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The leper, representing Israel, their uncleanness removed.
The centurion's servant, representing the Gentiles, healed at a distance.
Peter's wife's mother. A woman; very little esteemed so far as spiritual
things were concerned.
The Old Testament quotations that follows these three miracles shows that the healing
of these diseases was part of the Lord's work as the suffering Messiah. He was
"acquainted with grief", for He hath "carried our sorrows" as well as borne our sins.
As in the case of the woman who touched the Lord, virtue went out of Him when He
thus bore the sickness of sin stricken Israel. This will sufficiently account for the Lord's
sound sleep in the ship. Mark's account is very full here. The Lord after a strenuous
period of service said to His disciples, "Let us pass over unto the other side. And when
they (not He) had sent the multitude away, they took Him even as He was in the ship".
Oh, wondrous weakness, oh, mighty condescension. "He saved others, Himself He could
not save."
No miracle did the Lord work throughout His course to spare Himself. Thus it was
that being wearied He was fast asleep on a pillow, while the storm began to swamp the
ship. The result of the stilling of the storm upon the disciples was to make them exclaim,
"What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him".
We do not feel it would be profitable to enter into a detailed discussion concerning
the question as to whether this miracle is different from that recorded in Mark 4: and
Luke 8: The only gospel narrative that claims to have set out the events "in order" is
that written by Luke. The other writers use what events serve their purpose without of
necessity pledging that the sequence is always historical. Such a statement, however, as
that this miracle of Matt. 8: was before the calling of the twelve: and that the other
was after that event is misleading. By the calling of the twelve in Matthew we can only
suppose Matt. 10: to be meant. Now Matt. 10: speaks of that time when the Lord called
unto Him His twelve disciples to give them power over unclean spirits, and sent them
forth to preach. This is exactly parallel with the record in Mark 6: 7-13 & Luke 9: 1-6,
and all three passages come after the miracle of the stilling of the tempest.
The references in Mark 3: 13-19 and Luke 6: 13-16 refer to a prior nomination,
and this is moreover suggested in Matt. 10: 2, "Now these are the names." Not that this
passage (Matt. 10:) is to be taken as the same as Mark 3: Matthew does not record the
parallel for this earlier call. Then again the storm is followed in Matt. 8: by the
healing of two possessed of demons. They cry, "What have we to do with Thee, Jesus,
thou Son of God? Art Thou come hither to torment us before the time?" Then follows
the remarkable request that they should be permitted to enter the herd of swine, which
rush into the sea and perish. The result was that the people besought Him to depart from
their coast. The same thing happens immediately after the miracle of the tempest in
Mark 4: Matthew calls the place, "the country of the Gergesenes", Mark "the country of
the Gadarenes", while Luke adds, "which was over against Galilee", but this is
explanation not contradiction. It seems more difficult to believe that on two separate