The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (28 page)

8:12 weep and gnash their teeth:
Describes the pangs of the damned excluded from the heavenly banquet (22:13). • Similar language in the OT portrays the wicked who slander the righteous with hatred and disgust (Job 16:9; Ps 37:12; 112:10). 
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8:17 He took our infirmities:
A formula quotation from Is 53:4. Jesus fulfills this role by physical healings. Peter evokes the same OT context to speak also of Jesus' spiritual healing of sinners (1 Pet 2:24-25; cf. Is 53:5-6). • Isaiah foretold of a Servant figure who would take Israel's sins upon himself and heal God's people (Is 52:13-53:12). This Servant would inaugurate the restoration of the tribes of Israel and bring the Gentiles to the family of God (Is 49:6). Matthew sees Jesus in this role, ushering in the kingdom by expelling demons and healing diseases. The close relationship between sin and physical affliction is assumed (cf. Ps 107:17; Is 33:24; CCC 1505). 
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8:22 Follow me:
Discipleship is based on the imitation of Christ (11:29). Unlike the apostles, who left their occupations and families (4:19, 22; 9:9), this would-be follower of Jesus is hesitant to embrace the demanding call (8:21).
bury their own dead:
Burial was a sacred duty in ancient Judaism (Gen 50:5; Tob 4:3-4). Jesus singles out the custom to emphasize the greater importance of discipleship. Allegiance to Jesus must outweigh even family commitments (10:37; 19:29; Lk 14:26). Those who are spiritually dead (i.e., clinging to worldly concerns) can bury the physically dead. Jesus does not thereby undermine the propriety of burial but uses it as a stepping-stone to illustrate the higher demands of the Christian life. • The episode resembles Elijah's call of Elisha to be his follower (1 Kings 19:19-21). Unlike Elijah, however, Jesus denies the request to fulfill parental duties, showing that discipleship in the New Covenant has higher demands than in the Old. • Following Jesus, the Church considers burial a corporal work of mercy (CCC 2447). 
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8:23-27
Here Jesus reveals his divine authority over creation.
See note on Mt 8:27
. • Jesus' stilling of the storm parallels the experience of Jonah in the OT (Jon 1:116).
(1)
Both set sail on a
boat
(8:23; Jon 1:3);
(2)
both are caught in a
storm on the sea
(8:24; Jon 1:4, 11);
(3)
both are found
asleep
(8:24; Jon 1:5);
(4)
both are accompanied by frightened sailors (8:24-26; Jon 1:5);
(5)
both groups of sailors call upon the Lord for deliverance (8:25; Jon 1:14);
(6)
both are instrumental in bringing about a
great calm
(8:26; Jon 1:12, 15);
(7)
and the sailors in both episodes
marveled
at the outcome (8:27; Jon 1:16). Jesus' identity as a new Jonah is mentioned elsewhere, in 12:39-41 and 16:4.
See note on Mk 4:35-41
. •
Morally
(St. John Chrysostom,
Hom. in Matt.
28): the wave-tossed boat signifies the struggles of the Christian life. Endangered by the wind and fierce waves, God's people are awakened by spiritual assaults and become aware of their helplessness. They call upon the Lord for salvation and inner peace. The near presence of Christ assures their deliverance, and his swiftness strengthens their wavering faith. 
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8:24 storm:
The Greek term
seismos
literally means "earthquake", as in 24:7, 27:54, and 28:2. It here describes the violent conditions of the sea. 
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8:26 rebuked:
The verb (Gk.
epitimaō
) is elsewhere used in connection with exorcisms and the rebuking of Satan himself (17:18; Mk 1:25; Lk 4:41; Jude 1:9). 
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8:27 winds and sea obey him:
The OT credits God alone with authority over the sea (Job 26:11-14; Ps 89:8-10; 93:4; 107:28-31). Aware of this, the disciples marvel and question Jesus' identity. Their uncertainty indicates that Jesus manifested his divinity gradually; it was not until later that they worshiped him as the "Son of God" (14:33). 
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8:28 the Gadarenes:
The city of Gadara was about six miles southeast of the Sea of Galilee. It was one of the Decapolis cities (cf. 4:25), and its population was predominantly Gentile. This non-Jewish setting is reinforced by the presence and herding of swine in 8:30, animals considered unclean by the Mosaic Law (Lev 11:7-8). 
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8:32 into the sea:
Jesus manifests divine power by his control over demons. • In the OT, waters represent hostile forces (Ps 69:1-4) that are sometimes personified as beasts that rise out of the sea (Dan 7:1-3; cf. Rev 13:1). By driving the demon-possessed beasts back into the sea, Jesus symbolically demonstrates his triumph over the legions of Satan's kingdom. 
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9:1 his own city:
Capernaum in Galilee (cf. 4:13; Mk 2:1). 
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9:3 the scribes:
Jewish leaders and experts in the Mosaic Law. The episode marks the beginning of a growing resistance to Jesus, which culminates in his death (16:21; 20:18; 27:4143).
blaspheming:
A charge leveled at Jesus for his claim to absolve sins (cf. Lev 24:16; Jn 10:33). From the scribes' perspective, only God can rightly forgive (Ps 103:12; Is 43:25; Mk 2:7). Moreover, this forgiveness was available only through the sacrificial system of the Temple. Jesus' actions hence prove scandalous: he not only claims to forgive, but he does so apart from the Old Covenant system. In the end, the scribes remain unaware that Jesus has divine authority to inaugurate the New Covenant (Jer 31:31-34; CCC 589). 
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9:6 that you may know:
Since forgiveness cannot be verified by his audience, Jesus demonstrates his power by healing the man. His authority over paralysis points beyond the body— it signifies his ability to cure the soul. The OT indicates that bodily sickness is sometimes tangible evidence of sin (Ps 107:17; Is 33:24; cf. Jn 5:14; 9:2). •
Anagogically
(St. Ambrose,
In Luc.
), the healing of the paralytic signifies the future resurrection of the faithful. The paralytic is the Christian whose sins are forgiven and who stands before God as son (9:2). When the Lord raises him (9:7), he will take up the bed of his body (9:7) and proceed to his heavenly home with God (9:6; cf. Jn 14:2-3). 
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