Chapter 8:1-21 Four Thousand Fed

8:1 In those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples unto Him, and saith unto them,

Observe,
1. That our Lord Jesus was greatly followed; The multitude was very great.
2. Those that followed Him, underwent a great deal of difficulty in following Him;
3. As Christ has a compassion for all that are in wants and straits, so He has a special concern for those that are reduced to straits by their zeal and diligence in attending on Him.
4. The doubts of Christians are sometimes made to work for the magnifying of the power of Christ. The disciples could not imagine whence so many men should be satisfied with bread here in the wilderness.
5. The bounty of Christ is inexhaustible, and, to evidence that, Christ repeated this miracle, to show that He is still the same for the succor and supply of His people that attend upon Him.
6. In our Father's house, in our Master's house, there is bread enough, and to spare; there is a fulness in Christ.

8:2 I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with Me three days, and have nothing to eat:

Christ said, I have compassion on the multitude. Whom the proud Pharisees looked upon with disdain, the humble Jesus looked upon with pity and tenderness; and thus must we honor all men.

8:3 And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far.

For divers of them came from far - And they could not possibly reach their respective homes without perishing, unless they got food.

8:4 And His disciples answered Him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness?

from whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness? from what place, and by what ways and means can it be thought, that such a quantity of bread can be got at any rate in a desert, as to satisfy so large a number of hungry men?

8:5 And He asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven.

Christ is the great Master of the art of multiplication. However small is the stock with which we begin, we have only to dedicate it all to Him, and He will multiply and increase it until it will go far beyond our utmost expectations, and there will be more left after the feast is over than there was before it began.

8:6 And He commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and He took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to His disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people.

and they did set them before the people - in which they were obedient to their Lord's commands.

8:7 And they had a few small fishes: and He blessed, and commanded to set them also before them.

And they had a few small fishes - Which they also acquainted Christ with, and brought out unto him:

8:8 So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets.

So they did eat, and were filled - Christ and His disciples, and the whole multitude: they not only had some, but they had all enough, a full meal.

8:9 And they that had eaten were about four thousand: and He sent them away.

And they that had eaten were about four thousand - That is, men, besides women and children, as Matthew observes;

8:10 And straightway He entered into a ship with His disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha.

and came into the parts of Dalmanutha; which Matthew calls, "the coasts of Magdala".

8:11 And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with Him, seeking of Him a sign from heaven, tempting Him.

Tempting Him - That is, trying to ensnare Him

8:12 And He sighed deeply in His spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.

And He sighed deeply in His spirit - Or having deeply groaned - so the word αναστεναξας properly means. He was exceedingly affected at their hardness of heart.

8:13 And He left them, and entering into the ship again departed to the other side.

And He left them - As a perverse and hardened generation of men, and as such with whom it was not worth while to discourse:

8:14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf.

Now the disciples had, forgotten to take bread - Neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf; for thirteen passengers of them. 

8:15 And He charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.

Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod - or of the Sadducees; two opposite extremes.

8:16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread.

saying, it is because we have no bread - that he says these words; tacitly chiding and reproving us, for our want of thought and care.

8:17 And when Jesus knew it, He saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened?

perceive ye not yet, neither understand? - the meaning of the parabolical expressions.

8:18 Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?

Having eyes, see ye not? -  Meaning perhaps both the eyes of their bodies, and of their understandings: they had bodily eyes, and with them saw the miracles He wrought, and yet took little notice of them; and the eyes of their understandings were enlightened by Christ, and yet saw things but very darkly:
and having ears, hear ye not? - They had their natural hearing, and yet made but little use of it; and did not so diligently attend to the sound of Christ's words: and though they had spiritual ears given them to hear, yet were very dull of, understanding, and taking in things:
and do ye not remember? - the interpretation of parables formerly given, and the miracles of the loaves lately wrought.

8:19 When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto Him, Twelve.

how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? - do not you remember? have you forgot what was so lately done? surely you cannot:
they say unto Him, twelve - Their memories were hereby refreshed, and they call to mind the exact number of the baskets of fragments that were taken up.

8:20 And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven.

and they said, seven - for this, as yet, could not have slipped their memories;

8:21 And He said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?

O ye unbelieving children of God, what infinite patience your gracious God has with you, though you so often and so shamefully doubt Him!

Oh, shame upon us that we are such

 dull scholars in the school of Christ!

Chapter 7:24-37 The Syrophoenician Woman and Healing of the Deaf and Dumb

7:24 And from thence He arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but He could not be hid.
and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon; two cities of Phoenicia: not into them, but into the borders of them; into those parts of Galilee, which bordered on Phoenicia; and would have no man know it; took all proper precaution as man, that nobody should know who, and where he was; that the, Gentiles, on whose borders he was, might not flock to him, which would create envy and disgust in the Jews.

7:25 For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of Him, and came and fell at His feet:

She heard of Him, and came, and fell at His feet. 

Note, Those that would obtain mercy from Christ, must throw themselves at His feet; must humble themselves before Him, and give up themselves to be ruled by Him. 

Christ never put any from Him, that fell at His feet, which a poor trembling soul may do, that has not boldness and confidence to throw itself into His arms.

7:26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought Him that He would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.
The woman was a Greek - Or Gentile, an Heathen woman, which made her faith the more remarkable.

7:27 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.

Let the children first be filled: according to this method, our Lord directed His apostles, and they proceeded: as He Himself was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, He ordered His disciples to go to them, and preach the Gospel to them, and work miracles among them; and not go in the way of the Gentiles, nor into any of the cities of the Samaritans; but when they had gone through the cities of Judea, He ordered them, after His resurrection, to go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs: as by "the children" are meant the Israelites, who were not only the children of Abraham by natural descent, but the children of God, to whom pertained the adoption; so by "the dogs", are meant the Gentiles, who were reckoned as such by the Jews; and by the "bread", which it was not fit and proper should be taken from the one for the present, and cast to the other, is designed the ministry of the Gospel; which is as bread, solid, substantial, wholesome, and nourishing.

7:28 And she answered and said unto Him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs.

yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs; which they leave, or let fall: signifying that she did not envy the blessings of the Jews, or desire any thing might be done injurious to them; only that this favor might be granted her, which she owned she was unworthy of, that her daughter might be healed.

7:29 And He said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.

And He said unto her, for this saying - Or word of faith; in which she expressed such great faith in Him:

7:30 And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.

she found the devil gone out; of her daughter; that she was entirely dispossessed of him, and no more vexed and tormented with him, but in perfect ease, and at rest:
and her daughter laid upon the bed; without any violent motions, convulsions, and tossings to and fro, as before; but composed and still, taking some rest, having been for some time greatly fatigued with the possession.

7:31 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, He came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis.

Decapolis; of this place, It was a country which consisted of ten cities, from whence it had its name: now not through the middle of these cities, or of this country, as the Ethiopic version reads; but through the midst of the borders of it Christ passed, which lay in His way from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, to the sea of Galilee. 

The Syriac and Persic versions render the words, "unto the borders of Decapolis, or the ten cities"; and the Arabic version, "unto the middle of the coasts of the ten cities".

7:32 And they bring unto Him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put His hand upon Him.

And they bring unto Him one that was deaf - There were two sorts of persons that were called deaf among the Jews; 

*one that could neither hear nor speak; such were they who were born deaf; and so having never heard any thing, it was impossible they should ever speak: 

*the other sort were they that could speak, but not hear; who lost their hearing by some disaster or another, but retained their speech 

--of this sort seems to be this man, who though he had some difficulty in speaking, yet could speak a little, and had an impediment in his speech; or could "scarcely speak", as the word signifies.

7:33 And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers into his ears, and He spit, and touched his tongue;

(1.) He put his fingers into his ears, as if He would syringe them, and fetch out that which stopped them up. 

(2.) He spit upon His own finger, and then touched his tongue, as if he would moisten his mouth, and so loosen that with which his tongue was tied; 

---these were no causes that could in the least contribute to his cure, but only signs of the exerting of that power which Christ had in Himself to cure him.

The application was all from Himself, it was His own fingers that He put into his ears, and His own spittle that he put upon his tongue; for He alone heals.

7:34 And looking up to heaven, He sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.

He sighed; not as unequal to the work of healing the man, or as despairing of doing it; but as commiserating the case of the poor man, Ephphatha - - This was a word of SOVEREIGN AUTHORITY, not an address to God for power to heal: such an address was needless; for Christ had a perpetual fund of power residing in Himself, to work all miracles whenever He pleased, even to the raising the dead.

7:35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.

He spake plain - Ορθως, distinctly, without stammering.

7:36 And He charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it;

that they should tell no man; of the cure that was wrought, being not desirous of the applause of men; and knowing it would bring upon Him the envy of the Scribes and Pharisees; but the more He charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it; or "spake of Him", as the Ethiopic version reads it.

7:37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: He maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.

He hath done all things well; whereas there were those that hated and persecuted Him as an evil-doer, they are ready to witness for Him, not only that He has done no evil, but that He has done a great deal of good, without money and without price, which added much to the luster of His good works. He maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak; and that is well, it is well for them, it is well for their relations, to whom they had been a burthen; and therefore they are inexcusable who speak ill of Him.