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And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Matthew 8:3 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Jesus stretched out his hand, and touched him, saying, “I want to. Be made clean.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
  • BSB Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
  • NKJV Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
  • NASB Jesus reached out with His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
  • NLT Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared.

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

Jesus touched the leper and instantly healed him, willingly affirming his power to cleanse. He shows both compassion and authority over disease.

Overview

Jesus does the unthinkable by touching an untouchable leper, expressing tender compassion, and declares his willingness: 'I want to. Be made clean.' The instant healing displays his authority over disease and ritual defilement—rather than being made unclean, Jesus makes the man clean. This points to Christ's deeper power to cleanse sinners and his readiness to receive all who come to him.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 16

  • Luke 5:13And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him.
  • Ps 33:9For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.
  • 2 Kgs 5:14Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
  • Matt 11:4–5Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:
  • Mark 1:41And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.
  • John 5:21For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
  • Gen 1:3And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
  • Mark 4:39And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
  • 2 Kgs 5:11But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.
  • Mark 9:25When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.
  • John 11:43And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
  • Luke 17:14–15And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.
  • Luke 7:14And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.
  • Mark 5:41And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.
  • Mark 7:34And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.
  • John 15:24If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

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 8:3YouTube · 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 8:3 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.