Matthewchapter 8
34 verses · Matthew, by tradition · AD 50 to 65 · The Gospels
Key verse
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.
It stands in Peter's Mother-in-Law and an Evening of Healing, verses 14 to 17.
The chapter
Chapter summary
Leper cleansed; the centurion's servant healed: 'I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.' Peter's mother-in-law raised up; demoniacs of Gadara; the storm on the sea stilled. 'The Son of man hath not where to lay his head.' Matthew highlights Jesus' authority over disease, nature, and the demonic.
Context
Gospel · Matthew · Matthew overview
The world behind this chapter
Matthew 8The history
A centurion commanded roughly eighty to a hundred men and was the backbone of the army, a career professional who had risen from the ranks, paid many times a common soldier's wage, and expected instant obedience. Galilee was governed by Herod Antipas rather than directly by Rome, so this officer may have served in Antipas's forces, which were organised on the Roman model.
The rest of the history, and what it meant to them
What makes his approach remarkable is the direction of it. An officer of the occupying power came to a Jewish village preacher and asked, rather than commanded. His own words explain the rest: a strict Jew entering a Gentile's house contracted ritual defilement, so the centurion spares him the trip and asks only for a word.
Skin disease under the Law meant exclusion. A person declared unclean lived apart, kept his clothing torn, and warned others off; touching him transferred the impurity. Jesus reaches out and touches first, and the impurity runs the wrong way.
The lake sits nearly seven hundred feet below sea level in a bowl ringed by hills, and cold air spilling down from the Golan heights can turn flat water into a dangerous chop within minutes. The far shore was Gentile country, the Decapolis, a league of Greek-speaking cities, which is why a herd of two thousand pigs was grazing there at all. The exact town is uncertain; the manuscripts vary between Gadara, Gerasa, and Gergesa, all in that same region.
What it meant to them
Matthew stacks the cases deliberately: a leper, a Gentile's servant, a woman in a sickbed, the sea, and demons in a graveyard. To Jewish readers, each was a category the world had marked as beyond reach.
The centurion's line lands hardest. Jesus says he has found no such faith in Israel, then speaks of many coming from east and west to sit at Abraham's table. For a congregation being told they had abandoned their heritage, that was both comfort and warning.
Sources cited
- Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament
- F. F. Bruce, New Testament History
Where the chapter sits
Matthew 8 falls in Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5–7). Discourse 1: the kingdom's ethic.
Before it: Prologue: genealogy, birth, preparation, chapters 1–4. After it: Mission of the Twelve, chapters 10.
The whole shape of Matthew→The structure of this chapter
Threads running through this chapter
- A lamb to the slaughterPattern, v. 17
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
A. A Leper Made Clean by a Willing Touchvv. 1-4
come down from the mountain: When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed, and a leper meets him first, the opening of ten miracles Matthew gathers into chapters 8 and 9 as the works answering the words of the Sermon. The leper's plea concedes power and questions only willingness, if thou wilt, and the answer gives him both words back, I will; be thou clean. Jesus touched him, which the law said conveyed defilement, and the commentators state the reversal plainly: here cleanness runs the other way. The charge to tell no man but show the priest sends him through Leviticus 14, the offering Moses commanded for a healing no living priest had administered, for a testimony unto them.
Matthew 8:1
“When he was come down from the mountain,.... Into which he went up, and preached the sermon recorded in the "three" preceding chapters: great multitudes followed him: which is mentioned, partly to shew, that the people which came from several parts, still continued with him, being affected with his discourses and miracles; and partly on account of the following miracle, of healing the leper, which was not done in a corner, but before great multitudes, who were witnesses of it: though some think this miracle was wrought more privately.”
1 more voice on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Matthew 8:1
“The eighth chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel is full of our Lord’s miracles: no less than five are specially recorded. There is beautiful fitness in this. It was fitting that the greatest sermon ever preached should be immediately followed by mighty proofs that the preacher was the Son of God. Those who heard the Sermon on the Mount would be obliged to confess that as “none spake such words as this man,” so also no one did such works.”
J.C. Ryle· Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew (1856)Reformed Evangelical
Matthew 8:2
“And, behold, there came a leper - The leprosy λεπρα, from λεπις, a scale, was an inveterate cutaneous disease, appearing in dry, thin, white scurfy scales or scabs, either on the whole body, or on some part of it, usually attended with violent itching, and often with great pain. The eastern leprosy was a distemper of the most loathsome kind, highly contagious, so as to infect garments, (Lev 13:47, etc)., and houses, (Lev 14:34, etc)., and was deemed incurable by any human means.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 8:2
“A leper came - Leprosies in those countries were seldom curable by natural means, any more than palsies or lunacy. Probably this leper, though he might not mix with the people, had heard our Lord at a distance.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Matthew 8:2
“But one thing he was sure of, that He had but to "will" it. This shows with what "worship" of Christ this leper fell on his face before Him. Clear theological knowledge of the Person of Christ was not then possessed even by those who were most with Him and nearest to Him.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Matthew 8:3
“And Jesus ...touched him - It was an offence to the Jews to “touch” a leprous person, and was regarded as making him who did it ceremonially impure, Lev 13:3. The act of putting forth his hand and “touching” him, therefore, expressed the intention of Jesus to cure him, and was a pledge that he “was,” in fact, already cured.”
3 more voices on this verse
Matthew 8:3
“It is not to be read, as most of the Latins think, 'I will to cleanse thee;' but separately, He first answers, I will, and then follows the command, be thou clean. The leper has said, If thou wilt; the Lord answers, I will; he first said, Thou canst make me clean; the Lord spake, Be thou clean.”
Jerome· written before 420· Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Matthew 8:3
“The leprosy was a noisome, loathsome disease, yet Christ touched him; for he did not disdain to converse with publicans and sinners, to do them good. There was a ceremonial pollution contracted by the touch of a leper; but Christ would show, that when he conversed with sinners, he was in no danger of being infected by them, for the prince of this world had nothing in him.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Matthew 8:3
“And immediately his leprosy was cleansed--Mark, more emphatic, says (Mr 1:42), "And as soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed"--as perfectly as instantaneously.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Matthew 8:4
“Jesus saith - See thou tell no man - Had our Lord, at this early period, fully manifested himself as the Messiah, the people in all likelihood would have proclaimed him King; this, however, refused by him, must have excited the hatred of the Jewish rulers, and the jealousy of the Roman government; and, speaking after the manner of men, his farther preachings and miracles must have been impeded. This alone seems to be the reason why he said to the leper, See thou tell no man.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 8:4
“That he might not enrage the chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees, who were the most bitter against him, any more than was unavoidable, Matt. xvi, 20, 21. For a testimony - That I am the Messiah; to them - The priests, who otherwise might have pleaded want of evidence.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
B. The Centurion Who Only Asked a Word
1. (vv. 5-9)
Matthew 8:5
“And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum,.... Was returned from his journey through Galilee, to the place where he before dwelt, and is called his own city, Mat 9:1 there came unto him a centurion, a Roman officer, שר מאה, "a commander of an hundred men", as the Hebrew Gospel by Munster reads it: though the number of men under a "centurion" was more, according to some accounts.”
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 8:5
“Capernaum - See the notes at Mat 4:13. There came unto him a centurion - A centurion was the commander of 100 men in the Roman armies. Judea was a Roman province, and garrisons were kept there to preserve the people in subjection. This man was probably by birth a pagan. See Mat 8:10.”
Matthew 8:5
“Probably he came a little way toward him, and then went back. He thought himself not worthy to come in person, and therefore spoke the words that follow by his messengers. As it is not unusual in all languages, so in the Hebrew it is peculiarly frequent, to ascribe to a person himself the thing which is done, and the words which are spoken by his order.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Matthew 8:6
“A centurion came to the Lord saying: "Lord, my servant lies paralyzed in my house and is grievously tormented." To whom Jesus immediately responds: "I will come and heal him." What does it mean that the royal official asks him to come to his son, and yet he refuses to go bodily; but to the centurion's servant he is not invited, and yet he promises to go bodily? He does not deign to be present to the royal official's son through bodily presence, yet he does not disdain to go to meet the centurion's servant.”
Gregory the Dialogist· written before 604· Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 28patristic
Matthew 8:7
“I will come and heal him - Εγω ελθων θεραπευσω αυτον, I am coming, and will heal him. This saying is worthy of observation. Jesus did not positively say, I will came and heal him; this could not have been strictly true, because our Lord healed him without going to the house: and the issue shows that the words ought to be taken in the most literal sense: thus understood, they contained a promise which it seems none of them distinctly comprehended.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 8:7
“They who wrought miracles by a derived power, did not speak thus positively, as Christ did, who wrought them by his own power, as one that had authority. When a minister is sent for to a sick friend, he can but say, I will come and pray for him; but Christ says, I will come and heal him: it is well that Christ can do more for us than our ministers can.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Matthew 8:8
“As we commend the centurion's faith in that he believed that the Saviour was able to heal the paralytic; so his humility is seen in his professing himself unworthy that the Lord should come under his roof; as it follows, And the centurion answered and said into him, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof. The thoughtfulness of the centurion appears herein, that he saw the Divinity hidden beneath the covering of body; wherefore he adds, But speak the word only, and my servant will be healed.”
Jerome· written before 420· Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
4 more voices on this verse
Matthew 8:8
“The centurion answered, and said,.... This, according to Luk 7:6 was said by his friends in his name, when he understood that Christ had agreed to come to his house, with the elders of the Jews, he first sent to him; and after he was actually set out with them, and was in the way to his house; who, conscious of his own unworthiness, deputes some persons to him, to address him in this manner, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst come under my roof.”
Matthew 8:8
“THIS centurion was a worthy man from the human point of view, but he called himself unworthy when he turned towards our Lord. He was so excellent a man that the elders of the Jews, who were by no means partial to Roman soldiers, pleaded with Jesus that he was worthy. Had he been personally there, he would have repudiated their plea and he did so by the second party of friends whom he sent to our Lord.”
Matthew 8:8
“But speak the word only - Or instead of ειπε λογον read ειπε λογω, speak by word or command. This reading is supported by the most extensive evidence from MSS., versions, and fathers. See here the pattern of that living faith and genuine humility which ought always to accompany the prayer of a sinner: Jesus can will away the palsy, and speak away the most grievous torments.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Matthew 8:8
“The more humility the more faith; the more diffident we are of ourselves, the stronger will be our confidence in Jesus Christ. He had an assurance of faith not only that Christ could cure his servant, but, (1.) That he could cure him at a distance.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Matthew 8:9
“For I am a man under authority - I am only an inferior officer: and what I command, is done even in my absence: how much more what thou commandest, who art Lord of all!”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 8:9
“The centurion applies not to witches or wizards for his servant, but to Christ. The palsy is a disease in which the physician's skill commonly fails; it was therefore a great evidence of his faith in the power of Christ, to come to him for a cure, which was above the power of natural means to effect.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
there came unto him a centurion: , a Roman officer of a hundred, pleading for a servant he calls grievously tormented. His I am not worthy sits deliberately against his rank, and his argument is a soldier's theology: I am a man under authority, and I know a word of command needs no presence, so speak the word only. The bench notes he reasons from his own subordination, being under authority himself, he recognizes one whose word the unseen ranks obey. Matthew compresses the scene to the dialogue, because the dialogue carries verses 10 to 12.
2. (vv. 10-13)
Matthew 8:10
“When Jesus heard it, he marvelled,.... Which must be understood of him as man; for as God, nothing could present itself unto him at unawares, unthought of, and not known before; and so could not raise admiration in him, and which cannot properly fall on a divine person: or he behaved, both by words and gesture, as persons do when they are astonished at anything; and this he might do, to raise the attention and wonder of those that were with him: and said to them that followed.”
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 8:10
“You remember that we commenced this morning's sermon by observing that Jesus is not reported to have marvelled either at the gigantic architecture of the Temple, or at the wonderful discipline of the Roman army, or at the profound knowledge of the rabbis. He only wondered twice, according to the record, and on both of those occasions he marvelled concerning faith—once at the absence of it, and once at its presence. In the case which we spoke of this morning, He marvelled at the unbelief of His fellow townsmen.”
Matthew 8:10
“Verily, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. Now this speaks, First, Honour to the centurion; who, though not a son of Abraham's loins, was an heir of Abraham's faith, and Christ found it so. Note, The thing that Christ seeks is faith, and wherever it is, he finds it, though but as a grain of mustard-seed.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Matthew 8:11
“Secondly, Christ gives us an idea of the salvation itself. They shall come, shall come together, shall come together to Christ, 2 Thess. ii. They shall be admitted into the kingdom of grace on earth, into the covenant of grace made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; they shall be blessed with faithful Abraham, whose blessing comes upon the Gentiles, Gal. iii.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Matthew 8:12
“Shall be cast out into outer darkness - As the enjoyment of that salvation which Jesus Christ calls the kingdom of heaven is here represented under the notion of a nuptial festival, at which the guests sat down in a reclining posture, with the master of the feast; so the state of those who were excluded from the banquet is represented as deep darkness; because the nuptial solemnities took place at night.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
3 more voices on this verse
Matthew 8:12
“The children of the kingdom shall be cast out; the Jews that persist in unbelief, though they were by birth children of the kingdom, yet shall be cut off from being members of the visible church: the kingdom of God, of which they boasted that they were the children, shall be taken from them, and they shall become not a people, not obtaining mercy, Rom. xi.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Matthew 8:12
“But the children of the kingdom,.... The Jews, who were subjects of the kingdom, and commonwealth of Israel, from which the Gentiles were aliens; and who were also in the church of God, which is his kingdom on earth; and besides, had the promise of the Gospel dispensation, sometimes called the kingdom of heaven, and by them, often the world to come; and were by their own profession, and in their apprehension and expectation, children, and heirs of the kingdom of glory.”
Matthew 8:12
“The outer darkness - Our Lord here alludes to the custom the ancients had of making their feast in the night time. Probably while he was speaking this, the centurion came in person.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Matthew 8:13
“And Jesus said unto the centurion,.... Christ having finished the digression, returns an answer to the centurion, agreeably to his desire, saying to him, go thy way; not as displeased with him, but as granting his request: for it follows, and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. As he had faith to believe, that Christ could cure his servant by a word speaking, it was done accordingly. Christ by his almighty "fiat" said, let him be healed, and he was healed: just as God in the creation said, "let there be light, and there was light".”
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 8:13
“He was healed in that self-same hour - This showed decisively the goodness and power of Jesus. No miracle could be more complete. There could be no imposition or deception. This account, or one similar to this, is found in Luk 7:1-10. There has been a difference of opinion whether the account in Luke refers to the same case as that recorded in Matthew, or whether a second centurion, encouraged by the success of the first, applied to our Saviour in a similar case and manner, and obtained the same success.”
so great faith, no, not in Israel: draws Jesus' marvel, one of only two times the Gospels record him marvelling, here at a Gentile's faith and in Mark 6:6 at Nazareth's unbelief. On this hinge he opens the east-and-west saying: many shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom, while the children of the kingdom are cast out, the first sounding of the weeping-and-gnashing refrain that returns five more times in this Gospel. The exposition carries both edges as the text does, the feast genuinely open to the nations, the warning genuinely aimed at presumption on descent, and John the Baptist's God is able of these stones already said it at 3:9. The servant was healed in the selfsame hour, the word arriving where the speaker never went.
C. Peter's Mother-in-Law and an Evening of Healing
1. (vv. 14-15)
Matthew 8:14
“And when Jesus was come into Peter's house,.... And which was also Andrew's, Mar 1:29 for these two brothers lived together, and this was in Capernaum, as appears from the context.”
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 8:14
“This event took place at Capernaum, but Peter's residence was at Bethsaida, for we read, "Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter." How came Peter to have a house at Capernaum? Poor fishermen do not often have two houses. May not the conjecture be highly probable that, finding the Lord Jesus Christ was frequently at Capernaum, Peter thought it best to have a dwelling there, that he might always be present when the Master was preaching and that he might do his best to entertain Him between visits?”
Matthew 8:15
“And he touched her hand,.... Sometimes he healed by a word, as the centurion's servant; and sometimes by a touch, as here; and sometimes by both, as the leper. Luke says, that he "stood over her", reached over her to take her by the hand, and lift her up, "and rebuked the fever". Just as he did the winds and sea, having all diseases, as well as the elements, at his beck and control; and the fever left her immediately, as the other evangelists say.”
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 8:15
“He touched her hand - Can any thing on this side the unlimited power of God effect such a cure with only a touch? If the Scriptures had not spoken of the divinity of Christ, these proofs of his power must have demonstrated it to the common sense of every man whose creed had not previously blinded him. Ministered unto them - Αυτοις, them, is the reading of most of the printed editions, but αυτω, to him, has the utmost evidence in its support from MSS., versions, and fathers.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Matthew 8:15
“We may not, I say, we may not call into question the truth of the (poor vilified) senses, lest we should even in Christ Himself, bring doubt upon the truth of their sensation; lest perchance it should be said that He did not really "behold Satan as lightning fall from heaven; " that He did not really hear the Father's voice testifying of Himself; or that He was deceived in touching Peter's wife's mother; or that the fragrance of the ointment which He afterwards smelled was different from that which He accepted for His burial; and that the taste of the wine was different from that which He consecrated in memory of His blood.”
Tertullian· written before 220· A Treatise on the Soulpatristic
Peter’s house: in Capernaum held his wife's mother, sick of a fever, and the scene is the shortest of the ten miracles: he touched her hand, the fever left, she arose and ministered. The bench draws the two quiet facts the verse carries: Peter was a married man, which 1 Corinthians 9:5 confirms years later with his wife travelling beside him, and the healing's completeness is proved by service, no convalescence between the fever and the table. Capernaum's synagogue and shoreline made the house a base; archaeology has a strong candidate for it beneath the octagonal church, a claim the exposition reports as the evidence lane, not as certainty.
2. (vv. 16-17)
Matthew 8:16
“When the even was come - The Jews kept their sabbath from evening to evening, according to the law, Lev 23:32, From evening to evening shall ye celebrate your sabbath. And the rabbins say, The sabbath doth not enter but when the sun is set. Hence it was that the sick were not brought out to our Lord till after sun-set, because then the sabbath was ended. Many that were possessed with devils - Dr. Lightfoot gives two sound reasons why Judea, in our Lord’s time, abounded with demoniacs.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 8:16
“IT was the evening—in all probability it was the evening of a Sabbath day. The Jews were so tender not to break the Sabbath that they did not even bring forth the sick to the Savior until the evening was come. The Savior would gladly have healed them on the Sabbath, for that was to Him a high day for holy work—but they did not think it right—and so they kept back their sick till the day was ended.”
Matthew 8:17
“That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet,.... In Isa 53:4 "He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows", here rendered, himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses: very agreeable to the Hebrew text, הוא, "he himself", not another; נשא, "took up", upon himself voluntarily, freely, as a man lifts up a burden, and takes it on his shoulders; חלינו, "our infirmities", diseases, sicknesses, whether of body or soul, ומכאבינו סבלם, "and bare", or carried, as a man does a burden upon his back, "our sicknesses", or diseases, which occasion pain and sorrow.”
4 more voices on this verse
Matthew 8:17
“That it might be fulfilled ... - This passage is found in Isa 53:4. Our English translation of that important passage is, “Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.” The Greek in Matthew is an exact translation of the Hebrew, and the same translation should have been made in both places. In Isa 53:1-12, Isaiah fully states the doctrine of the atonement, or that the Messiah was to suffer for sin. In the verse quoted here, however, he states the very truth which Matthew declares.”
Matthew 8:17
“Notice that Matthew has no doubt who is the person referred to in Isaiah 53, for he applies it to Jesus. Notice also that Matthew, who was a Jew and understood Hebrew, had no doubt that the application of those verses in Isaiah 53 is physical.”
Derek Prince· Jesus Carried Away Your Diseases (devotional, Claiming Your Inheritance series)Pentecostal-Charismatic
Matthew 8:17
“Christ bore away sin by the merit of his death, and bore away sickness by the miracles of his life; nay, though those miracles are ceased, we may say, that he bore our sicknesses then, when he bore our sins in his own body upon the tree; for sin is both the cause and the sting of sickness.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Matthew 8:17
“Such instances are frequent in the sacred writings, and are elegancies rather than imperfections. He fulfilled these words in the highest sense, by bearing our sins in his own body on the tree: in a lower sense, by sympathizing with us in our sorrows, and healing us of the diseases which were the fruit of sin.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Matthew 8:17
- QuotingIsaiah 53:4“Surely He took on our infirmities and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken by God, struck down and afflicted.”
'Himself took our infirmities', healing fulfillment formula
cast out the spirits with his word: He cast out the spirits with his word, the same word the centurion trusted, and Matthew reads the evening of healings through Isaiah 53:4: Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses, a rendering closer to the Hebrew than the Septuagint's spiritualized griefs, choliim, sicknesses, nasa, to lift and carry. The fulfillment claim is the chapter's argued center, for Matthew locates the Servant's burden-bearing not only at the cross but in the ministry, the healer entering under the weight of what he removes. The bench holds the two readings together rather than against each other, bodily healing flowing from the atonement's person with its fullness at the resurrection, and 1 Peter 2:24 carrying the same song to sin directly.
D. Nowhere to Lay His Head: the Cost of Followingvv. 18-22
depart unto the other side: He gave commandment to depart unto the other side, and two volunteers meet him at the jetty. To the scribe's I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest comes the homelessness saying, the foxes have holes, the Son of man hath not where to lay his head, the title's first use in the Gospel, and the exposition states its double register, Daniel 7:13's exalted figure and the plain Hebrew idiom for a man, the mystery being that both are true of the speaker who owns no pillow. To the disciple asking first to bury his father the answer is harder still, let the dead bury their dead; the bench reads the request as likely a delay until the father should die, and the saying as the kingdom's claim outranking the highest duty the law knew. One volunteer is warned of the cost, one denied the postponement, and following in the next verse is literal.
Matthew 8:18
“Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him,.... Who got together, partly out of novelty to see his person, of whom they had heard so much; and partly to see the miracles he wrought: some came to have their bodily diseases healed; few, if any, to hear the Gospel preached by him, and for the good of their immortal souls: the most part came with some sinister, selfish, and carnal views, wherefore he gave commandment to depart unto the other side.”
3 more voices on this verse
Matthew 8:18
“But it is only to the disciples that Jesus "gave orders to cross over to the other side," lest, from the crowds pressing about him, his disciples should be prevented from hearing those very teachings that were most appropriate for them. To the disciples he revealed God's future mysteries more deeply than in the things that were spoken to the crowds only "in parables." Only the disciples had left behind all present goods and followed him through love of learning.”
Cyril of Alexandria· written before 444· FRAGMENT 97patristic
Matthew 8:18
“Unto the other side - Jesus was now in Capernaum, a city at the northwest corner of the Sea of Tiberias, or Sea of Galilee. See the notes at Mat 4:18. The country to which he purposed to go was the region on the east of the Sea of Tiberias.”
Matthew 8:18
“Thus was the disciple better provided for than his Lord. (3.) That he had a house at Capernaum, though he was originally of Bethsaida; it is probably, he removed to Capernaum, when Christ removed thither, and made that his principal residence. Note, It is worth while to change our quarters, that we may be near to Christ, and have opportunities of converse with him.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Matthew 8:19
“And a certain Scribe came,.... "As they went in the way", Luk 9:57 to go to the sea side, in order to take shipping, and pass to the other shore; and said unto him, Master, or Rabbi, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.”
3 more voices on this verse
Matthew 8:19
“And a certain scribe came ... - It is not improbable that this man had seen the miracles of Jesus, and had formed an expectation that by following him he would obtain some considerable worldly advantage. Christ, in reply to his professed purpose to follow him, proclaimed his own poverty, and dashed the hopes of the avaricious scribe. The very foxes and birds, says he, have places of repose and shelter, but the Son of man has no home and no pillow.”
Matthew 8:19
“In the first part of these verses we see a striking example of our Lord’s wisdom in dealing with those who professed a willingness to be his disciples. The passage throws so much light on a subject frequently misunderstood in these days, that it deserves more than ordinary attention. A certain scribe offers to follow our Lord whithersoever he goes. It was a remarkable offer when we consider the class to which the man belonged, and the time at which it was made. But the offer receives a remarkable answer. It is not directly accepted nor yet flatly rejected.”
J.C. Ryle· Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew (1856)Reformed Evangelical
Matthew 8:19
“The Son of man - The expression is borrowed from Dan. vii, 13, and is the appellation which Christ generally gives himself: which he seems to do out of humility, as having some relation to his mean appearance in this world.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Matthew 8:20
“That Lord walked in humility and obscurity, with no definite home: for "the Son of man," said He, "hath not where to lay His head; " unadorned in dress, for else He had not said, "Behold, they who are clad in soft raiment are in kings' houses: " in short, inglorious in countenance and aspect, just as Isaiah withal had fore-announced.”
Tertullian· written before 220· On Idolatrypatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 8:20
“The foxes have holes, etc. - Reader! art thou a poor man? and dost thou fear God? Then, what comfort must thou derive from the thought, that thou so nearly resemblest the Lord Jesus! But how unlike is the rich man, who is the votary of pleasure and slave of sin, to this heavenly pattern! Son of man - A Hebrew phrase, expressive of humiliation and debasement; and, on that account, applied emphatically to himself, by the meek and lowly Jesus.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Matthew 8:21
“And another of his disciples ... - The word “disciple” properly signifies “learner,” and was given to the followers of Jesus because they received him as their teacher. See the notes at Mat 5:1. It does not of necessity mean that a “disciple” was a pious man, but only one of the multitude, who, for various causes, might attend on his instructions. See Joh 6:66; Joh 9:28. Suffer me first to go and bury my father - This seemed to be a reasonable request, as respect for parents, living or dead, is one of the first duties of religion.”
3 more voices on this verse
Matthew 8:21
“Another said - I will follow thee without any such view; but I must mind my business first. It is not certain that his father was already dead. Perhaps his son desired to stay with him, being very old, till his death.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Matthew 8:21
“In what one thing is this disciple like the Scribe? The one called Him Master, the other confesses Him as his Lord. The one from filial piety asks permission to go and bury his father; the other offers to follow, not seeking a master, but by means of his master seeking gain for himself.”
Jerome· written before 420· Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Matthew 8:21
“And another of his disciples said unto him,.... That is, one of his disciples; for this does not suppose, that the other, the Scribe before mentioned, was one. It is possible, he might be one of the twelve.”
Matthew 8:22
“But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead--or, as more definitely in Luke, "Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God" (Lu 9:60). This disciple did not, like the former, volunteer his services, but is called by the Lord Jesus, not only to follow, but to preach Him. And he is quite willing; only he is not ready just yet.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 8:22
“Let the dead bury their dead - It was usual for the Jews to consider a man as dead who had departed from the precepts of the law; and, on this ground, every transgressor was reputed a dead man. Our Lord’s saying, being in common use, had nothing difficult in it to a Jew. Natural death is the separation of the body and soul; spiritual death, the separation of God and the soul: men who live in sin are dead to God. Leave the spiritually dead to bury their natural dead.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
E. The Storm That Obeyed His Voicevv. 23-27
entered into a ship: When he was entered into a ship there arose a great tempest, seismos, the word for an earthquake, and the lake's geography explains the suddenness, six hundred feet below the sea with cold wind funnelled down the gorges onto warm water. He was asleep, the Gospel's one note of Jesus sleeping, exhaustion after the day of crowds; the disciples' cry is a creed in three words, Lord, save us. The rebuke lands on them before the weather, why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith, the refrain's third sounding, and then he arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and the commentators hear Psalm 89:9 and Psalm 107:29 underneath, the stilling of the sea being in the Scriptures the untransferable mark of God. What manner of man is this, the men ask, and the chapter leaves the question standing as its own answer.
Matthew 8:23
“And when he was entered into a ship,.... Which was got ready by his disciples, or hired by them for his use, according to the directions he had given, his disciples followed him into the ship, and they only; for as for the men hereafter mentioned, they were the men that belonged to the ship, and had the management of it: the multitude were dismissed, and in order to be clear of them, Christ took this method; and being desirous also of trying the faith of his disciples, he ordered it so, that they should be alone with him.”
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 8:23
“Into a ship - This was on the Sea of Tiberias. The “ship” in which they sailed was probably a small open boat with sails, such as was commonly used for fishing on the lake. His disciples - Not merely the apostles, but probably many others. There were many other ships in company with him, Mar 4:36. This circumstance would render the miracle much more striking and impressive.”
Matthew 8:24
“And behold, there arose a great tempest,.... "A great concussion", or "shaking" of the sea; the stormy wind moved the sea, and the waves thereof; and both wind and sea shook the ship, and the men that were in it. Luke calls this tempest a "storm wind", Luk 8:23 and Mark says, it was "a great storm of wind", Mar 4:37 and both use the word "loelaps", which signifies a particular kind of wind, which is suddenly whirled about upwards and downwards; or rather, a conflict of many winds: it seems to be a whirlwind, or hurricane.”
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 8:24
“Arose a great tempest in the sea - Probably excited by Satan, the prince of the power of the air, who, having got the author and all the preachers of the Gospel together in a small vessel, thought by drowning it, to defeat the purposes of God, and thus to prevent the salvation of a ruined world. What a noble opportunity must this have appeared to the enemy of the human race!”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Matthew 8:25
“Save us - Save our lives. We perish - We are in danger of perishing. This showed great confidence in the Saviour. It shows, also, where sinners and Christians should always go who feel that they are in danger of perishing. There is none that can save from the storms of divine wrath but the Son of God.”
Matthew 8:26
“Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? - Faith is ever bold - incredulity always timid. When faith fails in temptation, there is the utmost danger of shipwreck. Lord, increase our faith! is a necessary prayer for all who desire to be saved. Then he arose and rebuked the winds, etc. - As the agitation of the sea was only the effect of the wind, it was necessary to remove the cause of the disturbance, that the effect might cease.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
3 more voices on this verse
Matthew 8:26
And he saith unto them, why are ye fearful?.... Though they had some faith in him, yet there was a great deal of fear and unbelief, for which Christ blames them, saying, O ye of little faith: See Gill on Mat 6:30. In Luke, the phrase is, "where is your faith?" what is become of it? You professed but just now to believe in me, is your faith gone already? In Mark it is, "how is it that ye have no faith?"
Matthew 8:26
“From this passage we understand, that all creation is conscious of its Creator; for what may be rebuked and commanded is conscious of the mind commanding. I do not mean as some heretics hold, that the whole creation is animatec—but by the power of the Maker things which to us have no consciousness have to Him.”
Jerome· written before 420· Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Matthew 8:26
“THE winds were howling, the waters were roaring and the disciples thought that the little ship must surely be engulfed in the raging sea, so they awakened their Master from His sorely-needed sleep and cried to Him, "Lord, save us! We are perishing." Note well the first words that He speaks to His frightened followers. Generally, when a man is in trouble, it is best, first, to help him out of it if we can, and then to give him any rebuke that he may deserve.”
Charles Spurgeon· written before 1892· The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2852: “Comfort for the Fearful” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition)Particular Baptist
Matthew 8:27
“But the men marvelled,.... Mark says, "they feared exceedingly"; and Luke, "they being afraid, wondered": they were filled with astonishment and fear, or reverence: there was such a shine of majesty, such a lustre of divine power appeared in this affair. The other two evangelists seem to refer this to the disciples, which Matthew seems to ascribe to the men, the mariners that were in the ship; it is likely it had the same effect on both; and both were abundantly convinced of his deity and dignity, saying, what manner of man, or person is this?”
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 8:27
“The men marveled - Wondered, or were amazed. What manner of man - What kind of a personage. How unlike other men! What a vast display of power! and how far exalted above mortals must he be! Jesus spake to the winds; rebuked their raging, and the sea was suddenly calm. The storm subsided; the ship glided smoothly; danger fled; and in amazement they stood in the presence of him who controlled the tempests that God had raised; and they felt that “he” must be God himself, for none but God could calm the heaving billows and scatter the tempest.”
Matthew 8:27
“THIS story of the storm upon the lake is wonderfully full of spiritual interest. Not only does it, literally, show to us the Divine power of our blessed Master in lulling the storm, rendered the more conspicuous by being placed, side by side, with the human weakness which made Him sleep in the ship upon a pillow, but, spiritually, it is a kind of ecclesiastical history, a miniature outline of the story of the Church in all ages.”
F. The Demons of Gadara and the Swine
1. (vv. 28-29)
Matthew 8:28
“Hence the country between them took its name, sometimes from the one, sometimes from the other. There met him two demoniacs - St. Mark and St. Luke mention only one, who was probably the fiercer of the two, and the person who spoke to our Lord first. But this is no way inconsistent with the account which St. Matthew gives.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
3 more voices on this verse
Matthew 8:28
“The divine nature of the only begotten Son was already scorching the demons in unspeakable flames. Christ was shutting up the fiercest demons in blocked roads. He was undoing the devil's tyranny. "You have come before the time," they cried out. For they knew from the Scriptures that Christ was going to come and would judge them. Treating the incarnation as if it had happened at the wrong time, they pled that he had come in an untimely way. This misrepresentation is not surprising. In their deceptiveness, they did not hesitate to say even this.”
Cyril of Alexandria· written before 444· FRAGMENT 101patristic
Matthew 8:28
“The country of the Gergesenes - This word is variously written in the MSS, and versions; Gergasenes, Gerasenes, Gadarenes, Gergesions, and Gersedonians, The three first are supported by the greater authorities.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Matthew 8:28
“The subject of these seven verses is deep and mysterious. The casting out of a devil is here described with special fulness. It is one of those passages which throw strong light on a dark and difficult point. Let us settle it firmly in our minds that there is such a being as the devil. It is an awful truth, and one too much overlooked. There is an unseen spirit ever near us, of mighty power and full of endless malice against our souls. From the beginning of creation he has labored to injure man.”
J.C. Ryle· Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew (1856)Reformed Evangelical
Matthew 8:29
“This is no voluntary confession followed up by a reward to the utterer, but one extorted by the compulsion of necessity. A runaway slave, when after long time he first beholds his master, straight thinks only of deprecating the scourge; so the dæmons, seeing the Lord suddenly moving upon the earth, thought He was come to judge them. Some absurdly suppose, that these dæmons knew the Son of God, while the Devil knew Him not, because their wickedness was less than his. But all the knowledge of the disciple must be supposed in the Master.”
Jerome· written before 420· Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 8:29
“What have we to do with thee - The literal translation of τι ημιν και σοι, is, What is it to us and to thee; which perhaps might be understood to imply their disclaiming any design to interfere with the work of Christ, and that he should not therefore meddle with them; for it appears they exceedingly dreaded his power. What have we to do with thee, is a Jewish phrase, which often occurs in the Old Testament, signifying an abrupt refusal of some request, or a wish not to be troubled with the company or importunity of others.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
two possessed with devils: meet him among the tombs of the Gergesenes, and the exposition notes the synoptic surface honestly: Mark and Luke tell of one man at Gadara, Matthew of two, the country names varying in the manuscripts, and the old resolution stands without strain, two were there and one was the speaker. The ruins of Kursi on the eastern shore fit the steep place better than Gadara's six miles inland, which the exposition reports as evidence, not verdict. The demons' cry, asking what they have to do with Jesus the Son of God and whether he is come to torment them before the time, concedes everything the storm scene asked. They know the person, and they know there is an appointed time, a fixed judgment for the fallen powers confessed here by the powers themselves.
2. (vv. 30-34)
Matthew 8:30
“And there was a good way off from them,.... "Nigh unto the mountains", as Mark says, or "on the mountain", as Luke, bordering on the sea shore; so that though it was at some distance, yet within sight. The Vulgate Latin, and the Hebrew edition of Munster read, "not far off"; and the Persic version, "near them": which agree with the accounts of Mark and Luke, who say, that there were "there", or hard by, "an herd of many swine feeding".”
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 8:30
“A herd of many swine - These were in all probability Jewish property, and kept and used in express violation of the law of God; and therefore their destruction, in the next verse, was no more than a proper manifestation of the justice of God.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Matthew 8:31
“Suffer us to go away - Επιτρεψον ημιν απελθειν: this is the common reading; but αποστειλον ημας, send us away, appears more likely to be genuine. This latter reading Griesbach has adopted, on the authority of three ancient MSS., the Coptic, Sahidic, Ethiopic, Syriac, all the Arabic, Saxon, most of the Itala, and the Vulgate. Send us away seems to express more fully the absolute power Jesus Christ had over them - permission alone was not sufficient; the very power by which they were to go away, must come from Christ himself!”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Matthew 8:32
“They went into the herd of swine - Instead of την αγελην των χοιρων, the herd of swine, Griesbach reads τους χοιρους, the swine, on the authority of many MSS. and versions. The whole herd of swine - Των χοιρων, of swine, is omitted by many MSS. and versions. See Griesbach, and see on Luk 8:20, etc. Ran violently down a steep place, etc. - The prayer of these demons is heard and answered! Strange! But let it be noted, that God only hears demons and certain sinners when their prayer is the echo of his own justice.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 8:32
“The Saviour bade them go, not as yielding to their request, but that by the death of the swine, an occasion of man's salvation might be offered. But they went out, (to wit, out of the men,) and went into the swine; and, lo, the whole herd rushed violently headlong into the sea, and perished in the waters. Let Manichæus blush; if the souls of men and of beasts be of one substance, and one origin, how should two thousand swine have perished for the sake of the salvation of two men?”
Jerome· written before 420· Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Matthew 8:32
“And he said unto them, go, &c. He gave them leave, as God did to Satan, in the case of Job; for without divine permission, these evil spirits cannot do anything to the bodies, souls, or estates of men: they could not enter into the swine without leave, and much less do things of greater moment and consequence; and therefore are not to be feared, or dreaded by men, especially by the people of God.”
Matthew 8:33
“And they that kept them fled,.... The hog herds, men of very low life, and whose employment was very infamous and reproachful, as has been observed. These, amazed at what they had seen, distressed with the loss of the swine, and so of their employment, and frightened also lest they should incur the blame and displeasure of their masters, ran away in great haste, fear, and astonishment; and went their way into the city; either of Gergesa, or Gadara.”
Matthew 8:34
“The whole city came out - Probably with the intention to destroy Jesus for having destroyed their swine; but, having seen him, they were awed by his presence; and only besought him to depart from their borders. Many rather chose to lose Jesus Christ than those temporal goods by which they gratify their passions at the expense of their souls. They love even their swine better than their salvation.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
an herd of many swine: feeding a good way off marks the country as Gentile or lawless, and the demons beg passage into it; his answer is one word, Go. The herd's violent run into the sea is the scene's testimony, the destruction the man had carried made visible, and the bench declines to moralize the swine beyond what the text gives. The keepers flee, the city comes out, and the chapter closes on its bleakest response to Jesus yet: they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts, valuing the herd above the healed. Matthew, in restraint, does not even record the healed men's state; he lets the city's request stand as the counterweight to the centurion's, the chapter bracketed by a Gentile who begged him to speak and a Gentile city that begged him to leave.
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Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The context
Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah and Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Gospels; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on Isaiah, on chapter 53; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.