1When he came down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.
2Behold, a leper came to him and worshiped him, saying, “Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean.”
3Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I want to. Be made clean.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
4Jesus said to him, “See that you tell nobody; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
5When he came into Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking him for help,
6saying, “Lord, my servant lies in the house paralyzed, grievously tormented.”
7Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
8The centurion answered, “Lord, I’m not worthy for you to come under my roof. Just say the word, and my servant will be healed.
9For I am also a man under authority, having under myself soldiers. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and tell another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and tell my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
10When Jesus heard it, he marveled and said to those who followed, “Most certainly I tell you, I haven’t found so great a faith, not even in Israel.
11I tell you that many will come from the east and the west, and will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven,
12but the children of the Kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
13Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way. Let it be done for you as you have believed.” His servant was healed in that hour.
14When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever.
15He touched her hand, and the fever left her. So she got up and served him.
16When evening came, they brought to him many possessed with demons. He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick,
17that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, “He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.”
18Now when Jesus saw great multitudes around him, he gave the order to depart to the other side.
19A scribe came and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
20Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
21Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.”
22But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
23When he got into a boat, his disciples followed him.
24Behold, a violent storm came up on the sea, so much that the boat was covered with the waves; but he was asleep.
25The disciples came to him and woke him up, saying, “Save us, Lord! We are dying!”
26He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then he got up, rebuked the wind and the sea, and there was a great calm.
27The men marveled, saying, “What kind of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
28When he came to the other side, into the country of the Gergesenes, two people possessed by demons met him there, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that nobody could pass that way.
29Behold, they cried out, saying, “What do we have to do with you, Jesus, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”
30Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding far away from them.
31The demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of pigs.”
32He said to them, “Go!” They came out and went into the herd of pigs; and behold, the whole herd of pigs rushed down the cliff into the sea and died in the water.
33Those who fed them fled and went away into the city and told everything, including what happened to those who were possessed with demons.
34Behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged that he would depart from their borders.
Following the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew presents Jesus as the authoritative Messiah through a series of powerful miracles and teachings about discipleship. Jesus demonstrates his divine authority by healing a leper, a centurion's servant, and many others, while also calming a storm and casting out demons. Interwoven with these miraculous works are sobering teachings about the cost of following him, revealing that true discipleship requires complete commitment and sacrifice.
Context
This chapter transitions from Jesus' authoritative teaching in the Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5-7) to demonstrating that same authority through miraculous works.
Key Themes
Outline
Jesus heals a leper who approaches him with faith and worship, demonstrating his power over disease while respecting Mosaic law.
person_contrast
Jesus breaks profound social taboos by physically touching the leper before healing him, reversing the typical sequence where cleansing precedes contact in Jewish purification rituals.
A Roman centurion's great faith in Jesus' authority leads to his servant's healing and Jesus' teaching about inclusion in God's kingdom.
person_contrast
Jesus declares this Roman centurion possesses greater faith than anyone in Israel, making it the only Gospel passage where a Gentile's faith explicitly surpasses Jewish faith.
Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law and many others, fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy about bearing our infirmities and diseases.
quotation_chain
Matthew uniquely reinterprets Isaiah 53:4's "carried our sorrows" as physical healing rather than spiritual suffering, transforming the Suffering Servant's metaphorical burden into Jesus's literal medical ministry.
Jesus teaches about the cost of discipleship, emphasizing that following him requires complete commitment and sacrifice.
person_contrast
Jesus's self-designation as "Son of Man" appears in only 7% of his Matthew appearances, yet here it emphasizes his radical homelessness rather than his typical divine authority.
Jesus calms a violent storm, demonstrating his divine authority over nature and teaching his disciples about faith.
person_contrast
Jesus's divine authority over nature emerges through the rare Greek verb "epitimao" (rebuke), which he uses identically for demons, disease, and now the storm—revealing his cosmic dominion.
Jesus casts demons out of two men into a herd of pigs, demonstrating his power over evil spirits but causing the townspeople to ask him to leave.
person_contrast
The demons immediately recognize Jesus as "Son of God" while the townspeople who witness his miraculous power respond by asking him to leave their region.
Matthew 8:1
Luke 9:37lexicalOn the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great multitude met him.
Matthew 20:29lexicalAs they went out from Jericho, a great multitude followed him.
Matthew 19:2lexicalGreat multitudes followed him, and he healed them there.
Matthew 4:25lexicalGreat multitudes from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan followed him.
John 6:2lexicalA great multitude followed him, because they saw his signs which he did on those who were sick.
Matthew 8:2
Mark 1:40lexicalA leper came to him, begging him, kneeling down to him, and saying to him, “If you want to, you can make me clean.”
Luke 5:12lexicalWhile he was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man full of leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and b…
Luke 4:27lexicalThere were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed, except Naaman, the…
Luke 7:22lexicalJesus answered them, “Go and tell John the things which you have seen and heard: that the blind receive their sight, the…
Matthew 10:8lexicalHeal the sick, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons. Freely you received, so freely give.
Matthew 8:3
Luke 5:13lexicalHe stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I want to. Be made clean.” Immediately the leprosy left him.
Mark 1:41lexicalBeing moved with compassion, he stretched out his hand, and touched him, and said to him, “I want to. Be made clean.”
Mark 1:42lexicalWhen he had said this, immediately the leprosy departed from him and he was made clean.
Luke 5:12lexicalWhile he was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man full of leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and b…
Matthew 14:31lexicalImmediately Jesus stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Matthew 8:4
Mark 1:44lexicaland said to him, “See that you say nothing to anybody, but go show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing t…
Luke 5:14lexicalHe commanded him to tell no one, “But go your way and show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing accordin…
Hebrews 8:4lexicalFor if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, seeing there are priests who offer the gifts according to the…
Matthew 5:24lexicalleave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer yo…
Acts 7:44lexical“Our fathers had the tabernacle of the testimony in the wilderness, even as he who spoke to Moses commanded him to make…
Matthew 8:10
Luke 7:9lexicalWhen Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turned and said to the multitude who followed him, “I tell you, I…
Matthew 19:28lexicalJesus said to them, “Most certainly I tell you that you who have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man wi…
Matthew 8:11
Luke 13:29lexicalThey will come from the east, west, north, and south, and will sit down in God’s Kingdom.
Luke 13:28lexicalThere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in God’s Kingdom, a…
Mark 12:26lexicalBut about the dead, that they are raised, haven’t you read in the book of Moses about the Bush, how God spoke to him, sa…
Matthew 22:32lexical‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living…
Matthew 1:2lexicalAbraham became the father of Isaac. Isaac became the father of Jacob. Jacob became the father of Judah and his brothers.
Matthew 8:12
Matthew 22:13lexicalThen the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and throw him into the outer darkness. That…
Matthew 25:30lexicalThrow out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Luke 13:28lexicalThere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in God’s Kingdom, a…
Matthew 13:50lexicaland will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Matthew 24:51lexicaland will cut him in pieces and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. That is where the weeping and grinding of teeth…
Matthew 8:13
Matthew 15:28lexicalThen Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Be it done to you even as you desire.” And her daughter was healed…
Matthew 17:18lexicalJesus rebuked the demon, and it went out of him, and the boy was cured from that hour.
John 4:53lexicalSo the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.” He believed, as did his whole…
Matthew 8:14
Mark 1:30lexicalNow Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever, and immediately they told him about her.
Acts 10:17lexicalNow while Peter was very perplexed in himself what the vision which he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sen…
Matthew 4:18lexicalWalking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers: Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net i…
Matthew 8:15
Mark 1:31lexicalHe came and took her by the hand and raised her up. The fever left her immediately, and she served them.
Luke 4:39lexicalHe stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she rose up and served them.
Matthew 8:16
Matthew 4:24lexicalThe report about him went out into all Syria. They brought to him all who were sick, afflicted with various diseases and…
Mark 1:34lexicalHe healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons. He didn’t allow the demons to speak, becaus…
Mark 1:32lexicalAt evening, when the sun had set, they brought to him all who were sick and those who were possessed by demons.
Mark 6:13lexicalThey cast out many demons, and anointed many with oil who were sick and healed them.
Matthew 10:1lexicalHe called to himself his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal e…
Matthew 8:17
Matthew 12:17lexicalthat it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,
Matthew 4:14lexicalthat it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,
Matthew 2:23lexicaland came and lived in a city called Nazareth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets that he w…
Matthew 13:35lexicalthat it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter…
Matthew 27:9lexicalThen that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying, “They took the thirty pieces of silver, t…
Matthew 8:19
Luke 9:57lexicalAs they went on the way, a certain man said to him, “I want to follow you wherever you go, Lord.”
Mark 12:32lexicalThe scribe said to him, “Truly, teacher, you have said well that he is one, and there is none other but he;
Matthew 19:16lexicalBehold, one came to him and said, “Good teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?”
Mark 12:28lexicalOne of the scribes came and heard them questioning together, and knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, “Whi…
John 12:26lexicalIf anyone serves me, let him follow me. Where I am, there my servant will also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will…
Matthew 8:21
Luke 9:59lexicalHe said to another, “Follow me!” But he said, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.”
Luke 9:61lexicalAnother also said, “I want to follow you, Lord, but first allow me to say good-bye to those who are at my house.”
Mark 14:12lexicalOn the first day of unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the Passover, his disciples asked him, “Where do you want us…
Matthew 8:23
Luke 8:22lexicalNow on one of those days, he entered into a boat, himself and his disciples, and he said to them, “Let’s go over to the…
Matthew 14:22lexicalImmediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he sent the multitud…
Mark 8:10lexicalImmediately he entered into the boat with his disciples and came into the region of Dalmanutha.
Mark 6:45lexicalImmediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he himself sent…
Mark 4:35parallelOn that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let’s go over to the other side.”
Matthew 8:24
Mark 4:37lexicalA big wind storm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so much that the boat was already filled.
Matthew 14:24lexicalBut the boat was now in the middle of the sea, distressed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.
Acts 16:26lexicalSuddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors…
Mark 4:1lexicalAgain he began to teach by the seaside. A great multitude was gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat in the sea…
Matthew 28:2lexicalBehold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from the sky and came and rolled away the stone…
Matthew 8:26
Mark 4:39lexicalHe awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” The wind ceased and there was a great calm.
Luke 8:24lexicalThey came to him and awoke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are dying!” He awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging of…
Mark 4:41lexicalThey were greatly afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
John 6:18lexicalThe sea was tossed by a great wind blowing.
Matthew 8:28
Acts 19:16lexicalThe man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out…
Matthew 15:22lexicalBehold, a Canaanite woman came out from those borders and cried, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, you son of David! My d…
Matthew 22:10lexicalThose servants went out into the highways and gathered together as many as they found, both bad and good. The wedding wa…
Mark 5:1parallelThey came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.
Luke 8:26parallelThen they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee.
Matthew 8:30
Mark 5:11lexicalNow on the mountainside there was a great herd of pigs feeding.
Luke 8:32lexicalNow there was there a herd of many pigs feeding on the mountain, and they begged him that he would allow them to enter i…
Mark 5:13lexicalAt once Jesus gave them permission. The unclean spirits came out and entered into the pigs. The herd of about two thousa…
Luke 8:33lexicalThe demons came out of the man and entered into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were…
Luke 15:15lexicalHe went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed pigs.
Matthew 8:31
Mark 5:11lexicalNow on the mountainside there was a great herd of pigs feeding.
Luke 8:32lexicalNow there was there a herd of many pigs feeding on the mountain, and they begged him that he would allow them to enter i…
Mark 5:13lexicalAt once Jesus gave them permission. The unclean spirits came out and entered into the pigs. The herd of about two thousa…
Luke 8:33lexicalThe demons came out of the man and entered into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were…
Matthew 8:32
Mark 5:13lexicalAt once Jesus gave them permission. The unclean spirits came out and entered into the pigs. The herd of about two thousa…
Luke 8:33lexicalThe demons came out of the man and entered into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were…
Word-by-word original language
Places and events in this chapter