And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Teacher, have mercy on us.
Read Chapter 17
Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
And they lifted up their voices. They cried out aloud, because they stood afar off. The voice was one and proceeded from all, "Jesus, Master," have mercy on us, and free us from this heavy and incurable disease. Master here does not so much mean teacher as Lord, one who directs his servants and tells them his wishes. The Greek is ε̉πίστατα, that is Præfect—Præses; one whose right it is to rule and command: for they do not ask Christ to teach them, and give them precepts of virtue, but to command the leprosy and cause it to depart from them. So the Hebrew, Rabbi, means not only master but also Lord, and Mighty, and One of the first rank. Moreover, S. Luke everywhere calls Christ ε̉πίστατα, as is seen Luke 5:5, Luke 8:24, Luke 8:45, Luke 9:33, Luke 9:49; S. Matt. also, Matthew 8:25, Matthew 17:4, and elsewhere, has κÏζιε, that is Lord. So the Gauls, Germans, and Belgians call their masters Lords, Domini, mon maistre, mein meister.
And when He saw them He said unto them. Theophylact says, "They stood afar off indeed in position, but they were near in speech, for "The Lord is nigh unto all that call upon Him,"" Psalm 145:18.
