Bible Strands
Matthew 8:3
Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses a kneeling leper who has just placed his healing in conditional dependence on divine willingness. He responds immediately to the man's plea while the leper remains present before Him.
The words — ἐκτείνων (ekteinas) means "having stretched out," and ἥψατο (hēpsato) translates as "He touched." These aorist participles and verbs record the physical contact Jesus initiates prior to His spoken command.
The thread — The identical gesture and declaration appear in Luke 5:13 alongside the same healing sequence. The immediate fulfillment of His speech mirrors the creative authority described in Psalm 33:9.
Why it lands — The text establishes that Jesus' willingness and cleansing power operate through direct contact and authoritative speech, bypassing ritual separation. A reader must accept that obedience begins by acknowledging His word as the sole cause of restoration.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Cross-references
- Psalms 33:9 For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm.
- Luke 5:13 Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.
- 2 Kings 5:14 So Naaman went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored and became like that of a little child, and he was clean.
- Matthew 11:4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see:
- Mark 1:41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!”
- Genesis 1:3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
- 2 Kings 5:11 But Naaman went away angry, saying, “I thought that he would surely come out, stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the spot to cure my leprosy.
- Mark 4:39 Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the sea. “Silence!” He commanded. “Be still!” And the wind died down, and it was perfectly calm.
- John 5:21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wishes.
- Mark 5:41 Taking her by the hand, Jesus said, “Talitha koum!” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”