Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
First, Christ sends the Apostles to preach the kingdom of God. Second, verse 10, He withdraws into the desert of Bethsaida, and there with five loaves He feeds five thousand men. Third, verse 18, He asks the Apostles what men say of Him, and what they themselves say. Peter answers: Thou art the Christ. Fourth, verse 22, He foretells His death and cross, and exhorts all to take up the cross. Fifth, verse 27, He is transfigured on the mountain, and converses with Elijah and Moses. Sixth, verse 38, He heals a demoniac who foams and gnashes his teeth. Seventh, verse 47, when the disciples contend among themselves which of them was the greatest, He answers that he is the greater who makes himself the less. Eighth, verse 52, in James and John He chastises the spirit of vengeance against the Samaritans who would not receive Christ. Ninth, verse 57, He rejects three who wished to follow Him.
We have heard all these things in Matthew at the places noted in the margin of the Bibles, where I have explained them, with the exception of the eighth part concerning the spirit of vengeance, which I shall explain at verse 55, and with the exception of verses 49 and 50, which I have explained at Mark IX, 38 and following.
Vulgate Text: Luke 9:1-62
1. Then calling together the twelve Apostles, He gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. 2. And He sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. 3. And He said to them: Take nothing for your journey, neither staff, nor scrip, nor bread, nor money; neither have two coats. 4. And whatsoever house you shall enter into, abide there, and depart not from thence. 5. And whosoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off even the dust of your feet, for a testimony against them. 6. And going out, they went about through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing everywhere. 7. Now Herod, the tetrarch, heard of all things that were done by Him; and he was in a doubt, because it was said 8. by some: That John was risen from the dead; but by others: That Elias had appeared; and by others: That one of the old prophets was risen again. 9. And Herod said: John I have beheaded; but who is this of whom I hear such things? And he sought to see Him. 10. And the Apostles, when they were returned, told Him all they had done; and taking them, He retired apart into a desert place, which belonged to Bethsaida. 11. Which when the people knew, they followed Him; and He received them, and spoke to them of the kingdom of God, and healed them who had need of healing. 12. Now the day began to decline. And the twelve came and said to Him: Send away the multitude, that, going into the towns and villages round about, they may lodge and get victuals; for we are here in a desert place. 13. But He said to them: Give you them to eat. And they said: We have no more than five loaves and two fishes, unless perhaps we should go and buy food for all this multitude. 14. Now there were about five thousand men. And He said to His disciples: Make them sit down by fifties in a company. 15. And they did so; and made them all sit down. 16. And taking the five loaves and the two fishes, He looked up to heaven, and blessed them; and He broke, and distributed to His disciples, to set before the multitude. 17. And they did all eat, and were filled. And there was taken up unto them that remained, twelve baskets of fragments. 18. And it came to pass, as He was alone praying, His disciples also were with Him; and He asked them, saying: Whom do the people say that I am? 19. But they answered, and said: John the Baptist; but some say Elias; and others say that one of the former prophets is risen again. 20. And He said to them: But whom do you say that I am? Simon Peter answering, said: The Christ of God. 21. But He strictly charging them, commanded they should tell this to no man, 22. saying: The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the ancients and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and the third day rise again. 23. And He said to all: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24. For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it; for he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall save it. 25. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, and cast away himself? 26. For he that shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him the Son of man shall be ashamed, when He shall come in His majesty, and that of His Father, and of the holy angels. 27. But I tell you of a truth: there are some standing here that shall not taste death, till they see the kingdom of God. 28. And it came to pass about eight days after these words, that He took Peter, and James, and John, and went up into a mountain to pray. 29. And whilst He prayed, the shape of His countenance was altered, and His raiment became white and glittering. 30. And behold two men were talking with Him. And they were Moses and Elias, 31. appearing in majesty; and they spoke of His decease that He should accomplish in Jerusalem. 32. But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep. And waking they saw His glory, and the two men that stood with Him. 33. And it came to pass, that as they were departing from Him, Peter saith to Jesus: Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles, one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias; not knowing what he said. 34. And as he spoke these things, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them; and they were afraid, when they entered into the cloud. 35. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying: This is my beloved Son; hear Him. 36. And whilst the voice was uttered, Jesus was found alone. And they held their peace, and told no man in those days any of these things which they had seen. 37. And it came to pass the day following, when they came down from the mountain, there met Him a great multitude. 38. And behold a man among the crowd cried out, saying: Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son, because he is my only one. 39. And lo, a spirit seizeth him, and he suddenly crieth out, and he throweth him down and teareth him, so that he foameth; and bruising him, he hardly departeth from him. 40. And I desired thy disciples to cast him out, and they could not. 41. And Jesus answering, said: O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring hither thy son. 42. And as he was coming to him, the devil threw him down, and tore him. 43. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and cured the boy, and restored him to his father. 44. And all were astonished at the mighty power of God; but while all were wondering at all the things He did, He said to His disciples: Lay you up in your hearts these words: for it shall come to pass, that the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men. 45. But they understood not this word; and it was hid from them, so that they perceived it not. And they were afraid to ask Him concerning this word. 46. And there entered a thought into them, which of them should be greater. 47. But Jesus seeing the thoughts of their heart, took a child, and set him by Him, 48. and said to them: Whosoever shall receive this child in my name, receiveth me; and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth Him that sent me. For he that is the lesser among you all, he is the greater. 49. And John, answering, said: Master, we saw a certain man casting out devils in thy name, and we forbade him, because he followeth not with us. 50. And Jesus said to him: Forbid him not; for he that is not against you, is for you. 51. And it came to pass, when the days of His assumption were accomplishing, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem. 52. And He sent messengers before His face; and going, they entered into a city of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. 53. And they received Him not, because His face was of one going to Jerusalem. 54. And when His disciples James and John had seen this, they said: Lord, wilt Thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them? 55. And turning, He rebuked them, saying: You know not of what spirit you are. 56. The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save. And they went into another town. 57. And it came to pass, as they walked in the way, that a certain man said to Him: I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest. 58. Jesus said to him: The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head. 59. And He said to another: Follow me. But he said: Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 60. And Jesus said to him: Let the dead bury their dead; but go thou, and preach the kingdom of God. 61. And another said: I will follow Thee, Lord, but let me first take my leave of them that are at my house. 62. Jesus said to him: No man putting his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Verse 8: One of the Old Prophets is Risen Again
8. THAT (BECAUSE) ONE OF THE OLD PROPHETS (one of the ancients) IS RISEN AGAIN. — As Enoch and Elijah will rise at the end of the world, to resist Antichrist. Moreover, that St. Peter, the first Bishop of Braga and martyr, was the son of Urijah the prophet, who was slain by Jehoiakim, king of Judah, in the time of Jeremiah the prophet, as he himself says, chap. XXVI, 20 — for this son, after having been dead for six hundred years, was raised up by St. James the Apostle, and ordained Bishop of Braga — is taught by St. Athanasius, Bishop of Saragossa, and others whom Bivarius cites in the Chronicle of L. Dexter, at the year of Christ 37, no. 2.
Verse 14: To Sit Down by Companies
14. TO SIT DOWN BY COMPANIES. — In Greek κλισίας; that is, by reclinings, by messes, by groups and orders, as the Syriac translates it.
Verse 26: He That Shall Be Ashamed of Me
26. FOR HE THAT SHALL BE ASHAMED OF ME AND OF MY WORDS, OF HIM THE SON OF MAN SHALL BE ASHAMED, WHEN HE SHALL COME IN HIS MAJESTY (Greek ἐν δόξῃ, that is, in glory), AND THAT OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE HOLY ANGELS. — Namely on the day of judgment, when He will sit as judge in the valley of Josaphat, and will judge all before all the angels and men, and will assign each one according to his merits to heaven or to hell.
HE THAT SHALL BE ASHAMED OF ME, — that is, who through shame or fear of kings, princes, tyrants, or of parents and friends, denies My faith, or dares not confess Me, or fears to obey My laws, as though ashamed of the humility, the cross, and the crucified Christ; — him in turn Christ will be ashamed of, that is, He will as it were disregard and despise him as vile (it is a metalepsis: for he who is ashamed of someone disregards him), when He comes in His majesty and glory, which He earned through the humility of the cross. For Christ's cross appeared to many as contemptible and shameful, and was considered by God's Gentiles to be foolishness, and by the Jews a scandal, as Paul says, I Cor. I, 2. Whence many, whether through shame or fear, dared not profess it, still less preach it; to whom Paul opposing himself, Rom. I, 16, says boldly: "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."
Thus Martyrius the monk, when Christ appeared to him in the form of a leprous pilgrim weary from the road, took Him upon his shoulders and carried Him all the way to the monastery, yet in such wise that he felt not the weight, because the One whom he bore was bearing him. There, therefore, Christ, showing Himself to him in His own form and ascending into heaven, said: "Martyrius, thou wast not ashamed of Me upon the earth, and I will not be ashamed of thee above the heavens." So reports St. Gregory, homily 39 on the Gospels. The same St. Gregory, homily 32, explaining this passage of Luke: "There is, he says, a place where each one should question himself, that in the confession of Christ he may truly prove himself, whether he does not already blush at His name, whether with the full strength of his mind he has subdued human pallor. For surely, in time of persecution, the faithful might blush to be stripped of their goods, cast down from their dignities, afflicted with blows; but in time of peace, since these things are absent from our persecutions, there is another place where we are shown to ourselves. We often fear to be despised by our neighbors, we disdain to endure injuries of the tongue; if perhaps a quarrel arise with a neighbor, we are ashamed to make the first satisfaction. For the carnal heart, while it seeks the glory of this life, spurns humility." And further on, assigning a remedy to this shame: "Let human pride blush, he says, let each one be confounded if he does not first make satisfaction to his neighbor, when, after our fault, so that we may be reconciled to Him, God Himself, though He is the one offended, beseeches us through the mediation of His ambassadors."
Verse 29: Glittering
29. GLITTERING. — In Greek ἐξαστράπτων, that is, flashing forth, that is, gleaming like lightning and shooting out flashing rays of splendor; for Christ's lightning-bright face made His garment blaze.
Verse 31: His Decease, Which He Was to Accomplish in Jerusalem
31. AND THEY SPOKE OF HIS DECEASE, WHICH HE WAS TO ACCOMPLISH IN JERUSALEM. — For "decease" the Greek has ἔξοδον, a word which first signifies departure from life, that is, death (whence the Syriac renders it "exit"; the Ethiopic, "passage"; and so also the Persian), as if to say: They were speaking of His death, that is, of what kind of death Christ was going to die, namely the death of the cross. So Vatablus. Secondly, it signifies a military campaign by which Christ on the cross fought against death, sin, and the devil, and conquered them. It alludes to the glorious and victorious ἔξοδος, that is, the departure of the Hebrews out of Egypt, Pharaoh having been conquered and drowned in the Red Sea, which was the type and figure of this exit and military campaign of Christ. So Franciscus Lucas. Cyril favors this, who interprets ἔξοδον as the saving passion; and the Arabic, which renders ἔξοδον as "outcome": "They were speaking, he says, of the outcome (of the conflict and triumph) which He was to accomplish in Jerusalem."
Thirdly, some understand it of an excess of love and of the virtues. For on the cross there was an excess of charity, humility, patience, obedience, etc., because Christ on it went forth and transcended the common limits of the charity and of every virtue of other men. This excess, therefore, was in reality an ecstasy of charity, by which Christ, as it were, went out of Himself and passed into the supreme love of God and of men. This excess, therefore, was truly the ecstatic charity of Christ.
Verse 32: But Peter and They That Were With Him Were Heavy With Sleep
32. BUT PETER AND THEY THAT WERE WITH HIM WERE HEAVY WITH SLEEP. — St. Chrysostom, on Matthew, chap. XVII, understands "sleep" as an excessive stupor: for, he says, the excellence of the light weighed down the weakness of their eyes. More simply, you may take it as true and natural sleep, into which the Apostles had fallen from the weariness of the journey and the climbing of the mountain, and from the nocturnal vigil, while Christ was praying, and at the end of His prayer was being transfigured; which being done, the light and splendor of Christ, striking upon their eyes, roused them from sleep, so that they saw Him transfigured, as I said on Matthew XVII, 1 and following. The other things pertaining to Christ's transfiguration I have explained at Matthew XVII, 1 and following.
Verse 49: Casting Out Devils in Thy Name
49. AND JOHN, ANSWERING, SAID: MASTER, WE SAW A CERTAIN MAN CASTING OUT DEVILS IN THY NAME, AND WE FORBADE HIM, BECAUSE HE FOLLOWETH NOT WITH US. — Because he is not, O Christ, Thy follower and disciple. For he thought that this was permitted only to the Apostles, to whom this power had been given, says St. Cyril; and, as St. Ambrose says, "He judges that one should be excluded from the benefit who does not render obedience." John, being more loving of Christ his Master, and thereby more zealous and solicitous for Christ's honor, asks this question.
Verse 50: Forbid Him Not
50. And Jesus said to him: FORBID HIM NOT; FOR HE THAT IS NOT AGAINST YOU, IS FOR YOU. — They are taught, says the Gloss, that no man is to be kept back from the good which he has in part, but rather is to be urged on toward that which he does not have. And St. Ambrose: The Lord, he says, rewards the stronger, but does not exclude the weak. And Theophylact: The grace of Christ, he says, works even through the unworthy and through those who are not His disciples; thus through priests who are not holy, men are sanctified.
Tropologically, Bede: In evil heretics, he says, it is not the Sacraments, in which they are with us, that are to be detested and forbidden, but the division contrary to peace and truth. See what is said on Mark IX, 37.
Verse 51: When the Days of His Assumption Were Accomplishing
51. AND IT CAME TO PASS, WHEN THE DAYS (that is, when they were beginning to be fulfilled; for an inchoate, not completed, act is signified) OF HIS ASSUMPTION WERE ACCOMPLISHING — namely those days in which Christ, having finished the office of His preaching, through His death, cross, and resurrection, was to be taken up into heaven to the kingdom of His Father, by whom He had been sent into the world. Therefore He calls the ascension into heaven an "assumption"; thus Theophylact: "When the time drew near, he says, in which, after He had endured the saving passion for us, it was necessary that He should be taken up into heaven and sit down with God the Father." And Euthymius: "He calls it the days of His assumption, he says, meaning the predetermined time when He should be taken up from the earth into heaven."
Up to this point, for two and a half years, Christ had been preaching, going about cities and towns, especially of Galilee. There still remained to Him six months of life, which He had determined to spend constantly preaching among the Jews, and thus to prepare Himself for death and the cross, and thence for the resurrection and ascension into heaven. Luke therefore indicates that up to this point he has written the deeds of Christ in Galilee, but from now on he will write His deeds for the most part in Judea.
AND HE STEADFASTLY SET HIS FACE TO GO TO JERUSALEM — that is, with firm, resolute, and steadfast mind and countenance; and, as Bede says, "with a resolute and undaunted mind." Christ did not turn aside to neighboring places, as the timid and doubtful are wont to do, but went straight on to Jerusalem, where He knew He was to be crucified, as though desiring the single combat of death and forestalling the arena and place of the contest. So Titus, Theophylact, and others. "For resolution and strength are needed in one hastening of his own will to the passion," says St. Jerome, epistle 151 to Algasia, question V. So, for undertaking hard and heroic works, one must strengthen the mind, as the Martyrs strengthened theirs for all torments, like lions, of which Pliny writes thus, book VIII, chap. XVI: "When the mother lion fights for her cubs, she is said to fix the keenness of her eyes upon the earth, that she may not dread the hunting spears." Mark adds, chap. X, 32: "And Jesus went before them, and they were amazed," namely the disciples, that Jesus went on so boldly and eagerly to the cross and death; and those following were afraid, lest it should be necessary for them to die with Jesus.
Note, as I have said in the Chronotaxis, from what precedes and follows it is seen that this journey of Christ from Galilee into Judea is the same as that which Matthew commemorates, chap. XIX, 1; Mark, chap. X, 32; John, chap. VII, 2 and 14. Where from John it is clear that it took place at the feast of Tabernacles, or Scenopegia, which fell in September; and therefore, since Christ died in the following March, it follows that this happened about six months before His death — during which time Christ went up to Jerusalem several times, and thence returned preaching throughout Judea, there working miracles, as He had done in Galilee, as is clear from what follows in Luke up to chap. XIX: where, however, note that in these following chapters up to chap. XIX, Luke inserts some things by way of recapitulation, for he here narrates certain things which happened not in Judea, but earlier in Galilee. So say Jansenius, Franciscus Lucas, and others. Maldonatus thinks differently, holding that this journey of Christ from Galilee into Judea took place a full year before His death; indeed, that after it Christ returned again from Judea to Galilee, and in turn from Galilee to Judea, when at last He returned there for this purpose only, that He might be crucified and die there. But this does not sufficiently agree with what Luke says: "When the days of His assumption were being fulfilled;" for those days were a whole year away.
Verse 52: He Sent Messengers Before His Face
52. AND HE SENT MESSENGERS BEFORE HIS FACE, AND GOING THEY ENTERED INTO A CITY OF THE SAMARITANS, TO PREPARE (namely lodging and food, such as bread with a light side dish, if it could be found) FOR HIM, — and for His companions, namely the twelve Apostles and the women who, having followed from Galilee, supported Him with their resources, chapter 8:2 and chapter 23:49. At the same time Christ sent them so that they might accustom themselves to preaching and to the contempt of men, says Theophylactus. For they were treated with contempt by the Samaritans, as follows. Euthymius and Maldonatus, from verse 54, think that the messengers, and as the Greek has ἀγγέλους, were James and John. "Into a city" — in Greek κώμην, that is a village, a small town, a settlement that was on the road for those going directly to Jerusalem. So say Jansenius, Franciscus Lucas, and others. Although Maldonatus thinks that κώμην is used for πόλει, that is a city, and that it was the city of Samaria itself, which was the Samaritans' capital.
Verse 53: They Did Not Receive Him
53. And they did not receive Him (the Samaritans, inhabitants of that town), BECAUSE HIS FACE WAS SET TOWARD GOING TO JERUSALEM. — The Syriac says, because He bore the appearance of one setting out for Jerusalem, since both the messengers and Jesus Himself indicated by their bearing, gestures, and words that they were going to Jerusalem for the purpose of worship: for it was the feast of Tabernacles, as John says, chapter 7:2. But the Samaritans wanted God to be worshipped not in the temple of Jerusalem, but in their own temple unlawfully erected on Mount Gerizim: a perpetual dispute and contention between the Jews and the Samaritans existed on this matter, as is evident from John 4:20, and from Josephus, book 11 of the Antiquities, chapters 7 and 8. Therefore they rejected Jesus as one who despised their sacred rites and favored the religion of the Jews, their enemies.
Verse 54: Lord, Wilt Thou That We Command Fire to Come Down From Heaven
54. AND WHEN HIS DISCIPLES JAMES AND JOHN HAD SEEN (this inhumanity of the Samaritans), THEY SAID: LORD, DO YOU WANT US TO COMMAND FIRE TO COME DOWN FROM HEAVEN AND CONSUME THEM? — The Greek, Arabic, and Syriac add: just as Elijah also did. Behold, here they show themselves to be "Boanerges," that is, sons of thunder; for out of excessive zeal they desire the Samaritans to be struck and blasted by lightning, because they were so inhuman toward Christ that, even with night approaching, they would not grant Him lodging to spend the night. For they remembered Elijah, who consumed with celestial fire the two captains of fifty sent to capture him by Ahaziah, king of Samaria, along with their soldiers, 4 Kings 1:10; for they knew that Jesus was far greater than Elijah, and therefore the injury done to Him here by the Samaritans was greater. Hence St. Jerome, epistle 151 to Algasia, Question 5: "If," he says, "at the injury to the servant Elijah fire descended from heaven, and the conflagration consumed not Samaritans but Jews, how much more ought the flame to rage against the impious Samaritans for the contempt of the Son of God?"
DO YOU WANT US TO COMMAND. — For, as St. Jerome says in the passage just cited, "for the apostolic word to have efficacy, it is a matter of the Lord's will: for unless He has commanded, the apostles say in vain that fire should descend." Therefore they ask Christ, as if from a judge, for justice and just vengeance against the impious.
Verse 55: You Know Not of What Spirit You Are
55. AND TURNING, HE REBUKED THEM, SAYING: YOU KNOW NOT OF WHAT SPIRIT YOU ARE. — The word "spirit" is not in the nominative case but the genitive, as is evident from the Greek πνεύματος: here "spirit" signifies the inner movement and impulse of the soul, whether toward virtues or toward vices. Again, for "of what," the Greek has οἵου, that is "of what kind," as if to say: You do not know by what spirit you are led, you do not know what spirit drives you; for you think you are moved by the Spirit of God, when in fact you are moved by a human spirit of impatience and vengeance; or, as if to say: You do not know to what spirit you have been called and chosen by Me: you do not know that you ought to be of a meek mind and spirit, as I am your teacher and lord; you wish to imitate the zeal of Elijah and the spirit of vengeance, who burned two captains of fifty with celestial fire; but you do not know that this spirit belongs to the old law, which commands or permits the retaliation of vengeance, Exodus 22, saying: "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, etc."; but that this is not the spirit of the new law and of the Gospel, and especially not of My person; for My spirit is one of gentleness, forbearance, charity, beneficence — to save, not to destroy, namely to repay injuries with kindnesses, and to bless those who curse, Matthew 5:44, saying: "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, etc." Have you not heard and learned this from Me? Have you so quickly forgotten this teaching and discipline of Mine? So says St. Jerome, to Algasia: "The Lord," he says, "who had come not to judge but to save, not in power but in humility, not in the Father's glory but in man's lowliness, rebukes them for not remembering His teaching and the goodness of the Gospel."
Verse 56: The Son of Man Came Not to Destroy Souls, But to Save
56. THE SON OF MAN DID NOT COME TO DESTROY SOULS, BUT TO SAVE THEM. — "Therefore you also," says Bede, "pursue the deeds of the Spirit by which you have been sealed." And Titus: "Following," he says, "in the footsteps of the Lord, persevere with equanimity, as befits saints."
AND THEY WENT TO ANOTHER VILLAGE, — where they would be received more kindly by the inhabitants. By this act He instructs the Apostles in what they ought to do in their pilgrimage throughout the world for the purpose of evangelizing, namely, that having suffered a rebuff in one place, they should remain silent, modest, and tranquil.
Verse 61: And Another Said, I Will Follow Thee, Lord
v. 61. AND ANOTHER SAID: I WILL FOLLOW THEE, LORD, BUT PERMIT ME FIRST TO TAKE LEAVE OF THOSE THINGS (so it must be read with the Roman edition, not "those who," as some read) WHICH ARE AT HOME. — The Greek and the Syriac add: at my home. From the Greek, instead of "which," it can be rendered "who," as St. Basil, St. Augustine, Titus, Toletus, and others translate — yet they explain it in different ways. First, Titus: q.d., Permit me to take leave of my parents, that I may take counsel from them whether I ought to follow Thee or not; for he was of an uncertain and divided mind. Hence Christ was unwilling to permit it, because parents generally do not approve their sons' zeal for a more perfect life, and indeed call their own away from it. Second, St. Augustine, Sermon On the Words of the Lord: "Permit me," he says, "to announce the news to mine, lest perchance (as usually happens) they seek me" — but let them know what has been done with me, namely that I am following Thee, and therefore let them not be anxious about me but at ease; so also Toletus. Third, St. Basil, in Constit. Monast. chap. XXI, thinks this man, like the preceding one, to have been one of Christ's disciples, and to have asked only permission from Christ to greet his people and bid them farewell as one who would not return to them again. The Syriac favors this, which translates: "that I may go to pray for the welfare of, or say farewell to, the sons of my house, and will come." Fourth and best, reading "which" (quæ) with the Romans, q.d., Permit, that is, give me time to renounce, that is to send word to my possessions which are at home, and to dispose of them and distribute them among my brothers or kinsmen. For this is what the Greek ἀποτάξασθαι means, namely to renounce by giving orders, to arrange, to dispose. Hence the Arabic translates: "Permit me first to arrange matters with the members of my household." Thus St. Augustine, Book II On the Consensus of the Gospels, chap. xxiii; Maldonatus, Franciscus Lucas, and others.
Verse 62: No Man Putting His Hand to the Plough
62. JESUS SAID TO HIM: NO MAN PUTTING HIS HAND TO THE PLOUGH AND LOOKING BACK IS FIT FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD, — as the field of God which must be cultivated. For so the metaphor of the ploughman and the plough must be filled out. q.d. Just as he who wishes to plough, if he looks back and breaks off the work of ploughing that has been well begun, is unfit for ploughing and cultivating the field — for he must look straight before himself so that in ploughing he may draw straight, not crooked, furrows — so he who intends or begins to consecrate himself wholly to the kingdom of God, which I proclaim, (and promises) by various works of justice and perfection and the renunciation of all things: this man, if he should look back at the fleeting, earthly, and temporal goods (such as disposing of one's property) which he has left behind, is unfit and unworthy of following Me and of the kingdom of God. So Euthymius: "For it behooves him," he says, "who follows Christ at once to despise all things and follow Him, not even turning his eyes away from Him, lest perhaps by the look and appearance of the things behind him he be held back." Thus also Titus, Jansen, Toletus, and others.
Note: By this apophthegm Christ points out the way of perfection and willed to remove from this man, who was too anxious, the excessive attachment which he had for his own things and his own people, and to transfer him wholly to His service, especially because there was a danger that in this dividing and distribution of his goods he might draw out long delays, and, being enticed and captivated by these possessions, might change his mind and lose the calling of Christ, as many in a similar case have lost it. Add to this that his brothers and kinsmen could have divided his property among themselves, so that his own effort for this would not be needed. Thus James and John, called by Christ, at once followed Him, leaving their nets and their father (Matt. IV). Otherwise Elijah allowed Elisha this renunciation for piety's sake (III Kings xix, 20), because he was about to do it with few and without danger of losing the vocation. Hence St. Basil, Sermon 1 On Baptism: "He looks back," he says, "who interposes even a brief delay in obedience, which must be rendered to the Lord swiftly and without suspension, without pretext or excuse." Hence of the Cherubim ministering to the Lord it is said in Ezek. 1: "They did not turn back when they went, but each one went forward before his face." Upon which St. Gregory, Homily 3: "The winged animals," he says, "namely the holy preachers, when they go forward, by no means turn back, for they so pass over from earthly actions to spiritual ones, that they are in no way further turned back to those things they have left. For to march forward along a certain road is, as it were, to go in mind always to better things." Hence Paul, Phil. III, 14: "Forgetting the things that are behind," he says, "and stretching forth myself to those that are before, I press toward the mark, for the prize of the supernal vocation of God in Christ Jesus." And to the bride it is said: "Forget thy people and thy father's house, and the king shall greatly desire thy beauty" (Ps. xliv, 13). Whence St. Augustine, Sermon 7 On the Words of the Lord: "The East calls thee," he says, "and thou art looking to the West."
Tropologically, Bede: "He puts his hand to the plough," he says, "who, as with an instrument of compunction, with the wood and iron of the Lord's Passion, wears down the hardness of the heart and opens it to the fruits of good works; but one must not, like Lot's wife, look back at what he has left; and if one who is about to follow the Lord is rebuked because he even wishes to take leave at home, what will become of those who often visit the homes of those they have left in the world for no useful reason?" And an anonymous Greek in the Catena: "Frequent," he says, "are the glances at those things we have forsaken, drawing us on account of habit; for use is a certain violent thing, from which arises habit, and from habit arises nature, which is difficult to remove or alter; for it swiftly returns to itself." Finally, Suarez explains these words of Christ at length in tom. II On Religion, tract. On the Vow, book I, chap. II, num. 18 and following.