Matthew 8:1-10

1 Jesus came down the mountain with the cheers of the crowd still ringing in his ears.

2 Then a leper appeared and went to his knees before Jesus, praying, "Master, if you want to, you can heal my body."

3 Jesus reached out and touched him, saying, "I want to. Be clean." Then and there, all signs of the leprosy were gone.

4 Jesus said, "Don't talk about this all over town. Just quietly present your healed body to the priest, along with the appropriate expressions of thanks to God. Your cleansed and grateful life, not your words, will bear witness to what I have done."

5 As Jesus entered the village of Capernaum, a Roman captain came up in a panic and said,

6 "Master, my servant is sick. He can't walk. He's in terrible pain."

7 Jesus said, "I'll come and heal him."

8 "Oh, no," said the captain. "I don't want to put you to all that trouble. Just give the order and my servant will be fine.

9 I'm a man who takes orders and gives orders. I tell one soldier, 'Go,' and he goes; to another, 'Come,' and he comes; to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it."

10 Taken aback, Jesus said, "I've yet to come across this kind of simple trust in Israel, the very people who are supposed to know all about God and how he works.