1And it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the gospel of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, 2and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities; Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, 3and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who ministered to Him out of their possessions. 4And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke through a parable: 5A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. 7And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. 8But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and produced fruit a hundredfold. When He had said these things He cried out, He who has ears to hear, let him hear! 9And His disciples asked Him, saying, What might this parable be? 10And He said, To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest in parables, that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. 11Now the parable is this: The seed is the Word of God. 12Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the Word out of their hearts, that they should not believe and be saved. 13And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the Word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of trial draw back away. 14And the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the Word with an honest and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with steadfastness. 16No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light. 17For nothing is concealed that will not be made manifest, nor anything hidden that will not be perceived and come into plain view. 18Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him. 19Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and were not able to come up to Him through the crowd. 20And it was told to Him, saying, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You. 21But He answered and said to them, My mother and My brothers are these who hear the Word of God and do it. 22Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, Let us cross over to the other side of the lake. And they launched out. 23But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in peril. 24And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, Master, Master, we are perishing! Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. 25And He said to them, Where is your faith? And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him. 26And they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is across from Galilee. 27And when He stepped out onto the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but among the tombs. 28When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me! 29For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demons into the wilderness. 30Jesus asked him, saying, What is your name? And he said, Legion, because many demons had entered him. 31And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss. 32Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. 33Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned. 34When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 36They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed. 37Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned. 38Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, 39Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you. And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him. 40So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him. 41And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house, 42for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying. But as He went, the crowds pressed in on Him. 43And a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, 44came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped. 45And Jesus said, Who touched Me? When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, Master, the crowds are pressing and crowding You, and You say, Who touched Me? 46But Jesus said, Somebody touched Me, for I know that power has gone forth out from Me. 47And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately. 48And He said to her, Daughter, be of good courage; your faith has made you well. Go in peace. 49While He was still speaking, someone came from the house of the ruler of the synagogue, saying to him, Your daughter has died. Do not trouble the Teacher. 50But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, Do not fear; only believe, and she will be made well. 51And when He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, Jacob, and John, and the father and mother of the girl. 52Now all wept and bewailed her; but He said, Do not weep; she has not died, but is sleeping. 53And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she had died. 54But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, Little girl, arise. 55And her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat. 56And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.
Matthew Henry - Complete Commentary 1 We are here told,
I.
What Christ
made the
constant business of his
life - it was
preaching; in that work he was indefatigable, and went about doing good (
Luke 8:1),
afterward -
en to kathexes -
ordine, in the proper
time or
method. Christ took his work before him and went about it regularly. He observed a
series or order of business, so that the end of one good work was the beginning of another. Now observe here, 1.
Where he preached:
He went about -
diodeue -
peragrabat. He was an
itinerant preacher, did not confine himself to one place, but diffused the beams of his light.
Circumibat- He went his circuit, as a judge, having found his preaching perhaps most
acceptable where it was
new. He went about
through every city, that none might plead ignorance. Hereby he set an example to his disciples; they must traverse the nations of the earth, as he did the cities of Israel. Nor did he confine himself to the
cities, but went into the
villages, among the plain country-people, to preach
to the inhabitants of the villages, Judg 5:11. 2. What he preached:
He showed the glad tidings of the kingdom of God, that it was now to be set up among them. Tidings of the
kingdom of God are
glad tidings, and those Jesus Christ came to bring; to tell the children of men that God was willing to take all those
under his protection that were willing to return
to their allegiance. It was
glad tidings to the world that there was hope of its being
reformed and
reconciled. 3. Who were his attendants:
The twelve were with him, not to preach if he were present, but to learn from him what and how to preach hereafter, and, if occasion were, to be sent to places where he could not go. Happy were these his servants that heard his wisdom.
II.
Whence he
had the
necessary supports of life: He lived upon the kindness of his friends. There were
certain women, who frequently attended his ministry, that
ministered to him of their substance, Luke 8:2,
Luke 8:3. Some of them are named; but there were
many others, who were zealously affected to the doctrine of Christ, and thought themselves bound
in justice to
encourage it, having themselves found benefit, and in
charity, hoping that many others might find benefit by it too.
1. They were such, for the most part, as had been
Christ's patients, and were the monuments of his power and mercy; they had been
healed by him of evil spirits and infirmities. Some of them had been troubled in mind, had been melancholy, others of them afflicted in body, and he had been to them a powerful healer. He is the physician both of body and soul, and those who have been
healed by him ought to study what they shall
render to him. We are bound in
interest to attend him, that we may be ready to apply ourselves to him for help in case of a relapse; and we are bound in
gratitude to serve him and his gospel, who hath
saved us, and saved us
by it. 2. One of them was Mary Magdalene, out of whom had been
cast seven devils; a certain number for an uncertain. Some think that she was one that had been
very wicked, and then we may suppose her to be the woman that
was a sinner mentioned just before,
Luke 7:37. Dr. Lightfoot, finding in some of the Talmudists' writings that Mary Magdalene signified
Mary the plaiter of hair, thinks it applicable to her, she having been noted, in the days of her iniquity and infamy, for that
plaiting of hair which is opposed to
modest apparel, 1Tim 2:9. But, though she had been an immodest woman, upon her repentance and reformation she found mercy, and became a zealous disciple of Christ. Note, The greatest of sinners must not despair of pardon; and the worse any have been before their conversion the more they should study to do for Christ after. Or, rather, she was one that had been
very melancholy, and then, probably, it was Mary the sister of Lazarus, who was a woman of a
sorrowful spirit, who might have been originally of Magdala, but removed to Bethany. This Mary Magdalene was attending on Christ's cross and his sepulchre, and, if she was not Mary the sister of Lazarus, either that particular friend and favourite of Christ's did not attend then, or the evangelists did not take notice of her, neither of which we can suppose; thus Dr. Lightfoot argues. Yet there is this to be objected against it that Mary Magdalene is reckoned
among the women that followed Jesus from Galilee (
Matt 27:55,
Matt 27:56); whereas Mary the sister of Lazarus had her residence in Bethany.
3. Another of them was
Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward. She had been his wife (so some), but was now a widow, and left in good circumstances. If she was now his wife, we have reason to think that her
husband, though preferred in Herod's court, had received the gospel, and was very willing that his wife should be both a hearer of Christ and a contributor to him.
4. There were many of them that
ministered to Christ of their substance. It was an instance of the meanness of that condition to which our Saviour humbled himself that he needed it, and of his great humility and condescension that he accepted it. Though he was rich, yet for our sakes
he became poor, and lived upon alms. Let none say that they scorn to be beholden to the charity of their neighbours, when Providence has brought them into straits; but let them ask and be thankful for it as a favour. Christ would rather be beholden to his known friends for a maintenance for himself and his disciples than be burdensome to strangers in the cities and villages whither he came to preach. Note, It is the duty of those who are taught in the word to
communicate to them who teach them in all good things; and those who are herein liberal and cheerful honour the Lord with their substance, and bring a blessing upon it.
4 The former paragraph began with an account of Christ's industry in
preaching (
Luke 8:1); this begins with an account of the people's industry in hearing,
Luke 8:4. He
went into every city, to preach; so they, one would think, should have contented themselves to hear him when he came to their own city (we know those that would); but there were those here that came
to him out of every city, would not stay till he came to
them, nor think that they had enough when he left
them, but
met him when he was coming towards them, and
followed him when he was going from them. Nor did he excuse himself from going
to the cities with this, that there were some
from the cities that
came to him; for, though there were, yet the most had not zeal enough to bring them to him, and therefore such is his wonderful condescension that he will go to them; for
he is found of those that sought him not, Isa 65:1.
Here was, it seems, a vast concourse,
much people were gathered together, abundance of fish to cast their net among; and he was as ready and willing to
teach as they were to be
taught. Now in these verses we have,
I. Necessary and excellent rules and cautions for hearing the word, in the parable of
the sower and the explanation and application of it, all which we had twice before more largely. When Christ had put forth this parable, 1. The disciples were
inquisitive concerning the meaning of it,
Luke 8:9. They asked him,
What might this parable be? Note, We should covet earnestly to know the true
in tent, and full
ex tent, of the word we hear, that we may be neither mistaken nor defective in our knowledge. 2. Christ made them sensible of what great advantage it was to them that they had opportunity of acquainting themselves with the mystery and meaning of his word, which others had not:
Unto you it is given, Luke 8:10. Note, Those who would receive instruction from Christ must know and consider what a privilege it is to be instructed by him, what a distinguishing privilege to be led into the light, such a light, when others are left in darkness, such a darkness. Happy are we, and for ever indebted to free grace, if the same thing that is a
parable to others, with which they are only
amused, is a
plain truth to us, by which we are
enlightened and
governed, and into the mould of which we are
delivered. Now from the parable itself, and the explication of it, observe,
(1.) The
heart of man is as
soil to the
seed of God's word; it is capable of receiving it, and bringing forth the fruits of it; but, unless that seed be sown in it, it will bring forth nothing valuable. Or care therefore must be to bring the
seed and the
soil together. To what purpose have we the
seed in the scripture, if it be not
sown? And to what purpose have we the soil in our own hearts, if it be not sown with that seed?
(2.) The
success of the
seeding is very much according to the nature and temper of the
soil, and as that is, or is not, disposed to receive the seed. The word of God
is to us, as
we are, a
savour of life unto life, or
of death unto death. (3.) The devil is a subtle and spiteful enemy, that makes it his business to hinder our profiting by the word of God. He takes the word out of the hearts of
careless hearers,
lest they should believe and be saved, Luke 8:12. This is added here to teach us, [1.] That we cannot be
saved unless we
believe. The word of the gospel will not be a saving word to us, unless it be mixed with faith. [2.] That therefore the devil does all he can to keep us from
believing, to make us not believe the word when we read and hear it; or, if we heed it for the present, to make us forget it again, and let it slip (
Hebre 2:1); or, if we remember it, to create prejudices in our minds against it, or
divert our minds from it to something else; and all is
lest we should believe and be saved, lest we should believe and
rejoice, while he believes and
trembles.
(4.) Where the word of God is heard
carelessly there is commonly a
contempt put upon it too. It is added here in the parable that the seed which fell by the way-side was
trodden down, Luke 8:5. They that wilfully shut their ears against the word do in effect trample it under their feet; they
despise the commandment of the Lord.
(5.) Those on whom the word makes
some impressions, but they are not
deep and
durable ones, will show their hypocrisy in a time of trial; as the seed sown upon the rock, where it gains no root,
Luke 8:13. These
for awhile believe a little while; their profession promises something, but in
time of temptation they fall away from their good beginnings. Whether the temptation arises from the smiles or the frowns, of the world, they are easily overcome by it.
(6.) The
pleasures of this life are as dangerous and mischievous thorns to choke the good seed of the word as any other. This is added here (
Luke 8:14), which was not in the other evangelists. Those that are
not entangled in the cares of this life, nor inveigled with the
deceitfulness of riches, but boast that they are dead to them, may yet be kept from heaven by an affected indolence, and the love of ease and pleasure. The delights of sense may ruin the soul, even lawful delights, indulged, and too much delighted in.
(7.) It is not enough that the fruit be brought forth, but it must be
brought to perfection, it must be fully ripened. If it be not, it is as if there was no fruit at all brought forth; for that which in Matthew and Mark is said to be
unfruitful is the same that here is said to
bring forth none to perfection. For
factum non dicitur quod non perseverat -
perseverance is necessary to the perfection of a work. (8.) The good ground, which brings forth
good fruit, is an
honest and
good heart, well disposed to receive instruction and commandment (
Luke 8:15); a heart free from sinful pollutions, and firmly fixed for God and duty, an upright heart, a tender heart, and a heart that
trembles at the word, is an honest and good heart, which, having heard the word,
understands it (so it is in Matthew),
receives it (so it is in Mark), and
keeps it (so it is here), as the soil not only
receives, but keeps, the seed; and the stomach not only receives, but keeps, the food or physic.
(9.) Where the word is well kept there is fruit brought forth
with patience. This also is added here. There must be both
bearing patience and
waiting patience; patience to suffer the
tribulation and
persecution which may
arise because of the word; patience to continue to the end in well-doing.
(10.) In consideration of all this, we ought to take
heed how we hear (
Luke 8:18); take heed of those things that will hinder our profiting by the word we hear, watch over our hearts in hearing, and take heed lest they betray us; take heed
lest we hear carelessly and slightly, lest, upon any account, we entertain prejudice against the word we hear; and take heed to the frame of our spirits after we have heard the word, lest we lose what we have gained.
II. Needful instructions given to those that are appointed to preach the word, and to those also that have heard it. 1. Those that have
received the gift must
minister the same. Ministers that have the dispensing of the gospel committed to them, people that have profited by the word and are thereby qualified to profit others, must look upon themselves as
lighted candles: ministers must in solemn authoritative preaching, and people in brotherly familiar discourse, diffuse their light, for a
candle must not be
covered with a vessel nor
put under a bed, Luke 8:16. Ministers and Christians are to be lights in the world,
holding forth the word of life. Their light must shine before men; they must not only
be good, but
do good. 2. We must expect that what is now done
in secret, and from unseen springs, will shortly be
manifested and
made known, Luke 8:17. What is committed to you
in secret should be made manifest
by you; for your Master did not give you talents to be buried, but to be traded with. Let that which is now hid be
made known; for, if it be not manifested
by you, it will be manifested
against you, will be produced in evidence of your treachery. 3. The gifts we have will either be continued to us, or taken from us, according as we do, or do not, make use of them for the glory of God and the edification of our brethren:
Whosoever hath, to him shall be given, Luke 8:18. He that hath gifts, and does good with them, shall have more; he that
buries his talent shall lose it. From him that hath not shall be taken away even
that which he hath, so it is in Mark; that which he
seemeth to have, so it is in Luke. Note, The grace that is lost was but
seeming grace, was never
true. Men do but
seem to have what they do not
use, and shows of religion will be lost and forfeited. They
went out from us, because they were not of us, 1John 2:19. Let us see to it that we have grace in sincerity, the
root of the matter found in us; that is a good part which shall never be taken away from those that have it.
III. Great encouragement given to those that prove themselves faithful
hearers of the word, by being
doers of the work, in a particular instance of Christ's respect to his disciples, in preferring them even before his nearest relations (
Luke 8:19-
Luke 8:21), which passage of story we had twice before. Observe, 1. What crowding there was after Christ. There was no coming near for the throng of people that attended him, who, though they were crowded very so much, would not be crowded out from his congregation. 2. Some of his nearest kindred were least solicitous to hear him preach. Instead of getting
within, as they might easily have done if they had come in time, desiring to
hear him, they stood
without, desiring to
see him; and, probably, out of a foolish fear, lest he should spend himself with too much speaking, designing nothing but to interrupt him, and oblige him to break off. 3. Jesus Christ would rather be busy at his work than conversing with his friends. He would not leave his preaching, to speak with his
mother and his
brethren, for it was his
meat and drink to be so employed. 4. Christ is pleased to own those as his nearest and dearest relations that
hear the word of God and do it; they are to him more than
his mother and
brethren. 22 We have here two illustrious proofs of the power of our Lord Jesus which we had before - his power over the
winds, and his power over the
devils. See Mk. 4 and 5.
I. His power over the winds, those
powers of the air that are so much a terror to men, especially upon sea, and occasion the death of such multitudes. Observe,
1. Christ ordered his disciples to put to sea, that he might show his glory upon the water, in stilling the waves, and might do an act of kindness to a poor possessed man on the other side the water:
He went into a ship with his disciples, Luke 8:22. They that observe Christ's orders may assure themselves of his presence. If Christ sends his disciples, he goes
with them. And those may safely and boldly venture any where that have Christ accompanying them.
He said, Let us go over unto the other side; for he had a piece of good work to do there. He might have gone by land, a little way about; but he chose to go by
water, that he might show his
wonders in the deep. 2. Those that put to sea in a calm, yea, and at Christ's word, must yet
prepare for a storm, and for the utmost peril in that storm; There
came down a storm of wind on the lake (
Luke 8:23), as if it were there, and no where else; and presently their ship was so tossed that it was filled with water, and they were in jeopardy of their lives. Perhaps the devil, who is the
prince of the power of the air, and who
raiseth winds by the permission of God, had some suspicion, from some words which Christ might let fall, that he was coming over the lake now on purpose to cast that legion of devils out of the poor man on the other side, and therefore poured this storm upon the ship he was in, designing, if possible, to have sunk him and prevented that victory.
3. Christ was
asleep in the storm,
Luke 8:23. Some bodily refreshment he must have, and he chose to take it when it would be least a hindrance to him in his work. The disciples of Christ may really have his gracious presence with them at sea, and in a storm, and yet he may seem as if he were
asleep; he may not immediately appear for their relief, no, not when things seem to be brought even to the last extremity. Thus he will try their faith and patience, and quicken them by prayer to awake, and make their deliverance the more welcome when it comes at last.
4. A complaint to Christ of our danger, and the distress his church is in, is enough to engage him to awake, and appear for us,
Luke 8:24. They cried,
Master, master, we perish! The way to have our fears silenced is to bring them to Christ, and lay them before him. Those that in sincerity call Christ
Master, and with faith and fervency call upon him as
their Master, may be sure that he will not let them
perish. There is no relief for poor souls that are under a sense of guilt, and a fear of wrath, like this, to go to Christ, and call him
Master, and say, I am
undone, if thou do not
help me. 5. Christ's business is to
lay storms, as it is Satan's business to
raise them. He can do it; he has done it; he delights to do it: for he came to
proclaim peace on earth. He
rebuked the wind and the raging of the water, and immediately
they ceased (
Luke 8:24); not, as at other times, by degrees, but all of a sudden,
there was a great calm. Thus Christ showed that, though the devil pretends to be the prince of the power of the air, yet even there he has him in a chain.
6. When our dangers are over, it becomes us to take to ourselves the shame of our own fears and to give to Christ the glory of his power. When Christ had turned the
storm into a
calm, then were they glad because they were quiet, Pss 107:30. And then, (1.) Christ gives them a rebuke for their inordinate fear:
Where is your faith? Luke 8:25. Note, Many that have
true faith have it to seek when they have occasion to use it. They tremble, and are discouraged, if second causes frown upon them. A little thing disheartens them; and
where is their faith then? (2.) They give him the glory of his power:
They, being afraid, wondered. Those that had feared the storm, now that the danger was over with good reason feared him that had stilled it, and
said one to another, What manner of man is this! They might as well have said,
Who is a God like unto thee? For it is God's prerogative to
still the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, Pss 65:7.
II. His power over
the devil, the
prince of the power of the air. In the next passage of story he comes into a closer grapple with him than he did when he commanded
the winds. Presently after the winds were stilled they were brought to their desired haven, and
arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, and there went ashore (
Luke 8:26,
Luke 8:27); and he soon met with that which was his business over, and which he thought it worth his while to go through a storm to accomplish.
We may learn a great deal out of this story concerning this world of infernal, malignant spirits, which, though not working now ordinarily in the same way as here, yet we are all concerned at all times to stand upon our guard against.
1. These
malignant spirits are very
numerous. They that had taken possession of this one man called themselves
Legion (
Luke 8:30), because
many devils were entered into him: he had
had devils a long time, Luke 8:27. But perhaps those that had been long in possession of him, upon some foresight of our Saviour's coming to make an attack upon them, and finding they could not prevent it by the storm they had raised, sent for recruits, intending this to be
a decisive battle, and hoping now to be too hard for him that had cast out so many unclean spirits, and to give him a defeat. They either were, or at least would be thought to be, a
legion, formidable as an
army with banners; and now, at least, to be, what the
twentieth legion of the Roman army, which was long quartered at Chester, was styled,
legio victrix - a
victorious legion. 2. They have an
inveterate enmity to man, and all his conveniences and comforts. This man in whom the devils had got possession, and kept it long, being under their influence,
wore no clothes, neither abode in any house (
Luke 8:27), though
clothing and a
habitation are two of the necessary supports of this life. Nay, and because man has a natural dread of the habitations of the dead, they forced this man to
abide in the tombs, to make him so much the more a terror to himself and to all about him, so that his soul had as much cause as ever any man's had to be weary of his life, and to
choose strangling and death rather.
3. They are very
strong, fierce, and unruly, and hate and scorn to be restrained:
He was kept bound with chains and in fetters, that he might not be mischievous either to others or to himself, but he
broke the bands, Luke 8:29. Note, Those that are
ungovernable by any other thereby show that they are under Satan's government; and this is the language of those that are so, even concerning God and Christ, their best friends, that would not either bind them
from or bind them
to any thing but for their own good:
Let us break their bands in sunder. He was driven of the devil. Those that are under Christ's government are
sweetly led with the cords of a man and the bands of love; those that are under the devil's government are
furiously driven.
4. They are much enraged against our Lord Jesus, and have a great dread and horror of him:
When the man whom they had possession of, and who spoke as they would have him,
saw Jesus, he
roared out as one in an agony, and
fell down before him, to deprecate his wrath, and owned him to be
the Son of God most high, that was infinitely above him and too hard for him; but protested against having any league or confederacy with him (which might sufficiently have silenced the blasphemous cavils of the scribes and Pharisees):
What have I to do with thee? The devils have neither inclination to do service to Christ nor expectation to receive benefit by him:
What have we to do with thee? But they dreaded his power and wrath:
I beseech thee, torment me not. They do not say,
I beseech thee, save me, but only,
Torment me not. See whose language
they speak that have only a dread of hell as a place of torment, but no desire of heaven as a place of holiness and love.
5. They are perfectly
at the command, and under
the power, of our Lord Jesus; and they knew it, for they
besought him that he would not command them to go eis ton abusson -
into the deep, the place of their torment, which they acknowledge he could easily and justly do. O what a comfort is this to the Lord's people, that all the powers of darkness are under the check and control of the Lord Jesus! He has them all in a chain. He can send them to
their own place, when he pleaseth.
6. They delight in
doing mischief. When they found there was no remedy, but they must quit their hold of this poor man, they begged they might have leave to take possession of a
herd of swine, Luke 8:32. When the devil at first brought man into a miserable state he brought a curse likewise upon the whole creation, and that became subject to enmity. And here, as an instance of that extensive enmity of his, when he could not destroy the man, he would destroy the swine. If he could not hurt them in their bodies, he would hurt them in their goods, which sometimes prove a great temptation to men to draw them from Christ, as here. Christ
suffered them to enter into the swine, to convince the country what mischief the devil could do in it, if he should suffer him. No sooner had the devils leave than they entered into the
swine; and no sooner had they entered into them than the herd ran violently
down a steep place into the lake, and were
drowned. For it is a miracle of mercy if those whom Satan possesses are not brought to destruction and perdition. This, and other instances, show that that roaring lion and red dragon seeks
what and whom he may devour.
7. When the devil's power is broken in any soul that soul recovers itself, and returns into a right frame, which supposes that those whom Satan gets possession of are put out of the possession of themselves:
The man out of whom the devils were departed sat at the feet of Jesus, Luke 8:35. While he was under the devil's power he was ready to
fly in the face of Jesus; but now he
sits at his feet, which is a sign that he is come to his
right mind. If God has possession of us, he preserves to us the government and enjoyment of ourselves; but, if Satan has possession of us, he robs us of both. Let his power therefore in our souls be overturned, and let
him come whose right our hearts are, and let us give them to him; for we are never more our own than when we are his.
Let us now see what was the effect of this miracle of casting the legion of devils out of this man.
(1.) What effect it had upon the people of that country who had lost their swine by it:
The swineherds went and told it both
in city and country (
Luke 8:34), perhaps with a design to incense people against Christ. They told
by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed (
Luke 8:36), that it was by sending the devils into the swine, which was capable of an invidious representation, as if Christ could not have delivered the man out of their hands, but by delivering the swine into them.
The people came out, to see what was done, and to enquire into it; and
they were afraid (
Luke 8:35); they were
taken with great fear (
Luke 8:37); they were surprised and amazed at it, and knew not what to say to it. They thought more of the destruction of the swine than of the deliverance of their poor afflicted neighbour, and of the country from the terror of his frenzy, which was become a public nuisance; and therefore
the whole multitude besought Christ to depart from them for fear he should bring some other judgment upon them; whereas indeed none need to be afraid of Christ that are willing to forsake their sins and give up themselves to him. But Christ took them at their word:
He went up into the ship, and returned back again. Those lose their Saviour, and their hopes in him, that love their swine better.
(2.) What effect it had upon the poor man who had recovered himself by it. He
desired Christ's company as much as others
dreaded it: he besought Christ that
he might be with him as others were
that had been healed by him of evil spirits and infirmities (
Luke 8:2), that Christ might be to him a protector and teacher, and that he might be to Christ for a name and a praise. He was loth to stay among those rude and brutish Gadarenes that desired Christ to depart from them.
O gather not my soul with these sinners! But Christ would not take him along with him, but sent him home, to publish among those that knew him the great things God had done for him, that so he might be a blessing to his country, as he had been a burden to it. We must sometimes deny ourselves the satisfaction even of spiritual benefits and comforts, to gain an opportunity of being serviceable to the souls of others. Perhaps Christ knew that, when the resentment of the loss of their swine was a little over, they would be better disposed to consider the miracle, and therefore left the man among them to be a standing monument, and a monitor to them of it.
40 Christ was driven away by the
Gadarenes; they were weary of him, and willing to be rid of him. But when he had crossed the water, and returned to the
Galileans, they
gladly received him, wished and
waited for his return, and
welcomed him with all their hearts when he did return,
Luke 8:40. If some
will not accept the favours Christ offers them, others
will. If the Gadarenes be not gathered, yet there are many among whom
Christ shall be glorious. When Christ had done his work on the other side of the water he returned, and found work to do in the place whence he came, fresh work. They that will lay out themselves to do good shall never want occasion for it. The needy you have always with you.
We have here two miracles interwoven, as they were in Matthew and Mark - the raising of Jairus's daughter to life, and the cure of the woman that had an issue of blood, as he was going in a crowd to Jairus's house. We have here,
I. A
public address made to Christ by
a ruler of the synagogue, whose name was
Jairus, on the behalf of a little daughter of his, that was very ill, and, in the apprehension of all about here,
lay a dying. This address was very humble and reverent. Jairus, though a
ruler, fell down at Jesus's feet, as owning him to be a ruler
above him. It was very importunate. He
besought him that he would
come into his house; not having the
faith, at least not having the
thought, of the centurion, who desired Christ only to
speak the healing
word at a distance. But Christ complied with his request;
he went along with him. Strong faith shall be applauded, and yet weak faith shall not be rejected. In the houses where sickness and death are, it is very desirable to have the presence of Christ. When Christ was going,
the people thronged him, some out of curiosity to see him, others out of an affection to him. Let us not complain of a crowd, and a throng, and a hurry, as long as we are in the way of our duty, and
doing good; but otherwise it is what every wise man will keep himself out of as much as he can.
II. Here is a
secret application made to Christ by a woman ill of a
bloody issue, which had been the consumption of her body and the consumption of her purse too; for
she had spent all her living upon physicians, and was never the better,
Luke 8:43. The nature of her disease was such that she did not care to make a public complaint of it (it was agreeable to the modesty of her sex to be very shy of speaking of it), and therefore she took this opportunity of coming to Christ
in a crowd; and the more people were present the more likely she thought it was that she should be
concealed. Her
faith was very
strong; for she doubted not but that by the
touch of the
hem of his garment she should derive from him healing virtue sufficient for her relief, looking upon him to be such a full fountain of mercies that she should
steal a cure and he not
miss it. Thus many a poor soul is
healed, and
helped, and
saved, by Christ, that is
lost in a crowd, and that nobody takes notice of. The woman found an immediate change for the better in herself, and that her disease was cured,
Luke 8:44. As believers have comfortable communion with Christ, so they have comfortable communications from him
incognito -
secretly, meat to eat that the
world knows not of, and
joy that a
stranger does not intermeddle with. III. Here is a
discovery of this secret cure, to the glory both of the physician and the patient.
1. Christ takes notice that there is a cure wrought:
Virtue is gone out of me, Luke 8:46. Those that have been healed by virtue derived from Christ must
own it, for he
knows it. He speaks of it here, not in a way of
complaint, as if he were hereby either
weakened or
wronged, but in a way of
complacency. It was his delight that
virtue was gone out of him to do any good, and he did not grudge it to the meanest; they were as welcome to it as to the light and heat of the sun. Nor had he the less virtue
in him for the going out of the virtue
from him for he is an
overflowing fountain.
2. The poor patient owns her case, and the benefit she had received:
When she saw that she was not hid, she came, and fell down before him, Luke 8:47. Note, The consideration of this, that we cannot be
hid from Christ, should engage us to
pour out
our hearts before him, and to show before him all our sin and all our trouble.
She came trembling, and yet
her faith saved her, Luke 8:48. Note, There may be
trembling where yet there is saving faith. She
declared before all the people for what cause she had touched him because she believed that a touch would cure her, and it did so. Christ's patients should communicate their experiences to one another.
3. The great physician confirms her cure, and sends her away with the comfort of it:
Be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole, Luke 8:48. Jacob got the blessing from Isaac clandestinely, and by a wile; but, when the fraud was discovered, Isaac ratified it designedly. It was obtained
surreptitiously and
under-hand, but it was secured and seconded
above-board. So was the cure here. He is
blessed, and he
shall be blessed; so here, She
is healed, and she
shall be healed.
IV. Here is an
encouragement to Jairus not to distrust the power of Christ,
though his daughter was now dead, and they that brought him the tidings advised him not to give
the Master any further trouble about her:
Fear not, saith Christ,
only believe. Note, Our
faith in Christ should be bold and daring, as well as our
zeal for him. They that are willing to do any thing for him may depend upon his doing great things for them, above what they are able to ask or think. When the patient is dead there is no room for prayer, or the use of means; but here, though the child is dead, yet
believe, and all shall be well.
Post mortem medicus -
to call in the physician after death, is an absurdity; but not
post mortem Christus -
to call in Christ after death. V. The
preparatives for the raising of her to life again. 1. The
choice Christ made of witnesses that should see the miracle wrought. A
crowd followed him, but perhaps they were rude and noisy; however, it was not fit to let such a multitude come into a gentleman's house, especially now that the family was all in sorrow;
therefore he sent them back, and not because he was afraid to let the miracle pass their scrutiny; for he raised Lazarus and the widow's son
publicly. He took none with him but Peter, and James, and John, that triumvirate of his disciples that he was most intimate with, designing these three, with the parents, to be the only spectators of the miracle, they being a competent number to attest the truth of it. 2. The
check he gave to the mourners.
They all wept, and bewailed her; for, it seems, she was a very agreeable hopeful child, and dear not only to the parents, but to all the neighbours. But Christ bid them
not weep; for she is not dead, but sleepeth. He means, as to her peculiar case, that she was not dead for good and all, but that she should now shortly be raised to life, so that it would be to her friends as if she had been but a few hours asleep. But it is applicable to all that die in the Lord; therefore we should not sorrow for them as those that have
no hope, because death is but a
sleep to them, not only as it is a
rest from all the
toils of the
days of time, but as there will be a
resurrection, a waking and rising again to all the
glories of the
days of eternity. This was a comfortable word which Christ said to these mourners, yet they wickedly ridiculed it, and
laughed him to scorn for it here was
a pearl cast before swine. They were ignorant of the scriptures of the Old Testament who bantered it as an absurd thing to call death a
sleep; yet
this good came out of
that evil that hereby the truth of the miracle was evinced; for they
knew that she was dead, they were certain of it, and therefore nothing less than a
divine power could restore her to life. We find not any answer that he made them; but he soon
explained himself, I hope to their conviction, so that they would never again laugh at any word of his. But he
put them all out, Luke 8:54. They were unworthy to be the witnesses of this work of wonder; they who in the midst of their mourning were so merrily disposed as to laugh at him for what he
said would, it may be, have found something to laugh at in what he
did, and therefore are justly shut out.
VI. Her return to life, after a
short visit to the
congregation of the dead: He took her by the hand (as we do by one that we would awake out of sleep, and help up), and he called, saying,
Maid, arise, Luke 8:55. Thus the
hand of Christ's grace goes along with the
calls of his word, to make them effectual. Here that is expressed which was only implied in the other evangelists, that
her spirit came again; her soul returned again to animate her body. This plainly proves that the soul exists and acts in a state of separation from the body, and therefore is immortal; that death does not extinguish this
candle of the Lord, but takes it out of a
dark lantern. It is not, as Grotius well observes, the
krasis or
temperament of the body, or anything that dies with it; but it is
anthupostaton ti -
something that subsists by itself, which, after death, is somewhere else than where the body is. Where the soul of this child was in this interval we are not told; it was in the hand of the
Father of spirits, to whom all souls at death return. When
her spirit came again she arose, and made it appear that she was alive by her motion, as she did also by her appetite; for Christ
commanded to give her meat. As babes newly born, so those that are newly raised, desire spiritual food, that they may grow
thereby. In the last verse, we need not wonder to find
her parents astonished; but if that implies that
they only were so, and not the other by-standers, who had laughed Christ to scorn, we may well wonder at their stupidity, which perhaps was the reason why Christ would not have it proclaimed, as well as to give an instance of his humility.