Matthew Chapter Eight Poem by Day Williams

1 When he descended from the mountainside,
Multitudes followed him.2 A leper came,
Knelt down in front of him and said, "Lord, if

You're willing, you can make me clean." 3 He reached
His hand out, touching him and saying, "I'm
Willing. "Be clean! " Immediately the man

Was cured of leprosy,4 then Jesus said
To him, "See that you don't tell anyone.
But go before the priest and offer him

The gift that Moses ordered, so your cure
Will have a public testimony." 5 When
Jesus went into Capernaum, he

Was met by a centurion who asked
For help.6 "Lord, " he told him, "my servant lies
At home. He's paralyzed and suffering

Terribly." 7 Jesus said, "I'll go and heal him, "
8 But the centurion replied, "Lord, I
Do not deserve to have you come beneath

My roof. If you will only say, ‘Be healed! ',
My servant will be healed,9 for I'm a man
Under authority, with soldiers who

Are under me. I say to this one, ‘Go, '
And he goes; and that one, ‘Come, ' and he will come.
I tell my servant, ‘Do this, ' and he does."

10 When Jesus heard this, he was dumbfounded
And told his followers, "I have not found
Such faith with anyone in Israel.

11 I tell you, many will arrive from east
And west, and they will take their places at
The feast with Abraham and Isaac and

Jacob in heaven's kingdom,12 but the sons
Within the kingdom will be thrown outside
Into the darkness, where there will be weeping

And gnashing teeth." 13 To the centurion
Jesus said, "Go! It will be done as you
Believed it would." That very hour his servant

Was healed.14 When Jesus came in Peter's house,
He saw that Peter's mother-in-law was
Lying in bed with a high fever. When

15 He touched her hand, the fever left her, and
She got up and began to wait on him.
16 That evening several people who were demon-

Possessed were brought to him, and he drove out
The spirits with a word and healed the sick.
17 This thus fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy:

"He took up our infirmities and bore
All our diseases." 18 When he saw the crowd
Around him, Jesus told his followers

To get prepared to go across the lake
Onto the other side.19 A teacher of
The law then came to him and stated, "Teacher,

I'll follow you wherever you may go."
20 Jesus said, "Foxes have their holes and birds
Have nests, and yet the Son of Man has no

Spot he can lay his head." 21 One follower
Said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my
Father, " 22 but Jesus told him, "Follow me;

Let the dead bury their own dead, " 23 then he
Got in the boat and his followers
Went with him.24 Suddenly an awful storm

Arose upon the lake, so that the waves
Were higher than the boat. But Jesus was
Asleep.25 The followers approached and woke

Him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're drowning! " 26 He
Replied, "You men of little faith, why are
You so afraid? " Then he got up and scolded

The winds and waves, and it was wholly calm.
27 The men were stunned and asked, "Who is
this man,
That even winds and waves obey him? " 28 When

He reached the country of the Gadarenes
Upon the other side, two men who were
Demon-possessed men came and met him. They

Lived in the cemetery and were so
Violent that no one could pass that way.
29 "What do you want with us, O Son of God? "

They shouted. "Have you come to torture us
Before the time? " 30 Some distance off a herd
Of pigs was feeding,31 and the demons begged

Him, "If you drive us out, send us inside
The herd of pigs." 32 He said to them, "Be gone! "
So they came out and went inside the pigs,

And the whole herd rushed off a cliff and drowned
In water underneath.33 The swineherds ran
Away, went in the town and told the story,

Including what had happened to the demon-
Possessed men,34 then the whole town rushed out to
Meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded

With him to go away and leave their region.