8:5-9 A centurion ranked between an officer and a non commissioned officer (somewhat equivalent to that of a
modern Sergeant major). It was position of great responsibility in the Roman occupation force. (See the more
complete account in Luke 7:2-10.) Servant (Greek pais) means "child" or "servant." Sick of the palsy means to be
paralyzed and greatly afflicted. The centurion was impressed with Jesus, whom he likened to himself as one under
authority. He recognized that in dealing with the realm of sickness and death Jesus had all the power of God behind
Him.
8:10-13 The words from the east and west, are taken from Psalm 107 (with allusions also to Isaiah 49:12; 59:19;
Malachi 1:11). Here Christ is referring to the ingathering of the Gentiles through the preaching of the gospel,
culminating in their final gathering at the time of His second coming. The children of the kingdom refers to those to
whom the kingdom really belongs. Outer darkness refers to the condemnation of the second death. There shall
be...gnashing of teeth: There (in that place) is used emphatically to draw attention to the fact that such sever
punishment is in fact a reality. Even though he was a Gentile, the servant was healed because of the faith of the
centurion. The contrast to this incident drawn by Jesus emphasizes the foolishness of Israel's rejection of Him as the
Messiah.
8:19-27 The reference to a certain scribe is unusual since scribes were usually referred to in the plural. Master, I will
follow thee: These words indicated that he was willing to follow Christ both spiritually and publicly. The word master
(Greek didaskalos) here means "Teacher." Instead of making it easy to follow Him, Christ insisted that he count the
cost of such commitment to discipleship. The Son of man is the title by which the Lord most frequently referred to
Himself. The title originally came from Daniel 7:13 and had messianic significance. The Lord deliberately used this
biblical title of Himself in order to teach the godly that He was, in fact, the Messiah. The reference to another of His
disciples must refer to a professed disciple who was unwilling to follow him unconditionally. The request to bury my
father probably meant he wanted to stay at home until his father died. Jesus' strong reply, Let the dead bury the
dead, was not intended to be harsh, but rather to emphasize that the time to be about the heavenly Father's
business was now. The tempest refers to a violent storm. Jesus rebuked their little faith in light of the fact that He had
commanded the trip across the Sea of Galilee. In one of His most awesome miracles, He simply rebuked the winds
and the sea, resulting in an instantaneous miracle of total calm.
8:28 Gergesenes: The usually preferred reading is "Gadarenes." Gergesa was a town on the eastern slope of the
Sea of Galilee and was included in the district of Gadara, one of the cities of the center was the town of Geresa in
Gilead. Two possessed with devils: The two other synoptic writings mention only one. Mark and Luke emphasize the
more predominant convert of the two, whereas Matthew gives the more complete account of both men with whom
Jesus dealt, perhaps because the law demanded two or more witnesses.
8:29-34 What have we to do with thee? They reacted with resentment at Jesus' intrusion into their realm, meaning,
"What is there in common between us?" Their reference to Him as the Son of God indicates that the demons were
fully aware of who Jesus was, and their question about being tormented before the time also indicates that they were
aware of why He had come to earth. The reference to a herd of many swine suggests that they were being kept
illegally by the Jews who were living in this Gentile region. Swine were considered unclean by the Mosaic Law. The
whole herd... perished: Jesus granted the demons' request because of His concern for the man. The spiritual
principle in this incident is that those who are deliberately disobedient deprive themselves of divine protection and
place themselves at the mercy of the forces of evil.
Matthew chapter 9
9:9-12. The receipt of custom refers to the tollbooth in the street where tax collectors sat to receive various taxes. In
the house means at home. We know from the other synoptic writers that this house was Matthew's. See Mark 2:15;
Luke 5:29, where expression is phrased "in his house".
9:13-15. The righteous: The word is used here in an ironic sense, meaning self-righteous. Ultimately, as the
Scripture tells us, '' There is none righteous, no, not one" (Rom. 3:10). The children of the bridechamber refers to
the wedding guests. As long as the bridegroom is with them, that is, while the wedding festivities last, might be for
some days. When the bridegroom shall be taken from them is an allusion to His coming death and ascension.
9:16, 17. The principle expressed here is that the Lord Jesus Christ has come to bring in a whole new dispensation,
which cannot be fitted into the forms of the old Jewish economy. The principle taught here by illustration is that the
rule of the law must be replaced by that of grace, which will now have free reign in the hearts of all believers. New
cloth means unbleached cloth. Bottles (skins) were frequently used in the ancient East as liquid containers. The
strength of frementation of the new wine would be too much for the partly worn, old, or inelastic skins and would
cause them to break. See note on Mark 2:22 for interpretation.
9:18, 19. A certain ruler, that is, of the synagogue: The other Gospels call him Jairus (cf. Mark 5:22-43; Luke
8:41-56). Worshiped: This suggests that he recognized Jesus' deity and authority. In the parallel passages we are
told that his daughter was dying when he first came and that she died while he was en route. Matthew telescopes two
phrases into one, saying she is even now dead.
9:20-22. I shall be whole 9lit, "I shall be saved," i.e , "healed"): A rabbi customarily addressed a young girl as
daughter. Jesus' exhortation to be of good comfort means to cheer up. The further statement thy faith hath made
thee whole indicates that God's blessing on our behalf is usually in proportion to our willingness to trust Him.
9:23-26. The scene described here is typical of a Middle Eastern home where someone lay dead. Mourners were
actually hired to make noise. The minstrels were flutists. Jesus' statement that the maid is not dead, but sleepeth
meant that her death, though real, was ultimately going to be temporary "sleep" in light of the fact that He would
quickly raise her back to life again.
9:27-32. This incident is also peculiar to Matthew's gospel ( cf. Luke 11:14-26). Two blind men call out, Thou son of
David, which was a messianic designation. The form of their address seem to indicate that they had put their faith in
Jesus as the Messiah.
9:33-38. The connection between spiritual evil and physical illness is clearly illustrated in this incident. The prince of
the devils is Satan himself. Fainted means the were distressed. The observation that they were as sheep having no
shepherd is taken mainly from the Septu agint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old testament, of Numbers
27:17. Verses 37 and 38 constitute one of the great missionary passages of the New Testament. Jesus pictures the
world as a great spiritual harvest in need of laborers to gather it into the storehouse.
Matthew chapter 10
10:1-4 The twelve disciples had been formed as a group some time previously. Now after a period of instruction and
training they were sent on their first mission. They were also given power, or "authority", over demons and disease.
Their miracle-working ministry was to attest the legitimate claim of Jesus to be the Messiah. Apostles (Gr. apostoloi)
is the technical term that later came to be applied to the twelve disciples. The literal meaning of the term is "Sent
Ones." In this passage their twelve names are arranged in six pairs, which probably corresponded to the
arrangement in which they were sent out on this mission. Simon is Peter, who heads all four lists of the disciples (cf.
Mark 3:16, Luke 6:14; Acts 1:13). Since he appears to be the most prominent disciple in the early stages of Jesus'
ministry, as well as in the early period of the church, he probably exercised a natural leadership over the others. It
does not follow from this, however, that his leadership was passed on to successors. Bartholomew was generally
considered to be identical with Nathanael of John 1:41-51. Lebbeus whose surname was Thaddeus (some texts read
simply "Thaddeus"): Luke gives his name as Judas (Luke 6:16) Simon the Canaanite actually means the
Cananaean. Since he had been a member of the nationalist party known as the Zealots, who resisted Herod the
Great by force, he is also at times referred to as Simon the Zealot. Judas Iscariot had been variously interpreted as
meaning he was a member of the tribe of Issachar, or an inhabitant of Kerioth, or the one who carried the purse
(Aram. secariota), or the one who was strangled (Heb. iscara). He is generally recognized as the only disciple who
was not a Galilean.
10:5-10. The way of the Gentiles: Several Greek cities in Galilee existed seperately from the Jewish life-style. The
apostles were instructed to aviod these towns and to confine themselves to the Jewish cities only. The word Gentiles
is an objective genitive, indicating that they were not to enter a road even leading to the Gentiles, nor were they to
enter a city of the Samaritans. The apostles were to provide (better, "get") nothing in the way of money in their
purses (lit., "belts"). The fold of the robe or the girdle served the same function as our pockets. A scrip was a small
bag for holding various articles. Coats were the outer robes or tunics that corresponded to the Roman toga. The
Greek for staves is actually singular, meaning "staff'," agreeing with Luke 9:3 The workman is worthy of his meat:
They were to rely on the gifts and hospitality of those to whom they preached.
10:11-16. Inquire means "to search out." Hospitality was a normal part of Oriental life and the disciples probably
recieved many offers of accommodation; however, they were restricted to accepting hospitality only from those who
received their message. Shake off the dust of your feet is a symbolic act of rejection and condemnation, the idea
being that not even the dust of a wicked city was worthy of them. Verily (Gr. amen) is a transliteration from the
Hebrew meaning "truly" or one of its synonyms, which gives emphasis to the statement that follows. Wise as serpents
(cf. Gen. 3:1): In the ancient Near East the serpent was commonly regarded as the wisest of the beasts. A cautious
wisdom was necessary in order to deal with the fierce oppostition that the disciples would face.
10:17-22. Take no thought means "Do not be anxious" (See Mark 13:9-13; Luke 12:11, 12;21:12-19.) It shall be
given you promises that the inner prompting of the Holy Spirit would tell them what to say in each situation they would
face. For my name's sake: They would endure great persecution because of their identification with Jesus Christ. But
he that endureth to the end shall be saved is a promise of perservence, not a teaching that salvation may be lost.
Rather, it indicates that those who are truly saved will indeed endure to the end.
10:23, 24. The idea that the Son of man in this passage is Himself to be viewed as a forerunner of the yet-coming
Messiah is ludicrous in light of all the statements made earlier in the Gospel of Matthew. Therefore, He must have His
own second coming in view.
10:25-31. Beelzebub refers to Satan himself, the ultimate evil spirit. The disciples are told to fear...not. The disciples'
enemies cna only take their physical lives, which cannot prevent their blessed resurrection to life everlasting. In other
words, Jesus reminded them that it was more important to fear Him who had authority over the soul as well as the
body and who can bring both eternal condemnation in hell (Gr. Gehenna). Notice that God is the One who has
authority to cast men into hell, and not Satan, who will himself be ultimately cast into everlasting fire. Conversely,
Jesus reminded His disciples of the Father's loving care, even for sparrows. A farthing (Gr. assarion) was a copper
coin worth about one-sixteeneth of a denarius. Without your Father means without His permission. Here we are
reminded of God's gracious providential care over His saints.
10:32-37. Confess me means "Acknowledge that you belong to Me." In reality, secret discipleship is a pratical
impossibility. Jesus constantly called for an open confession of Himself by His followers. That our confession is to be
before men clearly indicates that a public confession of true Christian faithis a virtual necessity. The warning
whosoever shall deny me is a comprehensive historical aorist tense, referring not to one moment of denial ( such as
Peter's), but to an entire lifelong resistance to Christ. Therefore, a single act of denial does not make one unworthy
of being a disciple, but a refusal to confess Christ at all eliminates one from being a true follower of Jesus Christ.
10:38-40. Taketh not His cross: This is the first mention of the cross in the New Testament. It was the custom for the
condemned man to carry his cross on the way to his execution. There is plenty of evidence that our Lord anticipated
the mode of His death. Findeth his life means to wrongfully gain something out of life for oneself. Here the word
means the natural life as opposed to the spiritual life. That is, to pursue one's natural well-being at the expense of
the spiritual, or eternal, is sinful.
10:41,42. In the name of the prophet (i.e., "as a prophet): The meaning of this statment is that those who are not
prophets themselves may share in the labor and reward of the prophets by willingly supporting their ministry. One of
these little ones is a reference to the fact that even the smallest service done to the most insignificant if Christ's
servants shall be rewarded by the Lord Himself.