The Gospel According to Saint Matthew
Matthew 8
Chapter VIII · Vol. IV, pp. 62–63
2 Christ cleanseth the leper, 5 healeth the centurion's servant, 14 Peter's mother-in-law, 16 and many other diseased: 18 showeth how he is to be followed: 23 stilleth the tempest on the sea, 28 driveth the devils out of two men possessed, 31 and suffereth them to go into the swine.
1 When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.
2 And,a behold, there came a leper1 and worshipped him, saying, Lord, bif thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
3 Andc Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will;2 be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
c Mar.1.41,42. Lu.5.13. Ex.15.26. ch.11.4,5.
2 I will. Such an expression, referring the miracle to his own will, is one of those special evidences of the Godhead of the Son, which prove it by facts, without asserting it in words.—C.
4 And Jesus saith unto him, dSee thou tell no man;3 but go thy way, eshow thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, forg a testimony unto them.
d ch.9.30; 12.16; 16.20; 17.9, with ch.12.13-19. Mar.5.43. Is.42.2. Jn.5.41; 7.18; 8.50.
3 Tell no man.—That so the priest may be left to his own unbiassed judgment, and so give testimony to the mercy and power of God in Christ.—C.
e Le.xiii.xiv. Mar.1.43,44. Lu.5.14.
g 2 Ki.5.7,8. ch.5.17. Mar.6.11. Jn.10.37.
6 And saying, Lord, imy servant lieth at home sick of the palsy,5 grievously tormented.
i Job 31.13. Ro.12.15,16. Col.4.1.
5 The disease commonly called palsy is not accompanied with torment, but mere inability of certain muscular motions. There are, however, several nervous diseases (some varieties of tetanus, for example), which, though not called palsies, in modern nosology, yet are nearly allied, and sufficiently answer to the centurion's description.—C.
7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, jI am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: kbut speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
9 For I6 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.Cited in WCF 23.2
6 If I, a servant, have such power over men, what power must God-man have over diseases!
10 When Jesus heard it, lhe marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.Cited in WCF 14.3, 23.2
l ch.9.2; 15.28, with Jn.3.4,10. ch.11.21.
11 And I say unto you, nThat many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down7 with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
n Ge.22.17; 49.10; 28.14. Is.2.2,3; 11.10; 42.6; 43.6; 49.6,12; 25.6; liv. lx. Zec.2.11; 8.22,23. Mal.1.11. ch.24.31. Lu.13.29. Ac.x.-xix. Ep.3.6,8. Re.7.9.
7 Sit down. Rather, recline. Most probably in allusion to the reclining posture used by the eastern people at feasts, and exemplified by John upon the bosom of our Lord at his last supper, Jn.13.23.—C.
12 Buto the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
o ch.3.10,11; 7.22,23; 13.42,50; 21.43; 22.7,13; 24.51; 25.30; 23.38,39. Ro.11.12,15. Lu.13.28-30.
13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, pGo thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the self-same hour.
15 And rhe touched her hand, and the fever left her: and sshe arose, and ministered unto them.8
8 Had the cure been natural, even though the disease might have been suddenly checked, the weakness which it always causes must have remained. The same miraculous power, however, which checked the disease imparted strength, so that the patient was able at once to engage in the performance of her ordinary duties.—P.
16 Whent 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:
t Mar.1.25,32-34. Lu.4.40,41. Ps.107.20. Ac.10.38. ch.4.23,24; 11.5. Ge.3.15. Ex.15.26.
17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, uHimself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.
18 Now when Jesus saw vgreat multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side.9
19 Andx a certain scribe1 came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
x Lu.9.57-60. ch.13.20-22. Jn.6.26. 1 Ti.6.5.
1 A certain scribe. Rather, one scribe. One of a numerous, and almost hopeless, class. Still there was one—'to the praise of the glory of his grace,' Ep.1.12.—C.
20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; ybut the Son of man2 hath not where to lay his head.
y Ps.22.6; 40.17; 69.29; 109.22.
2 See note * below.
* This is the title which our Lord most commonly uses when speaking of himself. It occurs first in Da.7.13; and that passage is the key to its import and use in the New Testament. Four great earthly monarchies are symbolized by four beasts, to denote the principles of government which characterize them. Another power then appears, the ruler of which was like a son of man, to denote the principles of reason which should regulate his kingdom. The main point to be noted, as illustrative of the New Testament usage of the title, is the exaltation of the ideal man to universal sovereignty. The title, as used by Daniel, symbolizes that union of the divine and human which was realized in our Lord. It thus expresses very fully the nature and result of Christ's great work—the nature of it as becoming man's surety and substitute; and the result as redeeming man from death, and gaining for Christ, as man's representative, universal sovereignty. It is this last idea which is mainly brought out in the present passage, and which makes the words so forcible.—P.
21 And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, zsuffer me first to go and bury my father.
z Lu.9.59. Hag.1.2. Le.21.11,12. Nu.6.6,7, with 1 Ki.19.20. ch.4.22; 19.29.
22 But Jesus said unto him, aFollow me; and let the bdead bury their dead.
a Lu.9.60. 2 Ti.4.2. 1 Co.15.10.
b Lu.15.32. Ep.2.1. 1 Ti.5.6. Le.21.10-12. Nu.6.6,7.
24 And,d behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was easleep.
25 And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, gLord, save us: we perish.
g 2 Ch.14.11; 20.12. Ps.6.3,4; 69.1,2,13,14.
26 And he saith unto them, hWhy are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebukedi the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.
27 But the men marvelled, saying, jWhat manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!
28 Andk when he was come to the other side, into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two3 possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.
k Mar.5.1-20. Lu.8.26-40. ch.18.11-13. Ac.10.38. Is.60.1.
29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, lWhat have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
31 Soo the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, psuffer us to go away into the herd of swine.Cited in WLC 19
32 And he said unto them, qGo.4 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.
q 1 Ki.22.22. Job 1.12; 2.6. Re.20.7.
4 This miraculous permission has been charged against our Lord as an act of injustice. If so, then must every disease causing death in flocks and herds, be charged as injustice against God; for infidels will scarcely affirm that disease and death can occur without God's permission. To the rational believer in Providence, and the divine mission of Jesus, the miracle presents a special proof of that mission—inasmuch as it removed all idea of the possibility of collusion between our Lord and the demoniacs; for though men might be bribed to feign both a disease and a cure, no human motive could reach the swine.—C.
Notes
Ver. 4. Christ often required the Jews, who were healed, to conceal his miracles, that he might manifest that he sought not his own glory; that he might not confound them with too great a blaze of miraculous power; and that he might not provoke his enemies too eagerly to attempt his ruin; but (perhaps as a token of his extending the gospel dispensation to the Gentiles) he never prohibited a Gentile to divulge them. 9. If I, a poor inferior officer, have such power over my soldiers, how much more canst thou, the Almighty Messiah, at thy pleasure, remove this distemper from my servant, where and whensoever thou wilt? 10-12. Publicly declaring the wonderful strength of the Gentile centurion's faith, he intimated that it foreboded the gathering of multitudes of Gentiles from all quarters of the world into the gospel church and spiritual state of grace and glory, as spiritual children of the ancient patriarchs; while their Jewish natural posterity, who had been so long the peculiar people of God, should be cast off into lasting miseries on earth, and eternal loss in hell. 17. His sympathy with the distressed was a part of his suffering; and his removal of the diseases was the fruit of his bearing our sins, and the punishment of them. 20. You must expect no worldly advantage by following me, who have not so much as any abode of my own to lodge in. 21. Better the dead should be unburied, or that sinners, dead in trespasses and sins, should bury them, than that my infinitely more important work should be hindered. 32. By this Jesus gave a sensible proof of the existence of evil spirits against the Sadducees, of the reality of the possession, and of the mercy of the dislodgment; and also punished the Jews for bringing up herds of swine.
Ver. 17. Infirmities. This word, both in Hebrew and Greek, signifies bodily distempers and pains.—Sicknesses. This word refers to troubles and torments of the spirit. By bearing the first, is signified his miraculous healing of bodily diseases: by bearing the second, his sacrifice for our sins. See Magee on the Atonement, vol. 1. p. 415.—Note, Bodily and mental diseases are the natural emblems of death and sin; and Christ's power over the emblems is intended to exhibit his power over the originals. C.
Ver. 20. After the lengthened discourse, of which the preceding chapters, according to evangelic custom, present a mere outline; and after all the labours that immediately followed, our Lord (who was touched with the feeling of our infirmities) must have been weary; and therefore, in his weariness, naturally refers to his want of a place 'where to lay his head,' see ver. 24. What a lesson of resignation to houseless wanderers! what a terrible rebuke to a sensual and inhospitable world! C.
Ver. 24. This description clearly indicates a vessel with a deck—as an open boat 'covered with the waves' must have gone down.—Note, To believers, how instructive are the judgments of God! To unbelievers, how wonderful the downfal of nations! A few years ago, the 'Sea of Galilee' possessed but a single open boat! Last year (1841) that boat had perished, and that sea was unruffled by an oar! C.
Ver. 28. Coming out of the tombs. Eastern tombs were often excavated in the faces of high rocks—such as Origen describes overhanging the town of Gergesa—and still afford habitations for the outcasts of society. C.
**Reflections.—**How great is our Redeemer, who could make diseases, storms, and devils obey him at pleasure! But marvellous was his debasement for our sakes, and tender his sympathy and compassion: and he now takes the greatest delight in the strength of faith, and in the gathering of the Gentiles to himself. But (awful thought) our calling is balanced with the tremendous and lasting rejection of the long favourite people of God! Let us then not be high-minded, but fear! Let us never take up with external privileges in the church, nor aim at any secular advantages in our following of Christ. For if such be our temper, we shall be excluded from the joys of heaven, and cast into all the darkness and horrors of hell! Base are their hearts who form excuses to keep them from his service, and who prefer their swine, their sordid gains and traffic, to him. But it is the truest wisdom, in all our sorrows, our fears, and our dangers, to apply to him, as able and willing to save us. And never shall such meet with a disappointment.