Matthew 8

Chap. VIII. Ver. 1—15. Christ healeth a leper, the centurion’s servant, and Peter’s mother-in-law. As Jesus came down from the mountain, a leper contrived, unobserved, to mingle with the multitude, and applied to Jesus to be healed, under the full persuasion that he was able to effect the cure. Jesus, (isregarding all public prejudices, and even ceremonial pollutions, touched him and cured him, as privately as he could; desiring him not to stay to ublish the matter among the people, but to go to the temple, make the usual offerings for his cleansing, and show himself to the priest, that he might be fully satisfied of his cure. If, however, this be the same miracle recorded by Mark (ch. i.) and Luke (ch.

v.,) he by no means attended to the injunction; for, instead of keeping the matter secret, he blazoned it abroad immediately; whether, indeed, he went to the priest afterward, is not said. The next miracle recorded by Matthew, was wrought upon the favourite servant of a Roman centurion, who Mail becakse a convert to the liw of Moses, and had ingratiated himself with the Jews, by building them a synagogue. Hearing that Jesus was at Capernaum, he sent to him some of the elders of the Jews, who had probably attended on his ministry, beseeching him to come and heal his servant, who was dangerously diseased with the palsy. Hearing Jesus was on his wav. however, he goes forth to meet him, and in a style very different from that of a Roman soldier, humbles himself before him, professes his conviction that it was not necessary for the Lord to trouble himself to come any farther, it would be enough for him to speak the word, and demons and diseases would obey with promptitude, even as his soldiery yielded him obedience, and as he also obeyed the commands of his superior officer.

Jesus, on hearing this, being struck with the centurion’s humility and faith, immediately exclaims to those around him, “T have not found so great faith (even) in Israel,” as in this Gentile proselyte; and assures them, that many shall be called from among the Gentiles, and sit down with the chosen fathers of the Hebrews to enjoy the blessed feast of the celestial world, whilst their immediate descendants should themselves, be shut out in the regions of darkness and despair for ever. Jesus instantly subjoins, to the centurion, ‘‘Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee!” and so it was. On the allusion here made to the heavenly felicity, Dr. Mac- Knight remarks—‘‘ Our Saviour, in the above passage, in saying that the (converted) heathen should sit in heaven on the same couches with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacoh, wounds the pride of the Jews, who disdained to eat with the heathen, though many of ‘them, with respect to their morality, were better than they.

He finely compares the fruitless repentance, the pain and endless torment of the wicked, who are excluded from the joys of heaven, under the emblem of such es are rejected (from) a marriage feast, to which they had come in the hope of being admitted. In pain and despair they weep and gnash their teeth. As the Jews, for the most part, had their great feasts in the evening, by the light of tapers, the darkness in which those who are rejected are cast out of the house, is a very appropriate image of the dreadful state of the condemned, who are for ever excluded from the contemplation of God,” and the enjoyment of his favour. Ver. 16—34. After some inferior incidents, Jesus stilleth a tempest, and casts out devils—The Evangelist, in mentioning the various miracles wrought by our Redeemer, makes a beautiful allusion to the prophecy of Isaiah: ‘ Himself bare our infirmities, and carried our sicknesses:’’ yet it will be found, by turning to the prophecy, (ch.

liii.) that the words have a farther and sublimer reference to his atonement for our sins. ((1 Peter 2:24).) We must confine our remarks, however, to the two great miracles which fill up the remainder of this chapter. The multitudes which followed our Saviour in consequence

Notes on the verses

Chap. VIII. Ver. 4. For a testimony unto them—First, to the “ priests,” for though one only was sufficient to pronounce him cured, others would probably inquire into it; and, secondly, to the people, who would eventually learn the truth of the miracle through their means. Ver. 5. A centurion.—[A centurion was a captain of a hundred men, so called from centwm, a hundred. It was a Roman military title; and therefore this officer may be concluded to have been a Gentile. |—Bagster. Ver. 6 Lorne et ee “ Afflicted,’’ or distressed, Ver. 11. Shall sit—(Shall recline, i. e. at table; referring to the recumbent posture used by the easterns at their meals. |—Bagster. Ver. 14. Laid—That is, on a bed, or couch.; Ver.

15. Unto them—That is, Jesus and those with him. But Campbell saysmany MSS. read “‘ him,” which he prefers. Ver. 16. He cast out the spirits.—This seems to contradict the idea, that the demons were merely dizeases; they were “ spirits.’ Ver. 17. That it might—Or “ thus it was.’”——Himself took our infirmities. This passage of the prophet Isaiah is expressly referred to the Messiah by the Eola! ae who renders, “ Surely he will pray for our sins,’’ &c. | In the Talmud is this remarkable passage—‘’ What is the name of the Messiah? Sorne said, Leprous: according to that, Surely he hath borne our sicknesses, &c. And Messiah sitteth in the gate of the city. And by what sign may he he known? He sitteth among the diseased poor.”’ It iz also said, in Zohar, that all the of his miracles, led him to seek retirement; for which purpose he entered into a vessel to cross “the sea,”

or lake of Genne- ~ sareth, in order to pass to the other side, and his disciples with him. On the way, a storm arose, but such was the fatigue and watching which Jesus had endured, that the storm did not awake him. The disciples, however, cried out, under ct alarm for their own safety, “ Lord, save us, or we perish! is said of Julius Cesar, that in a storm at sea, he quieted the mariners by telling them that they carried Cesar; but Caesar could not quiet the storm, as Jesus did. After a gentle reproof of his disciples for their unbelief, ‘‘ He rebuked the winds and the sea; and’’—not, gradually, as is commonly the case, but immediately—“ there was a great calm!” Well might the disciples say, ‘“‘ What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?’ The miracles of Christ were generally wrought, like the work of creation, by a word speaking.

No sooner were Jesus and his disciples landed from the vessel in the country of the Gadarenes, than they were met by two maniacs of the worst class, “exceeding fierce,’ being posseson — devils, or demons, as the word is now uniformly ren- It is remarkable, that though St. Matthew mentions favo demoniacs, the Evangelists Mark and Luke mention one only. This seems best accounted for, by supposing one of them rendered himself most conspicuous by his extraordinary conduct, inasmuch as he wore no clothes, and could not be bound with chains. This man also was tie only one who continued with Jesus, clothed, and in hisright mind. Both, however, when they saw Jesus, fell downand worshipped him, and cried out aloud, “What have we to dowith thee?

Art thou come to torment us before the time?” - The act of worship he referred to, can only be considered as the usual eastern form of prostration to superiors; and the address shows that the man was sufficiently collected to know the person whom he addressed. The expression, “What have we to do with thee?” if used by the demoniacs, implies a sense of their being connected with unclean spirits, and _ therefore in opposition to the holiness of Christ’s character and mission. At the same time knowing that it was a partof his work and mission to cast out demons, they deprecated his interference, as though they expected it would add to their present sufferings. These words are, however, by most commentators (we believe) considered as those of the demons themselves, expressing an alarm lest they should be banished from earth, and consigned to their final punishment before the expected time.

In our Lord’s conversations with demons, we con/ess there is much that we do not understand, arising from our ignorance of the precise nature and circumstances of these “wnelean spirits.” The Evangelist now remarks, that there was, at some disdiseases, all ye griefs, and ali the punishments due to Israel, shall be borne by nin. Christ fulfils the prophecies in a// respects, and is himself their completion. Ve. 22. Let the dead bury their dead—That is, let the spiritually dead employ themselves in burying those who are literally so. Doddridge and Campbell. Ver. 28. Gergesenes—The same as Gadarenes, according to Doddridge. Werstrin and Campbell think this word was introduced by Origen on conjecaure, and that the original word was Gadarenes.

Soin Mark v, 1, and Luke Vili, 26, it is ealied “ the country of the Gadarenes.” It is now called Om Keis; und the remains of the sepulchral caverns in which the demoniacs abode are still to be seen. Trav. in Syria. If Gadara and Gergese were not the same lace. theygwere certainly very near each other, and _the district intended lay, as Like says, over against Galilee. —— Coming out of (re tombs.—Mr. Forbes tance, a herd of many swine feeding; a circumstance little te be expected in a country where. religion did not suffer them te be eaten, ‘These Gadarenes were, however, a sort of mongret Jews, who: preferred cheir interests to their religion, keeping swine, probelt, for purposes of sale to the Gentiles, who were numerous in diosa parts, and often, perhaps, under that pretence, indulging themselves in the forbidden food.

This accounts for our Lord’s permitting the demons to destroy them, as a just punishment to their infidel and avaricious owners. Why the demons should beseech Jesus not to send them out of the country, is not so clear. Dr. Doddridge infers from (Daniel 10:13, 20), that different evil genii (as well as good angels) ‘preside over distinct regions, under the direction of Satan their prince.’ If this be the case, however, their power must be a usurpation, like that of their master, “the god of this world,’’ ((2 Corinthians 4:4).) whose reign is tolerated like many other evils, on account of the general good for which it is over-ruled by the providence of God. (See expos. on (Daniel 10)) But how did the demons affect the swine?

If, when they took possession of men, they produced a total derangement of their rational faculties, we may naturally conclude that they produced a similar effect on the natural powers of the animals. The late Lord Erskine mentioned to the writer that he once had a flock of sheep bitten by a mad dog, and the consequence was, that they ran round and round the field in which they were enclosed, with such impetuosity, that at length they laid down and died with fatigue; such appears to have been the impetus which drove this swinish rulings into the bed of the sea. The effect of this circumstance upon the people was no less remarkable. They seem convinced that Jesus was possesse of a divine power, and therefore approach him with respect and reverence, praying hini—not to forgive their sin, nor to heal their sick, nor to teach them the way of salvation, but— strange!

surpassing strange !—to depart out of their coasts, for fear he should do them more mischief.:: But what was the effect of the miracle on the immediate subjects of it, the poor lunatics themselves? Of one of them we know nothing; but itis to be feared he was not duly sensible of the favour he had received; the other, however, the worst of them, the naked madman whom chains could not confine, was found ‘‘clothed, and in his right mind;” telling all the people what Jesus had done for him, and afterwards (as Mark informs us) entreating the Saviour, * that he might be with him.” ((Mark 5:18).) “ Howbeit,” says that Evangelist, “Jesus suffered him not;” but directed him to go home to his friends, ‘and tell them how great things the Lord had done”

for him. He did so, and thus showed his gratitude for the blessings which he had received.: Cap. [X. Ver.1—17. Jesus heals a paralytic, and for gives speaking of burying places in the Bast, says, they “ frequently afford shelter to ihe weary traveller when overtaken by the night; and their recesses ttre also a hiding-place for thieves and murderers.” Mr. Buckingham visited a tomb about eight feet bigh, and twelve paces square, which was turned into a family residence, and the sarcophagus, or stone coffin, used as a provision chest. Orient. Liz. No. 1183. Ver, 32. The whole herd.—Mark says they were about 2000, and the demons themselves boast that they were a /egion, which at this period contained between 4 and 5000, but probably varied like our regiments, and was often used indefinitely, like our term regiment, for an undefined number.

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