Matthew 8 is the eighth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and continues the narrative about Jesus' ministry in

Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Galil ...

previously described in Matthew 4:23– 25. It follows on from the

Sermon on the Mount The Sermon on the Mount (anglicized from the Matthean Vulgate Latin section title: ) is a collection of sayings attributed to Jesus of Nazareth found in the Gospel of Matthew (chapters 5, 6, and 7). that emphasizes his moral teachings. It is ...

, noting in its

opening verse Opening Verse (1986–2002) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in England and the United States. Background Bred in Kentucky, his sire was the 1977 Epsom and Irish Derby winner, The Minstrel. Out of the mare Shy Dawn, his damsire was ...

that Jesus had come down from the mountain where he had been teaching. There is a renewed focus in this chapter on Jesus' ministry of healing.

Text

The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 34 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are: * Codex Vaticanus (AD 325–50) * Codex Sinaiticus (330–60) * Codex Bezae (c. 400) * Codex Washingtonianus (c. 400) *

Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus The Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (Paris, National Library of France, Greek 9) designated by the siglum C or 04 {in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 3 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a ma ...

(c. 450; complete)

Structure

This chapter can be grouped (with cross references to parallel texts in the other

canonical gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

s): * =

Jesus cleansing a leper Jesus cleansing a leper is one of the miracles of Jesus. The story is found in all three of the Synoptic Gospels: Matthew 8:1– 4, Mark 1:40–45 and Luke 5:12–16. Biblical narrative According to the Gospel of Matthew, when Jesus Christ came ...

(; ) * = Healing the centurion's servant (; ) * = Healing the mother of Peter's wife (; ) * = Jesus exorcising at sunset (; ) * = The cost of discipleship: "The foxes have holes" () * = "Let the dead bury their own dead" () * = Calming the storm (; ) * = Exorcism of the Gerasene or Gergesene demoniacs (; )

Analysis

E. H. Plumptre Edward Hayes Plumptre (6 August 1821 – 1 February 1891) was an English Anglicanism#Anglican divines, divine and scholar born in London. Life He was born on 6 August 1821, being the son of Edward Hallows Plumptre, a London solicitor. Charles J ...

, in Anglican bishop

Charles Ellicott Charles John Ellicott (1819–1905) was a distinguished English Christian theologian, academic and churchman. He briefly served as Dean of Exeter, then Bishop of the united see of Gloucester and Bristol. Early life and family Ellicott was bo ...

's ''Commentary for English Readers'', commented that the events reported "are common to

St. Mark Mark the Evangelist ( la, Marcus; grc-gre, Μᾶρκος, Mârkos; arc, ܡܪܩܘܣ, translit=Marqōs; Ge'ez: ማርቆስ; ), also known as Saint Mark, is the person who is traditionally ascribed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark. Accor ...

and

St. Luke Luke the Evangelist (Latin: '' Lucas''; grc, Λουκᾶς, '' Loukâs''; he, לוקאס, ''Lūqās''; arc, /ܠܘܩܐ לוקא, ''Lūqā’; Ge'ez: ሉቃስ'') is one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of t ...

, but are not narrated … in the same order". Free Church minister William Robertson Nicoll suggested that "this collection is not arranged in chronological order. The connection is topical, not temporal." In his opinion these stories "are an integral part of the self-revelation of Jesus by word and deed; they are demonstrations not merely of His power, but above all, of His ''spirit''". New Testament scholar Dale Allison notes that these "merciful deeds" performed by Jesus, along with those recorded in

chapter 9 Chapter Nine refers to a ninth chapter, but the term could also refer to: *''Chapter 9 (American Horror Story)'', 2016 episode of ''American Horror Story'' * " Chapter 9: The Marshal", an episode of the second season of ''The Mandalorian'' * Chapt ...

, are all undertaken for the benefit of "people from the margins of Jewish society or without status".

Henry Alford Henry Alford (7 October 181012 January 1871) was an English churchman, theologian, textual critic, scholar, poet, hymnodist, and writer. Life Alford was born in London, of a Somerset family, which had given five consecutive generations of cl ...

describes these deeds as a "solemn procession of miracles", whose record confirms "the authority with which our Lord had spoken". The Jerusalem Bible notes that the ten miracles recorded in chapters 8 and 9 demonstrate the power of Jesus over nature, sickness, death and devils.Jerusalem Bible (1966), sub-title and footnote a at Matthew 8:1, 3

References

External links