Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
First, Christ is transfigured before Elijah and Moses, whence He foretells that Elijah shall return, so as to run before His own coming unto judgment. Second, at verse 16, He heals a deaf and mute demoniac. Third, at verse 33, He cures the dispute of the disciples over primacy by the pursuit of humility, that we might become as little children. Fourth, at verse 37, He forbids hindering the man who cast out demons in His name, though he was not of His following. Fifth, at verse 41, He teaches what a great evil scandal is, which, at verse 48, He teaches must be done away with by the fire of mortification and the salt of discretion.
Vulgate Text: Mark 9:1-49
1. And after six days Jesus took Peter, and James, and John; and led them up into a high mountain apart by themselves, and was transfigured before them. 2. And His garments became glistening, exceeding white as snow, so as no fuller on earth can whiten them. 3. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 4. And Peter answered and said to Jesus: Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles, one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah. 5. For he knew not what he was saying, for they were struck with fear. 6. And there came a cloud overshadowing them, and a voice came from the cloud, saying: This is My most beloved Son: hear ye Him. 7. And immediately, looking around, they saw no one any more, but Jesus only with them. 8. And as they were coming down from the mountain, He charged them that they should tell no one what they had seen, till the Son of Man should have risen from the dead. 9. And they kept the word to themselves, questioning what that might mean: When He shall have risen from the dead. 10. And they asked Him, saying: Why then do the Pharisees and Scribes say that Elijah must first come? 11. Who answering, said to them: Elijah, when he shall come first, shall restore all things: and how it is written of the Son of Man, that He should suffer many things and be despised. 12. But I say to you that Elijah also is come (and they have done to him whatsoever they would) as it is written of him. 13. And coming to His disciples, He saw a great multitude about them, and the Scribes disputing with them. 14. And immediately all the people, seeing Jesus, were astonished and struck with fear, and running to Him, saluted Him. 15. And He asked them: What do you question about among yourselves? 16. And one of the multitude, answering, said: Master, I have brought my son to Thee, having a dumb spirit; 17. who, wheresoever he taketh him, dasheth him, and he foameth, and gnasheth with the teeth, and pineth away; and I spoke to Thy disciples to cast him out, and they could not. 18. Who answering them, said: O unbelieving generation! how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? Bring him unto Me. 19. And they brought him. And when he had seen Him, immediately the spirit troubled him; and being thrown down upon the ground, he rolled about foaming. 20. And He asked his father: How long is it since this hath happened unto him? But he said: From his infancy; 21. and oftentimes hath he cast him into the fire and into waters to destroy him; but if Thou canst do anything, help us, having compassion on us. 22. And Jesus said to him: If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 23. And immediately the father of the boy crying out, with tears said: I do believe, Lord; help my unbelief. 24. And when Jesus saw the multitude running together, He threatened the unclean spirit, saying to him: Deaf and dumb spirit, I command thee, go out of him, and enter no more into him. 25. And crying out and greatly tearing him, it went out of him, and he became as dead, so that many said: He is dead. 26. But Jesus, taking him by the hand, lifted him up, and he arose. 27. And when He was come into the house, His disciples privately asked Him: Why could not we cast him out? 28. And He said to them: This kind can go out by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. 29. And departing from thence, they passed through Galilee, and He would not have any man know it. 30. And He taught His disciples, and said to them: The Son of Man shall be delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill Him, and after being killed, He shall rise again on the third day. 31. But they understood not the word, and they were afraid to ask Him. 32. And they came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house, He asked them: What did you discuss on the way? 33. But they held their peace: for in the way they had disputed among themselves which of them should be the greatest. 34. And sitting down, He called the Twelve, and saith to them: If any man desire to be first, he shall be the last of all, and the servant of all. 35. And taking a child, He set him in the midst of them; whom when He had embraced, He saith to them: 36. Whosoever shall receive one such child as this in My name, receiveth Me; and whosoever shall receive Me, receiveth not Me, but Him that sent Me. 37. John answered Him, saying: Master, we saw one casting out devils in Thy name, who followeth not us, and we forbade him. 38. But Jesus said: Do not forbid him, for there is no man that doth a miracle in My name, and can soon speak ill of Me. 39. For he that is not against you, is for you. 40. For whosoever shall give you to drink a cup of water in My name, because ye belong to Christ: amen I say to you, he shall not lose his reward. 41. And whosoever shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in Me: it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were cast into the sea. 42. And if thy hand scandalize thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into unquenchable fire, 43. where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished. 44. And if thy foot scandalize thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter lame into life everlasting, than having two feet to be cast into the hell of unquenchable fire, 45. where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished. 46. And if thy eye scandalize thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter with one eye into the kingdom of God, than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire, 47. where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished. 48. For every one shall be salted with fire, and every victim shall be salted with salt. 49. Salt is good: but if the salt become unsavory, wherewith will you season it? Have salt in yourselves; and have peace among yourselves.
Verse 11: And Shall Be Despised
11. AND SHALL BE DESPISED. — In Greek, ἐξουδενωθῇ, that is, he shall be made empty, reduced to nothing; understand it to mean: in like manner it shall befall Elijah, that after having restored the collapsed faith with great labors, for such great merits and benefits he shall receive curses and evil works from the ungrateful and impious, and shall at last be killed by them, Apocalypse XI, 7 and 8.
Verse 13: Scribes Disputing With Them
13. SCRIBES DISPUTING (in Greek, συζητοῦντας, that is, debating, contending) WITH THEM, — namely with the disciples of Jesus, about whether He Himself were truly the Prophet and the Messiah, and whether His doctrines were true.
Verse 14: And Immediately All the People, Seeing Jesus, Were Astonished
14. AND IMMEDIATELY ALL THE PEOPLE, SEEING JESUS, WERE ASTONISHED, AND STRUCK WITH FEAR, — namely, because they saw Jesus, who had been absent, present so unexpectedly and opportunely, to protect and defend His disciples against the Scribes. Again, because they saw on the face of Jesus, who had been transfigured a little while before, some remaining rays of splendor, as after God's colloquy rays clung to the face of Moses as horns of light, Exodus XXXIV, 29; hence there follows: "And running to Him, they saluted Him." So Franciscus Lucas.
Verse 15: What Do You Question About Among Yourselves
15. WHAT DO YOU QUESTION ABOUT AMONG YOURSELVES. — In Greek, συζητεῖτε, that is, you dispute, you contend.
Verse 19: He Troubled Him
19. HE TROUBLED (in Greek, ἐσπάραξεν, that is, dashed, tore, rent) HIM — that is, He convulsed and distorted his whole body: whence, explaining further, He subjoins — AND BEING THROWN DOWN UPON THE GROUND, HE ROLLED ABOUT FOAMING. — Namely, because the demon here felt the power of Christ, and perceived that he was soon to be cast out by Him, hence, indignant and gnashing, he most grievously afflicted and tormented the possessed man.
Verse 29: They Passed Through Galilee, and He Would Not That Any Man Should Know It
29. THEY PASSED THROUGH GALILEE, AND HE WOULD NOT THAT ANY MAN SHOULD KNOW IT. — Namely, lest He be detained by the Galileans, who loved Him and His benefits, because He was hastening to Jerusalem, to the cross and to death — of which also He was speaking secretly with His disciples — that He might satisfy the Father's will, and redeem the human race by His death. So Maldonatus, Franciscus Lucas, and others.
Verse 31: But They Understood Not the Word
31. BUT THEY UNDERSTOOD NOT THE WORD. — Namely, in what way and for what reason Christ was to die, and how these words of His about His impending death agreed with those words by which He had often told them that His kingdom was drawing near: for otherwise it is clear from Matthew XVII, 23, that the Apostles understood and believed that Christ was to die, where they are said to have been grieved by this word and oracle of Christ about His own death. Unless you prefer to say that they were ignorant of Christ's death, because they were hesitating and wavering about it, on account of the various sayings of Christ which seemed contrary to one another, and therefore they were inclined rather to the milder and more agreeable side, namely, that Christ was not about to die; for this is what they themselves hoped and wished to be true, because "lovers fashion their own dreams"; they therefore tried to persuade themselves that the words of Christ about His death had some other hidden sense, and were to be taken mystically, not in the literal way in which they sounded.
Verse 37: John Answered Him, Saying: Master, We Saw a Certain Man Casting Out Demons in Thy Name
37. JOHN ANSWERED HIM, SAYING: MASTER, WE SAW A CERTAIN MAN CASTING OUT DEMONS IN THY NAME, WHO FOLLOWETH NOT US, AND WE FORBADE HIM. — As if to say: Did we do well or ill? John asks this, not out of envy, as Calvin would have it, but out of love and zeal for Christ's honor; and he does so on the occasion of what Christ had said in verse 36: "Whosoever shall receive one such, etc., in My name;" as if to say: If he who receives a little one in Thy name receives Thee and the Father, what then are we to think of the man who works miracles in Thy name, yet does not follow us, that is, is not Thy follower and disciple, as we are? "For since," says Cyril in the Catena on Luke IX, verse 49, "the Savior had given the Apostles the power of casting out unclean spirits, they thought that no one else but themselves alone was lawfully permitted to exercise the dignity that had been granted." So also Theophylact, Victor, and Titus on Luke IX.
Note first here, that these men who cast out demons in the name of Christ and yet did not follow Him were believers, but imperfect ones, inasmuch as they shrank from the harsh poverty and the renunciation of their own goods (which the Apostles had practiced), and from following Christ into evangelical labors, persecutions, and crosses; nevertheless they had some faith in Christ, by whose power they expelled demons. So St. Ambrose, on Luke IX, verse 49; and this with Christ acting and cooperating with them, so that the power and glory of Christ might be all the more shown, which wrought such things through such imperfect and as it were foreign agents. So Theophylact.
Note second, the Apostles forbade them not out of hatred, but out of zeal for Christ, as men who thought them to be standing in the way of Christ's glory and of His institution in chapter III, 15 (where Christ gives the power of casting out demons to the Apostles alone); but this zeal was indiscreet, especially because they had rashly forbidden them without consulting Christ. And Christ shows them this for two reasons. The first is the one He offers in the following verse. In like manner, Joshua, seeing Eldad and Medad prophesying, wished to forbid them, as if they were standing in the way of Moses' glory, because they had not received the spirit of prophecy from Moses; but Moses resisted him, saying: "Why art thou jealous for me? Would that all the people might prophesy, and that the Lord would give them His Spirit?" Numbers XI, 29. This is the Spirit of Christ, the spirit of charity and the Holy Spirit, which enlarges the heart and envies no man, but rejoices with all good men, through whomsoever and howsoever they act, I Corinthians XIII.
Verse 38: But Jesus Said: Do Not Forbid Him
38. BUT JESUS SAID: DO NOT FORBID HIM; FOR THERE IS NO MAN THAT DOTH A MIRACLE IN MY NAME, AND CAN SOON (in Greek ταχύ, that is ῥᾳδίως, that is easily) SPEAK ILL OF ME. — As if to say: Do not hinder him from a work that is good and honorable to Me, because although he himself does not follow Me, yet he does the same thing you do, namely, to celebrate My name; and to proclaim it to men by the casting out of demons: wherefore he does not impede My name, but rather spreads it and glorifies it.
Verse 39: For He That Is Not Against You, Is For You
39. FOR HE THAT IS NOT AGAINST YOU, IS FOR YOU. — As if to say: This man is so far from being opposed to you that he is doing the very same thing that you do: therefore he stands for you and helps you; he does not fight against you. See what is said on Matthew XII, 30.
Verse 40: For Whosoever Shall Give You a Cup of Water to Drink in My Name
40. FOR WHOSOEVER SHALL GIVE YOU A CUP OF WATER TO DRINK IN MY NAME, BECAUSE YOU ARE CHRIST'S (that is, His disciples, followers, and Apostles): AMEN I SAY TO YOU, HE SHALL NOT LOSE HIS REWARD. — This is the second reason Christ gives, proving that the man ought not to be forbidden to cast out demons, as if to say: If he who gives you a cup of water in My name and out of regard for Me does well, and shall receive a reward from God, then so also does the man who casts out demons in My name. For both alike do a good work out of regard and respect for Me, and are beneficent toward their neighbors; but the latter all the more, inasmuch as a demon, which he expels, is more harmful than the thirst which is relieved by a drink of water. So Theophylact, Jansenius, and others.
Verse 41: And Whosoever Shall Scandalize One of These Little Ones
41. AND WHOSOEVER SHALL SCANDALIZE ONE OF THESE LITTLE ONES THAT BELIEVE IN ME: IT WERE BETTER FOR HIM THAT A MILLSTONE WERE HANGED ABOUT HIS NECK, AND THAT HE WERE CAST INTO THE SEA. — This is an antithesis set over against verse 36; for Christ here returns to it after the question interposed by John about the man who cast out demons in Christ's name, whereby John had broken off Christ's discourse — where Christ said: "Whosoever shall receive one such child as these in My name, receiveth Me," etc. As if to say: Just as he who receives little ones who believe in Me, who cherishes and fosters them, receives Me, and therefore shall be rewarded by Me with eternal glory in heaven, so conversely whosoever shall scandalize one of these little ones, offends Me, and therefore shall be condemned by Me to hell; wherefore it would be better for him to be drowned in the sea than to scandalize a little one, since it is better to be swallowed up by the sea than by hell.
Verse 42: And If Thy Hand Scandalize Thee, Cut It Off
42. AND IF THY HAND SCANDALIZE THEE, CUT IT OFF. — As if to say: Scandal is so pernicious that it harms not only the one who causes it, but also the one who suffers it; wherefore, if you suffer scandal from your hand, cut it off. As if to say: If some relative or friend of yours, who is useful or dear to you as your hand, foot, or eye, scandalizes you and drags you into sin, cut him off from yourself and from your company, lest he drag you down with himself into hell. See what is said on Matthew XVIII, 6 and following.
Verse 43: Where Their Worm Dieth Not, and the Fire Is Not Extinguished
43. WHERE THEIR WORM DIETH NOT, AND THE FIRE IS NOT EXTINGUISHED. — He cites Isaiah chapter LXVI, verse 24, where I have explained these words. For the damned in hell are tormented by horrible worms and perpetual fires. Wherefore for the third time Christ repeats this sentence, that He may impress these terrible worms and fires upon us, so that by dread of them we may flee all scandal and sin.
Verse 48: For Every One Shall Be Salted With Fire, and Every Victim Shall Be Salted With Salt
48. FOR EVERY ONE SHALL BE SALTED WITH FIRE, AND EVERY VICTIM SHALL BE SALTED WITH SALT. — First, Maldonatus and Franciscus Lucas take "fire" as the fire of hell, so that Christ gives the reason of what He had just said: "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished." The reason is, "for every one" — namely, every one who is to be condemned to hell — "shall be salted" with the same "fire," that is, shall be burned and tormented with fire; but in such a way that by that same fire, as by a kind of salt, he is preserved incorrupt unto everlasting torments. For fire shall be to him as it were salt, as though he had been rubbed with salt, so that he may endure incorrupt forever in the torments of fire; for salt has the power both of burning and of preserving: it burns and torments by its scorching, and by its sharpness it preserves from corruption. The fire of hell does the same, wherefore it is aptly compared to salt.
AND EVERY VICTIM SHALL BE SALTED WITH SALT. — "And," that is, as, as if to say: Just as every victim of God is customarily salted with salt, by the law of Leviticus II, 13, so every one who is condemned to hell shall be, as it were, a victim of God's justice and vengeance in perpetuity, and therefore shall be salted with unquenchable fire as with salt, that is, shall be burned and tormented, and at the same time shall endure incorrupt in the fire. That the impious in their torments are victims of God's vengeance is taught by Isaiah, chapter XXXIV, 6; Ezekiel, chapter XXXIX, verses 17 and 19; Jeremiah, chapter XLVI, 10. For the impious are slaughtered as it were as victims to honor and celebrate God's justice. This sense is very plain, well-connected, and apt.
Second, others relate these words more remotely to what Christ said in verses 42 and following about avoiding scandal, and about cutting off hand, foot, and eye on account of it, as if to say: Therefore cut off from yourself the man who is dear and necessary to you as hand, foot, or eye, if he scandalizes you, because every one who desires to please God and to offer himself to Him, and to become a spiritual victim, must be "salted," that is, crucified and purified, by the fire of mortification — by which he cuts off from himself the man who is dear but scandalous — and by the tribulation which he must therefore undergo; and, as it were God's victim, must be "salted," that is, seasoned, with the mystic salt of prudence, discretion, and evangelical wisdom (which teaches that it is better to cut off a hand than to go into hell). Christ alludes to, indeed cites in a mystical sense, Leviticus II, 13: "Whatever sacrifice thou shalt offer, thou shalt season it with salt." See what is said there. So Theophylact here, and Theodoret, Procopius, Bede, Radulphus; Rupert, on chapter II of Leviticus; and Cyril, Book XV On Adoration. Whence follows: "Salt is good." Hear the Gloss: To be salted with fire is to deny for Christ's love those near and dear to us as hand or eye. Hear also Bede: The altar is the heart of the elect; the sacrifices are good works; the salt is wisdom. Christ sets the fire of mortification over against the fire of hell, and salt against the worm that dieth not; as if to say: That you may escape the fire and worm of hell, which are begotten by concupiscence, apply yourselves to the fire of mortification and the salt of wisdom; for this will take away all the rottenness of concupiscence, out of which are born those perennial worms that must be burned in the fire of hell.
Third, Bede takes "fire" to mean charity, or the Holy Spirit, and His grace and the gift of discretion, by which He directs us to every good. "Salt," he says, "keeps off the putrefaction of the worm; but what is salted with fire, that is, seasoned with fires sprinkled with salt, not only drives away worms but also consumes the flesh. Therefore the body must be seasoned with continence, and the mind with wisdom; for wisdom is salt, and the grace of the Holy Spirit is fire."
Fourth, finally, the Scholiast in St. Jerome takes salt also to mean the fire of purgatory. Hear him: "The victim of the Lord is the human race, which here is salted by reason of wisdom, while the corruption of the blood — the keeper of putridity, that is, the mother of worms — is consumed, and there is examined by the fire of purgatory."
SALT IS GOOD. — As if to say: Salt is useful, that is, you are useful to the world, O Apostles chosen by Me, that you may be the salt of the earth, Matthew V, 13, so that by your wisdom and evangelical doctrine you may season all nations as with salt. Hear the Scholiast in St. Jerome: "It is a good thing to hear the word of God, to season the heart with the salt of wisdom, and indeed to be, with the Apostles, salt, that is, to minister wisdom to others." And Theophylact: "Salt preserves flesh; so the discourse of a teacher does not allow an unquenchable fire to be generated in carnal men."
BUT IF THE SALT BE UNSAVORY (in Greek there is an elegant paronomasia, ἄναλον, that is insalsum, or salt without salt) WHEREWITH (with what other salt) WILL YOU SEASON IT? — As if to say: If you, O Apostles, who are the salt of the earth, should lose this force of salt, and become unsavory and witless, so that for love or fear of men, for greed or ambition, you forsake My doctrine and the evangelical life, who shall restore you to your former wisdom, vigor, and holiness? Christ plays upon the word salt: for in Leviticus II, 13 it is taken properly, but here mystically for wisdom, and metonymically for the Apostles, who had within themselves this mystical salt. Hear the Scholiast in St. Jerome: "Unsavory salt is he who loves preeminence, and dares neither to rebuke nor to confess, loving the glory of man more than the glory of God." And Theophylact: "Salt is unsavory if it has not the power of drying and preserving." Christ is noting Judas, who, being corrupted by avarice and becoming unsavory, lost his apostleship, and did not hesitate to betray the Lord, says the Gloss.
HAVE SALT THEREFORE IN YOURSELVES (namely, the salt of wisdom and of the Christian life, e.g., humility, charity, contempt of the world, and above all peace, as Christ adds when He says), AND HAVE PEACE AMONG YOURSELVES. — Namely, do not ambitiously contend among yourselves over primacy, as you contended at verse 35; for Christ has this in view. For that contention will be scandalous to the whole world, and for that reason Christ subjoined His discourse about avoiding scandal at verses 36 and 41. But if you keep peace and mutual concord, you will be an edification to the whole world, and, joined together by the bond of charity, you will be unconquerable, and shall draw all men to yourselves and to Christ. Hence the Interlinear takes "peace" to mean love; for the magnet of love is love. Hence the Scholiast in St. Jerome explains it thus: "Have salt in yourselves," as if to say: Let love of neighbor temper the salt of correction, and let the salt of justice preserve love.
AND HAVE PEACE AMONG YOURSELVES. — As if to say: Whoever speaks wisely should greatly fear lest unity be broken by his speech; for, as Bede says, "to have salt without peace is not a gift of virtue, but a token of damnation; for the better a man is in wisdom, the worse is his transgression." For there are many, says the Gloss, "whom, while greater knowledge exalts them, it also divides from the fellowship of others; and the more wise they grow, the more they become foolish with respect to the virtue of concord." And St. Gregory, Book I, Epistle 24: "By salt," he says, "wisdom is designated. He, therefore, who strives to speak wisely, should greatly fear lest by his speech the unity of his hearers be thrown into confusion."
Finally, the Gloss explains it thus: "Have salt in yourselves," that is, discretion; "and have peace among yourselves," as if to say: By wisdom and discretion peace is acquired among men, and likewise preserved. For the prudent and discreet man does nothing by which he may offend others and disturb peace. He likewise dissembles and tolerates the infirmities of others, on account of which other impatient men grow angry, quarrel, and fight, because he loves nothing in the world but God, and hence with regard to other things he seems as it were free from pain and insensible. Hear Climacus, Grade 30: "The firmament indeed has the stars for its ornament; but the tranquility of the soul has the virtues. For I consider apatheia, or tranquility of soul, to be nothing other than the heaven of the mind within the heart, which thenceforth holds all the wicked arts of the demons as mere play and mockery." He then adds that the same is "the palace of the supreme King, and, as it were, a kind of mortal immortality of the body."