14 And when Jesus had come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother in bed, very ill. 15 And he put his hand on hers and the disease went from her, and she got up and took care of his needs. 16 And in the evening, they took to him a number of people who had evil spirits; and he sent the spirits out of them with a word, and made well all who were ill; 17 So that the word of Isaiah the prophet might come true: He himself took our pains and our diseases.
18 Now when Jesus saw a great mass of people about him, he gave an order to go to the other side. 19 And there came a scribe and said to him, Master, I will come after you wherever you go. 20 And Jesus said to him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of heaven have a resting-place; but the Son of man has nowhere to put his head. 21 And another of the disciples said to him, Lord, let me first go and give the last honours to my father. 22 But Jesus said to him, Come after me; and let the dead take care of their dead.
23 And when he had got into a boat, his disciples went after him. 24 And there came up a great storm in the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves: but he was sleeping. 25 And they came to him, and, awaking him, said, Help, Lord; destruction is near. 26 And he said to them, Why are you full of fear, O you of little faith? Then he got up and gave orders to the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. 27 And the men were full of wonder, saying, What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea do his orders?
28 And when he had come to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, there came out to him from the place of the dead, two who had evil spirits, so violent that no man was able to go that way. 29 And they gave a loud cry, saying, What have we to do with you, you Son of God? Have you come here to give us punishment before the time? 30 Now there was, some distance away, a great herd of pigs taking their food. 31 And the evil spirits made strong prayers to him, saying, If you send us out, let us go into the herd of pigs. 32 And he said to them, Go. And they came out, and went into the pigs; and the herd went rushing down a sharp slope into the sea and came to their end in the water. 33 And their keepers went in flight to the town and gave an account of everything, and of the men who had the evil spirits. 34 And all the town came out to Jesus; and seeing him they made request that he would go away from their part of the country.
41 And again he was teaching by the seaside. And a very great number of people had come to him, so that he got into a boat on the sea and took his seat; and all the people were on the land by the seaside. 2 And he gave them teaching about a number of things in the form of stories, and said to them in his teaching, Give ear: 3 A man went out to put seed in the earth: 4 And while he was doing it, some was dropped by the wayside, and the birds came and took it for food. 5 And some went on the stones, where it had not much earth; and it came up straight away, because the earth was not deep: 6 And when the sun was high, it was burned; and because it had no root, it became dry and dead. 7 And some went among the thorns, and the thorns came up, and it had no room for growth and gave no fruit. 8 And some, falling on good earth, gave fruit, coming up and increasing, and giving thirty, sixty, and a hundred times as much. 9 And he said to them, Whoever has ears, let him give ear. 10 And when he was by himself, those who were round him with the twelve put questions to him about the purpose of the stories. 11 And he said to them, To you is given the secret of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside, all things are given in the form of stories; 12 So that seeing they may see, and it will not be clear to them; and hearing it, they will not get the sense; for fear that they may be turned again to me and have forgiveness. 13 And he said to them, If you are not clear about this story, how will you be clear about the others? 14 The seed is the word. 15 And these are they by the wayside, where the word is planted; and when they have given ear, the Evil One comes straight away and takes away the word which has been planted in them. 16 And in the same way, these are they who are planted on the stones, who, when the word has come to their ears, straight away take it with joy; 17 And they have no root in themselves, but go on for a time; then, when trouble comes or pain, because of the word, they quickly become full of doubts. 18 And others are those planted among the thorns; these are they who have given ear to the word, 19 And the cares of this life, and the deceits of wealth, and the desire for other things coming in, put a stop to the growth of the word, and it gives no fruit. 20 And these are they who were planted on the good earth; such as give ear to the word, and take it into their hearts, and give fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundred times as much.
21 And he said to them, When the light comes in, do people put it under a vessel, or under the bed, and not on its table? 22 There is nothing covered which will not be seen openly, and nothing has been made secret which will not come to light. 23 If any man has ears, let him give ear. 24 And he said to them, Take care what you give ear to: in the same measure as you give you will get, and more will be given to you. 25 He who has, to him will be given: and he who has not, from him will be taken even that which he has.
26 And he said, Such is the kingdom of God, as if a man put seed in the earth, 27 And went to sleep and got up, night and day, and the seed came to growth, though he had no idea how. 28 The earth gives fruit by herself; first the leaf, then the head, then the full grain. 29 But when the grain is ready, he quickly sends men to get it cut, because the time for cutting has come.
30 And he said, What picture may we give of the kingdom of God, or with what story may we make it clear? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is put in the earth, is smaller than all the seeds on the earth, 32 But when it is planted, it comes up, and becomes taller than all the plants, and puts out great branches, so that the birds of heaven are able to take rest in its shade.
33 And with a number of such stories he gave them his teaching, as they were able to take it: 34 And without a story he said nothing to them: but privately to his disciples he made all things clear.
35 And on that day, when the evening had come, he said to them, Let us go over to the other side. 36 And going away from the people, they took him with them, as he was, in the boat. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great storm of wind came up, and the waves came into the boat, so that the boat was now becoming full. 38 And he himself was in the back of the boat, sleeping on the cushion: and they, awaking him, said, Master, is it nothing to you that we are in danger of destruction? 39 And he came out of his sleep, and gave strong orders to the wind, and said to the sea, Peace, be at rest. And the wind went down, and there was a great calm. 40 And he said to them, Why are you full of fear? have you still no faith? 41 And their fear was great, and they said one to another, Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea do his orders?
51 And they came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. 2 And when he had got out of the boat, straight away there came to him from the place of the dead a man with an unclean spirit. 3 He was living in the place of the dead: and no man was able to keep him down, no, not with a chain; 4 Because he had frequently been prisoned in chains and iron bands, and the chains had been parted and the bands broken by him: and no man was strong enough to make him quiet. 5 And all the time, by day and by night, in the place of the dead, and in the mountains, he was crying out and cutting himself with stones. 6 And when he saw Jesus from far off, he went quickly to him and gave him worship; 7 And crying out with a loud voice he said, What have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God's name, do not be cruel to me. 8 For Jesus had said to him, Come out of the man, you unclean spirit. 9 And Jesus said, What is your name? And he made answer, My name is Legion, because there are a great number of us. 10 And he made strong prayers to him not to send them away out of the country. 11 Now on the mountain side there was a great herd of pigs getting their food. 12 And they said to him, Send us into the pigs, so that we may go into them. 13 And he let them do it. And the unclean spirits came out and went into the pigs; and the herd went rushing down a sharp slope into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they came to their death in the sea. 14 And their keepers went running and gave an account of it in the town and in the country. And people came to see what had taken place. 15 And they came to Jesus, and saw the man in whom had been the evil spirits seated, clothed and with full use of his senses, and they were full of fear. 16 And those who had seen it gave them an account of what had been done to him who had the evil spirits, and of the fate of the pigs. 17 And they made a request to him to go out of their country. 18 And when he was getting into the boat, the man in whom had been the evil spirits had a great desire to come with him. 19 And he would not let him, but said to him, Go to your house, to your friends, and give them news of the great things the Lord has done for you, and how he had mercy on you. 20 And he went on his way, and made public in the country of Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him: and all men were full of wonder.
21 And when Jesus had gone over again in the boat to the other side, a great number of people came to him: and he was by the sea. 22 And one of the rulers of the Synagogue, Jairus by name, came, and seeing him, went down at his feet, 23 And made strong prayers to him, saying, My little daughter is near to death: it is my prayer that you will come and put your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and have life. 24 And he went with him; and a great number of people went after him, and came round him. 25 And a woman, who had had a flow of blood for twelve years, 26 And had undergone much at the hands of a number of medical men, and had given all she had, and was no better, but even worse, 27 When she had news of the things which Jesus did, went among the people coming after him, and put her hand on his robe. 28 For she said, If I may only put my hand on his robe, I will be made well. 29 And straight away the fountain of her blood was stopped, and she had a feeling in her body that her disease had gone and she was well. 30 And straight away Jesus was conscious that power had gone out of him; and, turning to the people, he said, Who was touching my robe? 31 And his disciples said to him, You see the people round you on every side, and you say, Who was touching me? 32 And on his looking round to see her who had done this thing, 33 The woman, shaking with fear, conscious of what had been done to her, came and, falling on her face before him, gave him a true account of everything. 34 And he said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be free from your disease.
35 And while he was still talking, they came from the ruler of the Synagogue's house, saying, Your daughter is dead: why are you still troubling the Master? 36 But Jesus, giving no attention to their words, said to the ruler of the Synagogue, Have no fear, only have faith. 37 And he did not let anyone come with him, but Peter and James and John, the brother of James. 38 And they came to the house of the ruler of the Synagogue; and he saw people running this way and that, and weeping and crying loudly. 39 And when he had gone in, he said to them, Why are you making such a noise and weeping? The child is not dead, but sleeping. 40 And they were laughing at him. But he, having sent them all out, took the father of the child and her mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 And taking her by the hand, he said to her, Talitha cumi, which is, My child, I say to you, Get up. 42 And the young girl got up straight away, and was walking about; she being twelve years old. And they were overcome with wonder. 43 And he gave them special orders that they were not to say anything of this; and he said that some food was to be given to her.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Matthew 8:14-34
Commentary on Matthew 8:14-17
(Read Matthew 8:14-17)
Peter had a wife, yet was an apostle of Christ, who showed that he approved of the married state, by being thus kind to Peter's wife's relations. The church of Rome, which forbids ministers to marry, goes contrary to that apostle upon whom they rest so much. He had his wife's mother with him in his family, which is an example to be kind to our relations. In spiritual healing, the Scripture speaks the word, the Spirit gives the touch, touches the heart, touches the hand. Those who recover from fevers, commonly are weak and feeble some time after; but to show that this cure was above the power of nature, the woman was at once so well as to go about the business of the house. The miracles which Jesus did being noised abroad, many thronged to him. He healed all that were sick, though the patient was ever so mean, and the case ever so bad. Many are the diseases and calamities to which we are liable in the body; and there is more, in those words of the gospel, that Jesus Christ bore our sicknesses and carried our sorrows, to support and comfort us under them, than in all the writings of the philosophers. Let us not grudge labour, trouble, or expense in doing good to others.
Commentary on Matthew 8:18-22
(Read Matthew 8:18-22)
One of the scribes was too hasty in promising; he proffers himself to be a close follower of Christ. He seems to be very resolute. Many resolutions for religion are produced by sudden conviction, and taken up without due consideration; these come to nothing. When this scribe offered to follow Christ, one would think he should have been encouraged; one scribe might do more credit and service than twelve fishermen; but Christ saw his heart, and answered to its thoughts, and therein teaches all how to come to Christ. His resolve seems to have been from a worldly, covetous principle; but Christ had not a place to lay his head on, and if he follows him, he must not expect to fare better than he fared. We have reason to think this scribe went away. Another was too slow. Delay in doing is as bad on the one hand, as hastiness in resolving is on the other. He asked leave to attend his father to his grave, and then he would be at Christ's service. This seemed reasonable, yet it was not right. He had not true zeal for the work. Burying the dead, especially a dead father, is a good work, but it is not thy work at this time. If Christ requires our service, affection even for the nearest and dearest relatives, and for things otherwise our duty, must give way. An unwilling mind never wants an excuse. Jesus said to him, Follow me; and, no doubt, power went with this word to him as to others; he did follow Christ, and cleaved to him. The scribe said, I will follow thee; to this man Christ said, Follow me; comparing them together, it shows that we are brought to Christ by the force of his call to us, Romans 9:16.
Commentary on Matthew 8:23-27
(Read Matthew 8:23-27)
It is a comfort to those who go down to the sea in ships, and are often in perils there, to reflect that they have a Saviour to trust in and pray to, who knows what it is to be on the water, and to be in storms there. Those who are passing with Christ over the ocean of this world, must expect storms. His human nature, like to ours in every thing but sin, was wearied, and he slept at this time to try the faith of his disciples. They, in their fear, came to their Master. Thus is it in a soul; when lusts and temptations are swelling and raging, and God is, as it were, asleep to it, this brings it to the brink of despair. Then it cries for a word from his mouth, Lord Jesus, keep not silence to me, or I am undone. Many that have true faith, are weak in it. Christ's disciples are apt to be disquieted with fears in a stormy day; to torment themselves that things are bad with them, and with dismal thoughts that they will be worse. Great storms of doubt and fear in the soul, under the power of the spirit of bondage, sometimes end in a wonderful calm, created and spoken by the Spirit of adoption. They were astonished. They never saw a storm so turned at once into a perfect calm. He that can do this, can do any thing, which encourages confidence and comfort in him, in the most stormy day, within or without, Isaiah 26:4.
Commentary on Matthew 8:28-34
(Read Matthew 8:28-34)
The devils have nothing to do with Christ as a Saviour; they neither have, nor hope for any benefit from him. Oh the depth of this mystery of Divine love; that fallen man has so much to do with Christ, when fallen angels have nothing to do with him! Hebrews 2:16. Surely here was torment, to be forced to own the excellence that is in Christ, and yet they had no part in him. The devils desire not to have any thing to do with Christ as a Ruler. See whose language those speak, who will have nothing to do with the gospel of Christ. But it is not true that the devils have nothing to do with Christ as a Judge; for they have, and they know it, and thus it is with all the children of men. Satan and his instruments can go no further than he permits; they must quit possession when he commands. They cannot break his hedge of protection about his people; they cannot enter even a swine without his leave. They had leave. God often, for wise and holy ends, permits the efforts of Satan's rage. Thus the devil hurries people to sin; hurries them to what they have resolved against, which they know will be shame and grief to them: miserable is the condition of those who are led captive by him at his will. There are a great many who prefer their swine before the Saviour, and so come short of Christ and salvation by him. They desire Christ to depart out of their hearts, and will not suffer his word to have place in them, because he and his word would destroy their brutish lusts, those swine which they give themselves up to feed. And justly will Christ forsake all that are weary of him; and say hereafter, Depart, ye cursed, to those who now say to the Almighty, Depart from us.