> ‎Chapter 9‎ > ‎Chapter 10‎ > ‎Chapter 11‎ > ‎Chapter 12‎ > ‎Chapter 13‎ > ‎Chapter 14‎ > ‎Chapter 15‎ > ‎Chapter 16‎ > ‎Chapter 17‎ > ‎Chapter 18‎ > ‎Chapter 19‎ > ‎Chapter 20‎ > ‎Chapter 21‎ > ‎Chapter 22‎ > ‎Chapter 23‎ > ‎Chapter 24‎ > ‎Chapter 25‎ > ‎Chapter 26‎ > ‎Chapter 27‎ > ‎Chapter 28‎ > ‎   

 

 

 

 

 

1-2. When He was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And, behold, a leper approached and fell prostrate before Him, saying, Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean. Being a man of good sense, the leper did not go up on to the mountain, so as not to interrupt Jesus’ teaching. But when Jesus came down from the mountain, then the leper worshipped Him. And the leper did not say, "If you beseech God, then you will heal me." But he showed great faith, saying, "If Thou wilt." And Christ did.

3-4. And Jesus put forth His hand, and touched him, saying, I will it; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. He touches the leper to show that He is not subject to the law which forbids one to touch a leper, but rather that He is Master of that law. He also shows that for Him Who is pure, nothing is impure, and that His holy flesh imparts holiness. Fleeing glory, He commands the leper to tell no one, but rather to show himself to the priest. For unless the priest would say that the leper was clean, he would have to remain outside the city (Levit. 14). Jesus bids him to offer the gift as a testimony to the Jews, as if to say, "When they accuse Me of abolishing the law, you shall bear witness on My behalf that I commanded you to offer the gifts required by the law."

5-6. And when Jesus entered into Capernaum, there came unto Him a centurion, beseeching him, and saying. This man, too, did not approach Jesus while on the mountain, to avoid interrupting the teaching. This is the same man mentioned by Luke (Lk. 7:1-10). Although Luke says that the centurion sent to Jesus others who were elders, this does not contradict Matthew who says that the centurion himself came to Jesus. For it is altogether likely that first he sent others, and then, when death was imminent, he himself came and said:

6-7. Lord, my servant lieth at home a paralytic, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion did not bring his servant lying on his bed to Jesus, as he believed that Jesus could heal him even from a distance. Therefore:

8-10. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldest enter under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 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. 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. The centurion says, "If I who am the servant of the emperor command the soldiers who are under me, how much more so art Thou able to command death and the illnesses, so that they depart from one and beset another?" For illnesses of the body are God’s soldiers and officers of punishment. Christ marvels, therefore, saying, "I have not found such great faith among the Israelites as I have in this Gentile."

41A scholion in Greek text adds:

Others have interpreted these words thus: When Jacob, the renowned patriarch, beheld the ladder reaching up to heaven and the angels of God ascending and descending, he understood that God was present in that place, but not that He is everywhere present. Thus he said, "How fearful is this place! This is none other than the house of God" (Gen. 28:16-17). The Lord now marvels at the great and supernatural faith of this Gentile, saying, "Not even in Israel" — that is, in Jacob — "did I find such faith. For Jacob understood that I could appear in one place, but this man understands that I am everywhere in all places and that by word alone I can do all things." For he said, "Only speak the word, and my servant shall be healed."

11-12. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit at table with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Jesus did not say outright, "Many Gentiles shall sit at table." But He said it in a roundabout manner, so as not to scandalize the Jews, "Many shall come from the east and west." He mentioned Abraham to show that He does not stand in opposition to the Old Testament. By saying "outer darkness" He shows that there is also an inner darkness which is less severe. For in hell there are varying degrees of punishment. He calls the Jews "the sons of the kingdom," for the promises of the Old Testament were made to them. He is saying, "Israel is my firstborn son" (Ex. 4:22).

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. And when the centurion returned to his house, at the same hour, he found his servant well. By healing the servant by His word alone, Jesus showed that He also spoke the truth when He said that the Jews would be cast out from the kingdom.

14-15. And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. And He touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.

Jesus entered Peter’s house so that they could eat. And when He touched the woman’s hand, not only did He quench her fever but He restored her to perfect health, so that her strength returned and she was able to serve. Yet we know that it takes a considerable time for the sick to recover their strength. The other evangelists say that first they besought Him and then Jesus healed the woman (Mk. 1:29-31 and Lk. 4:38-39); but Matthew does not say this, for reasons of brevity. For I told you at the beginning that what one evangelist leaves out, the other mentions. Learn also that marriage does not impede virtue: the chief of the apostles had a mother-in-law.

16-17. When the evening was come, they brought unto Him many who were possessed with demons, and He cast out the spirits by His word, and healed all that were sick: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, He Himself took our weaknesses, and bore our diseases. At the end of the day and on into the evening, they brought the sick to Him and He, in His love for man, healed them all. Then Matthew brings forward the witness of Isaiah (See Is. 53:4), lest you disbelieve that He could heal so many sicknesses in so short a time. Although the prophet spoke concerning sins, Matthew has applied these words to illnesses, for the majority of illnesses occur as a result of sins.

18. Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave commandment to depart unto the other side. Jesus gave this order because He was not a seeker after glory, and also because He wished to avoid the spiteful envy of the Jews.

19-20. And a certain scribe approached, and said unto Him, Master, I will follow Thee wheresoever thou goest. 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. A scribe is one who knows the letter of the law. When this scribe saw the many signs which Jesus did, he imagined that Jesus was making money from them; hence his eagerness to follow Him so that he too could collect money. But Christ answers this thought of his as if saying to him, "You expect that by following Me you will make money. Do you not see that I am homeless? So too must My followers be." Jesus said this to persuade him to change his ways and to follow. But the scribe departed. Some say that the foxes and the birds mean the demons. So Jesus is saying, "The demons take their rest in you, and I, therefore, can have no rest in your soul."

21-22. And another of His disciples said unto Him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow Me; and let the dead bury their dead. After one has given himself to God, he ought not to turn back to the things of this life. Indeed one must honor one’s parents; but God first. That this man’s father was an unbeliever is evident from Jesus’ words, "Let the dead," that is, the unbelievers, "bury their dead." If this man was not even permitted to bury his father, woe to those who after they have begun the monastic life turn back to worldly things!

23-24. And when He was entered into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the boat was covered with waves: but He was asleep. He took only His disciples, so that they could see the miracle. He allows them to be tossed by the waves so as to train them to endure trials and temptations, and also so that their faith would be even greater as a result of the miracle. Jesus slept so that when they had become terrified they would recognize their own weakness and call upon Him. Accordingly the evangelist says:

25-26. And His disciples came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And He saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? He did not say, "O ye of no faith," but, "O ye of little faith." The disciples showed their faith when they said, "Lord, save us;" but when they said, "We are perishing," they lacked faith. They ought not to have been afraid, as Jesus was with them in the boat. See how, by chastising them for cowardice, He shows that cowardice itself is a danger. This is why He calms first the turbulence of their souls, and then the storm.

26-27. Then He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him! In appearance He was a man, but His deeds showed that He was God.

28. And when He was come to the other side into the land of the Gergesenes, there met Him two possessed with demons, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. While the men in the boat were yet wondering what manner of man this was that even the winds and the sea obeyed Him, the demons come to proclaim the answer. Although Mark and Luke speak of one man who was possessed by a legion of demons (Mk. 5:9, Lk. 8:27), understand that this one man was one of the two mentioned by Matthew, evidently, the more notorious of the two. Jesus came alone towards them, since no one dared to bring them to Him, so fierce were they. They dwelt among the tombs because the demons wish to inspire the belief that the souls of those who have died become demons. Let no one believe this: for when the soul departs from a man, it does not wander about the earth. For the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God (Wisdom of Solomon 3:1), and the souls of sinners are also led away, as was the soul of the rich man.

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? Behold, they proclaim Him to be the Son of God, but first they declare their enmity. The demons consider it torment to be prevented from harming men. Understand the demons’ words, "before the time," to mean that they thought that Christ, not enduring their great wickedness, would not wait for the time of their punishment. But this is not so; for the demons are permitted to contend with us until the end of the world.

30-32. And there was a good way off from them a herd of many swine grazing. So the demons besought Him, saying, If Thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. And He said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine. The demons asked this so that they could drown the swine, and thus the owners would be grieved and would not welcome Christ. Christ granted the demons their request in order to show how great is their bitterness towards men, and that if they had the power, and were not prevented as they are by God, they would do worse things to us than they did to the swine. For God protects those possessed by demons so that they do not kill themselves.

32-34. And, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told everything, and what was befallen to those possessed of the demons. 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 region. The inhabitants of the city begged Jesus to leave because they were grieved and thought that they would suffer something worse thereafter. You, O reader, learn that where there is swinish life, it is not Christ Who dwells there, but demons.