Here I analyze all the references to healing in the book of Matthew. The gospel or the book of Matthew (or “Matthew”) has been attributed since early times to Matthew or St. Matthew the Evangelist. One of the 12 original Apostles, he describes himself in the text as a tax collector. See everything he recorded about healing in the book of Matthew.
Jesus begins his ministry in Galilee and heals the sick
Jesus traveled throughout Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom (of God), and healing every kind of disease and sickness among the people (Matthew 4: 23). Note it does not say ‘some diseases’ or ‘the most serious diseases,’ but every disease and sickness. News about Jesus healing people spread outside Israel, and people brought to Him sick people with various diseases, people suffering pain, demon-possessed people, and paralyzed people, and he healed them (Matthew 4: 24-25).
A prevention for anxiety
During the Sermon of the Mount, Jesus tells us to not worry or be anxious (the Amplified Version says perpetually uneasy, distracted) (Matthew 6: 31-34). One could argue that He also meant that we could prevent anxiety in these verses, rather than only cure yourself from a case of pathological anxiety. I think that if we can cure our diseases, it follows that we can also use the same technique to remain healthy. But in any case, you do so by first and most importantly seeking His kingdom and His righteousness rather than worry about worldly things such as food, drink, and clothes (material things). If you seek Him, all these material things will be added to you also.
Jesus cures a man with leprosy through his faith
After the Sermon of Mount, Jesus came down from the mountainside and he was approached by a man with leprosy. He said to Jesus, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus answered, “I am willing; be cleansed.” He was immediately healed of his leprosy (Matthew 8: 1-4). Notice that the man approached Jesus in faith and appealing to His authority, saying “you can make me clean.” He did not say “maybe you can make me clean,” or “please, will you make me clean?” This is crucial: in faith he expressed his belief that Jesus could heal him, that he had authority to do so. It almost sounds a bit of arrogant for this man to tell Jesus what He could do, but Jesus did not see it this way. When we recognize His authority and when we align ourselves with the word of God, he moves toward us. Faith is actionable. We are not telling the Lord what to do; we are just recognizing what He can do and what he has already done for us.
The faith of the centurion
This is one of my favorite passages of the New Testament: the faith of the Roman centurion (Matthew 8: 5-13). A centurion was a Roman army officer in charge of approximately 100 soldiers, a rank equivalent to an army captain of our days.
Jesus goes to Capernaum, a small town on the shores of the Sea of Galilee (a large freshwater lake in Israel). I have visited the ruins of Capernaum. A Roman centurion approached Jesus and told Him that his servant was at home paralyzed and suffering terrible with a tormenting pain.
Jesus answered saying that he would go to his house and heal the servant as he asked. The centurion immediately told Jesus that he did not want this because he was not worthy to have Him come into his house, but that if He “only said the word” his servant would be healed. He went on to explain why he believed Jesus had the authority to heal by word only (my emphasis). He told Jesus that as a military man he was also under authority (to his superiors) and with soldiers under his authority and explained that if he told one to go somewhere, he went, and if he told another to come, he would come and if he told his slave to do something, he did it.
The Roman centurion essentially told Jesus that just as he had certain authority to do some things, he recognized that Jesus had authority to do certain acts intrinsic to whom He was. It almost sounds like the centurion was rude and arrogant, telling Jesus what he could or could not do, but the Lord did not take it that way. Jesus emphatically said that He had never (until that point in time) found anybody in Israel with such great faith as that of the centurion. We do not know why the centurion was a believer and how he had arrived at that great faith. He did not see the centurion’s words as being impertinent but as having great faith. My take home message is that the Lord does not get upset with us when we remind Him (for example in prayer) of His power in relationship with us, but He sees that as faith in His word. It is all about faith.
Jesus just simply told the centurion that it would be done as he had believed, and the servant’s health was restored that very hour!
Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law and many others
After that Jesus went to Peter’s house, also in Capernaum. Archaeologists believe they have found and uncovered the ruins of the house of the apostle, which I have also visited. There, Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law who was sick with a fever by touching her hand (Matthew 8: 14-15).
Later in the evening, Jesus cast out evil spirits from demon-possessed people and healed those who were sick (Matthew 8: 16-17). Matthew tells us that he did so to fulfill the prophesy of Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.” (Isaiah 53: 4). This is a basic tenet for believers: Jesus came to save sinners (1 Timothy 1: 15), but also to heal us and give us good health.
Jesus forgives and heals a paralytic man
In the next chapter, Jesus went back to Capernaum and met a paralyzed man brought by others to Him lying on a stretcher (Matthew 9: 1-8). He saw their faith and told him that his sins were forgiven. The scribes (Jewish record-keepers and theologians) that were present started talking among themselves, rebuking Jesus’ power to forgive sins. Jews strongly believed this was a prerogative of God alone. Jesus read their thoughts and said to them, “which is easier, to say, ‘your sins are forgiven, and the penalty paid,’ or to say, ‘get up and walk’?”
What the Lord is saying here is that it is much more compelling and convincing to heal somebody that to say to them ‘your sins are forgiven.’ Many times, I get the feeling that the Lord wants us to go out on a limb in our faith.
Immediately He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your stretcher and go home,” and he did. Another take home message here is that sin can be a cause of disease, although it not always is. It seems to have been the case here. This is repeated many times throughout the Bible, so staying away from sin and repenting from sin when we stray is a sure way to help us stay healthy.
Finally, it says that the multitudes present were in awe at what they saw and glorified God, “who had given such power to men,” so here Matthew acknowledges that Jesus has given us the power to heal.
Several miracles of healing
Next, a woman who had suffered of hemorrhages for twelve years met Jesus (Matthew 9: 20-22). In those days somebody with that condition would have been considered legally unclean, meaning she could not show herself in public. She thought to herself, “if I can only touch his outer robe, I will be healed.” Jesus noticed and told the woman that her faith had made her well. She was immediately and completely healed. We do not know how the woman got her faith, but I see this as another “going out on a limb” situation. She never though, “maybe if I can touch His garment I will be healed.” She was convinced beforehand, in faith, that it would heal her.
At the same time, Jesus went to the house of a religious official who told him to come and lay hands on his daughter who had just died (Matthew 9: 18-19; 9: 23-26). Jesus went and was met by a grieving crowd and told them to go away because the girl was not dead but sleeping. He took the girl by her hand, and she miraculously got up.
After that, two blind men started following Jesus and yelling to Him, “Have mercy and compassion on us, Son of David (a common reference to the Messiah as a descendant of king David) (Matthew 9: 27-31)!” Jesus asked them if they believed He was able to do that, to which they answered affirmatively. He then healed them from their blindness by touching their eyes and saying, “According to your faith it will be done to you.” Here you do not have to guess. Once again, we are told that we are healed by His power but through our faith. No faith, no healing.
As Jesus was leaving, people brought a demon-possessed man who could not talk. The demon was driven out and the man spoke. The crowd was amazed (Matthew 9: 32-33).
In the last paragraph of this chapter (Matthew 9: 35-38), we are reminded that Jesus went through all the towns and villages teaching in the synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and “healing every disease and sickness.” Once again, we are reminded that there was no disease or sickness that Jesus could not heal.
Jesus gives authority to his disciples
Right at the beginning of chapter 10, Jesus called his twelve disciples and gave them authority to drive out impure (evil) spirits and to heal every disease and sickness (Matthew 10: 1). Which diseases did he mention? Every disease. Later he told them again to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, and to drive out demons (Matthew 10: 8). Notice that evil spirits seem to be always hand in hand with diseases, mentioned together. I believe it stresses the fact that diseases and sickness come from evil and the evil one, not from God.
John the Baptist wanted to know if Jesus was the Messiah
John the Baptist, who was in jail at the time, sent some of his followers to meet Jesus and ask Him whether He was the One they were waiting for (the Messiah) or should they wait for somebody else (Matthew 11: 2-3). Jesus told them to tell John what they were hearing and seeing, that the blind, the lame (unable to walk), the lepers and the deaf were being healed and the dead were being raised back to life (Matthew 11: 5), and He ended by saying, “blessed is the one who does not take offense at Me (that is, those who accept Him) (Matthew 11: 6).
Jesus heals on the Sabbath
Later during the Sabbath and in the presence of the Pharisees he healed a man with a shriveled (wrinkled and contracted) hand (Matthew 12: 9-14). When He perceived that the Pharisees were plotting to kill Him, he left. A large crowd of people followed Him, and he healed everyone who was ill (Matthew 12: 15). Then they brought to Jesus a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and He healed him (Matthew 12: 22).
Jesus heals before He feeds the five thousand
Just before Jesus fed the five thousand, He withdrew by boat to a solitary place. People followed Him and came down from nearby towns. When Jesus got off the boat, He saw a large crowd and had compassion on them and healed the sick (Matthew 14: 14).
Jesus heals after He walks on water
Jesus went across the lake to Gennesaret. When people recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country and brought all their sick to Him. They begged Him to let the sick just touch the edge of His cloak, and all who touched it were healed (Matthew 14: 34-36).
Jesus heals the daughter of a Canaanite woman
Jesus retired to the region of the cities of Sidon and Tyre where he was approached by a Canaanite woman (a non-Jew). She called Him Son of David, so she had some knowledge of Him. She asked Jesus for mercy, for her daughter was demon-possessed and suffered terribly. Through a parable, Jesus saw that she had great faith and He healed her daughter from afar (Matthew 15: 21-28).
Jesus heals many by the Sea of Galilee
Jesus went back to the Sea of Galilee where he would miraculously feed four thousand people. There he healed the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and other sick people that were brought to Him and people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking, and the blind seeing, and they praised God (Matthew 15: 30-31).
A demon-possessed man is healed
After the transfiguration (Matthew 17: 1-13) Jesus and His disciples came to the crowd where He was approached by a man whose son was demon-possessed and suffered from seizures and suffered greatly. The man told Jesus he had brought his son to the disciples, but they had been unable to heal him. Jesus rebuked the disciples for lack of faith and drove the demon out of the boy, healing him. Notice that the disciples were not able to heal the boy because of their lack of faith, not because they did not have the power (Matthew 17: 14-18).
Faith moves mountains
Later, the disciples asked Jesus why they had not been able to drive the demon out of the boy. Jesus explained to them that it was their lack of faith. Indeed, He explained to them that if they only had faith as small as a mustard seed (an exceedingly small seed) they could tell a mountain to move from here to there and it would move. “Nothing will be impossible to you,” he added (Matthew 17: 19-20). The take-home message here is that it is our faith in the action of healing that triggers our healing.
Jesus goes beyond the Jordan
Jesus left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan where large crowds followed him, and he healed them there (Matthew 19: 1-2).
Jesus heals two blind men
Leaving Jericho, two blind men were sitting by the roadside and asked Jesus for mercy and asked Him for their sight. Jesus had compassion, touched their eyes and they immediately received their sight and followed him (Matthew 20: 29-34).
Jesus back in Jerusalem
Jesus returns to Jerusalem and goes to the Temple where He drove out all who were buying and selling and turned over the tables of the money changers. There He met people that were blind, and lame and He healed them (Matthew 21: 12-14).
Faith and prayer bring action
Early in the morning Jesus cursed a fig tree that had no fruit. The tree withered immediately. The disciples of course were amazed at the miracle, but Jesus told them that if they had faith and no doubt, they could not only do that but they could tell a mountain to throw itself into the sea and it would be done. Then he said that if they believed (by faith) they could receive whatever they asked in prayer (Matthew 21: 20-22). Obviously, Jesus did not want them to go around telling mountains to slide into the sea, but his point was that even seemingly insurmountable tasks can be achieved if we have enough faith. While there was no mention of healing, it follows that to get healed of diseases we first need to have faith to receive that healing. Faith is what triggers the healing action and is mentioned over and over in the New Testament.
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