Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 8:13
And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, [so] be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
He was healed in that self-same hour – This showed decisively the goodness and power of Jesus. No miracle could be more complete. There could be no imposition or deception.
This account, or one similar to this, is found in Luk 7:1-10. There has been a difference of opinion whether the account in Luke refers to the same case as that recorded in Matthew, or whether a second centurion, encouraged by the success of the first, applied to our Saviour in a similar case and manner, and obtained the same success. In support of the supposition that they are different narratives, it is said that they disagree so far that it is impossible to reconcile them, and that it is not improbable that a similar occurrence might take place, and be attended with similar results.
To a plain reader, however, the narratives appear to be the same. They agree in the character of the person, the place, and apparently the time; in the same substantial structure of the account; in the expression of similar feelings, the same answers, and the same result. It is very difficult to believe that all these circumstances would coincide in two different stories.
They differ, however. Matthew says that the centurion came himself. Luke says that he at first sent elders of the Jews, and then his particular friends. He also adds that he was friendly to the Jews, and had built them a synagogue. An infidel will ask whether there is not here a palpable contradiction. In explanation of this, let it be remarked:
1. That the fact that the centurion came himself, supposing that to have been the fact, is no evidence that others did not come also. It was in the city. The centurion was a great favorite, and had conferred on the Jews many favors, and they would be anxious that the favor which he desired of Jesus should be granted. At his suggestion, or of their own accord, his Jewish friends might apply to Jesus, and press the subject upon him, and be anxious to represent the case as favorably as possible. All this was probably done, as it would be in any other city, in considerable haste and apparent confusion; and one observer might fix his attention strongly on one circumstance, and another on another. It is not at all improbable that the same representation and request might have been made both by the centurion and his friends. Matthew might have fixed his eye very strongly on the fact that the centurion came himself, and been particularly struck with his deportment; and Luke on the remarkable zeal shown by the friends of a pagan, the interest they took in his welfare, and the circumstance that he had done much for them. Full of these interesting circumstances, he might comparatively have overlooked the centurion himself. But,
2. It was a maxim among the Jews, as it is now in law, that what a man does by another, he does himself. So, in Mar 10:35, James and John are represented as coming to the Saviour with a request: in Mat 20:20, it appears that they presented their request through their mother. In Joh 4:1, Jesus is said to baptize, when, in fact, he did not do it himself, but by his disciples. In Joh 19:1, Pilate is said to have scourged Jesus; but he certainly did not do it with his own hands. In the case of the centurion, Matthew narrates what occurred very briefly; Luke goes more into detail, and states more of the circumstances. Matthew was intent on the great leading facts of the cure. He was studious of brevity. He did not choose to explain the particular circumstances. He says that the centurion made the application and received the answer. He does not say whether by himself or by an agent. Luke explains particularly how it was done. There is no more contradiction, therefore, than there would be if it should be said of a man in a court of law that he came and made application for a new trial, when the application was really made by his lawyer. Two men, narrating the fact, might exhibit the same variety that Matthew and Luke have done, and both be true. It should never be forgotten that the sacred narrative of an event is what it is stated to be by all the sacred writers; as the testimony in a court in which a case is decided is what is stated by all the credible witnesses, though one may have stated one circumstance and another another.
One thing is most clearly shown by this narrative: that this account was not invented by the evangelists for the sake of imposition. If it had been, they would have agreed in all the circumstances.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 13. As thou hast believed; so be it done] Let the mercy thou requestest be equal to the faith thou hast brought to receive it by. ACCORDING to thy faith be it done unto thee, is a general measure of God’s dealings with mankind. To get an increase of faith is to get an increase of every grace which constitutes the mind that was in Jesus, and prepares fully for the enjoyment of the kingdom of God. God is the same in the present time which he was in ancient days; and miracles of healing may be wrought on our own bodies and souls, and on those of others, by the instrumentality of our faith. But, alas! where is faith to be found!
And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.] , in that very hour. Faith is never exercised in the power and goodness of God till it is needed; and, when it is exercised, God works the miracle of healing. Christ never says, Believe now for a salvation which thou now needest, and I will give it to thee in some future time. That salvation which is expected through works or sufferings must of necessity be future, as there must be time to work or suffer in; but the salvation which is by faith must be for the present moment, for this simple reason, IT IS BY FAITH, that God may be manifested and honoured; and not by works or by sufferings, lest any man should boast. To say that, though it is of faith, yet it may; and, must in many cases, be delayed, (though the person is coming in the most genuine humility, deepest contrition, and with the liveliest faith in the blood of the Lamb,) is to say that there is still something necessary to be done, either on the part of the person, or on the part of God, in order to procure it; neither of which positions has any truth in it.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Luke saith, And they that were sent, returning to the
house, found the servant whole that had been sick, Luk 7:10; so as it seemeth that what Christ said unto the centurion, must be interpreted, to those whom the centurion sent in his name. Go your way, your business is done, the centurions faith hath obtained, it shall be done to him as he hath believed; where believing must signify, a certain persuasion of the power of Christ, with a relying on this mercy and goodness. The proximate object of faith is some word of God. How far this centurion was acquainted with the oracles of the Old Testament (though he lived amongst the Jews, and, as appears by his building a synagogue for them, Luk 7:5, had a kindness for their religion) I cannot tell. It is most probable that he had some immediate revelation of God concerning Christ, which he is here said to have believed, and to have had a full persuasion of and trusted in. All revelations of God are the object of faith, though the Scriptures, being now written, are to us that have them the tests and touchstones to try such impressions by.
As thou believest, not because thou believest. Our faith is not meritorious of the least mercies, built is an exercise of grace which gives glory to God, and receiveth the reward not of debt but of grace. The miracle appeared in that the disease was of an incurable nature, and the cure was wrought without application of means, and in such a moment of time as means, though used, could not have wrought it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And Jesus said unto the centurion,…. Christ having finished the digression, returns an answer to the centurion, agreeably to his desire, saying to him,
go thy way; not as displeased with him, but as granting his request: for it follows,
and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. As he had faith to believe, that Christ could cure his servant by a word speaking, it was done accordingly. Christ by his almighty “fiat” said, let him be healed, and he was healed: just as God in the creation said, “let there be light, and there was light”. He does not say according to thy prayer, or according to thy righteousness, and goodness, but according to thy faith: and it is further to be observed, that this cure was wrought, not so much for the sake of the servant, as his master; and therefore Christ says, “be it done unto thee”; let him be healed for thy sake, and restored unto thee, to thy use, profit, and advantage.
And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour, at the very exact time, even in that moment. Some copies add, “and when the centurion returned to his house, in the selfsame hour he found his servant healed”; which the Ethiopic version has, and it agrees with Lu 7:10.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Was healed [] . Note that the stronger word of the centurion (ver. 8) is used here. Where Christ tends, he heals.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way;” (kai eipen ho lesous to hekatontarche hupage) “And Jesus said to the centurion, Go,” to illustrate the faith you have expressed, Mat 8:8. Go home without me and my disciples; this was spoken by our Lord in deep emotion.
2) “And as thou hast believed,” (hos episteusas) “As you now believe,” your blessing shall be as wide as the faith you expressed, that I could but speak the word and the ravage of paralysis would leave your son-servant of your aged years, Mat 8:8-9.
3) “So be it done unto thee.” (genetheto soi) “Let it be (come to be, occur) to you,” Mat 9:22; Mat 9:27-30; See similar expression of blessings and salvation granted, as recounted Luk 7:50; Luk 8:48-50. His cure was as thorough as his faith.
4) “And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.” (kai iathe ho pais en te hora ekene) “And the young boy was healed (of his paralysis) in that same hour.” See also Luk 7:10. The faith of this Gentile centurion foreshadowed the bringing in of the Gentiles, also later expressed by a Roman centurion and his family, Act 10:1-48.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
13. Go away, and as thou believest, so may it be to thee Hence it is evident how graciously Christ pours out his grace, when he finds the vessel of faith open. Though he addresses these words to the centurion, there can be no doubt that, in his person, he invites us all to strong hope. Hence we are also taught the reason why God is, for the most part, so limited in his communications to us: it is because our unbelief does not permit him to be liberal. If we open up the entrance to him by faith, he will listen to our wishes and prayers.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(13) As thou hast believed.The words were, of course, sent as a message. Better, As thou didst believereferring to his one great act of faith.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way. As you have believed, so be it done to you.” And the servant was healed in that hour.’
Notice the emphasis that Jesus places on the centurion’s believing. Faith triumphed as it always must when it is faith in the trustworthiness of God to His promises, and faith in His mercy. But he still had to go back believing in Jesus and what He had promised. And he was rewarded in accordance with what he was expecting. ‘In that hour’ simply signifies, ‘around that time’.
We may note here that even the centurion had not garnered the full truth. For Jesus did not heal the servant by a word, He did it simply by a thought. His words were all addressed to the centurion. All that was needed for the actual healing was His will in that direction.
The Multiplicity of Healings.
This subsection now finishes off with a final example of healing, followed by an emphasis on the fact that Jesus has come to bear men’s suffering on Himself, with the result that men and women can be healed. Once again we see Jesus’ touch of power, followed by His word of power. Here is the One with complete authority. We have already noted the parallels with the leper. But this time there is a greater sense of Jesus’ more personal involvement. For here He is among His own. So He ‘sees’ the fever rather than just hearing of it (there is a different emphasis in Mark. Matthew is not disagreeing with that. But he wants to bring out Jesus’ personal concern). In this case it is He Who takes the initiative. And in return He receives personal service. Overall Matthew wants us to see the relationship as much closer because He is among His own (compare Mat 12:49).
Analysis.
a
b And he touched her hand, and the fever left her (Mat 8:15 a).
c And she arose, and ministered to him (Mat 8:15 b).
b And when evening was come, they brought to him many possessed with demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick (Mat 8:16).
a That it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, “Himself took our infirmities, and bore our diseases” (Mat 8:17).
Note that in ‘a’ Peter’s mother-in-law is sick with a fever, and in the parallel we are reminded that Jesus bore all such sicknesses. In ‘b’ He therefore touched her hand and the fever left her, and in the parallel He also healed a great many others. And centrally she, and she alone, rose up and served Him. Many experience the greatness of His power, but few are they who really go on to serve Him as they should.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The reward of faith:
v. 13. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way, and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour. As was the faith, so was the cure. The trust in the power of the word brought the word with power to heal. Christ speaks under great emotion, granting the boon to which the captain’s belief clung, bidding his messengers and himself go to witness the fulfillment of his prayer. In the self-same hour, at the identical time, the miracle was performed. Thus faith receives from Christ, to whom it clings, help, comfort, mercy, and every good thing.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mat 8:13. Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way This most evidently proves that the centurion was come out of his house, as we have observed on Mat 8:5. There is in these words of our Saviour a strong insinuation, thatthe centurion had conceived no higher an idea of his divine power than was just; As thou hast believed, so, &c. After these words many manuscripts read, And the centurion, returning to his house, found that his servant, &c. See Wetstein. This miracle, says Macknight, is generally supposed to have been the same with that related, Luk 7:1; Luk 7:50 yet they seem to have been different. For, 1. According to St. Matthew, it was the centurion’s son ( ) who was sick; whereas, according to Luke, it was his servant ( ). It is true, Luke once uses the Greek word , which signifies a son; a circumstance which has led many to confound the two miracles: yet there is little in it, as we are directed to explain that word by the name , servant, which he uses no less than three times. On theother hand, we are under no necessity to translate the original word in Matthew by servant, but upon the supposition that the miracles are the same. 2. Matthew’s centurion came in person, being to ask a favour for his son; whereas Luke’s centurion, considering with himself that he was to petition Jesus in behalf of a slave, first prevailed with the elders of the town to present his petition: afterwards, on second thoughts, he deputed some intimate friends to hinder Jesus from coming. The maxim indeed of the civilians, that he who causes another to do any thingmay be said to do it himself, is thought by many a sufficient reconciliation of this difference. But it is not so; for though the law establishes that maxim, to render the execution of justice effectual, it cannot well be allowed in history; the perfection of which lieth in the exactness of the narration. And therefore, seeing Matthew has expresslyaffirmed that the centurion came beseeching Jesus; that Jesus said to him, I will come, &c. that the centurion answered, I am not worthy, &c. and that Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way, and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee: to interpret these things as said to a man’s friends, would be extremely harsh, and contrary to all the rules of history. 3. There is not the smallest hint given in Matthew, that the centurion of whom he speaks was a proselyte. On the contrary, there is an insinuation that he was not, in the opposition that is stated between his faith and the faith of the Israelites; and in the declaration which our Lord was pleased to make on this occasion; viz. that many should come from the east and west, that is, from all countries, and sit down in the kingdom of God while the children of the kingdom, who looked on themselves as having the only natural right to it, should be excluded for ever. Whereas the centurion of whom St. Luke speaks was a lover of the Jewish nation, and had built them a synagogue, perhaps in Italy, or some other heathen country; and so was, in all probability, a proselyte of righteousness; for which cause the principal people of the town cheerfully undertook to solicit Jesus in his behalf. On the other hand, there are three similar circumstances attending these miracles, which have made the bulk of readers confound them. 1. They were both performed in the town of Capernaum, after Jesus had preached sermons which in substance are pretty much the same. To this I reply, that these sermons were different; the one in Matthew having been preached on a mountain; whereas that in Luke was delivered on a plain, Luk 17:2. Both the centurions dwelt in Capernaum. But this might easily happen; as in the space of twelve or fourteen months different companies of Roman soldiers in Herod’s pay, with their officers, may have been stationed there: or there may have been two centurions in Capernaum at the same time, whose soldiers might be quartered in the town and the neighbouring villages. 3. Both centurions made the same speech to Jesus, the one in person, the other by his friends; Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come, &c. But this circumstance may be accounted for in the following manner: As the faith of the first centurion, who was a heathen, took its rise from the extraordinary cure which Jesus had performed on the nobleman’s son, the address of the second might take its rise from the success of the first; which could not miss of being well known both in the town and country. Much encouraged, therefore, by that instance of Christ’s goodness, the second centurion might expect something on behalf of his slave, especially as he was himself not a heathen by religion, but a proselyte to Moses, and a lover of the Jews, and had built them a synagogue: besides, he had engaged the elders of the city to present his petition. However, when the elders were gone, recollecting his brother centurion’s speech, that had been so favourably received, he bethought himself of sending some friends, with the same speech improved by this farther circumstance of humility, that he did not think himself worthy so much as to come into Christ’s presence. See Luk 7:6-7. This being an eminent instance of faith and humility, Jesus would not let it pass without due approbation. He honoured it with the same high encomium which he had passed on the like faith and humility in the other centurion: only, as this was not a heathen by religion, he did not, as formerly, set his faith and the reward of it in opposition to the faith of the Jews. This opposition he stated afterwards, when one asked him, Are there few to be saved? Luk 13:28. To conclude: that two centurions should have had one his son, and the other his slave, cured in Capernaum, withlikecircumstances,isno more improbable, than that the temple should have been twice purged, the multitude twice fed, and the fishes twice caught by miracle, and with the same circumstances.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mat 8:13 . .] is emphatic. In the very hour in which Jesus was uttering these words, the slave became whole, and that through the divine power of Jesus operating upon him from a distance, as in Joh 4:46 ff. The narrative is to be explained neither by a desire to present an enlarging view of the miraculous power of Jesus (Strauss), nor as a parable (Weisse), nor as a historical picture of the way in which God’s word acts at a distance upon the Gentiles (Volkmar), nor as being the story of the woman of Canaan metamorphosed (Bruno Bauer); nor are we to construe the proceeding as the providential fulfilment of a general but sure promise given by Jesus (Ammon), or, in that case, to have recourse to the supposition that the healing was effected through sending an intermediate agent (Paulus). But if, as is alleged, Jesus in His reply only used an affirmation which was halfway between a benediction depending on God and the faith of the house, and a positive act (Keim), it is impossible to reconcile with such vagueness of meaning the simple imperative and the no less impartial statement of the result. Moreover, there exists as little a psychical contact between the sick man and Jesus, as at the healing of the daughter of the woman of Canaan, Mat 15:22 , but the slave was cured in consideration of the centurion’s faith.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
Ver. 13. And as thou hast believed, &c. ] Faith hath a happy hand; and never but speeds in one kind or other. It hath what it would, either in money or money’s worth. Apollonius, saith Sozomen, never asked anything of God in all his life, that he obtained not. This man, saith one concerning Luther, could have from God whatsoever he wished.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
13. ] Of what precise disease does not appear. In Luke here he is , . But though these descriptions do not agree with the character of palsy among us, we read of a similar case in 1Ma 9:55-56 ; , , , . . The disease in the text may have been an attack of tetanus, which the ancient physicians included under paralysis, and which is more common in hot countries than with us. It could hardly have been apoplexy, which usually bereaves of sensation.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 8:13 . , etc.: compressed impassioned utterance, spoken under emotion = Go, as thou hast believed be it to thee; cure as thorough as thy faith. The before in T. R. is the addition of prosaic scribes. Men speaking under emotion discard expletives.
Weizscker ( Untersuchungen ber die Evang. Gesch. , p. 50) remarks on the felicitous juxtaposition of these two narratives relatively to one another and to the Sermon on Mount. “In the first Jesus has to do with a Jew, and demands of him observance of the law. In this respect the second serves as a companion piece, the subject of healing being a heathen, giving occasion for a word as to the position of heathens. The two combined are happily appended to a discourse in which Jesus states His attitude to the law, forming as complements of each other a commentary on the statement.”
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
hast believed = didst believe.
selfsame = that.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
13. ] Of what precise disease does not appear. In Luke -here he is , . But though these descriptions do not agree with the character of palsy among us, we read of a similar case in 1Ma 9:55-56; , , , . . The disease in the text may have been an attack of tetanus, which the ancient physicians included under paralysis, and which is more common in hot countries than with us. It could hardly have been apoplexy, which usually bereaves of sensation.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 8:13. , as thou hast believed) A bountiful concession.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Go: Mat 8:4, Ecc 9:7, Mar 7:29, Joh 4:50
and as: Mat 9:29, Mat 9:30, Mat 15:28, Mat 17:20, Mar 9:23
And his: Joh 4:52, Joh 4:53
Reciprocal: Psa 147:15 – sendeth Mat 4:24 – those that Luk 7:10 – General Luk 8:48 – thy
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
FAITH AND ITS POWER
As thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.
Mat 8:13
In some respects this centurion is one of the most interesting figures in the Gospel-history.
I. The characteristics of his faith.It was:
(a) Of gradual growth. He must somehow have been led to see that, however superior the Romans were to their Jewish subjects in all the qualities that build up empires and promote material success, the Jews were in possession of a higher truth than any known to their conquerors. Before the centurion made up his mind to apply to our Lord, he must have satisfied himself that he was making application to a superhuman person.
(b) Marked by thoroughness. There were no flaws running through it. The power of our Lord over disease was just as real to him as his own authority as an officer in the Roman army. It was a vigour and a degree of faith most remarkable in a man of heathen antecedents.
(c) Marked by humility. True faith is not insensible to the tenderness of God, but it is always alive to His awful majesty.
II. The power of faith. Here are some reasons of the power of religious faith:
(a) It involves knowledge. Faith is a telescope which discovers to the beholder a world of facts not visible to the naked eye.
(b) It is a test of the disposition of the soul. Nothing blinds the spiritual eye so surely as a scornful temper. The habit of insincerity, too, is fatal to faith.
(c) It sets the soul in motion. It embodies the element of will.
III. Faith does not create, it only apprehends its object.Divine facts are wholly independent of our consciousness. They are objective, though they must be most assuredly apprehended by our consciousness if they are to be blessings to us.
IV. As thou hast believed.These words are true to-day of (a) Nations; (b) Churches; (c) Souls.
Canon Liddon.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
8:13
Having concluded his speech to the hardened Jews, Jesus gave his final attention to the centurion by promising him the favor he requested. As thou host believed means that the centurion would receive the favor he believed he would, namely, the healing of his servant at once by the simple word of Christ. -Hence the statement that the servant was healed in the selfsame hour is given in direct connection.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 8:13. As thou hast believed, etc. The faith of the master resulted in the healing of the servant.
In that hour, at once, at the moment. The same kind of faith was exercised by the Syro-Phenician woman; also a heathen (Mat 15:21-28). The three believing centurions of the N. T: this one, the one by the cross, and Cornelius.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Other similar words of Jesus help us understand what He meant when He said that He would do for the centurion "as" (Gr. hos) he had believed (cf. Mat 15:28). Jesus did not grant his request because the centurion had faith or in proportion to his faith. He did so in harmony with what the centurion expected. Jesus did for him what he expected Jesus would do for him.
"It is . . . interesting to observe that the Gentile follows the Jew in the sequence of healing events. This is in accord with Matthew’s plan of presenting Jesus first as Son of David and then as Son of Abraham." [Note: Toussaint, Behold the . . ., p. 124.]
This healing marked Jesus as the Messiah who was under God’s authority.
The healing of Peter’s mother-in-law 8:14-15 (cf. Mar 1:29-31; Luk 4:38-39)
Peter and his family were evidently living in Capernaum when Jesus performed this miracle (Mat 4:13). People considered fever a disease in Jesus’ day rather than a symptom of a disease (cf. Joh 4:52; Act 28:8).
"The Talmud gives this disease precisely the same name (Eshatha Tsemirta), ’burning fever,’ and prescribes for it a magical remedy, of which the principal part is to tie a knife wholly of iron by a braid of hair to a thornbush, and to repeat on successive days Exod. iii. 2, 3, then Mat 8:4, and finally Mat 8:5, after which the bush is to be cut down, while a certain magical formula is pronounced. (Tractate Shabbath 37 a)" [Note: Edersheim, The Life . . ., 1:486.]
Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law with a touch. His touch did not defile the healer, but it healed the defiled (cf. Mat 8:3). Matthew consistently stressed Jesus’ authority in this brief pericope. He probably mentioned the fact that when Jesus healed the woman she immediately began to serve Him to illustrate the instantaneous effectiveness of Jesus power (cf. Mat 8:26). Usually a fever leaves the body weak, but Jesus overcame that here. [Note: Barbieri, p. 37.]
"Some see great significance in Matthew’s deliberate rearrangement of these miracles. Since Matthew did not follow the chronological order, it seems he intended to illustrate the plan of his Gospel. Accordingly, the first miracle shows Christ ministering to the Jews. His mighty works bore testimony to His person, but His testimony was rejected. Consequently, He turns to the Gentiles, who manifest great faith in Him. Later, He returns to the Jews, represented by the mother-in-law of the apostle to the Jews. He heals her and all who come to Him. This third picture is that of the millennium, when the King restores Israel and blesses all the nations." [Note: Toussaint, Behold the . . ., p. 125.]
This miracle shows Jesus’ power to heal people fully, instantaneously, and completely. It also previews His compassion since the object of His grace was a woman. The Pharisees considered lepers, Gentiles, and women as outcasts, but Jesus showed mercy to them all. By healing a leper who was a social outcast, a Gentile, and finally a woman, Jesus was extending His grace to people the Jews either excluded or ignored as unimportant. Jewish narrowness did not bind Jesus any more than disease and uncleanness contaminated Him. [Note: Walvoord, Matthew: . . ., p. 65.]
"He began with the unfit persons for whom there was no provision in the economy of the nation." [Note: Morgan, p. 82.]