Theophylact of Ohrid — Commentary on Scripture

And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.

Do you see Christ's humility? They spread abroad His fame in thanksgiving, not out of disobedience. But if in another place Christ says, Go and tell of the glory of God [Lk.8:39], there is nothing contradictory in this. For He wants them to say nothing about Himself, but to speak of the glory of God.

Matthew 9:31

But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country.

. Do you see Christ’s humility? They spread abroad His fame in thanksgiving, not out of disobedience. But if in another place Christ says, "Go and tell of the glory of God" (Lk. 8:39), there is nothing contradictory in this. For He wants them to say nothing about Himself, but to speak of the glory of God.

Matthew 9:32

As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil.

The disease was not a natural one, but from the demon. This is why others brought him forward. He himself was not able to call upon Jesus, as the demon had bound his tongue. Therefore Jesus does not require faith of him, but immediately heals him by casting out the demon which had prevented his speech.

Matthew 9:33 · 2 passages

And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.

. The disease was not a natural one, but from the demon. This is why others brought him forward. He himself was not able to call upon Jesus, as the demon had bound his tongue. Therefore Jesus does not require faith of him, but immediately heals him by casting out the demon which had prevented his speech. And the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel. The multitude marvelled, placing Christ even above the prophets and the patriarchs. For He healed with authority, unlike those who first had to pray. But let us see what the Pharisees said.

The multitude marvelled, placing Christ even above the prophets and the patriarchs. For He healed with authority, unlike those who first had to pray. But let us see what the Pharisees said.

Matthew 9:34 · 2 passages

But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.

These words are the height of stupidity. For no demon casts out other demons. But let us suppose that He cast out demons as one who served the prince of demons, that is, as a magician. How then did He heal diseases, forgive sins, and preach the kingdom? For the demon does just the opposite: he brings on diseases and separates man from God.

These words are the height of stupidity, for no demon casts out other demons. But let us suppose that He cast out demons as one who served the prince of demons, that is, as a magician. How then did He heal diseases, forgive sins, and preach the Kingdom? For the demon does just the opposite: he brings on diseases and separates man from God.

Matthew 9:35

And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

As Lover of mankind He did not wait for them to come to Him, but He Himself went all around. Therefore they could not say as an excuse that "no one taught us." He draws them to Himself by word and deed, teaching and working wonders.

Matthew 9:36

But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

. They did not have a shepherd. For their rulers not only failed to correct them, but even harmed them. The mark of the true shepherd is to have compassion for his flock.

Matthew 9:38

Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

The multitude in need of healing He calls the "harvest," and those who ought to teach them, "labourers." The "Lord of the harvest" is Christ Himself Who is Lord of prophets and apostles. This is made clear when He ordains the twelve without petitioning God. Listen, then:

Matthew 10:1

And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

. He chose twelve disciples according to the number of the twelve tribes. He gave them power, although indeed they were few, and sent them out. For few are they who walk the narrow way. He granted them the power to work miracles so that having first caused astonishment by the miracles, the disciples would then have receptive listeners for their teaching.

Matthew 10:2

Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;

He lists the names of the apostles because of the false apostles. He first gives Peter and Andrew because they were also the First-called, and then the sons of Zebedee. He places James before John, not ranking them by honor, but simply listing them as the names occur. So he says:

Matthew 10:4

Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

. See the humility of Matthew, how he ranked himself after Thomas. And when he came to Judas, he did not say, "the defiled, the enemy of God," but he named him Iscariot after his place of birth. For there was another Judas, who was also called Lebbaeus and Thaddaeus. So there are two James’s, the son of Zebedee and the son of Alphaeus, and two Judas’s, Thaddaeus and the betrayer. And three Simons, Peter, the Canaanite, and the betrayer; for Judas Iscariot was also called Simon.

Matthew 10:7

And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

. "These..." Who are they? Fishermen, ordinary people, and publicans. He sends them first to the Jews that they might not be able to say, "The apostles were sent to the Gentiles and because of this we Jews did not believe." Thus He deprives the Jews of any excuse. He links the Samaritans to the Gentiles as they were Babylonians who inhabited Judea, and did not accept the prophets but only the five books of Moses. You must also understand the "kingdom of heaven" to mean the enjoyment of good things to come. He arms them with miracles, saying:

Matthew 10:8

Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

Nothing so befits a teacher as humility and non-possessiveness. He indicates these two virtues here by saying, "freely ye have received." Do not think highly of yourselves that you have such good things to give, for you have received them as a gift and by grace. But as you are humble-minded, so also do not be lovers of money. For He says, "freely give." And finally He eradicates the root of all evils, saying:

Matthew 10:10

Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.

He is training them in all strictness, and for this reason He allows them absolutely nothing in excess, nor to have any cares. He does not even allow them a staff, for this is the strictness of non-possessiveness which makes credible the words of one who would teach this virtue. And then, so that they might not ask, "How shall we eat?" He says, "The workman is worthy of his food"; that is, your disciples shall feed you. For they owe this to you as they would to workmen. But He said, "worthy of his food," not of delicacies, for teachers should not live luxuriously.

Matthew 10:11

And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence.

. He bids them not to go to just anyone lest they associate with those who are unworthy and so be slandered. But if they go only to the worthy, their needs will be met in full. He commands them to stay there and not move from one house to the next lest they be accused of being gluttons and appear to insult those who first received them.

Matthew 10:13

And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.

. By "salutation" and "peace" understand "blessing," which remains only upon those who are worthy. Learn, then, from this that it is primarily our own deeds that bring blessing upon us.

Matthew 10:15

Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.

He wants them to shake the dust from their feet to show that the apostles received nothing from that place because of the inhabitants’ unbelief; or, as a testimony to the great distance the apostles had walked, which nonetheless brought no benefit to the inhabitants. It will be more tolerable for the Sodomites than for the unbelievers because the Sodomites, having been chastised here in this life, will be punished less severely there in the next life.

Matthew 10:16

Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

He armed them with miracles and made them confident of their means of sustenance by opening to them the doors of those who are worthy. Now He also tells them of the terrible things that will occur, thus showing His foreknowledge. He comforts them with the words "It is I." It is I, the Mighty One, He says, so you may take courage; you will not be overcome. He prepares them to undergo suffering. Just as it is impossible for a sheep in the midst of wolves not to suffer harm, so it is with you amidst the Jews. But should you suffer, do not become angry, for I want you to be as meek as sheep and in this very manner so to conquer. He also wants the disciples to be wise. So that you might not imagine, hearing them referred to as sheep, that a Christian must be foolish, Christ says that he must also be wise, knowing how to act when surrounded by many enemies. For just as the serpent allows all the rest of its body to be struck but guards its head, so let the Christian give all of his belongings and even his body to those who would strike it; but let him guard his Head, which is Christ and…

He armed them with miracles and made them confident of their means of sustenance by opening to them the doors of those who are worthy. Now He also tells them of the terrible things that will occur, thus showing His foreknowledge. He comforts them with the words "It is I." It is I, the Mighty One, He says, so you may take courage; you will not be overcome. He prepares them to undergo suffering. Just as it is impossible for a sheep in the midst of wolves not to suffer harm, so it is with you amidst the Jews. But should you suffer, do not become angry, for I want you to be as meek as sheep and in this very manner so to conquer.

He also wants the disciples to be wise. So that you might not imagine, hearing them referred to as sheep, that a Christian must be foolish, Christ says that he must also be wise, knowing how to act when surrounded by many enemies. For just as the serpent allows all the rest of its body to be struck but guards its head, so let the Christian give all of his belongings and even his body to those who would strike it; but let him guard his Head, which is Christ and faith in Him. And just as the serpent squeezes through a narrow hole and sheds its old skin, so too let us traverse the narrow way and shed the old man. But since a serpent is also poisonous, He commands us to be innocent, that is, sincere, guileless, and harmless as doves. For when the offspring of doves are taken from them and they are driven away, they fly back again to their masters. Be wise, then, as the serpent lest you be tricked in this life, but be blameless in all your ways; and as for harming others, be as the dove that is guileless.