Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
First, John the Baptist through his disciples asks Christ whether He Himself is the Messiah. Christ answers not in words but in deeds, namely through miracles, that He is the Messiah. Second, at verse 7, Christ praises John as though an Angel, than whom no one among those born of women is greater. Third, at verse 16, He reproves the Jews because they rejected both Himself and John. Fourth, at verse 21, He threatens dire things against the citizens of Chorazin and Capernaum, because after having heard Him so often and seen so many signs, they did not believe. Fifth, at verse 25, He teaches that God reveals and communicates Himself and His things only to the humble and meek.
Vulgate Text: Matthew 11:1-30
1. And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished commanding His twelve disciples, He passed on from there to teach and to preach in their cities. 2. Now when John had heard in prison of the works of Christ, sending two of his disciples, 3. he said to Him: Art Thou He that art to come, or look we for another? 4. And Jesus answering said to them: Go and relate to John what you have heard and seen: 5. The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, the poor have the gospel preached to them: 6. and blessed is he that shall not be scandalized in Me. 7. And when they went their way, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: What went you out into the desert to see? a reed shaken with the wind? 8. But what went you out to see? a man clothed in soft garments? Behold they that are clothed in soft garments are in the houses of kings. 9. But what went you out to see? a prophet? Yea I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10. For this is he of whom it is written: Behold I send My angel before Thy face, who shall prepare Thy way before Thee. 11. Amen I say to you, there hath not risen among those born of women a greater than John the Baptist: yet he that is the lesser in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12. And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away. 13. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John: 14. and if you will receive it, he is Elias that is to come. 15. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 16. But whereunto shall I esteem this generation to be like? It is like to children sitting in the market place, who crying to their companions 17. say: We have piped to you, and you have not danced; we have lamented, and you have not mourned. 18. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say: He hath a devil. 19. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say: Behold a man that is a glutton, and a wine drinker, a friend of publicans and sinners. And wisdom is justified by her children. 20. Then began He to upbraid the cities wherein were done the most of His miracles, for that they had not done penance. 21. Woe to thee, Chorazin; woe to thee, Bethsaida; for if in Tyre and Sidon had been wrought the miracles that have been wrought in you, they had long ago done penance in sackcloth and ashes. 22. But I say unto you: It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment, than for you. 23. And thou, Capernaum, shalt thou be exalted up to heaven? thou shalt go down even unto hell; for if in Sodom had been wrought the miracles that have been wrought in thee, perhaps it had remained unto this day. 24. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee. 25. At that time Jesus answered and said: I confess to Thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones. 26. Yea, Father, for so hath it seemed good in Thy sight. 27. All things are delivered to Me by My Father. And no one knoweth the Son but the Father: neither doth any one know the Father, but the Son, and he to whom it shall please the Son to reveal Him. 28. Come to Me, all you that labor, and are burdened, and I will refresh you. 29. Take up My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, because I am meek, and humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls. 30. For My yoke is sweet and My burden light.
Verse 1: And It Came to Pass, When Jesus Had Finished Commanding His Twelve Disciples
This is a Grecism. For the participle is put for the infinitive or gerund, commanding for to command, as if to say: When He had made an end of commanding, or, as the Greek has it, διατάττων, that is, of ordering and instructing the Apostles, both by precepts and by counsels, both by foretelling evils and by promising goods. Thus Maldonatus, Jansenius, Franciscus Lucas, Barradius, and others.
He Passed on from There. — Separating Himself, namely, from the Apostles, whom He sent forth separately to evangelize, both that they might prepare the way for Christ who was to follow, by teaching and by working miracles, and that they themselves might make trial of themselves and of their own virtue in this mission, separated from their Master. What furthermore the Apostles did after being thus sent out and dismissed by Christ, Matthew is silent about, but Luke narrates (IX, 6) and Mark (VI, 12).
That He Might Teach and Preach in Their Cities — namely of the Galileans or Judeans, to whom in the preceding chapter He sent the Apostles; but in such a way that He Himself also went separately from them through the cities of the same to preach. Note the Hebraism: for the Hebrews do not expressly state the antecedent of a relative or demonstrative pronoun (such as this of them), but leave it to be understood from the circumstances, as if known to the reader or listener. The like is found in Ps. XCVIII, 8; IV Kings XVII, 24; III Kings V, 3, and elsewhere.
Verse 2: Now When John Had Heard in Prison the Works of Christ
« When he had heard » from his own disciples, as Luke says (VII, 18), from which it likewise appears that here there is a hysterologia, and that what Matthew here narrates concerning John from v. 2 to v. 20 occurred before the sending out of the Apostles, which he himself recounted in chapter X.
In Prison. — The Syriac reads, « in the house of those who are bound », that is, in the prison where Herod had shut him up, because he had rebuked Herod's adultery with Herodias. Therefore a little before his death and martyrdom, John sent these disciples to Christ, in the 32nd year of Christ's age, which was the second year of His preaching, when Christ was already growing famous through His teaching and miracles, so that they might learn from Him that He was the Messiah or Christ, and after John was killed and dead, might pass over to Him; for otherwise they could have made a schism from Christ, putting John above Christ as their master — for it is evident from Matt. IX, 14 that they had a greater opinion of John than of Christ. Therefore, just as runners in a stadium, when they have finished their course, hand the torch to another who is to run next; so John, having discharged his office and preaching, resigned them to Christ. And just as the receding dawn fades into the rising sun, so John ceased into Christ; for he himself was the Lucifer (morning-star) of the Sun of justice, namely of Christ. Wherefore so far was he from envying Christ the glory that rose with his own setting, that he even rejoiced in it; indeed, he chose to set in order that Christ might rise; for he sought not his own glory but that of God and Christ. Whence he says: « He must increase, but I must decrease. » John III, 30.
Verse 3: Art Thou He That Art to Come, or Look We for Another?
« Who art to come », in Greek ὁ ἐρχόμενος, that is, « the one coming », which means « the one about to come » — namely that great Prophet, the redeemer of Israel and Savior of the world, that is, the Messiah promised by all the Prophets and most eagerly desired by the Fathers, who at this time — when the prophecies concerning Him had been fulfilled — was awaited by all as though already about to arrive. He alludes to the oracle of the Patriarch Jacob in Gen. XLIX, 10: « The sceptre shall not be taken away from Judah... until he come that is to be sent, » namely the Messiah.
From these words of John, Tertullian in his book On Baptism, ch. X, and in bk. IV Against Marcion, ch. XVIII, and Justin in Question XXXVIII To the Orthodox, are of the opinion that John doubted concerning Jesus, whether He Himself was the Messiah or Christ; but wrongly, for already at Christ's baptism, when John was baptizing Him, he had seen the Holy Spirit descending upon Him in the form of a dove, and had heard the voice of the Father: « This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. » Matt. III, 17. Wherefore John had given them the clearest testimony, saying: « Behold the Lamb of God. » John I, 32.
Others are of the opinion that John did not indeed doubt that Jesus was the Christ, but was asking here only whether He Himself, after death, would come into limbo — so that, about to depart there shortly after his own death, He might visit and deliver the Fathers abiding in it. So St. Jerome, whom hear: « He says not: Art Thou He that hast come, but: Art Thou He that art to come. And the sense is: Charge me, since I am about to descend into hell, whether I should announce Thee to those below as well, because I have announced Thee to those above — or whether it be not fitting for the Son of God that He should taste death, and art Thou about to send another for these mysteries? » And St. Gregory, hom. 6: « He does not doubt, he says, that He is the Redeemer of the world, but asks whether He is about to descend to the gates of hell. » But this also seems less apt and probable.
I say therefore: John sends his disciples and asks Jesus whether He Himself is the one « who is to come, » that is, whether He is the Messiah — not because John doubted about Him, but because, being near to death, he wished his disciples, who were doubting about Him, to be instructed and led over to Christ. So St. Hilary, Chrysostom, Cyril, Theophylact, Euthymius, Rupert, and others: where note the prudence of St. John; for he himself, in his own name, asks Jesus whether He is the Christ, because his disciples by themselves would not have dared to put this question to Christ: doubtless, the best physician is the one who, in order to cure a sick man, feigns that he himself is sick, and takes the bitter medicine. Hence St. Paul: « Who is weak, » he says, « and I am not weak? who is scandalized, and I am not on fire? » II Cor. XI, 29.
Verse 4: Go and Relate to John What You Have Heard and Seen
« What you have heard, » namely the miracles done by Me, narrated by bystanders; « and seen, » those which, namely, I did while you were present, so that I might answer your question not with a word, but with deed and fact itself. For testimony from deeds is more efficacious and more credible, says St. Chrysostom, for these miracles, which you have seen Me performing, are the marks of the true Messiah assigned by Isaiah, XXXV, 5, and LXI, 1. Wherefore Luke, VII, 21, adds: « In that same hour, He cured many of their infirmities, and hurts, and evil spirits; and to many that were blind He gave sight. » For neither Elias, nor Elisha, nor Moses, nor any other Prophet did so many and such great miracles as Christ, so that from them He Himself might be acknowledged to be greater than all the rest, and to be the Messiah foretold by Isaiah by this sign. Whence St. Cyril, bk. II Thesauri, ch. IV: « Christ, » he says, « by the magnitude as well as the multitude of His miracles showed Himself to be the Messiah; » add also: and by His beneficence. For these miracles of Christ healed all infirmities and all the sick; but Moses, although he wrought many miracles in the ten plagues of Egypt, yet by them he did not heal but rather afflicted and slew the Egyptians, Exodus VII and following. But Christ « went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed by the devil. » Acts X, 38. This therefore was a certain sign that He was the Messiah. Wherefore His hands are called « turned on the lathe, » that is, nimble and agile to do good to all, « full of hyacinths, » that is, of heavenly works, miracles, and benefits. Cant. V, 14. See what is said there.
Verse 5: The Blind See, the Lame Walk, the Lepers Are Cleansed
He alludes to, nay, He cites, that passage of Isaiah XXXV: « God Himself shall come and shall save us. Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall be loosed. » And chapter LXI, 1: « The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because the Lord hath anointed Me; He hath sent Me to preach to the meek, to heal the contrite of heart, and to preach a release to the captives, and deliverance to them that are shut up, » etc.
The Poor Have the Gospel Preached to Them. — Theophylact and Euthymius take the word evangelizantur actively, as if to say: The poor Apostles evangelize and preach the Gospel; but εὐαγγελίζονται, that is, evangelizantur, is a passive verb, not active; hence the Syriac: « The Gospel is preached to the poor. » The sense therefore is, as if He said: I preach the Gospel to the poor and proclaim the Good News to them, and they eagerly receive it, while the rich reject it; for the poor, being destitute on earth, hope for and long after heavenly riches, which the Gospel promises. He alludes to, or rather cites, that passage of Isaiah LXI, 1: « He hath sent Me to preach to the meek, » where the Septuagint, instead of ענוים anavim, that is, « to the meek, » reading עניים aniim, that is, « to the poor, » translates « He hath sent Me to preach the gospel to the poor. » As if to say: to the poor, not those compelled, but poor in spirit and voluntary, and consequently meek and mild, as St. Jerome translates Isaiah LXI — to them is announced and promised grace, and the other goods of the Gospel, and an eternal kingdom in heaven, which, as it is paradoxical and most wondrous to the world, is likewise a mark proper to the Messiah as assigned by Isaiah. More simply, you may take « the poor » to mean the destitute, namely the Apostles, disciples, and crowds; for to these Christ was preaching, to show that the souls of the poor are as precious before God as the souls of the rich, and that therefore Christ makes both equal in the Gospel, so St. Jerome. See what is said on Isaiah LXI, 1. Do you then wish to imitate Christ? Teach, guide, console, and help the poor.
Verse 6: Blessed Is He That Shall Not Be Scandalized in Me
That is, he who shall not be offended by My humble manner of life and lowliness. The Syriac: « Happy is he who does not stumble against Me; » because, as St. Gregory says, Hom. 6: « Wonderful things indeed I do, but I do not disdain to endure lowly things. » He silently marks the disciples of John, who were offended at those things, and signifies that He perceives their hearts and the secrets of their minds. So St. Chrysostom and St. Jerome, Epistle 151 to Algasia, Question I: « He does not strike John, » he says, « but his disciples. » Hence the Gloss explains « he that shall not be scandalized » as: he who shall not have doubted concerning the power of My divinity. And St. Gregory, Hom. 6 on the Gospel, says that the unbelievers were scandalized at Christ, when after so many miracles they saw Him dying on the cross. So too Hilary: « Because the cross was to be a stumbling-block to very many, » he says, « Christ declared those blessed whose faith the cross, death, and burial would cause no temptation. »
Verse 7: What Went You Out into the Desert to See? A Reed Shaken with the Wind?
Lest the crowd should think, says St. Chrysostom, that Christ was flattering John and courting his favor, if He had praised him in the presence of his disciples, He first allowed them to depart, and then praised him before the people, so that the people might give credit to the testimony of John, by which he had testified that He was the Christ, while they understood from Christ that John was a divine man, and as it were an angel fallen from heaven.
Jesus Began to Speak to the Multitudes Concerning John: What Went You Out into the Desert to See? A Reed Shaken with the Wind? — In Greek καλαμὸν σαλευόμενον, that is, waving and fluctuating, in the manner of the waves and billows of the sea. By a similar metaphor we call a standing crop « fluctuating » when it is driven this way and that by the wind. Christ removes a suspicion that might have crept upon the people from this embassy of John — namely, that John had changed his opinion of Jesus, so that, having before thought Him to be the Messiah, he now doubted, and therefore had sent his disciples to Jesus to ask this question. As if He said: Do not suppose, O Jews, that John now feels otherwise about Me than he did before; for John is not a reed that is tossed hither and thither by the wind, so that he would affirm something lightly, and then on account of men's words reverse and recall it; but he is like an oak, that stands immovable in truth and constancy against all the blasts of those who praise and those who detract — so that what he thought and testified of Me before with such freedom, when he was free, he now thinks and testifies with equal fortitude, shut up by Herod in prison, nor does he change his sentence through fear of Herod. And therefore he sent his disciples to Me, that they themselves might really see from the miracles that his testimony concerning Me is true and that I am the Messiah. Nay, even you yourselves, who have so often heard John speaking and preaching, believe him to be not a light man who can be changed like a reed, but serious and constant, one who is moved by God, so that what he once said, this he always says. For it is for this reason that you went forth from your houses into the desert, to see and to hear John — surely you would not have gone out, if you had not believed him to be such. So St. Chrysostom, Theophylact, Euthymius, Cyril, Bede, and others.
By a reed therefore understand, first, with St. Gregory, Hom. 9 on Ezechiel, instability of mind; secondly, with St. Chrysostom, the inconstancy of doctrine and preaching that is born of it. For a reed is one who easily believes something because of men's rumors, and therefore because of contrary rumors easily disbelieves and changes his opinion. A reed is one who performs the duties of piety because of men's praise, but soon on account of the mockery of others omits the very same things. A reed is one who preaches true doctrine because of rich promises, but on account of others' threats passes it over in silence or calls it into doubt. A reed therefore is the image and symbol of inconstancy and the inconstant man, as likewise the polyp, the bat, the Euripus, the wind, and woman. Hence the proverbs: « He has the mind of a polyp; a man is a Euripus; the mind of a woman; more changeable than the wind, than the chameleon, than Proteus, than the bat; more versatile than a buskin; he sits on two seats; he says one thing standing, another seated. »
Tropologically: a reed is a light, variable, and boastful man, who now, at first impelled by the words of flatterers and praisers, asserts something, and now, driven by the words of revilers and threateners, denies the same — just as a reed is tossed in contrary directions by contrary winds; secondly, one who is empty of truth, virtue, and constancy, as the reed is hollow and without pith; thirdly, one who yields no fruit of any good work, as the reed is unfruitful; fourthly, one who is delighted with, and feeds upon, the flux of the world and its fleeting pleasures, as a reed does; for the dry reed grows and feeds beside the waters — whence its epithet, that it is called the « river-reed ». Of which matter St. Augustine writes elegantly and piously, on Psalm CXXXVI, 1, at the words: « Upon the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept, when we remembered Sion. » The rivers of Babylon, he says, are all things here that are loved and pass away: « Sit upon the rivers, do not sit in the river, do not sit beneath the river. Behold, there are beautiful things in Babylon, which hold you — let them not hold you, let them not deceive you, » etc. Hear the Author of the Unfinished Work: « Every carnal man, empty in faith, light in sense, soft in passions, is a reed. »
Hear St. Gregory, Hom. 6 on the Gospel: « What is designated by the reed, if not the carnal mind? Which as soon as it is touched by favor or by detraction, is at once bent in any direction. For if from a human mouth a breeze of favor has blown, it grows cheerful and is puffed up, and bends itself wholly, as it were, to the favor. But if thence should burst forth a wind of detraction from whence the breeze of praise was coming, soon it bends him, as it were, to the other side, to the fury of rage. But John was not a reed shaken by the wind, because neither did favor make him bland, nor the anger of any detraction harsh; nor could prosperity lift him up, nor adversities bend him down. John therefore was not a reed shaken by the wind, whom no variety of events could bend from the uprightness of his state. » Whence, setting him forth to us for imitation, he adds: « Let not prosperity lift us up, let not adversities disturb us, so that we, who are fastened in the solidity of faith, may in no wise be moved by the mutability of passing things. »
Hear St. Ambrose, bk. V on Luke ch. VII, 24: « The Lord denies that we must go forth into the desert, that is, into the world, to suppose that we must imitate those puffed up with the mind of the flesh and empty of interior virtue, whom a restless life, exposed to the storms of this world, keeps disturbed, rightly to be compared to reeds, in whom there is no fruit of solid justice — who, shaggy with worldly trappings, beset with knots, noisy with an empty mouth-sound, of no use to themselves, frequently giving offense also, follow after things empty within and showy without. We are reeds, founded in no root of stronger nature; and if a light breeze of more prosperous success has blown, with wandering motion we strike those near us — poor when it comes to supporting, easy when it comes to harming. Reeds love rivers, and us the fleeting, perishing things of the world delight. Yet if anyone plucks this reed from the nursery of the earth, and strips it of its superfluities, putting off the old man with his deeds, and controls it by the hand of the 'Scribe writing swiftly', it begins to be no longer a reed, but a pen (calamus), which imprints the precepts of the heavenly Scriptures upon the inmost parts of the mind and writes them on the tablets of the heart. »
Then Ambrose adds that the good reed is Christ, of whom it has been prophesied, in Isaiah XLII: « The bruised reed He shall not break: because the flesh, which sins had bruised, He has made firm by the power of the resurrection. The good reed is the flesh of Christ, which has fixed to the gibbet of the cross the head of the serpent and the allurements of worldly desire. »
Verse 8: A Man Clothed in Soft Garments? They That Are Clothed in Soft Garments Are in the Houses of Kings
« Soft, » namely garments, as the Greek and Syriac add. But to be clothed in soft garments is to live delicately and to feast (as did the rich glutton, who was daily clothed in purple and fine linen, and feasted splendidly, Luke XVI, so that from this he might seem soft and lustful, and therefore mutable), as if He said: John is not soft and delicate; he does not court the rich tables of the Scribes, in order, while courting them and flattering them, to change and retract the opinion about Me that he had given; because he himself seeks not cities and courts, but the desert; he is not clothed with soft garments, nor fed with them, but with camel's hair, locusts, and wild honey, says St. Jerome. Wherefore neither the court, nor courtly softness, flattery, or ambition will turn him aside, because he himself, as a hermit and heaven-dweller, is a despiser of all worldly glory, as well as of its pleasures, and far above them, being fixed in his mind upon Truth itself and upon God and heaven themselves. For the delicacies are the mistresses of flattery and falsehood, but the austerity of truth and holiness is their teacher. Whence Tertullian, in his book To the Martyrs: « Virtue, » he says, « is built up by hardness, but destroyed by softness. » And St. Chrysostom: « Those who are clothed in soft garments, » he says, « are in the houses of kings; but those who have not such things are in the heavens. »
Thus St. Francis, says St. Bonaventure in his Life, ch. V, shuddered at softness of clothing and loved austerity, asserting that for this cause John the Baptist was praised by the divine mouth. But if ever he felt any softness in the tunic given him, he would weave little cords into it inside, because, he said, the softness of garments should be sought not in the hovels of the poor, but in the palaces of princes. He added that demons are frightened by austerity and invited by softness. Read the lives of the Saints, and behold and imitate the austerity of their lives, which greatly avails to holiness and procures a reputation for holiness among others, so that one may be able freely and effectively to preach to them the way of penance, mortification, and virtue, and to persuade them by one's own example.
Verse 9: A Prophet? Yea, and More than a Prophet
The Syriac: « more excellent than a prophet. » You will object: John himself denies that he is a Prophet, John I, 21. It is answered: he says that out of humility, but in a true sense. For a prophet is properly called one who foretells things to come, as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the other Prophets do; but John did not foretell Christ as to come, but pointed Him out as present. He was therefore rather a pointer-out of Christ than a prophet, and therefore Christ says that he is more than a prophet: First, because he so foretold Christ's coming, that presently he pointed Him out as present with his finger: he was therefore not only a prophet, but also a demonstrator of Christ. Secondly, because, illumined by the divine Spirit, he knew Christ and Christ's economy in the flesh more clearly, more fully, and more perfectly than any of the prophets. Thirdly, because he himself was an « Angel, » that is, an ambassador and forerunner of Christ Himself, and sent directly by Him, and that in His presence and before His face, according to that passage of Malachi: « Behold I send My angel before Thy face, who shall prepare Thy way before Thee, » as Christ Himself adds. Fourthly, because he himself was greater than absolutely all the prophets, as Christ asserts at verse 11.
Verse 10: Behold I Send My Angel Before Thy Face
Christ quotes the words of Malachi III, 1. See what is said there: for I brought forward there the reasons and analogies why John is called an angel, and therefore many thought him really to be not a man but an angel, as Eusebius witnesses, bk. I Demonstration, ch. V. Whence the Author of the Unfinished Work here: « Wonderful, » he says, « was he who, in human nature, transcended angelic holiness, and by the grace of God obtained what his nature did not possess. »
Verse 11: There Hath Not Risen Among Those Born of Women a Greater than John the Baptist
Luke VII, 27 (read 28) adds the word « prophet »: « There has not risen, » he says, « a greater prophet. » Whence Toletus there from St. Ambrose and Hilary notes that John is called greater by Christ not absolutely, but only as a prophet, because the Apostles were greater than he, or at any rate entirely his equals. But from the word prophet Christ leaves it to be understood that no other was greater than John, because the prophets of old were held, and really were, most holy men; hence any holy men were called prophets, as those religious men who in the books of Kings are called « sons of the prophets. » Therefore because no prophet was greater than John, from this He leaves it to be gathered that no other man was greater than he.
Tacitly therefore Christ here calls John the greatest of all, for otherwise He would not rightly conclude from this that John is more than a prophet, which He yet intends to prove. Understand this of the men of the Old Testament, that is, of the preceding age up to Christ. John is not therefore here compared with Christ, or the Blessed Virgin, or the Apostles, who followed Christ, and because of their apostolic dignity were not less than John, but rather greater. You will say: Moses was greater than John, because of Moses it is said, Deut., last ch., v. 10: « And there arose no more a prophet in Israel like unto Moses. » I answer: In the same place it is added: « Whom the Lord knew face to face; in all the signs and wonders which He sent by him, to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh. » As if to say: There was no prophet like Moses — like, I say, in that familiar speech with God and in that power by which he smote Egypt with so many plagues — but in other things John was his equal, nay, greater than Moses and the rest of the prophets.
First, because John was sanctified in his mother's womb, and actually prophesied; for leaping for joy in the womb, he announced to his mother and to the rest that Christ was already incarnate in the womb of the Blessed Virgin. So St. Chrysostom and Euthymius. We do not read this of Moses or any other prophet.
Secondly, because John alone instituted the baptism of penance, and with it baptized Christ.
Thirdly, he was the first to preach the kingdom of heaven, and converted many and led them into it.
Fourthly, he was sent by God to be the forerunner and groomsman of Christ, and to show Him to the whole world, and to bear witness that He is the Messiah and the only Son of God — which office and dignity far surpasses all the offices and dignities of the prophets.
Fifthly, he was compared by Malachi to the angels, and was promised long before his birth, and was foreshadowed through Elijah and other prophets, for those men were types of John.
Sixthly, the spirit of prophecy, and the life and deeds of John were more abundant and more sublime than those of the other prophets, according to St. Jerome and St. Augustine, bk. II Against the Adversary of the Law and the Prophets, ch. V. For John was, as it were, a continuous miracle — in his conception, in the womb, in his birth, in his angelic life; for he was conceived by a miracle from sterile parents; by a miracle he recognized, saluted, and adored Christ in the womb; by a miracle at his birth he breathed forth a joy common to all; by a miracle at his circumcision he restored speech to his mute father; by a miracle, while still a boy, he withdrew to the desert, and there lived all his life as an angel. Whence the Church sings of him:
O how exceedingly blessed, of lofty merit,
Knowing no stain of snowy chastity,
Mighty martyr, and dweller in the wilderness,
Greatest of prophets.
John has therefore the crown of virginity, of prophecy, of doctorate, and of martyrdom. Hear Blessed Peter Chrysologus, Sermon 28: « John — the school of virtues, the teaching-chair of life, the form of holiness, the rule of justice, the mirror of virginity, the title of modesty, the example of chastity, the way of penance, the pardon of sinners, the discipline of faith; John, greater than man, equal to the Angels, the summary of the Law, the sanction of the Gospel, the voice of the Apostles, the silence of the Prophets, the lamp of the world, the herald of the Judge, the forerunner of Christ, the surveyor of the Lord, the witness of God, the one who stands midmost in the whole Trinity. » See the ten prerogatives of St. John which St. Bernard recounts in the sermon On the Privileges of John the Baptist; and another twenty-eight that our Barradius enumerates, bk. VIII, ch. III and IV, and the homilies of St. Chrysostom about him.
But He That Is the Lesser in the Kingdom of Heaven Is Greater than He. — Than John the Baptist: First, as if to say: The least blessed soul in heaven is greater — that is, more blessed, more perfect, more excellent and more glorious — than John, inasmuch as John is still mortal and a wayfarer. Christ adds this in order to urge His hearers to pursue their own blessedness and salvation through the Evangelical law which He brought; for this is the kingdom of heaven, from which Christ began and continued His preaching. Whence concerning it He adds at verse 12: « The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away. » So St. Jerome, Bede, and St. Augustine, bk. II Against the Adversary of the Law and the Prophets, ch. V. St. Ambrose also agrees, explaining it thus, as if to say: The least angel in heaven is greater than John and any saint who carries a body that is corrupted and weighs down the soul, as St. Augustine says in the same place.
Secondly, more properly, closely and vigorously you may say with St. Chrysostom, Theophylact, Euthymius, Salmeron, and Jansenius, that Christ here opposes Himself to John and on one side puts Himself below, but on the other sets Himself above him, as if to say: I have said that among those born of women there has not been a greater than John in the Old Testament; but, lest you think that he is the greatest and is the Messiah, I add that Christ, who is younger than John and, in the school still the lesser, is nevertheless greater than he. Christ alludes to that saying of John about Himself: « He that shall come after me is preferred before me, » that is, is set before and preferred to me, as being greater than I, John I, 15. Or, as if to say: I, Christ, who in age and in the opinion of the crowd am lesser than John in preaching, yet am greater than he in the kingdom of heaven, because I so preach that at the same time I breathe forth the grace by which the faithful may actually obtain this kingdom through Me: whence a comma seems to be placed after the word « lesser, » not after « kingdom of heaven, » as Franciscus Lucas rightly observes. For in Greek Christ is called ὁ μικρότερος, that is, lesser, younger, humbler, more depressed than John, or in Hebrew הקטון haqqaton, that is, that little one, that is, the least, the most humble, the most abject, such as Christ was, saying: « But I am a worm and no man: the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people, » Psalm XXI. For often a comparative is put for a superlative. Hence St. Augustine expounds at the place already cited, as if to say: I, Christ, who am lesser in age than John, am nevertheless greater than he in majesty, eternity, power, grace, and glory. To this St. Caesarius, brother of St. Gregory Nazianzen, Dialog. 3, also adds, who thus explains it, as if to say: Christ, who in the kingdom of heaven is by human nature less than the Angels, Heb. II, 7, here nevertheless is greater than John.
Thirdly, our Maldonatus, following up on the second sense just given, explains it thus, as if to say: « Lesser, » that is, the least Christian in the kingdom of heaven, that is, in the Church which preaches and leads to the kingdom of heaven, is greater, that is, more worthy and more sublime, than John. He is greater, I say, by reason of the state of the Church, and from the nature of the Gospel he can be greater than John the Baptist; for the new law of Christ is the law of grace, which we can always increase. Whence John the Baptist and all the ancients received their grace from Christ and the new law. For the new or Evangelical Church is called the kingdom of heaven, or, as Luke says, the kingdom of God, because it is itself the way and the beginning of the heavenly life and blessedness. So St. Cyril, bk. II of the Thesaurus, ch. IV, and Isidore of Pelusium, bk. I, epist. 68, speak to much the same effect.
Symbolically: St. Caesarius, in Dialogue 3 already cited: « The youngest of the Apostles, » he says, « St. John the Evangelist, is less, yet he is greater than John the Baptist, because as an Apostle and Evangelist he reclined upon the breast of Christ. »
Verse 12: The Kingdom of Heaven Suffereth Violence, and the Violent Bear It Away
Luke XVI, 16: « Since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every one useth violence towards it. » This also pertains to the praise of John, and shows him to be more than a prophet, as if to say: John first began to preach the kingdom of heaven, and his preaching was so effective — joined as it was with the example of a holy and angelic life — that many whom he baptized did penance, changed their lives, and strove toward heaven with great zeal. This zeal I, succeeding John, have furthered through Myself and the Apostles, and I further it daily, and henceforth will continue to further it.
Therefore now the kingdom of heaven βιάζεται, that is, suffers violence. Vatablus: « it is invaded with force, it is taken by force, it is striven after with force. » First, because men stirred up by John run together with great multitude, zeal, eagerness, and impetus, each striving to outstrip the other in obtaining — indeed seizing — it; just as some rare commodity, e.g. Cretan wine or sugar, when it is eagerly bought by men, is said to be seized.
Secondly, because not by natural propagation, as the Jews wished, nor even by the weight and power of nature, but by the supernatural force of grace — which surpasses nature — this kingdom is now sought by all, as it were invaded; and so sinners such as publicans, harlots, and Gentiles snatch it away and, as it were, carry it off by force from the Pharisees and Jews themselves, who thought it owed to them alone as sons of Abraham, by the fervor of the Spirit and of penance. As if He said: Pharisees and Christians contend for the kingdom of heaven, but the Christians wrest it from them by force. Hence St. Hilary and St. Ambrose, at the end of bk. V on Luke: « Christ is seized, » they say, « when by some He is born, by others He is chosen and championed. » Ambrose adds: « The Church has seized the kingdom from the Synagogue. My kingdom is Christ. Therefore the kingdom of heaven is seized, when Christ is denied by His own and adored by the Gentiles. It is seized, when He is rejected by them and worshipped by us. »
Thirdly, because for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, earthly men do violence to themselves and to their vices, by penance, poverty, continence, and mortification. Hence Luke has: « Every one useth violence towards it. » So St. Chrysostom, Jerome, Gregory, in Homily 1 on the Gospels; Theophylact, Euthymius, Bede, and St. Basil, in his oration On the Renunciation of Possessions.
In the Lives of the Fathers (it is found in our edition by Fr. Heribert, p. 590, n. 40) the vision of a certain anchorite is related, who saw that his disciple had merited seven crowns in heaven in a single night, because seven times he had manfully resisted his thoughts and the craving for sleep; whence he understood that as often as anyone strives against his thoughts and desires, so often is he crowned by God. For it is written: « The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away. » Thus that passage.
Fourthly. St. Jerome, in Epistle 152 to Algasia, Question I: « The kingdom of heaven, » he says, « suffers violence, » because it properly belongs to the Angels, being heavenly spirits. Violence, therefore, is as it were done to it, when it is invaded by earthly men — as the poets fable that of old it was invaded by the giants. For now, through John, and still more through Christ, it comes to pass that « he who is born a man should desire to be an angel, and that an earthly creature should seek a heavenly dwelling, » says St. Jerome; just as it would be violence if fish, leaving the natural element of the sea, should desire to live on land, and conversely if heavy oxen should wish to dwell in the sea.
Furthermore St. Ambrose, at the end of bk. V on Luke, and more fully in Sermon 3, instead of « suffers violence » renders « is pressed, » that is, « crowded together » — because as sinners and Gentiles enter, the throng of those coming in grows denser. But the Greek βιάζεται properly means « to suffer violence, » although the sense comes to the same; for from the dense, rushing, and self-pressing crowd it suffers violence.
Admirably too in the same sermon St. Ambrose: « We do violence, » he says, « to the Lord, not by compelling Him, but by weeping; not by provoking Him with injuries, but by imploring Him with tears; not by blaspheming through pride, but by mourning through humility. O blessed violence, which is not struck down by indignation but pardoned by mercy! Blessed, I say, is that violence which draws forth goodness from the One who suffers it, and bestows profit upon the one who inflicts it. An evil thing is admitted, yet no one complains of the injury; force is admitted, and religion is propagated. For whoever shall be more violent toward Christ will be held more religious by Christ. We assail the Lord on the way (since He Himself is the Way), and after the manner of robbers we strive to despoil Him, we long to take from Him kingdom, treasures, and life; but He is so rich and so bountiful that He does not refuse, does not resist, and when He has given all, He nonetheless possesses all. » Then he adds the manner and arms of this violence, saying: « We assail Him not with iron, nor club, nor stone, but with meekness, good works, and chastity. These are the arms of our faith, with which we contend in the struggle. But that we may be able to use these arms in offering violence, let us first in a manner do violence to our own bodies; let us conquer the vices of our members, that we may obtain the rewards of the virtues: for we must first reign in ourselves, that we may be able to seize the kingdom of the Savior. »
And the Violent Bear It Away. — « The violent, » that is, those who push into the kingdom of heaven, namely those who do violence to it and take it by force, in the sense already explained. He alludes to a wealthy city set on a mountain, which must be overcome and stormed by great force, and which in fact is taken by soldiers who, greedy for its wealth, rush upon it in close order. But above all He alludes to the kingdom of Canaan, that is, the land of promise, which Joshua and the Hebrews seized by force and arms; for this was a type of the kingdom of heaven. For in like manner heaven must be overcome by earthborn men, who by heavenly conversation ascend on high with great force. The empyrean heaven is so high, sublime, and removed from earth that if a man lived for eight thousand years, and each day climbed straight upward a hundred miles, yet through those eight thousand years mentioned he would not reach it, as I have shown from Fr. Clavius, on Genesis II, 16. And because this was impossible to man, God granted that we should strive toward it not with the feet of the body but with the affections of the mind. Moreover, we must not only go upward, but must also surmount many bends, rocks, and thorns, indeed we must go through enemies and spears — that is, through many temptations, difficulties, persecutions, adversities, all of which must be overcome with great force and great courage. Because, therefore, heaven is seized by the faithful through this force, it is said that by them force is done to heaven. How great a force did St. Paul bring against heaven, 1 Corinthians XII! how great St. Stephen! how great St. Lawrence and the other martyrs, virgins, anchorites, and all the saints!
In the Life of St. Perpetua and her fellow martyrs, for the 7th of March, we read that she was forewarned by a vision of her martyrdom. For she saw a golden ladder reaching from earth to heaven, set about on every side with sharp knives and swords, by which one had to climb to heaven; and beneath it a horrible dragon which would hinder those climbing. Then she saw one of her companions, named Saturus, boldly ascending the ladder, and inviting his companions to follow him. When this vision was told to her companions, all understood that martyrdom was being prepared for them, and it fell to each in turn. Let every faithful soul think the same of himself: that he must struggle up into heaven by a ladder beset with knives, with great force.
Now if soldiers, lured by the hope of booty, with such eagerness, force, ardor, and impetus invade — nay, fly through rocks and fires into a city heaped with riches and spoils, when it is given them by their commander for plunder — while some fill up the ditches with fascines, others bring up ladders, others drive the defenders from the walls with bombards, others helmeted in a dense column climb the walls together and leap upon them: with how much greater eagerness, force, fervor, and spirit ought the faithful to assault heaven, where are heavenly and eternal riches, which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor the least part of which hath ascended into the heart of man!
Verse 13: All the Prophets and the Law Prophesied Until John
More conveniently, Luke XVI, 16, places this sentence before the preceding one, thus: « The law and the prophets were until John (that is, they prophesied); since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every one useth violence towards it. »
Moses and all the prophets before John and up to John prophesied, that is, obscurely and by enigmas foretold and promised Christ, and His kingdom of heaven, by promising earthly goods — namely an abundance of wine, grain, and oil, and a peaceful and wealthy temporal kingdom like the kingdom of Solomon, which was a figure and type of the kingdom of heaven to be brought by Christ. But John first began clearly and expressly to preach the kingdom of heaven that was soon to be opened by Christ, and pointed Him out to the Jews with his finger. This was the reason why the Jews, weighing the felicity and glory of the heavenly kingdom, stirred by a certain hope of attaining it, pursued it with all zeal and did violence to it, in the sense I explained in the preceding verse. So Theophylact, Jansenius here, and Suarez, bk. IX On Laws, ch. XII, at the end. « They prophesied, » he says, that is, « they promised earthly goods. »
Again, as if He said: The Old Testament, which consists of the Law (that is, the Pentateuch) and the Prophets — under whom are also the Hagiographa, namely the Psalms and the Wisdom books — prophesied up to John; that is, it taught the rude Jews not so much to love as to fear God, by the hope of temporal goods and an earthly kingdom, and to worship Him through sacrifices, rites, and external ceremonies, which were shadows and types of Christ. But John began to preach a new doctrine of repentance and love of God, with the hope of the kingdom of heaven and of heavenly goods to be obtained through interior acts of contrition, piety, adoration, and worship of God — by which we are truly and perfectly justified through Christ, whom John pointed out with his finger, and showed that from Him justice and salvation were to be sought.
For Christ opposes and sets above prophecy — that is, John's doctrine — the prophecy, that is, the doctrine of the Law and the Prophets, as is clear from Luke XVI, 16, already cited: for John was a middle figure between the New Testament and the Old, and, as it were, the horizon of both, dividing and distinguishing the new from the old, as Salmeron says. For he was himself as a morning star of the Gospel, who gave an end to the shadows and dark night of the old law, and a beginning to the bright day of the new law. So Theophylact, Jansenius, and others.
Maldonatus explains it a little differently: « All the prophets, » he says, « and the law prophesied, » that is, discharged their office and lasted until John; not that the law then suddenly ceased entirely, as the Magdeburg Centuriators will have it, but that it began to die and to come to an end. For the old law and its obligation lasted until the promulgation of the new law, which was made after the resurrection and ascension of Christ, at Pentecost, Acts II.
Verse 14: If You Will Receive It, He Is Elias That Is to Come
As if He said: If you are willing to receive John and to believe him, as you ought (whence the Syriac translates it in the imperative: « If you will, receive him »), he will be to you Elias, because endowed with the spirit and power of Elias he will turn you to God and Christ, just as Elias will turn your descendants and posterity at the end of the world to the same Christ, with like zeal and with like austerity and purity of life. So St. Jerome here and in Epistle 152 to Algasia, Question I: « He (John), » he says, « is Elias who is to come, not because the same soul was in both Elias and John, as heretics imagine, but because both had the same grace of the Holy Spirit; girt with a girdle like Elias; living in the desert like Elias; suffering persecution from Herodias as he from Jezabel; so that as Elias is the forerunner of the second coming, so also John saluted the Lord the Savior who was to come in the flesh, and announced Him not only in the desert, but even in His mother's womb by the exultation of His body. »
He alludes to Malachi IV, 5: « Behold I will send you Elias the prophet. » See what is said there. Even now the Jews, on the basis of this testimony of Malachi, eagerly await Elias, that he may show them Christ and resolve all the doubts of the Law, and for this reason they hold him in the highest esteem; and for this cause Christ compared and equated John to him.
Note: Christ gives many illustrious eulogies of John, by which He proves that he is more than a prophet, so that the Jews may give credence to Christ who points Himself out. For first, at verse 10, He says that he is the angel promised by Malachi; secondly, at verse 11, that among those born of women none has risen greater than John; thirdly, at verse 12, that he first preached the kingdom of heaven, and therefore it suffers violence from the thronging crowd; fourthly, at verse 13, that the Law and the Prophets were as it were the forerunners and heralds of John, and that they prophesied until John; fifthly, at verse 14, that he is Elias not in person, but in power and spirit.
Verse 15: He That Hath Ears to Hear, Let Him Hear
« To hear, » that is, for hearing, as the Syriac renders it, that is, for understanding and obeying. The Arabic: « ears that hear. » For the Hebrews, lacking compound words, use simple ones for compounds, so that by « to hear » they mean to obey. The sense is, as if He said: Whoever has an ear and a mind docile and obedient, let him hear, understand, and obey what I say — namely, let him believe John as a Prophet, indeed as more than a Prophet, when he asserts that I am the Messiah; and therefore let him receive and worship Me as the Son of God and Savior of the world. But properly He is referring to what He said, that John is Elias: « for this was mystical and needed understanding, » says St. Jerome. Christ is wont in a grave matter to rouse the attention of His hearers with this phrase.
Verse 16: Whereunto Shall I Liken This Generation?
Namely, of the Pharisees and the Scribes, who despised the counsel of God and the baptism and preaching of John, as Luke says, VII, 29 and 30.
Verse 17: We Have Piped to You, and You Have Not Danced; We Have Lamented, and You Have Not Mourned
It Is Like to Children Sitting in the Marketplace, Who Crying to Their Companions Say: We Have Piped to You, and You Have Not Danced; We Have Lamented, and You Have Not Mourned. — In that age, says Theophylact on Luke VII, and St. Cyril here, in the Catena of St. Thomas, there was among the Jews this kind of game. Children divided into two groups, as it were two choruses, represented the life of men as on a stage, and mocked it — some after the manner of Heraclitus, always weeping over it, and others after the manner of Democritus, always laughing at it. For to the one, everything we do seemed misery; to the other, foolishness. Some from one chorus would lament, others from the opposite would play on pipes. But those who were in the chorus of pipers took no heed of those who lamented, nor did the pipers heed those who were in the lamenting group; the spectators listened to both as though in a comedy, but were moved neither to weeping nor to dancing.
The sense of the parable, as is plain from the following verses 18 and 19, is this, as if Christ said: One may see in this generation, and in this tribe of the Pharisees and Scribes, something similar to what happens in the parable of the children — so that, just as these are not moved to weep or dance either by the pipers' song or by the lamentations of the others, being sour spectators who look on idly at these things as amusements and comedies devised for the entertainment of an audience, so likewise the Scribes and Pharisees could not be roused (because they would not be) either by the example of John's more austere life or by that of Christ's more relaxed and milder life, to the change of life, conversion, and salvation which John and Christ preached. For He compares the whole parable to the whole reality signified by it, and not part to part, as I said in Canon 28. Elegantly and aptly does St. Ambrose, in bk. II On Penance, ch. VI, say: « Therefore that dancing is not recommended which is the companion of delights and luxury, but rather the kind by which each raises his body vigorously, not letting his limbs lie sluggish on the ground or grow torpid with slow steps. Paul danced spiritually, when he stretched himself out for us, and, forgetting the things behind, pressing on toward those ahead, strove for the prize of Christ. You too, when you come to baptism, are admonished to lift up your hands, and to have swifter feet with which to ascend to eternal things. This is the dance that is the companion of faith, the comrade of grace. This, then, is the mystery. We piped to you truly the song of the New Testament, and you did not dance — that is, you did not lift up your spirit to spiritual grace. We lamented, and you have not mourned; that is, you have not done penance. » He alludes to Ezechiel XXXIII, 32: « And thou art to them as a musical song, which is sung with a sweet and agreeable voice; and they hear thy words, and do them not. » For the Scribes heard John and Christ, not that they might change their lives, but that they might feed their ears with the novelty and beauty of wisdom, as if they were listening to a singer or an actor. See what is said there, and especially the Apologue of the Flute-player.
Allegorically: St. Ambrose, bk. IV, epist. 30 to Sabinus: « The Son of God said: We have piped to you, and you have not danced. And so the Jews were forsaken, who did not dance, who knew not to clap their hands; but the Gentiles were received, who gave God a spiritual applause. For the fool folded his hands together and devoured his own flesh — that is, entangled himself in bodily affairs, and devoured his inward parts like death prevailing, and therefore shall not find eternal life. But the wise man, lifting up his works, that they may shine before his Father who is in heaven, did not fold them, but raised his inward parts up to the grace of the resurrection. This is the glorious dance of the wise, which David danced; and therefore he ascended even to the throne of Christ in the sublimity of spiritual dancing, that he might see and hear the Lord saying to his Lord: Sit Thou at My right hand. »
Verse 18: John Came Neither Eating nor Drinking, and They Say: He Hath a Devil
For John Came, Neither Eating nor Drinking — that is, not eating and drinking pleasantly after the common manner of other men, but fasting and living austerely on locusts, so that he seemed not so much a man as an angel; that by this means he might pierce the Scribes with compunction, terrify them, and by his example move them to penance.
And (yet of him) They Say (the Scribes): He Hath a Devil. — The Arabic: « Devils are with him, » as if to say: John is possessed by a devil, by whose power and energy alone he can endure such severity of life. Thus the austerity of John's life — which he had undertaken for their sake (since he himself, being pure and innocent, had no need of it), in order to give them an example of penance — they attributed to a devil, which was notable ingratitude and malice.
Again, « he has a devil, » that is, he is a lunatic, of unbalanced mind and insane, like those driven by a demon, in that he foolishly afflicts his body in this way and rejects the pleasantness of this life — such as was the famous Timon of Athens, melancholic and manic, and thence surnamed μισάνθρωπος, that is « hater of men, » as Cicero testifies in his De Amicitia and Tusculan IV. So, when St. Paulinus with his wife Therasia, saying farewell to the honors, riches, and delights of the world, began a solitary, poor, and austere life, many said that they were suffering from melancholy or mania, which a demon is wont to raise. Whence Ausonius, St. Paulinus's friend, in Epistle 23 taunts him, saying that he suffered from the disease of black bile (melancholy), like another Bellerophon, and had therefore withdrawn and entirely renounced the muses. In like manner Rutilius, himself a pagan, casts the same reproach at the monks of the island of Caprarium, and says: « Thus Homer assigned the disease of excessive bile to the anxieties of Bellerophon. »
Behold, Christ here applies the parable: for John, living austerely, is signified by the chorus of children lamenting; Christ, however, living more freely and conversing more familiarly, is marked by the chorus of those singing; but the Scribes and Pharisees mocked and hooted at both, so that they might freely indulge their pleasures and licentious life without any censor.
Verse 19: The Son of Man Came Eating and Drinking — Wisdom Is Justified by Her Children
The Son of Man Came Eating and Drinking (that is, living with men at a common table and in the ordinary manner, and conversing familiarly with them), and They Say (the Scribes and Jews obstinate in evil): Behold a Man That Is a Glutton, and a Wine Drinker, a Friend of Publicans and Sinners. — John led an austere life in the desert; Christ led the common life of other men, so that those whom John's austerity terrified, His humanity might draw to Himself. For Christ had come into the world to this end, that He might give all men a perfect example of humility and of every virtue, which each might imitate according to his grade and state; and especially to turn sinners from their vices to God. Therefore it was necessary that He should live with them, eat and drink with them, and so draw them to His love and following. So St. Thomas, part III, Quest. XL, art. 2; Suarez and others in the same place.
St. Augustine gives another reason, in bk. III of De Doctrina Christiana, ch. XII — that He might show « that in all such matters (food, drink, clothing, etc.), it is not the use of things, but the lust of the user, that is at fault »; and thus that He might teach that the rich in their riches can live honorably and be saved. But the Scribes slandered this affability of Christ and interpreted it as gluttony, which was indeed immense detraction, ingratitude, and blasphemy.
And Wisdom Is Justified by Her Children. — The Syriac: « by her servants. » « Justified » signifies two things: namely, to make just, and to declare just; here it is taken in the second sense. « Justified, » therefore — that is, just, irreprehensible, free from all calumny, full and entirely perfect — was declared and pronounced the wisdom of God, which He showed in John and Christ, because He left nothing suited to the salvation of men unattempted. For, that they might have an example of austere life and penance, He gave them John; but that many, terrified by this austerity, might not despair of virtue and salvation, He gave them in Christ an example of common life and virtue. « By her children, » that is, by those who pursue wisdom and virtue — namely, by the faithful who listen to and obey Christ and John. As if He said: The wisdom of God, which the proud Scribes and foolish Jews despised in Christ and John, has been justified — that is, honored and praised — by all who are truly wise. So St. Chrysostom, Euthymius, St. Hilary, St. Jerome, St. Augustine, Theophylact, and others. Therefore if any now perish, they perish by their own fault, because they are unwilling to believe and obey John and Christ; therefore let them impute their ruin to themselves, but justify God, according to Psalm L: « That Thou mayst be justified in Thy words, and mayst overcome when Thou art judged. » In a like sense the Apostle says, 1 Tim. III, last verse: « Great is the mystery of godliness, which was manifested in the flesh, was justified in the spirit » — that is, the work and mystery of the Incarnation of the Word was declared and shown to the world to have been just, holy, wise, and worthy of God. That this is the sense is clear from Luke VII, 29, who narrates the occasion of this parable, and hence its intention and scope, through a kind of preliminary parable or preface, thus: « And all the people hearing, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with John's baptism. But the Pharisees and the lawyers despised the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized by him. » And then he immediately subjoins the parable of the children singing and lamenting, which Christ aimed against them, and which I have just explained.
A little differently, Maldonatus here and Toletus, on Luke VII, 34 and 35: « The wisdom of God, » they say, « has been justified by her children, » that is, by the Jews (for these were the children of the Law, of faith, and of the wisdom of God). For some of the Jews justified that teacher-wisdom by believing, others by not believing: because, while some justly and rightfully believed on account of so many signs, others by their own fault, not believing, condemned themselves; but both those who believed and those who did not justified wisdom in the very fact: for the salvation of the believers, and the condemnation of the unbelievers, is the justification of wisdom — because believers are saved in that they believed the wisdom preached by John and Christ, while unbelievers are condemned, because they would not believe in it and so would not save themselves. With a similar expression Ezechiel, XVI, 51 and 52, says: « Thou hast justified thy sisters in all thy abominations. » See what is said there.
Again, St. Augustine, in bk. II On Christian Doctrine, ch. XI, before the middle, explains it more narrowly thus: « Wisdom is justified by her children, namely because the holy Apostles understood that the kingdom of God is not in food and drink, but in the equanimity of bearing — those whom neither abundance lifts up nor poverty casts down. » For abundance did not lift up Christ, and poverty did not cast down John.
Finally, St. Jerome here, and St. Ambrose on Luke VII, v. 35, note that in certain Greek codices one reads: « And wisdom is justified by her works. » « For wisdom does not seek the testimony of the mouth, but of works, » says St. Jerome.
Verse 20: Then He Began to Upbraid the Cities, Because They Had Not Done Penance
« Then, » that is, when He had sent the Apostles to preach throughout Galilee, and He Himself had preached separately, but with little fruit and the conversion of few, « He began to upbraid » the utmost ingratitude and obstinate malice of « the cities » — that is, their citizens — among whom « were done by Him the most of His miracles, » that is, the mighty works, by which Christ confirmed His preaching and new doctrine, according to custom, in order to draw them from their vices to penance and the virtues; « for » (because) after so many miracles, so many exhortations, so many threats of hell, so many promises of the kingdom of heaven, « they had not done penance. »
Verse 21: Woe to Thee, Chorazin; Woe to Thee, Bethsaida
Woe to Thee, Chorazin; Woe to Thee, Bethsaida: For If in Tyre and Sidon (cities of the Gentiles, in the neighborhood of Phoenician Palestine) Had Been Wrought the Miracles That Have Been Wrought in You, They Had Long Ago Done Penance in Sackcloth and Ashes. — Chorazin is a famous city of Galilee, which is numbered among the ten more celebrated cities of the Decapolis. It is situated over against Capernaum, by the Sea of Galilee, at the place where the Jordan flows into that sea; it is two miles, or two thousand paces, from Capernaum. Hence Christ, who had made Capernaum His seat and home, often went out to Chorazin and Bethsaida, and to other neighboring cities, to preach, and there performed « miracles, » that is, mighty works. Hence Chorazim in Chaldaic is the same as co (that is, « here ») plus raza (that is, « secret ») — aptly, because Christ there preached the arcana of the faith and things hidden from the foundation of the world; but to those citizens, devoted to commerce, gain, and delights, He seemed to sing as to the deaf. Therefore He here threatens them with God's vengeance, which even in this present age has befallen them. For St. Jerome testifies, in the Locations of the Hebrews, that in his time Chorazin was deserted, and even now only the ruins of the ancient city remain. There are some who think that the Antichrist will be born and brought up in Chorazin; yet many think rather that he will be engendered in Babylon, based on that passage of Jeremiah I: « From the North (that is, Babylon, which lies to the north with respect to Jerusalem) shall an evil break forth » — namely, Nabuchodonosor, devastator of kingdoms, and his antitype the Antichrist. So Adrichomius, from Fretellus, in his Description of the Holy Land. But both of these are plainly uncertain.
Woe to Thee, Bethsaida. — Bethsaida likewise was a principal city of Galilee and the Decapolis, adjacent to the sea near Capernaum, three hours' journey from it. It was so called because fishermen dwelt in it: for beth means « house, » and saida means « fishing »; for sud in Hebrew means « to hunt, » but in Syriac « to fish, » because hunting in the sea is fishing: whence saiade means « fishermen. » So Francis Lucas. From this city came the holy Apostles Peter, Andrew, and Philip; whence it is called in the Gospel « the city of Andrew and Peter. » It is probable that in this city was the house of Peter and Andrew, which Christ entered, and took the hand of Peter's mother-in-law as she lay in bed, gravely sick with fever, and by a word healed her, as the Evangelists describe; where also after sunset He healed many who had been brought to Him before the door — sick men afflicted with various diseases, and those vexed by demons. So Adrichomius. But see what I said on Matt. VIII, 14. Here also Christ, spitting in the eyes of a certain blind man, by the laying on of hands restored his sight — first imperfectly, then perfectly, Mark VIII. Wherefore Christ here justly upbraids it because, having seen so many of His miracles, it did not believe in Him; and therefore He threatens it with destruction both future and present, which has in fact befallen it. For whereas this city once flourished in wealth and buildings, it is now so deserted that it has scarcely six houses, says Adrichomius in his Description of the Holy Land, p. 137, n. 18, at the end.
For If in Tyre and Sidon Had Been Wrought the Mighty Works (signs and miracles) Which Have Been Wrought in You. — Understand that there is added to the outward signs an inward grace of God — namely, an illumination of the intellect and an impulse of the will, congruent with and proportioned to those signs, such as God ordinarily gives; for without interior grace to move the mind, all external preaching is in vain. « They had long ago done penance in sackcloth and ashes, » as the Ninevites did at the preaching of Jonah, ch. III. Note the word olim (long ago) — as if to say: They would long since have repented, and would not have delayed so long as you have delayed, O citizens of Chorazin and Bethsaida. Tyre is a most strongly fortified city of Phoenicia, situated upon a rock in the sea, and therefore in Hebrew is called Tsor, that is, « rock. » See what I said about it on Ezek. XXVI. Sidon is near Tyre, and is so called either from Sidon the firstborn of Canaan, its founder (Gen. X, 15), or from the fishing and abundance of fish, as I said a little earlier about Bethsaida.
Hence theologians conclude that God certainly knows free conditional propositions, even though they will never come to pass, inasmuch as the condition is not in fact placed in the nature of things. For Christ here certainly asserts that the Tyrians and Sidonians would have done penance if they had seen Christ's miracles — which nevertheless they did not see, and therefore did not do penance. The a priori reason is the immensity of the divine mind — namely, the infinite keenness and power of God's intellect, which comprehends, penetrates, and thoroughly sees all things whatsoever, even the most secret, and in particular the liberty of man, and the free thoughts and volitions of each man, whether absolutely or conditionally future; and therefore His intellect is omniscient, nor can anything escape it but that it plainly and fully knows and perceives it. For its object is every truth past, present, and future, whether absolute or conditional; and so it clearly beholds and discerns all this with the infinite keenness of His mind. For in future conditionals one part of the contradiction is true, just as in absolute futurities: for the condition being supposed, the thing either will be or will not be. See what I said on Jer. XXXVIII, 17, and Wisd. IV, 11, on the words: « He was taken away, lest wickedness should alter his understanding. »
Verse 22: It Shall Be More Tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the Day of Judgment
But I Say unto You, It Shall Be More Tolerable (Arabic: the remission shall be greater) for Tyre and Sidon in the Day of Judgment than for You. — As if to say: The Tyrians and Sidonians will indeed be punished for their crimes, but you, O citizens of Chorazin and Bethsaida, will be punished more severely. First, because you had a greater knowledge of God's law and power — you, being Jews and believers — than the Tyrians, who were Gentiles and unbelievers. Secondly, because you more often heard Me preaching and exhorting to repentance, and saw Me work more miracles, whereas the Tyrians heard and saw none of these things. Thirdly, because the Tyrians, being situated in the heart of the sea (as the Genoese, Venetians, and Lisbonese now are), and therefore abounding in merchandise and wealth, had a far greater occasion for pride, avarice, and luxury than you, O Galileans; and yet you are prouder, greedier, and more luxurious than the Tyrians.
Morally: in the same way, on the day of judgment Christians will be punished more severely than Jews, Romans than Indians, priests than laymen, the religious than the secular, if they have lived wickedly — because they have received from God greater knowledge, grace, and other benefits and helps to salvation, yet would not make use of them; nay, have abused them to their greater condemnation.
Verse 23: And Thou, Capernaum, Shalt Thou Be Exalted up to Heaven?
And Thou, Capernaum, Shalt Thou Be Exalted up to Heaven? (as if to say: By no means; but even) Thou Shalt Go Down to Hell. — The Vulgate translator reads ἡ ὑψωθεῖσα, that is, « Shalt thou be exalted? »; others now read ἡ ὑψωθεῖσα, that is, « thou who hast been exalted »; the Arabic reads « elevated, » just as Luke X, 15 also has; but the sense comes out the same. As if to say: Canst thou, O Capernaum, who hast been exalted by My miracles, teaching, and preaching far more than by thy merchandise and wealth, and who hast been made famous and glorious before God and men — canst thou, I say, be exalted forever in this way? As if to say: No; rather, on the day of judgment thou shalt be dragged down to hell and shalt descend into its deepest abyss, that under the Tyrians and Sidonians, who sinned less than thou, thou mayest dwell in the very center of Gehenna, and there feel, be tortured, and burned by its flaming fires more than the rest; for most of thy citizens and inhabitants are to be damned and banished to the bottom of Gehenna. Hence St. Augustine, in Sermon 42 On the Saints, explains the word exaltaberis — or, as Luke has it, exaltata — as follows, as if to say: « Thou seemest to thyself too happy, too powerful, too proud, » and therefore thou rejectest and despisest Me and all who admonish thee; for which cause thou art rushing headlong to thy own certain destruction.
For If in Sodom Had Been Wrought the Mighty Works That Have Been Wrought in Thee, Perhaps It Would Have Remained unto This Day. — The word forte (perhaps) here is not that of one doubting: for in Greek it is ἄν, which is an expletive and confirmatory particle, signifying « certainly, indeed. » Hence the translator omitted it in verse 21 and elsewhere passim, where nevertheless it is in the Greek. For he translates ἄν by forte only four times — namely, here, and John V, 46, and Psalm LXXXI, 15, and 2 Cor. VII, 5; in all the other places, which are very many, he omits the ἄν that is in the Greek and simply translates assertively, as at Matt. III, 18; V, 18; VI, 5; X, 12, and in very many other places, which can be seen in the Greek Concordances. Likewise the word forte (perhaps), in this verse 23, is omitted by Vatablus, Pagninus, and others, who render assertively mansissent (they would have remained). Therefore forte does not signify that Christ doubted the continuance of Sodom, but that He foresaw that, although it was certainly to come, yet it would come freely and as if by chance or fortuitously. For forte means the same as « by chance, » and as it were « by lot »; for it is opposed to what is natural and necessary. Thus the Comic in the Andria: « Perhaps, he says, I see a soldier, I approach the man. » And Livy, book I: « It perhaps happened; » and later: « it had perhaps so happened. » The sense therefore is, as if to say: If the Sodomites had heard My preaching and exhortation to repentance, and had beheld My miracles, which in confirmation of it I have wrought so many and so great among you, O Capernaites, they would surely have been compunct, and would have done penance, and would have remained until this day; understand: unless they themselves or their posterity, after repentance, had relapsed into the same or similar crimes, and had again provoked the wrath of God, which would have inflicted upon them a similar destruction. For if they had persevered in their repentance and change of life, they would have remained until this day. And this is intimated by the word forte. Hence Franciscus Lucas explains ἂν ἔμειναν, which our Vulgate renders forte mansissent, in a potential mode, and translates it mansisse potuissent (they might have remained).
Verse 24: It Shall Be More Tolerable for the Land of Sodom in the Day of Judgment
But I Say to You, That It Shall Be More Tolerable for the Land of Sodom (the Sodomites) (Arabic, shall find greater remission; Syriac, they shall be more at peace) in the Day of Judgment than for You. — That is to say: The Sodomites shall be punished more mildly than the Capernaites, for the reasons I enumerated at verse 22. This sentence of Christ concerning Capernaum is seen to have been fulfilled even according to the letter. For although St. Jerome testifies that in his own time the town of Capernaum still existed, yet afterwards and even now it is so desolate that, being a poor and humble village, it scarcely has seven fishermen's cottages. So say Adrichomius and others, in their Description of the Holy Land.
Verse 25: I Confess to Thee, Father, Because Thou Hast Hid These Things from the Wise and Revealed Them to Little Ones
At That Time Jesus Answered and Said: I Confess to Thee, Father, Lord (Syriac, Ruler) of Heaven and Earth, Because Thou Hast Hidden These Things from the Wise and Prudent, and Hast Revealed Them to Little Ones. — These words aptly cohere with what precedes. For here Christ gives the reason why the Capernaites, Scribes, priests, and Pharisees despised Christ and His preaching: namely, because they were proud, and seemed to themselves to be wise and prudent; therefore they would not bow their proud necks to the humility of Christ and of the Gospel, whereas the humble Apostles, disciples, and multitudes did so. Moreover, this saying signifies that Christ soothed and wiped away His sorrow, which He had conceived from their proud unbelief, by the consideration and praise of the just judgment and decree of God, by which He hid these things from the proud as unworthy, and revealed them to little ones or to the humble. Hence Luke adds: « He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit, » that is, through the Holy Spirit, who suggested to Him this consideration and the joy arising from it, « He rejoiced » and celebrated God with praises. Let us also do the same, in imitation of Christ: that when we lose our labor upon the proud and unworthy, we may wipe away our sadness by considering the divine will and providence, which spurns the proud and chooses the humble and exalts them to His grace and glory.
Answering — that is, speaking and beginning a new discourse; for no question appears here to which He properly answers. It is a Hebraism. See Canon 18.
I Confess — that is, I praise and give thanks; for this is the meaning of the Hebrew ידה iada in the Hiphil stem, namely הורה hoda; whence the sacrifice תודה toda, that is, of confession, is praise and thanksgiving. Hence in the Psalms it is said: « I will confess to You with my whole heart, » that is, I will praise You. « Confess to the Lord, for He is good, » etc., that is, praise the Lord.
To Thee, Father (who love Me Your Son uniquely, and dispose and order all things to Your glory and Mine), Lord of Heaven and Earth. — He adds this, lest anyone should attribute it to Christ's powerlessness or weakness, that He was not able to tame and subject to Himself the proud Capernaites and Pharisees, as if to say: You, O My Father, since You are the Lord of heaven and earth, and hold the hearts of all in Your hand, could by a single nod have bent the minds of the proud and made them subject to Me, but by Your just ordinance You did not will it.
Furthermore, by the name of heaven and earth are signified all creatures, and therefore all men and Angels; by which is intimated: first, that God cares for and rules not only the Jews but also the Gentiles, and recalls them to the grace of the Gospel and salvation through Christ; secondly, that God leads His faithful from earth into His heaven, as being the Lord equally of heaven and of earth; therefore it belongs to Him to open heaven to His friends; thirdly, that God, just as He distinguished the humble Apostles from the proud Scribes on earth, so also distinguished the humble Angels from the proud Lucifer and his followers in heaven. So Toletus, on Luke X.
Hear Tertullian, book I Against Marcion, chapter XIII: « It is the fullness of the Divinity Itself, setting forth God as perfect, Father and Lord: Father in clemency, Lord in discipline; Father in gentle power, Lord in severe; the Father to be loved with piety, the Lord to be feared of necessity: to be loved, because He prefers mercy to sacrifice, and to be feared, because He wills not sin; to be loved, because He prefers the sinner's repentance to his death, and to be feared, because He wills not sinners who no longer repent. Therefore the law defines both: You shall love God and you shall fear God. One He set forth for the obedient, the other for the transgressor. »
These Things (the mysteries of grace and glory, which I have preached and do preach) from the Wise and Prudent. — Namely, from the Capernaites and Scribes, who in merchandise and the business of the world seem to be wiser than others; whence they disdain to be instructed by Me and to learn the way of salvation: justly therefore You have withdrawn the light of Your Christ from the unworthy who were unwilling to receive it. So St. Jerome, Chrysostom, and Ambrose, sermon 17 on Psalm CXVIII.
And Thou Hast Revealed Them to Little Ones. — Syriac, to little boys; in Greek νηπίοις, that is, infants, as the Arabic renders it, that is, to the unlearned, unskilled, untrained in speech, namely the Apostles, disciples, and multitudes, who to the Scribes and worldly men seem to be rude and foolish like infants: that in them You might show the power of Your light and grace, by which You have made the tongues of these infants so eloquent that their sound has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the earth, Psalm XVIII.
He alludes to Psalm VIII, 3: « Out of the mouth of infants and of sucklings You have perfected praise because of Your enemies, that You may destroy the enemy and the avenger. » For the election and disposition of God is plainly contrary to the world; the world courts and chooses the rich, the wise, the powerful; but God chooses the poor, the rude, the weak, and makes them above all worldlings to be rich, wise, and powerful in spirit. Why? « That no flesh should glory in His sight; but he who glories, let him glory in the Lord. » I Cor. I, 29 and 31. See what is said there.
From this passage St. Augustine, De Praedestinatione Sanctorum, chapter VI, and De Bono Perseverantiae, chapter VIII; and St. Gregory, Moralia book XXV, chapter XIII, teach that, when upon hearing the preaching of the Gospel these believe and those do not, this is the work of God's grace and justice. For those who believe are so congruously enlightened in mind by the grace of God that they believe; those who do not believe, by the just judgment of God, on account of their pride and other sins, are not so congruously enlightened by God that they actually believe, although, if they were willing to consent to and cooperate with the illumination which God suggests to them, they could believe, and in fact would believe.
Verse 26: Yea, Father, for So It Hath Seemed Good in Thy Sight
Even So, Father, for So It Seemed Good Before You — that is, to You; in Greek more expressively ναί ὁ πατήρ, that is, « yes, » or « rightly, O Father » (for the Greeks often use the nominative for the vocative), as if to say: Yes indeed, O Father! What You have done, You have done most rightly, because it so pleased You to humble the proud and to exalt the humble. He teaches that the original cause of the predestination and election of the faithful, as well as of the reprobation of the unbelieving and ungodly, is none other than the good pleasure of God; wherefore we ought to rest in it, and not seek other reasons, since this one alone suffices for the faithful, and is equivalent to a thousand reasons. Hence the blessed in heaven, when they see their children, parents, and grandchildren condemned for their demerits, do not grieve, but approve and praise the just judgment of God.
Verse 27: All Things Are Delivered to Me by My Father — No One Knoweth the Son but the Father
All Things Have Been Delivered to Me by My Father. And No One Knows the Son, Except the Father; Neither Does Anyone Know the Father, Except the Son, and He to Whom the Son Shall Will to Reveal Him. — Christ had said that His Father is God Almighty, and that, as Lord of heaven and earth, He had rejected the proud Pharisees and revealed Himself and His grace to the humble Apostles; now, lest anyone should think that Christ Himself is less than the Father, or is not God Almighty, He teaches the contrary — namely, that the Father communicates all His own to the Son; nay, that He operates, teaches, preaches, and confers His gifts only through the Son. For to this end God sent the Son into flesh and into the world, that through Him as teacher and savior He might teach and save all.
Furthermore, the phrase « all things have been delivered to Me by the Father » must be so understood that nevertheless Christ is to be regarded as having all things according to His nature. « As when He, being life by nature, is said to be given life by the Father; and as, being Lord of glory, He is said to have received glory, » says the Council of Ephesus, from Cyril, in the Defense of the Anathemas. The sense therefore is, as if to say: All things that the Father has, namely, the divine nature, dominion, and power — so say St. Hilary and St. Augustine — and consequently (what more concerns Christ) all things, that is, the dominion, power, governance, and dispensation of all things, but especially of men, were given to Me from eternity by the Father, as Son by eternal generation; and in time the same were given to Me as man, by the hypostatic union, that I may choose, illuminate, predestine, and save whom I will — for example, the humble Apostles; and may reject, neglect, reprobate, and condemn whom I will not — such as the proud Capernaites. For in My hand lies the predestination or reprobation, the salvation or damnation of all; as if to say: I have been appointed by God the Father as savior and redeemer of the world, and the Father has placed all things in My hand and power, that I may repair and restore them; so that, as through Me as God He created all things, so also through Me having assumed flesh He may recreate and restore all things. For this I came, and for this I was made man. Therefore the sacraments have been hidden from the wise — namely, My mission, My Incarnation, the end of My coming, My office; but to little ones they are already in part revealed, and afterwards they are to be perfectly revealed. Hidden, I say, from the proud and revealed to the humble, both by Me and by My Father; because the Father has delivered all things to Me, and has committed them to My power and will. For here Christ teaches and establishes His office, dignity, and authority, so that all may hearken to Him as to the teacher and ambassador of the Father, and believe and obey Him. Just as a viceroy or governor shows the people that this office was committed to him by the king, in order to gain for himself authority and the obedience of the citizens.
And No One Knows the Son Except the Father; Neither Does Anyone Know the Father Except the Son, and He to Whom the Son Shall Will to Reveal Him. — Luke X, 22: « No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and he to whom the Son shall will to reveal Him. » He looks back to what He said at verse 25: « And You have revealed them to little ones. » As if to say: I have been sent by the Father that I may be the teacher and savior of the world, namely that I may teach men the truth and the way to salvation — that is, to God the Father, who is uncreated salvation and happiness: for this, since it is supernatural, could not be naturally known by any man or Angel; wherefore just as no one knows the Son except the Father and He to whom the Father shall will to reveal Him; so conversely no one knows the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son shall will to reveal Him: for the Father, just as He communicates His nature to the Son, so also His self-knowledge and all things that He has, and through the Son to the rest of mankind. Whoever therefore desires to come to the truth, grace, and salvation which are in God the Father, must come through Me, and listen to Me as teacher and believe in Me. For I am the way, the truth, and the life. My doctrine is the doctrine of God the Father; through Me therefore you shall have access to the Father. I shall lead you to Him and to His glory.
Furthermore, when it is said « except the Son, » the Holy Spirit is not excluded; much less, when it is said « except the Father, » is the Son excluded. For it is a rule of theologians that exclusive particles added to one divine person with respect to essential attributes do not exclude the other two persons, but only creatures, or what is of another essence. So St. Augustine, De Trinitate book VI, chapter IX; St. Cyril, St. Thomas, and the rest of the Fathers and Scholastics.
Note that Christ first revealed to the Apostles and Disciples the knowledge of the first two Persons, namely of the Father and the Son, and then, at His departure, when He was going to death, inculcated faith in the third Person, namely of the Holy Spirit, as is clear from John XVI, 7. For this most divine mystery of the Trinity had to be gradually made known to the untrained Apostles.
St. Chrysostom, homily 39, shrewdly observes that it is not said « He who has been commanded by the Father to reveal, » but « to whom He shall will to reveal, » so that the Son may be shown to be equal to the Father in dominion and power: for although Christ reveals as man, that is, through His human nature and mouth, yet this nature subsists in the divine Person; and therefore this man, namely Christ, is God and equal to God the Father.
Furthermore, St. Chrysostom and Irenaeus, book IV, chapter XIV, in order to answer Marcion, who rejected the Old Testament and its God and said: If God the Father was not known before the revelation of the incarnate Christ, then He was not known in the old law, therefore the author and God of that law was not the true God — interpret the phrase « no one knows the Father except the Son » of divine knowledge, by which the Son, as God, comprehends the Father, and the Father the Son. More plainly, however, you may take it of knowledge communicated to the human nature of Christ; for this nature revealed His mysteries to the Prophets and Fathers, such as the mysteries of the Divinity and the Trinity. So after the Incarnation He revealed the same to the Apostles and the faithful as man. For no one is faithful and Christian except from Christ and through Christ incarnate: « For it is one thing, » says Jerome, « to know by equality of nature what one knows (as the Son knows the Father), and another by the condescension of the revealer, » as we know God through the revelation of Christ.
Verse 28: Come to Me, All You That Labor and Are Burdened, and I Will Refresh You
Come to Me, All You Who Labor and Are Burdened (Syriac, who are weary and bearing burdens; Arabic, worn down by toil and weighed down by a load), and I Will Refresh You. — Having shown the majesty of His divinity, lest anyone be terrified by it, Christ adds His humanity, and most humanely invites all to Himself. In a lawgiver and prince in whom the highest power and majesty reside, the greatest virtue is benevolence and meekness. Thus Moses, the lawgiver and leader of the Hebrews, was the meekest of mortals, Numbers XII.
Come (not so much with the feet of the body as with the affections of faith, hope, love, religion, devotion, and piety) to Me — into whose hands the Father has given all things, and whom He sent as a most skilled and most devoted physician, most gentle both in manner and in remedies, so as to heal all infirmities whatsoever of body and soul: for no one except Him can heal them.
All You Who Labor — with no one excluded: for there is no one who is not laboring under some disease and in need of the healing of Christ. Therefore Christ offers Himself to all, that they may seek and receive from Him health and salvation. So He gently corrected, raised up, and cured Magdalene, Matthew, Paul, Peter. So even now in the Eucharist He invites all, and says: « Come to Me, the sick, the hungry, the afflicted; I will refresh you. »
You Who Labor (in Greek οἱ κοπιῶντες, that is, you who suffer distress) and Are Burdened — namely, wearied and depressed and succumbing to the burden — of sins, as St. Chrysostom, St. Jerome, and St. Augustine say; of the Mosaic Law, as Theophylact holds; and of the hardships and temptations of this life: « For the body which is corrupted weighs down the soul, and the earthly habitation presses down the mind that musters many thoughts. » Wisdom IX, 15. See what is said there.
And I Will Refresh You. — In Greek ἀναπαύσω, that is, I will revive, I will give rest to the weary, as the Syriac renders it, I will recreate, I will establish in all quiet, says St. Chrysostom — through the most gentle words, through the Sacraments as most effective remedies, through grace and the sweetest internal consolations, and finally through the most blessed glory in heaven. Hear St. Augustine, sermon 10 De Verbis Domini secundum Matthaeum: « Come to Me, all you who labor: for why do we all labor, except because we are mortal, fragile, weak, carrying vessels of clay that create straitenings for one another? But if the vessels of the flesh are straitened, let the spaces of charity be enlarged. What then does He say: Come, all you who labor, except that you may not labor? In short, His promise is ready at hand, since He will call the laboring. They will perhaps ask, with what reward they are called? Behold, He says, I will refresh you. »
Verse 29: Take Up My Yoke upon You, and Learn of Me, Because I Am Meek and Humble of Heart
Take Up (Syriac, bear) My Yoke upon You. — As if to say: You have borne the grievous and almost intolerable yoke and burden of the old law, of sin and of concupiscence; come to Me, I will take it away and change it into the sweet yoke of the Evangelical law, of grace and of charity. I will therefore refresh you by My yoke, which is indeed a yoke, because it is a law binding souls, but at the same time is a remedy — nay, a couch, on which you may sweetly rest, especially through humility, which He teaches and commands; which alone and singular is the medicine of all diseases, both of soul and of body, and the easing and rest of all burdens. « For nothing is rough to the meek, nothing difficult to the humble, » says St. Leo. For just as wool catches cannonballs and by its softness breaks their impact, so meekness and humility break and soften by their gentleness all that is hard and harsh: this yoke of Christ therefore is the Gospel and the Evangelical law, or the law of grace.
Hence St. Bernard, sermon 45 on the Psalm Qui habitat: « He invites the laboring to refreshment, He calls the burdened to rest; yet He does not take away the burden or the labor, but rather exchanges it for another burden, another labor — yet with a light burden and a sweet yoke, in which, though rest and refreshment may appear less, they are nevertheless to be found. »
And Learn from Me, Because I Am Meek and Humble of Heart (that is, « by the affection of the heart, that is, by the will, » says St. Bernard, sermon 42 on the Canticle; for many are humble of mouth but few of heart), and You Shall Find Rest for Your Souls. — As if to say: Imitate My humility and meekness: be meek and humble, and you shall feel how sweet is the yoke of God. So St. Chrysostom and St. Augustine, in the sermon De Verbis Domini secundum Matthaeum, whom hear: « Take up My yoke upon you, and learn from Me — not to build the world, not to create all things visible and invisible, not to work wonders and raise the dead in the world itself; but because I am meek and humble of heart. Do you wish to be great? Begin with what is least. You think to build a great edifice of loftiness: first think of the foundation of humility. And however great a mass of building anyone wills and arranges to place upon it, the greater the edifice is to be, the deeper he digs the foundation. »
Wisely Climacus, Step 25: « Humility, » he says, « is a grace of the soul without a name, named only by those who have had experience of it; an inexplicable treasure, having received its name from God, a singular gift of God: Learn, He says, not from an Angel, not from a man, not from a book, but from Me — that is, from My indwelling, illumination, and operation in you — that I am meek and humble in heart, in thought, and in speech; and you shall find rest from inner wars for your souls, and easing for your thoughts. » And after many more words, he assigns to the humble man these endowments and fruits: « He who is joined to this humility as a bridegroom to his bride is gentle, peaceful, inclined to compunction, merciful; above all else serene and tranquil, joyful and eager, obedient, free from all troubles, watchful and diligent; and to embrace all in one word, undisturbed. »
Secondly, and more genuinely, the Author of the Opus Imperfectum, Maldonatus, and Jansenius take it as if He were to say: Learn from Me — that is, do not fear to approach Me and to take the yoke of My Gospel upon your neck, but come and take it up: for you shall learn, and shall experience in Me in very fact, that I am no tyrant or severe and rigid king, but a humble, meek, clement, and benign Lord. This sense is required by the reason He adds: « For My yoke is sweet, and My burden is light. » And this: « And you shall find rest for your souls; » for this Christ alone supplies.
Furthermore, Christ was of such humility and meekness in bearing with the Scribes, the disciples, the crowds, the insults, reproaches, mockeries, scourges, cross, and death, that even if He had worked no miracle, by such meekness alone He would have proved more than sufficiently that He was a heavenly man and a true Prophet sent from God. For my part, I marvel more at the divine meekness of Christ than at His miracles and raising of the dead.
Morally: learn here how great and how dear humility is to Christ. First, from the fact that it is the highest and the crown of Christ's life, doctrine, and perfection, as if to say: Learn from Me not to create the world, not to work miracles, not to dispute subtle points about God and the holy Trinity, not to perform Herculean labors and deeds, but because I am meek and humble of heart; this is the summit and the compendium of My doctrine and of Evangelical perfection.
Secondly, that humility is the seat of peace: « And you shall find, » He says, « rest for your souls: » nowhere is there rest of soul except in humility; do you therefore desire rest? Embrace humility — a humble place, a humble office, humble food, clothing, etc. It is impossible for the proud man, who always desires and strives after greater things and often cannot attain them, to have peace of soul.
Thirdly, that humility removes from man all labor and all burdens: « Come to Me, » He says, « all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you, » lifting from labor and burden: by what means, Lord? Through humility. « Take up, » He says, « My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, because I am meek and humble of heart. » Humility therefore is the easing of every labor and burden, and the restoration of strength, so that a certain Doctor rightly said: « Humility is a medicine against all diseases, and health of soul and body; » for by enduring disease it soothes and overcomes it. Indeed Hippocrates said τὰ ἄχολα μακρόβια, that is, animals that lack gall, like deer, are long-lived; therefore the meek and humble are healthy and long-lived: for meekness tempers both manners and humors, which are disturbed by bile, whence come diseases.
Fourthly, humility is the virtue of Christ: « Learn, » He says, « from Me: » this virtue is Mine, proper to Me, dearer to Me than the rest, which, by descending from the heavens to the lowest earth, to extreme poverty, to an infamous death and cross, I so displayed that none is more illustrious and more marvelous in My life and death. So on the opposite side, pride is the sin of Lucifer. Humility, therefore, makes us most like Christ; what is more worthy, what more desirable?
Fifthly, the same makes the yoke of Christ sweet and the law light; as if to say: Learn from Me to be humble and meek, and in My yoke you shall feel no weight, but you will experience it to be sweet and light. On this account St. Francis used to say that Christ descended from heaven to earth for no other reason than to teach us humility. See St. Bonaventure, chapter On the Humility of St. Francis.
Excellently St. Augustine, epistle 112: « Those, » he says, « who have learned from the Lord Jesus to be meek and humble of heart make more progress by praying and meditating than by reading and hearing. »
Finally, Christ here joins the meek with the humble, because meekness and humility are as it were two sisters associated with each other, or as mother and daughter. Hence St. Bernard, sermon 2 on that text Apocalypse XII, A great sign: « Just as, » he says, « the mother of presumption is pride, so true meekness proceeds only from true humility. » The same, on the Apostle's words The kingdom of God is not meat and drink: « The meek, » he says, « pertains to charity, because charity is patient, benign, and humble. » I Cor. XIII.
Hear Climacus, Step 24: « The morning light of the dawn precedes the sun; meekness precedes humility. Therefore let us first hear Christ the light, who arranges them step by step thus: Learn, He says, from Me, because I am meek and humble of heart. » Then he thus defines meekness: « Meekness is an unchangeable state of mind, which in every fortune of honors and insults preserves an equal habit of soul. Meekness is to pray for those who disturb you, without disturbance, sincerely and from the heart. Meekness is a rock rising against the wrath of the sea, which dissolves and breaks all the waves dashed against it, yet is not itself moved or broken. » Finally, he assigns its effects and endowments by these epithets: « Meekness is the stay of patience, the gate — nay, the very parent — of charity, the proof of prudence: for the Lord, He says, will teach the meek His ways; the procurer of pardon, the confidence of sinners in prayer, the dwelling-place of the Holy Spirit: for upon whom shall I look, but upon the meek and quiet? » Isaiah LXVI.
Verse 30: For My Yoke Is Sweet, and My Burden Light
The yoke and burden of Christ is the Gospel, says St. Hilary, and Bede, and others. The law of the Gospel, then, is a yoke, because it binds us to discipline, lest anyone depart from righteousness. The word « sweet » in Greek is not γλυκύς, that is, sweet like sugar, but χρηστός, that is, convenient, humane, gentle, kindly (Arabic, « good ») in comparison with the old law: first, because it has fewer and easier precepts; second, because it gives greater grace, which greatly lightens the burden of the commandment; third, because it rules us by love, as sons, not by fear, as slaves, as the old law did; fourth, because it does not threaten or inflict death, as the old law did, but takes it away; fifth, because it promises to its observers a most happy life, and leads them as by the hand to the eternal sweetness of the joys of heaven, according to the verse: « They shall be inebriated with the plenty of Your house, and You shall give them drink from the torrent of Your delight, » Psalm XXXV, 9. St. Paul gives the reason, and from him St. Augustine, sermon 10 De Verbis Domini secundum Matthaeum: « The sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, which shall be revealed in us. Wherefore things that are hard to the laboring grow mild to the same people when they love: love makes all things savage and immense to be almost nothing. »
He says, then: « Take up My yoke upon you, » as though in the yoke of divine servitude perfect consolation and refreshment were contained. Hence St. Ambrose, book De Helia et Jejunio, chapter XXII: « Take up, » he says, « the yoke of Christ; do not fear, because it is a yoke; make haste, because it is light. It does not bruise the neck, but adorns it. Why do you doubt? Why do you delay? It does not bind the neck with chains, but joins the mind with grace. It does not constrain by necessity, but directs the will to the good work. » Hear St. Bernard, epistle 72: « It is worth admiring how light the burden of truth is, which not only does not burden, but even carries everyone on whom it is laid to be carried. This burden could make pregnant a Virgin's womb, but not weigh it down. This burden, those very arms of Simeon, to which it offered itself to be supported, did it uphold. This also was carrying Paul, placed indeed in a heavy and corruptible body, up to the third heaven. » Nay, David: « Because of the words of Your lips, » he says, « I have kept hard ways, » Psalm XVI, 4. On which St. Augustine, book De Natura et Gratia, chapter LXIX: « Hard, » he says, « to fear, light to love. »
My — namely, which I, Christ, impose upon you, but also bear with you, and shoulder the burden; nay, the whole burden and yourselves as well I bear and carry: for it is called a yoke (jugum) because two yoked beasts of burden undergo it together, for a yoke is so named from joining (jungendo). Christ therefore places upon our neck only one part of the yoke, that is, of the Evangelical law; the other and greater part He Himself bears, and so draws this yoke along with us, and supplies us with strength and courage to draw it, both by His grace and by His example: as recently a certain priest of the Society of Jesus in Japan, bravely undergoing a cruel death for Christ, kept repeating: « Christ therefore makes the yoke rot before the face of oil, » Isaiah X, 27. On the contrary, the burdens of sin are heavy, says St. Jerome, on Zechariah, chapter V, saying that iniquity sits upon a talent of lead. See what is said in both places.
To this purpose is what we read in the life of St. Mechtild: that she, when she was tormented by severe headaches so that she could nowhere find rest, heard from Christ, who was showing her the wound of His side: « Now enter, that you may rest: » and she immediately entered with joy. And it seemed to her that she had as many silken cushions as the blows of pain she then felt coming upon her head. And the Lord said: « Silkworms spin silk, and of Me it is written: I am a worm, and not a man. Hitherto you have served Me devotedly in labors; from now on you will strive to serve Me in the exercise of virtues after My example, in ways pleasing to Me; and whatever will be unbearable for you, I will bear it with you. » These are the words, verbatim in simple but candid style, of the author of her Life.
The burden of the law of grace is a gift of grace, whose perfect observance introduces other gifts into the soul. Hear him: « A heavy burden is iniquity sitting upon a talent of lead. Under this burden he groaned who said: My iniquities are gone over my head, and like a heavy burden they have weighed heavy upon me. What then is the burden of Christ, what burden is light? As I understand it, it is the burden of benefits: a sweet burden, but to him who feels it, to him who experiences it. » And after a few words more: « God burdens us, when He unburdens us; He burdens with benefit, when He unburdens from sin. The voice of the burdened: What shall I render to the Lord for all that He has rendered to me? The voice of the burdened: For always, as waves swelling over me, I have feared God. The voice of the burdened: Depart from me, for I am a sinner, O Lord. »
Furthermore, to the proud and the carnal, the yoke and law of Christ — of humility, abstinence, continence, mortification — seems most grievous and intolerable, because they lack spirit, and love and think of nothing but the flesh and carnal things. Hence St. Bernard, treatise De Praecepto et Dispensatione: « The yoke of Christ, » he says, « is a burden, and altogether unbearable, except to one equally sharing Christ's spirit; » yet even for these very proud and carnal men, a far heavier yoke is ambition itself and the concupiscence of the flesh: « A rough yoke indeed, » says St. Gregory, Moralia book XL, chapter XII, « and a weight of hard servitude, to be subject to temporal things, to seek after earthly things, to hold onto things that slip away, to wish to stand upon things that do not stand, indeed to desire things that pass away, yet with things that pass away to be unwilling to pass. For while all those things flee contrary to one's vow, which formerly afflicted the mind with desire for acquisition, afterwards they oppress it through the fear of loss. »
Truly St. Chrysostom, homily 14 on I Corinthians: « Virtue, » he says, « is rough, if it be compared to our weakness; but that it is easy and light, hear Christ testifying: My yoke is sweet, and My burden is light. But if you do not understand this, let no wonder hold you; for you are not of a strong mind: for just as, when the strength of the mind is present, hard things become light, so when it is absent, light things become hard. What, I ask, is sweeter than manna? What more at hand? Yet the Jews scarcely tolerated it, when they were feasting on it as a delight. What is heavier than the hunger and other labors Paul endured? Yet he rejoiced and exulted, saying: Now I glory in my infirmities. What then is the cause of these things? A difference of mind — which, if you would establish as it ought to be, you would recognize the ease of virtue. »
This yoke of Christ, therefore, is not so much a yoke as a silken cushion, because it does not press us down with trouble, but relieves us from the weight of earthly things and lifts us up to heaven.
On this account St. Bernard aptly compares this burden to the feathers of birds: for thus he writes, epistle 341 to the Monks: « On the way of life, the more quickly, the more easily one runs; and the light burden of the Savior, the more it grows, the more bearable it becomes. Does not the very multitude of their quills or feathers lift up the little birds rather than weigh them down? Take them away, and the remaining body is borne by its own weight to the lowest places. So with the discipline of Christ, so with the sweet yoke, so with the light burden which we lay aside: by this we ourselves are pressed down, because it carries rather than is carried. »
And St. Augustine, sermon 25 De Verbis Apostoli: « This burden, » he says, « is not the weight of one laden, but the wing of one about to fly. For even birds have the burden of their feathers. They carry them, and they are carried by them. They carry them on the earth; they are carried by them in the sky. If you wish to show mercy to a bird, especially in the summer heat, and say: 'The feathers burden this poor little bird,' and you remove this burden, it will remain on the ground — the very one you wished to help. » And again, in the book De Perfectione Justitiae, near the middle, at the end of the seventh volume: « Those labor under God's precepts, » he says, « who try to fulfill them through fear; but perfect charity casts out fear, and makes the burden of the precept light, not only not pressing down with the weight of a load, but even lifting up in the manner of feathers. »
St. Ambrose adds, sermon 3 on Psalm CXVIII: « To bear the yoke of Christ, » he says, « is sweet, if you consider it ornaments of your neck, not burdens. Lift up, then, your eyes to the Lord your God, and seek God that you may find Him. Raise your neck: you wear chains of honor, not of bondage. Many animals also delight in their ornaments, and seem more to be adorned than bound by them. Let your cheeks display the marks of modesty like a turtledove's, and let the chains upon your neck bear up the confidence of freedom. The yoke of Christ, then, is light, and therefore the neck is not pressed down by it, but lifted up. » No wonder indeed that this yoke is light, since to a man eager for glory all glorious and honorable things are deemed light and sweet; and there is nothing more glorious than this yoke of Christ.
Finally St. Bernard, sermon 15 on the Psalm Qui habitat, understands by the yoke and burden the burden of God's gifts and benefits.