Matthew 8b

The Gospel according to Matthew

1-2.  The ancestry and birth of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.

3-4.  Jesus’ ministry begins; John’s baptism, Satan’s temptations, first disciples called.

5-7.  A summary of Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, crowds were astounded.

8-9.  A summary of Jesus’ healings; the authority of Jesus is questioned and defended.

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Matthew 8b

Matthew’s commentary on the Sermon on the Mount was that “the crowds were astounded at his teachings, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.” This sets up the question: “In what way did Jesus have authority that the scribes did not have?” We have already suggested that instead of quoting an ancient authority, Jesus often said, “You have heard it said, but I say….” Some of what Jesus was talking about was the tradition of interpretation that had grown up around the Old Testament, but some of it was Scripture itself. How can Jesus demonstrate his authority? 

8: 18-22.  Now when Jesus saw great crowds] around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. A scribe then approached and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

The important context for this event is at the beginning, great crowds were gathering around him, and Jesus is only one person. He does not yet have a movement, though he is working on it. Two chapters later, Jesus will send out the disciples to begin to spread the good news of the kingdom on their own. But, now he does not have his disciples trained, and there is a great crowd gathering, expecting something from him. 

So, the questions of the two hopefuls frame the issue: being a disciple is demanding work and will require tough choices. The first is identified as a scribe, although Matthew’s description of the second man implies that the scribe was also a disciple. Jesus has already given orders for a boat so he can go over to the other side of the lake, so the scribe’s insistence is surprising because the other side of the lake is not in Jewish territory. Jewish leaders don’t go there without a good reason. 

But Jesus’ answer goes in a different direction. A scribe is a bit like my favorite profession; that is, being a professor. You sit alone with books, read, study, and write out your articles and books. Speaking directly to that kind of comfort, Jesus warns that being his disciple does not come with security and a sense of belonging to a place. No response from the scribe is recorded.

The second question comes from ‘another’ disciple, a question that follows the commandment: “Honor your father and mother.” Jesus’ answer sounds harsh, but there are several loose ends. Is his father sick and/or dying? Or, is he alive and well and the disciple feels like he must stay near his father until he dies? Does Jesus negate his own statements elsewhere that one must honor their father and mother not human precepts (Mark 7: 5-13). Consider also that Jesus cared for his own mother from the cross by passing her into John’s care (John 19: 25-27). Rather it is the urgency of Jesus’ brief mission here on earth that requires this demanding answer. Israel and, indeed, the whole world is lost, and we need ‘all hands on deck’ to rescue them.

This is the first time Matthew records Jesus using the phrase ‘Son of Man’ to refer to himself, and not the last since it appears 28 times in this gospel. The term is a common Old Testament phrase, usually spoken by God to emphasize the mortality of a prophet, and it does appear this way 95 times in Ezekiel. 

Daniel, the prophet, is also addressed as such (Daniel 8:17); but in one of Daniel’s visions someone comes down from heaven who appears to be a human being, a ‘son of man’ (Daniel 7: 13). Yet this being approaches ‘the Ancient One’, that is, God. Then to this Son of Man “was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed” (Daniel 7: 14). ‘Dominion’ is the Kingdom of God, the Son of Man comes from heaven but looks like a man, is treated by God as if he were an equal, and will be treated by the people as ‘the eternal king’. John also picks up some of this language, and you will recognize it from the Book of Revelation. The story builds.

Before we move on,allow me a small aside. If Mary was still alive, and she does appear again at the Crucifixion (John 19: 26-27), then why does Jesus say that he does not have a home? IDK   

8: 23-27.   And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. A windstorm suddenly arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves, but he was asleep. And they went and woke him up, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a dead calm. They were amazed, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?”

I think that the phrasing here is meant to contrast with the difficulties disciples face according to the last text. Given the difficulties, still “his disciples followed him.” 

The next phrase is two Greek words for a ‘great shaking’. The word translated ‘shaking’ here is translated 13 other times as ‘earthquake’. So why is it translated as ‘storm’ this one time? Context means a lot in the work of translation. The word seismos means ‘shaking’ or ‘agitation’ or ‘commotion’. If this occurs on land, then it is an ‘earthquake’. But if it occurs at sea, then it is a storm, to be sure a ‘violent storm’.

This is confirmed by Matthew’s own description of what Jesus did to settle the situation. Jesus “rebuked the winds and the sea.” This implies that the wind was the cause and the waves were the problem. Such storms do kick up on the Sea of Galilee which is lower than sea level, set in a bowl of surrounding mountains with canyons leading to the sea.. 

Of course, the main point here is the journey of faith that the disciples are on. Jesus again reminds them that, if they are on a journey with him, and they are not yet at their destination, then why are they worried? Their faith is ‘little’, challenged, but growing. Once again they have to reconsider who they think that Jesus is. 

Matthew has structured his gospel so that the reader is also on a journey to answer that question. The reader will have to wait until Chapter 14. For now, another confirmation of the ‘authority’ of Jesus has been made. “Sure, he teaches (a teacher can’t save us), he heals (a doctor can’t save us), he casts out demons (not our problem here); that’s why we cried out, “Lord, save us!,” we needed a bigger boat! Now we know that he controls nature as well.” 

8: 28.   When he came to the other side, to the region of the Gadarenes, two men possessed by demons came out of the tombs and met him. They were so fierce that no one could pass that way. Suddenly they shouted, “What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” Now a large herd of swine was feeding at some distance from them. The demons begged him, “If you cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.” And he said to them, “Go!” So they came out and entered the swine, and suddenly, the whole herd stampeded down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the water. The swineherds ran off, and, going into the town, they told the whole story about what had happened to the men possessed by demons. Then the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him they begged him to leave their region.

Jesus may not have a home, but as Matthew portrays it, he has established a base of operations in Capernaum (kefer Nahum ‘the village of Nahum’), a town on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. From there he departs on six different mission trips, comparing Matthew and Luke, and then eventually leaves the last time to travel to Jerusalem. His base is at the outer boundary of Jewish territory, so some of his mission trips take him into Gentile, that is non-Jewish, Greek culture, Roman dominion territory.

The actual site of this exorcism, and its place in the timeline, has become a major problem for interpreters. The accepted texts for Mark and Luke says “in the  country of the Gerasenes,” though some texts read otherwise. The accepted text for Matthew says “in the region of the Gadarenes,” as above. But some minority Matthew texts say “Gerasenes” and some say “Gergasenes.” So, each gospel has a majority and minority texts, and all three words are represented. 

Briefly, Gadara is an important town, chief city of the Roman area called the Decapolis (ten cities). Gadara is about 6 miles from the shore, but the sea can be seen from the city. Gerasa is another 12 miles further southeast. Gergesa is right on the eastern shore of the lake. However, Gergesa looks like a later edition, perhaps to make the geography look better, and Gerasa does seem too far away; pigs are not known to be long-distance runners. That leaves Gadara, but actually “the territory of Gadara,” not the city. So, it is likely enough that herders from Gadara would be up on the shores of the lake with their pigs. Remember, this is a Gentile area, and Romans loved bacon and ham. 

The theological point of the story is clearer. It is the question of authority again. Jesus demonstrates his control over one more area: the supernatural. Through the men, the demons question Jesus’ authority and timing. Of course, they are not in control of either. While it is not entirely clear why he would grant their request, it is certainly a sign to the Jews about fulfilling the law, and a sign to the Gentiles of Jesus’ power over their supply of meat and animals for sacrifice to other gods.

The business-minded men of Gadara took offense and asked Jesus to leave if he was going to kill pigs. Not in Matthew, but in Mark’s account, only the two liberated men ask to be disciples, and Jesus sends them off to witness to what they have seen the Lord do and say (Mark 5: 19-20). Jesus’ has solid credentials; he has the authority.