Matthew 8 Study Notes

8:1-2 Regarding leprosy, the Greek term can refer to several conditions, ranging from fungal infections to Hansen’s Disease. The OT law required lepers to be isolated from society (Lv 13:45-46). By kneeling before Jesus and addressing him as Lord (Gk kurios, the Greek translation of the Hebrew name Yahweh), the man recognized Jesus as far more than just a man. His confidence in Jesus’s ability to heal his condition hints that his act of worship involved full recognition of Jesus’s deity. After all, only God was capable of healing lepers in the OT (Ex 4:6-7; Nm 12:10-16; 2Kg 5:1-15, esp. v. 7). The man’s qualification, if you are willing, may indicate that other so-called healers had mistreated or failed him.

8:3 Although Jesus frequently healed by touch (v. 15; 9:20,25), he could heal by command and even at great distance from the sufferer (8:5-13; 9:6). Touching a leper was an expression of boldness and deep compassion since doing so was prohibited by OT law (Lv 5:3).

8:4 By being inspected and declared clean by the priest, the healed man could authenticate the miracle that Jesus performed.

8:5-6 A centurion was an officer of the Roman army who commanded about one hundred soldiers.

8:7-10 Jesus’s willingness to enter the home of a Gentile shocked the centurion, for Jewish law banned Jews from doing this (Ac 10:28). God’s grace to Gentiles and his intention to include them in his redemptive plan is a prominent theme in Matthew. The centurion was confident that Jesus had the authority to heal his servant even though the servant was in another location.

8:11 The kingdom of heaven is open to anyone who places their faith in Jesus. Believing Gentiles will be equal even to the great Jewish patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

8:12 The sons of the kingdom refers to Jews to whom the kingdom was originally promised but who will be excluded because they rejected Jesus. Outer darkness is a metaphor for damnation in ancient Jewish texts. Weeping and gnashing of teeth denotes anguish expressed by those who suffer eternal torment.

8:13 The centurion’s faith in Jesus was wisely placed.

8:14 Mention of Peter’s mother-in-law confirms that Peter was married. His marriage was foundational to Paul’s argument that apostles had the right to marry and to have their wives accompany them in their missionary labors (1Co 9:5).

8:15 The woman’s ability to get up immediately and serve a meal indicates that her healing was instant and complete.

8:16 Jesus’s ability to drive out spirits by command stands in contrast to the drastic measures used by Jewish exorcists. These included using offensive odors to drive demons away or nose rings to hook them (Tob 6:7-8,16-17; Josephus, Ant. 8.45-49). That Jesus could heal all who were sick indicates that no disease could thwart his healing powers.

8:17 In one sense Jesus was able to heal physical illnesses because his impending sacrificial death purchased spiritual atonement from sin. All sickness is ultimately a consequence of Adam’s sinful choice. Jesus could remove these consequences because he would bear the full penalty for sin on the cross. Matthew’s application of Is 53:4 shows that he understood Jesus’s death as an act of substitution, an atonement in which Jesus was “pierced because of our rebellion” and bore punishment “for the iniquity of us all” (Is 53:5-6).

8:18-20 Following Jesus can involve sacrificing the comforts of home. Jesus is more than worthy of such sacrifice because he is the Son of Man. This title was drawn from Dn 7:13-14 where it described a ruler of heavenly origin who would reign over a universal and eternal kingdom. This was Jesus’s favorite self-designation. It is used twenty-eight times in Matthew.

8:21-22 Jesus’s demand seems harsh to modern readers, for today funerals would only briefly delay a commitment to follow him. However, ancient Jewish burials stretched over an entire year. A year after the initial interment, the eldest son was obligated to gather the skeletal remains and place them in an ossuary for second burial. Many Jews regarded the commandment to honor father and mother as the supreme commandment, and they also viewed giving parents an honorable burial as its most important implication. Jesus insisted that following him was to be an even higher priority. Since obligation to God supersedes obligation to parents (Dt 13:5-6), Jesus assumed a divine prerogative in this teaching.

8:23-27 Jesus’s authority over winds and sea identified him as the creator and ruler of nature.

8:28 Early manuscripts of Matthew describe this event as occurring in the region of the Gadarenes. In contrast, early manuscripts of Mark and Luke describe it as occurring in “the region of the Gerasenes” (Mk 5:1; Lk 8:26). Gadara and Gerasa were located in the same province. The different readings mean very little in this light, and they likely arose due to transcription errors rather than disagreement between the original texts of the Gospels. These regions were Gentile lands, as confirmed by the large herd of pigs nearby. The tombs were burial caves in which fugitives sometimes hid. The presence of the demon-possessed among the tombs indicates their obsession with things profane and unclean.

8:29 Although Jesus’s disciples were slow to recognize his divine Sonship, the demons were not. Jesus was first identified as God’s Son by the Father during his baptism (3:17). Later, Satan acknowledged Jesus’s divine Sonship (4:3,6). Now demons reiterated Jesus’s identity. Son of God was a messianic title drawn from Ps 2:7,12 (see note at Mt 3:17). The demons also recognized Jesus as the one who would judge and punish them.

8:30-32 No longer able to continue their destructive and violent work in the lives of the two men, the demons begged for permission to enter the herd of pigs where the demons’ deceptive and murderous nature was clearly displayed in the senseless destruction of the entire herd. Here is a picture of Satan’s ultimate aim for the world.

8:33-34 Gentiles from the nearby town may have thought that Jesus personally destroyed the herd as a statement against Gentile idolatry and uncleanness, and they naturally feared destruction of other valuable herds (see note at v. 28).