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Matthew 8

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Jesus Descends and Cleanses a Leper 1–4

1
And when he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. ​
2
And behold, there came to him a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. ​
3
And he stretched forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou made clean. And straightway his leprosy was cleansed. ​
4
And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. ​

The Faith of the Centurion 5–13

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And when he was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, ​
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and saying, Lord, my servant lieth in the house sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
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And he saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
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And the centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed. ​
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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, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
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And 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. ​
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And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven: ​
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but the sons of the kingdom shall be cast forth into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. ​
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And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And the servant was healed in that hour.

Healings in Capernaum 14–17

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And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother lying sick of a fever. ​
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And he touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she arose, and ministered unto him. ​
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And when even was come, they brought unto him many possessed with demons: and he cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all that were sick:
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that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our diseases. ​

The Cost of Discipleship 18–22

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Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side. ​
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And there came a scribe, and said unto him, Teacher, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
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And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. ​
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And another of the disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
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But Jesus saith unto him, Follow me; and leave the dead to bury their own dead. ​

Jesus Calms the Storm 23–27

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And when he was entered into a boat, his disciples followed him. ​
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And behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the boat was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. ​
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And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Save, Lord; we perish.
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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. ​
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And the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him? ​

Exorcism in the Gergesene Region 28–34

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And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, there met him two possessed with demons, coming forth out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man could pass by that way. ​
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And behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? ​
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Now there was afar off from them a herd of many swine feeding. ​
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And the demons besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, send us away into the herd of swine.
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And he said unto them, Go. And they came out, and went into the swine: and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep into the sea, and perished in the waters. ​
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And they that fed them fled, and went away into the city, and told everything, and what was befallen to them that were possessed with demons.
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And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart from their borders. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Matthew 8

Verse 1

come down from the mountain — The mountain is that of the sermon, where 'he went up into a mountain' (Matt 5:1). The 'great multitudes' (ochlos, a throng) that followed are the same kind as in Matt 4:25. Chapters 8–9 turn from his words to his works: a leper, a centurion's servant, a storm, demons.

Verse 2

a leper and worshipped him — The Law bade the leper dwell 'alone; without the camp' and cry 'Unclean, unclean' (Lev 13:45–46). Proskuneo, 'worshipped', is bowing in homage. 'If thou wilt, thou canst' (thelo, dynamai) leaves the will to Christ and affirms his power; Luke 5:12 has the same plea.

Verse 3

put forth his hand, and touched him — The leper had been shut out from touch (Lev 13:46); Christ touches him and speaks, 'I will; be thou clean.' His own will answers the leper's 'if thou wilt' (v.2), and the cure is 'immediately', as in Ps 107:20, 'He sent his word, and healed them.'

Verse 4

shew thyself to the priest — Lev 14:2–4 sets out 'the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing': the priest examines him outside the camp, and the offerings follow. Christ sends him by that ordinance, 'for a testimony unto them', so that the priests themselves would see the cure. Luke 5:14 records the same charge.

Verse 5

a centurion — Hekatontarches, ruler of a hundred, a Roman officer, so a Gentile. Capernaum is where Christ made his home (Matt 4:13). Luke 7:1–10 tells the same event and adds that the centurion sent Jewish elders and friends; Matthew gives his own words to Jesus.

Verse 8

speak the word only — Logos, 'word': he asks no touch and no visit, the pattern of Ps 107:20, 'He sent his word, and healed them.' 'I am not worthy' (hikanos, fit, sufficient) is his reply to 'I will come' (v.7). Luke 7:6–7 gives the same plea in other words, spoken through friends.

Verse 10

he marvelled — Thaumazo, to wonder; Christ is said to marvel here at faith, and at unbelief in Mark 6:6. 'No, not in Israel' sets this Gentile's trust above that of the covenant people, a rebuke as well as praise. Luke 7:9 gives the same saying.

Verse 11

from the east and west — This fulfils the promise that the LORD's name 'shall be great among the Gentiles' from the rising to the going down of the sun (Mal 1:11). Luke 13:29 adds north and south. 'Sit down' (anaklino) is to recline at table with 'Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob', a feast in 'the kingdom of heaven'.

Verse 12

children of the kingdom — Literally sons of the kingdom (huios): those born to its promises, here Israelites who refuse its King. 'Outer darkness' with 'weeping and gnashing of teeth' returns in Matt 25:30; Luke 13:28 places the same words beside the patriarchs in the kingdom of God.

Verse 14

Peter's house — Mark 1:29 names it 'the house of Simon and Andrew', entered from the synagogue. Peter had a wife, and Paul later asks, 'Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife… and Cephas?' (1 Cor 9:5). 'Sick of a fever' is pyresso, to burn, from the word for fire.

Verse 15

he touched her hand — Christ heals by a touch, and the fever 'left her' (aphiemi, to send away, the common word for forgiving and leaving). She 'arose' (egeiro, raised up) and 'ministered' (diakoneo, waited on): the cure is complete at once. Luke 4:39 says he 'rebuked the fever'.

Verse 17

Himself took our infirmities — Matthew cites Isa 53:4, 'Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.' He renders it with lambano, to take, and bastazo, to bear, and applies it to the healings of v.16. Peter reads the same chapter of the cross: 'bare our sins in his own body on the tree' (1 Pet 2:24).

Verse 18

the other side — This is the east shore of the lake, where the next scene takes place (v.28). Christ's command to cross follows the 'great multitudes' of v.1 and v.18 itself. Mark 4:35 places the crossing on the evening of the same day, and Luke 8:22 has 'Let us go over unto the other side of the lake.'

Verse 20

the Son of man — Christ's usual title for himself, drawn from Daniel's vision of 'one like the Son of man' who came 'with the clouds of heaven' to the Ancient of days (Dan 7:13). Here it sits beside homelessness: the animals have pholeos (burrow) and kataskenosis (perch), but he has no place 'to lay his head'.

Verse 22

let the dead bury their dead — Nekros, dead, is used twice: the spiritually dead bury the physically dead. The call 'Follow me' (akoloutheo) is the verb of v.1 and of the scribe's promise in v.19. Luke 9:60 adds the charge that follows: 'go thou and preach the kingdom of God.'

Verse 23

his disciples followed him — The verb akoloutheo, 'followed', is the one of vv.1, 19 and 22, now literally into a boat. The disciples who follow him into the lake are the ones who meet the storm (v.24); Mark 4:36 adds that 'other little ships' were with him.

Verse 24

a great tempest — Seismos, a shaking, the same word rendered 'earthquake' in Matt 24:7 and 27:54; here it is the lake that is shaken. 'Covered with the waves' (kalypto) shows the boat nearly swamped, while 'he was asleep' (katheudo); Mark 4:38 adds 'on a pillow' in the stern.

Verse 26

O ye of little faith — Oligopistos, one word, used by Christ also of anxiety about food and clothing (Matt 6:30). He rebukes the 'winds and the sea'; the LORD alone 'rulest the raging of the sea' (Ps 89:9) and 'maketh the storm a calm' (Ps 107:29).

Verse 27

What manner of man — Potapos, of what sort. The question is answered by the psalms: it is the LORD who makes the storm a calm, 'so that the waves thereof are still' (Ps 107:29), and who rules the sea (Ps 89:9). 'Obey' (hypakouo) is the word for hearing and submitting.

Verse 28

the Gergesenes — The name is tied to the Girgashites, one of the nations listed for the land (Gen 15:21; Deut 7:1). Mark 5:1 and Luke 8:26 give 'Gadarenes' for the same country, and mention one man where Matthew has 'two'. 'Exceeding fierce' is chalepos, dangerous.

Verse 29

Son of God… before the time — The demons give him the title the tempter used (Matt 4:3). 'Torment' (basanizo) is torture, and 'the time' (kairos, appointed season) is the day of judgment: Scripture says the angels that sinned are 'reserved unto judgment' (2 Pet 2:4).

Verse 30

an herd of many swine — The Law named the swine unclean: 'he is unclean to you' (Lev 11:7; Deut 14:8). Their presence marks this as a country outside the ordinary life of Israel. Mark 5:11 places the herd near the mountains and 5:13 gives the number, 'about two thousand'.

Verse 32

And he said unto them, Go — Hypago, depart, is one word of Christ's, and the unclean spirits can enter only where he allows (v.31). The herd 'ran violently' (hormao, rushed) 'down a steep place' (kremnos, a precipice) into the sea. Mark 5:13 gives 'about two thousand'.

Verse 34

depart out of their coasts — Horion, a boundary or district. The city came out to meet him, and asked him to leave; Luke 8:37 says they 'were taken with great fear'. The man who had been possessed asked to go with him (Mark 5:18) and was sent home instead.