Matthew 8:10

Matthew 8:10 is the tenth verse of the eighth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. This verse continues the miracle story of healing the centurion's servant, the second of a series of miracles in Matthew.

Matthew 8:10
← 8:9
8:11 →
Paolo Veronese's depiction of 'Jesus healing the servant of a Centurion'
BookGospel of Matthew
Christian Bible partNew Testament

Content

In the original Greek according to Westcott-Hort this verse is:

ακουσας δε ο ιησους εθαυμασεν και ειπεν τοις ακολουθουσιν αμην
λεγω υμιν παρ ουδενι τοσαυτην πιστιν εν τω ισραηλ ευρον

In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:

When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed,
Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

The New International Version translates the passage as:

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him,
"Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.

For a collection of other versions see BibleHub Matthew 8:9.

Analysis

A variation of this verse also Luke 7:9 with the same content but many stylistic differences the strengthen the message in Matthew.[1] His edits emphasizes one of Matthew's favourite themes, the unbelief of the Jews compared with the acceptance of Jesus by the Gentiles.

Jesus addresses his remarks to the crowd that has been following him since Matthew 8:1.[2] This is the only time in Matthew where Jesus is amazed by anything, and one of the very mentions of Jesus' emotions in Matthew.[3] The only other time in the gospels that Jesus is amazed is in Mark 6:6 where he is astonished by the unbelief of his hometown.[4]

Israel can either refer to the Jewish people or to the land of Israel.[3] No Kingdom of Israel existed in Jesus' time but it was still a common geographic reference. At this point in Matthew's narrative Jesus has not faced any rejection from the Jewish people. So far the story has been one of success in recruiting disciples and having great crowds come to hear his sermons. In Luke this verse appears after Jesus has encountered some rejection a fits better in that narrative.[5]

πιστιν, translated as faith, is an important concept in the miracle stories of Matthew. The word makes its first of many appearances in Matthew in this verse. Throughout the Gospel miracles occur as a result of the strong faith in Jesus. When Jesus meets someone with great faith, even a Gentile, he will perform miraculous acts on their behalf.<ref name="Davies(Jr.)1988">

References
  1. Gundry, Robert H. Matthew a Commentary on his Literary and Theological Art. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982. pg 144
  2. Ulrich Luz (January 2001). Matthew: 8-20. Fortress Press. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-8006-6034-5.
  3. W. D. Davies; Dale C. Allison (Jr.) (1988). Matthew Vol 2. Clark. p. 24-25.
  4. Craig S. Keener (1999). A Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 268. ISBN 978-0-8028-3821-6.
  5. Francis Wright Beare (1981). The Gospel according to Matthew : translation, introduction and commentary. Harper & Row. p. 208.
Preceded by
Matthew 8:9		 Gospel of Matthew
Chapter 8		 Succeeded by
Matthew 8:11
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