聖書注解書

Ch. Matthew 8:1-4. A Leper is cleansed

St Mark 1:40-44; St Luke 5:12, where the cure is placed in “a certain city.”

2. a leper] St Luke has “full of leprosy,” a term implying the gravity of the disease,—not that it covered the whole body, in which case the leper was pronounced clean, Leviticus 13:12-13; Leviticus 13:16-17. See Our Lord’s Miracles of Healing, ch. 4 (Belcher). Leprosy is to be regarded as especially symbolic of sin: the beginning of the disease is almost unnoticed, it is contagious (this point is disputed, but see in confirmation of the note Belcher, Our Lord’s Miracles of Healing, ch. 4, also Meyer ad loc. who takes the same view), in its worst form it is incurable except by the touch of Christ; it separated a man and classed him with the dead.

worshipped him] The imperfect in the original marks that persistency in prayer, which Jesus had just promised should win acceptance; while the leper’s words imply a faith which is another condition of acceptance.

4. the gift that Moses commanded] “two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet and hyssop.” And on the eighth day “two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil.” Leviticus 14:4; Leviticus 14:10.

for a testimony unto them] Either (1) to the priests, or (2) to the people who were following Jesus; in either case to shew that Jesus came to fulfil the law. Christ enjoins the cleansed leper to tell no one, thus instructing us that He would not have people converted by His miracles. Christ addresses Himself to men’s hearts not to their eyes or ears. He will not fling Himself from the height of the temple to persuade men.

5. a centurion] i. e. a captain or commander of a century—a company normally composed of a hundred men, the sixtieth part of a legion in the Roman army. This centurion was probably an officer in the army of Herod Antipas, which would be modelled after the Roman fashion.

5–13. Cure of a Centurion’s Servant

St Luke 7:1-10, where the incident is placed immediately after the Sermon on the Mount. The centurion sends a deputation of Jewish elders to Jesus, who speak of the worthiness of the centurion and of his love to the nation, “he built us a synagogue.” St Luke does not introduce our Lord’s comparison between Jew and Gentile, and the promises to the latter. This last point is characteristic—the rejection of the Jews is not dwelt upon when the Gospel is preached to the Gentiles. This might be further illustrated from the Acts.

6. my servant] or “slave;” the Greek word is a more affectionate term than the word translated servant in Matthew 8:9.

the palsy] i. e. paralysis, a disease often free from acute suffering, but when it is accompanied by contraction of the muscles, the pain, as in this case, is very grievous. St Luke does not name the nature of the disease.

8. The centurion answered] The argument lies in a comparison between the centurion’s command and the authority of Jesus. “If I who am under authority command others, how much more hast thou power to command who art under no authority? If I can send my soldiers or my slave to execute my orders, how much more canst thou send thy ministering spirits to do thy bidding?” The centurion was doubtless acquainted with the Jewish belief on the subject of angels, their subordination and their office as ministers of God.

9. my servant] Rather, slave. Observe the centurion’s orders, his soldiers come and go, i. e. march when he bids them. His slave he orders to do this, i. e. perform any servile work.

Mark this as the first contact of Jesus with slavery. With such relations between master and slave as these slavery would soon pass away.

It was no express enactment of Christ, but the Spirit of Christ, which this centurion had caught, that abolished slavery.

11. sit down] i. e. recline at a feast. The image of a banquet is often used to represent the joy of the kingdom of heaven. Luke 14:15; Luke 22:29-30; Revelation 19:9.