Matthieu 8
La Bible du Semeur
L’Évangile et l’autorité de Jésus
Jésus guérit les malades(A)
8 Quand Jésus descendit de la montagne, une foule nombreuse le suivit. 2 Et voici qu’un lépreux s’approcha et se prosterna devant lui en disant : Seigneur, si tu le veux, tu peux me rendre pur[a].
3 Jésus tendit la main et le toucha en disant : Je le veux, sois pur.
Aussitôt, il fut purifié de sa lèpre.
4 – Attention, lui dit Jésus, ne le dis à personne ; mais va te faire examiner par le prêtre et apporte l’offrande prescrite par Moïse. Cela leur servira de témoignage[b].
(Lc 7.1-10)
5 Jésus entrait à Capernaüm, quand un officier romain l’aborda. 6 Il le supplia : Seigneur, mon serviteur est couché chez moi, il est paralysé, il souffre terriblement.
7 – Je vais chez toi, lui répondit Jésus, et je le guérirai.
8 – Seigneur, dit alors l’officier, je ne remplis pas les conditions[c] pour te recevoir dans ma maison, mais tu n’as qu’un mot à dire et mon serviteur sera guéri. 9 Car, moi-même, je suis un officier subalterne, mais j’ai des soldats sous mes ordres, et quand je dis à l’un : « Va ! », il va. Quand je dis à un autre : « Viens ! », il vient. Quand je dis à mon esclave : « Fais ceci ! », il le fait.
10 En entendant cela, Jésus fut rempli d’admiration et, s’adressant à ceux qui le suivaient, il dit : Vraiment, je vous l’assure : chez personne, en Israël, je n’ai trouvé une telle foi ! 11 Je vous le déclare : beaucoup viendront de l’Orient et de l’Occident et prendront place à table auprès d’Abraham, d’Isaac et de Jacob, dans le royaume des cieux. 12 Mais ceux qui devaient hériter du royaume, ceux-là seront jetés dans les ténèbres du dehors. Là, il y aura des pleurs et d’amers regrets.
13 Puis Jésus dit à l’officier : Rentre chez toi et qu’il te soit fait selon ce que tu as cru. Et, à l’heure même, son serviteur fut guéri.
Il a porté nos maladies(B)
14 Jésus se rendit alors à la maison de Pierre. Il trouva la belle-mère de celui-ci alitée, avec une forte fièvre. 15 Il lui prit la main, et la fièvre la quitta. Alors elle se leva et se mit à le servir.
16 Le soir venu, on lui amena beaucoup de gens qui étaient sous l’emprise de démons : par sa parole, il chassa ces esprits mauvais. Il guérit aussi tous les malades. 17 Ainsi s’accomplissait cette parole du prophète Esaïe :
Il s’est chargé de nos infirmités
et il a porté nos maladies[d] .
L’engagement total du disciple(C)
18 Lorsque Jésus se vit entouré d’une foule nombreuse, il donna ordre à ses disciples de passer de l’autre côté du lac. 19 Un spécialiste de la Loi s’approcha et lui dit : Maître, je te suivrai partout où tu iras.
20 Jésus lui répondit : Les renards ont des tanières et les oiseaux du ciel des nids ; mais le Fils de l’homme n’a pas d’endroit où reposer sa tête.
21 – Seigneur, lui dit un autre qui était de ses disciples, permets-moi d’aller d’abord enterrer mon père.
22 Mais Jésus lui répondit : Suis-moi et laisse à ceux qui sont morts le soin d’enterrer leurs morts.
Plus fort que la tempête(D)
23 Il monta dans un bateau et ses disciples le suivirent. 24 Tout à coup, une grande tempête se leva sur le lac et les vagues passaient par-dessus le bateau. Pendant ce temps, Jésus dormait. 25 Les disciples s’approchèrent de lui et le réveillèrent en criant : Seigneur, sauve-nous, nous sommes perdus !
26 – Pourquoi avez-vous si peur ? leur dit-il. Votre foi est bien petite !
Alors il se leva, parla sévèrement au vent et au lac, et il se fit un grand calme.
27 Saisis d’étonnement, ceux qui étaient présents disaient : Quel est donc cet homme pour que même les vents et le lac lui obéissent ?
Plus fort que les démons(E)
28 Quand il fut arrivé de l’autre côté du lac, dans la région de Gadara[e], deux hommes qui étaient sous l’emprise de démons sortirent des tombeaux et vinrent à sa rencontre. Ils étaient si dangereux que personne n’osait plus passer par ce chemin. 29 Et voici qu’ils se mirent à crier : Que nous veux-tu, Fils de Dieu ? Es-tu venu nous tourmenter avant le temps ?
30 Or, il y avait, à quelque distance de là, un grand troupeau de porcs[f] en train de paître. 31 Les démons supplièrent Jésus : Si tu veux nous chasser, envoie-nous dans ce troupeau de porcs.
32 – Allez ! leur dit-il.
Les démons sortirent de ces deux hommes et entrèrent dans les porcs. Aussitôt, tout le troupeau s’élança du haut de la pente et se précipita dans le lac, et toutes les bêtes périrent noyées.
33 Les gardiens du troupeau s’enfuirent, coururent à la ville et allèrent raconter tout ce qui s’était passé, en particulier ce qui était arrivé aux deux hommes qui étaient sous l’emprise de démons. 34 Là-dessus, tous les habitants de la ville sortirent à la rencontre de Jésus et, quand ils le virent, le supplièrent de quitter leur territoire.
Footnotes
- 8.2 C’est-à-dire tu peux me guérir. La lèpre rendait rituellement impur ; demander à être purifié équivalait à demander la guérison.
- 8.4 Autres traductions : cela leur prouvera qui je suis ou cela prouvera à tous que tu es guéri ou cela prouvera à tous mon respect de la Loi.
- 8.8 Ou : je ne suis pas digne (voir 3.11). L’officier romain savait sans doute que la tradition ne permettait pas aux Juifs de pénétrer dans la maison d’un non-Juif.
- 8.17 Es 53.4.
- 8.28 Gadara se trouvait en territoire non juif, à 10 kilomètres au sud-est du lac de Galilée.
- 8.30 Le porc était, selon la Loi de Moïse, un animal impur (Lv 11.7). Seuls les non-Juifs élevaient des porcs.
Matthew 8
Modern English Version
The Cleansing of a Leper(A)
8 When He came down from the mountains, large crowds followed Him. 2 And then a leper came and worshipped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
3 Jesus reached out His hand and touched him, saying, “I will. Be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one. But go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded as a testimony to them.”
The Healing of a Centurion’s Servant(B)
5 And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion[a] came to Him, entreating Him, 6 and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home, sick with paralysis, terribly tormented.”
7 Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
8 The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But speak the word only, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this man, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
10 When Jesus heard it, He was amazed and said to those who followed, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith, no, not in Israel. 11 And I say to you that many will come from the east and west and will dine with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way. And as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that very moment.
The Healing of Many People(C)
14 When Jesus entered Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother, lying sick with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she rose and served them.
16 When the evening came, they brought to Him many who were possessed with demons. And He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all who were sick, 17 to fulfill what was spoken by Isaiah the prophet,
“He Himself took our infirmities
and bore our sicknesses.”[b]
The Would-Be Followers of Jesus(D)
18 Now when Jesus saw large crowds around Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side. 19 Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”
20 Jesus replied, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”
21 Another of His other disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their dead.”
The Calming of a Storm(E)
23 Then He entered the boat, and His disciples followed Him. 24 Suddenly a great storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. 25 His disciples went to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
26 He replied, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He rose and rebuked the winds and the sea. And there was a great calm.
27 The men were amazed, saying, “What kind of Man is this that even the winds and the sea obey Him!”
The Healing of the Gergesene Demoniacs(F)
28 When He came to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two men possessed with demons, coming out of the tombs, extremely fierce, so that no one might pass by that way. 29 Suddenly they cried out, saying, “What have we to do with You, Jesus, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?”
30 Now a good way off from them was a herd of many swine feeding. 31 So the demons begged Him, saying, “If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine.”
32 He said to them, “Go!” And when they came out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. 33 Those who kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told everything, including what had happened to those possessed by the demons. 34 The whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart out of their region.
Footnotes
- Matthew 8:5 Commander with the rank of captain over 100 soldiers.
- Matthew 8:17 Isa 53:4.
Matthew 8
King James Version
8 When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.
2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
4 And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
5 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
14 And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever.
15 And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.
16 When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:
17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.
18 Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side.
19 And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
21 And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
22 But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.
23 And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him.
24 And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.
25 And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.
26 And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.
27 But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!
28 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.
29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
30 And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding.
31 So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.
32 And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.
33 And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils.
34 And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.
Matthew 8
New Catholic Bible
The Signs of the Kingdom of God[a]
Ten Miracles[b]
Chapter 8
Jesus Heals a Man with Leprosy.[c] 1 When he had come down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. 2 Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached, knelt before him, and said, “Lord, if you choose to do so, you can make me clean.” 3 He stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I do choose. Be made clean.” Immediately, his leprosy was cured. 4 Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one, but go and show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses prescribed. That will be proof for them.”
Jesus Heals the Centurion’s Servant.[d] 5 When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and pleaded for his help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant is lying at home paralyzed and enduring agonizing sufferings.” 7 Jesus said to him, “I will come and cure him.” 8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. But simply say the word and my servant will be healed.[e] 9 For I myself am a man subject to authority, with soldiers who are subject to me. I say to one ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed, and he said to those who were following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one throughout Israel have I found faith as great as this. 11 Many, I tell you, will come from the east and the west to sit with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob at the banquet in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
13 Jesus then said to the centurion, “Return home. Your petition has been granted because of your faith.” And at that very hour the servant was healed.
14 Jesus Heals Peter’s Mother-in-Law. Jesus then entered the house of Peter and found Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. 15 He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve him.
16 Jesus Drives Out the Evil Spirits.[f] That evening they brought to him many who were possessed by demons. He cast out the spirits with a command and cured all who were sick. 17 This was to fulfill the words of the prophet Isaiah:
“He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.”
18 The Cost of Following Jesus.[g] When Jesus saw the great crowds around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. 19 A scribe approached him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 Jesus told him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man[h] has nowhere to lay his head.” 21 Another man, one of the disciples, said, “Lord, allow me to go first and bury my father.” 22 Jesus answered him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
23 Jesus Calms the Storm.[i] He then got into the boat, followed by his disciples. 24 Suddenly, a great storm came up on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves. But he was asleep. 25 And so they went to him and awakened him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are going to die!” 26 He said to them in reply, “Why are you so frightened, O you of little faith?”
Then he stood up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 They were amazed and asked, “What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?”
28 Jesus Heals Two Demon-Possessed Men.[j] When he reached the region of the Gadarenes[k] on the other side of the lake, two men who were possessed by demons came out of the tombs and approached him. They were so fiercely violent that no one dared to pass that way. 29 Suddenly, they shouted, “What do you want with us, Son of God?[l] Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?”
30 Some distance away a large herd of pigs was feeding. 31 The demons pleaded with him, “If you cast us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” 32 He said to them, “Go, then!” They came out and entered the pigs. The entire herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake, and they perished in the water. 33 Those tending the pigs ran off, and when they reached the town, they related the whole story including what had happened to the men who had been possessed. 34 Then the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him they begged him to leave their region.
Footnotes
- Matthew 8:1 This section gathers together ten accounts of miracles of Jesus. Interspersed among them are sayings of Jesus about discipleship. This has led some authors to speak of a portrayal of Jesus as “Messiah of the Word” in chs. 5–7 and “Messiah of the Deed” in 8–9. By his sayings and actions Jesus bears witness that evil and sickness are no longer the last word for people, for human beings are not slaves of fate since the goodness of God is manifested in the goodness of Jesus.
- Matthew 8:1 The ten miracle stories found herein are a third of the miracle stories that are told in detail in all the Gospels together. But the New Testament contains repeated references to a thaumaturgic activity that was continual (see Mt 4:23; Lk 4:41; Acts 2:22).
- Matthew 8:1 Leprosy made a person ceremonially unclean as well as physically afflicted. The man with leprosy in this passage technically breaks the Law as he comes to prostrate himself at the feet of Jesus. The Master also breaks the Law when he touches the man and sovereignly decides to heal him. The sick man welcomes Christ’s word, and the kingdom is opened to him. He becomes a model and sign of the Christian made clean by Christ.
- Matthew 8:5 Jesus commends a Roman centurion (leader of a hundred soldiers) for having greater faith than any Israelite and prophesies the ingathering of the Gentiles before healing his servant from afar. This passage shows that the great pilgrimage of peoples toward the kingdom has begun and evokes the beautiful image of the feast wherein all believers are definitively gathered together. Outside of this communion and joy there is only darkness; the “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (a phrase found outside Matthew only in Lk 13:28) describes the anguish of those who have remained insensitive to the call that has been welcomed by the very people they have denigrated.
- Matthew 8:8 Lord, I am not worthy . . . will be healed: these words of the centurion have become those of believers who go to encounter the Lord in Holy Communion.
- Matthew 8:16 Jesus is the Servant announced by Isa 53:4 who will expiate the sins of humankind. By the power of his Word he triumphs over the evil that keeps human beings in bondage symbolized by sickness.
- Matthew 8:18 Jesus has subordinated family ties to the needs of his mission of salvation and requires the same sacrifice of those called to share that mission, while other members of the family can perform the deeds of filial piety. These are “dead” only in the sense that they have not received the same call to separate themselves from family responsibility in order to preach the Gospel of the kingdom. They can nonetheless be his disciples in another sense.
Hence, following Jesus means Christians should be ready to make whatever sacrifice he asks of them. In the final analysis, they are followers of Christ, people who believe in him. They received faith in Christ at Baptism and are bound to serve him. By recourse to frequent prayer and true friendship with the Lord, they should strive to discover what Jesus asks of them in their service of him. - Matthew 8:20 Son of Man: the most common and enigmatic title of Christ used in the Gospels (81 times) and in Acts 7:56—frequently by Christ himself. It was well suited to his purpose of both veiling and revealing his person and mission. On the one hand, it meant simply “man” (see Ezek 2:1) and emphasized the lowliness of the human condition (Mt 8:20; 11:19; 20:28), especially in Christ’s humiliation and death (Mt 17:22). On the other hand, it expressed the triumph of Christ’s Resurrection (Mt 17:9), his return to glory (Mt 24:30; Dan 7:13), and his Second Coming as judge of the world (Mt 25:31).
Christ made use of this title at his trial before the Sanhedrin (Mt 26:64) when he prophesied that he would be vindicated and be seated in future glory at the right hand of God not merely as man but as Lord (see Dan 7:13; Mk 14:62).
This title was employed by Jewish apocalyptic literature (1 Enoch, 2 Ezra, 2 Baruch) to describe a unique religious personage endowed with extraordinary spiritual power who would receive the kingdom from God at the end of the ages. Early Christians revered this title as a reminder of Christ’s twofold destiny of humiliation and joy, which was also their own (Mt 24:30f). - Matthew 8:23 This passage attests to Jesus’ power over nature and its frightful forces. This fact is preserved as a sign, for the Church resembles a boat buffeted by so many storms. She is invited to place herself in Christ’s hands with great trust.
- Matthew 8:28 The sense of the anecdote about the pigs who serve as refuge for the demons and perish by drowning is that the Messiah has come; he triumphs over the evil powers that keep human beings in bondage and oppose the kingdom of God. The deliverance of the mentally ill signified that the “time” of the devil had come to an end. Thus, this is another account calling for confidence and courage in the struggle against evil. It must have especially delighted the Jews for whom pigs were unclean animals according to the Law (Lev 11:7) and who saw the pagan owners of the accursed flock suffering a loss.
- Matthew 8:28 Gadarenes: the city of Gadara was eight miles south of the lake.
- Matthew 8:29 Son of God: on the lips of the demons, this phrase is tantamount to “Messiah,” for they would scarcely set themselves in opposition to him if they knew his full divinity. The same title is given to Jesus in Mk 3:12. To torment us before the appointed time: to confine us to hell (see Lk 8:31) before the Last Judgment. Until then, the demons have a certain freedom to roam about the world (see 2 Pet 2:4 with 1 Pet 5:8).
La Bible Du Semeur (The Bible of the Sower) Copyright © 1992, 1999 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
