A Servant Sick of the Palsy Matthew 8:6

Matthew shared how Jesus completed the Sermon on the Mount, and “When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And, behold, there came a leper and worshiped him, saying, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said unto him, See you tell no man; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him.” In chapter eight and verse six of his book, Matthew shared how the centurion had a servant who was, “sick of the palsy” where we read:

And saying, Lord, my servant lies at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.

The verse reads, “And saying, Lord, my servant lies at home sick of the palsy, ...” Matthew began with the words, “and saying” or “and uttering, declaring and proclaiming,” “Lord” which means “he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master and the title given to God the Messiah”, “my servant” or “the centurion's slave, attendant and minister” “lies at home” which means “is lying down in his house, edifice or dwelling” “sick of the palsy” or “paralytic, suffering from the relaxing of the nerves of one's side, disabled and weak of limb as if dissolved”. The centurion called Jesus “Lord” and then told Him of his “sick” “servant” who was at home lying down.

The verse goes on to say, “... grievously tormented.” Matthew added the word, “grievously” or “terribly, excessively and vehemently” “tormented” which means “in pain, tossed, vexed and toiled”. Matthew shared how the centurion told Jesus that his “servant” was “vehemently tossed, vexed and in pain”. We might imagine the torment this caring “centurion” had for his “servant”, and the fact that the “servant” was excessively “tormented” only added to his grief.

When we meditate upon Matthew's words in this verse, we see how caring this “centurion” was for his “servant”. This was a “Gentile”, and yet He heard about Jesus and believed that Jesus could help his “servant”. God desires for all people to come to Him through His Son Jesus, and whether they are “Gentiles” or Jews, their desperation may be used to draw them to the only One who is able to “cleanse”, “forgive” and “save”.

Next time Matthew shares how Jesus said to the centurions, “I will come and heal him”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.