact with a leper involved ritual uncleanness. Yet Jesus is the Son of God made man, and His holiness is not overcome by uncleanness. By His touch, the unclean man is made clean. What sin, sickness, and separation have wounded, Christ has the power to restore. The healing takes place immediately.
This touch also shows the compassion of Christ. Jesus sees the man’s suffering, his isolation, and his need to be restored. He does not heal from a distance in this account. He reaches out His hand. The Son of God draws near to the one who has been living apart from others.
Jesus then commands the healed man to show himself to the priest and offer the gift Moses prescribed (v. 4). This refers to the Law’s instruction for confirming cleansing and restoring the person to the life of the community (Leviticus 14:2-32). Jesus lives under the Law and fulfills it. His command shows that He honors what God gave through Moses, even as His own divine authority brings the cleansing that the Law could recognize and confirm. The priestly inspection would provide public proof that the man had truly been cleansed and could be restored.
This passage helps us approach Christ with sincere faith. The leper’s prayer can become our own: “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” We need Christ to cleanse and restore us so that we may live as children of His Kingdom. We may ask Him for healing of body, mind, heart, and soul. We also entrust ourselves to His will. His mercy is personal, His authority is real, and His holiness restores what sin, suffering, and isolation have wounded.
Lord Jesus, if You wish, You can make me clean. Stretch out Your hand toward me, and heal what is wounded, so that I may live as You desire for me. Amen.
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Sources and References
- The New American Bible, Revised Edition. Washington, DC: Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 2011. Matthew 8:1-4 and notes on Matthew 8:2 and 8:4; Mark 1:40; Leviticus 13:1-50; Leviticus 13:2-4; Leviticus 14:2-9.
- Hahn, Scott, and Curtis Mitch. The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010. Page 20, notes on Matthew 8:1-9:38, 8:2, and 8:4.
- Casciaro, José María, gen. ed. The Navarre Bible: New Testament, Expanded Edition. Dublin: Four Courts Press; New York: Scepter Publishers, 2008. Pages 71-72, notes on Matthew 8:1-4.
- Brown, Raymond E., Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy, eds. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990. Page 648, paragraph 53.
- Aguilar Chiu, José Enrique, Richard J. Clifford, Carol J. Dempsey, Eileen M. Schuller, Thomas D. Stegman, and Ronald D. Witherup, eds. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. New York: Paulist Press, 2018. Page 925.
- Collins, John J., Gina Hens-Piazza, Barbara Reid OP, and Donald Senior CP, eds. The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century. Third Fully Revised Edition, with a Foreword by Pope Francis. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2022. Page 1187.
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