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Matthew 10:8Mission Discourse
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons. Freely you received, so freely give.
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Interpretation

Jesus teaches a freely give that is worked out in solitude and community in Matthew 10:8—look for "freely" and "heal". Choose freely give in how we make amends—let wisdom become a road.

Context

Matthew speaks here as gospel narrative writing, developing freely give. Read in Matthew 10, its force becomes clearer. Listen for “freely” alongside “heal”.

Authorship & Historical Background

Long‑standing tradition credits Matthew to Matthew the disciple, once a tax collector. Many scholars judge Matthew as follows: Initially anonymous; tradition later assigns Matthew; engages Mark alongside a sayings tradition.. Scholars commonly date Matthew AD 80–90. Matthew seems aimed at Jewish‑Christian community.. Genre and setting: gospel narrative, in the Mission Discourse. Readers often compare Matthew’s arrangement and sources with Mark and Q.

More details
Traditional:Matthew the tax collector
Modern scholarship:Anonymous; attributed to Matthew; uses Mark + Q source.
Date:AD 80–90
Audience:Jewish‑Christian community.
Manuscripts & Textual Witnesses
The Greek text is preserved in 5,800+ manuscripts, surpassing other ancient works in manuscript count. Early papyri from the 2nd-3rd centuries like P46, P66, P75 provide text within about 100-150 years of its writing. Major uncial codices (Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, 4th century) contain complete or near-complete texts. The Byzantine text family represents the majority of later manuscripts. Textual variants exist but are mostly minor: word order, articles, spelling. No central Christian doctrine depends on any disputed text. Modern critical editions compare all manuscript families to determine the probably reflects the initial text reading.
Sources & witness notes
SinaiticusVaticanusP46