Matthew 8:22-34

8:22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” ¹ 

Stilling of a Storm

8:23 As he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. ²  8:24 And a great storm developed on the sea so that the waves began to swamp the boat. But he was asleep. 8:25 So they came ³  and woke him up saying, “Lord, save us! We are about to die!” 8:26 But ⁴  he said to them, “Why are you cowardly, you people of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked ⁵  the winds and the sea, ⁶  and it was dead calm. 8:27 And the men ⁷  were amazed and said, ⁸  “What sort of person is this? Even the winds and the sea obey him!” ⁹ 

Healing the Gadarene Demoniacs

8:28 When he came to the other side, to the region of the Gadarenes, ¹⁰  two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were extremely violent, so that no one was able to pass by that way. 8:29 They ¹¹  cried out, “Son of God, leave us alone! ¹²  Have you come here to torment us before the time?” ¹³  8:30 A ¹⁴  large herd of pigs was feeding some distance from them. 8:31 Then the demons begged him, ¹⁵  “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” 8:32 And he said, ¹⁶  “Go!” So ¹⁷  they came out and went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep slope into the lake and drowned in the water. 8:33 The ¹⁸  herdsmen ran off, went into the town, ¹⁹  and told everything that had happened to the demon-possessed men. 8:34 Then ²⁰  the entire town ²¹  came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

[8:22]  ¹ sn There are several options for the meaning of Jesus’ reply Leave the dead to bury their own dead: (1) Recent research suggests that burial customs in the vicinity of Jerusalem from about 20 b.c. to a.d. 70 involved a reinterment of the bones a year after the initial burial, once the flesh had rotted away. At that point the son would have placed his father’s bones in a special box known as an ossuary to be set into the wall of the tomb. Thus Jesus could well be rebuking the man for wanting to wait around for as much as a year before making a commitment to follow him. In 1st century Jewish culture, to have followed Jesus rather than burying one’s father would have seriously dishonored one’s father (cf. Tobit 4:3-4). (2) The remark is an idiom (possibly a proverbial saying) that means, “The matter in question is not the real issue,” in which case Jesus was making a wordplay on the wording of the man’s (literal) request (see L&N 33.137). (3) This remark could be a figurative reference to various kinds of people, meaning, “Let the spiritually dead bury the dead.” (4) It could also be literal and designed to shock the hearer by the surprise of the contrast. Whichever option is preferred, it is clear that the most important priority is to follow Jesus.

[8:23]  ² sn A boat that held all the disciples would be of significant size.

[8:25]  ³ tn The participle προσελθόντες (proselqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[8:26]  ⁴ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[8:26]  ⁵ tn Or “commanded” (often with the implication of a threat, L&N 33.331).

[8:26]  ⁶ sn Who has authority over the seas and winds is discussed in the OT: Ps 104:3; 135:7; 107:23-30. When Jesus rebuked the winds and the sea he was making a statement about who he was.

[8:27]  ⁷ tn It is difficult to know whether ἄνθρωποι (anqrwpoi) should be translated as “men” or “people” (in a generic sense) here. At issue is whether (1) only the Twelve were with Jesus in the boat, as opposed to other disciples (cf. v. 23), and (2) whether any of those other disciples would have been women. The issue is complicated further by the parallel in Mark (4:35-41), where the author writes (4:36) that other boats accompanied them on this journey.

[8:27]  ⁸ tn Grk “the men were amazed, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) has been translated as a finite verb to make the sequence of events clear in English.

[8:27]  ⁹ sn Jesus’ authority over creation raised a question for the disciples about his identity (What sort of person is this?). This verse shows that the disciples followed Jesus even though they did not know all about him yet.

[8:28]  ¹⁰ tc The textual tradition here is quite complicated. A number of mss (B C [Δ] Θ al sy^s,p,h) read “Gadarenes,” which is the better reading here. Many other mss (א² L W Ë^1,13 Ï [sy^hmg] bo) have “Gergesenes.” Others (892^c latt sy^hmg sa mae) have “Gerasenes,” which is the reading followed in Luke 8:26. The difference between Matthew and Luke may be due to uses of variant regional terms.

[8:29]  ¹¹ tn Grk “And behold, they cried out, saying.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1). The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated.

[8:29]  ¹² tn Grk “what to us and to you?” (an idiom). The phrase τί ἡμῖν καὶ σοί (ti Jhmin kai soi) is Semitic in origin, though it made its way into colloquial Greek (BDAG 275 s.v. ἐγώ). The equivalent Hebrew expression in the OT had two basic meanings: (1) When one person was unjustly bothering another, the injured party could say “What to me and to you?” meaning, “What have I done to you that you should do this to me?” (Judg 11:12, 2 Chr 35:21, 1 Kgs 17:18). (2) When someone was asked to get involved in a matter he felt was no business of his own, he could say to the one asking him, “What to me and to you?” meaning, “That is your business, how am I involved?” (2 Kgs 3:13, Hos 14:8). These nuances were apparently expanded in Greek, but the basic notions of defensive hostility (option 1) and indifference or disengagement (option 2) are still present. BDAG suggests the following as glosses for this expression: What have I to do with you? What have we in common? Leave me alone! Never mind! Hostility between Jesus and the demons is certainly to be understood in this context, hence the translation: “Leave us alone….”

[8:29]  ¹³ sn There was an appointed time in which demons would face their judgment, and they seem to have viewed Jesus’ arrival on the scene as an illegitimate change in God’s plan regarding the time when their sentence would be executed.

[8:30]  ¹⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[8:31]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[8:32]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “And he said to them.”

[8:32]  ¹⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate a conclusion and transition in the narrative.

[8:33]  ¹⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[8:33]  ¹⁹ tn Or “city.” But see the sn on “Gadarenes” in 8:28.

[8:34]  ²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[8:34]  ²¹ tn Or “city.”