catena aurea matthew 10
1. And when he had called to him his twelve disciples, he gave them
power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner
of sickness and all manner of disease.
2. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon,
who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee,
and John his brother;
3. Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the Publican; James the son of Alpheus, and Lebbeus, whose surname was Thaddeus;
4. Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
GLOSS; From the healing of Peter's wife's mother to this place there
has been a continued succession of miracles; and they were done before
the Sermon upon the Mount, as we know for certain from Matthew's call,
which is placed among them; for he was one of the twelve chosen to the
Apostleship upon the mount. He here returns to the order of events,
taking it up again at the healing of the centurion's Servant; saying,
And calling to him his twelve disciples.
REMIG; The Evangelist had related above that the Lord exhorted His
disciples to pray the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into His
vineyard; and He now seems to be fulfilling what He had exhorted them
to. For the number twelve is a perfect number, being made up of the
number six, which has perfection because it is formed of its own parts,
one, two, three, multiplied into one another; and the number six when
doubled amounts to twelve.
GLOSS; And this doubling seems to have some reference to the two precepts of charity, or to the two Testaments.
BEDE; For the number twelve , which is made up of thrice into four,
denotes that through the four quarters of the world they were to preach
the faith of the Holy Trinity.
RABAN; This number is typified by many things in the Old Testament; by
the twelve sons of Jacob, by the twelve princes of the children of
Israel, by the twelve running springs in Helim, by the twelve stones in
Aaron's breastplate, by the twelve loaves of the show-bread, by the
twelve spies sent by Moses, by the twelve stones of which the altar was
made, by the twelve ,stones taken out of Jordan, by the twelve oxen
which bare the brazen sea. Also in the New Testament, by the twelve
stars in the bride's crown, by the twelve foundations of to Jerusalem
which John saw, and her twelve gates.
CHRYS; He makes them confident not only by calling their ministry a
sending forth to the harvest, but by giving then' strength cure for the
ministry; whence it follows, He gave them power over all unclean
spirits to cast fluent out, and to heal every sickness and every
disease.
REMIG; Wherein is openly showed that the multitude were troubled not
with one single kind of affliction, but with many, and this was His
pity for the multitude, to give His disciples power to heal and cleanse
them.
JEROME; A kind and merciful Lord and Master does not envy His servants
and disciples a share in His powers. As Himself had cured every
sickness and disease, He imparted the same power to His Apostles. But
there is a wide difference between having and imparting, between giving
and receiving. Whatever He does He does with the power of a master,
whatever they do it is with confession of their own weakness, as they
speak, In the name of Jesus rise and walk. A catalogue of the names of
the Apostles is given, that all false Apostles might be excluded. The
names of the twelve Apostles are these; First, Simon who is called
Peter, and Andrew his brother. To arrange then in order according to
their merit is His alone who searches the secrets of all hearts. But
Simon is placed first, having the surname of Peter given to distinguish
him from the other Simon surnamed Chananeus, from the village of Chana
in Galilee where the Lord turned the water into wine.
RABAN; The Greek or Latin 'Petrus' is the same as the Syriac Cephas, in
both tongues the word is derived from a rock; undoubtedly that of which
Paul speaks, And that rock was Christ.
REMIG; There have been some who in this name Peter, which is Greek and
Latin, have sought a Hebrew interpretation, and would have it to
signify, 'Taking off; the shoe,' 'or unloosing,' or 'acknowledging.'
But those that say this are contradicted by two facts. First, that the
Hebrew has no letter P, but uses Ph instead. Thus Pilate they call
Philate. Secondly, that one of the Evangelists has used the word as an
interpretation of Cephas; The Lord said, You shalt be called Cephas, on
which the Evangelist adds, which being interpreted is Petrus. Simon is
interpreted ' obedient,' for he obeyed the words of Andrew, and with
him came to Christ, or because he obeyed the divine commands, and at
one word of bidding followed the Lord. Or as some will have it, it is
to he interpreted, ' Laying aside grief,' and, ' hearing painful
things;' for that on the Lord's resurrection he laid aside the grief he
had for His death; and he heard sorrowful things, when the Lord said to
him, Another shall gird you, and shall carry you where you would not.
And Andrew his brother.
CHRYS; This is no small honor (done to Peter), he places Peter from his
merit, Andrew from the nobility he had in being the brother of Peter.
Mark names Andrew next after the two heads, namely, Peter and John; but
this one not so; for Mark has arranged them in order of dignity.
REMIG; Andrew is interpreted ' manly;' for as in Latin 'virilis' is
derived from 'vir,' so in Greek Andrew is derived from rightly is he
called manly, who left all and followed Christ, and manfully persevered
in His commands.
JEROME; The Evangelist couples the names throughout in pairs. So he
puts together Peter and Andrew, brothers not so much according to the
flesh as in spirit; James and John who left their father after the
flesh to follow their true Father; James the son of Zebedee and John
his brother. He calls him the son of Zebedee, to distinguish him from
the other James the son of Alphaeus.
CHRYS; Observe that he does not place them according to their dignity;
for to me John would seem to be greater not than others only, but even
than his brother.
REMIG; James is interpreted 'The supplanter,' or 'that supplants;' for
he not only supplanted the vices of the flesh, but even contemned the
same flesh when Herod put him to death. John is interpreted 'The grace
of God,' because he deserved before all to be loved by the Lord; whence
also in the favor of His especial love, he leaned at supper in the
Lord's bosom.
Philip and Bartholomew. Philip is interpreted, 'The mouth of a
lamp' or 'of lamps,' because when he had been enlightened by the Lord,
he straightway sought to communicate that light to his brother by the
means of his mouth. Bartholomew is a Syriac, not a Hebrew, name, and is
interpreted 'The son of him that raises water that. is, of Christ, who
raises the hearts of His preachers from earthly to heavenly things, and
hangs them there, that the more they penetrate heavenly things, the
more they should steep and inebriate the hearts of their hearers with
the droppings of holy preaching.
Thomas, and Matthew the Publican.
JEROME; The other Evangelists in this pair of names put Matthew before
Thomas; and do not add, the Publican, that they should not seen to
throw scorn upon the Evangelist by bringing to mind his former life.
But writing of himself he both puts Thomas first in the pair, and
styles himself the Publican; because where sin has abounded there grace
shall much more abound.
REMIG; Thomas is interpreted 'an abyss,' or 'a twin,' which in Greek is
Didymus. Rightly is Didymus interpreted an abyss, for the longer he
doubted that more deeply did he believe the effect of the Lord's
passion, and the mystery of His Divinity, which forced him to cry, My
Lord and my God. Matthew is interpreted ' given,' because by the Lord's
bounty he was made an Evangelist of a Publican.
James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus.
RABAN; This James is he who in the Gospels, and also in time Epistle to
the Galatians, is called time Lord's brother. For Mary the wife of
Alphmeus was the sister of Mary the mother of the Lord; John the
Evangelist calls her Mary the wife of Cleophas, probably because
Cleophas and Alphaeus were the same person. Or Mary herself on the
death of Alphaeus after the birth of James married Cleophas.
REMIG; it is well said, the son of Alphaeus, that is, 'of the just,' or
'the learned;' for he not only overthrew the vices of the flesh, but
also despised all care of the same. And of what he was worthy the
Apostles are witness, who ordained him Bishop of the Church of
Jerusalem. And ecclesiastical history among other things tells of him,
that he never ate flesh, drunk neither wine nor strong drink, abstained
from the bath and linen garments, and night and day prayed on his
bended knees. And so great was his merit, that he was called by all
men, 'the just.' Thaddaeus is the same whom Luke calls Jude of James,
(that is, the brother of James,) whose Epistle is read in the Church,
in which he calls himself the brother of James.
AUG; Some copies have Lebbaeus; but whoever prevented the same man from having two, or even three different names?
REMIG; Jude is interpreted 'having confessed,' because he confessed the Son of God.
RABAN; Thaddaeus or Lebbaeus is interpreted 'a little heart,' that is, a heart-worshipper.
Simon Chananaeus, and Judas Scarioth, who also betrayed him.
JEROME; Simon Chananaeus is the same who in the other Evangelist is
called Zelotes. Chana signifies 'Zeal.' Judas is named Scarioth, either
from the town in which he was born, or from the tribe of Issachar, a
prophetic omen of his sin; for Issachar means 'a booty,' thus
signifying the reward of the betrayer.
REMIG; Scarioth is interpreted 'The memory of the Lord,' because he
followed the Lord; or 'The memorial of death,' because he plotted in
his heart bow he might betray the Lord to death; or 'strangling,'
because he went and hanged himself. It should be known that there are
two disciples of this name, who are types of all Christians; Jude the
brother of James, of such as persevere in the confession of the faith;
Jude Scarioth of such as leave the faith; and turn back again.
GLOSS; They are named Apostles, humbly born without honor, without
learning, that whatever they should do that was great, it was He that
should be in them and should do it. He had among them one that was
evil, whom He should use in the accomplishment of His Passion, and who
should be an example to His Church of suffering evil men.
AMBROSE; He was not chosen among the Apostles unwittingly; for that
truth is great, which cannot be harmed even by having an adversary in
one of its own ministers.
RABAN; Also He willed to be betrayed by a disciple, that you when
betrayed by your intimate might bear patiently that. your judgment has
erred, that your favors have been thrown away.
5. These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go
not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans
enter not:
6. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7. And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
8. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely you have received, freely give.
GLOSS; Because the manifestation of the Spirit, as the Apostle speaks,
is given for the profit of the Church, after bestowing His power on the
Apostles, He sends them that they may exercise this power for the good
of others; These twelve Jesus sent forth.
CHRYS; Observe the propriety of the time in which they are sent. After
they had seen the dead raised, the sea rebuked, and other like wonders,
and had had both in word and deed sufficient proof of His excellent
power, then He sends them.
GLOSS; When He sends them, He teaches them whither they should go, what
they shout and preach, and what they should do. And first, whither they
should go; Giving them commandment, and saying, Go not into the way of
the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter not; but go
rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
JEROME; This passage does not contradict the command which He gave
afterwards, Go and teach all nations; for this was before His
resurrection , that was after. And it was necessary the coming of
Christ to be preached to the Jews first, that they might not have any
just plea, or say that they were rejected of the Lord, who sent the
Apostles to the Gentiles and Samaritans.
CHRYS; Also they were sent to the Jews first, in order that being
trained in Judea, as in a palaestra, they might enter on the arena of
the world to contend; thus He taught them like weak nestlings to fly.
GREG; Or He would be first preached to Judea and afterwards to the
Gentiles, in order that the preaching of the Redeemer should seem to
seek out foreign lands only because it had been rejected in His own.
There were also at that time some among the Jews who should be called,
and among the Gentiles some who were not to be called, as being
unworthy of being renewed to life, and yet not deserving of the
aggravated punishment which would ensue upon their rejection of the
Apostles' preaching.
HILARY; The promulgation of the Law deserved also the first preaching
of the Gospel; and Israel was to have less excuse for its crime, as it
had experienced more care in being warned.
CHRYS; Also that they should not suppose that they were hated of Christ
because they bad reviled Him, and branded Him as demoniac, lie sought
first their cure, and withholding His disciples from all other nations,
lie sent this people physicians and teachers; and not only forbid them
to preach to any others before the Jews, but would not. that they
should so much as approach the way that led to the Gentiles; Go not
into the way of the Gentiles. And because the Samaritans, though more
readily disposed to be converted to the faith, were yet at. enmity with
the Jews, He would not suffer the Samaritans to be preached to before
the Jews.
GLOSS; The Samaritans were Gentiles who had been settled in the hand of
Israel by the king of Assyria after the captivity which he made. They
had been driven by many terrors to turn to Judaism, and had received
circumcision and the five books of Moses, but renouncing every thing
else; hence there was no communication between the Jews and the
Samaritans.
CHRYS; From these then He diverts his disciples, and sends them to the
children of Israel, whom he calls perishing sheep, not straying; in
every way contriving an apology for them, and drawing them to Himself.
HILARY; Though they are here called sheep, yet, they raged against Christ with the tongues of wolves and vipers.
JEROME; Figuratively herein we who bear the name of Christ are
commanded not to walk in the way of the Gentiles, or the error of the
heretics, but as we are separate in religion, we be also separate in
our life.
GLOSS; Having told them to whom they should go, He now introduces what
they should preach; Go and preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at
hand.
RABAN; The kingdom of heaven is here said to draw nigh by the faith in
the unseen Creator which is bestowed upon us, not by any movement of
the visible elements. The saints are rightly denoted by the heavens,
because they contain God by faith, and love Him with affection.
CHRYS; Behold the greatness of their ministry, behold the dignity of
the Apostles. They are not to preach of any thing that can be an object
of sense, as Moses and the Prophets did; but things new and unhooked
for; those preached earthly goods, but these the kingdom of heaven and
all the goods that are there.
GREG; Miracles also were granted to the that the power they should show
might be a pledge of the truth of their words, and they who preached
new things should also do new things; wherefore it follows, Heal the
sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.
JEROME; Lest peasants untaught and illiterate, without the graces of
speech, should obtain credit with none when they announced the kingdom
of Heaven, He gives them power to do the things above mentioned, that
the greatness of the miracles might approve the greatness of their
promises.
HILARY; The exercise of the Lord's power is wholly entrusted to the
Apostles, that they who were formed in the image of Adam, and the
likeness of God, should now obtain the perfect image of Christ; and
whatever evil Satan had introduced into the body of Adam, this they
should now repair by Communion with the Lord's power.
GREG; These signs were necessary in the beginning of the Church; the
faith of the believers must he fed with miracles, that it might grow.
CHRYS; But afterwards they ceased when a reverence for the faith was
universally established. Or, if they were continued at all, they were
few and seldom; for it is usual with God to do such things when evil is
increased, then He shows forth His power.
GREG; The Holy Church daily does spiritually, what it then did
materially by the Apostles; yea, things far greater, inasmuch as she
raises and cures souls and not bodies.
REMIG; The sick are the slothful who have not strength to live well;
the lepers are the unclean in sin and animal delights; the demoniacs
are they that are given up under the power of the Devil.
JEROME; And because spiritual gifts are more lightly esteemed when
money is made the means of obtaining them, He adds a condemnation of
avarice; Freely you have received, freely give; I your Master and Lord
have imparted these to you without price, do you therefore give them to
others in like manner, that the free grace of the Gospel be not
corrupted.
GLOSS; This He says, that Judas who had the bag might not use the above
power for getting money; a plain condemnation of time abomination of
the simoniacal heresy.
GREG; For He knew before that there would be some that would turn the
gift of the Spirit which they had received into merchandise, and
pervert the power of miracles into an instrument of their covetousness.
CHRYS; Observe how He is as careful that they should be upright in
moral virtue, as that they should have the miraculous powers, showing
that miracles without these are nothing, Freely you have received,
seems a check upon their pride; freely
give, a command to keep themselves pure from filthy lucre. Or, that
what they should do might not be thought to be their own benevolence,
He says, Freely you have received; as much as to say; you bestow
nothing of your own on those you relieve; for you have not received
these things for money, nor for wages of labor; as you have received
them, so give to others; for indeed it is not possible to receive a
price equal to their value.
9. Provide neither gold, nor silver nor brass in your purses,
10. Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.
CHRYS. The Lord having forbidden to make merchandise of spiritual
things, proceeds to pull up the root of all evil, saying, Possess
neither gold, nor silver.
JEROME; For if they preach without receiving reward for it, the
possession of gold and silver anti wealth was unnecessary. For had they
had such, they would have been thought to be preaching, not for the
sake of men's salvation, but their own gain.
CHRYS; This precept then first frees time Apostles from all suspicious;
secondly, from all care, so that they may give up their whole time to
preaching the word; thirdly, teaches them their excellence. This is
what He said to them afterwards, Was any thing lacking to you, when I
sent you without bag or scrip?
JEROME; As He had cut off riches, which are meant by gold and silver,
He now almost cuts off necessaries of life; that the Apostles, teachers
of the true religion, who taught men that all things are directed by
God's providence, might show themselves to be without thought for the
morrow.
GLOSS; When He adds, Neither money in your purses. For there are two
kinds of things necessary; one is the means of buying necessaries,
which is signified by the money in their purses; the other the
necessaries themselves, which are signified by the scrip.
JEROME; In forbidding the scrip, neither scrip for your journey, He
aimed at those philosophers commonly called; Bactroperatae, who being
despisers of this world, and esteeming all things as nothing, yet carry
a bag about with them. Nor two coats. By the two coats He seems to mean
a change of raiment; not to bid us be content with a single tunic in
the snow and frosts of Scythia, but that they should not carry about a
change with them, wearing one, and carrying about the other as
provision for the future. Nor shoes. It is a precept of Plato, that the
two extremities of the body should be left unprotected, and that we
should not accustom ourselves to tender care of the head and feet; for
if these parts be hardy, it will follow that the rest of the body will
be vigorous and healthy. Nor staff; for having the protection of the
Lord, why need we seek the aid of a staff?
REMIG; The Lord shows by these words that the holy preachers were
reinstated in the dignity of the first man, who as long as he possessed
the heavenly treasures, did not desire other; but having lost those by
sinning, he straightway began to desire the other.
CHRYS; A happy exchange! In place of gold and silver, and the like,
they received power to heal time sick, to raise time dead. For He had
not commanded them from the beginning, Possess neither gold nor silver;
but only then when he said at time same time, Cleanse the lepers, cast
out demons. Whence it is clear that He made them Angels more than men,
freeing them from all anxiety of this life, that they might have but
one care, that of teaching; and even of that He in a manner takes away
the burden, saying, Be not careful what you shall speak. Thus what
seemed hard and burdensome, He shows them to be light and easy. For
nothing is so pleasant as to be delivered from all care and anxiety,
more especially when it is possible, being delivered from this, to lack
nothing, God being present, and being to us instead of all things.
JEROME; As He had sent the Apostles forth unprovided and unencumbered
on their mission, and the condition of the teachers seemed a hard one,
He tempered the severity of the rules by this maxim, The laborer is
worthy of his hire, i.e. Receive what you need for your food and
clothing. Whence the Apostle says, Having food and raiment, let us be
content. And again, Let him that is catechized communicate to him that
catechizes in all good things; that they whose disciples reap spiritual
things, should make them partakers of their carnal things, not for the
gratification of covetousness, but for the supply of wants.
CHRYS; It fit the Apostles to be supported by their disciples, that
neither they should be haughty towards those whom they taught, as
though they gave all, and received nothing; and that the others, on
their part, should not fall away, as over-honked by them. Also that the
Apostles might not cry, he bids us lead the life of beggars, and should
be ashamed thereat, he shows that this is their due, calling them
laborers, and that which is given their hire. For they were not to
suppose that because what they gave was only words, therefore they were
to esteem it but a small benefit that they conferred; therefore He
says, The laborer is worthy of his meat. This He said not to signify
that the labors of the Apostles were only worth so much but laying down
a rule for the Apostles and persuading those that gave, that what they
gave was only what was due.
AUG; The Gospel therefore is not for sale, that it should be preached
for reward. For if they so sell it, they sell a great thing for a small
price. Let preachers then receive their necessary support from the
people and from God the reward of their payment. For the people did not
give pay to those that minister to them in the love of the Gospel but
as it were a stipend that may support them to enable them to work.
AUG; Otherwise; When the Lord said to the Apostles, Possess not gold,
He added immediately, The laborer is worthy of his hire, to show why He
would not have them possess and carry about these things; not that
these things were not needed for the support of this life, but that He
sent them in such a way as to show that these things were due to them
from those to whom they preached time Gospel, as pay to soldiers. It is
clear that this precept of the Lord does not at all imply that they
ought not according to the Gospel to live by any other means, than by
the contributions of those to whom they preached; otherwise Paul
transgressed this precept when he lived by the labor of his own hands.
But He gave the Apostles authority that these things were due to them
from the house in which they abode. But when the Lord has issued a
command, if it be not performed it is the sin of disobedience; when He
bestows a privilege it is in any one's power not to use it, and as it
were to refrain from claiming this right. The Lord then having
sanctioned this maxim, that they who preach the Gospel should live of
the Gospel, He spoke these things to the Apostles, that being confident
they should not possess nor carry about with them the necessaries of
life, neither things great not things small. Therefore He adds, Nor a
staff to show that from His people all things are due to His ministers
and they require no superfluities. This authority , He signifies by the
staff, saying in Mark, Take nothing but a staff only. And when He
forbids them (in Matthew) to take with them shoes, He forbids that
carefulness and thought which would be anxious to carry them lest they
should be wanting. Thus also we must understand concerning the two
coats, that none should think it necessary to carry another besides
that which he wore, supposing that he should have need of it; for it
would be in his power to obtain one by this authority which the Lord
gave. Further that we read in Mark that they should be shod with
sandals, seems to imply that this kind of shoe has a mystic meaning in
it, that the foot should neither be covered above, nor yet bare
beneath, that is, that the Gospel should not be hid, nor yet rest
itself on earthy advantage. Also when He forbids them to carry two
coats, He warned them not to walk deceitfully, but in simplicity. So we
cannot doubt that all these things were said by the Lord, partly in a
direct, partly in a figurative sense; and that of the two Evangelists
one inserted some things, the other things, in his narrative. If anyone
should think that the Lord could not in one speech speak some things in
a direct, and some things in a mystic sense, let him look at any other
of His sayings, and he will see how hasty and unlearned his opinion is.
When the Lord commands that the left hand should not know what the
right hand does, does he think that almsgiving, and the rest of His
precepts in that place are to be taken figuratively?
JEROME; Thus far we have expounded by the letter; but metaphorically,
as we often find gold put for the sense, silver for the words, brass
for the voice - all these we may say we are not to receive from others,
but to have them given by the Lord. We are not to take up the teaching
of heretics, of philosophers, and of corrupt doctrine.
HILARY; The girdle is the making ready for the ministry, the girding up
that we may be active in duty; we may suppose that the forbidding money
in the girdle is to warn us from suffering any thing in the ministry to
be bought and sold. We are not to have a scrip by the way, that is, we
are to leave all care of our worldly substance; for all treasure on
earth is hurtful to the heart, which will be there where the treasure
is. Not two coats, for it is enough to have once put on Christ, for
after true knowledge of Him ought we to be clothed with any other
garment of heresy or law. Not shoes, because standing on holy ground as
was said to Moses not covered with the thorns and prickles of sin, we
are admonished to have no other preparation of our walk than that we
have received from Christ.
JEROME; Or; the Lord herein teaches us that our feet are not to be
bound with the chains of death, but to be bare as we tread on the holy
ground. We are not to carry a staff which may be turned into a serpent,
nor to trust in any arm of flesh; for all such is a reed on which if a
man lean ever so lightly, it will break and go into his hand and pierce
him.
HILARY; Neither a staff; that is, We are not to seek rights of extraneous power, having a rod from the root of Jesse.
11. And into whatever city or town you shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till you go.
12. And when you come into a house, salute it.
13. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
14. And whoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when you
depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
15. Verily I say to you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of
Sodom and Gomorra in the day of judgment, than for that city.
CHRYS; The Lord had said above, The workman is worthy of his meat; that
they should not suppose that He would open all doors to them, He here
commands them to use much circumspection in the choice of a host,
saying, Into what city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy.
JEROME; The Apostles, on entering a strange town, could not know of
each inhabitant what sort of man he was; they were to choose their host
therefore by the report of the people, and opinion of time neighbors,
that the worthiness of the preacher might not be disgraced by the ill
character of his entertainer.
CHRYS; How then did Christ Himself abide with the publican? Because he
was made worthy by his conversion; for this command that he should be
worthy, had respect not to their rank, but to their furnishing food.
For if he be worthy he will provide them with food, especially when
they need no more than bare necessaries. Observe how though He stripped
them of all property, He supplied all their wants, suffering them to
abide in the houses of those whom they taught. For so they were both
themselves set free from care, and convinced men that it was for their
salvation only that they had come, seeing they carried nothing about
with them, and desired nothing beyond necessaries. And they did not
lodge at all places indiscriminately, for He would not have them known
only by their miracles, but much more by their virtues. But nothing is
a greater mark of virtue, than to discard superfluities.
JEROME; One host is chosen who does not so much confer a favor upon him
who is to abide with him, as receive one. For it is said, Who in it is
worthy, that he may know that he rather receives than does a favor.
CHRYS; Also observe that He has not yet endowed them with all gifts;
for He has not given them power to discern who is worthy, but bids them
seek out; and not only to find out who is worthy, but also not to pass
from house to house, saying, And there remain until you depart out of
that city; so they would neither make their entertainer sorrowful, nor
themselves incur suspicion of lightness or gluttony.
AMBROSE; The Apostles are not to choose carelessly the house into which
they enter, that they may have no cause for changing their lodging; the
same caution is not enforced upon the entertainer, lest in choosing his
guests, his hospitality should be diminished. When you enter a house,
salute it, saying, Peace be to this house.
GLOSS; As much as to say, pray for peace upon the master of the house, that all resistance to the truth may be pacified.
JEROME; Here is a latent allusion to the form of salutation in Hebrew
and Syriac; they say Salemalach or Salamalach; that is, ' Peace be with
you.' The command then is that on entering any house they should pray
for peace for their hose and as far as they may be able, to still all
discords, so that if any quarrel should arise, they, who had prayed for
peace should have it - others should have the discord; as it follows,
And if that house be worthy, your peace shall rest upon it; but if it
be not worthy, your peace shall return to you again.
REMIG. Thus either the hearer, being predestined to eternal life, will
follow the heavenly word when he hears it; or if there be none who will
hear it, the preacher himself shall not be without fruit; for his peace
returns to him when he receives of the Lord recompense for all his
labor.
CHRYS; The Lord instructs them, that though they were teachers, yet
they should not look to be first saluted by others; but that they
should honor others by first saluting them. And then He shows them that
they should give not a salutation only, but a benediction, when He
says, If that house be worthy, your peace shall rest upon it.
REMIG. The Lord therefore taught his disciples to differ peace on their
entering into a house, that by means of their salutation their choice
might be directed to a worthy house and host. As though He had said,
Offer peace to all, they will show themselves either worthy by
accepting, or unworthy by not accepting it; for though you have chosen
a host that is worthy by the character he hears among his neighbors,
yet ought you to salute him, that the preacher may seem rather to enter
by invitation, than to intrude himself. This salutation of peace in few
words may indeed be referred to the trial of the worthiness of the
house or master.
HILARY; The Apostles salute the house with the prayer of peace; yet so
as that peace seems rather spoken than given. For their own peace which
was the bowels of their pity ought not to rest upon the house if it
were not worthy; then the sacrament of heavenly peace could be kept
within the Apostles own bosom. Upon such as rejected the precepts of
the heavenly kingdom an eternal curse is left by the departure of the
Apostles, and the dust shaken from their feet; And whoever shall not
receive you, not hear your words, when you go out of that house, or
that town, ease the dust off your feet. For he that lives in any place
seems to have a kind of fellowship with that place. By the casting the
dust off the feet therefore all that belonged to that house is left
behind, and nothing of healing or soundness is borrowed from the
footsteps of the Apostles having trod their soil.
JEROME; Also they shake off the dust as a testimony of the Apostles'
toil, that in preaching the Gospel they had come even so far, or as a
token that from those that rejected the Gospel they would accept
nothing, not even the necessaries of life.
RABAN; Otherwise; The feet of the disciples signify the labor and
progress of preaching. The dust which covers them is the lightness of
earthly thoughts, from which even the greatest doctors cannot be free;
their anxiety for their hearers involves them in cares for their
prosperity, and in passing through the ways of this world, they gather
the dust of the earth they tread upon. They then who have despised the
teaching of these doctors, turn upon themselves all the toils and
dangers and anxieties of the Apostles as a witness to their damnation.
And lest it should seem a slight thing not to receive the Apostles, He
adds, Verily I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for Sodom and
Gomorra in the day of judgment than for that city.
JEROME; Because to the men of Sodom and Gomorra no man had ever
preached; but this city had been preached to and had rejected time
Gospel.
REMIG; Or because the men of Sodom and Gomorra were hospitable among
their sensuality, but they had never entertained such strangers as the
Apostles.
JEROME; But if it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than
for that city, hence we may learn that there is difference of degree in
the punishment of sinners.
REMIG; Sodom and Gomorra are especially mentioned, to show that those
sins which are against nature are particularly hateful to God, for
which the world was drowned with the waters of the deluge, four towns
were overthrown, and the world is daily afflicted with manifold evils.
HILARY; Figuratively, the Lord teaches us not to enter the houses or to
mix in the acquaintance of those who persecute Christ, or who are
ignorant of Him; and in each town to inquire who among them is worthy,
i.e. where there is a Church wherein Christ dwells; and not to pass to
another, because this house is worthy, this host is our right host. But
there would be many of the Jews who would be so well disposed to the
Law, that though they believed in Christ because they admired His
works, yet they would abide in the works of the Law; and others again
who, desiring to make trial of that liberty which is in Christ, would
feign themselves ready to forsake the Law for the Gospel; many also
would be drawn aside into heresy by perverse understanding. And since
all these would falsely maintain that with them only was Catholic
verity, therefore we must with great caution seek out the house, i.e.
the Church.
16. Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
17. But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
18. And you shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
CHRYS; Having removed all care and anxiety from the Apostles, and armed
them with the miraculous powers, He proceeds to foretell the evils
which should befall them. First, that they might know his knowledge of
the future; secondly, that they should not think that these things
befell them because of the want of power in their Master; thirdly, that
they might not be amazed if these things had come upon them
unexpectedly; fourthly, that after hearing these things, of His cross;
they might not be dismayed in the season; lastly, that they might learn
a new method of warfare. He sends them unprovided, bidding them look to
those who should receive them for support; hut rests not in that, but
shows his power still further, Lo, I send you as sheep in the midst of
wolves. Where observe that He does not say merely to wolves but in the
midst of wolves, to show His excellent might therein, that the sheep
would overcome the wolves though they were in the midst of them; and
though they received many bites from them, yet were they not destroyed,
but rather convert them. And it is a much greater and a more wonderful
power that can change their hearts than that can kill them. Among
wolves He teaches them to show the meekness of sheep.
GREG; For he who undertakes the office of preacher ought not to do
evil, but to suffer it, and by his meekness to mollify the wrath of the
angry, and by his wounds to heal the wounds of sinners in their
affliction. And even should the zeal of right-doing ever require that
He should be severe to those that are placed under Him, His very
severity will be of love and not of cruelty, outwardly maintaining the
rights of discipline, and inwardly loving those whom He corrects. Too
many, when they are entrusted with the reins of government, burn to
make the subjects feel them, display the terrors of authority, and
forgetting that they are fathers, rather desire to be thought lords,
changing a station of lowliness into that of lofty dominion, if they
ever seem outwardly to fawn on any one, they inwardly hate him; Of such
He spoke above They come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly they
are ravening wolves. For prevention whereof we ought to consider that
we are sent as sheep among wolves, whose innocence we ought to
preserve, not having the tooth of malice.
JEROME; He calls the Scribes and Pharisees who are the clergy of the Jews, wolves.
HILARY; The wolves indeed are all such as should pursue the Apostles with much fury.
CHRYS. Their consolation under their hardships was the excellent power
of Him who sent them; wherefore He puts that before all, Lo, I send
you. Be not dismayed, though you be sent into the midst of wolves; for
I am able to bring it to pass that you suffer no hurt, arid that you
should not only prevail over the wolves, but be made more terrible than
lions. But it is good that it should be thus; Hereby your virtue is
made brighter, and My power is more manifested. Also that somewhat
should proceed from themselves, that they should not think themselves
to be crowned without reason, He adds, Be you therefore wise as
serpents, simple as doves.
JEROME; Wise, that they might escape snares; simple, that they might
not do evil to others. The craft of the serpent is set before them as
an example, For he hides his head with all the rest of his body, that
he may protect the part in which life is. So ought we to expose our
whole body, that we may guard our head which is Christ; that is, that
we study to keep the faith whole and incorrupt.
RABAN; The serpent moreover seeks out narrow chinks through which it
crawls to draw off its old skin; so the preacher passing through the
narrow way lays aside the old unman.
REMIG. Beautifully the Lord bids the preacher have the wisdom of the
serpent; because the first man was beguiled by a serpent; as though he
had said, The foe is subtle to deceive, be you therefore wise to
rescue; he commended the tree, do you also commend the tree of the
Cross.
HILARY; He first attempted the softer sex, allured her by hope, and
promised a share of immortality. Do you in like manner seize every
opportunity, look well into each man's nature and inclination, use
wisdom of speech reveal hope of good things to come; that what he
promised falsely we may preach truly according to God's promise, that
they that believe shall be like to the Angels.
CHRYS. But as we ought to have the wisdom of the serpent, that we
should not be hurt in any deadly part, so also we should have the
simplicity of the dove, not to retaliate when we are hurt, nor to
avenge ourselves on those who have designed aught against us.
REMIG. The Lord unites these two things; because simplicity without
wisdom might be easily deceived, and wisdom is dangerous unless it be
tempered with simplicity that does no man hurt.
JEROME; The harmlessness of doves is shown by time assumption of that
form by the Holy Spirit; as the Apostle speaks In malice be you
children.
CHRYS. What is harder that these commands? It is not enough that we
suffer ill, but we must not be angry thereat, as is the dove's nature,
for anger is extinguished not by anger, but by meekness.
RABAN. That by the wolves above He intended men, He show when He adds, Take heed of men.
GLOSS. You have indeed need to be wise as serpents, for, as they are
wont to do, they will deliver you to councils, forbidding you to preach
in name; then if you be not corrected, they will scourge you, and at
length you shall be brought before kings and governors.
HILARY; Who will endeavor to extort from you either to be silent or to temporize.
CHRYS. How wonderful that men who had never been beyond the lake in
which they fished, did not straightway depart from Him on hearing these
things. It was not only of their goodness, but of the wisdom of their
Teacher. For to each evil He attaches somewhat of alleviation; as here
He adds, for my sake; for it is no light consolation to suffer for
Christ's sake, for they did not suffer as evil or wrong doers. Again He
adds, for a testimony against them.
GREG. Either that they had persecuted to the death, or that they had
seen and were not changed. For the death of the saints is to the good
an aid, to the bad a testimony; that thus the wicked may perish without
excuse in that from which the elect take example and live.
CHRYS. This was matter of consolation to them, not that they sought the
punishment of others, but that they were confident that in all things
they had One present with them, and all-knowing.
HILARY; And by this their testimony not only was all excuse of
ignorance of His divinity taken away from their persecutors, but also
to the Gentiles was opened the way of believing on Christ, who was thus
devotedly preached by the voices of the confessors among the flames of
persecution; and this is that He adds, and the Gentiles.
19. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what you shall
speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what you shall speak.
20. For it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaks in you.
CHRYS. To the foregoing topics of consolation, He adds another not a
little one; that they should not say, How shall we be able to persuade
such men as these, when they shall persecute us? He bids them be of
good courage respecting their answer, Saying, When they shall deliver
you up, take no thought how or what you shall speak.
REMIG. How or what, one refers to the substance, the other to the
expression in words. And because both of these would be supplied by
Him, there was no need for the holy preachers to be anxious about
either.
JEROME; When then we are brought before judges for Christ's sake, we
ought to offer only our will for Christ. But Christ who dwells in us
speaks for Himself, and the grace of the holy Spirit will minister in
our answer.
HILARY; For our faith, observing all time precepts of the Divine will,
will be instructed with an answer according to knowledge, after the
example of Abraham, to whom when he had given up Isaac, there was not
wanting a ram for a victim. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit
of your father that speaks in you.
REMIG. Meaning, You indeed go out to the battle, but it is I who fight;
you utter the words, but it is I who speak. Hence Paul speaks, Seek you
a proof of Christ who speaks in me?
CHRYS. Thus He raises them to the dignity of the Prophets, who have
spoken by the Spirit of God. He who says here, Take no thought what you
shall speak, has said in another place, Be you always ready to give an
answer to him that demands a reason of the hope that is in you. When it
is a dispute among friends, we are commanded to be ready; but before
the awful judgment, and the raging people, aid is ministered by Christ,
that they may speak boldly and not be dismayed.
21. And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and
the father the child; and the children shall rise up against their
parents, and cause them to be put to death.
22. And you shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endures to the end shall be saved.
GLOSS. Having placed the comfort first, He adds the more alarming
perils; Brother shall deliver up brother to death, and the father the
son; children shall rise against parents, to put them to death.
GREG. Wrongs which we suffer from strangers, pain us less than those we
suffer from men on whose affections we had counted; for beside the
bodily affliction, there is then the pain of lost affection.
JEROME; This we see often happen in persecutions, nor is there any true affection between those whose faith is different.
CHRYS. What follows is yet more dreadful, You shall be hated of all
men; they sought to exterminate them as common enemies of all the
world. To this again is added the consolation, For my name's sake; and
yet further to cheer them, Whosoever shall endure to the end, he shall
be saved. For many are hot and zealous in the beginning, but afterwards
grow cool, for these, He says, I look at the end. For where is the
profit of seeds that only sprout at first? wherefore He requires a
sufficient endurance from them.
JEROME; For virtue is not to begin but to complete.
REMIG. And the reward is not for those that begin, but for those that bring to an end.
CHRYS. But that no man should say, that Christ wrought all things in
His Apostles, and therefore it is nothing wonderful that they were made
such as they were, since they did not bear the burden of these things,
therefore He says, that perseverance was their work. For though they
were rescued from their first perils, they are preserved for still
harder trials, which again shall be followed by others, and they shall
be in danger of snares as long as they live. This He covertly intimates
when he says, Whosoever shall endure to the end, he shall be saved.
REMIG. That is, He who shall not let go the commands of the faith, nor
fall away in persecution, shall be saved; he shall receive the reward
of the heavenly kingdom for his earthly persecutions. And note that
'the end' does not always mean destruction, but sometimes perfection,
as in that, Christ is the end of the Law. So the sense here may be,
Whosoever shall endure to the end, that is, in Christ.
AUG. To endure in Christ, is to abide in His faith which works by love.
23. But when they persecute you in this city, flee you into
another: for verily I say to you, You shall not have gone over the
cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
CHRYS. Having foretold the fearful things which should come upon them
after His Cross, resurrection, and ascension, He leads them to gentler
prospects; He does not bid them presumptuously to offer themselves for
persecution, but to fly from it; When they persecuted you in this city,
flee you to another. For because this was the first beginning of their
conversion, He adapts His words to their state.
JEROME; This must be referred to the time when the Apostles were sent
to preach, when it was said to them, Go not into the way of the
Gentiles; they should not fear, but may shun persecution. This we see
the believers did in the beginning, when on a persecution arising in
Jerusalem they were scattered throughout all Judea, and thus the season
of tribulation was made the seedtime of the Gospel.
AUG. Not that the Savior was unable to protect His disciples, does He
here bid them fly, and Himself give them an example of it, but He
instructed man's weakness, that he should not presume to tempt God,
when he has any thing that he can do for himself, but should shun all
evils.
ID. He might have suffered them to lay violent hands upon themselves,
that they might not fall into the hands of their persecutors. Therefore
if He neither commanded nor allowed this mode of departure from this
world to His own, for whom He Himself had promised that He would
prepare an eternal mansion; whatever instances may be brought by the
Gentiles who know not God, it is clear that this is not lawful for
those who believe one true God.
CHRYS. But that they should not say, What then if we fly from
persecution, and again they cast us out thence whither we have fled? To
remove this fear, He says, Verily I say to you, you shall not have
completed, &c. that is, you shall not have made the circuit of
Palestine and return to Me, before I shall take you to Me.
RABAN. Or; He foretells that they shall not have brought all the cities
of Israel to the faith by their preaching, before the Lord's
resurrection be accomplished, and a commission given them to preach the
Gospel throughout the world.
HILARY; Otherwise; He exhorts to fly from place to place; for His
preaching driven from Judea, first passed into Greece; then, wearied
with divers sufferings of the Apostles up and down the cities of
Greece, it takes an abiding refuge in the rest of the Gentile world.
But to show that the Gentiles would believe the preaching of the
Apostles, but that the remnant of Israel should only believe at His
second coming, He adds, You shall not have completed the cities of
Israel; i.e. After the fullness of the Gentiles is brought in, that
which remains of Israel to fill up the number of the Saints shall be
called into the Church in Christ's future coining to glory.
AUG. Let the servants of Christ then do as He commanded, or permitted
them; as He fled into Egypt, let them fly from city to city, whenever
any one of them is marked out for persecution; that the Church be not
deserted, it will be filled by those who are not so sought after; and
let these give sustenance to their fellow-servants whom they know
cannot live by any other means. But when the threatening danger is
common to all, Bishops, clergy, and laity, let not those who have need
of aid be deserted by those whose aid they require. Either therefore
let them all pass to some stronghold, or let those who are obliged to
remain, not be deserted by those whose province it is to supply their
ecclesiastical needs; that they may either all live, or all suffer
whatever their Master will have them to suffer.
REMIG. Be it known moreover, that as this precept respecting endurance
under persecution specially belongs to the Apostles and their
successors, men of fortitude, so the permission to fly is sufficiently
proper for the weak in the faith, to whom the tender Master
condescends, lest if they should offer themselves for martyrdom, under
the pain they should deny the faith; and the sin of flight is lighter
than that of denial. But though by their flight they showed that they
had not the constancy of perfect faith, yet their desert was great,
seeing they were ready to leave all for Christ. So that if He had not
given them permission to fly, some would have said that they were
aliens from the glory of the heavenly kingdom.
JEROME; Spiritually we may say; Then they shall persecute you in one
book or one passage of Scripture, let us flee to other volumes, for
however contentions the adversary may be, protection will come from the
Savior before the victory is yielded to the enemy.
24. The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.
25. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the
servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house
Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?
CHRYS. Because it should come to pass that His disciples among their
other persecutions should suffer loss of character, which to many is
the most grievous of all calamities, He consoles them from His own
example, and those things that were spoken of Him; a comfort to which
no other can be compared.
HILARY; For the Lord, the Light eternal, the Captain of the faithful,
the Parent of immortality, set before His disciples this solace of the
sufferings that should come upon them, that we should embrace it as our
glory when we are made like to our Lord in suffering; whence He says,
The disciple is not above his master, nor the slave above his lord.
CHRYS. Understand, so long as he is a disciple or servant, be is not
above his master or lord by the nature of honor. And do not here object
to me such cases as rarely happen, but receive this according to the
common course of things.
REMIG. He calls Himself master and lord; by disciple and servant He denotes His Apostles.
GLOSS. As much as to say, Be not indignant that you suffer things,
which I also suffer, because I am your lord, who do what I will, and
your master, who teach you what I know to be profitable for you.
REMIG. And because this sentence seemed not to agree with the foregoing
words, He shows what they mean by adding, If they have called the
master of the house Beelzebub, how much more they of his household?
CHRYS. He said not here 'slaves,' but those of his household, to show
how dear they were to Him; as elsewhere He said, I will not call you
slaves, but my friends.
REMIG. As much as to say, You therefore will not seek worldly honors
and human glory, while you see me pursuing the redemption of mankind
through mocking and contumely.
CHRYS. And He says not only, If they have reviled the master of the
house, but expresses the very words of railing, for they had called Him
Beelzebub.
JEROME; Beelzebub is the idol of Accaron who is called in the book of
Kings, the God of flies; 'Bel' signifying idol; 'zebub,' a fly. The
Prince of the demons He calls by the name of the foulest of idols,
which is so called because of the uncleanness of the fly, which
destroys the sweetness of ointment.
26. Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not he known.
27. What I tell you in darkness, that speak you in light: and what you hear in the ear, that preach you upon the housetops.
28. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the
soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body
in hell.
REMIG. To the foregoing consolation He adds another no less, saying,
Fear you not them, namely, the persecutors. And why they were not to
fear, He adds, For there is nothing hid which shall not be revealed,
nothing secret which shall not be known.
JEROME; How is it then that in the present world, the sins of so many
are unknown? It is of the time to come that this is said; the time when
God shall judge the hidden things of men, shall enlighten the hidden
places of darkness, and shall make manifest the secrets of hearts. The
sense is, Fear not the cruelty of the persecutor, or the rage of the
blasphemer, for there shall come a day of judgment in which your virtue
and their wickedness will be made known.
HILARY; Therefore neither threatening, nor evil speaking, nor power of
their enemies should move them, seeing the judgment-day will disclose
how empty, how nought all these were.
CHRYS. Otherwise; It might seem that what is here said should be
applied generally; but it is by no means intended as a general maxim,
but is spoken solely with reference to what had gone before with this
meaning; If you are grieved when men revile you, think that in a little
time you will be delivered from this evil. They call you indeed
impostors, sorcerers, seducers, but have a little patience, and all men
shall call you the saviors of the world, when in the course of things
you shall be found to have been their benefactors, for men will not
judge by their words but by the truth of things.
REMIG. Some indeed think that these words convey a promise from our
Lord to His disciples, that through them all hidden mysteries should be
revealed, which lay beneath the veil of the letter of the Law; whence
the Apostle speaks, When they have turned to Christ, then the veil
shall be taken away. So the sense would be, Ought you to fear your
persecutors, when you are thought worthy that by you the hidden
mysteries of the Law and the Prophets should be made manifest?
CHRYS. Then having delivered them from all fear, and set them above all
calumny, He follows this up appropriately with commanding that their
preaching should be free and unreserved; What I say to you in darkness,
that speak you in the light; what you hear in the ear, that preach you
upon the housetops.
JEROME; We do not read that the Lord was wont to discourse to them by
might, or to deliver his doctrine in the dark; but He said this because
all His discourse is dark to the carnal, and His word night to the
unbelieving. What had been spoken by Him they were to deliver again
with the confidence of faith and confession.
REMIG. The meaning therefore is, What I say to you in darkness, that
is, among the unbelieving Jews, that speak you in the light, that is,
preach it to the believing; what you hear in the ear, that is, what I
say to you secretly, that preach you upon the housetops, that is,
openly before all men. It is a common phrase, To speak in one's ear,
that is, to speak to him privately.
RABAN. And what He says, Preach you upon the housetops, is spoken after
the manner of the province of Palestine, where they use to sit upon the
roofs of the houses, which are not pointed but flat. That then may be
said to be preached upon the housetops which is spoken in the hearing
of all men.
GLOSS. Otherwise; What I say to you while you are yet held under carnal
fear, that or speak you in the confidence of truth, after you shall be
enlightened by the Holy Spirit; what you have only heard, that preach
by doing the same, being raised above your bodies, which are the
dwellings of your souls.
JEROME; Otherwise; What you hear in mystery, that teach in plainness of
speech; what I have taught you in a corner of Judea, that proclaim
boldly in all quarters of the world.
CHRYS. As He said, He that believes in me, the works that I do he shall
do also, and greater things than these shall he do; so here He shows
that life works all things through them more than through Himself; as
though He had said, I have made a beginning, but what is beyond, that I
will to complete through your means. So that this is not a command but
a prediction, showing them that they shall overcome all things.
HILARY; Therefore they ought to inculcate constantly the knowledge of
God, and the profound secret of evangelic doctrine, to be revealed by
the light of preaching; having no fear of those who have power only
over the body, but cannot reach the soul; Fear not those that kill the
body, but cannot kill the soul.
CHRYS. Observe how He sets them above all others, encouraging them to
set at nought cares, reproaches, perils, yes even the most terrible of
all things, death itself, in comparison of the fear of God. But rather
fear him, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
JEROME; This word is not found in the Old Scriptures, but it is first
used by the Savior. Let us inquire then into its origin. We read in
more than one place that the idol Baal was near Jerusalem, at the foot
of Mount Moriah, by which the brook Siloe flows. This valley and a
small level plain was watered and woody, a delightful spot, and a grove
in it was consecrated to the idol. To so great folly and madness had
the people of Israel come, that, forsaking the neighborhood of the
Temple, they offered their sacrifices there, and concealing an austere
ritual under a voluptuous life, they burned their sons in honor of a
demon. This place was called Gehennom, that is, The valley of the
children of Hinnom. These things are fully described in Kings and
Chronicles, and the Prophet Jeremiah. God threatens that He will fill
the place with the carcasses of the dead, that it be no more called
Tophet and Baal, but Polyandrion, i.e. The tomb of the dead. Hence the
torments and eternal pains with which sinners shall be punished are
signified by this word.
AUG. This cannot be before the soul is so joined to the body, that
nothing may sever them. Yet it is rightly called the death of the soul,
because it does not live of God; and the death of the body, because
though man does not cease to feel, yet because this his feeling has
neither pleasure, nor health, but is a pain and a punishment, it is
better named death than life.
CHRYS. Note also, that He does not hold out to them deliverance from
death, but encourages them to despise it; which is a much greater thing
than to be rescued from death; also this discourse aids in fixing in
their minds the doctrine of immortality.
29. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
30. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31. Fear you not therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows.
CHRYS. Having set aside fear of death, that the Apostles should not
think that if they were put to death they were deserted by God, He
passes to discourse of God's providence, saying, Are not two sparrows
sold for a farthing, and one of them does not fall to the ground with
out your Father?
JEROME; If these little creations fall not without God's
superintendence and providence, and if things made to perish, perish
not without God's will, you who are immortal ought not to fear that you
live without His providence.
HILARY; Figuratively; That which is sold is our soul and body, and that
to which it is sold, is sin. They then who sell two sparrows for a
farthing, are they who sell themselves for the smallest sin, born for
flight, and for reaching heaven with spiritual wings. Caught by the
bait of present pleasures, and sold to the enjoyment of the world, they
barter away their whole selves in such a market. It is of the will of
God that one of them rather soar aloft; but the law proceeding
according to God's appointment decrees that one of them should fall. In
like manner as, if they soared aloft they would become one spiritual
body; so, when sold under sin, the soul gathers earthly matter from the
pollution of vice, and there is made of them one body which is
committed to earth.
JEROME; That He says, The hairs of your head are all numbered, shows
the boundless providence of God towards man, and a care unspeakable
that nothing of ours is hid from God.
HILARY; For when any thing is numbered it is carefully watched over.
CHRYS. Not that God reckons our hairs, but to show His diligent knowledge, and great carefulness over us.
JEROME. Those who deny the resurrection of the flesh ridicule the sense
of the Church on this place, as if we affirmed that every hair that has
ever been cut off by the razor rises again, when the Savior says, Every
hair of your head - not is saved, but - is numbered. Where there is
number, knowledge of that number is implied, but not preservation of
the same hairs.
AUG. Though we may fairly inquire concerning our hair, whether all that
has ever been shorn from us will return; for who would not dread such
disfigurement. When it is once understood that nothing of our body
shall be lost, so as that the form and perfectness of all the parts
should be preserved, we at the same time understand that all that would
have disfigured our body is to be united or taken up by the whole mass,
not affixed to particular parts so as to destroy the frame of the
limbs; just as a vessel made of clay, and again reduced to clay, is
once more reformed into a vessel, it needs not that that portion of
clay which had formed the handle should again form it, or that which
had composed the bottom, should again go to the bottom, so long as the
whole was remolded into the whole, the whole clay into the whole
vessel, no part being lost. Wherefore if the hair so often shorn away
would be a deformity if restored to the place it had been taken from,
it will not be restored to that place, but all the materials of the old
body will be revived in the new, whatever place they may occupy so as
to preserve the mutual fitness of parts. Though what is said in Luke,
Not a hair of your head shall fall to the ground, may be taken of the
number, not the length of the hairs, as here also it is said, The hairs
of your head are all numbered.
HILARY; For it is an unworthy task to number things that are to perish.
Therefore that we should know that nothing of us should perish, we are
told that our very hairs are numbered. No accident then that can befall
our bodies is to be feared; thus He adds, Fear not, you are better than
many sparrows.
JEROME; This expresses still more clearly the sense as it was above
explained, that they should not fear those who can kill the body, for
if the least animal falls not without God's knowledge, how much less a
man who is dignified with the Apostolic rank?
HILARY; Or this, you are better than many sparrows, teaches that the
elect faithful are better than the multitude of the unbelieving, for
the one fall to earth, the other fly to heaven.
REMIG. Figuratively; Christ is the head, the Apostles the hairs, who
are well said to be numbered, because the names of the saints are
written in heaven.
32. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
33. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
CHRYS. The Lord having banished that fear which haunted the minds of
His disciples, adds further comfort in what follows, not only casting
out fear, but by hope of greater rewards encouraging them to a free
proclamation of the truth, saying, Every man who shall confess me
before men, I also will confess him before my Father which is in
heaven. And it is not properly shall confess me, but as it is in the
Greek, shall confess in me, showing that it is not by your own strength
but by grace from above, that you confess Him whom you do confess.
HILARY; This He says in conclusion, because it beboves them after being
confirmed by such teaching, to have a confident freedom in confessing
God.
REMIG. Here is to be understood that confession of which the Apostle
speaks, With the heart men believe into justification, with the mouth
confession is made to salvation. That none therefore might suppose that
he could be saved without confession of the mouth, He says not only, He
that shall confess me, but adds, before men; and again, He that shall
deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in
heaven.
HILARY; This teaches us, that in what measure we have borne witness to
Him upon earth, in the same shall we have Him to bear witness to us in
heaven before the face of God the Father.
CHRYS. Here observe that the punishment is manifold more than the evil
done, and the reward more than the good done. As much as to say, your
deed was more abundant in confessing or denying Me here; so shall My
deed to you-ward be more abundant in confessing or denying you there.
Wherefore if you have done any good thing, and have not received
retribution, be not troubled, for a manifold reward awaits you in the
time to come. And if you have done any evil, and have not paid the
punishment thereof, do not think that you have escaped, for punishment
will overtake you, unless you are changed and become better.
RABAN. It should be known that not even Pagans can deny the existence
of God, but the infidels may deny that the Son as well as the Father is
God. The Son confesses men before the Father, because by the Son we
have access to the Father, and because the Son said, Come, you blessed
of my Father.
REMIG. And thus He will deny the man that has denied Him, in that he
shall not have access to the Father through Him, and shall be banished
from seeing either the Son or the Father in their divine nature.
CHRYS. He not only requires faith which is of the mind, but confession
which is by the mouth, that He may exalt us higher, and raise us to a
more open utterance, and a larger measure of love. For this is spoken
not to the Apostles only, but to all; He gives strength not to them
only, but to their disciples. And he that observes this precept will
not only teach with free utterance, but will easily convince all; for
the observance of this command drew many to the Apostles.
RABAN. Or, He confesses Jesus who by that faith that works by love,
obediently fulfills His commands; he denies Him who is disobedient.
34. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
35. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the
daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother
in law.
36. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
JEROME; He had before said, What I say to you in darkness, that speak
you in the light; He now tells them what will follow upon that
preaching, saying, Think not that I am come to send peace upon earth; I
am not come to send peace, but a sword.
GLOSS. Or connect it with what has gone before, As the fear of death
ought not to draw you away, so neither ought carnal affection.
CHRYS. How then did He enjoin them, that when they should enter any
house they should say, Peace be to this house, as also the Angels sung,
Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace to men. That is the most
perfect peace when that which is diseased is lopped off, when that
which introduces strife is taken away, for so only is it possible that
heaven should be joined to earth. For so does the physician save the
rest of the body, namely by cutting off that which cannot be healed. So
it came to pass at the tower of Babel; a happy discord broke up their
bad union. So also Paul divided those who were conspired together
against him. For concord is not in all cases good; for there is honor
among thieves. And this combat is not of His setting before them, but
of the plots of the world.
JEROME; For in the matter of belief in Christ, the whole world was
divided against itself; each house had its believers and its
unbelievers; and therefore was this holy war sent, that an unholy peace
might be broken through.
CHRYS. This He said as it were comforting His disciples, as much as to
say, Be not troubled as though these things fell upon you unexpectedly;
for, for this cause I came that I might send war upon the earth - nay
He says not 'war,' but what is yet harder, a sword. For He sought by
sharpness of speech so to rouse their attention, that they should not
fall off in time of trial and difficulty, or say that He had told them
smooth things, and had hid the difficulties. For it is better to meet
with softness in deeds than in words; and therefore He stayed not in
words, but showing them the nature of their warfare, He taught them
that it was more perilous than a civil war; saying, I am come to set a
man against his father, and daughter against her mother, and
daughter-in -law against her mother-in-law. So this warfare will be
between not acquaintances merely, but the nearest and dearest kindred;
and this shows Christ's very great power; that His disciples after
having heard this, yet undertook the mission, and brought over others.
Yet was it not Christ who made this division, but the evil nature of
the parties; when He says that it is He that does it, He speaks
according to the manner of Scripture. As it is written, God has given
them eyes that they should not see. Here is also a great proof that the
Old Testament is like the New. For among the Jews a man was to put his
neighbor to death if he found him making a calf; or sacrificing to
Baalphegor; so here to show that it was the same God who ordained both
that and these precepts, He reminds them of the prophecy, A man's foes
are they of his household. For this same thing happened among the Jews;
there were Prophets, and false Prophets; there the multitude was
divided, and houses were set against themselves; there some believed
one part, and some another.
JEROME; These are almost the words of the Prophet Micah. We should
always take note when a passage is cited out of the Old Testament,
whether the sense only, or the very words are given.
HILARY; Mystically; A sword is the sharpest of all weapons, and thence
it is the emblem of the right of authority, the impartiality of
justice, the correction of offenders. The word of God, we may remember,
is likened to a sword; so here the sword that is sent upon the earth is
His preaching poured into the heart of man. The five inhabiting one
house, whom He divides three against two, and two against three, we may
explain thus; The three are the three parts of man, the body, the soul,
and the will; for as the soul is bestowed in the body, so the will has
power of using both in any way it chooses; and thence when a law is
given it is given to the will. But this is only found in those who were
first formed by God. By the sin and unbelief of the first parent, all
the generations of men since have had sin for the father of their body,
and unbelief for the mother of their soul. And as each man has his will
within him, there are thus five in one house. When then we are renewed
in the lover of baptism, by virtue of the word we are set apart from
our original guilt, and severed, as it were, by the sword of God, from
the lusts of this our father and mother, and thus there is great
discord made in one house; the new man finding his foes within, he
seeks with joy to live in newness of spirit; they which are derived
from the old stock, lust to remain in their old pleasures.
AUG. Otherwise; I am come to set a man against his father; for he
renounces the devil who was his son; the daughter against her mother,
that is, the people of God against the city of the world, that is, the
wicked society of mankind, which is spoken of in Scripture under the
names of Babylon, Egypt, Sodom, and other names. The daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law, that is, the Church against the Synagogue,
which according to the flesh, brought forth Christ the spouse of the
Church. They are severed by the sword of the Spirit, which is the word
of God. And a man's foes are they of his household, those, that is,
with whom he before lived as intimates.
RABAN. For no other mutual rights can be preserved between those who are at war in their creeds.
GLOSS. Otherwise; He means, I am not come among men to strengthen their
carnal affections, but to cut them off with the sword of the Spirit;
whence it is rightly added, And a man's foes are they of his household.
GREG. For the subtle enemy when he sees himself driven our of the
hearts of the good, seeks out those who most love them, and speaking by
the mouth of those who are dearest, endeavors while the heart is
penetrated by love, that the sword of conviction may pierce to the
inmost bulwarks of virtue.
37. He that loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me:
and he that loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
38. And he that takes not his cross, and follows after me, is not worthy of me.
39. He that finds his life shall lose it: and he that loses his life for my sake shall find it.
JEROME; Because of what He had said, I am not come to send peace but a
sword, &c. that none might suppose that family affection was
banished from His religion, He now adds, He that loves father or mother
more than me is not worthy of me. So in the Song of Songs we read,
Order love in me. For this order is needed in every affection; after
God love your father, your mother, and your children; but if a
necessity should occur that the love of parents and children comes into
competition with the love of God, and where both cannot be preserved,
remember that hatred of our kindred becomes then love to God. He
forbids not to love parent or child, but adds emphatically, more than
me.
HILARY; For they who have esteemed domestic affection of relations
higher than God, are unworthy to inherit good things to come.
CHRYS. Yet when Paul bids us obey our parents in all things, we are not
to marvel; for we are only to obey in such things as are not hurtful to
our piety to God. It is holy to render them every other honor, but when
they demand more than is due, we ought not to yield. This is likewise
agreeable to the Old Testament; in it the Lord commands that all who
worshipped idols, should not only be held in abhorrence, but should be
stoned. And in Deuteronomy it is said, He who said to his father and
his mother, I know you not; and to his brethren, You are strangers; he
has kept your saying.
GLOSS. It seems to happen in many cases that the parents love the
children more than the children love the parents; therefore having
taught that His love is to be preferred to the love of parents, as in
an ascending scale, He next teaches that it is to be preferred to the
love of children, saying, And whoever loves son or daughter more than
me is not worthy of me.
RABAN. He is unworthy of the divine communion who prefers the carnal affection of kindred to the spiritual love of God.
CHRYS. Then that those to whom the love of God is preferred should not
be offended thereat, He leads them to a higher doctrine. Nothing is
nearer to a man than his soul, and yet He enjoins that this should not
only he hated, but that a man should be ready to deliver it up to
death, and blood; not to death only, but to a violent and most
disgraceful death, namely, the death of the cross; therefore it
follows, And whoever takes not up his cross and follows me, is not
worthy of me. He had as yet said nothing to them respecting his own
sufferings, but instructs them in the meanwhile in these things, that
they may the more readily receive His words concerning His passion.
HILARY; Or; They that are Christ's have crucified the body with its
vices and lusts. And he is unworthy of Christ who does not take up His
cross, in which we suffer with Him, die with Him, are buried and rise
again with Him, and follow his Lord, purposing to live in newness of
spirit in this sacrament of the faith.
GREG. The cross is so called from torment; and there are two ways in
which we bear the Lord's cross; either when we afflict the flesh by
abstinence; or when in compassion for our neighbor we make his
afflictions our own. But it should be known that there are some who
make a show of abstinence not for God, but for ostentation; and some
there are who show compassion to their neighbor, not spiritually but
carnally, not that they may encourage him in virtue, but rather
countenancing him in faults. These indeed seem to bear their cross, but
do not fellow the Lord; therefore He adds, And follows me.
CHRYS. Because these commands seemed burdensome, He proceeds to show
their great use and benefit, saying, He that finds his life shall lose
it. As much as to say, Not only do these things that I have inculcated
do no harm, but they are of great advantage to a man; and the contrary
thereof shall do him great hurt - and this is His manner every where.
He uses those things which men's affections are set upon as a means of
bringing them to their duty. Thus: Why are you loath to contemn your
life? Because you love it? For that very reason contemn it, and you
will do it the highest service.
REMIG. The life in this place is not to be understood as the substance,
(the soul,) but as this present state of being; and the sense is, He
who finds his life, i.e. this present life, he who so loves this light,
its joys and pleasures, as to desire that he may always find them; he
shall lose that which he wishes always to keep, and prepare his soul
for eternal damnation.
RABAN. Otherwise; He who seeks an immortal life, does not hesitate to
lose his life, that is, to offer it to death. But either sense suits
equally well with that which follows, And whoever shall lose his life
for my sake shall find it.
REMIG. That is, he who in confession of My name in time of persecution
despises this temporal world, its joys, and pleasures, shall find
eternal salvation for his soul.
HILARY; Thus the gain of life brings death, the loss of life brings
salvation; for by the sacrifice of this short life we gain the reward
of immortality.
40. He that receives you receives me, and he that receives me receives him that sent me.
41. He that receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a
prophet's reward; and he that receives a righteous man in the name of a
righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.
42. And whosoever shall give to drink to one of these little ones a cup
of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say to you, he
shall in no wise lose his reward.
JEROME; The Lord when He sends forth His disciples to preach, teaches
them that dangers are not to be feared, that natural affection is to be
postponed to religion - gold He had above taken from them, brass He had
shaken out of their purses - hard then surely the condition of the
preachers! Whence their living? Whence their food and necessaries?
Therefore He tempers the rigor of His precepts by the following
promises, that in entertaining the Apostles each believer may consider
that he entertains the Lord.
CHRYS. Enough had been said above to persuade those who should have to
entertain the Apostles. For who would not with all willingness take in
to his house men who were so courageous, that they despised all dangers
that others might be saved? Above He had threatened punishment to those
who should not receive them, He now promises reward to such as should
receive them. And first He holds out to those who should entertain them
the honor, that in so doing they were entertaining Christ, and even the
Father; He who receives me, receives him that sent me. What honor to be
compared to this of receiving the Father and the Son?
HILARY; These words show that He has a Mediator's office, and since He
came from God, when He is received by us, through Him God is transfused
into its; and by this disposition of grace to have received the
Apostles is no other than to have received God; for Christ dwells in
them, and God in Christ.
CHRYS. A further reward also He promises, saying, He who receives a
prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive a prophet's reward. He
said not merely, Whoever receives a prophet, or a righteous man, but in
the name of a prophet, and in the name of a righteous man; that is, not
for any greatness in this life, or other temporal account, but because
he is a prophet, or a righteous man.
JEROME; Otherwise; To this His exhortation to the disciple to entertain
his teacher, there might a secret objection arise among the faithful;
then shall we have to support the false prophets, or Judas the traitor.
To this end it is that the Lord instructs them in these words, that it
is not the person but the office that they should look to; and that the
entertainer loses not his reward, though he whom he entertains be
unworthy.
CHRYS. A prophet's reward, and a righteous man's reward, are such
rewards as it is fitting he should have who entertains a prophet, or a
righteous man: or, such a reward as a prophet or righteous man should
have.
GREG. He says not, a reward from a prophet, or righteous man, but the
reward of a prophet or righteous man. For the prophet is perhaps a
righteous man, and the less he possesses in this world, the greater
confidence has he in speaking in behalf of righteousness. He who has of
this world's goods, in supporting such a man, makes himself a free
partaker in his righteousness, and shall receive the reward of
righteousness together with him whom he has aided by supporting him. He
is full of the spirit of prophecy, but he lacks bodily sustenance, and
if the body is not supported, it is certain that the voice will fail.
Whoever then gives a prophet food, gives him strength for speaking,
therefore together with the prophet shall receive the prophet's reward,
when He shows before the face of God what bounty he showed him.
JEROME; Mystically; he who receives a prophet as a prophet, and
understands him speaking of things to come, he shall receive reward of
that prophet. The Jews therefore, who understand the prophets carnally,
do not receive the prophet's reward.
REMIG. Some understand by the prophet here, the Lord Jesus Christ, of
whom Moses says, A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up to you; and
the same also by the righteous man, because he is beyond comparison
righteous. He then who shall receive a prophet or righteous man in the
name of the prophet or righteous man, i.e. of Christ, shall receive
reward from Him for love of whom he received Him.
JEROME; That none should say, I am poor and therefore cannot be
hospitable, He takes away even this plea by the instance of a cup of
cold water, given with good will. He says cold water, because in hot,
poverty and lack of fuel might be pleaded. And whosoever shall give to
drink to one of the least of these a cup of cold water only in the name
of a disciple, verily I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.
REMIG. The least of these, that is, not a prophet, or a righteous man, hut one of these least.
GLOSS. Note, that God looks more to the pious mind of the giver, than to the abundance of the thing given.
GLOSS. Or, the least are they who have nothing at all in this world, and shall be judges with Christ.
HILARY; Or; Seeing beforehand that there would be many who would only
glory in the name of Apostleship, but in their whole life and walk
would be unworthy of it, He does not therefore deprive of its reward
that service which might be rendered to them in belief of their
religious life. For though they were the very least, that is, the
greatest of sinners, yet even small offices of mercy shown them, such
as are denoted by the cup of cold water, should not be shown in vain.
For the honor is not done to a man that is a sinner, but to his title
of disciple.
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