Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 8:1

"And when he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him." — Matthew 8:1 (ASV)

Here we begin a series of events which, in St. Matthew's arrangement, follow the great discourse. These events are also found in St. Mark and St. Luke but, as the following table shows, are not narrated in the same order.

ST. MATTHEW	ST. MARK	ST. LUKE
(1.) The leper (Matthew 8:1–4)	(1.) Peter's wife's mother (Mark 1:29–31)	(1.) Peter's wife's mother (Luke 4:38–39)
(2.) The servant of the centurion (Matthew 8:5–13)	(2.) The leper (Mark 1:40–45)	(2.) The leper (Luke 5:12–15)
(3.) Peter's wife's mother (Matthew 8:14–15)	(3.) The stilling of the storm (Mark 4:35–41)	(3.) The servant of the centurion (Luke 7:1–10)
(4.) The excuses of two disciples (Matthew 8:18–22)	(4.) The Gadarene demoniac (Mark 5:1–20)	(4.) The stilling of the storm (Luke 8:22–25)
(5.) The stilling of the storm (Matthew 8:23–27)	—	(5.) The Gadarene demoniac (Luke 8:26–39)
(6.) The Gadarene demoniacs (Matthew 8:28–33)	—	(6.) The excuses of two disciples (Luke 9:57–62)

A comparison like this—especially considering the narratives in Mark and Luke that come between those Matthew places in close succession, and the apparent notes of sequence in each case—is enough to show, once and for all, the difficulty of harmonizing the Gospel narratives with any certainty.

Three conclusions can be accepted as nearly certain:

1. The independence of each record. It is scarcely conceivable that St. Mark or St. Luke would have departed so widely from St. Matthew’s order if they had his Gospel before them.
2. The derivation of all three from earlier records, written or oral, each embracing a few of our Lord's acts or discourses.
3. The absence of any direct evidence about the order of these events, which left each writer to his own discretion or to some internal principle of grouping.

Therefore, in dealing with such cases, while the parallel narratives in the other Gospels will be noted to the extent that they make this record more vivid and complete, there will seldom be any attempt to elaborately discuss the order in which they stand.