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Matthew 8 Bible study: Just say the word
The only time Matthew says Jesus marveled (8:10) is when he heard a centurion who told him, "Just say the word" (8:8); and when evening came Jesus "cast out the spirits with a word" (8:16), the same Greek word. And Matthew's first "Son of Man" is in Jesus's own words: "the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head" (8:20).
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“The centurion answered, “Lord, I’m not worthy for you to come under my roof. Just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”
Try it · Did you catch it?
“In Matthew 8:2, the leper who came to Jesus worshiped him.”
Is that in Matthew 8, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
"Just say the word"
"When he came into Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking him for help" (8:5) (tap centurion). "Lord, my servant lies in the house paralyzed, grievously tormented" (8:6). Jesus says, "I will come and heal him" (8:7). The centurion answers, "Lord, I’m not worthy for you to come under my roof. Just say the word, and my servant will be healed" (8:8) (tap word), and gives his reason: "For I am also a man under authority, having under myself soldiers" (8:9) (tap authority). At the end of chapter 7 the multitudes were astonished at Jesus's teaching (7:28), "for he taught them with authority, and not like the scribes" (7:29): in the Greek it is the same word. "When Jesus heard it, he marveled" (8:10) (tap marveled), and he said to those who followed, "Most certainly I tell you, I haven’t found so great a faith, not even in Israel" (8:10) (tap faith). Then he said to the centurion, "Go your way. Let it be done for you as you have believed." (8:13), and "His servant was healed in that hour" (8:13) (tap healed). Here is what almost everyone misses: in the WEB's Matthew, this is the only time Jesus is said to marvel. Others marvel later in the book, beginning with "The men" in 8:27; here it is Jesus, when he hears the centurion.
Where the Old Testament leads here
At the table with Jacob
Genesis 32:28leads toMatthew 8:11
The man who wrestles with Jacob gives him a new name: "Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel" (32:28). Jesus names Jacob among those in the Kingdom: "many will come from the east and the west, and will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 8:11).
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Matthew 8
That was a taste
The rest of Matthew 8 is waiting in Favor
- With a word
- "Follow me"
- "What kind of man is this?"
- The leper, and the two who speak of following
- 14 questions as you read
- 11 more Greek words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Matthew 8 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Greek word behind it
λόγοςlogossay LOG-os
Strong's: "something said (including the thought)". Thayer lists both of this chapter's uses under "a word which, uttered by the living voice, embodies a conception or idea". The centurion says, "Just say the word, and my servant will be healed" (8:8), and when evening came Jesus "cast out the spirits with a word" (8:16). In the Greek the two verses have the same word in the same form. In Luke's telling, "say the word, and my servant will be healed" (Luke 7:7) has the same Greek words as those words of Matthew's. Matthew's Greek has logos 32 times (counted in RP2018). Favor's Mark 4 studies it in the parable where "The farmer sows the word" (Mark 4:14).
For your group
Matthew 8 Bible study questions
- 1The centurion said, "Just say the word, and my servant will be healed" (8:8). Where are you being asked to trust Jesus's word right now, before you can see how things will turn out?
- 2"Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go" (8:19). What does following Jesus look like for you this week, and what makes it hard?
- 3In the storm the disciples woke him, saying, "Save us, Lord! We are dying!" (8:25). When fear rises in you, what helps you turn to Jesus?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Matthew 8 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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Can I read Matthew 8 straight away?
Matthew is open from your first day, and its chapters open one after another, so you'll reach Matthew 8 with everything before it in view. You can read the text of any chapter in Favor's Look up whenever you like.
Do I need a group?
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The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home