Commentary on Matthew

ABOUT THE FOUR GOSPELS: which alone are undisputed in the Church of God under heaven, I learned by tradition that the Gospel according to Matthew was written first. Matthew had once been a tax collector and later became an apostle of Jesus Christ. He wrote it in the Hebrew language and published it for converts from Judaism. The second Gospel written was the one according to Mark. Mark wrote it according to Peter's instruction. In his General Epistle, Peter acknowledged him as a son, saying, "The church that is in Babylon, elect together with you, greets you; and so does Mark my son." 1 Peter 5:13. Third was the Gospel according to Luke, the Gospel commended by Paul, which Luke composed for converts from the Gentiles. Last of all was the Gospel according to John.

THE UNITY AND HARMONY OF SCRIPTURE:

“Blessed are the peacemakers.” Matthew 5:9 For the person who is a peacemaker in either sense, there is nothing crooked or twisted in the divine oracles, for they are all plain to those who understand, as Proverbs 8:8-9 says. And because there is nothing crooked or twisted for such a person, he therefore sees abundant peace in all the Scriptures, even in those that seem to be in conflict and to contradict one another. He also becomes a peacemaker in a third sense when he shows that what appears to others to be conflict in the Scriptures is no conflict at all, and displays their agreement and peace, whether between the Old Scriptures and the New, or the Law and the Prophets, or the Gospels and the Apostolic Scriptures, or the Apostolic Scriptures with each other. For also, according to the Preacher, all the Scriptures are words of the wise, like goads and like nails firmly fixed, which were given by agreement from one shepherd, Ecclesiastes 12:11, and there is nothing unnecessary in them. But the Word is the one Shepherd of rational beings. To those who do not have ears to hear, these things may seem to disagree, but they are really in perfect harmony. For just as the different strings of the psalter or the lyre each give its own sound, and one sound seems different from another, a man who is not musical and does not understand the principle of harmony thinks they are out of harmony because the sounds are different. In the same way, those who are not trained to hear the harmony of God in the sacred Scriptures think that the Old is not in harmony with the New, or the Prophets with the Law, or the Gospels with one another, or the Apostle with the Gospel, or with himself, or with the other Apostles. But the man who comes instructed in the music of God, being wise in word and deed, and for this reason like another David, which by interpretation means skillful with the hand, will bring out the sound of the music of God. He has learned from this how to strike the strings at the right time: now the strings of the Law, now the Gospel strings in harmony with them, and again the Prophetic strings, and, when reason requires it, the Apostolic strings, which are in harmony with the Prophetic ones, and likewise the Apostolic with those of the Gospels. For he knows that all Scripture is the one perfect and harmonious instrument of God, which from different sounds gives out one saving voice to those willing to learn. This voice stops and restrains every working of an evil spirit, just as the music of David laid to rest the evil spirit in Saul that was also choking him, 1 Samuel 16:14. You see, then, that in the third place he is a peacemaker who sees, in agreement with Scripture, the peace of it all, and plants this peace in those who rightly seek and make careful distinctions in a genuine spirit.

THE PARABLE OF THE TARES: the House of Jesus.

THEN HE LEFT THE CROWDS AND WENT INTO HIS HOUSE: and His disciples came to Him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field." Matthew 13:36 When Jesus is with the crowds, He is not in His house, because the crowds are outside the house. It is an act that comes from His love for mankind to leave the house and go away to those who are not able to come to Him. Now after He had spoken enough to the crowds in parables, He sends them away and goes to His own house. There His disciples come to Him, because they did not remain with those whom He had sent away. And all who are more genuine hearers of Jesus first follow Him. Then, after asking where He is staying, they are allowed to see it. And after they come, they see it and stay with Him for that day, and perhaps some of them even longer. In my opinion, such things are shown in the Gospel according to John in these words: "The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples." John 1:35 And to explain that, among those who were allowed to go with Jesus and see where He was staying, the one who was more outstanding also became an Apostle, these words are added: "One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother." John 1:40 If, then, unlike the crowds whom He sends away, we want to hear Jesus and go to the house and receive something better than the crowds, let us become friends of Jesus. Then, as His disciples, we may come to Him when He goes into the house. And when we have come, we may ask about the explanation of the parable, whether it is the parable of the tares of the field or any other. And so that it may be understood more exactly what is represented by the house of Jesus, let someone gather from the Gospels whatever is said about the house of Jesus, and what things He said or did in it. For all the passages gathered together will convince anyone who gives himself to this reading that the words of the Gospel are not completely simple, as some suppose. Rather, they have become simple to the simple by a divine concession. But for those who have the desire and the ability to hear them more sharply, there are hidden things in them that are wise and worthy of the Word of God.

2. Explanation of the Parable.

AFTER THESE THINGS HE ANSWERED AND SAID TO THEM: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,” Matthew 13:37. Even though we have already discussed these matters as best we could in earlier sections, we will still say now what agrees with those earlier remarks, even if there is good reason for another explanation. Consider now whether, in addition to what we have already said, the good seed can also be understood as the children of the kingdom. For whatever good things are sown in the human soul are the offspring of the kingdom of God, and they have been sown by God the Word, who was in the beginning with God, John 1:2. So sound words about anything are children of the kingdom. But while people are asleep, those who do not act according to Jesus’ command, “Watch and pray, that you do not enter into temptation,” Matthew 26:41, the devil, staying alert, sows what are called tares, that is, evil opinions, over and among what some call natural conceptions, even the good seeds that come from the Word. According to this, the whole world could be called a field, and not only the Church of God. For in the whole world the Son of Man sowed the good seed, but the wicked one sowed tares, that is, evil words, which spring from wickedness and are children of the evil one. And at the end of all things, which is called the consummation of the age, there must be a harvest, so that the angels of God, who have been appointed for this work, may gather up the bad opinions that have grown in the soul. After overthrowing them, they will hand them over to the fire that is said to burn, so that they may be consumed. So the angels, the servants of the Word, will gather out of the whole kingdom of Christ all things that cause souls to stumble, and all reasonings that produce iniquity. These they will scatter and cast into the furnace of burning fire. Then those who realize that they have received in themselves the seeds of the evil one because they were asleep will wail and, in a way, be angry with themselves. For this is the gnashing of teeth, Matthew 13:42. Therefore in the Psalms it also says, “They gnashed upon me with their teeth.” Then, above all, the righteous will shine, no longer with different degrees of brightness as at first, but all like one sun in the kingdom of their Father, Matthew 13:43. Then, as if to show that there really was a hidden meaning, perhaps in everything connected with the explanation of the parable, and perhaps most of all in the words, “Then shall the righteous shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father,” the Savior adds, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear,” Matthew 13:43. By this He teaches those who think that the explanation of the parable has been given with such complete clarity that even ordinary people can understand it, that even the things connected with the interpretation of the parable still need explanation.

THE SHINING OF THE RIGHTEOUS: its interpretation.

BUT AS WE SAID ABOVE ABOUT THE WORDS: “Then the righteous will shine as the sun,” the righteous will not shine in different ways as before, but as one sun. So we must explain what seems true to us on this point. Daniel, knowing that the intelligent are the light of the world, and that the many righteous differ in glory, seems to have said this: “And the intelligent shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and from among the multitudes of the righteous as the stars forever and ever.” Daniel 12:3. And in the passage, “There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory: so also is the resurrection of the dead,” 1 Corinthians 15:41-42, the Apostle says the same thing as Daniel, taking this thought from his prophecy. Someone may ask how some speak about differences of light among the righteous, while the Savior, on the contrary, says, “They shall shine as one sun.” I think, then, that at the beginning of the blessedness enjoyed by those who are being saved, the difference in the light of the saved takes place, because those who are not of that kind are not yet purified. But when, as we have said, He gathers out of the whole kingdom of Christ all things that make men stumble, and the reasonings that produce lawlessness are thrown into the furnace of fire, and the worse elements are completely consumed, and when this happens, those who received the words that are the children of the evil one come to self-awareness, then the righteous, having become one light of the sun, will shine in the kingdom of their Father. And for whom will they shine? For those below them, who will enjoy their light, by analogy with the sun that now shines for those on the earth? For surely they will not shine for themselves. But perhaps the saying, “Let your light shine before men,” Matthew 5:16, can be written on the tablet of the heart, according to what Solomon says, in a threefold way. Then even now the light of the disciples of Jesus shines before the rest of men, and after death before the resurrection, and after the resurrection until all attain to a full-grown man, Ephesians 4:13, and all become one sun. Then they will shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

ABOUT THE PARABLE OF THE TREASURE HIDDEN IN THE FIELD: The parable distinguished from the similitude.

AGAIN: the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid. Matthew 13:44 He spoke the former parables to the multitudes. But this one and the two that follow it are not parables, but similitudes in relation to the kingdom of heaven. He seems to have spoken them to the disciples when He was in the house. With regard to this one and the next two, let the one who pays attention to reading, as in 1 Timothy 4:13, ask whether they are parables at all. In the case of the latter, Scripture does not hesitate in each case to give them the name of parable. But in the present case it has not done so, and that naturally. For if He spoke to the multitudes in parables, and spoke all these things in parables, and without a parable spoke nothing to them, Matthew 13:34, but after going into the house He speaks not to the multitudes but to the disciples who came to Him there, then clearly the things spoken in the house were not parables. For to those who are outside, even to those to whom it is not given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, Matthew 13:11, He speaks in parables. Someone will then say, if they are not really parables, what are they? Shall we then say, in keeping with the wording of Scripture, that they are similitudes, that is, comparisons? Now a similitude differs from a parable. For it is written in Mark, "To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or in what parable shall we set it forth?" Mark 4:30. From this it is plain that there is a difference between a similitude and a parable. The similitude seems to be generic, and the parable specific. And perhaps also, just as the similitude, which is the highest genus of the parable, contains the parable as one of its species, so it also contains that particular form of similitude which has the same name as the genus. This is the case with other words also, as those skilled in giving many names have observed. They say that impulse is the highest genus of many species, for example, of disinclination and inclination. And they say that, in the case of the species which has the same name as the genus, inclination is taken in opposition to and in distinction from disinclination.

THE FIELD AND THE TREASURE INTERPRETED:

HERE WE MUST ASK SEPARATELY ABOUT THE FIELD: and separately about the treasure hidden in it. We must also ask how the man who found this hidden treasure goes away with joy and sells all that he has in order to buy that field. And we must ask what the things are that he sells. The field, it seems to me, is the Scripture, according to these points. It was planted with what is plain in the words of the history, the Law, the Prophets, and the other thoughts. For the planting of the words throughout all Scripture is great and varied. But the treasure hidden in the field is the thoughts concealed and lying beneath what is plain: wisdom hidden in a mystery, that is, Christ, in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden, Colossians 2:3. But someone else might say that the field is that which is truly full, which the Lord blessed, the Christ of God. And the treasure hidden in it is the things that Paul says were hidden in Christ, when he says about Christ, "in whom are hidden the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Therefore the heavenly things, even the kingdom of heaven, as it is written figuratively in the Scriptures—which are the kingdom of heaven, or Christ Himself, the King of the ages—are the kingdom of heaven that is compared to a treasure hidden in the field.

6. The explanation continues.

AT THIS POINT YOU MAY ASK WHETHER THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS COMPARED ONLY TO THE TREASURE HIDDEN IN THE FIELD: so that we should think of the field as different from the kingdom, or whether it is compared to the whole treasure hidden in the field, so that the kingdom of heaven includes, in the comparison, both the field and the treasure hidden in the field. Now a man who comes to the field, whether to the Scriptures or to Christ, who is made up of both visible things and hidden things, finds the hidden treasure of wisdom either in Christ or in the Scriptures. For as he goes around the field, searches the Scriptures, and seeks to understand Christ, he finds the treasure in it. And when he has found it, he hides it, because he thinks it is not without danger to reveal to everyone the secret meanings of the Scriptures, or the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Christ. After hiding it, he goes away and works and plans how he may buy the field, or the Scriptures, so that he may make them his own possession, receiving from the people of God the oracles of God, with which the Jews were first entrusted, Romans 3:2. And when the man taught by Christ has bought the field, the kingdom of God, which according to another parable is a vineyard, is taken from them and given to a nation producing its fruits, Matthew 21:43, to the one who in faith has bought the field as the result of selling all that he had and no longer keeping anything that was formerly his, because those things were a source of evil to him. And you should apply the same meaning if the field containing the hidden treasure is Christ. For those who give up all things and follow Him have, in a sense, sold their possessions in another way, so that by selling and surrendering them, and by receiving from God, their helper, a noble purpose in their place, they may buy, at a great cost worthy of the field, the field that contains the treasure hidden in itself.

THE PARABLE OF THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE: The formation and difference of pearls.

AGAIN: the kingdom of heaven is like a man who is a merchant seeking fine pearls. Matthew 13:45. There are many merchants engaged in many kinds of trade. But the kingdom of heaven is not like any one of these, but only like the one who is seeking fine pearls and has found one equal in value to many, a very costly pearl, which he bought in place of many. So then, I think it is reasonable to make some inquiry into the nature of the pearl. Be careful, however, to note that Christ did not say, "He sold all the pearls that he had." For he sold not only those pearls which one seeking fine pearls had bought, but also everything that he had, in order to buy that fine pearl. We find, then, in those who write on the subject of stones, that some pearls are found on land, and some in the sea. The land pearls are produced only among the Indians, and are suited for signet rings and collets and necklaces. And the sea pearls, which are superior, are found among the same Indians, the best being produced in the Red Sea. The next best pearls are those taken from the sea at Britain. And those of the third quality, which are inferior not only to the first but also to the second, are those found at Bosporus off Scythia. Concerning the Indian pearl, these further things are said. They are found in mussels, similar in nature to very large spiral snail shells. And these are described as moving in groups, making the sea their pasture ground, as if under the guidance of some leader, conspicuous in color and size, and different from those under him, so that he has a place like what is called the queen of the bees. And likewise, about the fishing for the best pearls, that is, those in India, the following is told. The natives surround a large circle of the shore with nets, and dive down, exerting themselves to seize that one of them all which is the leader. For they say that, when this one is captured, catching the group subject to it costs no trouble, since not one of those in the group remains still, but, as if bound by a thong, follows the leader of the group. It is also said that the formation of the pearls in India requires periods of time, the creature undergoing many changes and alterations until it is perfected. And it is further reported that the shell, I mean the shell of the animal which bears the pearl, opens and gapes, as it were, and, being opened, receives into itself the dew of heaven. When it is filled with dew pure and untroubled, it becomes illumined and brings forth a large and well-formed pearl. But if at any time it receives dew that is darkened, or uneven, or in winter, it conceives a pearl cloudy and disfigured with spots. And we also find this, that if the shell is intercepted by lightning while the stone with which it is pregnant is still on the way to completion, it closes and, as it were in terror, scatters and pours forth its offspring, so as to form what are called physemata. And sometimes, as if premature, they are born small, and are somewhat cloudy though well formed. Compared with the others, the Indian pearl has these features. It is white in color, like silver in transparency, and shines through with a radiance somewhat greenish yellow. And as a rule it is round in form. It is also of tender skin, and more delicate than it belongs to the nature of a stone to be. So it is delightful to behold, worthy to be celebrated among the more notable things, as he who wrote on the subject of stones used to say. And this too is a mark of the best pearl, that it is rounded on the outer surface, very white in color, very translucent, and very large in size. So much about the Indian pearl. But that found in Britain, they say, is of a golden tinge, but somewhat cloudy, and duller in sparkle. And that which is found in the strait of Bosporus is darker than that of Britain, and livid, and completely dim, soft, and small. And that which is produced in the strait of Bosporus is not found in the pinna, which is the pearl-bearing kind of shell, but in what are called mussels. And their habitat, I mean those at Bosporus, is in the marshes. There is also said to be a fourth class of pearls in Acarnania, in the pinnæ of oysters. These are not greatly sought after, but are irregular in form, and completely dark and foul in color. And there are also others different from these in the same Acarnania, which are cast away on every ground.

THE PARABLE: when interpreted, is the light of these views.

NOW: after gathering these points from discussions about stones, I say that the Savior, knowing the difference between pearls, some naturally beautiful and others worthless, said, "The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for beautiful pearls," Matthew 13:45. For if some pearls were not worthless, it would not have been said, "looking for beautiful pearls." Now among all kinds of words that claim to announce the truth, and among those who speak them, he seeks pearls. And let the prophets be, so to speak, the mussels that receive the dew of heaven and become pregnant with the word of truth from heaven, which is the beautiful pearls that, according to the expression used here, the merchant seeks. And the chief pearl, by finding which the rest are found with it, is the pearl of very great value: the Christ of God, the Word, who is greater than the precious letters and thoughts in the Law and the Prophets. When this pearl is found, all the rest are also easily taken. And the Savior speaks with all the disciples as merchants who are not only seeking the beautiful pearls, but have found them and possess them, when He says, "Do not cast your pearls before swine," Matthew 7:6. Now it is clear that these words were spoken to the disciples from what comes before His words: "And seeing the multitudes, He went up on the mountain, and when He had sat down, His disciples came to Him," Matthew 5:1. For in the course of those words, He said, "Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not cast your pearls before swine," Matthew 7:6. Perhaps, then, the one who does not possess pearls, or the pearl of very great value, is not a disciple of Christ. I mean the pearls that are beautiful, not the cloudy or darkened ones, like the words of the heterodox, which are brought forth not at sunrise, but at sunset or in the north, if it is necessary to include in the comparison those things because of which we found a difference among pearls produced in different places. And perhaps muddy words and heresies, which are tied to works of the flesh, are the darkened pearls, and those produced in marshes, not beautiful pearls.

9. Christ the Pearl of Great Price.

NOW CONNECT WITH THE MAN SEEKING BEAUTIFUL PEARLS THE SAYING: “Seek, and you will find,” Matthew 7:7, and also this, “Everyone who seeks finds,” Matthew 7:8. For what are you seeking? Or what does everyone who seeks find? I dare to answer: pearls, and the pearl possessed by the one who has given up all things and counted them as loss. About this Paul says, “I have counted all things as loss, that I may gain Christ,” Philippians 3:8. By “all things” he means the beautiful pearls, so that he may gain Christ, the one very precious pearl. A lamp is precious to people in darkness, and there is need of a lamp until the sun rises. The glory in the face of Moses is also precious, and I think the glory of the prophets is as well. It is a beautiful sight, by which we are led in so that we may be able to see the glory of Christ, to which the Father bears witness, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” Matthew 3:17. But what has been made glorious has not been made glorious in this respect because of the glory that surpasses it, 2 Corinthians 3:10. And we first have need of the glory that can be done away with, for the sake of the glory that surpasses it. In the same way, there is need of the knowledge that is in part, which will be done away with when what is perfect comes, 1 Corinthians 13:9-10. Every soul, therefore, that comes to childhood and is on the way to full growth, until the fullness of time is near, needs a tutor and stewards and guardians. Then, after all these things, the one who formerly differed in nothing from a bond-servant, though he is lord of all, may receive, when set free from a tutor and stewards and guardians, the inheritance that corresponds to the very costly pearl and to what is perfect. When it comes, it does away with what is in part, when a person is able to receive the surpassing value of the knowledge of Christ, Philippians 3:8, having first been trained, so to speak, in those forms of knowledge that are surpassed by the knowledge of Christ. But the crowd, not seeing the beauty of the many pearls of the law, and all the knowledge of the prophets, partial though it is, suppose that they can find the one precious pearl in its fullness, and see the surpassing value of the knowledge of Christ, without a clear explanation and understanding of these things. Compared with this knowledge, all the things that came before such great knowledge, although they were not refuse by nature, appear to be refuse. This refuse is perhaps the dung thrown beside the fig tree by the keeper of the vineyard, which causes it to bear fruit, Luke 13:8.

THE PEARL OF THE GOSPEL IN RELATION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT:

SO THEN: everything has its season, and there is a time for everything under heaven, Ecclesiastes 3:1: a time to gather the beautiful pearls, and after gathering them, a time to find the one precious pearl. Then it is fitting for a man to go away and sell all that he has so that he may buy that pearl. For just as every man who is going to become wise in the words of truth must first be taught the first elements, then go on through basic instruction, value it highly, but not remain in it, like one who honored it at the beginning but moved on toward perfection, and is grateful for the introduction because it was useful at first, so also the complete understanding of the law and the prophets is a basic discipline for the complete understanding of the Gospel, and of all the meaning in the words and deeds of Christ.

11. The Parable of the Drag-Net.

AGAIN: the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea, Matthew 13:47. In the case of images and statues, a likeness does not match the thing in every respect. For example, an image painted with wax on a flat piece of wood matches the surface and the color, but it does not keep the hollows and raised parts, only their outward look. In making statues, an effort is made to keep the likeness of the hollows and the raised parts, but not the color. And if a cast is made of wax, it tries to keep both the color and the hollows and raised parts, but it is still not an image of the thing in regard to depth. In the same way, understand with me that in the similitudes in the Gospel, when the kingdom of heaven is compared to something, the comparison does not extend to every feature of the thing to which the kingdom is compared. It extends only to those features that are needed for the argument at hand. So here, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea, but not in the way some suppose. They claim that this word speaks of the different natures of those who came into the net, namely, the evil and the righteous, as though, because of the phrase "which gathered of every kind," there were many different natures among the righteous and likewise among the evil. But all the Scriptures oppose such an interpretation, because they stress the freedom of the will, and they rebuke those who sin and approve those who do what is right. Otherwise, blame could not rightly belong to those who were such by nature, nor praise to those of a better kind. For the reason why fish are good or bad does not lie in the souls of the fish, but in what the Word said with knowledge: "Let the waters bring forth creeping things with living souls," Genesis 1:20, when God also made the great sea monsters and every living soul of creeping creatures that the waters brought forth according to their kinds, Genesis 1:21. There, then, "the waters brought forth every soul of creeping animals according to their kinds," and the cause was not in the creatures themselves. But here, we are responsible for being good kinds and worthy of what are called vessels, or bad and worthy of being cast outside. For it is not our nature that causes evil in us, but voluntary choice that works evil. And in the same way, our nature is not the cause of righteousness, as though it could not admit unrighteousness. Rather, it is the principle we have admitted that makes men righteous. For you never see the kinds of things in the water changing from bad kinds of fish into good, or from the better kind to the worse. But among men you can always see either the righteous or the evil moving from wickedness to virtue, or turning back from progress toward virtue into the flood of wickedness. Therefore, in Ezekiel, about the man who turns away from unrighteousness to keeping the divine commandments, it is written: "But if the wicked man turn away from all his wickednesses which he has done," and so on, down to the words, "that he turn from his wicked way and live," Ezekiel 18:20-23. But about the man who returns from progress toward virtue to the flood of wickedness, it says, "But in the case of the righteous man turning away from his righteousness and committing iniquity," and so on, down to the words, "in his sins which he has sinned in them shall he die," Ezekiel 18:24. Let those who use the parable of the dragnet to introduce the doctrine of different natures tell us this about the wicked man who later turned away from all the wickednesses he committed, and keeps all the commandments of God, and does what is righteous and merciful: what nature was he when he was wicked? Clearly, it was not a nature worthy of praise. If truly he was of a nature worthy of blame, then what kind of nature can he reasonably be called when he turns away from all the sins he did? For if he was of the bad class of natures because of his former deeds, how did he change to what was better? Or if, because of his later deeds, you would say that he was of the good class, then how, if he was good by nature, did he become wicked? And you will meet the same difficulty in the case of the righteous man turning away from his righteousness and committing unrighteousness in every kind of sin. For before he turned away from righteousness, while he was occupied with righteous deeds, he was not of a bad nature, because a bad nature could not be in righteousness, since a bad tree, that is, wickedness, cannot produce good fruits, the fruits that spring from virtue. Again, on the other hand, if he had been of a good and unchangeable nature, he would not have turned away from the good after being called righteous, so as to commit unrighteousness in all the sins he committed.

THE DIVINE SCRIPTURES ARE COMPARED TO A NET:

NOW THAT THESE THINGS HAVE BEEN SAID: we must hold that the kingdom of heaven is like a net cast into the sea and gathering fish of every kind, Matthew 13:47. This shows the varied character of the principles of action among men, which differ from each other as much as possible. So the phrase "gathered of every kind" includes both those worthy of praise and those worthy of blame, with respect to their tendencies toward forms of virtue or of vice. And the kingdom of heaven is like the many-colored texture of a net, in reference to the Old and New Scripture, which is woven from thoughts of every kind and is greatly varied. As with the fish that fall into the net, some are found in one part of the net and some in another, each in the part where it was caught. So also, among those who have come into the net of the Scriptures, you would find some caught in the prophetic net, for example, that of Isaiah, or Jeremiah, or Daniel; others in the net of the law; others in the Gospel net; and some in the apostolic net. For when someone is first captured by the Word, or seems to be captured, he is taken from some part of the whole net. And it is not strange if some of the fish that are caught are enclosed by the whole texture of the net in the Scriptures, pressed in on every side and caught, so that they are unable to escape, but are, as it were, completely enslaved and not allowed to get out of the net. And this net has been cast into the sea, that is, into the wave-tossed life of men in every part of the world, a life that swims in the bitter affairs of this life. And before our Savior Jesus Christ, this net was not wholly filled. For the net of the law and the prophets had to be completed by Him who says, "Do not think that I came to destroy the law and the prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill," Matthew 5:17. And the texture of the net has been completed in the Gospels and in the words of Christ through the Apostles. For this reason, therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a net cast into the sea and gathering of every kind. And besides what has been said, the phrase "gathered of every kind" may also show the calling of the Gentiles from every race. And those who attended to the net cast into the sea are Jesus Christ, the master of the net, and the angels who came and ministered to Him, Matthew 4:11. They do not draw up the net from the sea, nor carry it to the shore beyond the sea, that is, to the things beyond this life, unless the net is filled full, that is, unless the fullness of the Gentiles has come into it. But when that has happened, then they draw it up from the things here below and carry it to what is figuratively called the shore. There it will be the work of those who have drawn it up both to sit by the shore and to settle themselves there, so that they may place each of the good in the net into its proper order, according to what are here called vessels, but cast outside and away those of the opposite kind, who are called bad. By "outside" is meant the furnace of fire, as the Savior explained when He said, "So shall it be at the consummation of the age. The angels shall come forth and sever the wicked from among the righteous and shall cast them into the furnace of fire," Matthew 13:49-50. Only this must be observed: we have already been taught by the parable of the tares and the similitude that was set forth, that the angels are to be entrusted with the power to distinguish and separate the evil from the righteous. For it is said above, "The Son of Man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and those who do iniquity, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be the weeping and gnashing of teeth," Matthew 13:42. But here it is said, "The angels shall come forth and sever the wicked from among the righteous and shall cast them into the furnace of fire."

13. The Relation of Men to Angels.

FROM THIS IT DOES NOT FOLLOW: as some suppose, that the men who are saved in Christ are superior even to the holy angels. For how can those whom the holy angels cast into vessels be compared with those who cast them into vessels, since they have been placed under the authority of the angels? While we say this, we are not ignorant that the men who will be saved in Christ do surpass some angels, namely, those who have not been entrusted with this office, but not all of them. For we read, “Which things angels desire to look into,” 1 Peter 1:12, where it is not said all angels. And we know also this: “We shall judge angels,” 1 Corinthians 6:3, where it is not said all angels. Now since these things are written about the net and about those in the net, we say that the one who desires that, before the consummation of the age, and before the coming of the angels to sever the wicked from among the righteous, there should be no evil persons of every kind in the net, seems not to have understood the Scripture, and to desire the impossible. Therefore let us not be surprised if, before the severing of the wicked from among the righteous by the angels who are sent out for this purpose, we also see our gatherings filled with wicked persons. And would that those who will be cast into the furnace of fire may not be greater in number than the righteous! But since we said in the beginning that the parables and similitudes are not to be accepted in respect of all the things to which they are likened or compared, but only in respect of some things, we must further show from what is to be said that, in the case of the fishes, so far as their life is concerned, an evil thing happens to them when they are found in the net. For they are deprived of the life that is theirs by nature, and whether they are cast into vessels or cast away, they suffer nothing more than the loss of the life as it is in fishes. But, in the case of those to whom the parable refers, the evil thing is to be in the sea and not to come into the net, in order to be cast along with the good into vessels. And in like manner the bad fishes are cast without and thrown away. But the bad in the similitude before us are cast into the furnace of fire, so that what is said in Ezekiel about the furnace of fire may also overtake them: “And the Word of the Lord came to me, saying, Son of man, behold, the house of Israel has become to me all mixed with brass and iron,” and so on, down to the words, “And you shall know that I the Lord have poured My fury upon you.” Ezekiel 18:17-22.

THE DISCIPLES AS SCRIBES:

"Have you understood all these things?" They say, "Yes." Matthew 13:51 Christ Jesus, who knows what is in the hearts of men, as John also taught about Him in the Gospel, John 2:25 asks this question not as one who is ignorant. Rather, because He had once for all taken on human nature, He also uses all the characteristics of a man, and asking questions is one of them. And there is nothing surprising in the Savior doing this, since the God of the universe, bearing with the ways of men as a man bears with the ways of his son, also asks questions, as in, "Adam, where are you?" Genesis 3:9 and, "Where is Abel your brother?" Genesis 4:9 But someone, using a strained interpretation, will say here that the words "have understood" should not be taken as a question but as a statement. And he will say that the disciples, bearing witness to His statement, say, "Yes." Still, whether He is asking a question or making a statement, it is necessarily said not "these things" only, which points to certain things, and not "all things" only, but "all these things." And here He seems to present the disciples as having been scribes before the kingdom of heaven, Matthew 13:52 but this seems opposed to what is said in the Acts of the Apostles: "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and understood that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they recognized that they had been with Jesus." Acts 4:13 Someone may ask about these things: if they were scribes, how are they spoken of in Acts as unlearned and ignorant men? Or if they were unlearned and ignorant men, how are they so plainly called scribes by the Savior? And these questions might be answered in this way. In fact, not all the disciples but only Peter and John are described in Acts as unlearned and ignorant. There were more disciples, concerning whom it is said, "Every scribe," because they understood all things. Or it might be said that everyone who has been instructed in the teaching according to the letter of the law is called a scribe. In that sense, those who were unlearned and ignorant, and were led captive by the letter of the law, are called scribes in a particular way. And it is especially the mark of ignorant men, who are unskilled in figurative interpretation and do not understand what belongs to the mystical exposition of the Scriptures, but believe the bare letter and defend it, that they call themselves scribes. So one will understand the words, "Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites," Matthew 23:13 as spoken to everyone who knows nothing except the letter. Here you may ask whether the scribe of the Gospel is like the scribe of the law, and whether the former deals with the Gospel as the latter does with the law, by reading, hearing, and speaking those things that contain an allegory, Galatians 4:24 so that, while preserving the historical truth of the events, he understands the unfailing rule of mystical interpretation as applied to spiritual things. Then the things learned will not be spiritual things marked by wickedness, Ephesians 6:12 but things entirely opposite to them, namely spiritual things marked by goodness. And one is a scribe made a disciple to the kingdom of heaven in the simpler sense when he comes from Judaism and receives the teaching of Jesus Christ as defined by the Church. But he is a scribe in a deeper sense when, having received elementary knowledge through the letter of the Scriptures, he rises to spiritual things, which are called the kingdom of heaven. And according as each thought is reached, understood in itself, and proved by example and complete demonstration, so one can understand the kingdom of heaven. Thus the one who overflows with knowledge free from error is in the kingdom of the multitude of what are here presented as heavens. So too you will understand allegorically the words, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," Matthew 3:2 as meaning that the scribes, that is, those who are satisfied with the bare letter, may repent of this method of interpretation and be taught the spiritual teaching that is called the kingdom of heaven through Jesus Christ, the living Word. Therefore, as long as Jesus Christ, who was in the beginning with God, God the Word, John 1:1-2 does not dwell in a soul, the kingdom of heaven is not in it. But when anyone comes near to receiving the Word, the kingdom of heaven is near to him. But if the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God are the same thing in reality, even if not in idea, then clearly to those to whom it is said, "The kingdom of God is within you," Luke 17:21 it could also be said, "The kingdom of heaven is within you," and especially because of repentance from the letter to the Spirit; since, "When one turns to the Lord, the veil over the letter is taken away. But the Lord is the Spirit." 2 Corinthians 3:16-17 And he who is truly a householder is both free and rich. He is rich because, from the office of the scribe, he has been made a disciple to the kingdom of heaven in every word of the Old Testament and in all knowledge concerning the new teaching of Christ Jesus. And he has these riches stored up in his own treasure-house, in heaven, where he stores his treasure as one who has been made a disciple to the kingdom of heaven, "where neither moth consumes, nor thieves break through." Matthew 6:20 And about the man who, as we have said, stores up treasure in heaven, we may truly say that not even one moth of the passions can touch his spiritual and heavenly possessions. "A moth of the passions," I said, taking the thought from Proverbs, where it is written, "As a worm in wood, so pain wounds the heart of man." Proverbs 25:20 For pain is a worm and a moth, which wounds the heart that does not have its treasures in heaven and in spiritual things. For if a man has his treasure in these, for "where the treasure is, there will the heart be also," Matthew 6:21 then he has his heart in heaven, and because of this he says, "Though an army should camp against me, my heart shall not fear." And so thieves also, about whom the Savior said, "All who came before Me are thieves and robbers," John 10:8 cannot break through into those things that are treasured up in heaven, nor into the heart that is in heaven and therefore says, "He raised us up with Him, and made us sit with Him in the heavenly places in Christ," Ephesians 2:6 and, "Our citizenship is in heaven." Philippians 3:20

15. The Householder and His Treasury.

NOW: since every scribe who has been made a disciple to the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasury things new and old, Matthew 13:52, it clearly follows, by what is called conversion of the proposition, that everyone who does not bring out of his treasury things new and old is not a scribe who has been made a disciple to the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, we must make every effort to gather these things in our heart. We do this by paying attention to reading, to exhortation, and to teaching, 1 Timothy 4:13, and by meditating on the law of the Lord day and night. We must gather not only the new sayings of the Gospels, and of the Apostles and their Revelation, but also the old things in the law, which has the shadow of the good things to come, Hebrews 10:1, and in the prophets who prophesied in agreement with them. These things will be gathered together when we also read and understand them, and when, remembering them, we compare spiritual things with spiritual things at the right time. We must not compare things that cannot be compared with each other, but things that can be compared, and that have a certain likeness in wording that signifies the same thing, and in thoughts and judgments. In this way, by the mouth of two or three or more witnesses, Matthew 18:16, from the Scripture, we may establish and confirm every word of God. By these same Scriptures we must also refute those who, as much as they can, split the Godhead in two and cut off the New from the Old. In this way they are very far from being like the householder who brings out of his treasury things new and old. And since the one who is likened to another is different from the one to whom he is likened, the scribe who is made a disciple to the kingdom of heaven is the one being compared, while the householder who brings out of his treasury things new and old is different from him. But the one who is likened to him wishes, by imitating him, to do what is like him. Perhaps, then, the householder is Jesus Himself. He brings out of His treasury, according to the time of the teaching, things new, spiritual things, which are always being renewed by Him in the inner man of the righteous, who themselves are always being renewed day by day, 2 Corinthians 4:16. And He also brings out old things, things written and engraved on stones, 2 Corinthians 3:7, and in the stony hearts of the old man. So, by comparing the letter and by showing the Spirit, He may enrich the scribe who has been made a disciple to the kingdom of heaven and make him like Himself, until the disciple becomes as the Master. He first imitates the imitator of Christ, and after him Christ Himself, according to what Paul says: "Be imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ." 1 Corinthians 11:1 In the simpler sense also, Jesus the householder may bring out of His treasury things new, that is, the teaching of the Gospel, and things old, that is, the comparison of sayings taken from the law and the prophets, examples of which we may find in the Gospels. And concerning these things new and old, we must also pay attention to the spiritual law that says in Leviticus, "And you shall eat old things, and the old things of the old, and you shall bring forth the old from before the new; and I will set My tabernacle among you." Leviticus 26:10-11 For we eat with blessing the old things, that is, the prophetic words, and the old things of the old things, that is, the words of the law. And when the new and evangelical words came, by living according to the Gospel we bring forth the old things of the letter from before the new, and He sets His tabernacle in us, fulfilling the promise that He spoke: "I will dwell among them and walk in them."

PARABLES IN RELATION TO SIMILITUDES: Jesus in His Own Country.

AND IT HAPPENED THAT WHEN JESUS HAD FINISHED THESE PARABLES: He left from there. And coming into His own country—Matthew 13:53–54. Since we asked above whether the things spoken to the crowd were parables, and the things spoken to the disciples were similitudes, and since I presented observations about this that were, in my judgment, not insignificant, you should know that the statement that follows, “And it happened that when Jesus had finished these parables, He left from there,” seems to oppose all those arguments. It seems to apply not only to the parables, but also to the similitudes, as we explained them. Therefore, we ask whether all these observations must be rejected, or whether we should speak of two kinds of parables: those spoken to the crowds, and those declared to the disciples; or whether we should think that the name “parable” is used in more than one sense; or whether the saying, “And it happened that when Jesus had finished these parables,” refers only to the parables above, which come before the similitudes. For because of the saying, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to the rest in parables,” Matthew 13:11, it was not possible to say to the disciples, since they were not among those outside, that the Savior spoke to them in parables. And from this it follows that the saying, “And it happened that when Jesus had finished these parables, He left from there,” must refer to the parables spoken above; or else the name “parable” is used in more than one sense; or there are two kinds of parables; or these things that we have called similitudes were not parables at all. And notice that it was outside His own country that He spoke the parables which, when He had finished them, He left behind there. And coming into His own country, He taught them in their synagogue. And Mark says, “And He came into His own country, and His disciples follow Him.” Mark 6:1. Therefore we must ask whether, by the phrase “His own country,” Nazareth is meant or Bethlehem—Nazareth, because of the saying, “He shall be called a Nazarene,” Matthew 2:23, or Bethlehem, since He was born there. And I further consider whether the Evangelists could have said, “coming to Bethlehem,” or, “coming to Nazareth.” They did not do so, but called it His country because something is being declared in a mystical sense in the passage about His country—namely, the whole of Judea, in which He was dishonored according to the saying, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country.” Matthew 13:57. And if anyone thinks of Jesus Christ, “a stumbling-block to the Jews,” 1 Corinthians 1:23, among whom He is persecuted even until now, but proclaimed among the Gentiles and believed in—for His word has gone through the whole world—he will see that in His own country Jesus had no honor, but among those who were strangers to the covenants, Ephesians 2:12, that is, the Gentiles, He is held in honor. But the Evangelists have not recorded what things He taught and said in their synagogue. They recorded only that these things were so great and of such a kind that everyone was astonished. And probably the things spoken were too lofty to be written down. Only let this be noted: He taught in their synagogue, not separating Himself from it, and not disregarding it.

17. The Brethren of Jesus.

AND THE SAYING: "From where does this man have this wisdom?" in Matthew 13:54 clearly shows that there was a great and surpassing wisdom in the words of Jesus, worthy of the saying, "Look, a greater than Solomon is here," in Matthew 12:42. And He was accustomed to do greater miracles than those done through Elijah and Elisha, and at a still earlier time through Moses and Joshua the son of Nun. And they spoke in wonder. They did not know that He was the son of a virgin, or they did not believe it even if it was told to them, but supposed that He was the son of Joseph the carpenter. So they said, "Is not this the carpenter's son?" in Matthew 13:55. And, belittling all who seemed to be His nearest relatives, they said, "Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us?" in Matthew 13:55-56. They thought, then, that He was the son of Joseph and Mary. But some say, basing this on a tradition in the Gospel according to Peter, as it is titled, or The Book of James, that the brothers of Jesus were sons of Joseph by a former wife, whom he married before Mary. Now those who say this want to preserve the honor of Mary in virginity to the end, so that that body of hers, which was appointed to minister to the Word which said, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon you, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you," in Luke 1:35, might not know intercourse with a man after the Holy Ghost came into her and the power from on high overshadowed her. And I think it is in harmony with reason that Jesus was the first-fruit among men of the purity that consists in chastity, and Mary among women. For it would not be pious to ascribe to any other than her the first-fruit of virginity. And James is the one whom Paul says in the Epistle to the Galatians that he saw: "But I saw none of the other Apostles, except James the Lord's brother," in Galatians 1:19. And this James rose to so great a reputation among the people for righteousness that Flavius Josephus, who wrote the Antiquities of the Jews in twenty books, when he wished to show the cause why the people suffered such great misfortunes that even the temple was razed to the ground, said that these things happened to them in accordance with the wrath of God because of the things they had dared to do against James the brother of Jesus who is called Christ. And the wonderful thing is that, though he did not accept Jesus as Christ, he still gave testimony that the righteousness of James was so great. And he says that the people thought that they had suffered these things because of James. And Jude, who wrote a letter of few lines, it is true, but filled with the healthful words of heavenly grace, said in the beginning, "Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ and the brother of James," in Jude 1. With regard to Joseph and Simon, we have nothing to tell. But the saying, "And His sisters, are they not all with us?" in Matthew 13:56 seems to me to mean something like this: they mind our things, not those of Jesus, and have no unusual share of surpassing wisdom as Jesus has. And perhaps by these things a new doubt about Him is shown, that Jesus was not a man but something diviner, since He was, as they supposed, the son of Joseph and Mary, and the brother of four, and of the others, the women, as well, and yet had nothing like any one of His relatives, and had not come to such a height of wisdom and power from education and teaching. For they also say elsewhere, "How does this man know letters, having never learned?" in John 7:15, which is similar to what is said here. Only, though they said these things and were so perplexed and astonished, they did not believe, but were offended in Him, as if they had been mastered in the eyes of their mind by the powers which, at the time of the passion, He was about to lead in triumph on the cross.

PROPHETS IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY:

BUT JESUS SAID TO THEM: "A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country." Matthew 13:57 We must ask whether this expression has the same force when it is applied universally to every prophet, as if each one of the prophets was dishonored only in his own country, but not as if everyone who was dishonored was dishonored in his own country; or whether, because the expression is singular, these things were said about one person. If, then, these words are spoken about one person, what has been said is enough, if we apply what is written to the Savior. But if it is general, it is not historically true. For Elijah did not suffer dishonor in Tishbe of Gilead, nor Elisha in Abel-meholah, nor Samuel in Ramathaim, nor Jeremiah in Anathoth. But if it is interpreted figuratively, it is absolutely true. For we must think of Judea as their country, and that famous Israel as their kindred, and perhaps of the body as the house. For all suffered dishonor in Judea from the Israel that is according to the flesh, while they were still in the body, as it is written in the Acts of the Apostles, spoken in censure to the people: "Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute, who showed beforehand the coming of the Righteous One?" Acts 7:52 And Paul says similar things in the First Epistle to the Thessalonians: "For you brothers became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus, for you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove out us, and please not God, and are contrary to all men." 1 Thessalonians 2:14-15 A prophet, then, is not without honor among the Gentiles. For either they do not know him at all, or, after they have learned and received him as a prophet, they honor him. And such are those who are of the Church. Prophets suffer dishonor, first, when they are persecuted, according to historical fact, by the people, and second, when their prophecy is not believed by the people. For if they had believed Moses and the prophets, they would have believed Christ, who showed that when men believed Moses and the prophets, belief in Christ logically followed, and that when men did not believe Christ they did not believe Moses. John 5:46 Moreover, just as by transgressing the law the one who sins is said to dishonor God, so by not believing what is prophesied, the prophet is dishonored by the man who does not believe the prophecies. And as far as the literal truth is concerned, it is useful to recount what Jeremiah suffered among the people, in connection with which he said, "And I said, I will not speak, nor will I call on the name of the Lord." Jeremiah 20:9 And again, elsewhere, "I was continually being mocked." Jeremiah 20:7 And how great sufferings he endured from the then king of Israel are written in his prophecy. It is also written that some of the people often came to stone Moses to death. For his fatherland was not the stones of any place, but the people who followed him, among whom he also was dishonored. And Isaiah is reported to have been sawn asunder by the people. And if anyone does not accept the statement because it is found in the Apocryphal Isaiah, let him believe what is written in the Epistle to the Hebrews, "They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, they were tempted." Hebrews 11:37 For the words, "They were sawn asunder," refer to Isaiah, just as the words, "They were slain with the sword," refer to Zacharias, who was slain between the sanctuary and the altar, as the Savior taught, bearing witness, as I think, to a Scripture not found in the common and widely circulated books, but perhaps in apocryphal books. And they too were dishonored in their own country among the Jews, "who went about in sheep-skins, in goat-skins, being destitute, afflicted," and so on. Hebrews 11:37 "For all who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." 2 Timothy 3:12 And probably because Paul knew this, that a prophet has no honor in his own country, though he preached the Word in many places, he did not preach it in Tarsus. And for this reason the Apostles left Israel and did what had been commanded them by the Savior, "Make disciples of all the nations," Matthew 28:19 and, "You shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost part of the earth." Acts 1:8 For they did what had been commanded them in Judea and Jerusalem. But since a prophet has no honor in his own country, when the Jews did not receive the Word, they went away to the Gentiles. Consider also whether, because the saying, "I will pour forth of My Spirit upon all flesh, and they shall prophesy," Joel 2:28 has been fulfilled in the churches from the Gentiles, you can say that those formerly of the world, and who by believing became no longer of the world, having received the Holy Spirit in their own country, that is, the world, and prophesying, have not honor, but are dishonored. Therefore blessed are they who suffer the same things as the prophets, according to what was said by the Savior, "For in the same manner did their fathers to the prophets." Luke 6:23 Now if anyone who carefully attends to these things is hated and attacked because of living with strict austerity and because of his reproof of sinners, as a man who is persecuted and reproached for the sake of righteousness, he will not only not be grieved, but will rejoice and be exceedingly glad, being assured that because of these things he has great reward in heaven from Him who likened him to the prophets on the ground that he has suffered the same things. Therefore, he who zealously imitates the prophetic life, and attains to the spirit that was in them, must be dishonored in the world, and in the eyes of sinners, to whom the life of the righteous man is a burden.

19. The Relation of Faith and Unbelief to the Supernatural Powers of Jesus.

AFTER THIS YOU MAY SEE THE WORDS: “He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief,” in Matthew 13:58. By these things we are taught that powers were present in those who believed, since “to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance,” as Matthew 13:12 says. But among unbelievers, not only did the powers not work; as Mark wrote, “He could not work.” Consider the words carefully: “He could not do any mighty works there.” It is not said, “He would not,” but “He could not,” as if the power, when it was working, received cooperation from the faith of the person on whom the power was working, and this cooperation was hindered in its action by unbelief. See then that, to those who said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said, “Because of your little faith,” in Matthew 17:19-20. And to Peter, when he began to sink, it was said, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” in Matthew 14:31. Also, the woman with the flow of blood did not ask for healing, but only reasoned that if she touched the edge of His garment she would be healed, and she was healed at once. And the Savior, recognizing the way the healing happened, says, “Who touched Me? For I perceived that power went out from Me,” in Luke 8:45-46. And perhaps, just as in material things there is in some things a natural attraction toward some other thing, as in the magnet for iron, and in what is called naphtha for fire, so in such faith there is an attraction toward the divine power, according to what is said: “If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, ‘Remove from here to that place,’ and it shall remove,” in Matthew 17:20. And Matthew and Mark, wishing to show the excellence of the divine power, that it has power even in unbelief, though not as great a power as it has in the faith of those who are receiving benefit, seem to me to have spoken accurately. They did not mean that He did not do any mighty works because of their unbelief, but that He did not do many there, as Matthew 13:58 says. And Mark also does not say that He could not do any mighty work there and stop at that point, but adds, “Except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them,” in Mark 6:5, so that the power in Him thus overcame the unbelief. Now it seems to me that, as in material things, farming is not enough by itself for gathering the fruits unless the air also cooperates for this end—rather, unless He who forms the air with whatever quality He wills and makes it what He wills does so. Nor does the air work apart from farming; rather, it is He who by His providence has ordained that the things springing up from the earth cannot spring up apart from farming. For He did this once for all in the law: “Let the earth put forth grass, yielding seed after its kind and after its likeness,” in Genesis 1:11. So also, the workings of the powers do not show the full work of healing apart from the faith of those who are being healed, nor does faith, however great it may be, do so apart from the divine power. And what is written about wisdom you may also apply to faith, and specifically to the virtues, so as to make a teaching like this: “If anyone is perfect in wisdom among the sons of men, and the power that comes from You is lacking, he will be regarded as nothing,” in Wisdom 9:6. Or again: If anyone is perfect in self-control, as far as is possible for the sons of men, and the self-control that is from You is lacking, he will be regarded as nothing. Or: If anyone is perfect in righteousness and in the rest of the virtues, and the righteousness and the rest of the virtues that are from You are lacking to him, he will be regarded as nothing. Therefore, “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength,” in Jeremiah 9:23. For what is a proper matter for glorying is not ours, but the gift of God. Wisdom is from Him, and strength is from Him, and so also the rest.

DIFFERENT VIEWS OF JOHN THE BAPTIST:

AT THAT TIME HEROD THE TETRARCH HEARD THE REPORT ABOUT JESUS AND SAID TO HIS OWN SERVANTS: "This is John the Baptist." Matthew 14:1 In Mark 6:14 it is the same, and also in Luke 9:7. The Jews had different opinions. Some were false, such as the Sadducees held about the resurrection of the dead, that they do not rise, and about angels, that they do not exist, but that the things written about them were only to be interpreted figuratively, and had no reality in fact. And some opinions were true, such as those taught by the Pharisees about the resurrection of the dead, that they rise. We must therefore ask here whether the opinion about the soul, wrongly held by Herod and some of the people, was something like this: that John, who a little before had been killed by him, had risen from the dead after he had been beheaded, and was the same person under a different name, and, now being called Jesus, had the same powers that formerly worked in John. For what credibility is there in the idea that One who was so widely known to the whole people, and whose name was reported throughout all Judea, whom they declared to be the son of the carpenter and Mary, and to have such and such brothers and sisters, was thought to be no different from John, whose father was Zacharias and whose mother was Elisabeth, who themselves were not undistinguished among the people? But it is probable that the fact of his being the Son of Zacharias was not unknown to the people, who thought about John that he was truly a prophet. And they were so many that the Pharisees, in order to avoid seeming to say what displeased the people, were afraid to answer the question, "Was his baptism from heaven or from men?" Matthew 21:25 And perhaps also some of them had come to know of the event of the vision seen in the temple, when Gabriel appeared to Zacharias. What credibility, indeed, has the mistaken opinion, whether of Herod or of some of the people, that John and Jesus were not two persons, but that they were one and the same person, John, who rose from the dead after he had been beheaded and was called Jesus? Someone might say, however, that Herod and some of the people held the false teaching of the transmigration of souls into bodies. Because of this, they thought that the former John had appeared again by a fresh birth, and had come from the dead into life as Jesus. But the time between the birth of John and the birth of Jesus, which was not more than six months, does not allow this false opinion to be considered credible. And perhaps rather some such idea as this was in Herod's mind: that the powers which worked in John had passed over to Jesus, and because of this He was thought by the people to be John the Baptist. And one might use the following argument. Just as it is said about John, "This is Elijah who is to come," Matthew 11:14 because of the spirit and power of Elijah, and not because of his soul, the spirit in Elijah and the power in him having passed over to John, so Herod thought that the powers in John produced works of baptism and teaching in John's case—for John did no miracle, John 10:41—but in Jesus, miraculous signs. It may be said that something like this was the thought of those who said that Elijah had appeared in Jesus, or that one of the old prophets had risen. Luke 9:8 But the opinion of those who said that Jesus was a prophet, like one of the prophets, Mark 6:15 has no bearing on the question. False, then, is the saying about Jesus, whether the one recorded as the view of Herod, or the one spoken by others. Only the saying, "That John went before in the spirit and power of Elijah," Luke 1:17 which corresponds to the thoughts they were then cherishing about John and Jesus, seems to me more credible. But since we learned, first, that when the Savior after the temptation heard that John had been given up, He withdrew into Galilee, and second, that when John was in prison and heard the things about Jesus, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, "Are You He who comes, or shall we look for another?" Matthew 11:2-3 and third, generally, that Herod said about Jesus, "It is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead," Matthew 14:2 but we had not previously learned from any source the manner in which the Baptist was killed, therefore Matthew now recorded it, and Mark almost the same as he did. But Luke passed over in silence the greater part of the narrative as it is found in them.

21. Herod and the Baptist.

Matthew’s narrative is as follows. Herod had laid hold on John and bound him in the prison, Matthew 14:3. In reference to these things, it seems to me that, just as the law and the prophets were until John, Luke 16:16, after whom the grace of prophecy ceased from among the Jews, so also the authority of those who ruled among the people existed until John. This included the power to kill those whom they thought worthy of death. And when the last of the prophets was unlawfully killed by Herod, the king of the Jews was deprived of the power of putting to death. For if Herod had not been deprived of it, Pilate would not have condemned Jesus to death. Herod would have sufficed for this, along with the council of the chief priests and elders of the people, gathered for that purpose. And then, I think, what Jacob spoke to Judah was fulfilled: "A ruler shall not depart from Judah, nor a leader from Israel, until that come which is laid up in store, and he is the expectation of the Gentiles," Genesis 49:10. And perhaps the Jews also were deprived of this power, the Providence of God arranging for the spread of the teaching of Christ among the people, so that even if this were hindered by the Jews, the opposition might not go so far as the slaying of believers, which seemed to be according to law. But Herod laid hold on John and bound him in prison and put him away, Matthew 14:3. By this act he signified that, so far as it depended on his power and on the wickedness of the people, he bound and imprisoned the prophetic word, and prevented him from continuing to remain a herald of the truth in freedom as before. But Herod did this for the sake of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. For John said to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her," Matthew 14:3-4. Now this Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and of Trachonitis. Some, then, suppose that when Philip died, leaving a daughter, Herod married Philip’s wife Herodias, though the law permitted marriage only when there were no children. But since we find nowhere clear evidence that Philip was dead, we conclude that an even greater transgression was done by Herod, namely, that he had induced his brother’s wife to revolt from her husband while he was still living.

THE DANCING OF HERODIAS: The keeping of oaths.

THEREFORE JOHN: filled with prophetic boldness and not frightened by Herod’s royal rank, did not keep silent about such a shocking sin out of fear of death. Filled with a divine spirit, he said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have her, for it is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” For Herod had seized John, bound him, and put him in prison. He did not dare to kill him openly and take away the prophetic word from the people. But the wife of the king of Trachonitis—which is a kind of evil opinion and wicked teaching—gave birth to a daughter with the same name. Her movements seemed graceful and pleasing to Herod, who was very fond of things connected with birthdays, and this became the cause of there no longer being a prophetic head among the people. Up to this point, I think that the movements of the Jewish people, which seem to be according to the law, were nothing but the movements of Herodias’s daughter. But the dancing of Herodias was opposed to that holy dancing, with which those who have not danced will be reproached when they hear the words, “We piped to you, and you did not dance.” And on birthdays, when the lawless word rules over them, they dance so that their movements please that word. One of those before us noticed what is written in Genesis about Pharaoh’s birthday, and said that the worthless man who loves things connected with birth keeps birthday feasts. Taking this suggestion from him, we find nowhere in Scripture that a righteous man kept a birthday. For Herod was more unjust than that famous Pharaoh. For on the latter man’s birthday feast, a chief baker is killed, Genesis 40:20. But by the former, John is killed, he than whom no one greater has risen among those born of women, Matthew 11:11, and about whom the Savior says, “But for what purpose did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.” Luke 7:26 But thanks be to God that, even if the grace of prophecy was taken from the people, a grace greater than all that was poured out among the Gentiles through our Savior Jesus Christ, who became free among the dead. For though He was crucified through weakness, yet He lives through the power of God. 2 Corinthians 13:4 Consider also the passage in which clean and unclean foods are discussed. Prophecy is despised when it is brought in on a platter instead of food. But the Jews do not have the head of prophecy, since they reject the crown of all prophecy, Christ Jesus. And the prophet is beheaded because of an oath, in a case where it was better to break the oath than to keep it. For the guilt of rashly taking an oath, and then breaking it because it was rash, is not equal to the guilt of a prophet’s death. And he is not beheaded for this reason alone, but also because of those who sat at the table with him, who preferred that the prophet should be killed rather than live. They recline at the same table and feast together with the evil word that rules over the Jews, who celebrate his birth. At times you may apply this passage well to those who swear rashly and want to hold on to oaths taken for unlawful deeds, by saying that not every keeping of oaths is proper, just as Herod’s keeping of his oath was not. And notice further that Herod puts John to death not openly, but secretly and in prison. For the present word of the Jews also does not openly deny the prophecies, but in effect and in secret denies them, and is shown to disbelieve them. For if they had believed Moses, they would have believed Jesus, John 5:46. So also, if they had believed the prophets, they would have received Him who was the subject of prophecy. But because they do not believe Him, they also do not believe them, and they cut off the prophetic word, shut it up in prison, and hold it to be dead, divided, and in no way sound, since they do not understand it. But we have the whole Jesus, since the prophecy about Him was fulfilled which said, “A bone of Him shall not be broken.”

23. The Withdrawal of Jesus.

After John's disciples came and buried his remains, they went and told Jesus, Matthew 14:12. Then He withdrew to a deserted place—that is, to the Gentiles. After the killing of the prophet, crowds from all the cities followed Him everywhere. When He saw how great the crowd was, He had compassion on them and healed their sick. Afterward, with the loaves that were blessed and multiplied from a few loaves, He fed those who followed Him. Now when Jesus heard it, He withdrew from there by boat to a deserted place apart, Matthew 14:13. The plain meaning teaches us to withdraw, as far as it is in our power, from those who persecute us, and from conspiracies we expect through words. For this is to act with prudence. And when a person can stay out of dangerous situations, to go and meet them is rash and headstrong. For who would still hesitate to avoid such things, when Jesus not only withdrew because of what happened to John, but also taught and said, "If they persecute you in this city, flee to the other," Matthew 10:23? When a temptation comes that is not in our power to avoid, we must endure it with the highest nobility and courage. But when it is in our power to avoid it, not doing so is rash. But since, beyond the plain meaning, we must also examine the passage according to its mystical meaning, we must say this: when prophecy among the Jews was plotted against and destroyed, because they honored birthday matters, and because they welcomed empty impulses which, though thought by the ruler of the wicked and by those who feast with him to be proper and pleasing to them, were really improper and out of harmony, if truth is the judge, then Jesus withdraws from the place where prophecy was attacked and condemned. He withdraws to the place that had been barren of God among the Gentiles, so that the Word of God, when the kingdom was taken from the Jews and given to a nation bringing forth its fruits, Matthew 21:43, might be among the Gentiles. And because of it, the children of the desolate woman, who had not been instructed either in the law or the prophets, might be more than the children of her who has the husband, that is, the law. So then, when the word was formerly among the Jews, it was not among them as it is among the Gentiles. Therefore it is said that in a boat—that is, in the body—He went to the deserted place apart when He heard about the killing of the prophet. And after He came to the deserted place apart, He was in it because the Word dwelt apart, and His teaching was contrary to the customs and practices that prevailed among the Gentiles. And when the crowds among the Gentiles heard that Jesus had come to stay in their desert, and that He was apart, as we have already said, they followed Him from their own cities, because each one had left the superstitious customs of his fathers and had come to the law of Christ. And they followed Him by land, and not by boat, since they followed the Image of God not with the body but only with the soul, and with the resolve to which they had been persuaded by the Word. And Jesus comes out to them, because they were not able to go to Him, so that by going out to those who were outside, He might lead inside those who were outside. And great is the crowd outside to whom the Word of God goes out. After pouring out on it the light of His visitation, He sees it. And seeing that they were especially worthy of pity because they were in such a condition, as a lover of men, He who was impassible experienced the feeling of pity. And He not only had pity, but also healed their sick, who had many different sicknesses of every kind arising from their wickedness.

THE DIFFERENT FORMS OF SPIRITUAL SICKNESS:

And if you want to see what the soul's sicknesses are like, look with me at lovers of money, lovers of ambition, lovers of boys, and any who are devoted to women. When He saw these also among the crowds and had compassion on them, He healed them. For not every sin should be considered a sickness, but only that sin which has settled into the whole soul. So you can see that lovers of money are completely fixed on money, and on keeping it and gathering it. Lovers of ambition are completely fixed on a little glory, for they hunger for praise from the crowds and the common people. In the same way, you will understand the rest whom we have named, and any others like them. Since, then, when explaining the words, "He healed their sick," in Matthew 14:14, we said that not every sin is a sickness, it is fitting to discuss from Scripture the difference between these things. The Apostle says, in writing to the Corinthians, who had different sicknesses, "For this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep," in 1 Corinthians 11:30. Hear how in these words he ties together a band woven from different sins, since some are weak, others are sickly, worse than the weak, and others, compared with both, are asleep. For some, because of weakness of soul, tend to slip into any sin whatever. Yet they are not completely held by any one kind of sin, as the sickly are. These are only weak. But others, instead of loving God with all their soul and all their heart and all their mind, love money, or a little glory, or wife, or children. These suffer from something worse than weakness, and are sickly. And those who sleep are those who, when they ought to be alert and watching with the soul, do not do so. Because of great carelessness, they nod in their purpose and grow drowsy in their thoughts. Such people, in their dreamings, defile the flesh, reject what is highest in authority, and speak abusively of dignities, as Jude 8 says. Because they are asleep, they live in an atmosphere of empty and dream-like fantasies about real things. They do not accept the things that are actually true, but are deceived by what appears in their empty imaginations. About them it is said in Isaiah, "Like a thirsty man who dreams that he is drinking, but when he rises he is still thirsty, and his soul has cherished a vain hope, so shall be the wealth of all the nations, as many as have warred in Jerusalem." If, then, we seem to have made a digression in explaining the difference between the weak, the sickly, and those who sleep, because of what the Apostle said in the letter to the Corinthians that we have explained, we made that digression because we wanted to show what should be understood by the saying, "And He healed their sick," in Matthew 14:14.

HEALING COMES BEFORE SHARING IN THE LOAVES OF JESUS:

AFTER THIS: the word says, “And when evening came, His disciples came to Him and said, ‘This place is deserted, and the time is already past. Therefore send the crowds away, so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.’” Matthew 14:15 First notice that, when He was about to give the disciples the blessed loaves so that they might set them before the crowds, He healed the sick. He did this so that, after being restored to health, they might take part in the blessed loaves. For while they are still sick, they are not able to receive the loaves of Jesus’ blessing. But if anyone, when he ought to listen to the command, “But let each man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread,” and so on, 1 Corinthians 11:28, does not obey these words, but carelessly takes part in the bread of the Lord and His cup, he becomes weak or sick, or even, if I may use the expression, because he is stupefied by the power of the bread, asleep.

INTRODUCTION TO THE FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND:

WHEN EVENING CAME: His disciples came to Him, Matthew 14:15. This means the completion of the age, about which we may rightly say what is written in the Epistle of John: "It is the last hour," 1 John 2:18. They did not yet understand what the Word was about to do, and they said to Him, "The place is deserted," Matthew 14:15, seeing the deserted condition of the crowds in relation to God and the Law and the Word. But they also said to Him, "The time is past," Matthew 14:15, as if the proper season of the law and the prophets had passed. Perhaps they said this in reference to the word of Jesus, that because of the beheading of John, both the law and the prophets, which were until John, had ceased, Luke 16:16. "The time is past," therefore they say, and no food is available, because the season for it is no longer here, so that those who have followed You into the deserted place may be served by the law and the prophets. And further, the disciples say, "Send them away," Matthew 14:15, so that each one may buy food, if not from the cities, then at least from the villages, places of lower rank. The disciples said these things because, after the letter of the law had been abolished and prophecies had ceased, they had given up hope that unexpected and new food could be found for the crowds. But see what Jesus answers the disciples, though He does not cry out or say it plainly: "You think that if the great crowd leaves Me because they need food, they will find it in villages rather than with Me, and among human bodies, not of citizens but of villagers, rather than by remaining with Me. But I tell you that, regarding what you think they need, they are not in need of it, for they have no need to go away. But regarding what you think they do not need, that is, Me, as if I could not feed them, of this, contrary to your expectation, they do have need. Since, then, I have trained you and made you fit to give rational food to those who need it, give the crowds who have followed Me something to eat. For you have the power, which you received from Me, to feed the multitudes. And if you had paid attention to this, you would have understood that I am much more able to feed them, and you would not have said, 'Send the multitudes away, so that they may go and buy food for themselves,'" Matthew 14:15.

EXPOSITION OF THE DETAILS OF THE MIRACLE:

JESUS: then, because of the power He gave to the disciples, even the power of nourishing others, said, "Give them to eat." Matthew 14:16 But, not denying that they can give loaves, and thinking that there were far too few and not enough to feed those who followed Jesus, and not considering that when Jesus takes each loaf, the Word, He extends it as far as He wills, and makes it sufficient for all whomever He desires to nourish, the disciples say, "We have here only five loaves and two fishes." Matthew 14:17 Perhaps by the five loaves they meant to make a veiled reference to the sensible words of the Scriptures, corresponding in number for this reason to the five senses. But by the two fishes, perhaps, they meant either the word expressed and the word conceived, which are, so to speak, a relish to the sensible things contained in the Scriptures; or, perhaps, the word which had come to them about the Father and the Son. Therefore also after His resurrection He ate of a broiled fish, Luke 24:42-43, having taken a part from the disciples, and having received that theology about the Father which they were in part able to declare to Him. Such is the contribution we have been able to give to the exposition of the word about the five loaves and the two fishes. And probably those who are better able than we are to gather together the five loaves and the two fishes among themselves would be able to give a fuller and better interpretation of their meaning. It must be observed, however, that while in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the disciples say that they have the five loaves and the two fishes, without indicating whether they were wheaten or of barley, John alone says that the loaves were barley loaves. John 6:9 Therefore, perhaps, in the Gospel of John the disciples do not acknowledge that the loaves are with them, but say, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fishes." John 6:9 And so long as these five loaves and two fishes were not carried by the disciples of Jesus, they did not increase or multiply, nor were they able to nourish more. But when the Savior took them, and in the first place looked up to heaven, with the rays of His eyes, as it were, drawing down from it power which was to be mingled with the loaves and the fishes that were about to feed the five thousand; and after this blessed the five loaves and the two fishes, increasing and multiplying them by the word and the blessing; and in the third place, dividing and breaking, He gave to the disciples that they might set them before the multitudes. Then the loaves and the fishes were sufficient, so that all ate and were satisfied, and some portions of the loaves which had been blessed they were unable to eat. For so much remained over for the multitudes, which was not according to the capacity of the multitudes, but of the disciples who were able to take up what remained over of the broken pieces, and to place it in baskets filled with what remained over, baskets whose number was as many as the tribes of Israel. Concerning Joseph, then, it is written in the Psalms, "His hands served in the basket," but about the disciples of Jesus, that they took up what remained over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets; twelve baskets, I take it, not half-full, but filled. And there are, I think, even up to the present time, and will be until the consummation of the age, with the disciples of Jesus, who are superior to the multitudes, the twelve baskets filled with the broken pieces of living bread which the multitudes cannot eat. Now those who ate of the five loaves which existed before the twelve baskets that remained over were kindred in nature to the number five. For those who ate had reached the stage of sensible things, since they also were nourished by Him who looked up to heaven and blessed and broke them, and were not boys nor women, but men. For there are, I think, even in sensible foods differences, so that some of them belong to those who have put away childish things, 1 Corinthians 13:11, and some to those who are still babes and carnal in Christ.

THE EXPLANATION OF THE DETAILS CONTINUES: the sitting down on the grass and the division into groups.

WE HAVE SAID THESE THINGS BECAUSE OF THE WORDS: “Those who ate were five thousand men, besides children and women,” in Matthew 14:21, which is an unclear statement. For either those who ate were five thousand men, and among those who ate there was no child or woman, or the men alone were five thousand, and the children and women were not counted. Some, as we said earlier, have understood the passage to mean that neither children nor women were present when the five loaves and the two fish were increased and multiplied. But someone might say that, while many ate and shared in the blessed loaves according to what they deserved and were able to receive, some were Israelite men worthy to be counted and numbered, like the men twenty years old and upward who are numbered in the Book of Numbers, Numbers 1:3. Others, not worthy of such counting and numbering, were children and women. Moreover, interpret the children with me in an allegorical way, according to the passage, “I could not speak to you as to spiritual people, but as to carnal people, as to babes in Christ,” in 1 Corinthians 3:1; and the women according to the saying, “I wish to present you all as a pure virgin to Christ,” in 2 Corinthians 11:2; and the men according to the saying, “When I became a man, I put away childish things,” in 1 Corinthians 13:11. Let us not pass over without explanation the words, “He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass, and He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed, and broke, and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes. And they all ate,” in Matthew 14:19–20. For what is meant by the words, “And He commanded all the multitudes to sit down on the grass”? And what should we understand in this passage that is worthy of the command of Jesus? Now I think that He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass because of what is said in Isaiah, “All flesh is grass,” in Isaiah 40:6. That is, He commanded them to put the flesh under control, and to keep the mind of the flesh in subjection, according to Romans 8:6, so that a person might be able to partake of the loaves that Jesus blesses. Then, since there are different ranks among those who need the food Jesus supplies, and all are not fed by the same words, I think that Mark wrote, “And He commanded them all to sit down by groups upon the green grass; and they sat down in ranks by hundreds and by fifties,” in Mark 6:39–40. But Luke says, “And He said to His disciples, Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each,” in Luke 9:14. For it was necessary that those who were to find rest in the food of Jesus should be either in the rank of the hundred, the sacred number, which is consecrated to God because of the unit in it, or in the rank of the fifty, the number that includes the remission of sins, in agreement with the mystery of the Jubilee, which took place every fifty years, and of the feast of Pentecost. And I think that the twelve baskets were in the possession of the disciples to whom it was said, “You shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel,” in Matthew 19:28. And just as the throne of the one who judges the tribe of Reuben might be called a mystery, and the throne of the one who judges the tribe of Simeon, and another of the one who judges the tribe of Judah, and so on with the others, so also there might be a basket of food for Reuben, another for Simeon, and another for Levi. But it does not fit our present discussion to go so far away from the subject before us as to gather together what is said about the twelve tribes, and separately what is said about each one, and to explain what each tribe of Israel may mean.

THE MULTITUDES AND THE DISCIPLES CONTRASTED:

AND IMMEDIATELY HE MADE THE DISCIPLES GET INTO THE BOAT AND GO AHEAD OF HIM TO THE OTHER SIDE: until He should send the multitudes away. Matthew 14:22 We should notice how often, in the same passages, the words "the multitudes" and "the disciples" are mentioned. By observing and comparing the passages about this matter, we can see that the aim of the Evangelists was to show, through the Gospel history, the differences among those who come to Jesus. Some are the multitudes and are not called disciples. Others are the disciples, who are better than the multitudes. For now, however, it is enough for us to present a few sayings, so that anyone who is stirred by them may do the same with the whole of the Gospels. So it is written—as if the multitudes were below, but the disciples were able to come to Jesus when He went up into the mountain, where the multitudes were not able to be—as follows: "And seeing the multitudes He went up into the mountain, and when He had sat down His disciples came to Him; and He opened His mouth and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit," and so on. Matthew 5:1-3 And again, in another place, since the multitudes needed healing, it says, "Many multitudes followed Him and He healed them." Matthew 12:15 We do not find any healing of the disciples recorded. For if anyone is already a disciple of Jesus, he is whole, and being well he needs Jesus not as a physician, but in respect of His other powers. Again, in another place, when He was speaking to the multitudes, His mother and His brothers stood outside, seeking to speak to Him. This was made known to Him by someone, and He answered by stretching out His hand, not toward the multitudes but toward the disciples, and said, "Behold My mother and My brothers." Matthew 12:46-49 And, bearing witness that the disciples were doing the will of the Father who is in heaven, He added, "He is My brother and sister and mother." Matthew 12:50 And again, in another place, it is written, "All the multitude stood on the beach and He spoke to them many things in parables." Matthew 13:2-3 Then after the parable of the sowing, it was no longer the multitudes but the disciples who came and said to Him, not, "Why do you speak to us in parables?" but, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" Matthew 13:10 Then He also answered and said, not to the multitudes but to the disciples, "To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given." Matthew 13:11 Accordingly, among those who come to the name of Jesus, some who know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven would be called disciples. But those to whom such a privilege is not given would be called multitudes, and would be spoken of as inferior to the disciples. For notice carefully that He said to the disciples, "To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven," but about the multitudes, "To them it is not given." Matthew 13:11 And in another place He does dismiss the multitudes and goes into the house. Matthew 13:36 But He does not dismiss the disciples. And there came to Him into His house, not the multitudes but His disciples, saying, "Declare to us the parable of the tares of the field." Matthew 13:36 Moreover, in another place, when Jesus heard the things concerning John and withdrew in a boat to a desert place apart, the multitudes followed Him. When He came out and saw a great multitude, He had compassion on them and healed their sick—the sick of the multitudes, not of the disciples. Matthew 14:13-14 And when evening had come, there came to Him, not the multitudes, but the disciples, as being different from the multitudes, saying, "Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food." Matthew 14:15 Further, when Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven He blessed and broke the loaves, He gave them not to the multitudes but to the disciples, Matthew 14:19 so that the disciples might give them to the multitudes. For the multitudes were not able to take from Him directly, but received with difficulty from the hands of the disciples the loaves of the blessing of Jesus. And they did not eat even all of these, for the multitudes were filled and left what remained over in twelve full baskets.

THE DISCIPLES IN CONFLICT: Jesus walks on the water.

THE REASON WE HAVE TAKEN UP THIS SUBJECT IS THE PASSAGE UNDER DISCUSSION: It tells that Jesus separated the disciples from the multitudes, and constrained them to enter into the boat and to go before Him to the other side, until He Himself should send the multitudes away, Matthew 14:22. For the multitudes were not able to go away to the other side, since in the mystic sense they were not Hebrews, which by interpretation means dwelling on the other side. But this was the work of the disciples of Jesus. I mean, to go away to the other side, and to pass beyond things seen and material, as temporal, and to go on to things unseen and eternal. To be dismissed by Jesus was a sufficient act of kindness bestowed on the multitudes by Jesus. For just because they were multitudes, they were not able to go away to the other side. And no one has the power to effect this kind of dismissal except Jesus only. And it is not possible for anyone to be dismissed unless he has first eaten of the loaves which Jesus blesses. Nor is it possible for anyone to eat of the loaves of blessing of Jesus unless he has done as Jesus commanded and sat down upon the grass, as we have said. Nor again was it possible for the multitudes to do this unless they had followed Jesus from their own cities, when He withdrew into a desert place apart. And at first, when He was asked by the disciples to send away the multitudes, He did not send them away until He had fed them with the loaves of blessing. But now He sends them away, having first constrained the disciples to enter into the boat. And He sends them away while they were somewhere below, for the desert was below, but He Himself went up into the mountain to pray, Matthew 14:23. And you must observe this. Immediately after the five thousand had been fed, Jesus constrained the disciples to embark into the boat, and to go before Him to the other side. Only, the disciples were not able to go before Jesus to the other side. But when they had got as far as the middle of the sea, and the boat was distressed because the wind was contrary to them, Matthew 14:24, they were afraid when, about the fourth watch of the night, Jesus came to them. And if Jesus had not gone up into the boat, neither would the wind which was contrary to the disciples who were sailing have ceased, nor would those who were sailing have gone across and come to the other side. And perhaps, wishing to teach them by experience that it was not possible apart from Him to go to the other side, He constrained them to enter into the boat and go before Him to the other side. But when they were not able to advance farther than the middle of the sea, He appeared to them and did what is written, Matthew 14:25, and showed that he who arrives at the other side reaches it because Jesus sails along with him. But what is the boat into which Jesus constrained the disciples to enter? Is it perhaps the conflict of temptations and difficulties into which anyone is constrained by the Word, and goes unwillingly, as it were, when the Savior wishes to train by exercise the disciples in this boat which is distressed by the waves and the contrary wind? But since Mark has made a slight change in the reading, and for, "Straightway He constrained the disciples to enter into the boat and to go before Him to the other side," has written, "And straightway He constrained His disciples to enter into the boat and to go before Him to the other side unto Bethsaida," Mark 6:45, we must attend to the words, "He constrained," after we have first seen the slight variation in Mark, who indicates something more definite by the addition of the pronoun. For the same thing is not expressed by the words, "Straightway He constrained the disciples." Something more than the disciples simply is written in Mark, namely, "His disciples." Perhaps, therefore, if we attend to the expression, the disciples, who found it hard to tear themselves away from Jesus and could not be separated from Him by any ordinary cause, wished to be present with Him. But He, having judged that they should make trial of the waves and of the contrary wind, which would not have been contrary if they had been with Jesus, put on them the necessity of being separated from Him and entering into the boat. The Savior then compels the disciples to enter into the boat of temptations and to go before Him to the other side, and through victory over them to go beyond critical difficulties. But when they had come into the midst of the sea, and of the waves in the temptations, and of the contrary winds which prevented them from going away to the other side, they were not able, struggling as they were without Jesus, to overcome the waves and the contrary wind and reach the other side. Therefore the Word, taking compassion on them who had done all that was in their power to reach the other side, came to them walking upon the sea, which for Him had no waves or wind able to oppose, if He so willed. For it is not written, "He came to them walking upon the waves," but, "upon the waters," Matthew 14:25. Just as Peter, who at first, when Jesus said to him, "Come," went down from the boat and walked not upon the waves, but upon the waters, Matthew 14:29, to come to Jesus. But when he doubted, he saw that the wind was strong, though it was not strong to the one who had laid aside his little faith and his doubting. But when Jesus went up with Peter into the boat, the wind ceased, as it had no power to energize against the boat when Jesus had gone up into it.

INTERPRETATION OF THE DETAILS IN THE NARRATIVE: and their application to all disciples.

THEN THE DISCIPLES CROSSED OVER AND CAME TO THE LAND OF GENNESARET: Matthew 14:34. If we knew the meaning of that word, it might help us explain this passage. Notice this: since God is faithful and will not allow the crowds to be tempted beyond what they are able to bear, the Son of God made the disciples get into the boat because they were stronger and able to reach the middle of the sea and endure the trials from the waves. They endured them until they became worthy of divine help, and saw Jesus and heard Him after He had gone up, and crossed over and came to the land of Gennesaret. But the crowds were weaker. They did not face the trial of the boat and the waves and the contrary wind. So He sent them away and went up on the mountain by Himself to pray, Matthew 14:22-23. To pray for whom? Perhaps He prayed for the crowds, so that after they were dismissed following the loaves of blessing, they would do nothing contrary to their dismissal by Jesus. And perhaps He prayed for the disciples, so that when He made them get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, they would suffer no harm in the sea or from the contrary wind. And I would confidently say that because Jesus prayed to the Father for the disciples, they suffered nothing, though sea and wave and contrary wind were fighting against them. So the simpler disciple may be satisfied with the plain story. But let us remember this, if we ever fall into painful temptations: Jesus has made us enter their boat, wanting us to go before Him to the other side. For it is not possible for us to reach the other side unless we have endured the temptations of waves and contrary wind. Then, when we see many troubles surrounding us, and by a moderate struggle have swum through them to some extent, let us think that our boat is in the middle of the sea, at that time distressed by the waves that want to make us suffer shipwreck concerning the faith or one of the virtues. But when we see the spirit of the evil one fighting against us, let us understand that then the wind is contrary to us. When in such suffering we have spent three watches of the night, that is, of the darkness that is in temptations, struggling nobly with all our strength and watching ourselves so that we do not suffer shipwreck concerning the faith or one of the virtues, the first watch against the father of darkness and wickedness, the second watch against his son who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or is worshipped, 2 Thessalonians 2:4, and the third watch against the spirit that is opposed to the Holy Spirit, then we believe that when the fourth watch draws near, when the night is far spent and the day is at hand, Romans 13:12, the Son of God will come to us so that He may prepare the sea for us, walking on it. And when we see the Word appear to us, we will indeed be troubled before we clearly understand that it is the Savior who has come to us. We will think that we are still seeing an apparition, and in fear we will cry out. But He Himself will immediately speak to us and say, "Be of good cheer; it is I; do not be afraid," Matthew 14:27. And if, deeply stirred by His words, "Be of good cheer," some Peter is found among us, one who is on the way to perfection but has not yet become perfect, then after coming down from the boat, as if coming out of that temptation in which he was distressed, he will indeed walk at first, wanting to come to Jesus on the waters. But since he is still of little faith and still doubting, he will see that the wind is strong and will be afraid and begin to sink. But he will not sink, because he will call on Jesus with a loud voice and say to Him, "Lord, save me," Matthew 14:30. Then immediately, while such a Peter is still speaking and saying, "Lord, save me," the Word will stretch out His hand, offering help to such a man, and will take hold of him when he is beginning to sink, and will rebuke him for his little faith and doubting, Matthew 14:31. Only notice that He did not say, "O you without faith," but, "O you of little faith," and it was said, "Why did you doubt?" This shows that he still had some measure of faith, but also had a leaning toward what was opposed to faith.

THE HEALING OF THE SICK ON THE OTHER SIDE: The method of healing.

BUT AFTER THIS: both Jesus and Peter will get into the boat, and the wind will stop. Then those in the boat, realizing the great dangers from which they have been saved, will worship Him and say, not simply, "You are the Son of God," as the two demon-possessed men also said, but, "Truly, You are the Son of God." Matthew 14:33 The disciples in the boat say this, for I do not think that anyone other than the disciples said it. And when we have gone through all these experiences and have crossed over, we shall come to the land where Jesus told us to go ahead of Him. And perhaps, also, some hidden and secret mystery about some who were saved by Jesus is shown by the words, "And when the men of that place knew Him"—clearly the place on the other side—"they sent into all that region round about"—round about the other side, not on the other side itself, but around it—"and they brought to Him all that were sick." Matthew 14:35 And notice here that they brought to Him not only many who were sick, but all in that whole region around it. And the sick who were brought to Him begged Him that they might touch even the border of His garment, Matthew 14:36 asking this grace from Him, since they were not like the woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years, who came up behind Him and touched the border of His garment, saying within herself, "If I only touch His garment, I shall be made well." Matthew 9:20-21 For notice what is said about the border of His garment, and because of it her flow of blood stopped at once. But those from the country around the land of Gennesaret, to which Jesus and His disciples crossed over and came, did not come to Jesus by themselves. They were brought by those who had sent the news, since they were unable to come by themselves because of their extreme weakness. Nor did they merely touch the garment, like the woman who had the flow of blood, but they touched it after they had begged Him. Only this is said of them: as many as touched were made well. Matthew 14:36 And whether there is any difference between "they were made well," which is said in their case, and "being saved"—for it was said to the woman with the flow of blood, "Your faith has saved you," Matthew 9:22—you may consider for yourself.

ABOUT THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES WHO CAME AND ASKED: “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders?”

THEN PHARISEES AND SCRIBES FROM JERUSALEM CAME TO HIM AND SAID: "Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread." Matthew 15:1-2 Anyone who notices when the Pharisees and scribes came from Jerusalem to Jesus, saying, "Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders?" and so on, will see that Matthew did not simply write that Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem came to the Savior to ask Him about these matters. He necessarily wrote it this way: "Then Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem came to Him." What time, then, should we understand by "then"? It was the time when Jesus and His disciples crossed over and came by boat to the land of Gennesaret, when the wind stopped after Jesus entered the boat, and when the men of that place recognized Him, sent into all the surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick, and begged Him that they might only touch the border of His garment. And as many as touched it were made well. Matthew 14:35-36 At that time Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem came to Him. They were not amazed at the power in Jesus, which healed those who touched even the border of His garment. Instead, with a fault-finding spirit, they accused the disciples before their Teacher, not about breaking a commandment of God, but about one tradition of the Jewish elders. And probably this very accusation from these fault-finding men is proof of the piety of Jesus' disciples. The Pharisees and scribes had no chance to accuse them of breaking the commandments of God. They would not have charged the disciples with breaking the commandment of the elders if they had been able to accuse those men and show that they were breaking a commandment of God. But do not suppose that these things prove that it is necessary to keep the law of Moses according to the letter, because the disciples of Jesus kept it up to that time. For it was not before He suffered that He redeemed us from the curse of the law, Galatians 3:13, since in suffering for men He became a curse for us. But since Paul rightly became a Jew to the Jews so that he might gain Jews, 1 Corinthians 9:20, what is strange about the Apostles, whose whole manner of life was spent among the Jews, using a spirit of accommodation, even though they understood the spiritual meaning in the law? Paul also did this when he circumcised Timothy, Acts 16:3, and offered sacrifice in keeping with a certain legal vow, as it is written in the Acts of the Apostles. Again, they seem eager to make accusations, because they have no charge to bring against the disciples of Jesus concerning a commandment of God, but only concerning one tradition of the elders. And this love of accusation is shown especially in the fact that they bring the charge in the presence of the very people who had been healed from their sickness. In appearance they were speaking against the disciples, but in reality they intended to slander their Teacher, because it was a tradition of the elders that washing the hands was something necessary for piety. For they thought that the hands of those who did not wash before eating bread were defiled and unclean, but that the hands of those who washed with water became pure and holy, not figuratively, but in direct agreement with the law of Moses according to the letter. But let us, not according to the tradition of the elders among the Jews, but according to sound reason, try to purify our own actions, and in that way wash the hands of our souls when we are about to eat the three loaves that we ask from Jesus, who wants to be our friend. For with hands that are defiled, unwashed, and impure, we ought not to partake of the loaves.

EXPLANATION OF CORBAN:

JESUS: however, does not accuse them concerning a tradition of the Jewish elders, but concerning two of God's most urgent commandments. One of them was the fifth in the Ten Commandments: "Honor your father and your mother, that it may be well with you, and that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you," Exodus 20:12. The other was written in Leviticus: "If a man speaks evil of his father or his mother, let him surely die; he has spoken evil of his father or mother; he shall be guilty," Leviticus 20:9. But if we want to examine the exact wording as given by Matthew, "He that speaks evil of father or mother, let him die the death," Matthew 15:4, consider whether it was taken from the place where it was written, "Whoever strikes his father or mother, let him die the death; and he that speaks evil of father or mother, let him die the death." For these are the exact words taken from the Law concerning the two commandments. But Matthew quoted them partly and in shortened form, and not in the exact words. But we must consider the nature of the charge that the Savior brings against the Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem when He says that they transgress the commandment of God because of their tradition. And God said, "Honor your father and your mother," Exodus 20:12, teaching that a child should give his parents the honor that is due to them. One part of this honor to parents was to share with them the necessities of life, such as food and clothing, and anything else by which children could show kindness to their own parents. But the Pharisees and scribes taught, against the law, a tradition that is rather obscurely mentioned in the Gospel. We ourselves would not have understood it unless one of the Hebrews had given us the following explanation of the passage. Sometimes, he says, when money-lenders met stubborn debtors who were able but unwilling to pay what they owed, they dedicated the debt to the account of the poor. For money was thrown into the treasury by those who wanted to give some part of their goods to the poor according to their ability. So they would sometimes say to their debtors in their own language, "What you owe me is Corban," that is, "a gift," for I have dedicated it to the poor, to the account of piety toward God. Then the debtor, being no longer in debt to men but to God and to piety toward God, was shut up, so to speak, into paying the debt, even if unwilling. He no longer paid it to the money-lender, but now to God for the account of the poor, though in the name of the money-lender. What the money-lender did to the debtor, some sons also did to their parents. They said to them, "That by which you might have been helped by me, father or mother, know that you will receive this from Corban," Matthew 15:4, from the account of the poor who are dedicated to God. Then the parents, hearing that what should have been given to them was Corban, that is, dedicated to God, no longer wished to take it from their sons, even though they were in extreme need of the necessities of life. The elders, then, declared to the people a tradition of this kind: whoever said to his father or mother that what should be given to either of them is Corban and a gift, that man was no longer a debtor to his father or mother with respect to giving them the necessities of life. The Savior rebukes this tradition as unsound and opposed to the commandment of God. For if God says, "Honor your father and your mother," but the tradition says that he is not bound to honor his father or mother by a gift if he has dedicated to God, as Corban, what would have been given to his parents, then plainly the commandment of God concerning the honor due to parents was made void by the tradition of the Pharisees and scribes. Their tradition said that he was no longer bound to honor his father or mother if he had once for all dedicated to God what the parents would have received. And the Pharisees, as lovers of money, gave this teaching so that, under the pretense of the poor, they might receive even what would have been given to a person's parents. And the Gospel bears witness to their love of money, saying, "But the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they scoffed at Him," Luke 16:14. If, then, any of those who are called elders among us, or any who are in any way rulers of the people, claim to give to the poor in the name of the common good rather than to be among those who give to their relatives when they happen to be in need of the necessities of life, and if those who give cannot do both, that man could rightly be called a brother of those Pharisees who made void the word of God through their own tradition and were accused by the Savior as hypocrites. And as a very strong warning to keep anyone from wanting to take from the account of the poor, and from thinking that the piety of others is a means of gain, 1 Timothy 6:5, we have not only these things, but also what is recorded about the traitor Judas. He appeared to defend the cause of the poor and said with indignation, "This ointment might have been sold for three hundred pence and given to the poor," but in reality he was a thief, and having the bag, he took away what was put in it, John 12:6. If, then, anyone in our time who has the bag of the Church speaks like Judas on behalf of the poor, but takes away what is put in it, let the portion assigned to him be along with Judas, who did these things. Because these things ate like a gangrene into his soul, the devil put it into his heart to betray the Savior. And when he had received the fiery dart, Ephesians 6:16, for this purpose, the devil afterward himself entered into his soul and took full possession of him. And perhaps when the Apostle says, "The love of money is a root of all evils," 1 Timothy 6:10, he says it because of Judas' love of money, which was a root of all the evils that were committed against Jesus.

10. The Traditions of the Elders in Conflict with Divine Law.

BUT LET US RETURN TO THE SUBJECT BEFORE US: In it, the Savior shortened and explained two commandments from the law: one from the Ten Commandments in Exodus, and the other from Leviticus, or from one of the other books of the Pentateuch. Since we have explained how they set aside the word of God that says, "Honor your father and your mother," by saying, "Whoever says to his father or mother, 'It is a gift, whatever you might have received from me,' you shall not honor your father or your mother," someone may ask whether these words, "He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die," Matthew 15:4, do not seem out of place. For even if the man who dedicates as Corban what should have been given to honor his father and mother does fail to honor them, how does the tradition of the Pharisees set aside the word that says, "He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die"? But perhaps when someone said to his father or his mother, "It is a gift, whatever you might have received from me," Matthew 15:5, he was, in a sense, speaking abusively to his father or mother, as if he were calling his parents sacrilegious for taking from him what had been consecrated as Corban. The Jews, then, punish their sons according to the law, as men who speak evil of father or mother, when they say to their father or mother, "It is a gift, whatever you might have received from me." But by one of your traditions you set aside two commandments of God. Then you are not ashamed to accuse My disciples, who break no commandment. They walk blamelessly in all His commandments and ordinances, but they break a tradition of the elders so that they may not break a commandment of God. And if you had kept this goal before you, you would have kept the commandment about the honor due to father and mother, and the one that says, "He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die." But you would not have kept the tradition of the elders that opposes these commandments.

11. Explanation of the Prophecy of Isaiah Quoted by Jesus.

AFTER THIS: because He wanted to completely refute all these traditions of the elders among the Jews by the words of the prophets, He set before them a saying from Isaiah. In the exact words it is this: “And the Lord said, This people draws near to Me with their mouth,” and so on, Isaiah 29:13. As we said before, Matthew has not written the prophetic saying in the exact words. If it is necessary, because of its use in the Gospel, to explain it as best we can, we will also take the passage that comes before it. In my judgment, that passage is usefully noted for explaining the Gospel passage taken from the prophet. The passage in Isaiah, from the beginning, is this: “Be faint, and be maddened; be drunk, but not with strong drink or with wine. For the Lord has made you drink the spirit of stupor, and He will close their eyes, both of their prophets and of their rulers who see secret things. And all these sayings will be to you like the words of a sealed book. If they give it to a man who knows letters, saying, ‘Read this,’ he will answer, ‘I cannot read it, for it is sealed.’ And the book will be given into the hands of a man who does not know letters, and someone will say to him, ‘Read this,’ and he will say, ‘I do not know letters.’ And the Lord said, ‘This people is near to Me,’” and so on, down to the words, “Woe to those who form counsel in secret, and whose works are in darkness,” Isaiah 29:9-15. So then, taking up the passage before us in the Gospel, I have included some of the verses before it and some after it, to show how the Word threatens to close the eyes of those among the people who are astonished and drunk, and who have been made to drink the spirit of deep sleep. He also threatens to close the eyes of their prophets and their rulers, who claim to see secret things. I think these things happened among that people after the coming of the Saviour. For all the words of the whole Scriptures, including Isaiah, have become to them like the words of a sealed book. Now the word “sealed” is used of a book that is closed because it is obscure and not open because it is clear. It is equally obscure both to those who cannot read it at all because they do not know letters, and to those who claim to know letters but do not understand the meaning of what has been written. So he rightly adds this: when the people, made faint because of their sins and in a state of madness, rage against Him through those sins by which they will be made drunk against Him with the spirit of stupor, which the Lord will make them drink when He closes their eyes as unworthy to see, and also the eyes of their prophets and rulers who claim to see the hidden things of the mysteries in the Divine Scriptures—when their eyes are closed, then the prophetic words will be sealed to them and hidden. This has happened with those who do not believe in Jesus as the Christ. And when the prophetic sayings have become like the words of a sealed book, not only to those who do not know letters but also to those who claim to know them, then the Lord said that the people of the Jews draw near to God only with their mouth. He says that they honor Him with their lips, because their heart, because of their unbelief in Jesus, is far from the Lord. And now especially, from the time when they denied our Saviour, God could say about them, “But in vain do they worship Me,” Matthew 15:9. For they no longer teach the commands of God, but the commands of men, and doctrines that are human and no longer of the Spirit of wisdom. Therefore, when these things happen to them, God has removed the people of the Jews and has caused the wisdom of the wise men among them to perish. For there is no longer wisdom among them, just as there is no longer prophecy. But God has completely destroyed and hidden the prudence of the prudent, Isaiah 29:14, and it is no longer splendid and plain to see. Therefore, although they may seem to make some counsel in a deep way, because they do not do it through the Lord they are called miserable. And even though they claim to tell some secrets of the divine counsel, they lie, since their works are not works of light, but of darkness and night, Isaiah 29:15. I have thought it right to briefly present the prophecy and to explain its meaning to some extent, since Matthew mentioned it. Mark also mentioned it. From him we may usefully quote the following words in this place, about the transgression of the elders who held that it was necessary to wash hands when the Jews ate bread: “For the Pharisees and all the Jews, unless they wash their hands carefully, do not eat, holding the tradition of the elders. And when they come from the marketplace, unless they wash themselves, they do not eat. And there are many other things which they have received to observe, washings of cups and pots and bronze vessels and couches,” Mark 7:3-4.

12. Things Clean and Unclean According to the Law and the Gospel.

AND HE CALLED THE CROWD TO HIM AND SAID TO THEM: "Hear and understand," Matthew 15:10. In these words, the Savior clearly teaches us that when we read in Leviticus and Deuteronomy the commands about clean and unclean foods, because of breaking which the literal-minded Jews and the Ebionites, who differ little from them, accuse us, we should not think that the purpose of Scripture is found in a shallow understanding of them. For if it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, Matthew 15:11, and especially since, according to Mark, the Savior said this while making all foods clean, Mark 7:19, then plainly we are not defiled when we eat the things that the Jews, who want to be in bondage to the letter of the law, call unclean. Rather, we are defiled when our lips, though they ought to be controlled by understanding and weighed with what we may call a balance and measure, Sirach 28:25, speak carelessly and discuss matters we ought not to discuss. From these comes the source of sins. And it is fitting for the law of God to forbid those things that come from wickedness, and to command those things that lead to virtue. But things that are naturally indifferent it leaves in their own place, since according to our choice and the reason within us, they may be done badly if we sin in them, but if guided rightly by us they may be done well. And anyone who has thought carefully about these matters will see that even in things thought to be good, it is possible for a man to sin if he takes them up in an evil way and under the force of passion. And these things called impure may be regarded as pure if we use them according to reason. So then, just as when the Jew sins, his circumcision is counted as uncircumcision, but when one of the Gentiles lives uprightly, his uncircumcision is counted as circumcision, Romans 2:25-26, so the things thought to be pure will be counted as impure in the case of the man who does not use them properly, nor when he ought, nor as much as he ought, nor for the reason he ought. But as for the things called impure, all things become pure to the pure. For, "To those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, since both their mind and their conscience are defiled." Titus 1:15. And when these are defiled, they make everything they touch defiled. On the other hand, the pure mind and the pure conscience make all things pure, even if they seem to be impure. For the righteous do not use foods or drinks from lack of self-control, nor from love of pleasure, nor with doubting that pulls a man in both directions. Instead, they remember the command, "Whether you eat or drink or whatever else you do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31. And if it is necessary to describe the foods that are unclean according to the Gospel, we will say that they are foods supplied by greed, produced by shameful love of gain, taken up from love of pleasure, and from making a god of the belly, which is treated with honor when it, with its desires, rules our souls instead of reason. But as for us, if we know that some things are used by demons, or if we do not know but suspect it and are uncertain about it, then if we use such things, we have not used them to the glory of God, nor in the name of Christ. For not only does the suspicion that things have been sacrificed to idols condemn the man who eats, but even doubt about it does. For, according to the Apostle, "He who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin." Romans 14:23. Therefore, he eats in faith who believes that what is eaten has not been sacrificed in idol temples, and that it is not strangled nor blood. But he does not eat from faith who doubts about any of these things. And the man who knows that they have been sacrificed to demons and still uses them becomes a sharer with demons, while at the same time his imagination is polluted by thoughts of demons taking part in the sacrifice. However, the Apostle knew that it is not the nature of foods that harms the man who uses them or benefits the man who avoids them, but the opinions about them and the reason within them. So he said, "Food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we better, nor if we do not eat are we worse." 1 Corinthians 8:8. And since he knew that those who have a higher understanding of what is pure and impure according to the law turn away from the distinction about the use of pure and impure things, and, I think, from superstition about things being different, and so become unconcerned about the use of foods, and for this reason are condemned by the Jews as breakers of the law, he therefore said somewhere, "Let no man therefore judge you in food or in drink," Colossians 2:16. In this he teaches us that the things according to the letter are a shadow, but the true meanings of the law stored up in them are the good things to come. In these one may find what are the pure spiritual foods of the soul, and what are the impure foods in false and contradictory words that harm the man nourished by them. For, "The law had a shadow of the good things to come." Hebrews 10:1.

13. The Offence of the Pharisees.

And just as in many cases we must consider the amazement of the Jews at the Savior’s words, because they were spoken with authority, so we must do the same with the words here. Therefore, after calling the crowds to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand,” Matthew 15:10, and so on. He said this because the Pharisees were offended at this statement. Because of their evil opinions and their worthless interpretation of the law, they were not the plant of His own Father in heaven, and for this reason they were being rooted up, Matthew 15:13. For they were rooted up because they did not receive the true vine, which was cultivated by the Father, that is, Jesus Christ, John 15:1. For how could they be a plant of His Father when they were offended at the words of Jesus? His words turn people away from the command, “Do not handle, nor taste, nor touch”—things that all perish with use—according to the commandments and teachings of men, Colossians 2:21-22. Instead, these words lead the intelligent hearer to seek the things that are above and not the things on the earth, as the Jews do, Colossians 3:2. And since, because of their evil opinions, the Pharisees were not the plant of His Father in heaven, for this reason, as concerning people who could not be corrected, He says to the disciple, “Let them alone,” Matthew 15:14. He said, “Let them alone,” for this reason: because, since they were blind, they ought to become aware of their blindness and seek guides. But they were unaware of their own blindness and claimed to guide the blind, not realizing that they would fall into a pit. About this it is written in the Psalms, “He has made a pit, and dug it, and will fall into the ditch which he has made.” Again, elsewhere it is written, “And seeing the multitudes, He went up into the mountain, and when He had sat down His disciples came to Him,” Matthew 5:1. But here He stretches out His hand to the crowd, calling them to Him and turning their thoughts away from the literal interpretation of the questions in the law. So first He said to them, though they did not yet understand what they heard, “Hear and understand,” and after that, as if in parables, He said to them, “Not what enters into the mouth defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth,” Matthew 15:10-11.

14. Why the Pharisees Were Not a Plant of God. Origen’s teaching on the bread of the Lord.

AFTER THIS: it is worthwhile to look at the phrase that has been attacked in a clever but false way by those who say that the God of the law and the God of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not the same. For they say that the heavenly Father of Jesus Christ is not the husbandman of those who think that they worship God according to the law of Moses. Jesus Himself said that the Pharisees, who were worshipping the God who created the world and the law, were not a plant that His heavenly Father had planted, and that for this reason it was being rooted up. Matthew 15:13 But you might also say this. Even if it was the Father of Jesus who brought in and planted the people, when it came out of Egypt, to the mountain of His own inheritance, to the place He had prepared for Himself to dwell in, Exodus 15:17, even then Jesus would have said about the Pharisees, "Every plant which My heavenly Father planted not shall be rooted up." Now to this we will say that all who, because of their perverse interpretation of the things in the law, were not a plant of His Father in heaven, were blinded in their minds, as not believing the truth but taking pleasure in unrighteousness, 2 Thessalonians 2:12, by him who is deified by the sons of this world, and who for this reason is called by Paul the god of this world. 2 Corinthians 4:4 And do not suppose that Paul said that he was truly God. For just as the belly, though it is not the god of those who prize pleasure too highly, being lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, is said by Paul to be their god, Philippians 3:19, so the prince of this world, of whom the Savior says, "Now has the prince of this world been judged," John 16:11, though he is not God, is said to be the god of those who do not wish to receive the Spirit of adoption, in order that they may become sons of that world, and sons of the resurrection from the dead, and who on this account remain in the sonship of this world. I have thought it necessary to introduce these matters, even though they may have been spoken by way of digression, because of the saying, "They are blind guides of the blind." Matthew 15:14 Who are such? The Pharisees, whose minds the god of this world has blinded, since they are unbelieving because they have not believed in Jesus Christ. And he has blinded them so that the light of the Gospel of the glory of God in the face of Christ should not dawn upon them. 2 Corinthians 4:4 But we must not only avoid being guided by those blind ones who know that they are in need of guides, because they have not yet received the power of vision in themselves. Even in the case of all who claim to guide us in sound doctrine, we must listen carefully and apply sound judgment to what is said. Otherwise, being guided according to the ignorance of those who are blind and do not see the things that concern sound doctrine, we ourselves may appear to be blind because we do not see the sense of the Scriptures. Then both he who guides and he who is guided will fall into the ditch of which we spoke before. Next, it is written how Peter answered and said to the Savior, as if he had not understood the saying, "Not that which comes into the mouth defiles the man, but that which goes out of the mouth. Declare to us the parable." Matthew 15:11 To this the Savior says, "Are you also, even yet, without understanding?" Matthew 15:16 It is as if He had said, "After being with Me so long, do you not yet understand the meaning of what is said? And do you not see that for this reason what goes into his mouth does not defile the man, because it passes into the belly, and going out from it is cast into the draught?" Matthew 15:17 It was not in respect to the law, in which they appeared to believe, that the Pharisees were not a plant of the Father of Jesus, but in respect to their perverse interpretation of the law and the things written in it. For there are two things to be understood in regard to the law: the ministration of death, which was engraved in letters and had no kinship with the Spirit, and the ministration of life, which is understood in the spiritual law. Those who were able with a sincere heart to say, "We know that the law is spiritual," Romans 7:14, and therefore, "the law is holy, and the commandment holy and righteous and good," Romans 7:12, were the plant that the heavenly Father planted. But those who were not such, and carefully guarded only the letter that kills, were not a plant of God but of him who hardened their heart and put a veil over it. This veil had power over them as long as they did not turn to the Lord. For if anyone should turn to the Lord, the veil is taken away, and the Lord is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:16-17 Now someone, when dealing with this passage, might say that just as what enters into the mouth does not defile the man, Matthew 15:11, even though it may be thought by the Jews to be defiled, so also what enters into the mouth does not sanctify the man, even though what is called the bread of the Lord may be thought by the simpler disciples to sanctify. And I think this saying is not to be despised, and for this reason it demands clear explanation, which seems to me to be this. Just as it is not the food, but the conscience of the one who eats with doubt, that defiles the one who eats, for "he that doubts is condemned if he eat, because he eats not of faith," Romans 14:23, and just as nothing is pure to him who is defiled and unbelieving, not in itself, but because of his defilement and unbelief, so also that which is sanctified through the word of God and prayer does not, in its own nature, sanctify the one who uses it. For if this were so, it would sanctify even the one who eats unworthily of the bread of the Lord, and no one because of this food would become weak or sickly or asleep. Yet Paul represented something of this kind when he said, "For this cause many among you are weak and sickly and not a few sleep." 1 Corinthians 11:30 And accordingly, in the case of the bread of the Lord, there is advantage for the one who uses it when he partakes of the bread with an undefiled mind and a pure conscience. And so, neither by not eating, I mean by the mere fact that we do not eat the bread that has been sanctified by the word of God and prayer, are we deprived of any good thing, nor by eating are we better by any good thing. For the cause of our lacking is wickedness and sins, and the cause of our abounding is righteousness and right actions. So this is the meaning of what is said by Paul: "For neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we eat not are we the worse." 1 Corinthians 8:8 Now if everything that enters into the mouth goes into the belly and is cast out into the draught, Matthew 15:17, then even the food that has been sanctified through the word of God and prayer, in accordance with the fact that it is material, goes into the belly and is cast out into the draught. But in respect to the prayer that comes upon it, according to the proportion of faith, it becomes a benefit and a means of clear vision to the mind that looks to what is beneficial. And it is not the material of the bread, but the word that is said over it, that is of advantage to the one who eats it not unworthily of the Lord. And these things indeed are said about the typical and symbolic body. But many things might be said about the Word Himself who became flesh, John 1:14, and the true food, of which he who eats shall surely live forever, no worthless person being able to eat it. For if it were possible for one who continues worthless to eat of Him who became flesh, who was the Word and the living bread, it would not have been written that everyone who eats of this bread shall live forever. John 6:51

EATING WITH AN UNWASHED HEART DEFILES THE MAN:

NEXT: let us see how the things that come out and defile a man do not defile him because they come out of the mouth. Rather, the cause of their defilement is in the heart. For before the things that come through the mouth, evil thoughts come out of the heart, and their kinds are these: murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false witness, and slanders. Matthew 15:18-19 These are the things that defile a man when they come out of the heart and, going out from it, pass through the mouth. So if they did not come out of the heart, but were held back there somewhere around the heart, and were not allowed to be spoken through the mouth, they would very quickly disappear, and a man would no longer be defiled. The spring and source of every sin, then, is evil thoughts. For unless these gained control, neither murders nor adulteries nor any other such thing would exist. Therefore, each man must keep his own heart with all watchfulness. Proverbs 4:23 For when the Lord comes on the day of judgment, He will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will make known the counsels of the hearts. 1 Corinthians 4:5 In the meantime, all the thoughts of men accuse or else excuse them, Romans 2:15 when their own devices have surrounded them. Hosea 7:2 Evil thoughts are of such a kind that they sometimes make even those things that seem good worthy of blame, though in the judgment of the crowd they are worthy of praise. Accordingly, if we do alms before men, while thinking about appearing philanthropic to men and being honored for our philanthropy, we receive our reward from men. Matthew 6:1-2 And in general, everything that is done with the awareness in the doer that he will be glorified by men has no reward from Him who sees in secret and gives reward in secret to those who are pure. So it is also with apparent purity, if it is driven by vain glory or love of gain. And the teaching that is thought to be the teaching of the Church, if it becomes slavish through flattering speech, whether it is used as an excuse for greed or when someone seeks glory from men because of his teaching, is not counted as the teaching of those whom God has appointed in the Church: first apostles, second prophets, and third teachers. 1 Corinthians 12:28 And you may say the same about the man who seeks the office of a bishop for the sake of glory with men, or flattery from men, or for the sake of gain received from those who come over to the word and give under the name of piety. A bishop of this kind does not desire a good work, 1 Timothy 3:1 nor can he be above reproach, temperate, or sober-minded, since he is drunk with glory and excessively filled with it. And you will say the same also about the elders and deacons. And if we seem to some to have gone off on a digression in speaking of these things, consider whether it was not necessary to say them, because evil thoughts are the spring of all sins and can pollute even those actions which, if they were done apart from evil thoughts, would have justified the man who did them. We have thus examined, as well as we could, what the things are that defile. But eating with unwashed hands does not defile a man. But, if we must say it boldly, to eat anything at all that is the natural food of our reason with an unwashed heart defiles a man.

ABOUT THE CANAANITE WOMAN: The meaning of the borders of Tyre and Sidon.

AND JESUS WENT OUT FROM THERE AND WITHDREW INTO THE REGIONS OF TYRE AND SIDON: And behold, a Canaanite woman came. Matthew 15:21-22 From where was the “from there”? Was it from the land of Gennesaret, about which it was said earlier, “And when they had crossed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret”? Matthew 14:34 But He withdrew, perhaps because the Pharisees were offended when they heard that it is not what enters into a man, but what comes out, that defiles the man. Matthew 15:11 And that He withdrew because they were suspected of plotting against Him is made clear by the passage, “And when He heard that John was delivered up, He withdrew into Galilee.” Matthew 4:12 Perhaps for this reason also, when Mark describes these events, he says that He rose up and went into the borders of Tyre, and after entering a house He wanted no one to know it. Mark 7:24 It is likely that He was trying to avoid the Pharisees who were offended at His teaching, waiting for the time of His suffering, which was more fitting and rightly appointed. But someone might say that Tyre and Sidon stand for the Gentiles. So when He withdrew from Israel, He came into the regions of the Gentiles. Among the Hebrews, Tyre is called Sor, and it is interpreted as “anguish.” Sidon, which is also a Hebrew name, is translated “hunters.” And among the Gentiles also, the hunters are the evil powers, and among them there is great distress, that is, the distress found in wickedness and passions. When Jesus went out from Gennesaret, then, He withdrew indeed from Israel and came, not to Tyre and Sidon, but into the regions of Tyre and Sidon, with the result that those of the Gentiles now believe in part. So if He had visited all of Tyre and Sidon, no unbeliever would have been left in it. Now according to Mark, Jesus rose up and went into the borders of Tyre, Mark 7:24, that is, into the distress of the Gentiles, so that even those from these borders who believe may be saved when they come out from them. For pay attention to this: “And behold, a Canaanite woman came out from those borders and cried, saying, ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is terribly afflicted by a demon.’” Matthew 15:22 And I think that if she had not come out from those borders, she would not have been able to cry out to Jesus with the great faith that received His approval. And in proportion to faith, a person comes out from the borders among the Gentiles, borders which, when the Most High divided the nations, He set up according to the number of the sons of Israel, Deuteronomy 32:8, and held them back from advancing farther. Here, then, certain borders are spoken of as the borders of Tyre and Sidon. But in Exodus there are also the borders of Pharaoh, Exodus 8:2, in which, they say, the plagues against the Egyptians were formed. And we must suppose that each of us, when he sins, is in the borders of Tyre or Sidon or of Pharaoh and Egypt, or of some one of those places that are outside the allotted inheritance of God. But when he turns from wickedness to virtue, he comes out from the borders of evil and comes to the borders of the portion of God. Among these borders also there is a difference, and this will be clear to those who are able to understand the things concerning the division and the inheritance of Israel, in agreement with the spiritual law. And notice also the meeting, so to speak, that took place between Jesus and the Canaanite woman. For He comes to the regions of Tyre and Sidon, and she comes out from those regions and cried, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David.” Matthew 15:22 Now the woman was Canaanite, which is translated “prepared for humiliation.” The righteous, indeed, are prepared for the kingdom of heaven and for exaltation in the kingdom of God. But sinners are prepared for the humiliation that belongs to the wickedness in them, and to the deeds that flow from it and prepare them for it, and to the sin that reigns in their mortal body. But the Canaanite woman came out from those borders and went out from the condition of being prepared for humiliation, crying and saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David.”

17. Explanation of the details in the narrative.

NOW BRING TOGETHER FROM THE GOSPELS THOSE WHO CALL HIM SON OF DAVID: like the woman and the blind men in Jericho, Matthew 20:30; and those who call Him Son of God, without the addition of “truly,” like the demon-possessed men who say, “What have we to do with You, Son of God?” Matthew 8:29; and those who call Him this with the addition of “truly,” like those in the boat who worshiped Him and said, “Truly You are the Son of God.” Matthew 14:33 I think bringing these passages together will be useful to you for seeing the difference among those who come to Jesus. Some come to Him as to Him who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, Romans 1:3. But others come to Him who was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, Romans 1:4. And of these, some say it with “truly,” and some without it. Further, notice that the Canaanitish woman begged Him not about a son, whom she does not seem to have brought forth at all, but about a daughter who was terribly vexed with a demon. But another mother receives back alive her son who was being carried out dead, Luke 7:12. Again, the ruler of the synagogue makes supplication about a daughter twelve years old, as being dead, Matthew 9:18, but the nobleman about a son as still sick and at the point of death, John 4:46. So the daughter distressed by a demon and the dead son came from two mothers. And the dead daughter and the son sick to death came from two fathers, one of whom was a ruler of the synagogue and the other a nobleman. And I am persuaded that these things contain reasons concerning the different kinds of souls that Jesus gives life to and heals. And all the cures that He works among the people, especially those recorded by the Evangelists, took place at that time so that those who would not otherwise have believed unless they saw signs and wonders might believe, John 4:48. For the things of former times were symbols of the things that are always being accomplished by the power of Jesus. There is no time when each of the things written is not done by the power of Jesus according to what each deserves. The Canaanitish woman, therefore, because of her race, was not worthy even to receive an answer from Jesus, who acknowledged that He had not been sent by the Father for any other thing than to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, Matthew 15:24, a lost race of souls possessed of clear vision. But because of her determination, and because she had worshiped Jesus as Son of God, she obtains an answer that reproaches her with baseness of birth and shows the measure of her worthiness. That is, she was worthy of crumbs like the little dogs, but not of the loaves. But when she, with stronger determination, accepts the saying of Jesus, claims to obtain crumbs even as a little dog, and acknowledges that the masters are of a nobler race, then she gets a second answer. This answer bears witness that her faith is great, and gives a promise that it will be done to her as she wills, Matthew 15:28. And corresponding, I think, to the Jerusalem above, which is free, the mother, Galatians 4:26, of Paul and those like him, we must conceive of the Canaanitish woman, the mother of her who was terribly distressed with a demon, as the symbol of the mother of such a soul. And consider whether it is not according to sound reason that there are also many fathers and many mothers, corresponding to the fathers of Abraham to whom the patriarch went away, Genesis 15:15, and to Jerusalem the mother, as Paul says concerning himself and those like him. And it is probable that she of whom the Canaanitish woman was a symbol came out of the borders of Tyre and Sidon, of which the earthly places were types, and came to the Savior and begged Him, and even now begs Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is terribly vexed with a demon.” Matthew 15:22 Then also, to those outside and to the disciples when necessary, He answers and says, “I was not sent,” Matthew 15:24, teaching us that there are some lost souls, especially intellectual and clear of vision, figuratively called sheep of the house of Israel. These things, I think, the simpler people, who think they are spoken about the Israel according to the flesh, must necessarily admit, namely, that our Savior was sent by the Father to no others than those lost Jews. But we, who can truly boast that even if we have once known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we no longer know Him so, 2 Corinthians 5:16, are assured that it is especially the work of the Word to save the more intelligent, for these are more akin to Him than those who are duller. But since the lost sheep of the house of Israel, except the remnant according to the election of grace, Romans 11:5, did not believe the Word, for this reason God chose the foolish things of the world, 1 Corinthians 1:27, namely, that which was not Israel, nor clear of vision, so that He might put to shame the wise ones of Israel. And He called the things that are not, 1 Corinthians 1:28, handing over to them an intelligent nation able to receive the foolishness of the preaching, 1 Corinthians 1:21. And by His good pleasure He saved those who believe in this, so that He might refute the things that are, having perfected praise for Himself out of the mouths of babes and nursing infants, when they became hostile to the truth. Now the Canaanitish woman, having come, worshiped Jesus as God, saying, “Lord, help me.” But He answered and said, “It is not possible to take the children's bread and cast it to the little dogs.” Matthew 15:25-26 But someone might also ask about the meaning of this saying. Since there was a measure of loaves such that both the children and the dogs of the household could not eat loaves, unless the dogs ate loaves different from those that were well made, it was not possible, according to right reason, for the well-made loaf of the children to be given as food to the little dogs. But nothing like this appears in the case of the power of Jesus. For of this power it was possible both for the children and those called little dogs to partake. Consider, then, whether perhaps with reference to the words, “It is not possible to take the bread of children,” we ought to say that He who emptied Himself and took the form of a servant, Philippians 2:7, brought a measure of power such as the world was capable of receiving. He was conscious that a certain amount went out from Him, as is clear from the words, “Someone did touch Me, for I perceived that power had gone out from Me.” Luke 8:46 From this measure of power, then, He dispensed it, giving a larger portion to those who were pre-eminent and were called sons, but a smaller portion to those who were not such, as to the little dogs. But though these things were so, nevertheless where there was great faith, to her who, because of her base birth in Canaanitish land, was a little dog, He gave, as to a child, the bread of the children. And perhaps also, among the words of Jesus, there are some loaves that it is possible to give only to the more rational, as to children; and other words, as it were crumbs from the great house and table of the wellborn and the masters, which some souls, like dogs, may use. And according to the law of Moses it is written about certain things, “You shall cast them to the dogs,” Exodus 22:31, and it was a matter of care to the Holy Spirit to give instruction about certain foods, that they should be left to the dogs. Let others, then, who are strangers to the doctrine of the Church, suppose that souls pass from the bodies of men into the bodies of dogs, according to their different degree of wickedness. But we, who do not find this at all in the divine Scripture, say that the more rational condition changes into a more irrational one, undergoing this affection because of great slothfulness and negligence. But also, in the same way, a will that was more irrational, because of its neglect of reason, sometimes turns and becomes rational, so that what at one time was a dog, loving to eat the crumbs that fell from the table of its masters, comes into the condition of a son. For virtue contributes greatly to making one a son of God. But wickedness, and mad fury in wanton discourses and shamelessness, contribute to giving a man the name of dog, according to the word of Scripture, 2 Samuel 16:9. And you will understand the like also in the case of the other names applied to irrational animals. Only, he who is reproached as a dog, and yet is not indignant at being called unworthy of the bread of children, and with all forbearance repeats the saying of that Canaanitish woman, “Yes, Lord, for even the little dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from their masters' table,” Matthew 15:27, will obtain the very gentle answer of Jesus, saying to him, “Great is your faith” — when he has received so great faith — and saying, “Be it done to you even as you will,” Matthew 15:28, so that he himself may be healed, and if he has produced any fruit that stands in need of healing, this too may be cured.

CONCERNING THE CROWDS WHO WERE HEALED: A comparison of the mountain where Jesus sat with the church.

AND JESUS DEPARTED FROM THERE: clearly, from what was said before, from the regions of Tyre and Sidon, and came near the Sea of Galilee, Matthew 15:29, which is commonly called the Lake of Gennesaret. Then He again went up into the mountain where He went up and sat. We may say, then, that into this mountain where Jesus sits, not only the healthy go up, but along with the healthy also those who were suffering from various disorders. And perhaps this mountain to which Jesus went up and sat is what is more commonly called the Church, which has been set up through the word of God over the rest of the world and the people upon it. There go not only the disciples, leaving the multitudes as in the case of the Beatitudes, but also great multitudes who were not themselves accused of being deaf or of suffering from any affliction, but who had such people along with them. For you may see, along with the multitudes who come to this mountain where the Son of God sits, some who have become deaf to the things promised, and others blind in soul and not looking at the true light, and others who are lame and not able to walk according to reason, and others who are maimed and not able to work according to reason. Those, accordingly, who are suffering in soul from such things, though they go up along with the multitudes into the mountain where Jesus was, so long as they are outside the feet of Jesus, are not healed by Him. But when, as people suffering from such disorders, they are cast by the multitude at His feet, Matthew 15:30, and at the extremities of the body of Christ, not being worthy to obtain such things so far as they themselves are concerned, they are then healed by Him. And when you see in the congregation of what is more commonly called the church the catechumens cast behind those who are at the extreme end of it, and, as it were, at the feet of the body of Jesus, the church, coming to it with their own deafness and blindness and lameness and crookedness, and in time cured according to the Word, you would not be wrong in saying that such people, having gone up with the multitudes of the church to the mountain where Jesus was, are cast at His feet and are healed. So the multitude of the church is astonished at seeing the transformations that have taken place from such great evils to what is better, so that it might say, those who were formerly dumb afterward speak the word of God, and the lame walk, the prophecy of Isaiah being fulfilled, not only in bodily things but in spiritual things, which says, "Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of him that has an impediment in his speech be plain." Isaiah 35:6 And there, unless the expression, "the lame man shall leap as a hart," is to be taken as accidental, we will say that those formerly lame, and who now through the power of Jesus leap as a hart, are not without purpose compared to a hart, which is a clean animal, hostile to serpents, and cannot at all be injured by their poison. But also, in that the dumb are seen speaking, the prophecy is fulfilled which says, "And the tongue of him that has an impediment shall be plain," or rather that which says, "Hear, you deaf"; but the blind see according to the prophecy that follows, "Hear, you deaf, and you blind, look up that you may see." Isaiah 42:18 Now the blind see when they see the world and from the exceedingly great beauty of created things contemplate the Creator corresponding in greatness and beauty to them; and when they see clearly the invisible things of God Himself from the creation of the world, which are perceived through the things that are made, Romans 1:20; that is, they see and understand with care and clearness. Now the multitudes, seeing these things, glorified the God of Israel, Matthew 15:31, and glorify Him in the persuasion that it is the same God who is the Father of Him who healed those previously mentioned, and the God of Israel. For He is not the God of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. Romans 3:29 Let us then cause to go up along with ourselves to the mountain where Jesus sits, His church, those who wish to go up to it along with us, the deaf, the blind, the lame, the maimed, and many others, and let us cast them at the feet of Jesus that He may heal them, so that the multitudes are astonished at their healing. For it is not the disciples who are described as wondering at such things, although at that time they were present with Jesus, as is clear from the words, "And Jesus called to Him His disciples and said, I have compassion on the multitudes," Matthew 15:32, and so on. And perhaps if you pay careful attention to the words, "There came to Him great multitudes," Matthew 15:30, you would find that the disciples at that time did not come to Him, but had begun long ago to follow Him and followed Him into the mountain. But there came to Him those who were inferior to the disciples, and were then for the first time approaching Him, who had not the same experience as those who had gone up with them. Observe, moreover, in the Gospel who are described as having followed Jesus, and who as having come to Him, and who as having been brought to Him, and the division between those who go before and those who follow; and among those who came, who came to Him in the house, and who when He was elsewhere. For by observation, and by comparing spiritual things with spiritual things, you would find many things worthy of the accurate wisdom in the Gospels.

ABOUT THE SEVEN LOAVES: The account of the feeding of the four thousand compared with that of the five thousand.

AND JESUS CALLED HIS DISCIPLES TO HIM AND SAID: Matthew 15:32. Earlier, in the similar account about the loaves, before the loaves are mentioned, Jesus came out and saw a great crowd and had compassion on them and healed their sick. And when evening came, the disciples came to Him and said, "The place is deserted, and the time is already past; send them away," Matthew 14:15, and so on. But here, after the healing of the deaf and the others, He has compassion on the crowd that had now remained with Him three days and had nothing to eat. There the disciples make a request concerning the five thousand, Matthew 14:15; but here He speaks on His own about the four thousand, Matthew 15:32. Those people too are fed in the evening, after they had spent one day with Him. But these, who are said to have remained with Him three days, receive the loaves so that they may not faint on the way. There the disciples tell Him, without His asking, that they had only five loaves and two fish. But here, when He asks, they answer about the seven loaves and the few small fish. There He commands the crowds to sit down, or lie down, on the grass; for Luke also wrote, "Make them sit down," Luke 9:14, and Mark says, "He commanded them all to sit down," Mark 6:39. But here He does not command; He announces to the crowd to sit down. Again, there, the three Evangelists say in the same words that He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven He blessed. But here, as Matthew and Mark have written, Jesus gave thanks and broke them. There they recline on the grass, but here they sit down on the ground. You should also examine the accounts in the different places and the variation found in John, who wrote about that event that Jesus said, "Make the men sit down," John 6:10, and that, having given thanks, He gave the loaves to those who were seated. But he did not mention this miracle at all. Giving attention, then, to the differences in what is written in the various places about the loaves, I think that these belong to a different order from those. Therefore these are fed on a mountain, and those in a deserted place; and these after they had remained three days with Jesus, but those after one day, at the evening of which they were fed. Further, unless it is the same thing for Jesus to do something by Himself and to act after hearing from the disciples, consider whether those to whom Jesus shows kindness are not superior when He fed them at once because He wanted to show them kindness. And if, according to John, John 6:13, those were barley loaves, from which twelve baskets remained over, but nothing of that kind is said about these, how are not these superior to the former? And there He healed their sick, Matthew 14:14. But here He heals, along with the crowds, those who were not merely sick, but blind, lame, deaf, and maimed. Therefore, in regard to these, the four thousand marvel, Matthew 15:31, but nothing like that is said in regard to the sick. And I think that these, who ate of the seven loaves for which thanks were given, are superior to those who ate of the five that were blessed; and these who ate the few little fish are superior to those who ate of the two; and perhaps also these who sat down on the ground are superior to those who sat down on the grass. And those, from fewer loaves, leave twelve baskets, but these, from a greater number, leave seven baskets, since they were able to receive more. And perhaps these trample on all earthly things and sit down on them, but those sit on the grass, that is, only on their flesh, for "all flesh is grass," Isaiah 40:6. Consider also after this that Jesus does not wish to send them away fasting, lest they faint on the way, being without the loaves of Jesus, and while they were still on the way, the way to their own concerns, they might suffer harm. Take note also of the cases where Jesus is recorded to have sent anyone away, so that you may see the difference between those who were sent away by Him after being fed and those who were sent away in another way. And as an example of one who was sent away in another way, take, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity." But further, the disciples, who are always with Jesus, are not sent away by Him. But the crowds, after they have eaten, are sent away. In the same way, the disciples, who think nothing great about the Canaanitish woman, say, "Send her away, for she cries after us," Matthew 15:23. But the Savior does not appear to send her away at all. For when He said to her, "O woman, great is your faith; let it be done to you as you desire," Matthew 15:28, He healed her daughter from that hour. It is not written, however, that He sent her away. So far, for the present, we have been able to examine and understand the passage before us.

CONCERNING THOSE WHO ASKED HIM TO SHOW THEM A SIGN FROM HEAVEN:

THE SADDUCEES AND PHARISEES CAME: and to test Him they kept asking Him to show them a sign from heaven. Matthew 16:1 The Sadducees and Pharisees disagreed with each other about the most important truths. The Pharisees defend the teaching of the resurrection of the dead, hoping that there will be a world to come. But the Sadducees know of nothing after this life for a person, whether he has been moving toward virtue or has made no effort at all to come out from the mountains of wickedness. Yet these, I say, agreed together so that they might test Jesus. Now Luke also tells of something similar in the case of Herod and Pilate. Luke 23:12 They became friends with one another so that they might kill Jesus. Perhaps their hostility toward each other would have kept Herod from asking that He be put to death in order to please the people, who said, "Crucify Him, crucify Him." Luke 23:21 And Pilate, who was somewhat opposed to condemning Him, might have been moved by his hostility toward Herod to follow even more strongly his earlier desire to release Jesus. But their apparent friendship made Herod stronger in pressing his demand against Jesus before Pilate. And Pilate also wished, perhaps because of this newly formed friendship, to do something that would please Herod and the whole nation of the Jews. And often even now you may see in daily life people who hold very different opinions, whether in Greek philosophy or in other systems of thought, seeming to be of one mind so that they may mock and attack Jesus Christ in the persons of His disciples. And from these things, I think you may go on by reasonable argument to consider whether, when powers that disagree with one another join together in opposition, as Pharaoh with Nebuchadnezzar, 2 Kings 24:7, and Tirhakah king of the Ethiopians with Sennacherib, 2 Kings 19:9, a union then takes place against Jesus and His people. So perhaps also, "The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together," though they had not been at all in harmony with one another before, so that after taking counsel against the Lord and His Christ, they might kill the Lord of glory.

WHY THE PHARISEES ASKED FOR A SIGN FROM HEAVEN:

NOW OUR DISCUSSION HAS COME TO THIS POINT BECAUSE THE PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES CAME TOGETHER TO JESUS: They disagreed with each other about the resurrection, but they came to a kind of agreement for the purpose of tempting our Savior and asking Him to show them a sign from heaven. They were not satisfied with the wonderful signs shown among the people in the healing of every kind of disease and sickness, or with the rest of the miracles that our Savior had done in the sight of many. They wanted Him to show them a sign from heaven as well. I think they suspected that the signs on earth might perhaps not be from God. For they did not hesitate to say, "Jesus casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons." And it seemed to them that a sign from heaven could not come from Beelzebub or any other wicked power. But they were mistaken about both kinds of signs, both signs on earth and signs from heaven. They were not approved money-changers, and they did not know how to distinguish between the spirits that were at work, which ones were from God and which had revolted from Him. They should have known that even many of the wonders worked against Egypt in the time of Moses, though they were not from heaven, were clearly from God. And the fire that fell from heaven on Job's sheep was not from God, Job 1:16. For that fire belonged to the same one to whom those belonged who carried them off and who formed three bands of horsemen against Job's cattle. I think also that in Isaiah, as if signs could be shown both from the earth and from heaven, the true ones being from God, but those from the evil one being "with all power and signs and lying wonders," 2 Thessalonians 2:9, it was said to Ahaz, "Ask for yourself a sign from the Lord your God in the depth or in the height," Isaiah 7:11. For unless there were some signs in the depth or in the height that were not from the Lord God, it would not have been said, "Ask for yourself a sign from the Lord your God in the depth or in the height." But I know well that this interpretation of the words, "Ask for yourself a sign from the Lord your God," will seem rather forced to some. But pay attention to what the Apostle says about the man of sin, the son of perdition: that "with all power and signs and lying wonders and with all deceit of unrighteousness," 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10, he will be revealed to those who are perishing, imitating every kind of wonder, that is, the wonders of truth. And just as the enchanters and magicians of the Egyptians, being inferior to the man of sin and the son of perdition, imitated certain powers, both the signs and wonders of truth, doing lying wonders so that the true ones might not be believed, so I think the man of sin will also imitate signs and powers. And perhaps the Pharisees also suspected these things because of the prophecies concerning Him. But I ask whether the Sadducees also, when they were tempting Him, asked Jesus to show them a sign from heaven. For unless we say that they suspected this too, how shall we explain their response to the wonders Jesus worked? They remained hard-hearted and were not put to shame by the miraculous things that were done. But if anyone thinks that we have given the Pharisees and Sadducees a defense, both when they say that Jesus cast out demons through Beelzebub and when they tempt Him by asking about a sign from heaven, let him know that we say, with good reason, that they were led astray so that they would not believe in the miracles of Jesus, but not in a way that made them worthy of forgiveness. For they did not pay attention to the words of the prophets that were being fulfilled in the acts of Jesus, acts that an evil power was not at all able to imitate. But to bring back a soul that had gone out, so that it came out of the tomb already decaying and on the fourth day, John 11:39, was the work of no other than Him who heard the word of the Father, "Let us make man after our image and likeness," Genesis 1:26. Also, to command the winds and make the violence of the sea stop with a word was the work of no other than Him through whom all things came into being, both the sea itself and the winds. And as for the teaching that stirs people to love the Creator, in agreement with the law and the prophets, and that restrains passions and shapes character according to piety, what else did it show to those who were able to see, except that He was truly the Son of God who did such mighty works? About these things He also said to the disciples of John, "Go and tell John what great things you see and hear: the blind receive their sight," and so on, Matthew 11:4-5.

THE ANSWER OF JESUS TO THEIR REQUEST:

NEXT: let us note in what way, when the Pharisees and Sadducees asked Him for one sign, that He might show it from heaven, He answered and said, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.” Matthew 16:4 Then He left them and departed. But the sign of Jonah, in truth, according to their question, was not only a sign, but also a sign from heaven. So even to those who were tempting Him and seeking a sign from heaven, He nevertheless, out of His own great goodness, gave the sign. For if, as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so the Son of Man was in the heart of the earth, and after this rose from it, then from where but from heaven should we say that the sign of Christ’s resurrection came? And especially since, at the time of the passion, He became a sign to the robber who received favor from Him to enter the paradise of God. After this, I think, He descended into Hades to the dead, as one free among the dead. And it seems to me that the Saviour joins the sign that was to come from Himself with the meaning of the sign concerning Jonah when He says, not merely that a sign like that is given by Him, but that very sign. For listen to the words: “And no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.” Matthew 16:4 Accordingly, that sign was this sign, because that one pointed to this one, so that the explanation of that sign, which was unclear on its face, might be found in the fact that the Saviour suffered and spent three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. At the same time, we also learn a general principle: if a sign points to something, then each of the signs that are recorded, whether in actual history or by way of command, points to something fulfilled later. For example, the sign of Jonah coming out of the whale’s belly after three days pointed to the resurrection of our Saviour, who rose from the dead after three days and three nights. And what is called circumcision is the sign of what Paul means when he says, “We are the circumcision.” Philippians 3:3 You should also look for every sign in the Old Scriptures as pointing to some passage in the New Scripture, and for what is called a sign in the New Covenant as pointing to something either in the age that is about to come, or even in the generations that follow after the sign has taken place.

WHY JESUS CALLED THEM AN ADULTEROUS GENERATION: The law as husband.

AND HE DID CALL THEM AN EVIL GENERATION: because of the quality that came from evil and had been produced in them. For wickedness is voluntary evil-doing. But He called them adulterous because the Pharisees and Sadducees had left what is figuratively called man, the word of truth, or the law, and had been corrupted by falsehood and the law of sin. For if there are two laws, the law in our members warring against the law of the mind, and the law of the mind, Romans 7:23, we must say that the law of the mind, that is, the spiritual law, is man, to whom the soul was given by God as wife, that is, to the man who is law, according to what is written, "A wife is married to a man by God," Proverbs 19:14. But the other is a lover of the soul that is subject to it, and because of it the soul is also called an adulteress. Now Paul clearly shows in the Epistle to the Romans that the law is husband of the soul. He says, "The law has dominion over a man for as long a time as he lives; for the woman that has a husband is bound to the husband while he lives," to the husband who is law, and so on. For consider in these things that the law has dominion over the man so long a time as the law lives, as a husband over a wife. For the woman that has a husband, that is, the soul under the law, is bound to the husband while he lives, to the husband who is the law. But if the husband, that is, the law, dies, she is discharged from the law, which is her husband. Now the law dies to him who has gone up to the condition of blessedness, and no longer lives under the law, but acts like Christ. Though He became under law for the sake of those under law, that He might gain those under law, 1 Corinthians 9:20, He did not continue under law, nor did He leave subject to law those who had been freed by Him. For He led them up along with Himself to the divine citizenship that is above the law, which contains, for the imperfect and for those who are still sinners, sacrifices for the remission of sins. He then who is without sin, and no longer stands in need of legal sacrifices, perhaps, when he has become perfect, has passed beyond even the spiritual law, and comes to the Word beyond it. He became flesh to those who live in the flesh. But to those who no longer at all war after the flesh, He is perceived as being the Word, as He was God in the beginning with God, and reveals the Father. Three things, therefore, are to be thought of in connection with this place: the woman that has a husband, who is under a husband, the law; and the woman who is an adulteress, namely, the soul, which, while her husband, the law, lives, has become joined to another husband, namely, the law of the flesh; and the woman who is married to the brother of the dead husband, to the Word who is alive and does not die, who, being raised from the dead, dies no more, for death has no more dominion over Him, Romans 6:9. So far, then, because of the saying, "But if the husband die she is discharged from the law," the husband, and because of this, "So then, while her husband lives, she shall be called an adulteress, if she be joined to another man," and because of this, "But if the husband die, she is free from the law, so that she is no adulteress though she be joined to another man," Romans 7:2-3. But this very saying, "So then while her husband lives, she shall be called an adulteress," we have brought forward, wishing to show clearly why, in answer to the Pharisees and Sadducees who were tempting Him and asking Him to show them a sign from heaven, He said not only, "an evil generation," but, "an adulterous generation," Matthew 16:4. In a general way, then, the law in the members which wars against the law of the mind, Romans 7:23, as a man who is an adulterer, is an adulterer of the soul. But now also every hostile power that gains the mastery over the human soul and has intercourse with it commits adultery with her who had a bridegroom given to her by God, namely, the Word. After these things it is written that He left them and departed. For how was the bridegroom, the Word, not going to leave the adulterous generation and depart from it? But you might say that the Word of God, leaving the synagogue of the Jews as adulterous, departed from it, and took a wife of fornication, Hosea 1:2, namely, those from the Gentiles, since those who were Sion, a faithful city, Isaiah 1:21, have become harlots. But these have become like the harlot Rahab, who received the spies of Joshua, and was saved with all her house, Joshua 6:25, after this no longer playing the harlot, but coming to the feet of Jesus, and wetting them with the tears of repentance, and anointing them with the fragrance of the ointment of holy conduct, on account of whom, reproaching Simon the leper, the former people, He spoke those things which are written.

CONCERNING THE LEAVEN OF THE PHARISEES:

HIS DISCIPLES CAME TO THE OTHER SIDE AND FORGOT TO TAKE LOAVES: Matthew 16:5. The loaves they had before coming to the other side were no longer useful to the disciples after they arrived there. Before they crossed, they needed one kind of loaves, and after they crossed, they needed another kind. For this reason, as they went to the other side, they neglected to take loaves with them and forgot them. So the disciples of Jesus came to the other side, having crossed over from material things to spiritual things, and from things perceived by the senses to things understood by the mind. And perhaps Jesus said to them on the other side, "Take heed and beware," Matthew 16:6, in order to turn back those who, after crossing to the other side and beginning in the Spirit, had started to run back to fleshly things. For there was a certain mass of teaching and of truly ancient leaven, teaching according to the bare letter, and therefore not free from the things that come from wickedness, which the Pharisees and Sadducees offered. Jesus did not want His own disciples to eat of it any longer. Instead, He made for them a new and spiritual mass, offering Himself to those who gave up the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees and came to Him, the living bread that came down from heaven and gives life to the world, John 6:33, 51. But for the person who is no longer going to use the leaven, the mass, and the teaching of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the first thing is to see, and then to beware, so that no one, by failing to see and by failing to take heed, may ever share in their forbidden leaven. For this reason He says to the disciples first, "See," and then, "Beware." It is the mark of a clear-sighted and careful person to distinguish the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, and every food that is not from the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, 1 Corinthians 5:8, from the living bread, that is, the bread that came down from heaven, so that no one who eats may adopt the teachings of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, but by eating the living and true bread may strengthen his soul. And we may fittingly apply this saying to those who, along with the Christian way of life, choose to live like the Jews in a material way. These people do not see or beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, but contrary to the will of Jesus, who forbade it, they eat the bread of the Pharisees. Yes, this also applies to all who do not want to understand that the law is spiritual, and has a shadow of the good things to come, Hebrews 10:1, and is a shadow of the things to come, Colossians 2:17. They do not ask what coming good thing each law is a shadow of, and they do not see or beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. And those who reject the teaching of the resurrection of the dead are not guarding themselves against the leaven of the Sadducees. There are also many among the heterodox who, because of their unbelief about the resurrection of the dead, are filled with the leaven of the Sadducees. Now while Jesus was saying these things, the disciples reasoned, not out loud, but in their hearts, "We took no loaves," Matthew 16:7. What they meant was something like this: If we had loaves, we would not have needed to take any of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. But since we have no loaves, we are in danger of taking some of their leaven. And since the Savior does not want us to go back to their teaching, that is why He said to us, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees," Matthew 16:6. These were their thoughts. But Jesus, looking at what was in their hearts and hearing their reasoning within them, as the true overseer of hearts, rebuked them because they did not see or remember the loaves they had received from Him. Because of those loaves, even when they seemed to have no bread, they had no need of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

THE MEANING OF LEAVEN: Jesus' knowledge of the heart.

THEN HE EXPLAINED PLAINLY TO THEM: and showed them openly, since they were confused by the double meaning of loaf and leaven, that He was not speaking to them about literal bread, but about the leaven in teaching. He added, “How is it that you do not understand that I was not speaking to you about bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Matthew 16:11 Although He had not yet made the interpretation fully clear, and was still using figurative language, the disciples would have understood that the Savior’s message was about the teaching, figuratively called leaven, which the Pharisees and Sadducees were teaching. So long, then, as we have Jesus with us, fulfilling the promise that says, “Lo, I am with you always, to the end of the age,” Matthew 28:20 we cannot fast or lack food in such a way that, because of need, we would want to take and eat the forbidden leaven, even that of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Now there may sometimes be a time, while He is with us, when we are without food, as is said in the passage above, “They have continued with me now three days and have nothing to eat.” Matthew 15:32 But even if this happens, because He is unwilling to send us away fasting lest we faint on the way, He gives thanks over the loaves that were with the disciples, and causes us to have the seven baskets left over from the seven loaves, as we have recorded. And this also should be noticed, in answer to those who think that the divinity of the Savior cannot at all be shown from the Gospel of Matthew. When the disciples were reasoning among themselves and saying, “We have no loaves,” Jesus knew their thoughts and said, “Why do you reason among yourselves, O you of little faith, because you took no loaves?” Matthew 16:8 This was beyond human power. For the Lord alone, as Solomon says in the third Book of Kings, knows the hearts of men. 1 Kings 8:39 But since the disciples understood, when Jesus said, “Beware of the leaven,” Matthew 16:6 that He was not telling them to beware of loaves, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees, you will understand that whenever leaven is mentioned, it is used figuratively for teaching, whether in the law or in the Scriptures that come after the law. And so perhaps leaven is not offered on the altar for this reason: it is not right that prayers should take the form of teaching, but should only be requests to God for good things. But someone might ask, because of what was said about the disciples who came to the other side, whether anyone who has reached the other side can be reproved as having little faith, and as not yet understanding or remembering what was done by Jesus. But I think it is not difficult to answer this: in comparison with what is perfect, when it comes, what is partial will be done away, 1 Corinthians 13:10 all our faith here is little faith. And in comparison with that, we who know in part do not yet know or remember, for we are not able to gain a memory sufficient to reach the greatness of the nature of these thoughts.

RELATIVE MAGNITUDE OF SINS OF THE HEART AND ACTUAL SINS:

BUT WE MAY ALSO LEARN FROM THIS THAT: with respect to the thoughts we reason through only within ourselves, we are sometimes convicted and reproved as having little faith. And I think that just as a man commits adultery only in his heart, even if he does not go all the way to the outward act, so he also commits in his heart the rest of the things that are forbidden. So then, just as the one who has committed adultery in his heart will be punished in proportion to that kind of adultery, so also the one who has done in his heart any of the forbidden things—for example, who has stolen only in his heart, or borne false witness only in his heart—will not be punished like the one who has actually stolen, or who has fully carried out the act of false testimony, but only like one who has done such things in his heart. There is also the case of the man who, although he did not reach the evil action, fell short of it against his own will. For if, in addition to willing it, he also attempted it but did not carry it out, he will be punished not as one who sinned only in his heart, but in deed. On questions of this kind, someone might ask whether a person commits adultery in his heart even if he does not do the act of adultery, but lacks self-control only in his heart. And you may say the same about the rest of the things that deserve praise. But the passage may contain a plausible mistake, and this must be cleared away, I think, in this manner: adultery that takes place in the heart is a lesser sin than if someone also adds the act to it. But it is impossible for there to be chastity in the heart that prevents a chaste act—unless, indeed, one brings forward as an example the case of the virgin who, according to the law, was violated when alone, in Deuteronomy 22:25. For it may be granted that a person's heart may be completely pure, but that force in a matter of lust has caused the corruption of the body of her who was chaste. In truth, she seems to me to be altogether chaste in her secret heart, but no longer pure in body as she was before the act of violence. But though she is not pure outwardly, is she therefore now also unchaste? I have said these things because of the words, "They reasoned among themselves, saying, We took no loaves," to which is added, "And Jesus, perceiving it, said, O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves," Matthew 16:7-8, and so on. For it was necessary to examine the blame of things done in secret and, correspondingly, the praise of things in secret.

THE LEAVEN IS FIGURATIVE: like the water Jesus spoke of to the woman of Samaria.

BUT I WONDER WHETHER THE DISCIPLES THOUGHT: before Jesus explained the saying to them, that their Teacher and Lord was forbidding them to beware of the sensible leaven of the Pharisees or the Sadducees as impure, and for this reason forbidden, lest they might use that leaven because they had not taken loaves. And we might make a similar inquiry about other things. But as an illustration, the narrative about the woman of Samaria is enough: "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst." John 14:13-14. For there also, so far as the mere form of the expression is concerned, the Samaritan woman seems to have thought that the Savior was giving a promise about sensible water when He said, "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst." And those things, then, must be interpreted figuratively, and we must examine and compare the water of Jacob's spring, from which the woman of Samaria drew water, with the water of Jesus. And the same must be done here. For perhaps the loaves were not baked, but were only a kind of raw leaven, namely, the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

ABOUT THE QUESTION OF JESUS IN CAESAREA: “Who do men say that I am?” Different views about Jesus.

WHEN JESUS CAME INTO THE REGION OF CAESAREA PHILIPPI: He asked His disciples, Matthew 16:13. Jesus asks the disciples, “Who do men say that I am?” so that we may learn from the Apostles’ answer what different ideas the Jews then held about our Savior. Perhaps He also did this so that the disciples of Jesus might learn to care about what people say about them. This can help them, because if anything evil is said, they can cut off every occasion for evil, and if anything good is said, they can increase the motives for good. But notice this: because opinions among the Jews about Jesus were moving in different directions, some, under the influence of unsound theories, said that He was John the Baptist. They were like Herod the tetrarch, who said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him,” Matthew 14:2. But others said that He who was now called Jesus was Elijah, either because he had been born a second time, or because he had continued living in the flesh from that earlier time and was appearing now. Those who said that Jesus was Jeremiah, and not that Jeremiah was a type of the Christ, were perhaps moved by what is said at the beginning of Jeremiah about Christ. That was not fulfilled in the prophet at that time, but it was beginning to be fulfilled in Jesus, whom God appointed over nations and kingdoms, “to root up, and to break down, and to destroy, and to build up, and to transplant,” Jeremiah 1:10, having made Him a prophet to the Gentiles to whom He proclaimed the word. And those who said that He was one of the prophets, Matthew 16:14, formed this opinion about Him because of things spoken in the prophets about them, but not fulfilled in their own case. So the Jews, as people worthy of the veil that was over their heart, held false opinions about Jesus. But Peter, not as a disciple of flesh and blood, Matthew 16:17, but as one fit to receive the revelation of the Father in heaven, confessed that He was the Christ. Peter’s words to the Savior, “You are the Christ,” when the Jews did not know that He was the Christ, were indeed something great. But it was greater still that he knew Him not only as the Christ, but also as “the Son of the living God,” Matthew 16:16. This living God had also said through the prophets, “I live,” Jeremiah 22:24, and, “They have forsaken Me, the spring of living water,” Jeremiah 2:13. And He is also life, as being from the Father, the spring of life, He who said, “I am the Life,” John 14:6. Consider carefully whether, just as the spring of a river is not the same thing as the river, so the spring of life is not the same as life. We have added these things because to the words, “You are the Christ, the Son of God,” the word “living” was added, Matthew 16:16. It was necessary to point out something important about God, the Father of all things, being called living, both in relation to His absolute life and in relation to those things that share in it. But since we said that those who declared that Jesus was John the Baptist, or any one of the others named, were under the influence of unsound opinions, let us prove this as follows. If they had met Jesus when He was going to John for baptism, or had met John when he was baptizing Jesus, or had heard about it from someone, they would not have said that Jesus was John. Also, if they had understood the opinions behind Jesus’ words, “If you are willing to receive it, this is Elijah who is to come,” Matthew 11:14, and had heard what was said like people who truly had ears, some would not have said that He was Elijah. And if those who said that He was Jeremiah had understood that most of the prophets took on certain features that were symbolic of Him, they would not have said that He was Jeremiah. In the same way, the others would not have said that He was one of the prophets.

10. Peter’s Answer.

AND PERHAPS WHEN SIMON PETER ANSWERED AND SAID: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” in Matthew 16:16, if we also say this as Peter did, not because flesh and blood revealed it to us, but because the light from the Father in heaven has shone in our hearts, then we too become like Peter, and are declared blessed as he was. This is because the reasons why he was declared blessed also apply to us. For flesh and blood has not revealed to us that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, but the Father in heaven has revealed it to us from heaven itself, so that our citizenship may be in heaven, as Philippians 3:20 says. This is the revelation that lifts up to heaven those who remove every veil from the heart and receive the spirit of wisdom and revelation from God, as Ephesians 1:17 says. And if we too have said, like Peter, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” not as though flesh and blood had revealed it to us, but because light from the Father in heaven has shone in our hearts, then we become a Peter, and the Word might say to us also, “You are Peter,” and so on, as in Matthew 16:18. For every disciple of Christ is a rock, and it was from such rocks that those drank who drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, as 1 Corinthians 10:4 says. And on every such rock every word of the church is built, and the ordered life that agrees with it. For in each of the perfect, who have the full union of words and deeds and thoughts that complete blessedness, the church is built by God.

11. The promise given to Peter was not limited to him, but applies to all disciples like him.

BUT IF YOU SUPPOSE THAT THE WHOLE CHURCH IS BUILT BY GOD ON THAT ONE PETER ONLY: what would you say about John, the son of thunder, or about each one of the Apostles? Shall we dare to say otherwise, that the gates of Hades will not prevail against Peter in particular, but that they will prevail against the other Apostles and the perfect? Does not the saying spoken before, "The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it," Matthew 16:18, hold true for all and for each one of them? And also the saying, "Upon this rock I will build My church," Matthew 16:18? Are the keys of the kingdom of heaven given by the Lord to Peter only, and will no other of the blessed receive them? But if this promise, "I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven," Matthew 16:19, is common to the others, how will not all the things spoken before, and the things added afterward as addressed to Peter, be common to them? For in this place these words seem to be addressed to Peter only: "Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven," Matthew 16:19, and so on. But in the Gospel of John, the Savior, after giving the Holy Spirit to the disciples by breathing on them, said, "Receive the Holy Spirit," John 20:22, and so on. Many, then, will say to the Savior, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." But not all who say this will say it to Him as those who have learned it, not at all by the revelation of flesh and blood, but by the Father in heaven Himself taking away the veil that lay on their heart. Then after this, with unveiled face reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord, 2 Corinthians 3:18, they may speak through the Spirit of God, saying concerning Him, "Lord Jesus," and to Him, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," Matthew 16:16. And if anyone says this to Him, not by flesh and blood revealing it to him, but through the Father in heaven, he will obtain the things that were spoken, according to the letter of the Gospel, to that Peter; but according to the spirit of the Gospel, to everyone who becomes such as that Peter was. For all bear the surname of rock who are imitators of Christ, that is, of the spiritual rock which followed those who are being saved, 1 Corinthians 10:4, so that they may drink from it the spiritual draught. But these bear the surname of the rock just as Christ does. And also, as members of Christ deriving their surname from Him, they are called Christians, and from the rock, Peters. And taking occasion from these things, you will say that the righteous bear the surname of Christ who is Righteousness, and the wise of Christ who is Wisdom, 1 Corinthians 1:30. And so, with regard to all His other names, you will apply them by way of surname to the saints. And to all such the saying of the Savior might be spoken, "You are Peter," and so on, down to the words, "prevail against it." But what is the "it"? Is it the rock on which Christ builds the church, or is it the church? For the phrase is ambiguous. Or is it as if the rock and the church were one and the same? I think this is true. For neither will the gates of Hades prevail against the rock on which Christ builds the church, nor against the church; just as the way of a serpent upon a rock, according to what is written in Proverbs, cannot be found. Now if the gates of Hades prevail against anyone, such a one cannot be a rock on which Christ builds the church, nor the church built by Jesus upon the rock. For the rock is inaccessible to the serpent, and it is stronger than the gates of Hades that oppose it, so that because of its strength the gates of Hades do not prevail against it. But the church, as a building of Christ who built His own house wisely upon the rock, Matthew 7:24, is incapable of admitting the gates of Hades, which prevail against every man who is outside the rock and the church, but have no power against it.

Every sin—every false doctrine—is a gate of Hades.

BUT WHEN WE UNDERSTAND HOW EACH SIN: through which there is a way to Hades, is a gate of Hades, then we will grasp this: the soul that has spot or wrinkle or anything like that, as in Ephesians 5:27, and because of wickedness is neither holy nor blameless, is neither a rock on which Christ builds, nor a church, nor a part of a church that Christ builds on the rock. But if anyone wants to put us to shame about these things because of the great number of people in the church who are thought to believe, we must say to him not only, "Many are called, but few are chosen," Matthew 22:14, but also what the Savior said to those who come to Him, as it is recorded in Luke in these words: "Strive to enter in by the narrow door, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter in through the narrow door and will not be able," Luke 13:24. And also what is written in the Gospel of Matthew: "For narrow is the gate, and hard is the way that leads to life, and few are those who find it," Matthew 7:14. Now if you pay attention to the saying, "Many, I say to you, will seek to enter in and will not be able," Luke 13:24, you will understand that this refers to those who boast that they belong to the church, but live weakly and contrary to the word. Of those, then, who seek to enter in, those who are not able to enter will not be able because the gates of Hades prevail against them. But in the case of those against whom the gates of Hades will not prevail, those who seek to enter in will be strong, being able to do all things in Christ Jesus, who strengthens them, Philippians 4:13. In the same way, each one of those who is the author of any evil opinion has become the builder of a certain gate of Hades. But those who cooperate with the teaching of the builder of such things are servants and stewards, who are bond-servants of the evil doctrine that goes to build up impiety. And though the gates of Hades are many and almost without number, no gate of Hades will prevail against the rock or against the church that Christ builds on it. Nevertheless, these gates have a certain power by which they gain the mastery over some who do not resist and struggle against them. But they are overcome by others who, because they do not turn aside from Him who said, "I am the door," John 10:9, have torn down from their soul all the gates of Hades. And we must also know this: just as the gates of cities each have their own names, in the same way the gates of Hades might be named after the kinds of sins. So one gate of Hades is called fornication, through which fornicators go, and another denial, through which those who deny God go down into Hades. And likewise, each of the heterodox, and each of those who has produced any knowledge falsely so called, 1 Timothy 6:20, has built a gate of Hades—Marcion one gate, Basilides another, and Valentinus another.

THE GATES OF HADES AND THE GATES OF ZION CONTRASTED:

IN THIS PASSAGE: then, the gates of Hades are spoken of. But in the Psalms, the prophet gives thanks and says, “He who lifts me up from the gates of death, that I may declare all your praises in the gates of the daughter of Zion.” From this we learn that no one can ever be fit to declare the praises of God unless he has been lifted up from the gates of death and has come to the gates of Zion. Now the gates of Zion can be understood as the opposite of the gates of death. So there is one gate of death, dissoluteness, but a gate of Zion, self-control. There is also a gate of death, unrighteousness, but a gate of Zion, righteousness, which the prophet shows when he says, “This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter into it.” Again, cowardice is a gate of death, but manly courage is a gate of Zion. Lack of prudence is a gate of death, but its opposite, prudence, is a gate of Zion. But to all the gates of what is falsely called knowledge, 1 Timothy 6:20, one gate is opposed: the gate of knowledge that is free from falsehood. But consider whether, because of the saying, “Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood,” Ephesians 6:12, and so on, you can say that each power and world-ruler of this darkness, and each one of the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places, Ephesians 6:12, is a gate of Hades and a gate of death. Let, then, the principalities and powers against which our wrestling is, be called gates of Hades, but the ministering spirits, Hebrews 1:14, gates of righteousness. But just as in the case of the better things many gates are spoken of first, and after the gates, one, in the passage, “Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will enter into them, and will make full confession to the Lord,” and, “This is the gate of the Lord; by it the righteous shall enter,” so also in the case of the opposing gates, there are many gates of Hades and death, each one a power, but over them all is the wicked one himself. And let us take heed with regard to each sin, as if we were going down into some gate of death whenever we sin. But when we are lifted up from the gates of death, let us declare all the praises of the Lord in the gates of the daughter of Zion. For example, in one gate of the daughter of Zion, the one called self-control, we will declare the praises of God by our self-control. In another, which is called righteousness, we will declare the praises of God by righteousness. And in general, in all things of a praiseworthy kind in which we are engaged, in these we are at some gate of the daughter of Zion, declaring at each gate some praise of God. But we must ask whether in one of the Twelve it is said, “They hated him who reproves in the gates, and they loathed the holy word.” Amos 5:10 Perhaps, then, he who reproves in the gates belongs to the gates of the daughter of Zion, reproving those who are in sins opposed to this gate, that is, the gates of Hades or of death. But if you do not understand the words, “They hated him who reproves in the gates,” in this way, then either the phrase “in the gates” must be considered unnecessary, or you should examine how what is said can be worthy of the prophetic Spirit.

IN WHAT SENSE THE KEYS ARE GIVEN TO PETER: and to every Peter. The limits of this authority.

AND AFTER THIS: let us see in what sense it is said to Peter, and to every Peter, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 16:19). First, I think that the saying, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven," is spoken in a way consistent with the words, "The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). For he is worthy to receive from the same Word the keys of the kingdom of heaven, who is strengthened against the gates of Hades so that they do not prevail against him. He receives, as it were, as a prize, the keys of the kingdom of heaven, because the gates of Hades had no power against him, so that he might open for himself the gates that were closed to those who had been conquered by the gates of Hades. And he enters, as a temperate man, through an opened gate, the gate of temperance, by the key that opens temperance. And as a righteous man, he enters by another gate, the gate of righteousness, which is opened by the key of righteousness. And so it is with the rest of the virtues. For I think that for every virtue of knowledge, certain mysteries of wisdom are opened up to him who has lived according to virtue, corresponding to the kinds of the virtue. The Savior gives to those who are not mastered by the gates of Hades as many keys as there are virtues. These open an equal number of gates, which correspond to each virtue according to the revelation of the mysteries. And perhaps, also, each virtue is a kingdom of heaven, and all together are a kingdom of heaven. So according to this, he is already in the kingdom of heaven who lives according to the virtues. Thus the saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," is to be referred, not to time, but to deeds and dispositions. For Christ, who is all virtue, has come and speaks, and because of this the kingdom of God is within His disciples, and not here or there (Luke 17:21). But consider how great the power of the rock is, on which the church is built by Christ, and how great the power of everyone is who says, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," so that the judgments of this man remain sure, as if God were judging in him, so that in the very act of judging the gates of Hades shall not prevail against him. But when someone judges unrighteously, and does not bind on earth according to the Word of God, nor loose on earth according to His will, the gates of Hades prevail against him. But in the case of anyone against whom the gates of Hades do not prevail, this man judges righteously. Therefore he has the keys of the kingdom of heaven, opening to those who have been loosed on earth so that they may also be loosed in heaven, and free; and shutting to those who by his just judgment have been bound on earth so that they also may be bound in heaven, and condemned. But when those who hold the office of bishop use this saying as Peter, and, having received the keys of the kingdom of heaven from the Savior, teach that things bound by them, that is to say, condemned, are also bound in heaven, and that those which have obtained remission by them are also loosed in heaven, we must say that they speak wholesomely if they have the way of life on account of which it was said to that Peter, "You are Peter" (Matthew 16:18), and if they are such that upon them the church is built by Christ, and this could rightly be referred to them. And the gates of Hades ought not to prevail against him when he wishes to bind and loose. But if he is tightly bound with the cords of his sins (Proverbs 5:22), he binds and looses to no purpose. And perhaps you can say that in the heavens that are in the wise man, that is, the virtues, the bad man is bound. And again, in these, the virtuous man is loosed, and has received an indemnity for the sins which he committed before his virtue. But just as even God could not bind a man who is not held by the cords of sins or iniquities, compared to a long rope or to the strap of the yoke of a heifer (Isaiah 5:18), so no Peter, whoever he may be, could bind him. And if anyone who is not a Peter, and does not possess the things spoken of here, imagines as a Peter that he will so bind on earth that the things bound are bound in heaven, and will so loose on earth that the things loosed are loosed in heaven, he is puffed up, not understanding the meaning of the Scriptures, and, being puffed up, has fallen into the ruin of the devil (1 Timothy 3:10).

15. The Relation of the Earlier Commission Given by Jesus to the Disciples to His Present Command for Silence. Belief and Knowledge Compared.

THEN HE ORDERED HIS DISCIPLES TO TELL NO ONE THAT HE WAS THE CHRIST: Matthew 16:20 Above it is written that Jesus sent out the twelve, saying to them, “Do not go into any road of the Gentiles,” Matthew 10:5 along with the other words recorded as spoken to them when He sent them into the apostleship. So did He want them, when they were already carrying out the work of Apostles, to proclaim that He was the Christ? For if He did want this, it is right to ask why He now commands the disciples not to say that He was the Christ at all. Or if He did not want it, how can the statements about the apostleship be maintained with confidence? At this point one may also ask these things: when He sent out the Twelve, did He not send them out with the understanding that He was the Christ? But if the Twelve had this understanding, then Peter plainly had it also. How then is he now declared blessed? For the wording here clearly shows that Peter now, for the first time, confessed that Christ was the Son of the living God. Matthew, according to some manuscripts, wrote, “Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no man that He was the Christ,” Matthew 16:20 but Mark says, “He charged them that they should tell no man of Him,” Mark 8:30 and Luke says, “He charged them and commanded them to tell this to no man.” Luke 9:21 But what is the “this”? Was it that, according to Luke also, Peter answered and said to the question, “Who do you say that I am?”—“The Christ, the Son of the living God”? Matthew 16:15-16 You must know, however, that some manuscripts of the Gospel according to Matthew have, “He charged.” Matthew 16:20 The difficulty raised here seems to me to be a very real difficulty. But let a solution that cannot be refuted be sought out, and let whoever finds it present it before all, if it is more believable than the view I will offer as a fairly moderate one. Consider, then, whether you can say that the belief that Jesus is the Christ is lower than the knowledge of what is believed. And perhaps there is also a difference in the knowledge of Jesus as the Christ, since everyone who knows does not know Him in the same way. From the words in John, “If you abide in My word, you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free,” John 8:31-32 it is clear that belief without knowledge is lower than knowing. But that there is a difference in the knowledge of Jesus as the Christ, since all who know Him do not know Him equally, is a fact obvious to anyone who gives even a little thought to the matter. For who would not admit, for example, that Timothy, though he knew that Jesus was the Christ, had not been enlightened in the knowledge of Him to the same extent as the Apostle had been enlightened? And who would not also admit this: though many, speaking the truth, say about God, “He has given to me a true knowledge of things that are,” yet they will not say this with equal insight and understanding of the things known, nor as knowing the same number of things. But the difference is not only in the degree of knowing, so that those who know do not know equally; it is also according to the source of the knowledge. So, in this respect, the one who knows the Son by the revelation of the Father, Matthew 16:16 as Peter is testified to have known Him, has the highest blessedness. Now if these views of mine are sound, you will consider whether the Twelve at first believed but did not know. Then, after believing, they also gained the first elements of knowledge and knew a few things about Him. Afterward they kept advancing in knowledge, so that they were able to receive the knowledge that comes from the Father who reveals the Son. Peter was in this position when he was pronounced blessed. For he is pronounced blessed not merely because he said, “You are the Christ,” but because he added, “the Son of the living God.” Accordingly, Mark and Luke, who recorded that Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ,” but did not give the addition found in Matthew, did not record that he was declared blessed for what he had said, nor the blessing that followed the declaration of blessedness, “You are Peter,” Matthew 16:18 and so on.

16. The Disciples’ Gradual Growth in Knowledge.

BUT NOW WE MUST FIRST EXAMINE THIS FACT: they were telling other things about Him as great and wonderful, but they were not yet proclaiming that He was the Christ. Otherwise, the Savior might seem to be taking away from them the authority to announce that He was the Christ, an authority He had earlier given them. And perhaps someone will support this kind of argument by saying that, when the Jews were first brought into the school of Christ, they were taught glorious things about Jesus by the disciples, so that in due time the teaching that Jesus is the Christ might be built on those things as a foundation. And perhaps many of the things said to them were said to all who had, in effect, believed. For the saying, "You will be brought before governors and kings also for My sake, for a testimony to them and to the Gentiles," Matthew 10:18, applied not only to the Apostles. And perhaps the saying, "Brother will deliver up brother to death," Matthew 10:21, and what follows, was also spoken not only to the Apostles, but to all who were going to believe the word. But the words, "Whoever confesses Me," Matthew 10:32, and what follows, were spoken not especially to the Apostles, but also to all believers. According to this view, then, in what was said to the Apostles, an outline was given beforehand of the teaching that would later become useful both to them and to every teacher.

REASONS FOR THAT GRADUAL KNOWLEDGE:

IN THE SAME WAY: someone who holds that the fact that He was Christ had already been proclaimed before by the Apostles, when they heard the saying, "What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light, and what you hear in the ear proclaim on the housetops," Matthew 10:27, will say that He first wished to give catechetical instruction, so to speak, to those of the Apostles who were to hear the name of Christ. Then He wished to allow this, so to speak, to be digested in the minds of the hearers. So, after there had been a period of silence in the proclamation of something of this kind about Him, at a more fitting time there might be built upon the earlier first lessons Christ Jesus crucified and raised from the dead, which at the beginning not even the Apostles knew. For it is written in the passage now under consideration, "From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem," Matthew 16:21, and suffer this and that. But if the Apostles are now, for the first time, learning from Jesus the things that were about to happen to Him, namely, that the elders will plot against Him, and that He will be killed, and that after these things, on the third day, He will rise from the dead, what necessity is there for supposing that those who had been taught by the Apostles concerning Jesus knew these things before? Or that, although Christ was announced to them, He was announced to them by way of an introduction that did not clearly explain the things concerning Him? For our Savior wished, when He commanded the disciples to tell no man that He was the Christ, to reserve the more perfect teaching about Him for a more fitting time, when, to those who had seen Him crucified, the disciples who had seen Him crucified and risen could testify about the things relating to His resurrection. For if the Apostles, who were always with Him and had seen all the wonderful things that He did, and who bore witness to His words that they were words of eternal life, John 6:68, were offended on the night on which He was betrayed, what do you suppose would have been the feelings of those who had earlier learned that He was the Christ? To spare them, I think, He gave this command.

18. At first, Jesus was proclaimed by the Twelve only as a worker and a teacher.

BUT THE PERSON WHO HOLDS THAT THE THINGS SPOKEN TO THE TWELVE REFER TO THE TIME AFTER THIS: and that the Apostles had not yet announced to their hearers that He was the Christ, will say that He wanted the understanding of the Christ contained in the name of Jesus to be kept for that preaching which was more complete and brought salvation, such as Paul had in mind when he said to the Corinthians, "I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified," 1 Corinthians 2:2. Therefore, earlier they proclaimed Jesus as the one who did certain things and taught certain things. But now, when Peter confesses that He was the Christ, the Son of the living God, and since He did not want it to be proclaimed yet that He was the Christ, so that He might be proclaimed at a more fitting time, and as crucified, He commands His disciples to tell no one that He was the Christ. And that this was His meaning, when He forbade the proclamation that He was the Christ, is partly shown by the words, "From that time Jesus began to show His disciples how He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders," and what follows, Matthew 16:21. For then, at the proper time, He proclaims, so to speak, to the disciples who knew that Jesus was Christ, the Son of the living God, the Father having revealed it to them, that instead of believing in Jesus Christ who had been crucified, they were to believe in Jesus Christ who was about to be crucified. Also, instead of believing in Christ Jesus and Him risen from the dead, He teaches them to believe in Christ Jesus and Him about to rise from the dead. But since, having stripped from Himself the principalities and the powers, He made a public show of them, triumphing over them in the cross, Colossians 2:15, if anyone is ashamed of the cross of Christ, he is ashamed of the divine arrangement because of which these powers were triumphed over. And it is fitting that the one who both believes and knows these things should glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, Galatians 6:14, through which, when Christ was crucified, the principalities, among which, I think, was also the prince of this world, were publicly displayed and triumphed over before the believing world. Therefore, when His suffering was near He said, "Now the prince of this world has been judged," John 16:11, and, "Now shall the prince of this world be cast out; and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself," John 12:31-32, since he no longer had enough power to keep from going to Jesus those who were being drawn by Him.

19. Importance of the proclamation of Jesus as the Crucified.

THEREFORE: for Jesus to be proclaimed as the Christ, it is necessary that He also be proclaimed as crucified. And it does not seem to me that the proclamation that Jesus was the Christ is so lacking when any of His other miracles is passed over in silence, as it is when the fact of His crucifixion is passed over. Therefore, while keeping the more perfect proclamation about Him for the Apostles, He commanded His disciples to tell no one that He was the Christ. And He prepared them to say that He was the Christ crucified and risen from the dead, when He began not only to speak, nor even merely to teach, but to show, in Matthew 16:21, to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and so on. For pay attention to the word show. Just as visible things are said to be shown, so also the things spoken by Him to His disciples are said to be shown by Jesus. And I do not think that each of the things seen by those who saw Him suffering many things in His body from the elders of the people was shown with such clearness as the rational demonstration about Him was shown to the disciples.

WHY JESUS HAD TO GO TO JERUSALEM:

THEN HE BEGAN TO SHOW THEM: Matthew 16:21. And probably afterward, when they were able to receive it, He showed it more clearly. He was no longer only beginning to show it, as to those who were learning the introduction, but was already also advancing in the showing. And if it is reasonable to think that Jesus completely finished what He began, then at some point He completely finished what He began to show His disciples about the necessity of His suffering the things that are written. For when anyone receives from the Word the perfect knowledge of these things, then it must be said that, from a rational presentation, with the mind seeing the things that are shown, the presentation becomes complete for the one who has the will and the power to contemplate these things, and does contemplate them. But since it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem, Luke 13:33—a perishing that corresponds to the words, "He that loses his life for My sake shall find it," Matthew 10:39—for this reason it was necessary for Him to go to Jerusalem. There, after suffering many things in that Jerusalem, He might become the first-fruits, 1 Corinthians 15:20, of the resurrection from the dead in the Jerusalem above, doing away with and breaking up the city on earth with all the worship that was maintained in it. For as long as Christ had not been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of those who sleep, 1 Corinthians 15:20, and those who become conformed to His death and resurrection had not yet been raised along with Him, the city of God was sought below, and also the temple, and the purifications, and the rest. But when this took place, the things below were no longer sought, but the things above. And in order that these might be set up, it was necessary for Him to go to the Jerusalem below, and there suffer many things from the elders in it, and the chief priests and scribes of the people, in order that He might be glorified by the heavenly elders who could receive His bounties, and by more divine high priests who are ordained under the one High Priest, and that He might be glorified by the scribes of the people who are occupied with letters not written with ink, 2 Corinthians 3:3, but made clear by the Spirit of the living God. And He might be killed in the Jerusalem below, and having risen from the dead might reign in Mount Zion, and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, Hebrews 12:22. But on the third day He rose from the dead, in order that, having delivered them from the wicked one, and his son, in whom was falsehood and unrighteousness and war and everything opposed to that which Christ is, and also from the profane spirit who transforms himself into the Holy Spirit, He might gain for those who had been delivered the right to be baptized in spirit and soul and body, into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. These represent the three days eternally present at the same time to those who by means of them are sons of light.

THE REBUKE OF PETER AND THE ANSWER OF JESUS:

PETER TOOK HIM ASIDE AND BEGAN TO REBUKE HIM: saying, “May God be merciful to You, Lord. This shall never happen to You.” Matthew 16:22 But He said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan. You are a stumbling block to Me, for you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Matthew 16:23 Since Jesus had begun to show His disciples that He had to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things, Peter had learned only the first part of what was being shown. But because he thought those sufferings were unworthy of Christ, the Son of the living God, and beneath the dignity of the Father who had revealed such great things to him about Christ—for the things about His coming suffering had not been revealed to him—for this reason he took Him aside. And like one who forgot the honor due to the Christ, and forgot that the Son of the living God neither does nor says anything deserving rebuke, he began to rebuke Him. And speaking to one who needed propitiation—for he did not yet know that God had presented Him as a propitiation through faith in His blood, Romans 3:25—he said, “May God be merciful to You, O Lord.” Matthew 16:22 Jesus approved his intention, but He rebuked his ignorance. Because Peter’s intention was right, He said to him, “Get behind Me,” Matthew 16:23 as to one who, because of the things he did not know and did not speak rightly, had stopped following Jesus. But because of his ignorance, and as to one who had something opposed to the things of God, He said, “Satan,” which in Hebrew means “adversary.” But if Peter had not spoken out of ignorance, and had not rebuked the Son of the living God by saying to Him, “May God be merciful to You, Lord. This shall never happen to You,” Christ would not have said to him, “Get behind Me,” as to one who had stopped being behind Him and following Him. Nor would He have said “Satan” to one who had spoken words opposed to what He had said. But now Satan had prevailed over the one who had been following Jesus and going behind Him, so as to turn him away from following Him and from being behind the Son of God. And because of the words he spoke in ignorance, Satan made him worthy to be called Satan and a stumbling block to the Son of God, as one who did not have in mind the things of God but the things of men. But that Peter had earlier been behind the Son of God, before he committed this sin, is clear from the words, “Come behind Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19

22. Importance of the expressions "behind" and "turned."

BUT COMPARE WHAT HE SAID TO PETER: “Get behind Me, Satan,” in Matthew 16:23, with what He said to the devil, who said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You fall down and worship me,” in Matthew 4:9: “Go away,” in Matthew 4:10, without adding, “behind Me.” For being behind Jesus is a good thing. Therefore it was said, “Come behind Me, and I will make you fishers of men,” in Matthew 4:19. And the same meaning appears in the saying, “He who does not take his cross and follow behind Me is not worthy of Me,” in Matthew 10:38. As a general rule, notice the phrase “behind.” It is a good thing when anyone goes behind the Lord God and is behind the Christ. But the opposite is true when anyone throws the words of God behind himself, or when he breaks the commandment that says, “Do not walk behind your lusts,” in Sirach 18:30. Elijah also says to the people in the third Book of Kings, “How long will you limp on both knees? If the Lord is God, go behind Him; but if Baal is lord, go behind him,” in 1 Kings 18:21. Jesus says this to Peter when He turned, and He does it as a favor. If, therefore, you gather more examples of this turning, especially the ones spoken of Jesus, and compare them with one another, you will find that the expression is not unnecessary. But for now it is enough to present this from the Gospel according to John: “Jesus turned and saw them”—clearly Peter and Andrew—“following, and says to them, ‘What do you seek?’” in John 1:38. Notice that when He turned, it was for the benefit of those to whom He turned.

Peter as a stumbling-block to Jesus.

NEXT WE MUST ASK HOW HE SAID TO PETER: "You are a stumbling block to Me," Matthew 16:23, especially since David says, "Great peace have those who love Your law, and there is no stumbling block for them." For someone will say: if this is said in the prophet because of the firmness of those who have love and cannot be offended, since "love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails," 1 Corinthians 13:7-8, how did the Lord Himself, who upholds all who fall and raises up all who are bowed down, say to Peter, "You are a stumbling block to Me"? But it must be said that not only the Savior, but also the person who is perfected in love, cannot be offended. Yet, as far as it depends on himself, the one who says or does such things is a stumbling block even to the person who will not be offended. Unless perhaps Jesus called the disciple who sinned a stumbling block even to Himself because, with even more love than Paul, He could have said, "Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn?" 2 Corinthians 11:29. In agreement with this, we may also put it this way: "Who is made to stumble, and I am not made to stumble?" But if Peter at that time, because of the words, "God be gracious to You, Lord; this shall never happen to You," Matthew 16:22, was called a stumbling block by Jesus because in what he said he was not minding the things of God but the things of men, what should be said about all those who claim to be disciples of Jesus, but do not mind the things of God? They do not look to the unseen and eternal things, but mind the things of man and look to the seen and temporary things, 2 Corinthians 4:18. Surely such people would even more be marked by Jesus as a stumbling block to Him, and because they are stumbling blocks to Him, they are also stumbling blocks to His brothers. As He says about them, "I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink," Matthew 25:42, and so on, so also He might say, "When I was running, you caused Me to stumble." Let us not suppose, therefore, that it is a small sin to mind the things of men, since in everything we ought to mind the things of God. And it would also be fitting to say this to everyone who has fallen away from the doctrines of God and the words of the church and a true mind; for example, to anyone who accepts as true the teaching of Basilides, or Valentinus, or Marcion, or any of those who teach the things of men as if they were the things of God.

24. Self-Denial and Cross-Bearing.

THEN JESUS SAID TO HIS DISCIPLES: "If anyone wills to come after Me," and so on, in Matthew 16:24. By these words He shows that the will to come after Jesus and follow Him does not come from ordinary human courage, and that no one can come after Jesus unless he has denied himself. A man denies himself when he wipes out, by a great change, his former life that was spent in wickedness. For example, a man who was once immoral denies that former immoral self when he becomes self-controlled in a lasting way. But someone may object and ask this: if he denied himself, does he also confess himself? That is, when he denied himself as the unrighteous man, does he confess himself as the righteous man? But if Christ is righteousness, then the man who has received righteousness confesses not himself, but Christ. In the same way, he who has found wisdom, by possessing wisdom itself, confesses Christ. Such a man believes with the heart to righteousness and makes confession with the mouth to salvation, as in Romans 10:10. And he bears witness to the works of Christ. By all these things he confesses Christ before men, and Christ will confess him before His Father in heaven, as in Matthew 10:32. In the same way, the man who has not denied himself, but has denied Christ, will experience the saying, "I also will deny him," in Matthew 10:33. For this reason, let every thought and every purpose and every word and every action become a denial of ourselves, but a testimony about Christ and in Christ. For I am persuaded that every action of the perfect man is a testimony to Christ Jesus, and that abstaining from every sin is a denial of self that leads a man after Christ. Such a man is crucified with Christ, and, taking up his own cross, follows Him who for our sake bears His own cross, according to what is said in John: "They took Jesus therefore, and He went out, bearing His cross," down to the words, "where they crucified Him," in John 19:17-18. But the Jesus in John, so to speak, bears the cross for Himself, and, bearing it, went out. But the Jesus in Matthew and Mark and Luke does not bear it for Himself, because Simon of Cyrene bears it. And perhaps this man refers to us, who take up the cross of Jesus because of Jesus, while Jesus Himself takes it upon Himself. For there are, so to speak, two ideas of the cross: one that Simon of Cyrene bears, and the other that Jesus Himself bears for Himself.

REFERENCE TO WHAT PAUL SAYS ABOUT BEING CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST:

MOREOVER: about the saying, "Let him deny himself," Matthew 16:24, the following saying of Paul, who denied himself, seems fitting: "Yet I live, and yet no longer I, but Christ lives in me," Galatians 2:20. For the words, "I live, yet no longer I," were the words of someone denying himself, of someone who had laid aside his own life and had taken Christ upon himself, so that Christ might live in him as Righteousness, and as Wisdom, and as Sanctification, and as our Peace, and as the Power of God, who works all things in him. But also consider this: although there are many ways of dying, the Son of God was crucified, being hung on a tree, so that all who die to sin might die to it in no other way than the way of the cross. Therefore they will say, "I have been crucified with Christ," and, "Far be it from me to glory except in the cross of the Lord, through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world." For perhaps each of those who have been crucified with Christ also puts off from himself the principalities and the powers, and makes a show of them and triumphs over them in the cross, Colossians 2:15; or rather, Christ does these things in them.

26. The Less of Life; And the Saving of It.

“For whoever would save his own life will lose it.” Matthew 16:25. The first statement is ambiguous, because it can be understood in one way like this. If someone loves life, thinks that the present life is good, and carefully guards his own life so that he may go on living in the flesh, because he is afraid to die, as if by death he would lose it, then that man, by being willing to save his life in this way, will lose it. He will place it outside the boundaries of blessedness. But if someone despises the present life because of my word, which has persuaded him to contend for eternal life, even to death, for the sake of truth, and so loses his own life by surrendering it, for the sake of piety, to what is commonly called death, then that man, since he has lost his life for my sake, will rather save it and keep possession of it. And we may also interpret the saying in a second way, like this. If someone has grasped what salvation really is, and wishes to obtain the salvation of his own life, let that man say farewell to this life, deny himself, take up his own cross, and follow me, losing his own life to the world. For having lost it for my sake and for the sake of all my teaching, he will gain the result of such a loss: salvation.

LIFE LOST TO THE WORLD IS SAVED:

BUT AT THE SAME TIME: notice this also: at the beginning it is said, "Whosoever wills," but afterward, "Whoever shall lose," in Matthew 16:25. If, then, we wish it to be saved, let us lose it to the world, like those who have been crucified with Christ and whose glorying is in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world is to be crucified to us, and we to the world, as Galatians 6:14 says. Then we may reach our goal, even the salvation of our lives, which begins from the time when we lose it for the sake of the word. But if we think that the salvation of our life is a blessed thing, in relation to the salvation that is in God and the blessednesses with Him, then any loss of life ought to be a good thing, and for the sake of Christ must prove to be the prelude to the blessed salvation. Therefore, it seems to me, following the analogy of self-denial, according to what has been said, that each ought to lose his own life. Let each one, therefore, lose his own sinning life, so that, having lost what is sinful, he may receive that which is saved by right actions. But a man will in no way be profited if he gains the whole world. Now he gains the world, I think, to whom the world is not crucified. And to the man to whom the world is not crucified, there shall be the loss of his own life. But when two things are put before us, either by gaining one's life to forfeit the world, or by gaining the world to forfeit one's life, the much more desirable choice is that we should forfeit the world and gain our life by losing it on account of Christ.

28. The Exchange for One’s Life.

BUT THE SAYING: “What shall a man give in exchange for his own life?” in Matthew 16:26, if it is spoken as a question, may seem to mean that a man gives something in exchange for his own life when, after his sins, he gives up all he owns so that his property may feed the poor, as if by that he were going to obtain salvation. But if it is spoken as a statement, I think it means that there is nothing a man has that he can give in exchange for his own life, once it has been overcome by death, to ransom it from death’s hand. Therefore, a man could not give anything in exchange for his own life, but God gave an exchange for the life of us all: the precious blood of Christ Jesus, 1 Peter 1:19. As it is written, we were bought with a price, 1 Corinthians 6:20, having been redeemed, not with corruptible things such as silver or gold, but with precious blood, like that of a lamb without blemish and without spot, that is, Christ, 1 Peter 1:18-19. And in Isaiah it is said to Israel, “I gave Ethiopia in exchange for you, and Egypt and Syene for you; since the time you became honorable before Me, you were glorified,” Isaiah 43:3-4. For example, the exchange for the firstborn of Israel was the firstborn of the Egyptians, and the exchange for Israel was the Egyptians who died in the last plagues that came upon Egypt, and in the drowning that took place after the plagues. But from these things, let him who is able ask whether the exchange for the true Israel, given by God, who redeems Israel from all his transgressions, is the true Ethiopia, and, so to speak, spiritual Egypt, and Syene of Egypt. And let him ask with more boldness whether perhaps Syene is the exchange for Jerusalem, and Egypt for Judea, and Ethiopia for those who fear, who are different from Israel, and the house of Levi, and the house of Aaron.

29. The Coming of the Son of Man in Glory.

FOR THE SON OF MAN WILL COME IN THE GLORY OF HIS OWN FATHER WITH HIS ANGELS: Matthew 16:27 Now, in fact, the Son of Man has not yet come in His glory. For we saw Him, and He had no form or beauty. Instead, His appearance was dishonored and lacking compared with the sons of men. He was a man in affliction and toil, and acquainted with enduring sickness. Because His face was turned away, He was dishonored and not esteemed. Isaiah 53:2-3 And it was necessary for Him to come in such a form so that He might bear our sins, Isaiah 53:4 and suffer pain for us. For it was not fitting for Him, in glory, to bear our sins and suffer pain for us. But He also comes in glory, after preparing the disciples through that appearing of His which had no form or beauty. And having become like them so that they might become like Him, conformed to the image of His glory, Romans 8:29 since He had formerly become conformed to the body of our humiliation, Philippians 3:21 when He emptied Himself and took on the form of a servant, Philippians 2:7 He is restored to the image of God and also makes them conformed to it.

The Word appears in different forms; the time of His coming in glory.

BUT IF YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCES IN THE WORD: which is proclaimed to those who believe through the foolishness of preaching, as 1 Corinthians 1:21 says, and is spoken in wisdom to those who are mature, you will see how the Word has the form of a slave for those who are learning the first elements. That is why they say, “We saw Him, and He had no form or beauty,” Isaiah 53:2. But to the mature He comes in the glory of His own Father, Matthew 16:27, so that they may say, “And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth,” John 1:14. For in fact, to the mature there appears the glory of the Word, and of the only begotten of God the Father, and the fullness of grace and also of truth. But the person who needs the foolishness of preaching in order to believe cannot perceive this. But the Son of Man will come in the glory of His own Father, not alone, but with His own angels. And if you can understand that all those who are fellow workers in the glory of the Word, and in the revelation of the Wisdom which is Christ, come with Him, then you will see how the Son of Man comes in the glory of His own Father with His own angels. And consider whether, in this connection, you can say that the prophets, who in earlier times suffered because their word had no form or beauty, held a position like that of the Word who had no form or beauty. And just as the Son of Man comes in the glory of His own Father, so also the angels, who are the words in the prophets, are present with Him, keeping the measure of their own glory. But when the Word comes in this form with His own angels, He will give to each one a share of His own glory and of the brightness of His own angels, according to each one’s actions. But we say these things without rejecting even the second coming of the Son of God as understood in its simpler sense. But when will these things happen? Will it be when that apostolic saying is fulfilled which says, “For we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad,” 2 Corinthians 5:10? But if He will repay each person according to his deed, not only the good deed, nor the evil deed apart from the good, it is clear that He will repay each person according to every evil deed and according to every good deed. But I suppose—in this also following the Apostle, and also comparing the words of Ezekiel, where the sins of the person who has fully turned back are wiped out, and the former righteousness of the person who has completely fallen away is not counted—that in the case of the person who is being perfected and has completely put away wickedness, his sins are wiped out. But in the case of the person who has completely revolted from piety, if he formerly did anything good, it is not taken into account, Ezekiel 18:21-24. But for us, who hold a middle place between the perfect man and the apostate, when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ, 2 Corinthians 5:10, what we have done is repaid, whether good or bad. For we have not been so pure that our evil deeds are not counted against us at all, nor have we fallen away so completely that our better actions are forgotten.

THE SIMPLER INTERPRETATION OF THE PROMISE ABOUT NOT TASTING DEATH:

“Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death.” Matthew 16:28 Some connect these words to the ascent of the three disciples with Jesus alone onto the high mountain six days later, or, as Luke says, eight days later, Luke 9:28. Those who take this view say that Peter and the other two did not taste death before they saw the Son of Man coming in His own kingdom and in His own glory. For when they saw Jesus transfigured before them, so that His face shone, and so on, they saw the kingdom of God coming with power. Mark 9:1 For just as some spear-bearers stand around a king, so Moses and Elijah appeared to those who had gone up the mountain, talking with Jesus. But it is worthwhile to consider whether the sitting at the right hand and at the left hand of the Savior in His kingdom refers to them, so that the words, “But for whom it has been prepared,” were spoken because of them. Matthew 20:23 Now this interpretation, that the three Apostles did not taste death until they had seen Jesus transfigured, is suited to those whom Peter calls newborn babies longing for the pure spiritual milk without deceit, 1 Peter 2:2, and to whom Paul says, “I fed you with milk, not with meat,” 1 Corinthians 3:2, and so on. Also, every interpretation of a text that can build up those who cannot receive greater truths may reasonably be called milk, flowing from the holy ground of the Scriptures, which flows with milk and honey. But the person who has been weaned, like Isaac, Genesis 21:8, and is worthy of the celebration and welcome that Abraham gave at the weaning of his son, would seek here and in every Scripture food that is different, I think, from what is called meat but is not solid food, and different from what are figuratively called herbs, which are food for one who has been weaned and is not yet strong, but weak, according to the saying, “He who is weak eats herbs.” Romans 14:2 In the same way, the person who has been weaned, like Samuel, and dedicated by his mother to God—she was Hannah, which means grace—would also be a son of grace, seeking, like one raised in the temple, the flesh of God, the holy food of those who are both perfect and priests.

STANDING BY THE SAVIOR:

THESE ARE THE THOUGHTS THAT COME TO US AT PRESENT ABOUT THE PASSAGE BEFORE US: Some were standing where Jesus was. The footsteps of their souls were firmly planted with Jesus, and the standing of their feet was like the standing Moses spoke of in the passage, "And I stood on the mountain forty days and forty nights," Deuteronomy 10:10. He was counted worthy to hear God say to him, when God told him to stand by Him, "But stand here with Me," Deuteronomy 5:31. Those who truly stand by Jesus, that is, by the Word of God, do not all stand in the same way. For there are differences among those who stand by Jesus. Therefore, not all who stand by the Savior, but some of them, because they stand better, do not taste death until they have seen the Word, who lived with men and for that reason was called Son of Man, coming in His own kingdom. For Jesus does not always come in His own kingdom when He comes. To those who are newly instructed, He appears in such a way that, as they look at the Word Himself, they might say that He is not glorious or great, but lower than many among them: "We saw Him, and He had no form or beauty, but His form was dishonored, defective compared with all the sons of men," Isaiah 53:2-3. These things will be said by those who saw His glory when they think back to their earlier times, when at first the Word, as understood in the synagogue, had no form or beauty to them. Therefore, to the Word, who has most clearly taken on the power above all words, there belongs a royal dignity. This dignity is visible to some of those who stand by Jesus, when they are able to follow Him as He goes before them and climbs up the high mountain of His own manifestation. Some of those who stand by Jesus are counted worthy of this honor if they are either a Peter, against whom the gates of Hades do not prevail, or the sons of thunder, Mark 3:17, and are begotten of the mighty voice of God, who thunders and cries aloud from heaven great things to those who have ears and are wise. Such men, at least, do not taste death.

33. Interpretation of Tasting of Death.

BUT WE MUST TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IT MEANS TO TASTE DEATH: He is life who says, "I am the life," John 14:6. And this life has certainly been hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ our life is revealed, then those who are worthy to be revealed with Him in glory will also be revealed with Him, Colossians 3:3-4. But the enemy of this life, who is also the last enemy of all His enemies to be destroyed, is death, 1 Corinthians 15:26. The soul that sins dies by having a condition opposite to the one found in the soul that lives rightly, and because it lives rightly, truly lives. And when it is said in the law, "I have placed life before your face," Deuteronomy 30:15, Scripture says this about Him who said, "I am the Life," and about His enemy, death. By his deeds, each of us is always choosing one or the other. And when we sin while life is before our face, the curse is fulfilled against us which says, "And your life shall be hanging up before you," and so on, down to the words, "and for the sights of your eyes which you shall see," Deuteronomy 28:66-67. Therefore, just as the Life is also the living bread that came down from heaven and gave life to the world, John 6:33, 51, so His enemy death is dead bread. Now every rational soul is fed either on living bread or on dead bread, by the good or bad opinions it receives. As with ordinary foods, sometimes a person only tastes them, and at other times eats much more of them. So also with these loaves: one person, only tasting them, eats too little, but another is filled. The one who is good, or is on the way to becoming good, is filled with the living bread that came down from heaven. But the wicked person is filled with the dead bread, which is death. And some, perhaps, by feeding only a little and sinning only a little, only taste death. But those who have attained virtue do not even taste it, but are always fed on the living bread. So then, in Peter's case, against whom the gates of Hades will not prevail, it naturally followed that he did not taste death. For a person tastes death and eats death at the time when the gates of Hades prevail against him. And a person eats or tastes death in proportion to how far the gates of Hades prevail against him, whether greater or less, whether more or fewer in number. But it was also impossible for the sons of thunder, who were begotten of thunder, which is a heavenly thing, to taste death, which is very far removed from thunder, their mother. But the Word prophesies these things to those who will be perfected, and who, by standing with the Word, advanced so far that they did not taste death until they saw the manifestation and the glory and the kingdom and the excellence of the Word of God, by which He surpasses every word that, with an appearance of truth, leads away and tosses about those who are not able to break through the bonds of distraction and rise to the height of the excellence of the Word of truth.

Meaning of "until." No limitation of the promise.

But since someone may think that the Savior’s promise sets a time limit on their not tasting death, namely, that they will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His own kingdom in Matthew 16:28, but that after this they will taste it, let us show that in Scripture the word “until” means that the time about the thing being spoken of is at hand. Yet it is not defined in such a way that, after the “until,” the opposite of the thing spoken of must then happen. Now when the Savior rose from the dead, He said this among other things to the eleven disciples: “Behold, I am with you all the days, even until the consummation of the age,” in Matthew 28:20. When He said this, did He mean that He would be with them only until the consummation of the age, but that after the consummation of the age, when another age was near, which is called the age to come, He would no longer be with them? If that were so, then the condition of the disciples would be better before the consummation of the age than after it. But I do not think that anyone would dare to say that after the consummation of the age the Son of God would no longer be with the disciples. For the words show that He would be with them for that whole time, until the consummation of the age was near. It is clear that the question being examined was whether the Son of God was at once going to be with His disciples before the age to come and before the hoped-for promises of God that were given as a reward. But even if it were granted that He would be with them, there could still be a question whether He was present with them at some times and absent at others. Therefore, to free us from the suspicion that might arise from such doubt, He declared that now, and all the days, He would be with the disciples, and that He would not leave those who had become His disciples until the consummation of the age. Because He said “all the days,” He was not denying that He would also be present with them at night, when the sun had set. But if this is the force of the words, “until the consummation of the age,” then clearly we should not be forced to admit that those who see the Son of Man coming in His own kingdom will taste death after they have been counted worthy to see Him in such a form. But just as in the passage we mentioned earlier, the urgent need was to teach us that until the consummation of the age He would not leave us, but would be with us all the days, so also in this case, I think, it is clear to those who know how to follow the logical connection of things that the one who has once for all seen the Son of Man coming in His own kingdom, and has seen Him in His own glory, and has seen the kingdom of God come with power, could not possibly taste death after the contemplation of things so good and so great. But apart from the word of Jesus’ promise, we had reasonably supposed that we would taste death as long as we had not yet been counted worthy to see the kingdom of God come with power, and the Son of Man coming in His own glory and in His own kingdom.

35. Scriptural References to Death.

BUT SINCE IT IS WRITTEN HERE IN THE THREE GOSPELS: “They shall not taste death,” while other writers say different things about death, it is fitting to bring forward those passages also and examine them along with the phrase “taste of death.” In the Psalms it says, “What man is he that shall live and not see death?” And again, in another place, “Let death come upon them, and let them go down into Hades alive.” But in one of the prophets, “Death becoming mighty has swallowed them up,” Isaiah 25:8, and in the Apocalypse, “Death and Hades follow some,” Revelation 6:10. Now in these passages, it seems to me that it is one thing to taste death, another thing to see death, and another for death to come upon some. A fourth thing, different from those already mentioned, is meant by the words, “Death becoming mighty has swallowed them up.” And a fifth thing, different from these, is meant by the words, “Death and Hades follow them.” If you were to collect these passages, you would perhaps also find other differences besides those we have mentioned. By comparing them with one another and examining them rightly, you would find what is meant in each place. But here I ask whether it is a lesser evil to see death, yet a greater evil than seeing it to taste of it, and worse still that death should follow someone. And not only follow him, but also then come upon him and seize him whom it had formerly followed. But to be swallowed up seems to be more terrible than all the things spoken of. But if you pay attention to what is said, and to the differences in the sins committed, I think you will readily admit that things of this kind were intended by the Spirit who caused these things to be written in the oracles of God. But if it is necessary to give a clearer explanation of what is meant by seeing the Son of Man coming in His own kingdom, or in His own glory, and what is meant by seeing the kingdom of God come with power, we will set these things forth, whether they are things made to shine in our hearts, or things found by those who seek, or things that enter gradually into our thoughts; let each person judge as he wills. He who beholds and understands the excellence of the Word, as He tears down and refutes all the plausible appearances of things that are really lies but claim to be truths, sees the Son of Man, according to the word of John, the Word of God, coming in His own kingdom. But if such a person were to behold the Word not only tearing down plausible objections, but also presenting His own truths with perfect clarity, he would behold His glory as well as His kingdom. And such a person would indeed see in Him the kingdom of God come with power. He would see this as one who is no longer under the reign of sin, which reigns in the mortal body of those who sin, Romans 6:12, but is always under the rule of the King, who is God over all. His kingdom is indeed potentially within us, Luke 17:21, but actually, and as Mark has called it, with power and not at all in weakness, only within the perfect. These things, then, Jesus promised to the disciples who were standing there, prophesying not about all of them, but about some.

CONCERNING THE TRANSFIGURATION OF THE SAVIOR:

NOW AFTER SIX DAYS: according to Matthew and Mark, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John his brother with Him, and leads them up by themselves onto a high mountain. And He was transfigured before them. Now, before I give the explanation that comes to me about these things, let it first be granted that this happened long ago and according to the letter. But it seems to me that those who are led up by Jesus onto the high mountain, and are counted worthy to see His transfiguration by themselves, are not led up without purpose six days after the words spoken before. For since in six days—the perfect number—the whole world, this perfect work of art, was made, I think that the one who rises above all the things of the world by no longer looking at the things that are seen, because they are temporary, but already at the things that are not seen, and only at the things that are not seen, because they are eternal, is described in the words, "After six days Jesus took with Him certain persons." If, therefore, any one of us wishes to be taken by Jesus, and led up by Him onto the high mountain, and counted worthy to see His transfiguration by himself, let him go beyond the six days. That is because he no longer looks at the things that are seen, no longer loves the world or the things in the world, 1 John 2:15, and does not desire any worldly lust, which is the lust of bodies, and of the riches of the body, and of the glory that is according to the flesh, and whatever things by their nature distract the soul, drag it away from things that are better and more divine, and bring it down and fasten it to the deceit of this age, in wealth and glory and the rest of the lusts that are enemies of the truth. For when he has gone through the six days, as we have said, he will keep a new Sabbath, rejoicing on the lofty mountain, because he sees Jesus transfigured before him. For the Word has different forms, as He appears to each one in the way that is fitting for the one who sees Him, and He is revealed to no one beyond that person's capacity.

37. The force of the words before them.

BUT YOU WILL ASK WHETHER: when He was transfigured before those whom He led up the high mountain, He appeared to them in the form of God, in which He formerly was. If so, then to those below He had the form of a servant, but to those who had followed Him up the high mountain after the six days, He no longer had that form, but the form of God. But listen to this, if you can, while also paying spiritual attention. It is not said simply, "He was transfigured," but with a necessary addition, which Matthew and Mark recorded. For according to both of them, He was transfigured before them. And so, on this understanding, you will say that it is possible for Jesus to be transfigured with this transfiguration before some, while at the same time before others He is not transfigured. But if you want to see the transfiguration of Jesus before those who went up with Him by themselves to the high mountain and stayed there a long time, then look with me at the Jesus in the Gospels. He is understood more simply, and, one might say, known according to the flesh, by those who do not go up, through uplifting works and words, to the high mountain of wisdom. But He is no longer known according to the flesh. Rather, He is known in His divinity through all the Gospels, and seen in the form of God according to their understanding. For before them Jesus is transfigured, and not before any of those below. But when He is transfigured, His face also shines like the sun, so that He may be revealed to the children of light, who have put off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light, Romans 13:12. They are no longer children of darkness or of night, but have become sons of day and walk properly as in the day. And when He is revealed, He will shine to them not simply like the sun, but as shown to be the sun of righteousness.

THE GARMENTS WHITE AS THE LIGHT:

AND HE IS NOT ONLY TRANSFIGURED BEFORE SUCH DISCIPLES: nor does He only add to the transfiguration the shining of His face like the sun. More than that, to those whom He led up by Himself onto the high mountain apart, His garments also appear white as the light, Matthew 17:2. But the garments of Jesus are the expressions and letters of the Gospels with which He clothed Himself. And I think that even the words in the Apostles that show the truths concerning Him are garments of Jesus, and these become white to those who go up the high mountain with Jesus. But since there are different kinds of white things, His garments become white like the brightest and purest of all white things, and that is light. Therefore, when you see someone who not only has a deep understanding of the teaching about Jesus, but also explains every expression in the Gospels clearly, do not hesitate to say that to him the garments of Jesus have become white as the light. But when the Son of God in His transfiguration is understood and seen in such a way that His face is a sun, and His garments are white as the light, then at once Moses will appear to the one who sees Jesus in this form—that is, the law—and Elijah, which by synecdoche means not one prophet only, but all the prophets, speaking with Jesus; for that is the force of the words, "talking with Him," Matthew 17:3. But according to Luke, Moses and Elijah appeared in glory, down to the words, "in Jerusalem," Luke 9:30-31. But if anyone sees the glory of Moses, having understood the spiritual law as a teaching in harmony with Jesus, and the wisdom in the prophets which is hidden in a mystery, 1 Corinthians 2:7, he sees Moses and Elijah in glory when he sees them with Jesus.

JESUS WAS TRANSFIGURED AS HE WAS PRAYING:

THEN: since it will be necessary to explain the passage as it is given in Mark, “And as He was praying, He was transfigured before them,” we must say that perhaps it is possible, especially for us, to see the Word transfigured before us if we have done the things mentioned before, and have gone up the mountain, and have seen the absolute Word speaking with the Father and praying to Him for the things that the true High Priest might pray for to the only true God. But so that He may have fellowship with God in this way and pray to the Father, He goes up the mountain. Then, according to Mark, His garments become white and glistening like light, so that no fuller on earth can whiten them. Mark 9:3 Perhaps the fullers on earth are the wise men of this world, who are careful about the style of language that they think is bright and pure, so that even their low thoughts and false dogmas seem, so to speak, to be made beautiful by their fulling. But the One who shows His own garments glistening to those who have gone up, and brighter than their fulling can make them, is the Word, who displays in the words of the Scriptures, which are despised by many, the glistening of the thoughts, when the clothing of Jesus, according to Luke, becomes white and dazzling. Luke 9:29

Discussion of Peter’s saying.

BUT LET US NEXT SEE WHAT PETER WAS THINKING WHEN HE ANSWERED AND SAID TO JESUS: "Lord, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles," and so on. And for this reason these words call for very careful examination. For Mark, speaking in his own person, has added, "For he did not know what to answer," Mark 9:6. But Luke says, "not knowing what he said," Luke 9:33. Consider, therefore, whether he spoke these things as if in a trance, being filled with the spirit that moved him to say them. This could not have been a Holy Spirit. For John taught in the Gospel that, before the resurrection of the Savior, no one had the Holy Spirit, saying, "For the Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified," John 7:39. But if the Spirit was not yet, and he, not knowing what he said, spoke under the influence of some spirit, then the spirit that caused these things to be said was one of the spirits that had not yet been triumphed over in the cross, nor made a show of along with them. About them it is written, "Having put off from Himself the principalities and the powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in the cross," Colossians 2:15. But perhaps this spirit was the one Jesus called a stumbling-block, and which is spoken of as Satan in the passage, "Get behind Me, Satan; you are a stumbling-block to Me," Matthew 16:23. But I know well that such things will offend many who meet with them, because they think it is opposed to sound reason that he should be spoken ill of who a little before had been pronounced blessed by Jesus, on the ground that the Father in heaven had revealed to him the things concerning the Savior, namely, that He was truly Jesus, and the Christ, and the Son of the living God. But let such a person pay closer attention to the statements about Peter and the rest of the Apostles, how even they made requests as if they were still alien from Him who was to redeem them from the enemy and purchase them with His own precious blood. Or let those also who insist that even before the passion of Jesus the Apostles were perfect tell us from where it came about that Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, Luke 9:32. But to anticipate something else from what follows and apply it to the subject at hand, I would in turn raise these questions: whether it is possible for anyone to find occasion of stumbling in Jesus apart from the working of the devil who caused him to stumble; and whether it is possible for anyone to deny Jesus, and that in the presence of a little maid and a doorkeeper and most worthless men, unless a spirit had been with him in his denial hostile to the Spirit and the wisdom given to those who are helped by God to make confession, according to a certain desert of theirs. But he who has learned to trace the roots of sin to the father of sin, the devil, will not say that apart from him either the Apostles were caused to stumble, or that Peter denied Christ three times before that well-known cock-crowing. But if this is so, consider whether perhaps, with a view to making Jesus stumble, so far as was in his power, and to turning Him aside from the divine arrangement characterized by suffering that brought salvation to men, which He undertook with great willingness, while seeking to bring about those things that seemed to contribute to this end, he himself also here wished, as it were by deceit, to draw Jesus away, as if calling on Him no longer to condescend to men, and come to them, and undergo death for them, but to remain on the high mountain with Moses and Elijah. But he also promised to build three tabernacles, one separately for Jesus, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah, as if one tabernacle would not have been enough for the three, if it had been necessary for them to be in tabernacles and on the high mountain. And perhaps also in this he acted with evil intent, when he stirred up him who did not know what he said, not desiring that Jesus and Moses and Elijah should be together, but desiring to separate them from one another, under the pretext of the three tabernacles. And likewise it was a lie, "It is good for us to be here," Matthew 17:4. For if it had been a good thing, they would also have remained there. But if it was a lie, you will seek to know who caused the lie to be spoken, especially since according to John, "When he speaks a lie he speaks of his own; for he is a liar and the father of it," John 8:44. And as there is no truth apart from the working of Him who says, "I am the Truth," John 14:6, so there is no lie apart from him who is the enemy of truth. Accordingly, these contrary qualities were still in Peter, truth and falsehood. From truth he said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," Matthew 16:16. But from falsehood he said, "May God be propitious to You, Lord, this shall not be to You," Matthew 16:22, and also, "It is good for us to be here," Matthew 17:4. But if anyone will not admit that Peter spoke these things from some evil inspiration, but that his words were from his own mere choice, and if it is demanded of him how he will interpret, "not knowing what he said," Luke 9:33, and, "for he did not know what to answer," Mark 9:6, he will say that in the former case Peter thought it a shameful thing and unworthy of Jesus to admit that the Son of the living God, the Christ, whom already the Father had revealed to him, should be killed. And in the present case, as having seen the two forms of Jesus, and the one at the transfiguration which was much more excellent, being greatly pleased with that, he said that it was good to make their stay on that mountain, so that he himself and those with him might rejoice as they looked on the transfiguration of Jesus, and His face shining like the sun, and His garments white like the light. And besides these things, they might always behold in glory those whom they had once seen in glory, Moses and Elijah. And they might rejoice in the things that they might hear, as Moses and Elijah talked and held intercourse with Jesus, and Jesus with them.

41. Figurative Interpretation of the Same.

BUT SINCE WE HAVE NOT YET USED OUR FULL EFFORT TO EXPLAIN THESE THINGS FIGURATIVELY: and have said these things only while examining the bare letter, let us, in keeping with this, consider whether Peter and the sons of thunder, who were taken up the mountain of the teachings of the truth, and who saw the transfiguration of Jesus, and Moses and Elijah appearing with Him in glory, may have wanted to make tabernacles within themselves for the Word of God who was going to dwell in them, and for His law, which had been seen in glory, and for the prophecy that spoke of the death of Jesus, which He was about to accomplish, Luke 9:31. And Peter, as one who loved the contemplative life, and who preferred what was pleasant in it over life among the crowd with its turmoil, said, with the purpose of helping those who desired that kind of life, "It is good for us to be here," Matthew 17:4. But since love does not seek its own, 1 Corinthians 13:5, Jesus did not do what Peter thought was good. Therefore He came down from the mountain to those who were not able to go up it and see His transfiguration, so that they might see Him in the form they were able to see. Therefore, it is the part of a righteous man, who has the love that does not seek its own, 1 Corinthians 13:5, to be free from all, yet make himself a servant to all those below, so that he may gain more of them, 1 Corinthians 9:19. But someone, in response to what we have said about the trance and the working of an evil spirit in Peter, regarding the words, "not knowing what he said," Luke 9:33, and not accepting that interpretation of ours, may say that Paul mentioned certain men who desired to be teachers of the law, 1 Timothy 1:7, though they do not know what they are talking about. Even though they do not clearly explain the nature of what is said, nor understand its meaning, they still make confident claims about things they do not know. Peter's feeling was of that kind as well. For since he did not understand what was good in relation to the divine arrangement of Jesus and of those who appeared on the mountain, Moses and Elijah, he says, "It is good for us to be here," and so on, not knowing what he said. For he did not know what to say. For if a wise man understands the things from his own mouth, and carries prudence on his lips, Proverbs 16:23, then the man who is not like that neither understands the things from his own mouth nor grasps the nature of the things he says.

42. The Meaning of the Bright Cloud.

NEXT COME THE WORDS: "While He was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them," Matthew 17:5, and the following words. Now I think that God, wishing to discourage Peter from making three tabernacles, under which, as far as his own choice went, he was going to live, shows him a better tabernacle, so to speak, and one far more excellent: the cloud. For the function of a tabernacle is to overshadow and shelter the one who is in it. And since the bright cloud overshadowed them, God made, as it were, a more divine tabernacle, since it was bright, so that it might be for them a pattern of the resurrection to come. For a bright cloud overshadows the just, who are at the same time protected, illuminated, and shone upon by it. But what could the bright cloud be that overshadows the just? Is it perhaps the Fatherly power, from which comes the voice of the Father bearing witness to the Son as beloved and well-pleasing, and urging those under its shadow to hear Him and no one else? But just as He spoke in former times, so He also always speaks through whatever He wills. And perhaps, too, the Holy Spirit is the bright cloud that overshadows the just, and prophesies the things of God, who works in it, and says, "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased." But I would also dare to say that our Savior is a bright cloud. Therefore, when Peter said, "Let us make here three tabernacles," there could be one from the Father Himself, and from the Son, and one from the Holy Spirit. For a bright cloud of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit overshadows the true disciples of Jesus. Or a cloud overshadows the Gospel and the law and the prophets, and it is bright to the one who is able to see its light in the Gospel, and the law, and the prophets. But perhaps the voice from the cloud says to Moses and Elijah, "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased, hear Him," since they desired to see the Son of Man, and to hear Him, and to behold Him as He was in glory. And perhaps it teaches the disciples that He who was, in a literal sense, the Son of God, and His beloved in whom He was well-pleased, whom they especially needed to hear, was the one who was then seen and transfigured, whose face shone like the sun, and who was clothed with garments white as the light.

THE RELATION OF MOSES AND ELIJAH TO JESUS: The command to keep silent.

BUT AFTER THESE THINGS: it is written that when they heard the voice from the cloud bearing witness to the Son, the three apostles fell facedown because they could not bear the glory of the voice and the power that rested on it. Matthew 17:6. And they begged God, because they were very afraid at the supernatural sight and at the things spoken from it. But consider whether you can also say this about the details of the passage: the disciples understood that the Son of God had been speaking with Moses, and that He was the One who said, "A man shall not see My face and live," Exodus 30:20. Taking also God's testimony about Him, and not being able to endure the radiance of the Word, they humbled themselves under the mighty hand of God. 1 Peter 5:6. But after the touch of the Word, they lifted up their eyes and saw Jesus only, and no one else. Matthew 17:8. Moses, the law, and Elijah, the prophet, became one only with the Gospel of Jesus. They did not remain as they had formerly been, three; rather, the three became one. But consider these things with me in relation to mystical matters. As for the plain meaning of the letter, Moses and Elijah appeared in glory and talked with Jesus, and then went away to the place from which they had come, perhaps to tell the words Jesus spoke with them to those who were going to be benefited by Him almost immediately, that is, at the time of the passion. Then many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep, when their tombs were opened, were to go into the city that is truly holy—not the Jerusalem over which Jesus wept—and there appear to many. Matthew 27:52-53. But after the divine arrangement on the mountain, when the disciples were coming down from the mountain so that, after they had come to the crowd, they might serve the Son of God in the salvation of the people, Jesus commanded the disciples, saying, "Tell the vision to no man until the Son of Man rises from the dead." Matthew 17:9. But that saying, "Tell the vision to no man," is like what was examined in the passage above, when He commanded the disciples to tell no man that He was the Christ. Matthew 16:20. Therefore, the things said in that passage may also be useful to us for the passage before us, since Jesus also wishes, in agreement with those things, that the things of His glory should not be spoken of before His glory after the passion. For those who heard, and especially the crowds, would have been harmed when they saw Him crucified after He had been so glorified. Therefore, since His glorification in the resurrection was akin to His transfiguration and to the vision of His face as the sun, for this reason He wishes these things to be spoken of by the apostles only when He had risen from the dead.

THE RELATION OF JOHN THE BAPTIST TO ELIJAH: The theory of transmigration considered.

THE DISCIPLES ASKED HIM: saying, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” Matthew 17:10 The disciples who had gone up the mountain with Jesus remembered the traditions of the scribes about Elijah: that before the coming of Christ, Elijah would come and prepare for Him the souls of those who were going to receive Him. But the vision on the mountain, where Elijah appeared, did not seem to agree with what had been said. To them it seemed that Elijah had not come before Jesus, but after Him. Therefore they said these things, thinking that the scribes were lying. But the Savior answers this, not setting aside the traditions about Elijah. Instead, He says that there was another coming of Elijah before that of Christ, of which the scribes were ignorant. Since they were ignorant of him, they had done to him whatever they wished, Matthew 17:12 as though they had shared in the guilt of Herod’s putting him in prison and killing him. Then He says that, just as they had acted toward Elijah, so He would suffer at their hands. Matthew 17:12 These, then, were the things the disciples asked about Elijah, and the Savior answered. But when they heard, they understood that the words, “Elijah has already come,” and what followed in the Savior’s statement, referred to John the Baptist. Matthew 17:13 Let these things be said as an illustration of the passage before us. But now, as far as we are able, let us also examine the things stored up in it. In this place, it does not seem to me that Elijah means the soul, lest I fall into the teaching of transmigration, which is foreign to the church of God and was not handed down by the Apostles, nor set forth anywhere in the Scriptures. For it is also opposed to the saying that “the things which are seen are temporary,” 2 Corinthians 4:18 and that this age will have an end, and also to the fulfillment of the saying, “Heaven and earth shall pass away,” Matthew 24:35 and “the form of this world passes away,” 1 Corinthians 7:31 and “the heavens shall perish,” and what follows. For if, by hypothesis, in the order of things from the beginning to the end of the world, the same soul can be in a body twice, for what reason should it be in it? For if it should be in a body twice because of sin, why should it not be in it three times, and again and again, since punishments for this life and for the sins committed in it would be given only by the method of transmigration? But if this is granted as a consequence, perhaps there will never be a time when a soul will not undergo transmigration. For because of its former sins, it will always dwell in the body. And so there will be no place for the destruction of the world, at which heaven and earth shall pass away. Matthew 24:35 And if it is granted on this hypothesis that one who is completely sinless will not come into a body by birth, after how long do you suppose a soul will be found completely pure and needing no transmigration? But still, if any one soul is always being removed from the fixed number of souls and no longer returns to the body, then at some time, after infinite ages as it were, birth will cease. The world will be reduced to one person, or two, or a few more. After they are perfected, the world will perish, because the supply of souls coming into the body will have failed. But this does not agree with Scripture, for Scripture knows of a multitude of sinners at the time of the destruction of the world. This is clear from the saying, “However, when the Son of Man comes, shall He find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8 So also we find it said in Matthew, “As were the days of Noah, so shall also be the coming of the Son of Man; for as they were in the days of the flood,” and so on. Matthew 24:37-39 But from those who are then alive, a penalty will be exacted for their sins, though not by way of transmigration. For if they are caught while still sinning, then either they will be punished afterward by another kind of punishment—and according to this there would be two general kinds of punishment, one by transmigration and the other outside a body of this kind, and let them explain the causes and differences of these—or they will not be punished, as though those who were left at the consummation of all things had immediately thrown away their sins. Or, what is better, there is one kind of punishment for those who have sinned in the body: namely, that outside it, that is, outside the order of this life, they should suffer what matches the desert of their sins. But to one who understands the nature of things, it is clear that each of these points is enough to overthrow the doctrine of transmigration. But if the Greeks who introduce the doctrine of transmigration, and set forth ideas that agree with it, do not admit that the world is coming to destruction, then it is fitting that when they look directly at the Scriptures, which plainly declare that the world will perish, they should either disbelieve them or invent a chain of arguments about how to interpret the statements concerning the end. But even if they wish, they will not be able to do this. Besides this, we will also say to those who have dared to claim that the world will not perish, that if the world does not perish but is to exist for infinite periods of time, then there will be no God who knows all things before they come into being. But if perhaps He knows in part, then either He will know each thing before it comes into being, or certain things, and then after these, other things. For things that are infinite by nature cannot possibly be grasped by a knowledge whose nature is to set limits to the things known. From this it follows that there cannot be prophecies about all things whatever, since all things are infinite.

The spirit and power of Elijah—not the soul—were in John the Baptist.

I HAVE THOUGHT IT NECESSARY TO SPEND SOME TIME EXAMINING THE TEACHING OF TRANSMIGRATION: because some suspect that the soul in question was the same in Elijah and in John, being called Elijah in the first case and John in the second. And they think that he was not called John apart from God. This is clear from the saying of the angel who appeared to Zacharias: “Do not fear, Zacharias, for your supplication is heard, and your wife Elisabeth shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name John,” Luke 1:13. It is also clear from the fact that Zacharias got back his speech after he had written on the tablet that the one who had been born should be called John, Luke 1:63. But if it were the soul of Elijah, then, when he was begotten a second time, he should have been called Elijah. Or some reason should have been given for the change of name, as in the case of Abram and Abraham, Sarah and Sarrah, Jacob and Israel, Simon and Peter. And yet even so their argument would not stand. For in those cases, the changes of name took place in one and the same life. But someone may ask, if the soul of Elijah was not first in the Tishbite and second in John, what was that in both which the Savior called Elijah? And I say that Gabriel, in his words to Zacharias, suggested what the substance was in Elijah and John that was the same. For he says, “Many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God; and he shall go before his face in the spirit and power of Elijah,” Luke 1:16-17. Observe that he did not say, “in the soul of Elijah.” If he had, the teaching of transmigration might have had some basis. But he said, “in the spirit and power of Elijah.” For Scripture clearly knows the distinction between spirit and soul, as in the words, “May God sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,” 1 Thessalonians 5:23. And the passage, “Bless the Lord, you spirits and souls of the righteous,” as it stands in the book of Daniel according to the Septuagint, also shows the difference between spirit and soul. Elijah, therefore, was not called John because of the soul, but because of the spirit and the power. This in no way conflicts with the teaching of the church, though these were formerly in Elijah and afterward in John. “The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets,” 1 Corinthians 14:32, but the souls of the prophets are not subject to the prophets. And “the spirit of Elijah rested on Elisha,” 2 Kings 2:15. But we ought to inquire whether the spirit of Elijah is the same as the Spirit of God in Elijah, or whether they are different from each other. And we should ask whether the spirit of Elijah which was in him was something supernatural, different from the spirit of each man which is in him. For the Apostle clearly shows that the Spirit of God, though it is in us, is different from the spirit of each man which is in him, when he says somewhere, “The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God,” Romans 8:16, and elsewhere, “No one of men knows the things of a man save the spirit of the man which is in him; even so the things of God none knows save the Spirit of God,” 1 Corinthians 2:11. But do not marvel at what is said about Elijah. Just as something strange happened to him, different from all the saints who are recorded, in that he was caught up by a whirlwind into heaven, 2 Kings 2:11, so his spirit may also have had something of special excellence, so that it not only rested on Elisha, but also descended along with John at his birth. And John, separately, was filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother’s womb, and separately came before Christ in the spirit and power of Elijah. For it is possible for several spirits, not only worse ones but also better ones, to be in the same man. David accordingly asks to be established by a free spirit, and that a right spirit be renewed in his inward parts. But if, in order that the Savior may impart to us the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and reverence, Isaiah 11:2, there was also the spirit of the fear of the Lord, then it is possible that these several good spirits may also be understood as being in the same person. And I have brought this forward also because John came before Christ in the spirit and power of Elijah, Luke 1:17, so that the saying, “Elijah has already come,” Matthew 17:12, may be referred to the spirit of Elijah that was in John, just as the three disciples who had gone up with Him understood that He was speaking to them about John the Baptist, Matthew 17:13. Upon Elisha, then, only the spirit of Elijah rested. But John came before, not only in the spirit, but also in the power of Elijah. Therefore Elisha could not have been called Elijah, but John was Elijah himself. But if it is necessary to bring forward the Scripture from which the scribes said that Elijah must first come, listen to Malachi, who says, “And behold I will send to you Elijah the Tishbite,” and so on, down to the words, “lest I come and smite the earth utterly,” Malachi 4:5-6. And these words seem to show that Elijah was to prepare, for the glorious coming of Christ, by certain holy words and dispositions in their souls, those who had been made most fit for this. Those on earth could not have endured it, because of the excellence of the glory, unless they had been prepared beforehand by Elijah. And likewise, by Elijah in this place, I do not understand the soul of that prophet but his spirit and his power. For it is by these that all things shall be restored, Matthew 17:11, so that when they have been restored, and as a result of that restoration have become capable of receiving the glory of Christ, the Son of God who shall appear in glory may sojourn with them. But if Elijah also is in some sense a word inferior to the Word who was in the beginning with God, God the Word, John 1:1, this word too might come as a preparatory discipline to the people prepared by it, so that they might be trained for receiving the perfect Word. But someone may raise the question whether the spirit and power of Elijah suffered what was suffered in John, according to the words, “They did in him whatever they pleased,” Matthew 17:12. To this it may be said, on the one hand, in a simpler way, that there is nothing strange in the thought that the things which give assistance also, because of love, suffer along with the persons who are assisted. And Jesus indeed says, “Because of the weak I was weak, and I hungered because of the hungry, and I thirsted because of the thirsty.” On the other hand, in a deeper sense, the words are not, “They did to him whatever they pleased in him.” For the things that suffered leaned upon the spirit and the power of Elijah, while the soul of John was in no way Elijah. And probably the body did also. For the soul is in the body in one way, and so are the spirit and the power. But in another way, the body of the righteous man is in these better parts, as leaning upon them and clinging to them. For “they who are in the flesh cannot please God; but you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if the Spirit of God dwell in you,” Romans 8:8-9. For the soul of the sinner is in the flesh, but that of the righteous man is in spirit. And further, this too may be asked: to whom do the words refer, “But they did in him whatever they pleased,” Matthew 17:12? Was it to the scribes, concerning whom the disciples asked and said, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must first come?” Matthew 17:10. But it is not at all clear that John suffered anything at the hands of the scribes, except that they did not believe him, or, as we also said before, that they were accomplices in the wrongs which Herod dared to inflict on him. But another may say that the words, “But they did in him whatever they pleased,” refer not to the scribes but to Herodias and her daughter, and Herod, who did in him whatever they pleased. And what follows, “So shall the Son of Man suffer from them,” Matthew 17:12, might be referred to the scribes, if the former words were referred to them. But if the former words refer to Herod and Herodias and her daughter, the second passage will also refer to them. For Herod too seems to have joined in the decision that Jesus should die, perhaps his wife also taking part with him in the plot against Him.

CONCERNING THE EPILEPTIC:

WHEN THEY CAME TO THE CROWD: a man came to Him, knelt before Him, and said, "Lord, have mercy on my son." Matthew 17:14-15 Those who are suffering, or the relatives of those who are suffering, are among the crowds. Therefore, when He has given what was beyond the crowds, He comes down to them, so that those who were not able to go up because of the sicknesses that held down their soul might be helped when the Word came down to them from the higher places. But we should ask about which diseases the sufferers themselves believe and pray for their own healing, and which diseases others do this for them. For example, the centurion did this for his servant, and the nobleman for his son, and the ruler of the synagogue for a daughter, and the Canaanite woman for her little daughter who was troubled by a demon, and now this man who kneels before Him for his epileptic son. Along with these cases, you should also examine when the Savior heals by Himself and without anyone asking Him, as for example in the case of the paralytic. For when these healings are compared with one another for this purpose, and studied together, they will show to the one who is able to hear the wisdom of God hidden in a mystery, 1 Corinthians 2:7 many teachings about the different diseases of souls, and also the way they are healed.

SPIRITUAL EPILEPTICS:

BUT SINCE OUR PRESENT PURPOSE IS NOT TO EXAMINE EVERY CASE: but the passage before us, let us take a figurative interpretation. Let us consider who the lunatic may be, who his father was who prayed for him, what it means that the sufferer fell not constantly but often, sometimes into the fire and sometimes into the water, and what it means that he could not be healed by the disciples, but by Jesus Himself. For if every sickness and every weakness that our Savior healed among the people refers to different disorders in souls, then it is reasonable that the paralyzed symbolize those whose souls are paralyzed, and who keep the soul lying paralyzed in the body. The blind symbolize those who are blind regarding things seen only by the soul, and these are truly blind. The deaf symbolize those who are deaf in receiving the word of salvation. By the same principle, the matters concerning the epileptic must also be examined. Now this condition attacks sufferers at long intervals. During those times, a person who suffers from it seems no different from a healthy man, when the epilepsy is not affecting him. You may find similar disorders in certain souls. Such souls are often thought to be healthy in temperance and the other virtues. Then sometimes, as if seized by a kind of epilepsy that rises from their passions, they fall from the position in which they seemed to stand, and are led away by the deceit of this world and other lusts. Perhaps, then, you would not be mistaken if you said that such persons are, so to speak, spiritually epileptic. They have been cast down by the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places, Ephesians 6:12, and they are often sick at the time when the passions attack their soul. At one time they fall into the fire of burnings, when, according to what is said in Hosea, they become adulterers, like an oven heated for baking from a burning flame, Hosea 7:4. At another time they fall into the water, when the king of all the dragons in the waters casts them down from the region where they seemed to breathe freely, so that they come into the depths of the waves of the sea of human life. This interpretation of the lunatic is supported by the one who says in the Book of Wisdom, concerning the steady character of the just man, "The discourse of a pious man is always wisdom," but, concerning what we have said, "The fool changes as the moon," Sirach 27:11. And sometimes, even in such people, you may see impulses that might lead those who do not notice their lack of stability to praise them, so that they would say that, in their case, it was a full moon, or almost a full moon. Then again you might see the light that seemed to be in them growing less. Since it was not the light of day, but the light of night, it faded so much that the light that seemed to be in them no longer existed. But whether those who first gave names to things gave the name of lunacy to epilepsy for this reason or not, you will judge for yourself.

5. The Deaf and Dumb Spirit.

Now the father of the epileptic boy—perhaps the angel assigned to him, if we are to say that every human soul is placed under some angel—prays to the Physician of souls for his son, that He may heal the one who could not be healed of his disorder by the lesser word that was in the disciples. But the mute and deaf spirit, which was cast out by the Word, must be understood figuratively as irrational impulses, even toward what seems to be good. So then, whatever things a man once did by irrational impulse, though they seemed good to those watching, he should no longer do irrationally, but according to the reason of the teaching of Jesus. Moved by this thought, Paul also said, “If I have all faith so as to remove mountains,” 1 Corinthians 13:2. For he who has all faith, which is like a grain of mustard seed, Matthew 17:20, removes not only one mountain, but also many others like it. For although faith is despised by men and appears to be very small and contemptible, yet when it finds good ground—that is, the soul, which is able to receive such seed fittingly—it becomes a great tree, so that not any of the things without wings, but the birds of heaven, which are spiritually winged, are able to lodge in the branches of so great a faith.

6. Influence of the Moon and Stars on Men.

LET US NOW: then, pay attention to the very letter of the passage. First let us ask how one who has been cast into darkness, and subdued by an impure and deaf and dumb spirit, is said to be a lunatic. And for what reason does the expression "to be a lunatic" take its name from the great light in heaven that is next to the sun, which God appointed to rule over the night, Genesis 1:16? Let physicians, then, discuss the bodily nature of the matter, since they think there is no impure spirit in the case, but a bodily disorder. Let them inquire into the nature of things and say that the moist humors in the head are moved by a certain sympathy that they have with the light of the moon, which has a moist nature. But as for us, who also believe the Gospel, which shows that this sickness has been caused by an impure dumb and deaf spirit in those who suffer from it, and who see that those who, like the magicians of the Egyptians, promise a cure for such cases seem sometimes to succeed in them, we will say this. Perhaps, with a view to slandering the creation of God, so that unrighteousness may be spoken loftily, and that they may set their mouth against heaven, this impure spirit watches certain phases of the moon. And so, from men observing sufferers at such and such a phase of the moon, it makes it appear that the cause of so great an evil is not the dumb and deaf demon, but the great light in heaven that was appointed to rule by night, though it has no power to bring about such a disorder among men. But they all speak unrighteousness loftily, as many as say that the cause of all the disorders that exist on the earth, whether generally or each in detail, comes from the arrangement of the stars. And such people have truly set their mouth against heaven when they say that some of the stars have a malevolent influence and others a benevolent influence. For no star was formed by the God of the universe to work evil, according to Jeremiah, as it is written in Lamentations, "Out of the mouth of the Lord shall come things noble and that which is good." And it is probable that, just as this impure spirit, producing what is called lunacy, watches the phases of the moon so that it may work on him who for certain causes has been committed to it, and who has not made himself worthy of the guardianship of angels, so also there are other spirits and demons that work at certain phases of the rest of the stars. Thus not only the moon, but the rest of the stars also, may be slandered by those who speak unrighteousness loftily. It is worthwhile, then, to consider what the casters of nativities say, when they refer the origin of every form of madness and every demoniacal possession to the phases of the moon. That those who suffer from what is called lunacy sometimes fall into the water is clear. And that they also fall into the fire, less frequently indeed, yet it does happen. And it is clear that this disorder is very difficult to cure, so that those who have the power to cure demoniacs sometimes fail in this matter, and sometimes, with fastings and supplications and more toils, succeed. But you will ask whether there are such disorders in spirits as well as in men, so that some of them speak, but some are speechless, and some hear, but some are deaf. For just as in them will be found the cause of their being impure, so also, because of their freedom of will, they are condemned to be speechless and deaf. For some men will suffer such condemnation, if heed is given to the prayer of the prophet, as spoken by the Holy Spirit, in which it is said of certain sinners, "Let the lying lips be put to silence." And so, perhaps, those who make bad use of their hearing, and admit the hearing of vanities, will be made deaf by Him who said, "Who has made the stone-deaf and the deaf," Exodus 4:11, so that they may no longer lend an ear to vain things.

THE POWER OF FAITH:

BUT WHEN THE SAVIOR SAID: "O faithless and perverse generation," in Matthew 17:17, He shows that wickedness, which is against nature, quietly enters through perversity and makes us perverted. And I think the Savior said, "How long shall I be with you?" about the whole human race on earth, since they were being weighed down by their wickedness and by His staying with them. We have already spoken in part about the words, "If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain," in Matthew 17:20, and so on. But here also we will speak of what seems to us suited to make the meaning clearer. In my opinion, the mountains spoken of here are the hostile powers that exist in a flood of great wickedness, powers that have settled down, so to speak, in some human souls. Whenever anyone has all faith, so that he no longer doubts anything contained in the Holy Scriptures, and has faith like Abraham's, who believed God so fully that his faith was counted as righteousness, he has all faith as a grain of mustard seed. Then such a person will say to this mountain—I mean the dumb and deaf spirit in the one who is called a lunatic—"Remove from here," clearly meaning from the man who is suffering, perhaps to the abyss, and it will remove. And I think the Apostle, taking his starting point from this passage, says with apostolic authority, "If I have all faith so as to remove mountains," in 1 Corinthians 13:2. For it is not only one mountain, but also several like it, that the person removes who has all faith that is as a grain of mustard seed. And nothing will be impossible for him who has such great faith, as Matthew 17:20 says. But let us also pay attention to this: "This kind goes not out save by prayer and fasting," in Matthew 17:21. This is so that, if at any time it is necessary for us to take part in healing someone suffering from such a condition, we may not command the spirit by adjuring it, or question it, or speak to the impure spirit as if it could hear. Instead, by giving ourselves to prayer and fasting, we may succeed as we pray for the sufferer, and by our own fasting may drive the unclean spirit out of him.

Jesus’ Prediction of His Being Handed Over into the Hands of Men.

WHILE THEY WERE STAYING IN GALILEE: Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men," Matthew 17:22. These words may seem to have the same meaning as the earlier ones, that Jesus began to show His disciples that He had to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, Matthew 16:21. But they are not the same. It is one thing to show the disciples that He had to go to Jerusalem, suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed after suffering, and be raised on the third day after being killed. It is another thing to say to them, while they were in Galilee, what we had not learned before: that the Son of Man would be delivered up. For before this, His being delivered up was not mentioned. But now it is also said that He is to be delivered up into the hands of men. So let us ask by what person or persons He will be delivered up into the hands of men. For in the earlier passage we are taught from whom He will suffer, and where He will suffer. But here we learn something more. Although His suffering many things comes at the hands of those already named, they are not the first causes of His suffering many things. Rather, the first cause is the one, or the ones, who delivered Him up into the hands of men. Someone will say that the Apostle explains this with reference to God: "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all," Romans 8:32. But the Son also gave Himself to death for us, so that He was delivered up not only by the Father, but also by Himself. But another person will say even more, gathering the passages together. He will say that the Son was first delivered up by God to the ruler of this age, and to the rest of its rulers, so that He might be tempted, then struggle, and then suffer for men, or even for the whole world, that He might take away its sin, John 1:29. Then, by those rulers, He was delivered into the hands of men who would kill Him. The case of Job may be used as an example. "See, all that he has I give into your hands, but do not touch him," Job 1:12. After that, he was, so to speak, delivered up by the devil to his rulers, namely, to those who carried away captives, to the horsemen, to the fire that came down from heaven, and to the great wind that came from the desert and struck his house, Job 1:15-19. But consider whether, just as he delivered up Job's property to those who captured it and to the horsemen, so also he delivered it up to a certain power under the ruler of the power of the air, of the spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience, Ephesians 2:2. This would explain why the fire that came down from there upon Job's sheep seemed to come from heaven, to the man who told Job, "Fire fell from heaven and burned up the sheep, and the shepherds as well," Job 1:16. In the same way, you should ask whether the sudden strong wind that came from the desert and struck the four corners of the house was also one of those things under the devils to whom the devil delivered up the feast of Job's sons and daughters, so that the house would fall on the children of the righteous man and they would die. Let it be granted, then, that as in the case of Job, the Father first delivered up the Son to the opposing powers, and then they delivered Him up into the hands of men. Among those men was Judas also, into whom Satan entered after the piece of bread, John 13:27. Satan delivered Him up in a more commanding way than Judas did. But be careful. When you compare the Father's delivering up of the Son to the opposing powers with their delivering up of the Savior into the hands of men, do not think that what is called delivering up is the same in both cases. Understand that the Father, in His love for mankind, delivered Him up for us all. But when the opposing powers delivered up the Savior into the hands of men, they did not mean to deliver Him up for the salvation of anyone. Rather, as far as they could, since none of them knew the wisdom of God hidden in a mystery, 1 Corinthians 2:7-8, they gave Him up to be put to death, so that death, His enemy, might receive Him under its power, like those who die in Adam, 1 Corinthians 15:22. And the men who killed Him did so because they had been shaped by the will of those who wanted Jesus to become subject to death. I have thought it necessary to examine these things also, because when Jesus was delivered up into the hands of men, He was not delivered up by men into the hands of men, but by powers to whom the Father delivered up His Son for us all. And in the very act of being delivered up, and of coming under the power of those to whom He was delivered up, He destroyed him who has the power of death. For through death He brought to nothing him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and delivered all those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives, Hebrews 2:14-15.

SATAN AND THE HANDING OVER OF JESUS:

NOW WE MUST UNDERSTAND THAT THE DEVIL HAS THE POWER OF DEATH: not of the death that is common and neutral, by which those made of soul and body die when the soul is separated from the body, but of that death which is opposed to, and is the enemy of, Him who said, "I am the Life," John 14:6, according to which, "the soul that sins, it shall die," Ezekiel 18:4. But that it was not God who gave Him up into the hands of men, the Savior clearly declares when He says, "If My kingdom were of this world, then would My servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews," John 18:36. For when He was delivered up to the Jews, He was delivered into the hands of men, not by His own servants, but by the ruler of this age, who says about the powers in the realm of the unseen, the kingdoms set up against men, "All these things will I give You, if You will fall down and worship me," Matthew 4:9. Therefore we should also think that it was about them that it was said, "The kings of the earth stood side by side, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ." And those kings and rulers did indeed stand side by side and gather together against the Lord and against His Christ. But we, because we have been benefited by His being delivered by them into the hands of men and being killed, say, "Let us break their bonds apart and cast away their yoke from us." For when we become conformed to the death of Christ, we are no longer under the bonds of the kings of the earth, as we have said, nor under the yoke of the rulers of this age, who were gathered together against the Lord. And for this reason, "the Father spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all," Romans 8:32, so that those who took Him and delivered Him up into the hands of men might be laughed at by Him who dwells in the heavens, and might be mocked by the Lord, since, contrary to what they expected, it led to the destruction of their own kingdom and power that they received from the Father the Son, who was raised on the third day, having abolished His enemy death, and made us conformed not only to the image of His death but also to that of His resurrection. Through Him we walk in newness of life, Romans 6:4, no longer sitting in the region and shadow of death, Matthew 4:16, because the light of God has risen upon us. But when the Savior said, "The Son of man shall be delivered up into the hands of men, and they shall kill Him, and the third day He shall rise again," they were exceedingly sorry, Matthew 17:22-23. They paid attention to the fact that He was about to be delivered into the hands of men and that He would be killed, as things dark and fit for sorrow, but they did not pay attention to the fact that He would rise on the third day, since He needed no longer time to bring to nothing through death him that had the power of death, Hebrews 2:14.

About Those Who Demanded the Half-Shekel.

WHEN THEY CAME TO CAPERNAUM: those who collected the half-shekel came to Peter. Matthew 17:24. There are certain kings of the earth, and their sons do not pay toll or tribute. There are also others, different from their sons, who are strangers to the kings of the earth, and from them the kings of the earth receive toll or tribute. Among the kings of the earth, their sons are free in relation to their fathers. But those who are strangers to them, though they are free in relation to things beyond the earth, are like slaves with respect to those who rule over them and keep them in bondage, just as the Egyptians ruled over the children of Israel, greatly afflicted their lives, and violently kept them in bondage. Exodus 1:13-14. It was for the sake of those who were in a bondage like the bondage of the Hebrews that the Son of God took on only the form of a slave. Philippians 2:7. Yet He did no work that was shameful or slavish. So then, while having the form of that slave, He pays toll and tribute, no different from what was paid by His disciple. For the same stater was enough, the one coin that was paid for Jesus and His disciple. But this coin was not in the house of Jesus. It was in the sea, in the mouth of a fish from the sea, which, in my judgment, was benefited when it came up and was caught in Peter's net. Peter became a fisher of men, and in that net was what is figuratively called a fish, so that the coin with Caesar's image might also be taken from it, and so that it might take its place among those things caught by men who have learned to become fishers of men. Therefore, let the one who has the things of Caesar give them to Caesar, so that afterward he may be able to give to God the things of God. But since Jesus, who was the image of the invisible God, Colossians 1:15, did not have the image of Caesar, for the prince of this age had nothing in Him, John 14:31, for this reason He takes from its own place, the sea, the image of Caesar, so that He may give it to the kings of the earth for Himself and His disciple. He did this so that those who received the half-shekel might not think that Jesus was their debtor, or the debtor of the kings of the earth. For He paid the debt without having taken it up, possessed it, acquired it, or ever made it His own possession, so that the image of Caesar might never be together with the image of the invisible God.

THE FREEDOM OF SONS:

AND THIS MAY BE PUT IN ANOTHER WAY: There are some who are kings' sons on the earth, and yet they are not sons of those kings, but sons, and sons absolutely. But others, because they are strangers to the sons of the kings of the earth, and sons of no one on the earth, are for this very reason sons, whether of God, or of His Son, or of some one of those who are God's. If, then, the Savior asks Peter, saying, "The kings of the earth, from whom do they receive toll or tribute? From their own sons or from strangers?" Matthew 17:25, and Peter replies, "Not from their own sons, but from strangers," then Jesus says about those who are strangers to the kings of the earth, and who on account of this are free, "Therefore the sons are free." Matthew 17:26 For the sons of the kings of the earth are not free, since "everyone who commits sin is the bond-servant of sin," John 8:34. But they are free who abide in the truth of the word of God, and for this reason know the truth, so that they also may become free from sin. If, then, anyone is simply a son, and in this matter is not wholly a son of the kings of the earth, he is free. And nevertheless, though he is free, he is careful not to offend even the kings of the earth, and their sons, and those who receive the half-shekel. Therefore He says, "Let us not cause them to stumble, but go and cast your net, and take up the fish that first comes up," Matthew 17:27, and so on. But I would ask those who are pleased to make myths about different natures, what sort of nature they were, whether the kings of the earth, or their sons, or those who receive the half-shekel, whom the Savior does not wish to offend. It appears truly, on the hypothesis, that they are not of a nature worthy of praise. And yet He took care not to cause them to stumble, and He prevents any stumbling block from being put in their way, so that they may not sin more grievously, and with a view to their being saved, if they will, even by receiving Him who has spared them from being caused to stumble. And as in a place truly of consolation, for such is, by interpretation, Capernaum, He comforts the disciple as being both free and a son. He gives him the power of catching the first fish, so that when it came up Peter might be comforted by its coming up and being caught, and by the stater being taken from its mouth, in order to be paid to those whose the stater was, and who demanded as their own such a piece of money.

THE STATER EXPLAINED IN AN ALLEGORICAL WAY:

BUT YOU COULD SOMETIMES APPLY THIS PASSAGE: in a fitting way, to a lover of money. He has nothing in his mouth except things about silver. Then you see him healed by some Peter, who takes the stater, the symbol of all his greed, not only from his mouth and words, but from his whole character. For you will say that such a man was in the sea, in the bitter affairs of life, and in the waves of the cares and anxieties of greed. He had the stater in his mouth when he was unbelieving and greedy. But he came up from the sea and was caught in the rational net. And after being helped by some Peter who taught him the truth, he no longer has the stater in his mouth. Instead, he has those things that contain His image, the oracles of God.

The sacred half-shekel.

ALSO: regarding the statement, “Those who received the half-shekel came to Peter,” Matthew 17:24, you should bring forward from Numbers that, for the saints according to the law of God, what is paid is not simply a half-shekel, but a sacred half-shekel. For it is written, “And you shall take five shekels per head, according to the sacred half-shekel,” Numbers 3:47. But also on behalf of all the sons of Israel, a sacred half-shekel is given for each head. Since, then, it was not possible for the saint of God to possess, along with the sacred half-shekels, the profane shekels, so to speak, for this reason the Savior commands that the stater be paid to those who do not receive the sacred half-shekels and who asked Peter, saying, “Does not your teacher pay the half-shekel?” In that stater was the half-shekel found in the mouth of the first fish that came up, so that it might be given for the Teacher and the disciple.

ABOUT THOSE WHO SAID: "Who is the greatest?" And about the child whom Jesus called.

ON THAT DAY THE DISCIPLES CAME TO JESUS AND SAID: "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" Matthew 18:1 So that we may be taught what the disciples came to Jesus to ask Him, and how He answered their question, Matthew, although he could have told only this incident, has added, according to some manuscripts, "At that hour the disciples came to Jesus," but according to others, "On that day." We must not leave the meaning of the evangelist unexamined. Therefore, by paying attention to the words that come before "on that day" or "at that hour," let us see whether it is possible from them to find a way to understand why the addition, "on that day" or "at that hour," was necessary. Jesus had come to Capernaum with His disciples. There, those who collected the half-shekel came to Peter and asked, "Does not your Teacher pay the half-shekel?" Then Peter answered them and said, "Yes." Jesus then gave a further defense about paying the half-shekel, and He sent Peter to pull up the fish into the net. In its mouth, He said, a stater would be found, and it was to be given for Himself and Peter. It seems to me, then, that the disciples thought this was a very great honor given to Peter by Jesus, who had judged him greater than the rest of His friends. So they wanted to learn the truth of their suspicion exactly by asking Jesus and hearing from Him whether, as they supposed, He had judged Peter greater than they were. At the same time, they also hoped to learn the reason Peter had been preferred over the rest of the disciples. I think Matthew, wishing to make this clear, added after the words, "take the stater" and "give it to them for you and Me," the words, "On that day the disciples came to Jesus, saying, 'Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?'" And perhaps they were also in doubt because of the preference given to the three at the transfiguration, and they were uncertain about this: which of the three the Lord judged to be greatest. For John reclined on His breast because of love, and we may conclude that before the Supper they had seen many signs of special honor given by Jesus to John. But Peter, because of his confession, was called blessed in their hearing because he said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," Matthew 16:16-17. Yet again, because of the saying, "Get behind Me, Satan; you are a stumbling-block to Me, for you do not mind the things of God but the things of men," Matthew 16:23, they were troubled in mind as to whether it was not Peter, but one of the sons of Zebedee, who was the greatest. So much, then, for the words "on that day" or "at that hour," when the events about the stater took place.

15. Greatness Varies in Degree.

NEXT WE MUST TRY TO UNDERSTAND THIS: The disciples came to Him as disciples come to a teacher when they ask hard questions. They asked, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" Matthew 18:1 In this, we also must imitate the disciples of Jesus. For if at any time some matter we are examining cannot be understood among us, let us all go together, with one mind about the question in dispute, to Jesus. He is present where two or three are gathered in His name, Matthew 18:20 and by His powerful presence He is ready to give light to the hearts of those who truly desire to become His disciples, so that they may understand the matters they are asking about. In the same way, it would not be strange for us to go to any of those whom God has appointed as teachers in the church, and put to them a similar question: "Who, then, is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" What, then, did the disciples already know about the matters related to this question? And what exactly were they asking? They understood that there is not equality among those who are counted worthy of the kingdom of heaven, and that since there is not equality, someone is greatest, and then others follow in order down to the least. But they wanted to know further what kind of person the greatest was, and what kind of life was lived by the least, and by the one who held the middle place. Unless it is more accurate to say that they knew who was least from the words, "Whoever breaks one of these least commandments, and teaches men to do so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven." But they did not know who was greatest of all, even if they had understood the words, "Whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:19 For since there were many who were great, it was not clear to them who was the greatest among the great, speaking in a human way. And that many are great, but that the great are not equally great, is clear from the title "great" being given to Isaac, who grew great and became exceedingly great, Genesis 26:13 and from what is said about Moses, John the Baptist, and the Savior. Everyone will agree that although all these were great according to Scripture, the Savior was greater than they were. But whether John also, of whom it was said that among those born of women there was no one greater, Matthew 11:11 was greater than Isaac and Moses, or whether he was not greater but equal to both, or to one of them, it would be risky to declare. And from the statement, "But Isaac, growing great, became greater," Genesis 26:13 until he became not merely great, but, with the word "exceedingly" added twice, exceedingly great, we may learn that there are differences among the great. One is great, another exceedingly great, and another exceedingly exceedingly great. The disciples therefore came to Jesus and wanted to learn who was greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And perhaps they wanted to learn this because they sometimes heard Him speak in a way like this: that a certain person is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. But He turns the discussion into a general teaching, showing what kind of person the one greatest in the kingdom of heaven is. Let us try to understand from what is written, as well as we can, who this is. For Jesus called a little child, Matthew 18:2, and so on.

16. Why the Great Are Compared to Little Children.

BUT FIRST WE MAY EXPLAIN IT IN A SIMPLE WAY: Someone explaining the Savior’s words here in a simple manner might say this: if any person, though a man, puts to death the desires of manhood, puts to death by the Spirit the deeds of the body, and always carries in the body the putting to death of Jesus, 2 Corinthians 4:10, to such an extent that he has the condition of a little child who has not tasted sensual pleasures and has had no idea of the impulses of manhood, then that person is converted and has become like the little children. And the more progress he has made toward the condition of little children in regard to such emotions, the greater he is in the kingdom of heaven compared with those who are still in training and have not advanced to such a high degree of self-control. But what has been said about little children with respect to lustful pleasures may also be said about the rest of the soul’s affections, weaknesses, and sicknesses, into which little children do not naturally fall, since they have not yet fully attained the use of reason. For example, if anyone is converted, and though a man becomes like a child with respect to anger; and as a child is with respect to grief, so that sometimes he laughs and plays at the very time when his father or mother or brother is dead, the one who is converted would become like little children. Having received from the Word a disposition not capable of grief, he thus becomes like the little child with respect to grief. You may say the same also about what is called pleasure, in which the wicked are irrationally lifted up, but from which little children do not suffer, nor those who have been converted and become like little children. Therefore, as others also have accurately shown, no passion belongs to little children who have not yet come to full possession of reason; and if no passion, then clearly fear also does not belong to them. But if there is anything corresponding to the passions, it is weak, and in little children it is very quickly quieted and healed. So the person is worthy of love who, having been converted like the little children, has reached the point of having his passions under control, as it were, like little children. And with regard to fear, similar thoughts may be formed to what has been said: little children do not experience the fear of the wicked, but something different, to which those who have exact knowledge of questions about the passions and their names give the name of fear. For example, in children there is a forgetting of their troubles even while they are crying, because they change in a moment, and laugh and play with those who were thought to have grieved and frightened them, but in truth had produced no such emotion in them. So too, a person will humble himself like the little child whom Jesus called. For neither pride, nor conceit because of noble birth, or wealth, or any of those things that are thought to be good but are not, comes to a little child. Therefore you may see that those who are no longer complete infants, up to three or four years old, are like those of low birth, even if they seem to be of noble birth, and they do not at all appear to love rich children more than poor ones. If, therefore, in the same way that children according to their age are disposed toward those passions that exalt the senseless, the disciple of Jesus has, under the influence of reason, humbled himself like the little child whom Jesus showed, not being exalted because of vainglory, nor puffed up because of wealth or clothing, nor lifted up because of noble birth, then such people especially are to be received and imitated in the name of Jesus, those who have been converted as the Word showed, like the little child whom Jesus took to Himself. For Christ is especially in such people, and therefore He says, "Whoever receives one such little child in My name receives Me." Matthew 18:5

The Little Ones and Their Stumbling-Blocks.

BUT IT IS A HARD TASK TO EXPLAIN WHAT FOLLOWS IN A WAY THAT AGREES LOGICALLY WITH WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN SAID: For someone might say, how is it that he who is converted and has become like the little children is a little one among those who believe in Jesus, and is able to be caused to stumble? Let us likewise try to explain this in a coherent way. Everyone who gives his adherence to Jesus as the Son of God, according to the true history concerning Him, and by deeds done according to the Gospel is on the way to living the life that is according to virtue, is converted and is on the way toward becoming like the little children. And it is impossible for him not to enter into the kingdom of heaven. There are indeed many such people. But not all who are converted with a view to becoming like the little children have reached the point of being made like little children. Rather, each has only as much likeness to the little children as he falls short of the disposition of little children toward the passions, of which we have spoken. In the whole multitude of believers, then, there are also those who have been, as it were, only just converted with regard to their becoming like the little children. At the very point of their conversion, so that they may become like the little children, they are called little. And those among them who are converted so that they may become like the little children, but fall far short of having truly become like the little children, are able to be caused to stumble. Each of them falls short of the likeness to them in the same measure that he falls short of the disposition of children toward the passions, of which we have spoken. We ought not to give such people occasions of stumbling. But if it is otherwise, he who has caused him to stumble will need, as something contributing to his cure, to have an ass's millstone hung about his neck and to be sunk into the depths of the sea, Matthew 18:6. For in this way, when he has paid the due penalty in the sea, where is the dragon that God formed to play in it, and, so far as is expedient for the end in view, has been punished and undergone suffering, he will then have his part in those troubles that belong to the depths of the sea, which he endured when he was dragged down by the ass's millstone. For there are also differences of millstones, so that one of them may be, so to speak, the millstone of a man, and another that of an ass. And the human one is that about which it is written, "Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left," Matthew 24:41. But the millstone of the ass is that which will be put around him who has given occasion for stumbling. But someone might say—I do not know whether he would speak soundly or wrongly—that the ass's millstone is the heavy body of the wicked man, which sinks downward, and which he will receive at the resurrection so that he may be sunk in the abyss that is called the depth of the sea, where is the dragon that God formed to play in it. But another will refer the creating of a stumbling-block for one of the little ones to powers that are unseen by men. For from these arise many stumbling-blocks for the little ones pointed out by Jesus. But when they cause one of the little ones pointed out by Jesus to stumble, who are believers in Him, they shall assume an ass's millstone, the corruptible body that presses heavily on the soul, which is itself hung from the neck, which is dragged down to the affairs in this life, so that by these means their conceit may be taken away, and, having paid the penalty, they shall come, by means of the ass's millstone, to the condition expedient for them.

Who was the little child whom Jesus called?

NOW LET ME GIVE ANOTHER INTERPRETATION: different from the simpler one. Whether it is stated as a teaching, or offered, so to speak, as an exercise, let us also ask what that little child was whom Jesus called and set in the middle of the disciples. Consider whether you can say that the little child whom Jesus called was the Holy Spirit, who humbled Himself when He was called by the Savior and set in the middle of the understanding of Jesus' disciples. For if He wants us to turn away from everything else and turn toward the examples given by the Holy Spirit, then in this way we may become like little children, who themselves also are turned and made like the Holy Spirit. These are the little children whom God gave to the Savior, according to what is said in Isaiah: "Behold, I and the little children whom God has given to Me." And no one can enter the kingdom of heaven unless he has turned away from the affairs of this world and become like the little children who possess the Holy Spirit. This Holy Spirit was called by Jesus and, coming down from His own perfection to men as a little child, was set by Jesus in the middle of the disciples. It is necessary, then, for the one who has turned away from the desires of this world to humble himself, not simply as a little child, but, according to what is written, as this little child. Matthew 18:4 But to humble oneself as that little child is to imitate the Holy Spirit, who humbled Himself for the salvation of men. Now that the Savior and the Holy Spirit were sent by the Father for the salvation of men has been declared in Isaiah, where the Savior says, "And now the Lord has sent Me, and His Spirit." Isaiah 48:16 You must know, however, that this statement is ambiguous. For it may mean that God sent the Savior, and that the Holy Spirit also sent Him. Or, as we have understood it, it may mean that the Father sent both, the Savior and the Holy Spirit. He, therefore, who has humbled himself more than all those who have humbled themselves in imitation of that little child, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. For there are many who are willing to humble themselves as that little child. But the man who in every way has become like the little child who humbled himself in the name of Jesus, especially in Jesus Himself, would in truth be found to be the one called greater than all in the kingdom of heaven. And just as he receives Jesus, whoever receives one such little child in His name, so also the one who does not want to receive such a little child in the name of Jesus rejects Jesus and casts Him out. But if there is also a difference among those thought worthy of the Holy Spirit, since believers receive more or less of the Holy Spirit, then there would be some little ones among those who believe in God who can be made to stumble. Concerning the punishment for those who cause them to stumble, the Word says, "It is profitable for him that a donkey's millstone should be hung around his neck, and that he should be sunk in the depth of the sea." Matthew 18:6 Let this be said about the passage from Matthew now before us.

19. The Parallel Passages in Mark and Luke.

BUT LET US ALSO CONSIDER THE SAME ACCOUNT IN THE OTHER GOSPELS: Mark 9:33-34 says that the Twelve were arguing on the road about which of them was the greatest. Therefore He sat down, called them, and taught them who is the greatest. He said that the one who became last of all through self-control and gentleness would, as the greatest, gain the first place. So he did not take the place of one who was being served, but the place of one who served, and that not to some and not to others, but to all without exception. Listen carefully to the words: "If any man would be first, he shall be last of all, and minister of all." Mark 9:35 After this, it says that Jesus took a little child and set him in the middle of His disciples. Taking him in His arms, He said to them, "Whoever receives one of the little children in My name receives Me." Mark 9:36-37 But according to the deeper meaning of the passage, what was the little child whom Jesus took and held in His arms? Was it the Holy Spirit? And indeed, some were made like this little child, those of whom He said, "Whoever receives one of such little children in My name receives Me." According to Luke, however, this reasoning did not arise in the disciples on its own, but was suggested by the question of which of them would be greatest. Luke 9:46 And Jesus, seeing the reasoning of their heart, because He had eyes that see the thoughts of hearts, took the little child without being asked, according to Luke, and set him not only in the middle, as Matthew and Mark say, but also by His side. Then He said to the disciples not only, "Whoever receives one such little child," or, "Whoever receives one of such little ones in My name receives Me," but, going even a step higher, "Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me." Luke 9:47-48 Therefore, according to Luke, it is necessary to receive in the name of Jesus that very little child whom Jesus took and placed by His side. And I do not know whether anyone can explain figuratively the words, "Whoever receives this little child in My name." For each of us must receive in the name of Jesus that little child whom Jesus then took and set by His side. For he lives as immortal, and we must receive him from Jesus Himself in the name of Jesus. And if one is not separated from him, Jesus is with the one who receives the little child. So in this way it is said, "Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me." Then, since the Father is inseparable from the Son, He is with the one who receives the Son. Therefore it is said, "And whoever receives Me receives Him that sent Me." Luke 9:48 But the one who has received the little child, and the Savior, and Him who sent Him, is the least of all the disciples of Jesus, because he makes himself little. But to the extent that he makes himself little, to that extent he becomes great. For the very thing that led him to make himself smaller contributes to his growth in greatness. Listen to what is said: "He that is least among you all, the same is great"; but in other manuscripts we read, "The same shall be great." Now, according to Luke, "If anyone shall not receive the kingdom of God as the little child, he shall in no wise enter into it." Luke 18:17 And this saying is ambiguous. For either it means that the one who receives the kingdom of God may become as a little child, or that he may receive the kingdom of God, which has become to him as a little child. And perhaps here those who receive the kingdom of God receive it when it is as a little child, but in the world to come no longer as a little child. Then they receive the greatness of perfection in spiritual manhood, so to speak. This perfection is shown to all who, in the present time, receive it when it is here as a little child.

THE WORLD AND OFFENSES: Various meanings of “world.”

WOE TO THE WORLD BECAUSE OF OCCASIONS OF STUMBLING: Matthew 18:7 The word cosmos is used by itself and absolutely in the passage, "He was in the cosmos and the cosmos knew Him not," John 1:10. But it is used in a relative sense, in connection with the thing of which it is the cosmos, in the words, "Lest you look up to heaven, and seeing the sun and the moon and all the cosmos of heaven, you should go astray and bow down to them and worship them." Deuteronomy 4:19 And you will find something similar in the Book of Esther, spoken about her, when it is written, "stripping off all her cosmos." For the word cosmos by itself is not the same as the cosmos of heaven, or Esther's cosmos. And what we are now examining is another sense. I think, then, that the world is not this whole joined-together universe of heaven and earth, according to the Divine Scriptures, but only the region around the earth. And this is not to be understood in relation to the whole earth, but only in relation to our inhabited part of it. For the true light was in the world, that is, in the region around us, understood in relation to our part of the earth. And "the world knew Him not," John 1:10, that is, the people in the surrounding region, and perhaps also the powers that have some connection with this place. For it is absurd to understand the world here as the whole universe made up of heaven and earth and everything in them, so that it would mean that the sun and moon and the company of the stars and the angels in all this world did not know the true light, and yet, though ignorant of it, kept the order God had appointed for them. But when the Savior says in His prayer to the Father, "And now, glorify Me, O Father, with Your own self, with the glory which I had with You before the world was," John 17:5, you must understand by the world the part of the earth inhabited by us. For it was from this world that the Father gave men to the Son, and it is concerning them alone that the Savior asks His Father, and not for the whole world of men. Also, when the Savior says, "And I come to You and am no longer in the world," John 17:11, He is speaking of the earthly world. For we should not suppose that He spoke contradictory things when He said, "And I come to You," and "I am no longer in the world," and yet, "I am in the world." In the same way, in "And these things I speak in the world," John 17:13, we must think of the region around the earth. This is also clearly shown by the words, "And the world hated them, because they are not of the world." John 17:14 For it hated us from the time when we no longer look at the things that are seen, but at the things that are not seen, 2 Corinthians 4:18, because of the teaching of Jesus. He does not mean the whole universe of heaven and earth and everything in them, all joined together, but the people on the earth along with us. And the saying, "They are not of the world," John 17:16, means the same as, "They are not of the region around the earth." So also the disciples of Jesus are not of this world, just as He was not of the world. Further, the words, "that the world may believe that You have sent Me," spoken twice in the Gospel according to John, do not refer to things higher than men, but to men who need to believe that the Father sent the Son into this world here. Yes, and likewise in the Apostle, "Your faith is proclaimed in the whole world." Romans 1:8

THE WOE DOES NOT APPLY TO THE DISCIPLES OF JESUS:

BUT IF THERE IS WOE TO PEOPLE EVERYWHERE ON EARTH BECAUSE OF OCCASIONS OF STUMBLING FOR THOSE WHO ARE CAUGHT BY THEM: while the disciples are not of the world, since they do not look at visible things, just as the Master is not of this world, then this woe because of occasions of stumbling does not apply to any of Jesus' disciples. For those who love the law of God have great peace, and for them there is no occasion of stumbling. But if anyone seems to be called a disciple, and yet is of the world because he loves the world and the things in it—I mean life in the region around the earth, and property in it, or possessions, or any kind of wealth whatever—so that the saying, "They are not of the world," John 17:16, does not fit him, then to him, as one who really is of the world, will come what happens to the world: the woe because of occasions of stumbling. But let the one who wants to escape this woe not be a lover of life. Instead, let him say with Paul, "The world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Galatians 6:14 For the saints, while in the tabernacle, groan under a burden, 2 Corinthians 5:4, with the body of humiliation, and do everything so that they may become worthy to be found in the mystery of the resurrection, when God will make new the body of humiliation, not of all, but of those who have truly been made disciples to Christ, so that it may be conformed to the body of the glory of Christ. Philippians 3:21 For just as none of the woes happen to any of the disciples of Christ, so this woe because of occasions of stumbling does not happen to them either. For even if thousands of occasions of stumbling should arise, they will not touch those who are no longer of the world. But if anyone, because his faith lacks firmness and his submission regarding the Word of God is unstable, can be caused to stumble, let him know that Jesus does not call him His disciple. Now we must suppose that so many stumbling blocks come that, as a result, the woes spread not just to some parts of the earth, but to the whole world that is in it.

WHAT THE CAUSES OF STUMBLING ARE:

AND IT IS NECESSARY THAT OCCASIONS OF STUMBLING COME: Matthew 18:7. I take these to be different from the men through whom they come. The occasions that come, then, are an army of the devil, his angels, and an evil band of unclean spirits. As they look for instruments through whom they can work, they often find men who are complete strangers to godliness, and sometimes even some of those who are thought to believe the Word of God. For them there is a worse woe than the one that comes on him who is caused to stumble, just as it will also be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment, Matthew 11:22, than for the places where Jesus did signs and wonders and yet was not believed. But just as someone might set out to collect from the Scriptures those who are called blessed, and the things for which they are called blessed, so he might also do the same with the woes that are written, and those against whom the woes are spoken. But you can prove that the woe is worse for the one who causes stumbling than for the one who is made to stumble by the passage, "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is profitable for him," Matthew 18:6, and what follows. For while the little one who is made to stumble receives retribution from the one who caused him to stumble, it is fitting that the severe and unbearable punishment that is written should fall on the man who caused the stumbling. But if we gave these things more careful thought, we would guard ourselves against sinning against the brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, lest we sin against Christ, 1 Corinthians 8:11-12. For often the brothers around us, for whom Christ died, perish not only through our knowledge, but also through some other causes connected with us. In their case, as we sin against Christ, we will pay the penalty, since the souls of those who perish through us will be required from us.

In what sense is it necessary?

Next we must carefully examine the meaning of the word "necessity" in the passage, "For there is a necessity that the occasions come," Matthew 18:7, and in a similar statement in Luke, "It is inadmissible but that occasions of stumbling should come," Luke 17:1, using "inadmissible" there instead of "impossible." Just as it is necessary that what is mortal should die, and impossible for it not to die, and just as it must be that one who is in the body should be fed, since it is impossible for one who is not fed to live, so also it is necessary, and impossible otherwise, that occasions of stumbling should arise. This is because there is also a necessity that wickedness should exist in men before virtue does, and from that wickedness stumbling-blocks arise. For it is impossible to find a man completely without sin, who has reached virtue without sin. For the wickedness in the evil powers, which is the first source of wickedness among men, is completely eager to work against the people in the world through certain instruments. And perhaps the wicked powers are also more provoked when they are cast out by the word of Jesus, and their worship is diminished, because the sacrifices usually offered to them are no longer offered. And there is a necessity that these offenses come. But there is no necessity that they should come through any particular person. Therefore the woe falls on the man through whom the stumbling-block comes, because he has given a place to the wicked power whose purpose is to create a stumbling-block. But do not suppose that by nature, and by constitution, there are certain stumbling-blocks that search out the men through whom they come. For just as God did not make death, neither did He create stumbling-blocks. But free will begot the stumbling-blocks in some who were not willing to endure hardships for virtue.

THE OFFENDING HAND: or foot, or eye.

IT IS WELL: then, if the eye and the hand are deserving of praise, that the eye cannot reasonably say to the hand, "I have no need of you," in 1 Corinthians 12:21. But if anyone in the whole body of the congregations of the church, who because of his practical gifts has the name of hand, should change and become a hand causing stumbling, let the eye say to such a hand, "I have no need of you." And when it has said this, let it cut it off and cast it from itself, as in Matthew 18:8. So also, it is well if any head is blessed, and the feet are worthy of the blessed head, so that the head, observing the things that are fitting for itself, may not be able to say to the feet, "I have no need of you." If, however, any foot is found to become a stumbling-block to the whole body, let the head say to such a foot, "I have no need of you," and having cast it off, let him cast it from himself. For it is much better that the rest of the body should enter into life, lacking the foot or the hand that caused the stumbling-block, rather than, when the stumbling-block has spread over the whole body, it should be cast into the hell of fire with the two feet or the two hands. And so it is well that he who can become the eye of the whole body should be worthy of Christ and of the whole body. But if such an eye should ever change and become a stumbling-block to the whole body, it is well to take it out and cast it outside the whole body, and that the rest of the body without that eye should be saved, rather than that along with it, when the whole body has been corrupted, the whole body should be cast into the hell of fire. For the practical faculty of the soul, if prone to sin, and the walking faculty of the soul, so to speak, if prone to sin, and the faculty of clear vision, if prone to sin, may be the hand that causes stumbling, and the foot that causes stumbling, and the eye that causes stumbling. These things it is better to cast away. And after putting them aside, to enter into life without them, like one lame, or maimed, or one-eyed, rather than along with them to lose the whole soul. Likewise, in the case of the soul, it is a good and blessed thing to use its power for the noblest ends. But if we are going to lose one for any reason, it is better to lose the use of it, so that along with the other powers we may be saved.

THE EYE OR HAND EXPLAINED IN A FIGURATIVE WAY:

IT IS ALSO POSSIBLE TO APPLY THESE WORDS TO OUR CLOSEST RELATIVES: who are like our own body parts because of our close connection to them, whether by birth or by a long-standing friendship, so to speak. We must not spare them if they are harming our soul. For we should cut off from ourselves, like a hand or a foot or an eye, a father or mother who wants us to do what is contrary to piety, and a son or daughter who, as far as they are able, would make us turn away from the church of Christ and from love for Him. Even if the wife who lies in our bosom, or a friend who is kin to us in soul, becomes a stumbling block to us, let us not spare them. Instead, let us cut them out from ourselves and cast them outside our soul, since they are not truly our kindred, but enemies of our salvation. For whoever does not hate his father and mother, Luke 14:26, and the others mentioned with them, when it is the right time to hate them as enemies and attackers so that he may be able to gain Christ, that man is not worthy of the Son of God. In this sense, we may say that, from a difficult position, any lame person, so to speak, is saved when he has lost a foot, that is, a brother, and by himself receives the inheritance of the kingdom of God. And a maimed person is saved when his father is not saved, but they perish while he is separated from them, so that he alone may receive the blessings. In the same way, anyone is saved with one eye who has cut out the eye of his own household, his wife, if she commits fornication, lest, having two eyes, he should go away into the hell of fire.

THE LITTLE ONES AND THEIR ANGELS:

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones.” Matthew 18:10 It seems to me that, just as among human bodies there are differences in size—so that some are small, others are great, and others are of middle height, and again, among the small some are more or less small, and the same is true of the great and of those of middle height—so also among human souls there are some things that mark them as small, and other things that mark them as great, so to speak, and in general, by comparison with bodily things, other things that mark them as middle-sized. But in the case of bodies, it is not due to human action, but to the generative principles, that one person is short and small, another great, and another of middle height. In the case of souls, however, it is our free will, and actions of one kind or another, and habits of one kind or another, that provide the reason why one soul is great, or small, or of middle height. And it is by our free will either to grow in stature and increase in size, or, by not growing, to remain short. And this is how I understand the words about Jesus having taken a human soul: “Jesus advanced.” Luke 2:52 For just as, by free will, His soul advanced in wisdom and grace, so also it did in stature. And the Apostle says, “Until we all attain to a full-grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:13 For we must think that the one who has passed through the things of the child, and has reached the stage of the man, and has put away the things of the child, and in general has completed the things of the man, has attained to a man, and to a full-grown man, according to the inner man. And so we must suppose that there is a certain measure of spiritual stature which the most perfect soul can reach by magnifying the Lord, and so become great. In this way, then, those became great of whom this is written: Isaac, and Moses, and John, and above all the Savior Himself. For Gabriel also said about Him, “He shall be great.” Luke 1:32 But the little ones are the newborn babies who long for the pure spiritual milk, 1 Peter 2:2 such as need nursing-fathers and nursing-mothers, spoken of in Isaiah when he says, about the calling from the Gentiles, “And they shall bring the sons in their bosom, and carry their daughters on their shoulders, and kings shall be your nursing-fathers and their princesses your nursing-mothers.” Isaiah 49:22-23 For these reasons, then, pay attention to the words, “Do not despise one of these little ones,” Matthew 18:10 and consider whether it is their angels who carry them in their bosom, since they have become sons, and also carry on their shoulders those who are called daughters, and whether from among them come the nursing-fathers who are called kings, and the nursing-mothers who are called princesses. And since the little ones pointed out by our Savior are under the care of, as it were, nursing-fathers and nursing-mothers, for this reason I think that Moses, who believed that he had already been assigned a place among the ranks of the great, said with regard to the promise, “My angel shall go before you,” Exodus 32:34, “If You Yourself do not go along with me, do not carry me up from here.” Exodus 33:15 For though the little one is an heir, yet while he is a child he differs in nothing from a servant, Galatians 4:1 and, to the extent that he is little, he has the spirit of bondage to fear. Romans 8:15 But he who is no longer such at all no longer has the spirit of bondage, but already the spirit of adoption, when perfect love casts out fear. 1 John 4:18 It will be clear to you, according to these things, how the angel of the Lord is said to encamp around those who fear Him, and to save them. But according to these things, you should also consider whether these are indeed angels of the little ones, who are led by the spirit of bondage to fear, when the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and delivers them. But in the case of the great, perhaps it is the Lord Himself, who is greater than the angels, who might say about each one of them, “I am with him in affliction.” And so long as we are imperfect, and need someone to help us so that we may be delivered from evils, we need an angel, of whom Jacob said, “The angel who delivered me from all the evils.” Genesis 48:16 But when we have become perfected, and have passed beyond the stage of being under nursing-fathers and nursing-mothers and guardians and stewards, Galatians 4:4 we are fit to be governed by the Lord Himself.

WHEN THE LITTLE ONES ARE ASSIGNED TO ANGELS:

THEN AGAIN: someone might ask when those who are called the angels of the little ones mentioned by Christ take up the care of them. Do they receive this charge from the time of the washing of regeneration, Titus 3:5, by which they are born again as newborn babies and long for the pure spiritual milk without deceit, 1 Peter 2:2, and are no longer under any wicked power? Or have angels been appointed over them from birth, according to the foreknowledge and predestination of God, over those whom God also foreknew and predestined to be conformed to the glory of the Christ, Romans 8:29? And in support of the view that they have angels from birth, one might quote, "He who separated me from my mother's womb," Galatians 1:15, and, "From the womb of my mother you have been my protector," and, "He has helped me from my mother's womb," and, "Upon you I was cast from my mother," and in the Epistle of Jude, "To those who are beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ, called," Jude 1—kept completely by the angels who keep them.

CLOSE RELATIONSHIP OF ANGELS TO THEIR LITTLE ONES:

ABOUT THE WORDS: "When through the laver I became a child in Christ," it may be said that no holy angel is present with those who are still in wickedness. During the time of unbelief, they are under the angels of Satan. But after regeneration, He who redeemed us with His own blood hands us over to a holy angel, who also, because of his purity, beholds the face of God. A third explanation of this passage might be something like this. Just as it is possible for a man to change from unbelief to faith, and from lack of self-control to self-control, and in general from wickedness to virtue, so it is also possible that the angel to whom any soul was entrusted at birth may at first be wicked, but later may at some time believe in proportion as the man believes. He may make such progress that he becomes one of the angels who always behold the face of the Father in heaven, Matthew 18:10, beginning from the time when he is yoked together with the man who was foreknown and foreordained to believe at that time. In this way, the judgments of God, which are unspeakable and unsearchable and like the depths, fittingly bring together this whole harmonious relationship between angels and men. And it may be that, just as when a man and his wife are both unbelievers, sometimes the man believes first and in time saves his wife, and sometimes the wife begins and afterward in time persuades her husband, so it happens also with angels and with men. If, however, anything of this kind happens in the case of other angels or not, you may examine for yourself. But consider whether it may not be fitting to say something like this about each angel who is so honored, according to the word of the Savior, that he is said always to behold the face of the Father who is in heaven. But since in what we said above, that the little ones have angels, while the great have gone beyond such a position, someone will quote against us from the Acts of the Apostles, where it is written that a certain maid named Rhoda, when Peter knocked at the door, came to answer. Recognizing Peter's voice, she ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate. But when those who were gathered together in the house were astonished and thought it was quite impossible that Peter truly stood before the gate, they said, "It is his angel," Acts 12:13-15. For the objector will say that, since they had learned once for all that each believer had a particular angel, they knew that Peter also had one. But the one who holds to what we said before will say that Rhoda's statement was not necessarily a settled doctrine, and perhaps neither was the statement of those who did not know accurately when someone, as being little and God-fearing, is governed by angels, and when he is now governed by the Lord Himself. After this, to establish the idea of the little one that we have presented, it will be said that we do not need a command about not despising the great, but we do need it in the case of the little. Therefore it is not simply said, "Do not despise one of these," as if pointing to all the disciples, but, "one of these little ones," Matthew 18:10, pointed out by Him who sees the littleness and the greatness of the soul.

29. The Little Ones and the Perfect.

BUT ANOTHER MIGHT SAY THAT THE PERFECT MAN IS HERE CALLED LITTLE: applying the words, “He who is least among you all, the same is great,” Luke 9:48. And he will affirm that the one who humbles himself and becomes a child in the midst of all who believe, though he is an apostle or a bishop, and becomes such as when a nurse cherishes her own children, 1 Thessalonians 2:7, is the little one pointed out by Jesus, and that the angel of such a one is worthy to behold the face of God. For to say that the little are here called perfect, according to the passage, “He that is least among you all, the same is great,” Luke 9:48, and as Paul said, “To me, who am less than the least of all saints, this grace was given,” Ephesians 3:8, will seem to be in harmony with the saying, “Whoever shall cause one of these little ones to stumble,” Matthew 18:6, and, “So it is not the will of My Father in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish,” Matthew 18:14. For he, as has been stated, who is now little, could not be made to stumble nor perish. For great peace have they who love the law of God, and there is no stumbling-block to them. And he could not perish, who is least of all among all the disciples of Christ, and on this account becomes great. And, since he could not perish, he could say, “Who shall separate us from the love,” Romans 8:35, and so on. But he who wishes to maintain this last exposition will say that the soul even of the just man is changeable, as Ezekiel also testifies, saying that the righteous man may abandon the commandments of God, so that his former righteousness is not reckoned to him, Ezekiel 33:12. Therefore it is said, “Whoever shall cause one of these little ones to stumble,” Matthew 18:6, and, “It is not the will of My Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish,” Matthew 18:14.

30. The Sinning Brother.

“If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault between you and him alone.” Matthew 18:15 Whoever pays close attention to this statement, as proof of the surpassing kindness of Jesus, will say this: since the words do not suggest any difference among sins, people act in a strange way and against the goodness of Jesus when they add the idea that these words should be understood as limited only to lesser sins. But another person, also paying close attention to the statement, and not wishing to bring in these outside ideas, yet not admitting that it speaks about every sin, will say that the man who commits those great sins is not a brother, even if he is called a brother. As the Apostle says, “If anyone who is named a brother is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater,” and so on, “with such a one, do not even eat.” 1 Corinthians 5:11 For no one who is an idolater, or sexually immoral, or covetous, is a brother. For if someone who seems to bear the name of Christ, though he is called a brother, has some of the marks of these sins, he would not rightly be called a brother. So then, the one who says that these words are spoken about every sin, whether the sin is murder, or poisoning, or pederasty, or anything of that sort, would give occasion for injury to the exceeding goodness of Christ. On the other hand, the one who distinguishes between the brother and the man who is called a brother might teach that, in the case of the smallest sins, a man who has not repented after being shown his fault is to be counted as a Gentile and a tax collector, for sins that are not to death, 1 John 5:16 or, as the law describes them in the Book of Numbers, not death-bringing. Numbers 18:22 This would seem very harsh. For I do not think anyone will easily be found who has not been rebuked three times for the same kind of sin, such as abusive speech, by which revilers insult their neighbors, or being carried away by anger, or excessive drinking, or lying, or idle words, or any of those things that are common among the crowds. You will ask, therefore, whether some observation about this passage has escaped the notice both of those who, because of their view of the goodness of the Word, grant pardon to those who have committed the greatest sins, and of those who teach that, in the case of the very smallest sins, a man is to be counted as a Gentile and a tax collector, making him a stranger to the church after he has committed three very trivial offenses. But this, it seems to me, has been overlooked by both sides: the words, “You have gained your brother.” Matthew 18:15 The Word assigns this only to the one who listened. He no longer applies it to the one who has stumbled two or three times and has been rebuked. But what was to be said about the man who was rebuked two or three times, corresponding to the words, “You have gained your brother,” He has left, so to speak, hanging in the air. Therefore, he is not altogether gained, nor will he altogether perish, or else he will receive stripes. And consider carefully the first passage, “If he hears you, you have gained your brother,” and the second passage, which says literally, “If he does not hear you, take with you one or two more, that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.” Matthew 18:15–16 What then will happen to the man who has been rebuked a second time, after every word has been established by two or three witnesses, He has left us to understand. And again, “If he refuses to hear them”—clearly meaning the witnesses who were taken—“tell it,” He says, “to the church.” Matthew 18:17 And He does not say what he will suffer if he does not hear the church. But He taught that if he refused to hear the church, then the one who had admonished him three times and had not been heard was to regard him from then on as the Gentile and the tax collector. Matthew 18:17 Therefore he is not altogether gained, nor will he altogether perish. But what he will suffer at all, the man who at first did not listen, but required witnesses, or even refused to hear them and so was brought before the church, God knows. For we do not declare it, according to the command, “Judge not, that you be not judged,” Matthew 7:1 until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and make known the counsels of the hearts. 1 Corinthians 4:5 But as for the seeming harshness in the case of those who have committed lesser sins, one might say that it is not possible for the man who has not listened two times in a row to listen the third time, so that for this reason he would no longer be as a Gentile or a tax collector, or no longer stand in need of rebuke before the whole church. For we must keep this in mind: “So it is not the will of My Father in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.” Matthew 18:14 For if we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad, 2 Corinthians 5:10, let each one do all he can so that he may not receive punishment for more evil things done in the body, even if he is going to receive back for all the wrongs he has done. Instead, it should be our aim to gain the reward for a greater number of good deeds, since “with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you,” Matthew 7:2 and “according to the works of our own hands it shall happen to us,” Isaiah 3:11. And this will not happen infinitely, but sinners will receive either double or sevenfold for their sins from the hand of the Lord. For He does not repay anyone according to the works of his hands, but more than what he has done. Jerusalem, as Isaiah taught, received from the hand of the Lord double for her sins. Isaiah 40:2 But the neighbors of Israel, whoever they may be, will receive sevenfold, according to the statement in the Psalms: “Render to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom the reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord.” And other forms of repayment can be found. If we understand them, we will know that it is beneficial to repent after any sin, no matter how great it is, so that, besides our not being punished for more offenses, some hope may remain for us concerning good deeds done later, even if before them any one of us has committed thousands of errors. For it would be strange if evil deeds were counted against someone, but the better things done after the bad should bring no profit. This may also be learned from Ezekiel, Ezekiel 33, by those who pay careful attention to what is said there about such cases.

31. The Power to Bind on Earth and in Heaven.

BUT IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THESE WORDS ARE RIGHTLY ADDED TO THE CASE OF THE PERSON WHO: after being warned three times, was judged to be like the Gentile and the tax collector: “Truly I say to you”—that is, to those who have judged someone to be like the Gentile and the tax collector—“whatever things you bind on earth,” Matthew 18:18, and so on. For the one who has given three warnings and has not been heard has justly bound the person who is judged to be like a Gentile and a tax collector. Therefore, when such a person is bound and condemned by someone of this kind, he remains bound, because no one in heaven overturns the judgment of the man who bound him. In the same way, the person who was warned once for all, and then did what was worthy of being gained, having been set free by the warning of the man who gained him, and no longer being bound by the cords of his own sins, Proverbs 5:22, for which he was warned, will be judged by those in heaven to have been set free. It seems that the things which were earlier granted to Peter alone are here given to all who give the three warnings to all who have sinned. So if they are not heard, they will bind on earth the person who is judged to be like a Gentile and a tax collector, just as such a person has been bound in heaven. But since it was necessary that Peter should have something superior to those who had given three warnings to the brothers, even if something common was said in the case of Peter and of those who had warned the brothers three times, in Peter’s case this saying was specially placed before the words, “And whatever things you bind on earth,” and so on: “I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven,” Matthew 16:19. And indeed, if we pay careful attention to the Gospel writings, we will find here also, in relation to the things that seem to be common to Peter and to those who have warned the brothers three times, a great difference and a superiority in what was said to Peter, compared with the second group. For it is no small difference that Peter received the keys not of one heaven but of more than one, so that whatever things he binds on earth may be bound not in one heaven only but in them all. This is unlike the many who bind on earth and loose on earth, so that these things are bound and loosed not in the heavens, as in Peter’s case, but in only one. For they do not rise to such a high level, with power like Peter’s, to bind and loose in all the heavens. Matthew 16:19 Therefore, the better the one who binds, the more blessed is the one who has been loosed, so that his release has been accomplished in every part of the heavens.

THE POWER OF HARMONY IN RELATION TO PRAYER:

AGAIN I SAY TO YOU: if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them. Matthew 18:19 The word “symphony” is properly used for harmonies of sound in music. Among musical sounds, some are in harmony and others are out of harmony. But the Gospel Scripture also uses this name in a musical sense in the passage, “He heard music and dancing.” Luke 15:25 For it was fitting that when the son who had been lost, and then was found, came by repentance into harmony with his father, a symphony should be heard at the joyful celebration in the house. But wicked Laban did not know the word “symphony” when he said to Jacob, “If you had told me, I would have sent you away with mirth and with music and with drums and a harp.” Genesis 31:27 Something like this kind of symphony is also written in the second Book of Kings, when the brothers of Aminadab went before the ark, and David and his son played before the Lord on instruments skillfully prepared with strength and with songs. 2 Samuel 6:4-5 For the instruments prepared in this way, with strength and with songs, had in themselves that musical symphony which is so powerful that when even only two people, together with the symphony that belongs to divine and spiritual music, present some request to the Father in heaven about anything at all, the Father grants the request to those who ask with symphony on earth. This is most wonderful. He grants those things that the ones who have made the symphony spoken of have asked. I understand in the same way the apostolic saying, “Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a time, so that you may give yourselves to prayer.” 1 Corinthians 7:5 Since the word harmony is applied to those who marry according to God in the passage from Proverbs which says, “Fathers will divide their house and property to their sons, but from God a woman is joined in marriage to a man,” it follows logically that if the harmony is from God, then both the name and the deed should have agreement for the sake of prayer, as is shown in the words, “unless it be by agreement.” 1 Corinthians 7:5 Then the Word, repeating that the agreement of two on earth is the same as agreement with Christ, adds, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name.” Matthew 18:20 Therefore the two or three who are gathered together in the name of Christ are those who are in agreement on earth, not only two, but sometimes also three. But someone with understanding will consider whether this agreement, and a gathering of this kind in the midst of which Christ is present, can be found among more people, since “narrow and hard is the way that leads to life, and few are those who find it.” Matthew 7:14 But perhaps not even a few, but only two or three, make a symphony, like Peter and James and John, to whom, because they made a symphony, the Word of God showed His own glory. Two also made a symphony, Paul and Sosthenes, when writing the first Epistle to the Corinthians. 1 Corinthians 1:1 After this, Paul and Timothy did the same when sending the second Epistle to the same people. 2 Corinthians 1:1 And even three made a symphony when Paul and Silvanus and Timothy instructed the Thessalonians by letter. 1 Thessalonians 1:1 But if it is necessary also to bring forward from the ancient Scriptures the three who made a symphony on earth, so that the Word was in the midst of them making them one, consider the title of the Psalms, for example that of the forty-first Psalm: “To the end, for understanding, for the sons of Korah.” For although there were three sons of Korah, whose names we find in the Book of Exodus, Exodus 6:24 Aser, which means instruction; the second, Elkana, which is translated possession of God; and the third, Abiasaph, which in Greek might be rendered congregation of the father; yet the prophecies were not divided. They were both spoken and written by one spirit, one voice, and one soul, working in true harmony. And the three speak as one: “As the heart pants after the springs of water, so my soul pants after You, O God.” But they also speak in the plural in the forty-fourth Psalm: “O God, we have heard with our ears.” But if you want to see still further those who are making symphony on earth, look to those who heard the exhortation, “that you may be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment,” 1 Corinthians 1:10 and who pressed toward this goal: “the soul and heart of all the believers were one.” Acts 4:32 Such people have become like this, if such a condition can be found in more than two or three, so that there is no discord among them, just as there is no discord between the strings of a ten-stringed psaltery. But those were not in symphony on earth who said, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 1:12 Rather, there were divisions among them. When those divisions were broken up, they were gathered together with the spirit in Paul, with the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, 1 Corinthians 5:4 so that they might no longer bite and devour one another and so be consumed by one another. Galatians 5:15 For discord destroys, but concord gathers together and welcomes the Son of God, who comes into the midst of those who have come into harmony. Strictly speaking, concord takes place in two general ways: through being perfected together, as the Apostle called it, in the same mind by an intelligent grasp of the same beliefs, and through being perfected together in the same judgment by a similar way of life. But if, whenever two of us agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by the Father of Jesus who is in heaven, Matthew 18:19 then clearly, whenever this is not done for them by the Father in heaven concerning anything they ask, those two have not been in agreement on earth. And this is the reason why we are not heard when we pray: we do not agree with one another on earth, neither in beliefs nor in life. But further, if we are the body of Christ, and God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body so that the members may have the same care for one another and may agree with one another; and if when one member suffers, all the members suffer with it, and if one is glorified, they rejoice with it; then we ought to practice the symphony that rises from the divine music, so that when we are gathered together in the name of Christ, He may be in the midst of us: the Word of God, and the Wisdom of God, and His Power. 1 Corinthians 1:24

THE HARMONY OF HUSBAND AND WIFE:

SO MUCH: then, for the more common understanding of the two or three whom the Word urges to be in agreement. But now let us also mention another interpretation, given by one of our predecessors, who was urging married people toward holiness and purity. He says that by the two whom the Word wants to agree on earth, we should understand the husband and wife, who by agreement deprive each other of bodily relations so that they may devote themselves to prayer, as in 1 Corinthians 7:5. Then, if they pray for anything they ask, they will receive it, because the Father in heaven of Jesus Christ grants their request on account of that agreement. And this interpretation does not seem to me to dissolve marriage, but rather to encourage agreement. So if one wanted to be pure, but the other did not want it, and for this reason the one who wanted and was able to carry out the better course yielded to the one who did not have the power or the will, then they would not both receive from the Father in heaven of Jesus Christ the granting of whatever they might ask.

THE HARMONY OF BODY: soul, and spirit.

NEXT TO THIS VIEW ABOUT THE MARRIED: I also know another interpretation of the agreement between the two, and it is as follows. In wicked people, sin reigns over the soul. It is established, as on its own throne, in this mortal body, so that the soul obeys its desires, Romans 6:12. But in those who have stirred up the sin that formerly ruled over the body as from a throne, and who are fighting against it, the flesh desires against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, Galatians 5:17. But in those who have now become perfected, the spirit has gained the mastery and has put to death the deeds of the body, and it gives the body its own life, so that this is already fulfilled: "He shall also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit that dwells in you," Romans 8:11. Then a harmony arises between the two, body and spirit, on the earth. When this is successfully accomplished, a harmonious prayer also rises up from the one who believes with the heart to righteousness, but with the mouth makes confession to salvation, Romans 10:10, so that the heart is no longer far from God, and along with this the righteous man comes near to God with his own lips and mouth. But it is even more blessed if the three are gathered together in the name of Jesus, so that this may be fulfilled: "May God sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be kept complete and without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:23. But someone may ask, concerning the harmony of spirit and body that has been spoken of, whether it is possible for these to be in harmony without the third also being so, I mean the soul, and whether it does not follow from the harmony of these on the earth, after the two have been gathered together in the name of Christ, that the three also have already been gathered together in His name. In the midst of them the Son of God comes, since all are dedicated to Him, I mean the three, and no one is opposed to Him. There is no opposition, not only from the spirit, but not even from the soul, nor further from the body.

4. Harmony of the Old and New Covenants.

IN THE SAME WAY: it is a pleasing thing to try to understand and show the harmony of the two covenants: the one before the Savior’s bodily coming, and the new covenant. For among the things in which the two covenants agree, so that there is no conflict between them, are prayers like this: that whatever they ask, it will be done for them by the Father in heaven. And if you also want the third thing that unites the two, do not hesitate to say that it is the Holy Spirit, since the words of the wise, whether they are from those before the coming, or at the time of the coming, or after it, are like goads and like nails firmly fixed, given in agreement from one shepherd, Ecclesiastes 12:11. And do not let this also go unnoticed: He did not say, “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there I shall be in the midst of them,” but, “there am I,” Matthew 18:20. He is not saying that He will be there later, or that He is delaying, but that at the very moment harmony exists, He Himself is found there, in the midst of them.

5. The Limit of Forgiveness.

THEN PETER CAME AND SAID TO HIM: “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Matthew 18:21” It seems to me completely foolish to think these words were spoken in a simple sense. That would mean Peter was asking whether he should forgive his brother when he sinned against him seven times, but no longer if he sinned an eighth time. It would also mean the Savior thought a person should sit and count up his neighbors’ sins against him, so that he might forgive seventy-seven times, but from the seventy-eighth time he should not forgive the man who had wronged him. That idea seems to me unworthy both of the progress Peter had made in the company of Jesus and of the divine greatness of soul in Jesus. Perhaps, then, these words also come close to an obscurity like the words, “Hear my voice, you wives of Lamech,” Genesis 4:23, and the rest. If anyone has already become a friend of Jesus, so as to be taught by His Spirit, which enlightens the reason of the person who has advanced so far according to what he deserves, he might know the true meaning of these things, as Jesus Himself would clearly have explained it. But we, since we fall short of the greatness of friendship with Jesus, must be content if we can say even a little about the passage. The number six, then, seems to be a number of work and labor, but the number seven to contain the idea of rest. And consider whether you can say that the person who loves the world, and does the works of the world, and does material things, sins six times, and that in his case the number seven is the end of sin. If so, Peter may have had some such thought in mind when he wanted to pardon seven sins that his brother had committed against him. But since, as units, the tens and the hundreds have a certain common proportion with the number in units, and Jesus knew that the number could be exceeded, for this reason, I think, He added the seventy to the number seven also, Matthew 18:22, and said that there should be forgiveness for brothers here, and for those who have sinned in matters belonging to this life. But if anyone, going beyond the things of the world and of this age, were to commit sin, even if it were a small one, he could no longer reasonably have forgiveness of sins. For forgiveness extends to the things here, and to the sins committed here, whether that forgiveness comes late or soon. But there is no forgiveness, not even for a brother, who has sinned beyond the seventy-seven times. But you might say that the one who has sinned in this way, whether against Peter his brother, or against Peter against whom the gates of Hades do not prevail, is by sins of this kind still in the smaller number of sin; but by sins still worse he is in the number that has no forgiveness of sins.

ABOUT THE KING WHO SETTLED ACCOUNTS WITH HIS OWN SERVANTS: and to whom a man was brought who owed ten thousand talents.

THEREFORE I SAY TO YOU: the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his own servants. Matthew 18:23 The general meaning of the parable is to teach us that we should be ready to forgive the sins committed against us by those who have wronged us, especially if, after doing wrong, the one who did it begs the person who was wronged and asks forgiveness for the sins he committed against him. And this is what the parable wants to teach by showing that even when God has forgiven us the sins for which we received remission, payment will still be demanded even after that remission unless we forgive the sins of those who have wronged us. This means that not even the smallest memory of the wrong done should remain in us. Instead, the whole heart, helped by the spirit of forgetting wrongs, which is no common virtue, forgives the one who has wronged us for the evil things he has done against any of us, even treacherously. But besides the general meaning of the parable, it is right to examine all of it in a simpler way, according to the letter, so that the one who carefully moves forward in the proper examination of each detail of the things written before may gain profit from examining what is said. Now there is, probably, an interpretation that is lofty and hard to trace, because it is somewhat mystical. According to this, following the pattern of the parables explained by the Evangelists, a person would examine each detail in this one. For example: who the king was, and who the servants were; what the beginning of his settling accounts was; who the one debtor was who owed many talents; who his wife was and who his children were; what the "all things" were besides these, which the king ordered to be sold so that the debt might be paid from his possessions; what was meant by the going out of the man who had been forgiven the many talents; who the one servant was who was found and was a debtor, not to the master of the house, but to the man who had been forgiven; what is meant by the number of the hundred pence; and what by the words, "He took him by the throat, saying, Pay what you owe." It would also ask what the prison is into which the man who had been forgiven all the talents went out and cast his fellow servant; who the fellow servants were who were grieved and told the lord all that had happened; who the tormentors were to whom the man who had cast his fellow servant into prison was delivered; and how the man delivered to the tormentors paid all that was due, so that he no longer owed anything. But it is also probable that a more capable investigator could add some other things to this number. I think the explanation and interpretation of these things are beyond human power and require the Spirit of Christ who spoke them, so that Christ may be understood as He spoke. For just as no one among men knows the things of a man except the spirit that is in him, and no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God, 1 Corinthians 2:11, so also no one after God knows the things spoken by Christ in proverbs and parables except the Spirit of Christ. The one who shares in Christ, not only in so far as He is Spirit, but also in Christ as He is Wisdom, as He is the Word, would behold the things revealed to him in this passage. But regarding the interpretation of the highest kind, we make no claim. Yet, on the other hand, with the help of Christ, who is the Wisdom of God, we do not despair of grasping the things signified in the parable. But whether such things will be given to us concerning this Scripture or not, may God in Christ direct us to do what is pleasing to Him, if only there is also granted to us concerning these things the word of wisdom given from God through the Spirit, and the word of knowledge supplied according to the Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:8

THE EXPLANATION CONTINUES: the king and the servants.

HE SAYS: "The kingdom of heaven is likened to a certain king," in Matthew 18:23 and following. But if it is likened to such a king, and to one who has done such things, who must we say it is except the Son of God? For He is the King of the heavens. And as He is absolute Wisdom and absolute Righteousness and absolute Truth, is He not also absolute Kingdom? But it is not a kingdom of any of the things below, nor of a part of the things above. It is of all the things above, which were called heavens. But if you ask about the meaning of the words, "Theirs is the kingdom of heaven," in Matthew 5:3, you may say that Christ is theirs, in so far as He is absolute Kingdom, reigning in every thought of the man who is no longer under the reign of sin, which reigns in the mortal body of those who have subjected themselves to it, as in Romans 6:12. And if I say, "reigning in every thought," I mean something like this. He reigns as Righteousness and Wisdom and Truth and the rest of the virtues in the man who has become a heaven because he bears the image of the heavenly. He also reigns in every power, whether angelic, or the rest that are named saints, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come, and in those who are worthy of a kingdom of such a kind. Accordingly, this kingdom of heaven was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, as Romans 8:3 says, so that for sin it might condemn sin. And God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on behalf of us, as 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, we who bear the body of our sin. This kingdom of heaven is likened to a certain king. He is understood in relation to Jesus being united to Him, if we may dare to speak so, having more capacity for being united and becoming entirely one with the First-born of all creation, Colossians 1:15, than he who, being joined to the Lord, becomes one spirit with Him, as in 1 Corinthians 6:17. Now of this kingdom of the heavens, which is likened to a certain king according to the conception of Jesus, and is united to Him, it is said beforehand that he wished to make a reckoning with his servants. But he is about to make a reckoning with them so that it may be shown how each has used the tried money of the householder and his rational coins. The image in the parables was indeed taken from masters who made a reckoning with their own servants. But we shall understand more accurately what is signified by this part of the parable if we fix our thought on the things done by the slaves who had administered their master's goods and were asked to give a reckoning concerning them. For each of them, having received in different measure from his master's goods, has used them either for what was right, so as to increase the goods of his master, or has consumed it riotously on things which he ought not, and has spent profusely without judgment and without discretion what had been put into his hands. But there are those who have wisely administered these goods, and goods so great, but have lost others. And whenever they give the reckoning when the master makes a reckoning with them, there is gathered together how much loss each has incurred, and there is reckoned up how much gain each has brought. According to the worthiness of the way in which he has administered it, he is either honored or punished. Or in some cases the debt is forgiven, but in others the talents are taken away. Well then, from what has been said, let us first look at the rational coins and the tried money of the householder, of which one receives more and another less. For according to the ability of each, to one are given five talents, because he has the ability to administer so many. But to another are given two, as not being able to receive the amount of the man before him. And to another, one, as being also inferior to the second, as in Matthew 25:15. Are these, then, the only differences? Or are we to recognize these differences in the case of certain persons of whom the Gospel goes on to speak, while there are also others besides these? In other parables also there are certain persons, such as the two debtors, the one who owed five hundred pence and the other fifty, in Luke 7:41. But whether these had been entrusted with them and had administered them badly, as being inferior in ability to him who had been entrusted with a talent, or had received them, we have not learned. But from the parable, we seem to be taught that they owed so much. And there are found another ten servants, who were each entrusted with a pound separately, in Luke 19:13. And if anyone understood the varied character of the human soul, and the wide differences from one another in natural aptitude, or lack of aptitude, for more or fewer of the virtues, and for these virtues or those, perhaps he would understand how each soul has come with certain coins of the householder. These come to light with the full attainment of reason, and with the attention that follows the full attainment of reason, and with exercise in things that are right, or with diligence and exercise in other things, whether they are useful as pursuits, or partly useful and partly not useful, such as opinions that are not wholly true nor wholly false.

THE PRINCIPLE OF THE RECKONING:

BUT HERE YOU WILL ASK WHETHER ALL PEOPLE CAN BE CALLED SERVANTS OF THE KING: or whether some are servants because he foreknew and foreordained them, while others do business with the servants and are called bankers, Matthew 25:27. In the same way, you will ask whether there are some outside the number of the slaves from whom the master of the house says he will demand back his own with interest, not only people who are strangers to piety, but also some believers. Now the servants alone are the stewards of the Word, but when the king settles accounts with the servants, he demands payment from those who have borrowed from the servants, whether a hundred measures of wheat or a hundred measures of oil, Luke 16:6-7, or whatever those outside the king's household have actually received. For the one who owed the hundred measures of wheat or the hundred measures of oil is not shown in the parable to be a fellow servant of the unjust steward, as is clear from the question, "How much do you owe my lord?" Luke 16:5. But notice with me that each deed that is good or honorable is like profit and increase, while a wicked deed is like loss. And just as there is one kind of profit when the money is greater and another when it is less, and just as there are differences of more and less, so also, according to good deeds, there is, so to speak, an assessment of greater and smaller profits. To determine which work is a great profit, which is a smaller profit, and which is the smallest, belongs to him alone who knows how to examine such things. He looks at them in light of the disposition, and the word, and the deed, and by considering the things not in our power as working together with the things that are in our power. In the same way, with opposite matters, it belongs to him to say what sin, when accounts are settled with the servants, is found to be a great loss, what is a smaller loss, and what, if we may call it so, is the loss of the very last mite, Luke 12:59, or the last farthing, Matthew 5:26. Therefore, an account of the whole and entire life is demanded by what is called the kingdom of heaven, which is compared to a king, when we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad, 2 Corinthians 5:10. And then, when the reckoning is being made, every idle word that people speak will also be brought into the account, Matthew 12:36, as well as any cup of cold water that someone has given to drink in the name of a disciple, Matthew 10:42.

THE TIME TAKEN BY THE RECKONING:

AND THESE THINGS WILL HAPPEN WHENEVER WHAT IS WRITTEN IN DANIEL TAKES PLACE: “The books were opened, and the judgment was set,” Daniel 7:10. For a record, as it were, is made of all things that have been spoken and done and thought. And by divine power every hidden thing of ours will be made manifest, and everything that is covered will be revealed. This is so that, when anyone is found who has not given diligence to be freed from the adversary, he may go in succession through the hands of the magistrate, and the judge, and the attendant into the prison, until he pays the very last mite, Luke 12:58-59. But when someone has given diligence to be freed from him and owes nothing to anyone, and has already made the pound ten pounds or five pounds, or doubled the five talents, or made the two four, he may obtain the due recompense, entering into the joy of his Lord, either being set over all His possessions, Matthew 24:47, or hearing the word, “Have authority over ten cities,” Luke 19:17, or “Have authority over five cities.” But we think that these things are spoken of as if they required a long period of time, so that we might give an account of the whole times of earthly life. Thus we might suppose that, when the king makes a reckoning with each one of his many servants, the matter would require so vast a period of time, until these things come to an end which have existed from the beginning of the world down to the consummation of the age, not of one age, but of many ages. But the truth is not so. For when God wished all at once to rekindle in the memories of all everything that had been done by each one throughout the whole time, so that each might become conscious of his own doings, whether good or bad, He would do it by His ineffable power. For it is not with God as with us. For if we wish to call some things to remembrance, we require sufficient time for the detailed account of what has been said by us, and to bring to our remembrance the things which we wish to remember. But if He wished to call to our memory the things which have been done in this life, so that, becoming conscious of what we have done, we may understand for what we are punished or honored, He could do so. But if anyone disbelieves the swiftness of the power of God in regard to these matters, he has not yet had a true conception of the God who made the universe, who did not require times to make the vast creation of heaven and earth and the things in them. For though He may seem to have made these things in six days, there is need of understanding to comprehend in what sense the words “in six days” are said, on account of this, “This is the book of the generation of heaven and earth,” Genesis 2:4, etc. Therefore it may be boldly affirmed that the season of the expected judgment does not require times. But as the resurrection is said to take place in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, 1 Corinthians 15:52, so I think the judgment also will be.

THE MAN WHO OWED MANY TALENTS:

NEXT WE MUST SPEAK ABOUT THIS: "And when he had begun to reckon, there was brought to him one who owed many talents," Matthew 18:24. The meaning of this, as it seems to me, is as follows. The season when the judgment begins is with the house of God. He says, as it is also written in Ezekiel, to those appointed to attend to punishments, "Begin with My saints," Ezekiel 9:6. And it is like the twinkling of an eye. But the time of making a reckoning includes that same twinkling, ideally understood, for we have not forgotten what was said before about those who owe more. Therefore it is not written, "when he was making a reckoning," but, "When he began to reckon, there was brought"—at the beginning of his making a reckoning—one who owed many talents. He had lost tens of thousands of talents, since great things had been entrusted to him and many things had been committed to his care. But he had brought no gain to his master. Instead, he had lost tens of thousands, so that he owed many talents. And perhaps for this reason he owed many talents, since he often followed the woman who was sitting upon the talent of lead, whose name is Wickedness, Zechariah 5:7-8. But notice here that every great sin is a loss of the talents of the master of the house. Such sins are committed by fornicators, adulterers, abusers of themselves with men, effeminate persons, idolaters, and murderers. Perhaps, then, the one who is brought to the king owing many talents has committed not some small sin, but all the sins that are great and heinous. And if you were to look for him among men, perhaps you would find him to be the man of sin, the son of perdition, the one who opposes and exalts himself against every god or object of worship, 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4. But if you look for him outside the number of men, who else can this be but the devil, who has ruined so many who received him, and who worked sin in them? For man is a great thing, and a pitiful man is precious, Proverbs 20:6, precious enough to be worthy of a talent, whether of gold, like the lamp which was equal to a talent of gold, Exodus 25:39, or of silver, or of any kind of material whatever, understood intellectually. The symbols of these are recorded in the Words of the Days, 1 Chronicles 22:14, when David became enriched with many talents, the number of which is mentioned: so many talents of gold, and so many of silver, and the rest of the material named there, from which the temple of God was built.

THE SERVANT WHO OWED A HUNDRED PENCE:

STILL: he could not pay the talents, because he had lost them. Yet he had a wife and children and other possessions, of which it is written, “All that he has,” in Matthew 18:25. And it was possible that, if he had been sold along with what was his, he might have prospered if someone had bought him and, by his value and by the things that belonged to him, might have paid the whole debt in full. It was also possible that he would no longer be the servant of the king, but would become the servant of the one who bought him. So he begs that he not be sold along with what is his, but that he may continue to remain in the house of the king. Therefore he fell down and worshiped him, knowing that the king was God, and said, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you all,” in Matthew 18:26. For he was, probably, an active man who knew that by a second course of action he could make up the whole shortage caused by the former loss of many talents. And this truly good king was moved with compassion for the man who owed him many talents, and then released him, giving him a favor greater than the request he had made. For the debtor had promised his longsuffering master that he would pay all his debts. But the Lord, moved with compassion for him, did not simply forgive him with the thought of later receiving back what was his through patience. Instead, he completely released him and forgave the whole debt. But this wicked servant, who had begged his master to have patience regarding his many talents, acted without mercy. For when he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred pence, he seized him and took him by the throat, saying, “Pay what you owe,” in Matthew 18:28. Did he not show the full extent of wickedness, since he seized his fellow servant for a hundred pence and took him by the throat and kept him from freely breathing, while he himself, for the many talents, had neither been seized nor taken by the throat? At first he had only been ordered to be sold along with his wife and children and all that was his. But afterward, when he had worshiped him, the master was moved with compassion for him, and he was released and forgiven the whole debt. But it would indeed be a hard task, according to the mind of Jesus, to say who the one fellow servant is who was found owing a hundred pence, not to his own lord, but to the one who owed many talents; and who the fellow servants are who saw one taking the other by the throat, saw the other being seized, were deeply grieved, and reported clearly to their own lord all that had been done. But as for the truth in these matters, I declare that no one can interpret it unless Jesus, who explained everything privately to His own disciples, comes to dwell in his mind and opens all the treasures in the parable that are dark, hidden, and unseen. He must also confirm with clear proofs the person whom He wishes to enlighten with the light of the knowledge of the things in this parable, so that he may clearly show who is brought to the king as the debtor of many talents, and who is the other one who owes him a hundred pence, and so on; whether he may be the man of sin mentioned earlier in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, or the devil, or neither of these but someone else, whether a man or one of those under the devil’s power. For it is the work of the wisdom of God to show the things that have been prophesied concerning those who are of a certain nature in themselves, or who have been made according to certain qualities, whether among visible powers or also among some men, in whatever way these things may have been written by the Holy Spirit. But since we have not yet received the capable mind that is able to be joined with the mind of Christ, and that is able to reach such great things, and that is able with the Spirit to search all things, even the deep things of God, in 1 Corinthians 2:10, we are still forming only an unclear impression about the matters in this passage. Yet we think that the wicked servant pointed to by the parable, who is here presented in connection with the debt of many talents, refers to some definite individual.

12. The Time of the Reckoning.

BUT IT IS FITTING TO EXAMINE AT WHAT TIME THE MAN: the king, in the parable wished to make a reckoning with his own servants, and to what period we ought to refer the things that are said. For if it is after the consummation, or at the time of the expected judgment, how are we to maintain the things about him who owed a hundred pence and was taken by the throat by the man who had been forgiven the many talents? But if it is before the judgment, how can we explain the reckoning that was made before this by the king with his own servants? But we ought to think in a general way about every parable whose interpretation has not been recorded by the evangelists, even though Jesus explained all things to His own disciples privately, Mark 4:34. And for this reason the writers of the Gospels concealed the clear exposition of the parables, because the things signified by them were beyond the power of the nature of words to express. And every solution and exposition of such parables was of such a kind that not even the whole world itself could contain the books that should be written, John 21:25, in relation to such parables. But it may happen that a fitting heart is found, and because of its purity it is able to receive the letters of the exposition of the parable, so that they could be written in it by the Spirit of the living God. But someone will say that perhaps we act with impiety, because of the secret and mystical import of some of the Scriptures that are of heavenly origin, when we wish them to be symbolic and try to expound them, even though it might seem ex hypothesi that we had an accurate knowledge of their meaning. But to this we must say that, if there are those who have obtained the gift of accurate apprehension of these things, they know what they ought to do. But as for us, who acknowledge that we fall short of the ability to see into the depth of the things signified here, even though we gain a somewhat crass perception of the things in the passage, we will say this: some of the things that we seem to find after much examination and inquiry, whether by the grace of God or by the power of our own mind, we do not venture to commit to writing. But some things, for the sake of our own intellectual discipline, and for those who may happen to read them, we will set forth to some extent. But let these things, then, be said by way of apology, because of the depth of the parable. But regarding the question of what time the man, the king, in the parable wished to make a reckoning with his own servants, we will say that it seems this takes place about the time of the judgment that had been proclaimed. And this is confirmed by two parables, one at the close of the Gospel before us, Matthew 25:14-30, and one from the Gospel according to Luke, Luke 19:12-27. And not to prolong the discussion by quoting the exact words, since anyone who wishes can take it from Scripture himself, we will say that the parable according to Matthew declares, "For it is as when a man going into another country called his own servants, and delivered to them his own goods, and to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one talent," Matthew 25:14-15. Then they took action with regard to what had been entrusted to them. And after a long time the lord of those servants comes, and it is written in these very words that he also makes a reckoning with them, Matthew 25:19. And compare the words, "And when he began to make a reckoning," Matthew 18:24, and consider that he called the going of the householder into another country the time at which we are at home in the body but absent from the Lord, 2 Corinthians 5:6. But his advent, when after a long time the lord of those servants comes, Matthew 25:19, is the time of the consummation in the judgment. For after a long time the lord of those servants comes and makes a reckoning with them, and the things that follow take place. But the parable in Luke shows more clearly that a certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And when going, he called ten servants and gave to them ten pounds, and said to them, "Trade till I come," Luke 19:12-13. But the nobleman, being hated by his own citizens, who sent an embassy after him because they did not wish him to reign over them, came back again, having received the kingdom, and told the servants to whom he had given the money to be called to himself, that he might know what they had gained by trading. And seeing what they had done, to the one who had made the one pound ten pounds, rendering praise in the words, "Well done, you good servant, because you were found faithful in a very little," Luke 19:17, he gives to him authority over ten cities, that is, those that were under his kingdom. And to another, who had multiplied the pound fivefold, he did not render the praise that he assigned to the first, nor did he specify the word authority, as in the case of the first, but said to him, "Be also over five cities." But to him who had tied up the pound in a napkin, he said, "Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant," Luke 19:22. And he said to those who stood by, "Take from him the pound, and give it to him that has the ten pounds," Luke 19:24. Who, then, in regard to this parable, will not say that the nobleman, who goes into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return, is Christ, going, as it were, into another country to receive the kingdoms of this world, and the things in it? And those who have received the ten talents are those who have been entrusted with the dispensation of the Word that has been committed to them. And His citizens who did not wish Him to reign over them when He was a citizen in the world in respect of His incarnation, Luke 19:14, are perhaps Israel who disbelieved Him, and perhaps also the Gentiles who disbelieved Him.

NO FORGIVENESS TO THE UNFORGIVING:

I HAVE SAID THESE THINGS ONLY TO REFER HIS RETURN: when he comes with his kingdom, to the consummation. That is when he commanded the servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, so that he might know what they had gained by trading. I also wanted to show from this, and from the parable of the Talents, that the passage, "he wished to make a reckoning with his own servants," Matthew 18:23, refers to the consummation, when he is now king, receiving the kingdom. According to another parable, Luke 19:12, he went into a far country to receive a kingdom for himself and to return. Therefore, when he returned after receiving the kingdom, he wished to make a reckoning with his own servants. And when he had begun to reckon, there was brought to him one who owed many talents, Matthew 18:24. He was brought to a king by those appointed as his ministers, I think, the angels. Perhaps he was one of those under the kingdom who had been entrusted with a great administration and had not managed it well, but had wasted what had been entrusted to him. So he came to owe the many talents that he had lost. This very man, perhaps because he had no means to pay, is ordered by the king to be sold along with his wife, by intercourse with whom he became the father of certain children. But it is not easy to see what is intellectually meant by father and mother and children. God may know what this truly means, and whether He Himself has given us insight or not, he who is able may judge. This, however, is our understanding of the passage. Just as the Jerusalem above is the mother, Galatians 4:26, of Paul and of those like him, so there may also be a mother of others by analogy with Jerusalem, the mother, for example, of Syene in Egypt, or Sidon, or as many cities as are named in the Scriptures. Then, just as Jerusalem is a bride adorned for her husband, Revelation 21:2, Christ, so there may also be mothers of certain powers who have been assigned to them as wives or brides. And just as there are certain children of Jerusalem as mother, and of Christ as father, so there would also be certain children of Syene, or Memphis, or Tyre, or Sidon, and of the rulers set over them. Perhaps, then, this debtor of many talents who was brought to the king also has, as we have said, a wife and children. At first the king ordered them to be sold, and also all that he had. But afterward, being moved with compassion, he released him and forgave him all the debt. This was written not because he was ignorant of the future, but so that we might understand what happened. Each one, then, of those who have, as we have said, a wife and children will give an account whenever the king comes to make a reckoning, after he has received the kingdom and returned. And each of them, as a ruler of some Syene or Memphis, or Tyre or Sidon, or any place like them, also has debtors. This man, then, after being released and forgiven all the debt, went out from the king and found one of his fellow-servants, Matthew 18:28 and following. For this reason, I suppose, he took him by the throat when he had gone out from the king, because unless he had gone out, he would not have taken his fellow-servant by the throat. Then notice the exactness of the Scripture. The one fell down and worshipped, but the other fell down and did not worship, but begged. The king, being moved with compassion, released him and forgave him all the debt. But the servant was not willing even to pity his fellow-servant. Before his release, the king had ordered him and what was his to be sold, while the man who had been forgiven cast his fellow-servant into prison. And notice that his fellow-servants did not bring any accusation, and did not merely speak, but reported it, Matthew 18:31. Also, the king did not use the name "wicked" at the beginning with regard to the money that was lost, but kept it for later, because of his action toward the fellow-servant. But notice also the king's moderation. He does not say, "You worshipped me," but, "You begged me." And he no longer ordered him and what was his to be sold, but, what was worse, he delivered him to the tormentors because of his wickedness, Matthew 18:34. And who can these be except those who have been appointed over punishments? At the same time, notice this, because adherents of heresies use this parable in a certain way. If they accuse the Creator of being subject to passions because of words that speak of the wrath of God, then they should also accuse this king, because, being angry, he delivered the debtor to the tormentors. But something further must be said to those who hold that no one is delivered by Jesus to the tormentors. Please explain to us, good sirs, who is the king who delivered the wicked servant to the tormentors? Let them also pay attention to this: "So also My heavenly Father will do to you," Matthew 18:35. And to the same people one might rather say the words in the parable of the Ten Pounds that the Son of the good God said: "However, bring here these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them," Luke 19:27 and following. The conclusion of the parable, however, is also suited to simpler people. All of us who have received forgiveness for our own sins and have not forgiven our brothers are taught at once that we will suffer the same fate as the man who was forgiven but did not forgive his fellow-servant.

HOW JESUS FINISHED HIS WORDS:

AND IT HAPPENED: when Jesus had finished these words, Matthew 19:1. The one who gives a detailed and complete account of each question before him, so that nothing is left out, finishes his own words. But someone will speak more confidently about this point if he gives himself with great care to the whole reading of the Old and New Testament. For if the expression, "he finished these words," can be applied to no one else, neither to Moses nor to any of the prophets, but only to Jesus, then one might dare to say that Jesus alone finished His words. He came to bring things to their end and to complete what was lacking in the law, by saying, "It was said to those of old time," Matthew 5:33 and so on, and again, "that the things spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled." But if this is written somewhere about them also, then you may compare the discourses finished by them with those finished by the Savior, and set them side by side, so that you may find the difference between them. And at this point, too, it could be examined whether, in the case of things spoken as an oracle, the expression "he finished" is used either of the things spoken by Moses, or by any of the prophets, or by both together. Careful observation would suggest very weighty thoughts to those who know how to compare spiritual things with spiritual, and who therefore speak not in words taught by man's wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, 1 Corinthians 2:13. But perhaps someone else, paying overly curious attention to the word "finished," which is assigned to things of a more mystical kind, might say this: just as we say that one person delivered mysteries and rites of perfecting, though not in a praiseworthy way, to those under his control, and another delivered the mysteries of God to those who are worthy, and rites of perfecting suited to such mysteries, so also, after initiating them, he performed a rite of perfecting. By this perfecting, the words were shown to be powerful, so that the gospel of Jesus was preached in the whole world, and by the power of this divine perfecting gained the mastery over every soul that the Father draws to the Son, according to what the Savior says, "No one comes to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him," John 6:44. Therefore also the word of those who, by the grace of God, are ambassadors of the gospel, and their preaching, is not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, for those for whom the words of the teaching of Jesus were finished. You should therefore observe how often it is said, "He finished," and of what things it is said. And you should take as an example what is said about the beatitudes and the whole discourse to which this is added: "And it happened, when Jesus had finished these words, all the multitudes were astonished at His teaching," Matthew 7:28. But now the statement, "Jesus finished these words," refers also directly to the very mystical parable according to which the kingdom of heaven is likened to a king, and also beyond this parable to the sections written before it.

15. How Men Followed Jesus.

NOW WHEN JESUS HAD FINISHED THESE WORDS: after speaking them in Galilee near Capernaum, He departed from there and came to the borders of Judea, Matthew 19:1, which were different from Galilee. But He came to the borders of Judea, not to its middle, but, as it were, to its outermost parts, where great crowds followed Him, Matthew 19:2. He healed them at the borders of Judea beyond the Jordan, where baptism had been given, John 1:28. But notice the difference between the crowds who simply followed, and Peter and the others who gave up everything and followed, and Matthew, who rose and followed Him; Matthew 9:9. He did not simply follow, but followed after rising, for the words after rising are an important addition. So there are always some who follow like the great crowds. They have not risen so that they may follow, nor have they given up all that was formerly theirs. But few are those who have risen and followed, who also, in the regeneration, will sit on twelve thrones, Matthew 19:28. Only, if anyone wishes to be healed, let him follow Jesus.

ABOUT THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES TESTING JESUS BY ASKING WHETHER IT WAS LAWFUL FOR A MAN TO PUT AWAY HIS WIFE FOR EVERY CAUSE:

AFTER THIS: it is written that the Pharisees came to Him, tempting Him and saying, “Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?” Matthew 19:3 Mark also has written to the same effect. Mark 10:2 So, among those who came to Jesus and asked Him, there were some who asked questions to tempt Him. And if our Savior, so exalted as He was, was tempted, which of His disciples who is appointed to teach needs to be distressed when he is tempted by some who ask questions, not from love of learning, but from a desire to tempt? And you might find many passages, if you brought them together, in which the Pharisees tempted our Jesus, and also others different from them, such as a certain lawyer, Matthew 22:35 and perhaps also a scribe, Mark 12:28 so that by bringing together what is said about those who tempted Him, you might find by careful study what is useful for this kind of inquiry. Only, in answer to those who tempted Him, the Savior laid down doctrines. For they said, “Is it lawful for a man to put away his own wife for every cause?” And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female?” Matthew 19:4 and so on. And I think that the Pharisees brought forward this saying for this reason, so that they might attack Him whatever He might say. For example, if He had said, “It is lawful,” they would have accused Him of dissolving marriages for trifles. But if He had said, “It is not lawful,” they would have accused Him of allowing a man to live with a woman even with sins. In the same way, in the matter of the tribute money, Matthew 22:17 if He had told them to give, they would have accused Him of making the people subject to the Romans, and not to the law of God. But if He had told them not to give, they would have accused Him of causing war and sedition, and of stirring up those who were not able to stand against so powerful an army. But they did not understand how He answered blamelessly and wisely. First, He rejected the opinion that a wife should be put away for every cause. Second, He answered the question about the bill of divorce. For He saw that not every cause is a reasonable ground for dissolving marriage, and that the husband must live with the wife as the weaker vessel, giving honor, 1 Peter 3:7 and bearing her burdens in sins. Galatians 6:2 And by what is written in Genesis, He puts to shame the Pharisees who boasted in the Scriptures of Moses, by saying, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female?” and so on. Then, adding to these words because of the saying, “And the two shall become one flesh,” He teaches in harmony with one flesh, namely, “So that they are no longer two, but one flesh.” Matthew 19:4-6 And, as helping to convince them that they should not put away their wife for every cause, He says, “What God has joined together, let not man put asunder.” Matthew 19:6 It should be observed, however, in the explanation of the words quoted from Genesis in the Gospel, that they were not spoken one after another as they are written in the Gospel. And I think that they were not even said about the same persons, namely, those who were formed after the image of God, and those who were formed from the dust of the ground and from one of the ribs of Adam. For where it says, “Male and female made He them,” Genesis 1:27 the reference is to those formed after the image. But where He also said, “For this cause shall a man leave his own father and mother,” Genesis 2:24 and so on, the reference is not to those formed after the image. For some time later the Lord God formed the man, taking dust from the ground, and from his side the helper. And notice at the same time that, in the case of those who are formed after the image, the words were not “husband and wife,” but “male and female.” We have also observed this in the Hebrew. For man is indicated by the word is, but male by the word zachar. And again, woman by the word essa, but female by the word agkeba. For at no time is it woman or man after the image, but the superior class, the male, and the second, the female. But also, if a man leaves his mother and his father, he does not cleave to the female, but to his own wife. And they become, since man and woman are one in flesh, one flesh. Then, describing what ought to be the case for those who are joined together by God, so that they may be joined together in a way worthy of God, the Savior adds, “So that they are no longer two.” Matthew 19:6 And wherever there is indeed concord, and unison, and harmony, between husband and wife, when he is ruler and she is obedient to the word, “He shall rule over you,” Genesis 3:16 then of such persons we may truly say, “They are no longer two.” Then, since it was necessary that for him who is joined to the Lord, it should be kept for him to become one spirit with Him, 1 Corinthians 6:17 in the case of those who are joined together by God, after the words, “So that they are no longer two,” it is said, “but one flesh.” And it is God who has joined the two into one so that they are no longer two, from the time that the woman is married to the man. And since God has joined them together, for this reason, in the case of those who are joined together by God, there is a gift. And Paul, knowing this, that marriage according to the Word of God was a gift, just as holy celibacy was a gift, says, “But I would that all men were like myself; however, each man has his own gift from God, one after this manner, and another after that.” 1 Corinthians 7:7 And those who are joined together by God both attend to and keep the command, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ also the church.” Ephesians 5:25 The Savior then commanded, “What God has joined together, let not man put asunder,” Matthew 19:6 but man wishes to put asunder what God has joined together when, falling away from the sound faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, through the hypocrisy of men who speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron, forbidding not only to commit fornication, but to marry, 1 Timothy 4:1-3 he dissolves even those who had before been joined together by the providence of God. Let these things then be said, keeping in view what is expressly said concerning the male and the female, and the man and the woman, as the Savior taught in His answer to the Pharisees.

17. The union of Christ and the Church.

BUT SINCE THE APOSTLE UNDERSTANDS THE WORDS: "And the two shall become one flesh," in Matthew 19:5 as referring to Christ and the church, as in Ephesians 5:31-32, we must say that Christ, keeping the saying, "What God has joined together, let not man separate," in Matthew 19:6, did not put away His former wife, so to speak, that is, the former synagogue, for any cause other than that this wife committed fornication. She had been made an adulteress by the evil one, and with him she plotted against her husband and killed Him, saying, "Away with such a man from the earth; crucify Him, crucify Him." Therefore, it was she who revolted by her own act, rather than her husband who put her away and sent her off. So, reproaching her for falling away from Him, it says in Isaiah, "What kind of bill of divorce was given to your mother, by which I sent her away?" in Isaiah 50:1. And He who in the beginning created Him who is in the form of God after the image, made Him male, and the church female, granting to both a oneness after the image. And for the sake of the church, the Lord, the husband, left the Father, whom He saw when He was in the form of God, as in Philippians 2:6. He also left His mother, since He was truly the son of the Jerusalem above, and was joined to His wife who had fallen down here. And these two here became one flesh. For because of her, He Himself also became flesh, when "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us," as in John 1:14. And they are no longer two, but now they are one flesh, since it is said to the wife, "Now you are the body of Christ, and members each in his part," in 1 Corinthians 12:27. For the body of Christ is not something separate and different from the church, which is His body, and from the members each in his part. And God has joined together those who are not two, but have become one flesh, commanding that men should not separate the church from the Lord. And the one who is careful, so as not to be separated, speaks with confidence, as one who certainly will not be separated, and says, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" in Romans 8:35. Therefore, here the saying, "What God has joined together, let not man separate," in Matthew 19:6, was written in relation to the Pharisees. But to those who are above the Pharisees, it could be said, "What then God has joined together, let nothing separate," neither principality nor power. For God, who has joined together, is stronger than all the things that anyone could imagine and name.

THE BILL OF DIVORCEMENT:

AFTER THIS: we will discuss the statement of the Pharisees that they said to Jesus: "Why then did Moses command us to give a certificate of divorce and send her away?" Matthew 19:7 And rightly, for this purpose, we will bring forward the passage from Deuteronomy about the certificate of divorce, which says this: "But if a man takes a wife and lives with her, and it happens that she does not find favor in his sight because he has found in her something unseemly," and so on, down to the words, "and you shall not pollute the land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance." Deuteronomy 24:1-4 Now I ask whether, in these matters according to this law, we should seek nothing beyond the letter, as if God had given no more in it, or whether it was necessarily said to the Pharisees, who quoted the statement, "Moses commanded us to give a certificate of divorce and send her away," that "Moses, because of your hardness of heart, allowed you to put away your wives; but from the beginning it has not been so." Matthew 19:8 But if anyone rises to the Gospel of Christ Jesus, which teaches that the law is spiritual, he will also seek the spiritual understanding of this law. And the one who wants to interpret these things figuratively will say that, just as Paul, confident in the grace given to him, said, "A wife is bound for as long a time as her husband lives. But if the husband is dead, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. But she is happier if she remains as she is, in my judgment, and I think that I also have the Spirit of God." 1 Corinthians 7:39-40 For here, after the words, "in my judgment," lest this should be despised as if it were without the Spirit of God, he rightly added, "and I think that I also have the Spirit of God." In the same way, it would be possible that Moses, because of the power given to him to make laws, and because he allowed certain things for the hardness of heart of the people, among them the putting away of wives, was persuaded regarding the laws he gave, according to his own judgment, that in these matters also the legislation took place with the Spirit of God. And he will say that, unless one law is spiritual and another is not, this too is a law, and it is spiritual, and its spiritual meaning ought to be investigated.

19. The Divorce of Israel.

NOW: keeping in mind what we said above about the passage from Isaiah concerning the bill of divorcement, we will say this: the mother of the people separated herself from Christ, her husband, without having received the bill of divorcement. But afterward, when an unseemly thing was found in her, and she did not find favor in His sight, the bill of divorcement was written out for her. For when the new covenant called those from the Gentiles to the house of Him who had cast away His former wife, it in effect gave the bill of divorcement to her who had earlier separated herself from her husband—the law and the Word. Therefore He also, having separated from her, married, so to speak, another, after giving the former wife the bill of divorcement into her hands. Therefore they can no longer do the things commanded to them by the law, because of the bill of divorcement. And this is a sign that she has received the bill of divorcement: Jerusalem was destroyed, along with what they called the sanctuary, the holy things in it, the altar of burnt offerings, and all the worship connected with it. And another sign of the bill of divorcement is this: they cannot keep their feasts, even though the letter of the law purposely commanded them to keep them in the place that the Lord God appointed for keeping feasts. There is also this: the whole synagogue has become unable to stone those who have committed one sin or another. And thousands of commanded things are a sign of the bill of divorcement, as is the fact that there is no longer a prophet, and that they say, "We no longer see signs." For the Lord says that He has taken away from Judea and from Jerusalem, according to the word of Isaiah, "the mighty man and the mighty woman, the strong giant," and so on, down to the words, "the prudent hearer," Isaiah 3:1-3. Now He who is the Christ may have taken the synagogue as His wife and lived with her, but perhaps afterward she did not find favor in His sight. And the reason she did not find favor in His sight was that an unseemly thing was found in her. For what was more unseemly than this: when it was proposed to them at the feast to release one person, they asked for the release of Barabbas the robber and for the condemnation of Jesus, Matthew 27:21? And what was more unseemly than the fact that they all said in His case, "Crucify Him, crucify Him," and, "Away with such a man from the earth," John 19:15? And can this be cleared from the charge of unseemliness: "His blood be on us and on our children," Matthew 27:25? Therefore, when He took vengeance, Jerusalem was surrounded by armies, and its desolation was near, Luke 21:20, and their house was taken away from it, and the daughter of Zion was left like a booth in a vineyard, like a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, and like a besieged city, Isaiah 1:8. And about the same time, I think, the husband wrote out a bill of divorcement to his former wife, gave it into her hands, and sent her away from his own house. And the bond of her who came from the Gentiles has been canceled, about which the Apostle says, "Having blotted out the bond written in ordinances, which was contrary to us, and He has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross," Colossians 2:14. For Paul also and others became proselytes of Israel for the sake of her who came from the Gentiles. The first wife, then, not having found favor before her husband because an unseemly thing had been found in her, went out from her husband's dwelling and, after going away, has become joined to another man, to whom she has subjected herself, whether we should call that husband Barabbas the robber, who figuratively is the devil, or some evil power. And in the case of some from that synagogue, the first thing written in the law has happened, but in the case of others, the second thing has happened. For the last husband, Deuteronomy 24:3, hated his wife and someday, at the consummation of all things, will write out for her a bill of divorcement, when God orders it, and will give it into her hands and send her away from his dwelling. For just as the good God will put enmity between the serpent and the woman, and between his seed and her seed, Genesis 3:15, so He will order it that the last husband will hate her.

20. Christ and the Gentiles.

NOW THERE ARE SOME FOR WHOM THIS HAS HAPPENED: the husband lives with them without hating them, because they remain in the house of the later husband, who took their synagogue to himself as a wife. But in their case also the later husband dies, Deuteronomy 24:3, perhaps whenever death, the last enemy of Christ, is destroyed. But whichever of these happens to the wife, whether the first or the second, the text says that the former husband, who sent her away, will not be able to return and take her again as his wife after she has been defiled, since this is an abomination before the Lord your God, Deuteronomy 24:4. But these things may seem not to agree with this statement: "If the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, all Israel shall be saved," Romans 11:25-26. But consider whether this answer may be given: if she is saved by her former husband returning and taking her again as his wife, then she will in any case be saved after she has been defiled. A priest, then, will not take as his wife a woman who has been a harlot and an outcast, Leviticus 21:14. But no one else, being lower than the priest, is forbidden to do so. But if you look for the harlot in relation to the calling of the Gentiles, you may use the passage, "Take to yourself a wife of fornication, and children of fornication," Hosea 1:2, and the following verses. For just as the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless, Matthew 12:5, so he who, after casting out his former wife, in due season takes a wife of fornication, has done this according to the command of Him who says, when it is necessary, and for as long as it is necessary, "He shall not take a harlot as wife," and who also says, when it is reasonable, "Take to yourself a wife of fornication." For just as the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath, Matthew 12:8, and not a slave of the Sabbath as the people are, so He who gives the law has power to give it until a time of reformation, Hebrews 9:10, and to change the law. And when the time of the reformation is near, He also has power to give, instead of the former way and the former heart, another way and another heart, in an acceptable time and in a day of salvation, 2 Corinthians 6:2. Let these things be said, then, according to our interpretation of the law concerning the bill of divorcement.

21. Union of Angels and the Souls of Men.

BUT SOMEONE MAY ASK WHETHER THE HUMAN SOUL CAN FIGURATIVELY BE CALLED A WIFE: and the angel appointed over her and ruling her, with whom she speaks as with her lord, can be called her husband. If so, then each angel lawfully lives with the soul that is worthy of the care of a divine angel. But sometimes, after a long stay and close association, a reason may arise in the soul why she does not find favor in the eyes of the angel who is her lord and ruler, because some unseemly thing is found in her. Then written bonds may be drawn up, as such things are written, and a bill of divorce may be written and put into the hands of her who is cast out, so that she may no longer be familiar with her former guardian when she is cast out from his dwelling. And even she who has gone away from her former dwelling may be joined to another husband and be worse off with him, not only, as in the case of the first, by not finding favor in his sight because an unseemly thing was found in her, but even by being hated by him. Yes, and even from the second husband a bill of divorce might be written out and put into her hands by this last husband who sends her away from his dwelling. But whether there can be such a change in the life of angels with men as would amount, so far as their relation to us is concerned, to their death, someone may raise the question, rash as it may be. But however that may be, she also who has once fallen away from the former husband will not return again to him. For the former husband who sent her away will not be able to take her back again as his wife after she was defiled, Deuteronomy 24:4. And if someone should dare, by using a writing that circulates in the church but is not acknowledged by all as divine, to soften a command of this kind, the passage might be taken from The Shepherd. It speaks about some who, as soon as they believe, are put under Michael, but after they fall away from him through love of pleasure, are put under the angel of luxury, then under the angel of punishment, and after this under the angel of repentance. For you see that the wife, or soul, who has once been given over to luxury no longer returns to the first ruler. Instead, besides suffering punishment, she is also put under one inferior to Michael, for the angel of repentance is inferior to him. We must therefore take care that no unseemly thing is found in us, and that we do not fail to find favor in the eyes of our husband Christ, or of the angel who has been appointed over us. For if we do not take care, perhaps we too will receive the bill of divorce, and either be deprived of our guardian or go to another man. But I think it is not a good sign to receive, as it were, the marriage of an angel with our own soul.

THE MARRIAGE OF CHURCH LEADERS:

BUT WHILE DISCUSSING THIS PASSAGE: I would say that perhaps we can now understand and clearly explain a question that is hard to grasp and examine, concerning the Apostle's rule for church matters. Paul does not want anyone in the church who has risen above the many, as happens in the administration of the sacraments, to enter a second marriage. For when he lays down the rule about bishops in the First Epistle to Timothy, he says, "If a man seeks the office of a bishop, he desires a good work. The bishop, therefore, must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded," 1 Timothy 3:1-2, and so on. And about deacons he says, "Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well," 1 Timothy 3:12, and so on. Yes, and also when appointing widows, he says, "Let no one be enrolled as a widow under sixty years old, having been the wife of one man," 1 Timothy 5:9. After this he adds the other things, as second or third in importance to this. And in the Epistle to Titus he says, "For this cause I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that were lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I gave you charge. If anyone is blameless, the husband of one wife, having believing children," Titus 1:5-6, of course, and so on. Now when we saw that some who have been married twice may be much better than those who have been married once, we were puzzled why Paul does not allow those who have been married twice to be appointed to church offices at all. It also seemed to me that this was worth examining, since it was possible that a man who had been unfortunate in two marriages, and had lost his second wife while still young, might have lived the rest of his years into old age with the greatest self-control and chastity. Who, then, would not naturally be puzzled why, when a ruler of the church is being sought, we do not appoint such a man, though he has been married twice, because of these statements about marriage, but instead choose as our ruler the man who has been married once, even if he happened to live into old age with his wife and may sometimes not have been disciplined in chastity and self-control? But from what is said in the law about the bill of divorce, I wonder whether, since the bishop and the presbyter and the deacon are symbols of things that truly exist in keeping with these names, Paul wished to appoint those who were figuratively married only once. Then the person who is able to pay attention to the matter may discover from the spiritual law the one who was unworthy of church rule: the soul that did not find favor in the eyes of her husband because some unseemly thing was found in her, and so became worthy of a bill of divorce. For such a soul, after living with a second husband and being hated by him, can no longer return to her former husband after the second bill of divorce. It is likely, therefore, that wiser people than we are, with greater ability to see into such matters, will find other arguments, whether in the law about the bill of divorce or in the apostolic writings that forbid those who have been married twice from ruling the church or being chosen to preside over it. But until something better is found, something able by the surpassing brightness of the light of knowledge to cast what we have said into shadow, we have spoken the things that occurred to us concerning these passages.

SOME LAWS WERE GIVEN AS A CONCESSION TO HUMAN WEAKNESS:

BUT EVEN IF: in these passages, we seem to have touched on matters too deep for us, still, because of the plain wording, these things must also be said. Some of the laws were written, not as the highest good, but as an accommodation to the weakness of those to whom the law was given. Something like this is shown in the words, "Moses, because of your hardness of heart, allowed you to put away your wives," Matthew 19:8. But what is chief and higher than the law, which was written because of their hardness of heart, is shown in this: "But from the beginning it has not been so." But in the new covenant also, there are some legal commands of the same kind as, "Moses, because of your hardness of heart, allowed you to put away your wives." For example, because of our hardness of heart, it has been written on account of our weakness, "But because of fornications, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband," 1 Corinthians 7:2; and this, "Let the husband render to the wife what is due to her, and likewise also the wife to the husband," 1 Corinthians 7:3. To these sayings this is added: "But this I say by way of permission, not of commandment," 1 Corinthians 7:6. And this also, "A wife is bound as long as her husband lives; but if her husband is dead, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord," 1 Corinthians 7:39, was said by Paul because of our hardness of heart and weakness, to those who do not want to desire earnestly the greater gifts, 1 Corinthians 12:31, and become more blessed. But now, contrary to what was written, some even of the rulers of the church have allowed a woman to marry even while her husband was still living. In doing this, they act contrary to what was written, where it says, "A wife is bound as long as her husband lives," and, "So then if, while her husband lives, she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress," Romans 7:3. Yet not altogether without reason, for it is probable that this concession was allowed in comparison with worse things, contrary to what was ordained and written in the law from the beginning.

JEWISH CRITICISM OF THE LAW OF CHRIST:

BUT PERHAPS SOME JEWISH MAN: one of those who dare to oppose the teaching of our Savior, will say that when Jesus said, "Whoever puts away his own wife, except for the cause of fornication, makes her an adulteress," in Matthew 5:32, He also gave permission to put away a wife, just as Moses did. He may argue that Moses, whom Jesus said gave laws because of the hardness of the people's hearts, allowed this. And he will think that the words, "because he found in her an unseemly thing," in Deuteronomy 24:1, mean the same as fornication, and that for this reason a wife could rightly be cast away by her husband. But it must be said to him that, if a woman who committed adultery was to be stoned according to the law, then clearly the "unseemly thing" must not be understood in that sense. For in the case of adultery, or any such great indecency, there is no need to write a bill of divorce and put it into the wife's hands. But perhaps Moses called every sin an unseemly thing. When the husband discovered it in his wife, and she no longer found favor in his eyes, the bill of divorce was written and the wife was sent away from her husband's house. But from the beginning it was not so, as Matthew 19:8 says. After this, our Savior speaks in a way that does not permit the breaking of marriages for any sin except fornication alone, when it is found in the wife: "Whoever puts away his own wife, except for the cause of fornication, makes her an adulteress," Matthew 5:32. But it could be asked whether, for this reason, He forbids a man to put away his wife for any cause other than fornication, even for poisoning, or for killing an infant born to them while her husband is away from home, or for any kind of murder at all. Further, if she were found stripping and plundering her husband's house, though she was not guilty of fornication, one might ask whether he would be right to cast away such a woman, since the Savior forbids anyone to put away his own wife except for the cause of fornication. In either case, there seems to be something monstrous, though I do not know whether it is truly monstrous. For to endure sins of such great wickedness, which seem worse than adultery or fornication, will seem irrational. But on the other hand, everyone would admit that to act against the purpose of the Savior's teaching is impious. I wonder, therefore, why He did not say, "Let no one put away his own wife except for the cause of fornication," but instead says, "Whoever puts away his own wife, except for the cause of fornication, makes her an adulteress," Matthew 5:32. For certainly the man who puts away his wife when she is not a fornicator makes her an adulteress, as far as it depends on him. For if, while her husband is living, "she will be called an adulteress if she is joined to another man," as Romans 7:3 says, then when he puts her away and gives her an excuse for a second marriage, he very plainly makes her an adulteress in this way. But whether her being caught poisoning someone or committing murder gives a defense for dismissing her, you may examine yourselves. For a husband can also cause his own wife to commit adultery in other ways besides putting her away. For example, he may allow her to do whatever she wants beyond what is proper, and let her form close friendships with whatever men she wishes. Often, through the simplicity of husbands, such false steps happen to wives. But whether husbands have any defense in such cases or not, you should examine carefully, and also give your judgment about the difficult questions we have raised on this passage. And even the man who keeps away from his wife often makes her an adulteress when he does not satisfy her desires, even if he does this under the appearance of greater seriousness and self-control. And perhaps this man is more blameworthy, since, as far as it depends on him, he makes her an adulteress by not satisfying her desires, than the man who has sent her away for some reason other than fornication, such as poisoning or murder or any of the most grievous sins. But just as a woman is an adulteress, even if she seems to be married to a man, while her former husband is still living, so also the man who seems to marry a woman who has been put away does not so much marry her as commit adultery with her, according to the declaration of our Savior.

25. Chastity and Prayer.

AFTER THIS: the disciples thought about how many troubles can come up in marriages. A man might have to endure these and so suffer very great hardships, or, if he did not endure them, he might break the word of Christ. So they said to Him, turning to celibacy as easier and more useful than marriage, even though marriage also seems useful, “If that is the case between a man and his wife, it is not useful to marry.” Matthew 19:10 To this the Savior replied, teaching us that complete chastity is a gift given by God. It is not merely the result of training, but is given by God through prayer. He said, “Not all men can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given.” Matthew 19:11 Then, since some make a clever but misleading attack on the words, “those to whom it is given,” as if people who wanted to remain pure in celibacy but were overcome by their desires had an excuse, we must say this: if we believe the Scriptures, why do we hold on to the words, “but only those to whom it is given,” yet no longer pay attention to this, “Ask, and it will be given to you,” Matthew 7:7 and to what is added to it, “For everyone who asks receives”? Matthew 7:8 For if those to whom it is given can receive this teaching about complete purity, then let the one who is willing ask, obeying and believing Him who said, “Ask, and it will be given to you,” Matthew 7:7 and not doubting the words, “Everyone who asks receives.” Matthew 7:8 But if you ask there who it is that asks, then no one who does not receive has really asked, even if he seems to have done so. For it is not lawful to say that the words, “Everyone who asks receives,” are a lie. Who, then, is the one who asks, except the one who has obeyed Jesus when He says, “If you stand praying, believe that you receive, and you shall receive”? Mark 11:24-25 But the one who asks must do everything in his power so that he may pray with the spirit and also pray with the understanding, 1 Corinthians 14:15 and pray without ceasing, 1 Thessalonians 5:17 remembering also the saying, “And He spoke a parable to them to show that they ought always to pray and not lose heart, saying, ‘There was in a city a judge,’” Luke 18:1-2 and so on. And it is useful to know what it means to ask, and what it means to receive, and what is meant by, “Everyone who asks receives,” Matthew 7:8 and by, “I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.” Luke 11:8 Therefore it is added, “And I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you,” and so on. Further, let the words, “Not all men can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given,” Matthew 19:11 stir us up to ask in a worthy way so that we may receive. And consider this also: “What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent?” Luke 11:11 and so on. Therefore God will give the good gift—perfect purity in celibacy and chastity—to those who ask Him with their whole soul, with faith, and with prayers without ceasing.