G L 8:1-9:35. The Lord. His Person. Proclaimed as "Lord" and "Son of Man".Witness and
Evidence begun. Miracles and Calls.
M N 10:1-42. Mission of Twelve begun.
O P1 R1 11:1,2. Miracles.
S1 11:3-6. Effects.
Q1 T1 11:7-30. Teaching.
U1 12:1-8. Results. Opposition of Pharisees.
P2 R2 12:9-13. Miracles.
S2 12:14-50. Effects.
Q2 T2 13:1-53. Teaching.
U2 13:54-58. Results. Opposition of His own kindred.
M N 14:1-12. Mission of John Baptist ended.
O P3 R3 14:13-36. Miracles.
S3 15:1,2. Effects.
Q3 T3 15:3-11. Teaching.
U3 15:12-20 Result. Opposition of Pharisees.
P4 R4 15:21-30. Miracles.
S4 16:1-4. Effect.
Q4 T4 16:5-12. Teaching.
U4 16:13-16. Result. Opposition complete.
L 16:17-20. The Lord, Messiah. Declared. Witness and Evidences ended.
L V1 A1 8:1-4. The Leper. 8:1-16. 4 Miracles.
B1 8:5-13. The Palsy. "
C1 8:14,15. The Fever. "
D1 8:16. Many. "
W1 X1 8:17. Testimony. (Isaiah.)
Y1 8:18-22. Disciples. Wavers.
V2 A2 8:23-27. The Storm. 8:23-9:8. 4 Miracles.
B2 8:28-31. Two Demoniacs. "
C2 8:32-34. The Swine. "
D2 9:1-8. The Palsy. "
W2 Y2 9:9. Disciples. True. (Matthew.)
X2 9:10-17.
V3 A3 9:18-26. Two Women. 9:18-35. 4 Miracles.
B3 9:27-31. Two Blind Men. "
C3 9:32-34. Dumb demon. "
D3 9:35. Many. "
W3 X3 9:36,37. Testimony (His own.)
Y3 9:38. Disciples. Prayer for.
27 A.D.
Matthew 8)
1 And when He was come down away from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him.
2 And, behold, there came a leper (see Ex. 4:6) and did homage to Him (the variations between Mark 1, and Luke 5, are due to the fact that they do not record the same miracle [see notes in THE INTER-RELATION OF THE FOUR GOSPELS], saying, "Lord (Gr. Kurios. This is the 1st time Jesus is called "Lord". In the 2nd period of His ministry, His Person is to be proclaimed as Messiah, Both Divine [here], and in v. 20 human. When once the begin to call Him "Lord", they continue), if You will, You can make me clean." (See v.3. Not the same miracle as in Mark 1:40 and Luke 5:12. Here both outside the city [Capernaum]; there, both within [prob. Chorazin], for the leper was "full" and therefore "clean" [Lev. 13:12,13]. Here, leper obeys and is silent; there, he disobeys, so that the Lord could no more enter the city [Chorazin]. The antecedents were different, and the consequents also, as may be seen from the two records)
3 And Jesus (Gr. Iesous, Heb. Yeshua, means the Salvation of Yehovah) put forth His hand, and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be you clean." And immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.
4 And Jesus said to him, "See you tell no one; but go your way (to Jerusalem), shew yourself to the priest, and offer the gift (see Lev.14:4) that Moses commanded (the 1st of 80 occ. of "Moses" in the N.T. 38 in the Gospels; 19 times in Acts; 22 in the Epistles; 1 time in Revelation [Rev. 15:3), for a testimony to them."
B1 i 5-7. Servant sick.
k 8,9. Word. Sufficiency.
l 10-12. The Divine Command.
k 13-. Word. Efficacy.
i -13. Servant healed.
5 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum (see 4:3), there came to Him a centurion (commanding 100 men, the 60th part of a legion. This is in connection with the same centurion as in Luke 7:3,6, but on a prior occasion. See notes there), appealing Him,
6 And saying, "Lord, my servant (= young man, in legal relation [like a French garcon]) is thrown down at home paralyzed, grievously tormented."
7 And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."
8 The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not fit (not "worthy" [morally], but "fit" socially) that You should enter under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
9 For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under myself: and I say to this soldier, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another soldier, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my bond-servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled (only 2 things that the Lord marveled at: [1] faith [here]; [2] unbelief [Mark 6:6]), and said to them that followed, "Verily I say to you, I have not found so great faith, not even in Israel.
11 And I say to you, That many (avoiding giving offense at this stage of His ministry) shall come from the east and west, and shall recline as guests (in eating, or at a feast) with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
12 But the sons (a Hebraism, denoting those who were related by any ties of friendship: e.g. followers, learners, inhabitants, &c.) of the kingdom shall be cast out into the outer darkness (outside the place where the feast was going on in v.11): there shall be the weeping and grinding of teeth." (the Articles denoting not a state but a definite occasion and time when this event shall take place. Used by the Lord 7 times [here; 13:42; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30. Luke 13:28]. A study of these will show that the occasion is "the end of the age", when, "the Lord and His servants shall have come", and when He will deal with the "wicked" and "unprofitable" servants, and sit down again with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in His kingdom.)
13 And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you did believed, so be it done to you."
And his servant was healed in the that hour.
14 And when Jesus was come into Peter's house (the Lord was in Capernaum, so that He was probably lodging with Peter. Cp. Mark 1:29), He saw his wife's mother laid out for death (a Hebraism), and sick of a fever.
15 And He touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered to them.
16 And When the evening was come (probably the Sabbath, for they came straight out of the Synagogue and waited for the end of the Sabbath), they brought to Him many that were possessed with demons (i.e. evil spirits): and He cast out the spirits by a word, and healed all that were in evil case:
17 So that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by means of Isaiah the prophet, saying (quoted from the Heb. of Isa. 53:4. Cp. 1 Pet. 2:24), "Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." (to take up for one's self; to bear our infirmities as in Luke 14:27. Rom. 15:1. Gal. 5:10; 6:17. Cp. John 4:6. The 2 words together fulfill the sense of the Hebrew [Isa. 53:4]. The Inspirer of Isaiah adapts and deals as He pleases with His own Words)
Y1 m 18, 19. A Scribe. Forwardness.
n 20. Discouragement.
m 21. A Disciple. Backwardness.
n 22. Encouragement.
18 Now when Jesus saw great multitudes around Him, He gave commandment to depart to the farther side.
19 And a certain scribe came, and said to him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You may go."
20 And Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven have roosts; but the Son of Man (He Who has dominion in the earth. The 1st of 87 occurrences) has no where He may lay His head."
When used of a human being, as in Ezekiel, it never has the Article (see notes on Ps. 8:4, and Ezek. 2:1).
To the "first man, Adam" was given dominion over the works of the Creator (Gen. 1:26). Through the Fall (Gen. 3), this dominion was forfeited, and lost, and is now in abeyance; no one son of Adam having any right to universal dominion. Hence, all the chaos, "unrest", and conflicts between men and nations, which must continue until He shall come Whose right it is to rule in the earth (Ezek. 21:27). The great enemy, who wrought all the mischief at the Fall, has tried, from time to time, to exercise this authority by setting up some human head. He tried Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander the Great, and others, and in later days Napoleon; but he will finally succeed for a brief period with the Antichrist, until "the second man", "the last Adam" (1Cor. 15:45), "the Son of Man", to Whom all dominion in the earth has, in the counsels of God, been given, shall take unto Him His great power and reign.
All this and more is contained in His title as "the Son of man". Its first occurrences is in Psalm 8, where in verses 1 and 8 His connection with the "earth" is proclaimed; and "dominion" over it is given to Him. It denotes Him Who is "the heir of all things", in virtue of which all things shall one day be put under His feet. "But now we see not yet all things put under Him. But we see Jesus, Who was made a little lower than the angels", humbling Himself unto death, even the death of the Cross (cp. Heb. 2:8, 9).
In support of this, the occurrences and distribution of this title in the N.T. are full of significance and instruction.
(1) As to the occurrences. We find the expression eighty-eight times : Matt. 8:20; 9:6; 10:23; 11:19; 12:8, 32, 40; 13:37, 41; 16:13, 27, 28; 17:9, 12, 22; 18:11; 19:28; 20:18, 28; 24:27, 30, 30 37, 39, 44; 25:13, 31; 26:2, 24, 24, 45, 64. Mark 2:10, 28; 8:31, 38; 9:9, 12, 31; 10:33, 45; 13:26; 14:21, 21, 41, 62. Luke 5:24; 6:5, 22; 7:34; 9:22, 26, 44, 56, 58; 11:30; 12:8, 10, 40; 17:22, 24, 26, 30; 18:8, 31; 19:10; 21:27, 36; 22:22, 48, 69; 24:7. John 1:51; 3:13, 14; 5:27; 6:27, 53, 62; 8:27; 12:23, 34, 34; 13:31. Acts 7:56. Heb. 2:6 (*4). Rev. 1:13; 14:14. On John 9:35 see note there.
The first is in Matt. 8:20, where the first thing stated of, and by, the One Who humbled Himself is that in this same earth "the Son of man had not where to lay His head."
The second, in like manner, is connected with the earth, and shows that He was God, as well as Man, having "authority on earth to forgive sins" (Matt. 9:6); and so the order of the occurrences may be carried out.
Note, in this connection, the contrast between the relationship to mankind of the Lord, as "the Son of God", and as "the Son of man" in John 5:25-27. Cp. Acts 10:40-42; 17:31.
(2) As to the distribution of this title : our of the whole number (88), no less than 84 are in the Four Gospels, which contain the record of His coming for this special purpose; and of His rejection. They are all used by the Lord of Himself.
After these 84 occurrences, we have one in the Acts (7:56) where Stephen sees Him "standing" as though not yet "set down", and waiting to be "sent" according to the promise of Yahaveh by Peter in Acts 3:20 (cp. Heb. 10:13); and two in the Apocalypse (Rev. 1:13 and 14:14), where He comes to eject the usurper, and reign in righteousness over a restored earth. Heb. 2:6 (*4) is a quotation from Ps. 8, which can only be realized by Him.
This distribution of the title shows us that it has nothing whatever to do with "the Church of God"; and that those who belong to it have no relation to the Lord Jesus as "the Son of man". They stand related to Him as "the Son of God".
The distribution between the four separate Gospels is equally significant. In Matthew it occurs 32 times. Matt. 8:20 is the first occurrence in the New Testament, and it is interesting to contrast it with the last occurrence (Rev. 14:14). In the first He had "not where to lay His head", but in the last that head has on it "a golden crown", and in His hands is seen "a sharp sickle". With this He reaps in judgment the harvest of the earth, for the time to reap it will then have come. This is emphasized by the word "earth" being 6 times repeated in the verses 15, 16, 18, 19.
In Mark it occurs 14 times, which is twice seven; the two of testimony, and the seven of spiritual perfection of Yahaveh's Servant.
In Luke it occurs 26 times.
In John it occurs 12 times, the number which stands associated with Divine governmental perfection.
Similarly significant are the first and last occurrences in the Four Gospels respectively : the first being in connection with the humiliation of "the Son of man", and the last with His glorification. Cp. Matt. 8:20 with 26:64; Mark 2:10 with 14:62; Luke 5:24 with 24:7; and John 3:13, 14 with 13:31.
Thus, while as "the Son of God" He is "the Heir of all things" (Heb. 1:2) as "the Son of man" He is the Heir to that dominion in the earth which was entrusted to the first man, and forfeited by him.
21 And different one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father." (This was, and is today, a polite way of excusing oneself, it being well understood as such, because all knew that the dead are buried on the day of the death, and no one leaves the house)
22 But Jesus said to Him, "Follow Me; and leave dead bury their corpses."
A2 o 23,24-. Tempest arising.
p -24. The Lord asleep.
q 25. Disciples awakening Him.
q 26-. Disciples reproached by Him.
p -26-. The Lord arising.
o -26. Tempest calmed.
23 And when He was entered into the ship (v.18), His disciples followed Him.
24 And, behold (to call attention to another stage of "the great conflict". See Gen. 6:2. This is not the same tempest as that recorded in Mark :37-41., and Luke 8:23-25. This was before the calling of the 12: the other was after that event. There is no "discrepancy", if we note the differences in the following verses), there arose a great earthquake in the sea (in the later event it was a squall), insomuch that the ship was getting covered by the waves: (Hence it was a decked boat. In the later miracle it was an open boat, "filled")
but He was sleeping.
25 And His disciples came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us: we are perishing."
26 And He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O ye of little faith?" (Here the danger was not so imminent, for He first rebuked His Disciples. In the later miracle the danger was greater, and He rebuked the storm 1st.)
Then He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea;
28 And when He was come into the other side into the country of the Gergesenes (Prob. Gergashites, so called from one of the original Canaanite nations [Gen. 10:16]), there met Him two possessed with demons, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no one was able to pass by that way. (This miracle of the 2 demoniacs was not the same as recorded in Mark 5:1-20 and Luke 8:26-40. Here, there were 2 men: in the later miracle there was one; here, the landed opposite the place from where the set sail [Gergesenes]; there, the Gadarenes not [Gadera] not opposite; here, no name is asked; there, the name is "Legion"; here, no bonds used; there, many; here, the 2 were not afterwards used, and the 12 not yet called; there, the one man was used, and the 12 had been called. The consequences are also different.)
32 And He said to them, "Go forth." (i.e. out of the man) And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place (evidently a well known precipice) into the sea, and died in the waters. (Those that defiled the temple [21:12,13. John 2:14-16] lost their trade; and those that defiled Israel [here] lost their animals)
29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, You Son of God? are You come here to torment us before the time?
30 And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding.
31 So the demons besought Him, saying, "If (assuming He would do so) You cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.
33 And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils.
34 And, behold, the whole city (probably Gergesa) came out for a meeting with Jesus: and when they saw Him, they besought Him that He would depart away from their coasts.