MATTHEW 8:1-17

8 When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. 2 And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 3 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”

5 When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, 6 “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

14 And when Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. 16 That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”

The overarching theme of this 2nd Section of Matthew’s Gospel (4:17- 16:20) is the Proclamation of Jesus the Messiah to Israel. Matthew has just shown us the teaching of Jesus the Messiah—and "the crowds were astonished at his teaching” (7:20)—and for the next few chapters he will show us that in addition to his teaching, Jesus also did great works of power that showed his authority over both the seen realm (healing the sick, calming the storm, etc.) and the unseen realm (casting out demons). Note that Jesus demonstrates his power simply by words of command.

One of the most amazing things about the ministry of Jesus is that it is for everyone. Although Jesus was a Jew and his ministry was to the people of Israel, he made it clear that he was inviting anyone who would hear and respond into the eternal life of the Kingdom of God. For example, in today's passage after he heals the slave of a Roman centurion--a man who was a living embodiment of Roman oppression and pagan idolatry--Jesus says this:

"I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven." [8:11 NIV]

Wow! Jesus is saying that there is nothing about a person's identity before he or she encounters Jesus that precludes that person from following after Jesus. If he is willing to follow Jesus, then even a Roman centurion can be his disciple.

But then Jesus says something troubling (as he always does):

"But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” [8:12 NIV]

That part I don't like as much. In that specific context, Jesus is saying that just because you were born a Jew in Israel does not mean that are exempt from responding to Jesus. But, applied more broadly it means this: even religious people like me have to actually say yes and follow- -no one gets a free pass.

P.S. Peter was married! I love those little details the Gospel writers throw in from time to time.