The Kingdom Movement

A Literary & Pastoral Study Guide to the Gospel of Matthew

The Inspiration of Matthew,

by Caravaggio

On the King's Errand

Devotional Reflections on Matthew's Gospel

Jesus’ Ten Words:  Mt.8:1 – 9:38

^8:3 Jesus stretched out his hand…

          After we read Jesus calling for the radical transformation of his disciples’ hearts (5:1 – 7:28), most of us are left with an uneasy feeling.  Does Jesus really expect us to do this?  Can we?  Is this way of life even possible?  Matthew has a unique way of showing us that Jesus is with us, sustaining us with his power:  Jesus’ ten miracles.

Just as God spoke ten words to bring Israel out of Egypt, so in Matthew 8:1 – 9:38, Jesus does ten miracles by his word to bring humanity out of sickness, demonic oppression, and death.  Here is the structure of this section:

Matthew begins this section with the phrase ‘stretched out his hand.’  That is a classic Jewish way of describing the power of God.  It referred to God delivering Israel out of Egypt.  Long ago, God said, ‘So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My miracles which I shall do in the midst of it; and after that [Pharaoh] will let you go’ (Ex.3:20; 7:5).  Psalm 136 recounts God’s love for Israel and says of the Exodus, ‘With a strong hand and an outstretched arm’ (Ps.136:12).  David generalizes this phrase:  ‘You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me’ (Ps.138:7).  Here we see the full character of God’s outstretched hand.  It is Jesus’ hand, reaching out to deliver a man from leprosy.  The phrase is a trigger, helping a Jewish reader think of God’s mighty Exodus deliverance through the ten plagues.

So when we read this little phrase, ‘Jesus stretched out his hand’ (Mt.8:3), we understand that phrase to be not just an act of kindness towards the leper, though it is at least that.  It is certainly not a throwaway gesture or comment.  It is also a significant literary marker calling for our attention.  Jesus is about to demonstrate power unlike anything we have ever seen, power that will rival and surpass what was demonstrated in the Exodus.  He is liberating people from disease, demons, and death.  These acts are outward pictures of Jesus liberating people from the even deeper problem of human sin, evil, and separation from God.  Jesus is restoring humanity to what God meant us to be.  The three lessons on discipleship woven into the ten miracles suggest that Jesus’ call for disciples to follow him should be understood as his way of healing us. 

Also, Matthew condenses his narration of these miracle stories to highlight Jesus’ word.  For example, in the demoniac story in Mark, Jesus engages in a longer process of exorcism through repeated questions and commands (Mk.5:8 – 9).  But in Matthew, Jesus says one word, ‘Begone!’ and expels the demons into the pigs.  Similarly, in both Mark and Luke, the hemorrhaging woman touches Jesus’ cloak and then tries to hide in the crowd.  But in Matthew, there is no touch; Jesus simply turns around and speaks, and heals her (Mt.9:22).  Hebrew biblical narrative and common sense allow a narrator to leave out information, but not to make up anything (Meir Sternberg, Poetics of Biblical Narrative).  Rest assured, Mark and Luke would heartily agree with Matthew’s emphasis:  Jesus heals by his word.

Furthermore, Matthew seems to group these miracles together in a way that is not strictly chronological.  Mark and Luke record these miracles as well, but spread them out in different places in Jesus’ ministry, and sometimes in a different order from Matthew.  I believe Matthew does this to highlight a parallel between Jesus’ ten miracles and other sequences of ten utterances from God.  Matthew is clearly aware that there is already a pre-existing pattern around the number ten concerning God’s activities in the history of Israel.  Here is that pattern:

In effect, Matthew’s parallel extends even before the Exodus and the Ten Commandments.  That is because those incidents from Exodus were already referring to Genesis.  God was making Israel into his new humanity, who lived in a garden land like the original humanity.  Ten utterances from God bring forth new life; they inaugurate a covenant; they set free and liberate; they order and declare.  They demonstrate God’s power to do all these things.  Thus, when we listen to Jesus’ teaching on our hearts, may we receive his word with the understanding that his word contains his power to change us.  Jesus brings forth new life in us; he sets free and liberates us from our sin; his word orders and declares a new spiritual reality.