of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
Jesus Restores Two Demon- Possessed Men
8:28-34pp— Mk 5:1-17; Lk 8:26-37
28
When he ar rived at the oth er side in the re gion of the Gad a renes, a two de mon-pos sessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so vi o lent that no one could pass that way. 29“ What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shout ed.“ Have you come here to tor ture us be fore the ap point ed time?”
30
Some dis tance from them a large herd of pigs was feed ing. 31 The de mons begged Jesus,“ If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”
32
He said to them,“ Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the wa ter.
33
Those tend ing the pigs ran off, went into the town and re port ed all this, in clud ing what had hap pened to the de mon-pos sessed men. 34 Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they plead ed with him to leave their re gion.
Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man
9:2-8pp— Mk 2:3-12; Lk 5:18-26
9
Jesus
MattheW 9:8 | 1547
stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2 Some men brought to him a par a lyzed man, ly ing on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man,“ Take heart, son; your sins are for giv en.”
3
At this, some of the teach ers of the law said to them selves,“ This fel low is blas phem ing!”
4
Know ing their thoughts, Jesus said,“ Why do you en ter tain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Which is eas i er: to say,‘ Your sins are for giv en,’ or to say,‘ Get up and walk’? 6 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has au thor i ty on earth to for give sins.” So he said to the par a lyzed man,“ Get up, take your mat and go home.” 7 Then the man got up and went home. 8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had giv en such au thor i ty to man.
a
28 Some manuscripts Gergesenes; other manuscripts Gerasenes represented chaotic forces controllable only by God, Jesus’ command of the waves serves as a sign of his deity. See note on Ge 1:2.
8:28 – 34 Jesus briefly visits Gadara and heals two demonpossessed persons. His miracle there demonstrates his power over evil and the spiritual realm. It also creates such a stir that he is forced to leave.
8:28 from the tombs These men lived among tombs or in a graveyard. In Jesus’ day, these places were considered to be the haunt of demons. 8:29 Son of God The demons ironically recognize Jesus for who he is; Satan did the same and tried to keep Jesus from acting out God’ s purposes( Mt 4:3,6). before the appointed time Refers to the day of judgment, when God will judge evil spiritual powers( compare Ro 16:20; Rev 20:7 – 10). Their question indicates an awareness of both Jesus’ identity and their future judgment. It also reflects Matthew’ s understanding that God’ s kingdom is present but not yet finalized( or fully arrived). 8:31 send us into the herd of pigs The text does not indicate the reason for this particular request, but it is possible that Matthew means to suggest the suitability of unclean animals as dwelling places for unclean spirits( see Lev 11:7 and note). 8:32 died in the water This passage ultimately demonstrates Jesus’ power over the spiritual realm. He expels the demons with one word, and they apparently are destroyed with the pigs. 8:33 Those tending These must have been Gentiles, since pigs were unclean to Jews. 8:34 to leave their region In contrast to the believing Gentile in Mt 8:5 – 13, these Gentiles( non-Jewish people) want nothing to do with Jesus. In addition to suffering economic loss, they might have feared his power.
9:1 – 8 Jesus continues to display his power, including his authority to forgive sins. The scribes( teachers of the law) begin to express discontent and accuse Jesus of blasphemy.
9:1 his own town Refers to Capernaum, on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. See the infographic“ The Synagogue at Capernaum” on p. 1656. 9:2 Some men brought to him a paralyzed man Parallel accounts appear in Mk 2:3 – 12 and Lk 5:18 – 26, both of which describe the man’ s friends lowering him through the roof due to the large crowd. son A term of endearment. Jesus exercises his authority with compassion. your sins are forgiven People in ancient Israel commonly saw a relationship between sin and sickness( or suffering; e. g., Jn 9). Although Matthew does not explicitly state this connection, it could explain why Jesus begins by announcing forgiveness for the paralytic. 9:3 This fellow is blaspheming This is the first time in Matthew the religious leaders accuse Jesus of blasphemy( compare Mt 9:34; 12:24,31 – 32). Their objection is that, in proclaiming forgiveness, Jesus is doing something that only God could do( compare Mk 2:7). 9:4 Knowing their thoughts The Greek idiom used here seems to emphasize Jesus’ perceptive abilities— that he perceives the scribes’( teachers of the law) negative reaction— not necessarily that he is reading their minds. 9:5 Which is easier Because there was no way to determine whether the man’ s sins were forgiven, it was an easy claim to make( and dismiss). The command to rise and walk, however, was subject to immediate verification— putting the speaker’ s credibility on the line. 9:6 Son of Man See Mt 8:20 and note. authority on earth to forgive sins Jesus states that he is acting on God’ s authority. 9:7 the man got up and went home By showing his power to heal, Jesus demonstrates his authority to forgive. The healing also shows that Jesus truly is God’ s representative. See the table“ Miracles of Jesus” on p. 1741. 9:8 authority A central theme throughout Matthew, especially as Jesus’ authority is contrasted with established Jewish authorities such as the law, the temple and the religious readers( e. g., 5:17 – 20; 7:29; 12:6; 21:23 – 27; 23:1 – 36). See 28:18 and note.