Lesson 8 – The King’s Power over Physical Problems
Read Matthew 8 – www.bible.com/bible/59/mat.8

For the next several lessons we will see Jesus’ power. In this lesson we will look at His power over physical problems.

In the first four verses Jesus is healing the worst illness of the day. Leprosy had no cure during this time, and yet Jesus healed the disease with simply a touch or a word. In verses 5 through 13 Jesus healed without being physically present – He could heal from a distance although it was a Roman Centurion rather than a Jew who had this kind of faith. In verses 14 through 17 He healed without regard to how many needed His touch. There was nothing too bad for Him to heal, there was nothing too far away, and there were never too many to heal.

However, in verse 19 we see an interesting result of His healing powers. An influential man came to Him to become His follower, and Jesus almost seems to discourage him from his offer. Why would Jesus do this? By the placement of this incident in the story we are told this man’s interest in Jesus had nothing to do with faith in Jesus, he was only interested in what Jesus could do. Do we ever want Jesus in our lives only for what He can do for us? Verse 26 tells us what Jesus wants from us – faith. He wants us to believe in Him, not just for things He can give us but because we want to be with Him.


The last story in this chapter tells us about Jesus’ power over evil. Please read the story starting in verse 28. Here, however, the reaction to Jesus is different. The people wanted Him to leave! They valued the pigs above the lives of the two men who had been healed by Jesus. They could not afford to have Jesus stay in their area, or so they thought.

Do we ever place our personal needs above the spiritual needs of others around us? When we do, Jesus will not bless us. We read this again in James chapter 4: “You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” James calls that spiritual adultery, and that’s what God thinks of it also.

*Thought question: What is the last prayer you prayed to which you did not receive an answer from God? If God were to measure your prayer against these verses, would He say you were praying for something for yourself rather than for His glory?