The last verse surprises us. We might expect Jesus to parade this man from town to town as living proof of his power. Instead he says, See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest. Say nothing? If we had healed a leper in front of a crowd,...
There is a lifetime of good news packed into this verse, and it begins with the order. Before Jesus heals the disease, he answers the doubt. The man asked, in effect, two things. Are you able, and are you willing. Jesus goes straight for the willing. I will, he says....
Desperation has a way of overruling the rules. This man breaks every regulation written about him and walks straight into the crowd. People stumble backward and pull their children away, and at the center of their fear he falls on his knees before Jesus. Then he...
We read the word leper and feel almost nothing. The first hearers felt dread. In the ancient world leprosy was not merely a skin condition; it was a death sentence served one day at a time in isolation. France and Keener remind us that biblical leprosy covered a range...
For three chapters we have sat on the hillside listening to the greatest sermon ever preached. When Jesus finishes, Matthew does not rush to the miracle. He pauses on one small word: followed. Great crowds followed him down the mountain. Hold onto that word, because...
