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And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
Matthew 8:2 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Behold, a leper came to him and worshiped him, saying, “Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean.”
  • BSB Suddenly a leper came and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
  • NKJV And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
  • NASB And a man with leprosy came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
  • NLT Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached him and knelt before him. “Lord,” the man said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.”

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

A leper approached, worshiped Jesus, and trusted in his power and willingness to heal. His humble faith models how to come to Christ.

Overview

A man with leprosy—a disease that brought ritual uncleanness and social exile—comes to Jesus, kneeling in worship. His words, 'if you want to, you can make me clean,' express firm confidence in Jesus' power while submitting to his will. This first miracle after the Sermon demonstrates Jesus' authority and compassion toward the outcast, and the man's posture reveals genuine faith.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 34

  • Mark 1:40–45And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
  • Luke 17:12–19And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:
  • Matt 15:25Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
  • Matt 18:26The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
  • Lev 13:44–46He is a leprous man, he is unclean: the priest shall pronounce him utterly unclean; his plague is in his head.
  • Luke 5:12–14And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
  • Acts 10:25And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.
  • Matt 28:17And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.
  • 1 Cor 14:25And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.
  • John 9:38And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.
  • Mark 9:22–24And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.
  • Num 5:2–3Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead:
  • Mark 5:6–7But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,
  • Matt 20:20Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.
  • Matt 9:28–29And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.
  • 2 Chr 26:19–21Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar.
  • Matt 14:33Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
  • 2 Kgs 15:5And the LORD smote the king, so that he was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house. And Jotham the king’s son was over the house, judging the people of the land.
  • Luke 4:27And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.
  • 2 Kgs 5:27The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.
  • Matt 13:58And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
  • Matt 9:18While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.
  • Matt 26:6Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper,
  • Num 12:10And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.
  • 2 Kgs 5:1Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.
  • 2 Sam 3:39And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah be too hard for me: the LORD shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness.
  • Matt 10:8Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
  • 2 Kgs 7:3–4And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?
  • Matt 2:11And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
  • Matt 28:9And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.
  • Rev 19:10And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
  • Rev 22:8–9And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
  • Deut 24:8–9Take heed in the plague of leprosy, that thou observe diligently, and do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you: as I commanded them, so ye shall observe to do.
  • Matt 4:9And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Matthew videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Matthew 8:2YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MatthewMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'

How Matthew 8:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.