JASON MARTIN / General Adult
NORTHLAND / Matthew 8:1–4
Read Matthew 8:1-4.
1. Why is this the first story recorded after Jesus came down from preaching the Sermon on the Mount?
a. Matthew 8:2 “2 And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.””
i. Biblical Leprosy = skin disease / doesn’t mean he’s dirty from not washing. He’s saying he’s unclean.
1. What does that mean Biblically? Let’s go back to the beginning...
a. Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden and everything was awesome until they blew it.
b. Then God chose one family out from rebellious mankind that He would use to restore blessing and goodness to all mankind...The family of Abraham. They end up in slavery in Egypt and then Moses is raised up as a leader to lead them out and towards the Promised Land. So they go through the wilderness to the foot of a mountain where God enters into a covenant with the tribe of Israel and gives them laws and statutes on how to live.
c. God wants to restore that relationship that He had with Adam and Eve in the Garden that we were all made for and lost. So He wants to put His own Personal Presence right there in with the camp of Israel. So He has them build the Tabernacle for that purpose - eventually replace by the more permanent Temple.
d. But His presence with them came with certain implications..
2. Leviticus 11:44–45 “44 For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. 45 For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.””
a. holy, holy, holy. What’s that mean?
i. when we think of holy we think better morally - holier than thou.....but morality is only part of holiness...
1. it is to be set apart for a specific purpose / separated / different
ii. a hospital is separated, operating room even more separated - set apart for only certain specific circumstances
b. We can see in Scripture that Holy/clean is the opposite of unholy/unclean
3. Numbers 5:1–3 “1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the people of Israel that they put out of the camp everyone who is leprous or has a discharge and everyone who is unclean through contact with the dead. 3 You shall put out both male and female, putting them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell.””
a. Uncleanness is represented as contagious. We are familiar with this because when we have an illness that we believe to be contagious, we separate ourselves to not infect others.
b. Becoming unclean isn’t a sin...it’s a circumstance. Having a cold is not a sin......but going into the Holy places while you’re sick would be. This is what is being safeguarded against with these regulations.
c. Clean/unclean or holy/unholy cannot coexist.....a little leaven leavens the whole lump.
d. God is so holy that even the ground around where He manifests His Glory is made holy.
4. Exodus 3:2–5 “2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.””
5. Joshua 5:13–15 “13 When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” 14 And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” 15 And the commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.”
6. The lesson seems clear enough. Don’t mix the unclean with the clean.
7. Read Isaiah 6:1-4.
a. Seraphim
b. The creation worships the LORD and how holy He is....
c. Was Isaiah thrilled and happy to be there?
8. Isaiah 6:5 “5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!””
a. Isaiah is convinced he’s done for >>this would be terrifying. Isaiah knows he is unclean
9. Isaiah 6:6 “6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.”
a. attack! Does this seem like good news?
10. Isaiah 6:7 “7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.””
a. This coal from the alter - where sacrifices are made......has taken away Isaiah’s guilt and atoned for his sin
b. So it’s not Isaiah’s uncleanness that contaminates God’s space.
i. God’s holiness becomes the thing that’s contagious. That’s what the story of Scripture is leading to.
11. Matthew 8:2–3 “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.”
a. This man couldn’t go worship at the Temple, couldn’t hug or shake hands with his friends. He’s unclean
b. The crowds would have seen Jesus reach out and touch this man and would have been appalled. Even a Rabbi would be made unclean and removed for such a thing.
c. Jesus was not intimidated at all by the man’s uncleanness
d. But Immanuel = God with us
e. His holiness is what’s contagious and it spreads to this man and makes him holy and pure
12. Matthew 8:4 “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.””
a. The man is sent to the place he wasn’t allowed to go before. The place that represented God’s presence with the people to show them that there’s a new thing happening - God’s presence is no longer contained within a single building.
13. 1 Corinthians 3:16 “16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”
a. We’ve all blown it - just like Adam and Eve. And when that happens, we might feel like God is ashamed of us and we avoid God instead of running to Him. That’s backwards....That’s not good news.....
14. When Isaiah’s uncleanness is in the presence of the LORD, he’s forced to name it and own it and he is cleansed from it.
a. 1 John 1:9 “9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
15. LORD, if you are willing........
a. He is willing.....
i. Be cleansed.....
Exported from Logos Bible Study, 9:42 AM June 26, 2026.