1 And when he came down from the mount, great multitudes did follow him,
2 and lo, a leper having come, was bowing to him, saying, `Sir, if thou art willing, thou art able to cleanse me;'
3 and having stretched forth the hand, Jesus touched him, saying, `I will, be thou cleansed,' and immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
4 And Jesus saith to him, `See, thou mayest tell no one, but go, thyself shew to the priest, and bring the gift that Moses commanded for a testimony to them.'
5 And Jesus having entered into Capernaum, there came to him a centurion calling upon him,
6 and saying, `Sir, my young man hath been laid in the house a paralytic, fearfully afflicted,'
7 and Jesus saith to him, `I, having come, will heal him.'
8 And the centurion answering said, `Sir, I am not worthy that thou mayest enter under my roof, but only say a word, and my servant shall be healed;
9 for I also am a man under authority, having under myself soldiers, and I say to this one, Go, and he goeth, and to another, Be coming, and he cometh, and to my servant, Do this, and he doth `it'.'
10 And Jesus having heard, did wonder, and said to those following, `Verily I say to you, not even in Israel so great faith have I found;
11 and I say to you, that many from east and west shall come and recline (at meat) with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the reign of the heavens,
12 but the sons of the reign shall be cast forth to the outer darkness -- there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.'
13 And Jesus said to the centurion, `Go, and as thou didst believe let it be to thee;' and his young man was healed in that hour.
14 And Jesus having come into the house of Peter, saw his mother-in-law laid, and fevered,
15 and he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she arose, and was ministering to them.
16 And evening having come, they brought to him many demoniacs, and he did cast out the spirits with a word, and did heal all who were ill,
17 that it might be fulfilled that was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, `Himself took our infirmities, and the sicknesses he did bear.'
18 And Jesus having seen great multitudes about him, did command to depart to the other side;
19 and a certain scribe having come, said to him, `Teacher, I will follow thee wherever thou mayest go;'
20 and Jesus saith to him, `The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven places of rest, but the Son of Man hath not where he may lay the head.'
21 And another of his disciples said to him, `Sir, permit me first to depart and to bury my father;'
22 and Jesus said to him, `Follow me, and suffer the dead to bury their own dead.'
23 And when he entered into the boat his disciples did follow him,
24 and lo, a great tempest arose in the sea, so that the boat was being covered by the waves, but he was sleeping,
25 and his disciples having come to him, awoke him, saying, `Sir, save us; we are perishing.'
26 And he saith to them, `Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?' Then having risen, he rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm;
27 and the men wondered, saying, `What kind -- is this, that even the wind and the sea do obey him?'
28 And he having come to the other side, to the region of the Gergesenes, there met him two demoniacs, coming forth out of the tombs, very fierce, so that no one was able to pass over by that way,
29 and lo, they cried out, saying, `What -- to us and to thee, Jesus, Son of God? didst thou come hither, before the time, to afflict us?'
30 And there was far off from them a herd of many swine feeding,
31 and the demons were calling on him, saying, `If thou dost cast us forth, permit us to go away to the herd of the swine;'
32 and he saith to them, `Go.' And having come forth, they went to the herd of the swine, and lo, the whole herd of the swine rushed down the steep, to the sea, and died in the waters,
33 and those feeding did flee, and, having gone to the city, they declared all, and the matter of the demoniacs.
34 And lo, all the city came forth to meet Jesus, and having seen him, they called on `him' that he might depart from their borders.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Matthew 8
Commentary on Matthew 8 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 8
The evangelist having, in the foregoing chapters, given us a specimen of our Lord's preaching, proceeds now to give some instances of the miracles he wrought, which prove him a Teacher come from God, and the great Healer of a diseased world. In this chapter we have,
Mat 8:1-4
The first verse refers to the close of the foregoing sermon: the people that heard him were astonished at his doctrine; and the effect was, that when he came down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him; though he was so strict a Lawgiver, and so faithful a Reprover, they diligently attended him, and were loth to disperse, and go from him. Note, They to whom Christ has manifested himself, cannot but desire to be better acquainted with him. They who know much of Christ should covet to know more; and then shall we know, if we thus follow on to know the Lord. It is pleasing to see people so well affected to Christ, as to think they can never hear enough of him; so well affected to the best things, as thus to flock after good preaching, and to follow the Lamb withersoever he goes. Now was Jacob's prophecy concerning the Messiah fulfilled, that unto him shall the gathering of the people be; yet they who gathered to him did not cleave to him. They who followed him closely and constantly were but few, compared with the multitudes that were but followers at large.
In these verses we have an account of Christ's cleansing a leper. It should seem, by comparing Mk. 1:40, and Lu. 5:12, that this passage, though placed, by St. Matthew, after the sermon on the mount, because he would give account of his doctrine first, and then of his miracles, happened some time before; but that is not at all material. This is fitly recorded with the first of Christ's miracles,
Mat 8:5-13
We have here an account of Christ's curing the centurion's servant of a palsy. This was done at Capernaum, where Christ now dwelt, ch. 4:13. Christ went about doing good, and came home to do good too; every place he came to was the better for him.
The persons Christ had now to do with were,
Now in the story of the cure of this servant, we may observe an intercourse or interchanging of graces, very remarkable between Christ and the centurion. See here,
The centurion's faith in the power of Christ he here illustrates by the dominion he had, as a centurion, over his soldiers, as a master over his servants; he says to one, Go, and he goes, etc. They were all at his beck and command, so as that he could by them execute things at a distance; his word was a law to them-dictum factum; well-disciplined soldiers know that the commands of their officers are not to be disputed, but obeyed. Thus could Christ speak, and it is done; such a power had he over all bodily diseases. The centurion had this command over his soldiers, though he was himself a man under authority; not a commander-in-chief, but a subaltern officer; much more had Christ this power, who is the supreme and sovereign Lord of all. The centurion's servants were very obsequious, would go and come at every the least intimation of their master's mind. Now,
Mat 8:14-17
They who pretend to be critical in the Harmony of the evangelists, place this passage, and all that follows to the end of ch. 9 before the sermon on the mount, according to the order which Mark and Luke observe in placing it. Dr. Lightfoot places only this passage before the sermon on the mount, and v. 18, etc. after. Here we have,
Mat 8:18-22
Here is,
We have here Christ's managing of two different tempers, one quick and eager, the other dull and heavy; and his instructions are adapted to each of them, and designed for our use.
Mat 8:23-27
Christ had given sailing orders to his disciples (v. 18), that they should depart to the other side of the sea of Tiberias, into the country of Gadara, in the tribe of Gad, which lay east of Jordan; thither he would go to rescue a poor creature that was possessed with a legion of devils, though he foresaw how he should be affronted there. Now.
Mat 8:28-34
We have here the story of Christ's casting the devils out of two men that were possessed. The scope of this chapter is to show the divine power of Christ, by the instances of his dominion over bodily diseases, which to us are irresistible; over winds and waves, which to us are yet more uncontrollable; and lastly, over devils, which to us are most formidable of all. Christ has not only all power in heaven and earth and all deep places, but has the keys of hell too. Principalities and powers were made subject to him, even while he was in his estate of humiliation, as an earnest of what should be at his entrance into his glory (Eph. 1:21); he spoiled them, Col. 2:15. It was observed in general (v. 16), that Christ cast out the spirits with his word; here we have a particular instance of it, which have some circumstances more remarkable than the rest. This miracle was wrought in the country of the Gergesenes; some think, they were the remains of the old Girgashites, Deu. 7:1. Though Christ was sent chiefly to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, yet some sallies he made among the borderers, as here, to gain this victory over Satan, which was a specimen of the conquest of his legions in the Gentile world.
Now, besides the general instance which this gives us of Christ's power over Satan, and his design against him to disarm and dispossess him, we have here especially discovered to us the way and manner of evil spirits in their enmity to man. Observe, concerning this legion of devils, What work they made where they were, and where they went.
Now,