|
|
|
|
|
|
 1
¶ When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed
him.
2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. 1 - Down from the mountain Jesus had just finished his "sermon on the mount." This verse concludes the story. 2 - Came a leper This incident happened before the sermon. Matthew writes by topics. Also mr0140, lu0512. Verse 5 does follow the sermon. 2 - Worshipped From proskuneo, "do homage" which may or may not have involved worship. Compare es0302. 3 - Touched him Without fear of disease. It was a touch of love. 4 - Tell no man In order to slow the build-up of prejudice. |
|
| 5
¶ And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a
centurion, beseeching him,
6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.  7
And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 9 For I 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. 10 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. 11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour. 11 - The despised Gentiles would receive the promised blessings. 11 - Outer darkness The second and final death ps14303. 12 - Children of the kingdom The Israelites had been appointed the task of sharing truth with the world but they rejected it and the One sent in the Father's name. Thus they lost their special role as a nation. See mt2133 to end of chapter. This image
and the one higher on the page are from The Ministry of Healing,
1906
|
|
|
|
|
 14
¶ And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother
laid, and sick of a fever.
15 And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them. 16 When 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: 17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses. 18 ¶ Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side. 19 And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. 20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. 20 - Nests Better translated "resting places"; literally "pitched tents." Of course, resting places for the birds in nesting season are nests. Jesus made this statement several times. We assume He would have spoken these words to Judas, too. Later He spoke them to "a certain man" lu0957. Image
MH 1906
|
|
| 21 And another
of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my
father.
22 But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead. |
21
- And another of his disciples "Disciple" means follower.
This man and the previous one may have been among those who followed after
seeing the miracles. Jesus made it clear that association with Him was
no guarantee of physical safety and an easy life. The experience would
also have helped prepare the regular disciples for the coming storm.
21 - Bury my father The father probably wasn't dead yet. Perhaps the man figured he would have money enough then for a comfortable life and still follow Jesus. For now, he just wanted to join the club. Compare lu1418ff. If the father had been dead, Jesus would not likely have denied this important duty. 22 - Dead bury Those who were spiritually dead could operate with that mindset. |
|
|
|
| 23 ¶ And when he
was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him.
24 And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. 25 And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. 26 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. 27 But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him! |
25 - See mr0438. |
|
|
|
| 28 ¶ And when he
was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met
him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce,
so that no man might pass by that way.
29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? 30 And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding. 31 So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. 32 And he said unto them, Go. 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. |
28
- Gergesenes Mark and Luke say "Gadarenes"
in the KJV. Modern scholars prefer "Gerasenes," different from both. It
was the same place for all three accounts.
28 - Two possessed with devils Mark and Luke tell of only one. Could there have been two occasions? The context makes this seem impossible. Consider several possible reasons for the difference: (1) Luke and Mark, not being among the twelve disciples, were probably not present. We know that the men who had been delivered told the story mr0518. Perhaps the Mark and Luke learned it through one of them and they told his story. (2) Mark and Luke do not say there was only one. Jesus may have released both men but one may have returned to Satan's control. This would have given Mark and Luke reason to focus on the committed one. Also, one may have been dominant and the one Jesus dealt with. Matthew and his friends were likely frightened and not very close. lu0612, v23, lu0101, v26. This leaves us with an important question: Why did the Holy Spirit allow the difference in the accounts? Here are my suggestions: Bible authors themselves were inspired. They wrote out or explained what the Lord showed them using their own words and style 1pe0120 and memory. The Holy Spirit has preserved the truth and usefulness of the Bible 2ti0316, jn1720. If every statement from God's messengers were provable and unambiguous, we would have no reason to exercise faith. While we are given ample evidence, God allows disbelief for those who choose it 2th0210. I trust Him and invite you to do the same. We may learn more about some points when we see Jesus in heaven. See mr05 for more comments. |
| 33 And they that kept them
fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what
was befallen to the possessed of the devils.
34 And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts. |
Into the city ... that he would depart Why did they ask Him to leave? Here's an explanation: "Though the people of Gergesa had not received Jesus, He did not leave them to the darkness they had chosen. When they bade Him depart from them, they had not heard His words. They were ignorant of that which they were rejecting. Therefore He again sent the light to them, and by those to whom they would not refuse to listen. In causing the destruction of the swine, it was Satan's purpose to turn the people away from the Saviour, and prevent the preaching of the gospel in that region. But this very occurrence roused the whole country as nothing else could have done, and directed attention to Christ. Though the Saviour Himself departed, the men whom He had healed remained as witnesses to His power." (Desire of Ages, p. 340). |
| Previous | Next | Matthew home | Contact | Commentary home |