220120 01 – Matthew 8:3
Matthew 8:3 KJV
And Jesus put forth¹ [his]² hand³,
and touched⁴ him, saying⁵,
I will⁶; be thou clean⁷.
And⁸ immediately⁹ his leprosy¹⁰ was cleansed¹¹.
¹) Reached out – ἐκτείνας (ekteinas) – To stretch out (forth), cast forth (as of an anchor), lay hands on. From ek and teino; to extend.
²) [His] – τὴν (tēn) – The.
³) Hand – χεῖρα (cheira) – A hand.
⁴) Touched – ἥψατο (hēpsato) – Prop: I fasten to; I lay hold of, touch, know carnally. Reflexive of hapto; properly, to attach oneself to, i.e. To touch.
⁵) Said – λέγων (legōn) – (a) I say, speak; I mean, mention, tell, (b) I call, name, especially in the pass., (c) I tell, command.
⁶) Will – Θέλω (Thelō) – To will, wish, desire, be willing, intend, design.
⁷) Clean – καθαρίσθητι (katharisthēti) – To cleanse, make clean, literally, ceremonially, or spiritually, according to context. From katharos; to cleanse.
⁸) And – καὶ (kai) – And, even, also, namely.
⁹) Immediately – εὐθέως (eutheōs) – Immediately, soon, at once. Adverb from euthus; directly, i.e. At once or soon.
¹⁰) Leprosy – λέπρα (lepra) – Leprosy. From the same as lepis; scaliness, i.e. ‘leprosy’.
¹¹) Cleansed – ἐκαθαρίσθη (ekatharisthē) – To cleanse, make clean, literally, ceremonially, or spiritually, according to context. From katharos; to cleanse.
Other translations
Literal Standard Version
and having stretched forth the hand, Jesus touched him, saying, “I will, be cleansed,” and immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
New American Standard Bible
Jesus reached out with His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Study
Touched him
It was a touch
- of purity;
- of sympathy;
- of power.
And Jesus put forth (and he stretched forth, Revised Version) His hand, and touched him.
The careful record of the twofold action may be either a trace of the increasing astonishment of the bystanders or a means of indicating that this was no accidental touch, but the result of deliberate will (cf. Matthew 14:31).
According to the Law (Leviticus 13:46 with Leviticus 11:40), our Lord by this action would become unclean until the evening.
But of this there is no hint.
That indeed he could not by it contract any real impurity, or even any ceremonial impurity in the eyes of God, is self-evident.
But how could he himself justify his exemption from the Law?
And how could the people justify it?
Probably both he and they felt that as “the priests, in their contact with the leper to be adjudged, were exempted from the law of defilement,” much more was the One who “cleansed” him.
Saying, I will (θέλω (Thelō)). Synchronous with the action.
Be thou clean; be thou made clean (Revised Version); καθαρίσθητι (katharisthēti).
The external power which the man had himself acknowledged was now applied to him, and he was made clean by it, physically and therefore ceremonially .
And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. (On the parallel passage in Mark and Luke, “departed from him”.
Leprosy
What leprosy are you suffering from?
▪︎ Is it the leprosy of an impure life,
▪︎ Is it the leprosy of a selfish nature,
▪︎ Is it the leprosy of a cruel tongue,
▪︎ Is it the leprosy of a proud, rebellious spirit?
Whatever it be, are you willing to be made clean?
Before you can find pardon, you must see your sin and hate it.
Devotional
Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.
Nothing is too wonderful for the Lord.
Leprosy was an incurable disease in the days of the Saviour’s walking on earth.
Christ has cleansed lepers.
In this way spiritual lepers can also be cleansed.
Have you discovered your spiritual leprosy?
To find out that you are a spiritual leper is a terrible realization.
No matter what man tries, he cannot effect a cure.
Where all roads are cut off follows is still one way left. Going to the Almighty.
In His omnipotence, it is not a difficult thing to Him to purify us.
A cleansing that is here in part.
For God’s children still groan under the uncleanness that remains.
An unclean source of wrong deeds they carry with them to the last gasp.
The experience is that we may commit less sins, but at the same time we feel that we are becoming a greater sinner.
Do you perhaps think that it is alright to continue living in your uncleanness?
Maybe you say in your heart:
▪︎ I still live decently,
▪︎ I go to church,
▪︎ I am for the old truth.
In that case, I wish that the Lord will let you discover, how unclean you really are.
Do you groan under your uncleanness?
One day God’s children will be completely cleansed and give the Lord the glory of it.
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