1. When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him.
2. A man with a serious skin disease came and bowed down in front of him. The man said to Jesus, “Sir, if you’re willing, you can make me clean.”
3. Jesus reached out, touched him, and said, “I’m willing. So be clean!” Immediately, his skin disease went away, and he was clean.
4. Jesus said to him, “Don’t tell anyone about this! Instead, show yourself to the priest. Then offer the sacrifice Moses commanded as proof to people that you are clean.”
5. When Jesus went to Capernaum, a Roman army officer came to beg him for help.
6. The officer said, “Sir, my servant is lying at home paralyzed and in terrible pain.”
7. Jesus said to him, “I’ll come to heal him.”
8. The officer responded, “Sir, I don’t deserve to have you come into my house. But just give a command, and my servant will be healed.
9. As you know, I’m in a chain of command and have soldiers at my command. I tell one of them, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and another, ‘Come!’ and he comes. I tell my servant, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”
10. Jesus was amazed when he heard this. He said to those who were following him, “I can guarantee this truth: I haven’t found faith as great as this in anyone in Israel.