Thomas Aquinas Commentary Matthew 8:1-4

"And when he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And behold, there came to him a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And he stretched forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou made clean. And straightway his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them." — Matthew 8:1-4 (ASV)

It might appear that the Lord was speaking out of boastfulness; for that reason, He commends His authority by signs.

Firstly, therefore, signs are set forth by which men are freed from bodily dangers; secondly, signs are set forth by which men are freed from spiritual ones (Chapter 9). Concerning the first, the Evangelist does two things. Firstly, he sets forth the signs by which men are freed from bodily dangers proceeding from intrinsic causes; secondly, from extrinsic ones, such as the tempest, where it is said, And when he entered into the boat.

He commends His authority because He performed signs instantly, because He performed signs while absent, because He performed signs perfectly, and because He performed signs upon many men.

That He performed signs instantly is demonstrated in the leper; that He performed signs while absent is demonstrated in the servant of the centurion; that He performed signs perfectly is demonstrated in Peter’s mother-in-law; and that He performed signs upon many men is demonstrated among many other men.

Concerning the first, there are three points:

1. The witnesses of the miracle are introduced.
2. The sick man is presented, where it is said, And behold a leper.
3. Help is given, where it is said, And Jesus stretching forth his hand, touched him, saying: I will, be thou made clean.

He says, therefore: And when he was come down from the mountain, etc. This mountain is heaven: A mountain in which God is well pleased to dwell (Psalms 67:17).

Hence, after He descended from heaven, great multitudes followed him; He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, and in habit found as a man, etc. (Philippians 2:7).

Alternatively, the mountain signifies the loftiness of His doctrine: Thy justice is as the mountains of God (Psalms 35:7). When He was on the mountain, that is, when He led a lofty life, His disciples followed Him. And when he was come down, great multitudes followed him; I could not speak to you as unto spiritual (1 Corinthians 3:1).

Secondly, the person of the sick man is introduced, and two things are related:

1. His sickness is shown.
2. Care is given.

There is sickness because he is a leper; and by this, he signifies spiritual infirmities. For some infirmities are hidden within, such as fevers. Others, however, even if they are internal, still have effects that appear outwardly, such as leprosy.

Therefore, he is a leper whose evil will is shown through an evil action: We have thought him as it were a leper (Isaiah 53:4).

But a question arises, because Luke states that when He came to Capernaum, He healed the leper. It should be said that Matthew follows the historical order of events, because when He was going to Capernaum, a leper appeared to Him on the way.

His seeking of care follows: firstly, the leper came; and secondly, he adored. Hence, the Evangelist says, Behold a leper. In this manner, the sinner comes through faith, but adores through humility: God will save the humble of spirit (Psalms 33:19).

Likewise, he confesses Christ’s power when he says, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. He calls Him Lord; if He is the Lord, He is able to save. In Psalm 99:3, it is written: Know ye that the Lord he is God.

He also confides in God’s mercy. One should not so much request mercy as simply show one’s need to Him. And so this man says: Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. Hence, Lord, all my desire is before thee, and my groaning is not hidden from thee (Psalms 37:10).

Furthermore, he shows forth Christ’s wisdom, because he does not seek anything except His will, for Christ knows better what is necessary for you than you yourself know. For this reason, he leaves all to Christ’s wisdom.

Next, the Evangelist mentions the help given. Firstly, Christ heals; and secondly, He instructs. The Evangelist first mentions the deed, and secondly, he mentions the effect, where it is said, And forthwith his leprosy was cleansed.

Christ does three things in curing. He extends His hand, thereby imparting assistance: Put forth thy hand from on high, take me out, and deliver me (Psalms 143:7). Sometimes, He extends His hand but does not touch: I have spread forth my hands all the day to an unbelieving people, etc. (Isaiah 65:2). Sometimes, He touches, and this is when He transforms, as it is said in Psalm 143:5: Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke, through compunction.

But why does He touch him, since it was forbidden in the Law? He did this to show that He is above the Law. We read about Elisha that he did not touch Naaman but sent him to the Jordan. Hence, this Man, Who touched, seems to destroy the Law.

But, in truth, He does not destroy the Law, because touching lepers was forbidden on account of contagion. Since He could not be infected, He could touch him. Likewise, He touched him to show His humanity, because it is not enough for a sinner to be subject to God in His divinity, but also in His humanity.

I will, be thou made clean. Jerome says that some people interpret this incorrectly. For they maintain that the word mundare is in the form of an infinitive; but this is not true. On the contrary, because the leper had said, If thou wilt, Christ says, I will; and the word mundare is in the imperative mood. Hence, He who spoke, commanded, and it was done.

Likewise, He touched, to give an instruction on the power that is in the sacraments, because not only is touching required, but words are also required. For when the word is added to the element, this becomes a sacrament.

And by this, when He touched, three errors are excluded. He shows His true body, against the Manichaeans. Because He says, I will, He speaks against Apollinaris. By this word, namely, be thou made clean, He shows that He is true God, against Photinus.

And the effect follows, And forthwith his leprosy was cleansed, and he was cured. Chrysostom says that it happened more quickly than He could say the words, be thou made clean, because this phrase is spoken in time, but the curing occurs in an instant.

And he saith to him. Here He instructs him, for it would have been a small thing to heal him if He did not also instruct him: I will give thee understanding, and I will instruct thee (Psalms 31:8).

Firstly, He prescribes silence for him: See thou tell no man. Chrysostom says: “Because He knew that the Jews were slandering His deeds, for that reason He said: See thou tell no man.”

Alternatively, it can be explained that He said this as an example. For earlier He had taught to hide good deeds, and for that reason, He gives an example that no one should boast about good deeds.

He continues: but go, shew thyself to the priests. And why does He say this? Because He had touched a leper, He says this so that He might not seem to be a complete breaker of the Law. He is sent to the priests, as is said in Leviticus 14.

And offer the gift, etc. Why? Because there was a precept of the Law that a man cleansed from leprosy should offer two young turtledoves.

But, according to this, it seems that since the Lord commanded this, it should still be done today. It should be said that figures should not cease until the truth is completely manifested. This, however, did not happen until after the Resurrection.

For a testimony unto them: and this is explained in two ways. Firstly, Moses commanded for a testimony unto them. By this saying, He teaches that the commands of Moses were for a testimony of Christ, as is said in John 5:46: If you did believe Moses, you would perhaps believe me also.

Alternatively, For a testimony unto them means it is a testimony against those who saw miracles and did not believe. Or, for a testimony unto them, namely, of your being cured; because when they have received your offering, they will not be able to deny the miracle.

Likewise, according to a mystical understanding of this event, three things are prescribed by Christ:

1. That one should be ashamed of sin, in contrast to those about whom it is said, They have proclaimed abroad their sin as Sodom, and they have not hid it (Isaiah 3:9). Hence, it is said: There is a shame that bringeth sin, and there is a shame that bringeth glory and grace .
2. That one should show oneself to the priest by confessing: Confess therefore your sins one to another (James 5:16). And here it seems that the Lord has prescribed confession. The leper was healed instantly because in contrition itself, when one laments and intends to confess and to abstain from sin, the sin is remitted, according to what is written: I will confess against myself my injustice to the Lord: and thou hast forgiven the wickedness of my sin (Psalms 31:5).
3. That satisfaction is prescribed, when He says: Offer thy gift.

Moreover, He teaches us to keep the commandments when He says, As Moses commanded.