Chapter 20
Chapter XX.
Second, he confutes the unbelief of the Jews through words and teachings, and this in three parts.
1. And it came to pass on one of the days,
etc. After he confuted the unbelief of the Jews through deeds, here he confutes through words and teachings: Now this part is divided into three. In the first of which he confutes by teachings the Pharisees erring from malice.
In the second he confutes the Sadducees erring from ignorance,
there: But certain of the Sadducees came forward,
etc. In the third he instructs the disciples unto wisdom,
there: And in the hearing of all the people,
etc.
The confutation of the Pharisees erring from malice, through three things.
The first part, in which he confutes the Pharisees,
has three parts. In the first of which he repels the objected calumny.
In the second he convicts the hidden perfidy,
there: But he began to say to the people,
etc. In the third indeed he refutes the contrived cunning,
there: And the chief priests sought,
etc.
The confutation
therefore of the objected calumny
the Evangelist describes in this order. First is introduced the insolence of the Pharisees in attacking:
second, the sagacity of Christ in resisting:
third, the craftiness of the Pharisees in fleeing:
fourth, the truthfulness of Christ in refuting the adversaries.
2. (Vers. 1.). First, therefore, as regards the insolence of the Pharisees in assailing,
he sets forth: And it came to pass
on one of the days, as he was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel,
according to the evangelical truth which must be declared to all, as he himself said to his disciples in Matthew 10: "What you hear in the ear, preach upon the housetops"; and Mark, last chapter: "Preach the Gospel to every creature." So also he himself was doing, according to that saying of Ecclesiasticus 24: "I illuminate all with doctrine as the morning light and will declare it even afar off"; and afterwards: "See that I have not labored for myself alone, but for all who seek wisdom." — But this doctrine of truth is hateful to the wicked, because "he who does evil hates the light," John 3: therefore it is added: The chief priests and scribes came together with the elders,
through haughty insolence. For in the chief priests there was haughtiness on account of the excellence of dignity;
in the scribes, on account of the excellence of knowledge;
in the elders, on account of the hoariness of old age.
Therefore they came together not as humble men to learn, but as the proud to calumniate, according to that saying of the Psalm: "The princes came together as one against the Lord and against his Christ." Whence in these is fulfilled that saying of Job 24: "They themselves were rebels against the light and knew not its ways." But rebellion had its origin from envy, which is the daughter of pride. This is "the most evil beast that devoured Joseph"; and concerning this Chrysostom says: "The priests were saying among themselves: We are the pillars of the temple, and behold, the whole Church leans upon him. We were as the visible tongue of the silent Scriptures, and behold, he resounds in the midst of the temple, and we, despised like a broken harp, are silent. We were the fathers; he begets children, and we are barren." This he says with regard to the aforesaid three kinds of persons, who were blinded by envy, and on this account cast what was manifest into doubt and calumniate.
3. (Vers. 2.). For which reason it is added: And they say, speaking to him: Tell us: By what authority do you do these things? Or who is it that gave you this authority?
They ask this as though it were doubtful, when nevertheless it had been made manifest through the most evident miracles, according to that passage in John 5: "The works which I do bear witness concerning me"; but they wished by their questioning to lead all the people into doubt, as though those miracles were not from God, but rather from the devil. Hence the Gloss: "They doubt whether it is God's power and wish it to be understood that what he does is from the devil." This doubt came to them from the corruption of their own conscience; hence Chrysostom: "Every man judges another according to himself, and the fornicator thinks no one is chaste, the chaste man does not easily suspect a fornicator, the proud man thinks no one is humble: so the priest who is not from God thinks no one's priesthood is from God." Hence also the blind man who was given sight reproved the blindness of the Pharisees, who said that they did not know where Christ was from, according to that passage in John 9: "In this is the marvel, that you do not know where he is from." "But we know that God does not hear sinners, but if anyone does God's will," etc. Therefore it is said in Sirach 10: "The power of man is in the hand of God"; and in Romans 13: "There is no power except from God," etc.
4. (Vers. 3.). Second, as to the sagacity
of Christ in resisting,
it is added: But Jesus answering said to them: I also will ask you one word.
When he should have responded, he asked a question—not because he did not know, but because they are better bound by a question posed than by a direct answer. Hence Bede: "He could have refuted the calumny of his tempters with an open answer, but he prudently asks a question, so that they might be condemned either by their own silence or by their own judgment," as above in the nineteenth chapter: "Out of your own mouth I judge you, wicked servant." For it is a precaution that "one who wholly opposes must be wholly opposed," and against those who equivocate one must proceed from what has been granted, so that they may be overcome.
5. (Vers. 4.). Therefore he carefully inquires and asks, so that whatever they answer, they may be refuted, when he adds: Answer me: The baptism of John, whence was it? From heaven, or from men?
To this they could not respond except in three ways: either simply by being silent,
and thus they would be confounded; or by saying that it was from men,
and thus they would be stoned by the people; or by saying that it was from God,
and thus Christ would have his point established, because John bore witness concerning Christ at his baptism, according to that passage in John 5:
"You sent to John, and he bore witness to the truth." For it is said in John 1: "John bore witness, saying: Because I saw the Holy Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and remaining upon him"; "and I saw and bore witness that this is the Son of God." Whence the Gloss: "He whom you confess to have had prophecy from heaven bore witness to me, and from him you heard by what power I do these things." Since therefore, as is said in John 1, "he was not the light, but was to bear witness concerning the light," those who doubt the light
are referred to the consideration of the lamp:
for, as is said in John 5, "he was a burning and shining lamp"; and those who doubt the Word
are referred to the voice;
John 1: "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness."
6. (Verse 5.) Third, as regards the deceitfulness of the Pharisees in evading,
it is added: But they thought within themselves, saying: If we shall say: From heaven,
confessing the truth, he will say to us: Why then did you not believe him?
thereby reproaching our unbelief, by which they refused to believe a heavenly man, according to that passage of Matthew 11: "John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say: He has a demon."
7. (Verse 6.) But if we shall say: From men, all the people will stone us,
abhorring the falsehood.
For blasphemers were to be stoned according to the Law: Leviticus 24: "Bring forth the blasphemer outside the camp, and let all who heard lay their hands upon his head, and let all the people stone him."
For they are certain that John is a Prophet,
on account of his most evident holiness, for which reason it is said of John in Matthew 11: "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A Prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a Prophet." Whence above in chapter 3: "As all the people were wondering about John, whether perhaps he himself might be the Christ, John said: I baptize you with water; there shall come one mightier than I after me, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to loose."
8. (Verse 7.) And because hatred of the truth pressed from one side and fear of stoning from the other, therefore they feign ignorance of the answer, when it is added: And they answered that they did not know whence it was.
The Gloss: "Fearing stoning, but fearing the confession of truth more." But this confession of ignorance was proud and deceitful, because they spoke falsely and against their conscience, in order to avoid open refutation. Whence Chrysostom: "Lies, even if they have no one to deceive, nevertheless lie to themselves"; the Psalm: "Iniquity has lied to itself"; and again: "Strange children have lied to me"; and therefore John 8: "If I shall say that I do not know him, I shall be like you, a liar."
9. (Vers. 8.). Fourth, with regard to Christ's truthfulness in refuting, he adds: And Jesus said to them: neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things. For because they deny the truth, they are worthy that the truth of knowledge be denied to them by the Truth, according to that passage in Romans 1: "Because they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a reprobate mind."
And note that the Lord concealed the truth from them for a twofold reason; hence the Gloss: "For two reasons the truth must be hidden from those who inquire: either because they are less capable of hearing; whence it is said in John 16: I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now; or because they inquire out of hatred or contempt; whence it is said in Matthew 7: Do not give what is holy to dogs." Hence Chrysostom says: "Because he himself said: Do not give what is holy to dogs, it was fitting that he himself should not transgress the precept which he established"; the Psalm: "He established a precept, and it shall not pass away." We are therefore instructed by this to conceal sacred mysteries from the malevolent: Isaiah 24: "My secret is mine, my secret is mine"; and to hide our own excellence: Proverbs 27: "Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips."
10. He began to say to the people etc. After he repulsed the calumny of the Pharisees, here consequently he reproves and exposes their hidden perfidy through a parable proposed to the people. In this parable, however, three things are intimated. The first is the benignity of divine liberality. The second is the malignity of Jewish perversity, at the passage: And at the time of the vintage he sent etc. The third is the severity of judicial vengeance, concerning which at the passage: What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do to them?
The benignity of divine liberality toward the synagogue he shows in three ways, namely in calling the synagogue to his worship, in giving due guardianship, and in entrusting voluntary freedom.
11. (Vers. 9.). First, therefore, with regard to the parabolic expression of the calling of the synagogue to divine worship, he says: He began to say to the people this parable: because, namely, the leaders were not worthy to hear.
A certain man planted a vineyard:
by this man
God is understood, to whose image man was formed: Genesis 1: "Let us make man in our image," etc. This vineyard
is the synagogue: Isaiah 5: "The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel." The Lord planted
this vineyard when in the Patriarchs he chose and called them to his worship; on account of which, Jeremiah 2: "I planted you a choice vineyard, all true seed." Concerning the planting of this vineyard, Isaiah 5: "My beloved had a vineyard on a hill, in a fruitful place. And he fenced it and gathered out the stones from it and planted a choice vineyard and built a tower in the midst of it." By the hedge
of this vineyard is understood the guardianship of the Angels: the Psalm: "He has given his Angels charge over you, to guard you," etc. By the chosen stones
is understood the steadfastness of the Patriarchs; whence on the twelve stones of the breastplate
were the names of the twelve sons of Israel, the penultimate chapter of Exodus. By the tower,
however, Sacred Scripture is understood: Song of Songs 4: "Your neck is like the tower of David, which was built with battlements," etc.
12. Secondly, as regards the due custody given,
he adds: And he let it out to husbandmen.
By the husbandmen
are understood the leaders and chiefs of the synagogue; the Gloss says: "The husbandmen are the workers who were hired to cultivate the vineyard at the first, third, sixth, and ninth hour," according to that passage in Matthew 20: "The kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard." And concerning these, in the last chapter of Song of Songs: "The peaceful one had a vineyard, in that place which had peoples: the Lord delivered it to keepers." He is said to have let it out,
because he requires a rent; whence Song of Songs 8: "A man offers for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver. My vineyard is before me. A thousand are for you, O peaceful one, and two hundred for those who guard the fruits." The husbandmen of this vineyard in the Church, which is the vineyard of the Lord, are bishops and priests; whence First Corinthians 3: "I planted, Apollos watered," etc. Concerning this, Chrysostom says: "The husbandmen are the priests who undertook the care of the people, either to great glory or to great peril: to glory, if they acted diligently; to peril, if they acted negligently." Therefore these husbandmen ought to carry out this cultivation most diligently, because they were appointed for this purpose, as Chrysostom says: "A priest does not please God so much on account of his own righteousness as for the holiness of the people, because his own righteousness is singular, but that of the people is manifold." Greatly therefore is that saying of Proverbs 24 to be feared: "I passed by the field of a slothful man and by the vineyard of a foolish man; and behold, nettles had filled the whole of it," that is, the sins of lust, "and thorns had covered its surface," that is, the sins of avarice. And therefore Augustine in Against the Five Heresies: "Where are you, O good farmers? What are you doing? Why are you idle? You see how full of evils the earth is: here thorns, here thistles, here grass springs up. Burn the thorns, uproot the thistles, scatter good seed."
13. Third, as regards the free will granted to each one, there is added: And he went abroad for a long time. Bede: "He went abroad who is everywhere present, because he left to the vinedressers free choice of working"; Sirach fifteen: "God from the beginning established man and left him in the hand of his own counsel." "He has set before you water and fire; to whichever you will, stretch forth your hand. Before man is life and death, good and evil; whichever shall please him shall be given to him." He is said, moreover, to be abroad for many days, because he has great patience in waiting for repentance. Whence Ambrose: "He was absent for a long time, lest the exaction seem too hasty. And therefore, the more indulgent the generosity, the more inexcusable the obstinacy." Therefore Romans two: "Do you not know that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?" And Second Peter last chapter: "He acts patiently on your account, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to repentance and come to the knowledge of his truth."
14. And at the time of the vintage he sent, etc. After he described the benignity of divine generosity, he here describes the malice of Jewish perversity. The perversity of the malice of the Jews is described in two ways: first, namely before the coming of Christ; second, after the coming of Christ, at the place: But the lord of the vineyard said: What shall I do?
Before the coming of Christ it is described in three ways, namely with respect to the lawgiver, with respect to royal power, and with respect to the prophetic company; and according to the three means by which that people could be led by the hand to justice, namely through the Law, psalmody, and prophecy, according to the height of power, the sweetness of goodness, and the certainty of truth.
15. (Vers. 10.). First, regarding the perversity of the Jewish people with respect to the lawgiver Moses
he says: And at the time of the vintage he sent a servant to the tenants, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard:
The Gloss says: "The first servant who is sent is Moses the lawgiver, who for forty years sought from the tenants the fruit of the Law which he had given"; the Psalm: "He sent Moses his servant, Aaron whom he chose." Concerning this sending, Exodus 3: "Come, I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt." But because the perversity of the Jews did not accept this servant, he therefore adds: Who beat him and sent him away empty.
The Gloss says: "They send him away beaten and empty, because they provoked Moses in the camp, Aaron the holy one of the Lord;
and again: Moses was troubled on their account, because they embittered his spirit
." Whence Deuteronomy 31: "I know your contention and your most stiff neck. While I am yet alive and going in with you, you have always acted contentiously against the Lord; how much more when I shall be dead?" Now this was done by the tenants especially,
that is, the leaders of the synagogue: Numbers 16: "Behold, Korah the son of Izhar, and Dathan and Abiram rose up against Moses, and also other children of Israel, two hundred and fifty men, leaders of the synagogue, who at the time of the council were called by name." And the lesser ones followed these; whence it also follows after that "the whole multitude of the children of Israel murmured the next day against Moses and Aaron. And when sedition arose and the tumult increased, Moses and Aaron fled to the tabernacle of the covenant."
16. (Vers. 11.). Second, regarding the perversity with respect to King David,
the chief worshiper of God, he adds: And he proceeded to send another servant;
The Gloss says: "The other servant is David the prophet, who after Moses invited the tenants of the vineyard to the exercise of good works by the melody of psalmody and the sweetness of the harp." The Lord sent him when he chose him from the pastures to rule and feed his people, according to what the prophet David himself says in the Psalm: "He chose David his servant and took him from the sheepfolds. From following the ewes with young he took him, to shepherd Jacob his servant and Israel his inheritance." Whence 2 Kings 7: "Thus shall you say to my servant David: I took you from the pastures, following the flocks, that you should be the leader over my people Israel; and I was with you in all things, wherever you went, and I made you a great name, like the name of the great ones who are on the earth." Whence also to him, namely David, he gave a royal throne forever; to the same he gave the spirit of prophecy; to the same he gave the song of psalmody, so that he might thus incline that stubborn people.
And yet he could not soften the hardness of the Jews, on account of which he adds: But they, beating this one also and treating him with contempt, sent him away empty, because they despised his governance and leadership. Whence the Gloss: "They send him away empty, treated with contempt, saying: What portion have we in David, or what inheritance in the son of Jesse?" Second Kings twenty. Where it is also set forth beforehand how they pursued David with Absalom: Second Kings fifteen; "A messenger came to David saying: With all their heart all Israel follows Absalom. And David said to his servants: Arise, let us flee; there will be no escape for us from the face of Absalom." And afterward in the sixteenth chapter it is said concerning the insults inflicted upon him: "Thus Shimei spoke, when he cursed the king: Go out, go out, man of blood and man of Belial! The Lord has repaid upon you all the blood of the house of Saul: and behold, evils press upon you, because you are a man of blood."
17. (Verse 12.). Third, as regards the perversity of that people with respect to the prophetic company, there is subjoined: And he added to send a third. The Gloss: "The third servant is the choir of the Prophets, who rebuked the people and foretold the evils that threatened the vineyard." Concerning the sending of this servant it is said in Jeremiah seven: "I sent to you all my servants the Prophets daily, rising early and sending. And they did not listen to me nor incline their ear, but they hardened their neck and acted worse than their fathers."
Whence he also adds: Who also cast him out, having wounded him.
For they sawed Isaiah asunder, stoned Jeremiah, and reviled Ezekiel. Therefore Matthew twenty-three: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who killest the Prophets and stonest those who are sent to thee"; and in Acts seven Stephen said to the Jews: "Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in hearts and ears, ye always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do ye also. Which of the Prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they slew those who foretold the coming of the Just One." Therefore the Prophets themselves, seeing their hardness, both rebuked and lamented. For it is said in Isaiah five concerning the vineyard: "I expected that it would bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes"; and Jeremiah two: "How art thou turned unto me into that which is depraved, O strange vine"? and Ezekiel nineteen: "Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the water." "And she was plucked up in wrath, cast down to the ground, and the burning wind dried up her fruit." In this, however, the astonishing faithlessness of the Jews is apparent, because all those whom they persecuted loved them most greatly. For Moses did not cease to pray for the people; Exodus thirty-two: "Why, O Lord, doth thy fury burn against thy people, whom thou hast brought forth out of Egypt?" "Either forgive them this trespass" etc. Likewise also David: "O Lord God of hosts, turn again: look down from heaven and see and visit this vine." Likewise the chorus of the Prophets, whence Jeremiah eighteen: "Remember that I stood in thy sight to speak good for them and to turn away the wrath of thine indignation from them." And all these bore the figure of Christ, of whom Isaiah fifty-three says: "He himself bore the sins of many and made intercession for transgressors."
18. (Verse 13.). But the lord of the vineyard said
etc. After having described the perversity of the Jews before the coming of Christ against the persons of the servants, here he describes the malignity of their perversity after the coming, against the very Son of God, Jesus Christ.
Concerning the description of this, three things are introduced, namely the gratuitous benefit of God, the perverse design of the Jews, and their flagitious deed.
First, as regards the gratuitous benefit of God,
he sets forth: But the lord of the vineyard said: What shall I do? I will send my beloved son,
this was the greatest benefit, according to that passage of First John four: "In this appeared the charity of God in us, that God sent his only-begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him"; and John three: "God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son." This sending, moreover, was from the hidden and most secret purpose and counsel of God.
And because he had proposed this by a definite counsel, therefore he says: What shall I do?
On account of which Moses in Exodus 4 was saying: "I beseech you, Lord, send him whom you are going to send"; but the Lord reserved sending him until the end, both on account of the consummation of the order, according to that passage in Galatians 4: "When we were little ones, we were serving under the elements of the world. But when the fullness of time came, God sent his Son"; and also so that it might appear that through no other could human perfidy and hardness of heart be remedied.
On account of which he adds: Perhaps, when they see him, they will reverence him. Perhaps
does not denote doubt in God, who most certainly foresees all things, but the freedom of the will, which is turnable to either side. Whence the Gloss: "That he is uncertain, that is, uses a word of doubt, is not from God's ignorance, but so that free will might be preserved to man." Whence that the Jews did not reverence Christ was not a defect on God's part, but on the part of the hardness of the human heart: Isaiah 5: "What is there that I ought to have done more for my vineyard and did not do?" For those who do not reverence the Son of God will never again reverence God nor his messenger, because, John 5, "The Father has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father; he who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him."
19. (Verse 14.) Second, with respect to the perverse design, it is added: When the tenants saw him, they deliberated among themselves, saying: This is the heir, by a conjecture of the truth: for they did not know with certain knowledge, as is said in 1 Corinthians 2: "Which none of the princes of this world knew. For if they had known, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory." Yet they knew, even if not through faith, through certain signs leading to the belief that he was the Messiah promised in the Law. Therefore they conspired against Christ not from ignorance but from deliberate malice. Whence the Gloss says: "He openly proves that the Jews crucified the Son of God not through ignorance but through envy. For they understood that he was the one to whom it was said: Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance." What is therefore said in Acts 3: "Now I know, brethren, that you acted through ignorance, as did also your rulers," does not exclude from the Jews all knowledge, but certain knowledge: or it is said with respect to the lesser ones, who sinned from ignorance. For the greater ones did this from deliberate malice, because they feared losing their temporal glory. Therefore he adds: Let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours, through a machination of perversity: which they said not to acquire a new inheritance, since Christ was utterly poor, but to preserve what they already had. Whence John 11: "The chief priests and Pharisees gathered a council, saying: Because this man works many signs. If we let him go on like this, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away our place and our nation." Whence that wicked design drew its origin from avarice, and it also drew its rise from envy: whence Wisdom 2: "Let us lie in wait for the just man, because he is contrary to our works and reproaches us with sins against the law and defames us with sins against our training"; and below: "Let us condemn him to a most shameful death. These things they thought and were mistaken, for their own malice blinded them"; since "by the envy of the devil, death entered into the world." A figure of this preceded in Joseph; Genesis 37: "His brothers devised to kill him and spoke to one another, saying: Behold, the dreamer comes; come, let us kill him and cast him into an old pit, and we shall say: A most wicked beast devoured him," etc.
Therefore this Gospel is read together with the history of Joseph as the Passion approaches.
20. (Vers. 15.). Third, as regards the flagitious deed,
it is added: And having cast him out of the vineyard, they killed him,
that is, outside Jerusalem, because it is said in the last chapter of Hebrews: "Christ suffered outside the gate. Let us therefore go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach." They killed him,
moreover, when they handed him over to Pilate to be killed and demanded that he be crucified; whence Acts 3: "You handed over and denied Jesus, the Son of God, before the face of Pilate, when he judged that he should be released. But you asked that a murderer be granted to you, while the Author of life you killed." And thus was fulfilled that passage of Isaiah 5 concerning the planted vineyard: "I waited for it to produce judgment, and behold, iniquity; and justice, and behold, a cry"; a cry,
namely, for the killing of Christ, concerning which Mark 15: "They cried out: Crucify him! But Pilate said to them: What evil then has he done? But they cried out all the more: Crucify him!" Whence from this vineyard there came forth not wine but gall, according to that passage of Deuteronomy 32: "Their vine is of the vine of Sodom and of the suburbs of Gomorrah; their grape is a grape of gall, and their clusters most bitter. Their wine is the poison of dragons and the incurable venom of asps."
21. (Vers. 15. 16.). What therefore will he do to them
etc. After he has described parabolically the benignity of divine generosity and the perversity of Jewish malice, here now in the third place he describes the severity of judicial vengeance.
Concerning which three things are indicated, namely: the severity of divine vengeance, the incredulity of Jewish rebellion, and the firmness of the attestation of Scripture.
First, therefore, as regards the severity of divine vengeance,
he says: What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do to them?
He asks this not as one doubting, but to arouse understanding of the sentence, with respect to which he adds: He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others;
in which is given the sentence of the reprobation of the Jews and the election of the Gentiles; and this under the figure of the vineyard and the vinedressers, concerning which Isaiah 5: "Now I will show you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be for plundering; I will break down its wall, and it shall be for trampling. And I will make it desolate; it shall not be pruned nor dug, and briers and thorns shall grow up over it; and I will command the clouds not to rain upon it." This reprobation
the Prophet laments in the Psalm, saying: "Why have you destroyed its wall, and all who pass by the way pluck its grapes? The boar from the forest has laid it waste, and the solitary wild beast has devoured it." Concerning the election
truly of the Gentiles,
it is said in Romans 11: "Blindness in part has befallen Israel, so that the fullness of the Gentiles might enter in"; and concerning this, Romans 9: "I will call not-my-people my people, and her who has not obtained mercy, one who has obtained mercy"; which is taken from Hosea 2. And concerning this, Matthew 21: "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation producing its fruits."
22. Second, regarding the incredulity of Jewish rebellion,
he adds: When they heard this, they said: God forbid,
as if to say: it will not happen as you have said. But the contrary of this appears in Matthew twenty-one, where it is said thus: "When the lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those husbandmen? They say to him: He will miserably destroy those wicked men and will let out his vineyard to other husbandmen, who will render him the fruit in their seasons." Here, however, it is said that they contradicted. — But Augustine resolves this apparent contradiction in the book On the Harmony of the Evangelists, where he says thus: "We understand that some responded as Matthew records, and others as Luke records." — Chrysostom responds differently, saying that "they said one thing
in their heart, namely what Matthew says; another
with their mouth, namely what Luke says. Hence their conscience was in agreement with the divine sentence and the parable, but their tongue was contrary." Hence the Gloss: "They contradict the sentence which they recognize was spoken against their own perfidy; for they understood that what they bore in their mind was contained in the parable." And from this the wondrous judgment of God appears, because by contradicting they wished to conceal themselves, and yet they were exposing themselves, while they set themselves against the truth, contrary to that passage in Sirach four: "Do not contradict the word of truth in any way, and concerning the lie," etc.
23. (Verse 17). Third, regarding the firmness of the attestation of Scripture,
he adds: But he, looking upon them, said: What then is this that is written: The stone which the builders rejected, the same has become the head of the corner?
This is written in the Psalm, where it is immediately added: "This is the Lord's doing," etc. In this, moreover, is shown the wondrous humility of Christ,
who willed to be rejected; on account of which Isaiah marvels in the fifty-third chapter: Lord, "who has believed our report? And the arm of the Lord, to whom has it been revealed? And he shall grow up as a tender plant before him and as a root out of a thirsty ground." "And we esteemed him as a leper and as struck by God and humiliated." In this also is shown the wondrous power of Christ,
because he brought things most widely separated back to unity, as a cornerstone.
Now Christ is called a stone
on account of the permanence of stability, concerning which Daniel 2: "After these things you watched, until a stone was cut from the mountain without hands and struck the statue." "But the stone that had struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth." - Now He is called angular
on account of the power of connection; Ephesians 2: "He Himself is our peace, who made both one, breaking down the middle wall of partition"; "that He might create the two in Himself into one new man, making peace." Concerning this, Job 38: "Where were you when I was laying the foundations of the earth? Who set its measurements, or who laid its cornerstone?" This cornerstone of the earth is the unifying stone of the Church, concerning which Isaiah 28: "Behold, I will lay in the foundations of Zion a stone, a tested stone, a cornerstone, precious, founded in the foundation." - He is also called the head of the corner
on account of the summit of perfection; Ephesians 2: "Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord," etc. And therefore First Peter 2: "Coming to whom, a living stone, rejected indeed by men." "And you yourselves as living stones," etc. - Christ is therefore to be imagined as the central stone in the whole body of the Church, which is compared to the circumference of a circle; to whom indeed all lines drawn form an angle and are united in Him as in a point of indivisibility, in which occurs the kiss of the lines of the cross converging in their midst into one. Therefore this stone is the one stabilizing the elect, and conversely is the one crushing adversaries and the reprobate.
24. (Verse 18). And therefore he adds: Everyone who falls upon that stone shall be broken, through the corruption of sin; but upon whomever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder, through the vengeance of the future judgment. For fault renders nature weak, but eternal punishment utterly crushes and reduces to dust. Whence the Gloss: "He who now despises and inflicts injuries does not yet entirely perish, but is shaken, so that he does not walk upright; but the stone shall fall upon him, which coming in judgment will crush him." Against this stone, therefore, they stumble who do not believe in him or do not imitate him: First Peter 2, "To you is the honor who believe, but to those who do not believe, the stone which the builders rejected, this has become the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling and a rock of scandal to those who stumble at the word and do not believe, unto which also they are appointed." And so it happened to the Jews, according to that passage of Isaiah 8: "The Lord shall be to you for a sanctification, but for a stone of stumbling and a rock of scandal to the two houses of Israel, for a snare and a ruin to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And very many of them shall stumble and fall and be broken and be ensnared and be taken. I will wait for the Lord, who has hidden his face from the house of Jacob." Those therefore who are scandalized by this stone fall, but those who are condemned by this stone are crushed, according to that passage of Isaiah 30, "Suddenly, when it is not expected, its destruction shall come, and it shall be broken as the bottle of a potter is broken with an exceedingly mighty breaking, and there shall not be found among its fragments a shard in which a little fire may be carried from the hearth, or a little water drawn from the cistern." On account of which, "not so the wicked, not so, but as the dust which the wind casts from the face of the earth."
In this authority, therefore, the Lord confirms the intention of the parable, namely that he himself is to be rejected by the Jews, that he will choose the Gentiles, that he will cast out the Jews on account of their perfidy, and that he will finally condemn them by definitive sentence.
25. (Verse 19). And the chief priests sought etc. After the refuted calumny and the exposed perfidy, there follows here the third part, in which he detects their contrived cunning. Of this cunning, the Evangelist first describes the deceitful contrivance; and second, the truthful confutation, at the passage: But considering their deceit etc.
The contrivance of cunning, however, the Evangelist describes with respect to three things, namely with respect to the Pharisees' malevolent indignation, malicious scheming, and spiteful questioning.
First therefore, as regards the malevolent indignation of the Pharisees, he says: And the chief priests and the scribes sought to lay hands on him that hour: they sought, I say, to kill him, according to that passage of John 7: "Why do you seek to kill me, a man who has spoken the truth to you?" Out of indignation of spirit, therefore, they sought, but out of fear of the people they did not dare. — Whence he adds: And they feared the people, not God; against which Proverbs 29: "He who fears man shall quickly fall." But they feared the people more than God, because they loved the praise of the people more than the truth of Christ: for the praise of the people anointed them, but the truth of Christ reproved them. — Whence it is added: For they knew that he had spoken this parable against them. And thus the truth begot hatred, and that saying of Amos 5 was verified: "They hated him who reproves in the gate, and they abominated him who speaks perfectly." As a figure of this, it is said in Jeremiah 26: "The priests and the prophets spoke to the princes and to all the people, saying: The judgment of death is upon this man, because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears." But these Pharisees, while they wished to kill Christ, by opposing the truth they had heard were fulfilling that very truth, according to that passage of Acts 13: "Those who dwelt in Jerusalem and their rulers, not knowing this Jesus and the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by judging him; and finding no cause of death in him, they asked Pilate that they might kill him. And when they had fulfilled all things that were written of him, taking him down from the tree, they laid him in a tomb."
26. (Vers. 20.). Second, as regards the malicious plotting, he adds: And watching, they sent spies who feigned themselves to be just, against that passage of Proverbs 24: "Do not lie in wait and seek iniquity against the house of the just, and do not lay waste his rest." But plots are carried out through pretenses: against whom Job 36: "Dissemblers and the crafty provoke the wrath of God"; because, Proverbs 11, "the dissembler deceives his friend with his mouth."
And because dissembling has a perverse intention joined to it, therefore he adds: That they might catch him in his speech and deliver him to the principality and power of the governor, namely of Herod. Whence in Mark 12 it is said: "They send to him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, that they might catch him in his word." And this was a great cunning: whence the Gloss: "What they cannot do by themselves on account of fear of the people, they wish to accomplish by the hands of the governor, so that they might appear as though innocent of his death." Therefore in the person of such men it is said in Wisdom 2: "Let us lie in wait for the just one, for he is useless to us and contrary to our works, and he reproaches us with sins against the law and defames us with sins against our training." Whence also as a figure of this, the Philistines said to Delilah in Judges 16: "Deceive him and learn from him wherein he has such great strength, and how we may be able to overcome him."
27. (Vers. 21.). Third, regarding the malicious interrogation, he adds: And they asked him, saying: Master, we know that you speak and teach rightly. Regarding the word, they speak truly indeed, because John 17: "Your word is truth." They themselves were saying this by way of flattery, so that they might extract the secret of his heart from him. Whence Chrysostom: "This is the first prudence of hypocrites: feigned praise, just as one who cannot subdue a bull by strength rubs its neck with gentle hands, so as to seize it through blandishments." And concerning such persons, Proverbs 16: "An evil man entices his friend and leads him along a way that is not good"; and Proverbs 27: "He who blesses his neighbor with a loud voice, rising in the night, shall be likened to one who curses."
And you do not regard the person of men, regarding disposition: and this is true, according to that passage in Acts 10: "In truth I have found that God is no respecter of persons"; and Deuteronomy 10: "God great and mighty and terrible, who does not regard persons nor accept bribes."
But you teach the way of God in truth, regarding example, on account of which he himself said in John 14: "I am the way, the truth, and the life."
Or: you speak rightly, regarding the truth of life; you do not regard persons, with respect to the truth of justice; but you teach the way of God in truth, with respect to the truth of doctrine. In this they praise Christ with true praise, but with a deceitful heart.
28. (Vers. 22.). And this is evident from their crafty interrogation, when it is added: Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not? according to the decree of divine law; in this they propose a deceitful question because, whichever answer is given, they intend to lead him into an absurdity. For either he would say yes, and thus he would seem to speak against the Law and against the Jewish people and common opinion; or he would say no, and then they would hand him over to the authority, as a rebel against Caesar and an enemy of the whole empire. Whence the Gloss: "The Pharisees, who applauded themselves for their righteousness, who gave tithes and first-fruits to God, denied that tributes should be paid to a man." And hence it is that they flattered Christ, so that they might extract from the mouth of Christ such a pronouncement, so that afterward they might say that word from John 19: "If you release this man, you are not a friend of Caesar; for everyone who makes himself king opposes Caesar."
29. (Vers. 23.). But he, perceiving their deceit. After he described the deceitful contrivance of cunning, here secondly he describes the truthful confutation. Concerning which three things are introduced, namely the circumspect consideration of the wisdom of the one responding, the truthful resolution of the proposed question, and the evident confutation of the cunning of the dissembler.
First, therefore, as regards the circumspect consideration of the wisdom of the one responding, he says: But considering their guile, in his mind: whence Jerome: "The first virtue of the one responding is to know the minds of those questioning." In their minds Wisdom itself saw the guile; whence Wisdom 7: "Malice does not overcome wisdom"; and Sirach 16: "Every heart is understood by him, and who understands his ways?" because, Hebrews 4, "the word of God is living and effective and a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart."
Therefore this Word said to them: Why do you tempt me? namely in word, according to that of Sirach 13: "From much speaking he will tempt you, and smiling he will question you about your hidden things." In the person of these it is said in Wisdom 2: "Let us test what shall come upon him, and we shall know what his end shall be."
30. (Verse 24). And because the cunning of temptation is refuted through the manifestation of truth, therefore it is added: Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it bear? They answered and said to him: Caesar's, namely in the outward sign. The Lord does not ask this because he doubts, but so that from their response he might confute them. — Or he asks about the image and inscription of the denarius so that from the very form and figure and quality of the thing he might show that a judgment of equity ought to flow forth. — Or he requires this in order to show that each one is to be judged according to the inscription which he has inscribed upon the image of his mind. For by the denarius is understood man, because the denarius is of earthly matter, namely of metal, and man is of clay: Genesis 2: "God formed man from the clay of the earth"; and he himself is the tenth after the nine orders of Angels, and he is designated by the one drachma above in chapter fifteen: "Or what woman," etc.
"By the image of the denarius is understood the Trinity of Persons, concerning which Sirach 17: "God created man from the earth and made him according to his own image"; and Genesis 1: "Let us make man in our image," etc. By the inscription is understood the quality of morals, and this is twofold: one divine, the other worldly. The divine is through the light of grace and justice: Psalm: "The light of your countenance is signed upon us, O Lord"; but the worldly, which is Caesar's, is through the appetite of cupidity and avarice. On this Ambrose says: "The image of Caesar is not found except in the sea, where the dragons are"; in which he touches upon that which is read in Matthew 17, where Christ sent Peter to the sea, and he found a fish and in the fish a stater, which he paid to Caesar; in which it is understood that the inscription of earthliness is found only in worldly minds, in which, on account of various desires, there is a storm and the violence of a tempest.
31. (Vers. 25.). Secondly, as to the truthful resolution of the proposed question, he adds: And he said to them: Render therefore the things that are Caesar's to Caesar: in which he manifestly gives a just response: for it is an act of justice "to render to each one what is his own." If therefore a thing belongs to him whose inscription it bears, since temporal things bear the inscription of Caesar, it is not against God if they are paid to earthly princes. Therefore in Romans thirteen it is said: "Render to all what is owed: to whom tribute, tribute; to whom tax, tax. Owe no one anything, except to love one another." - And because justice is not sufficient unless what is his own is rendered to each one, therefore he adds: And the things that are God's to God: The Gloss says: "Just as Caesar demands the impression of his image, so also God demands the soul marked with the light of his countenance"; on account of which in First Corinthians fifteen: "Just as we have borne the image of the earthly, so let us bear the image of the heavenly."
32. And note that he first sets forth that the things of the world should be rendered, because, as is said in First Corinthians fifteen, "not first what is spiritual, but what is natural, then what is spiritual." The burden must also be laid down before one is raised upward; whence the Gloss says: "If you do not wish to be liable to Caesar, do not possess the things of the world; and if you have riches, you are liable to Caesar. If you wish to owe nothing to an earthly king, leave all your things and follow Christ. And rightly he decreed that the things that are Caesar's should be rendered first, because no one can belong to the Lord unless he first renounces the world"; above in chapter fourteen: "Unless one renounces all that he possesses, he cannot be my disciple." But the things of God are the soul and the body, because he himself formed the body and the soul—the body from the clay of the earth, the soul from nothing—and therefore both must be rendered and offered to God. This is signified in that widow who cast "two small coins into the treasury" of the Lord, below in chapter twenty-one. And therefore in Romans twelve: "Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this age, but be reformed in the newness of your mind." Hence in this word is enclosed the sum of all justice and perfection.
33. (Vers. 26.). Thirdly, as to the evident confutation of shifty cunning, he adds: And they were not able to reprehend his word before the people, by any apparent contradiction. Nor is this surprising, because in Romans nine: "Who are you to answer back to God?" Whence in Job nine: "If he should suddenly question, who will answer him? Or who can say to him: Why do you act thus?"
And therefore those who contend with Christ are necessarily confounded; on account of which he adds: And marveling at his answer, they were silent,
through evident confusion; whence the Gloss: "Those who ought to have believed marveled, because they have no ground for testing him." Whence Chrysostom: "Malice is sometimes confounded, but never corrected; just as one who wishes to block the channel of running water breaks open a path elsewhere, so also does malice." Whence they were not silent from prudence,
as is said in Sirach twenty: "There is one who is silent and is found wise." "A wise man will be silent until the proper time." Nor from reverence,
as that one of whom Sirach thirty-two says: "Listen in silence, and for your reverence good grace will come to you." Nor from patience,
as that one in Isaiah forty-two: "I was silent, I was always quiet, I was patient." Nor from interior peace:
Lamentations three: "He will sit alone and be silent." But from open confusion,
as those of whom the Lord inquired in Mark three: "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it? But they were silent"; and 1 Kings two: "The wicked shall be silent in darkness," etc.
The confutation of the Sadducees erring from ignorance regarding two points.
34. But certain ones came forward.
After he confuted the faithlessness of those erring from malice, here secondly he confutes the unbelief
of those erring from ignorance;
and this part has two sections. In the first he confutes the error concerning the resurrection;
in the second, concerning the incarnation,
at the place: But he said to them.
First the error concerning the resurrection is confuted through two points.
In describing the confutation of the error of the Sadducees concerning the final resurrection,
he proceeds in this order: for first he sets forth the erroneous question;
secondly he adjoins the truthful response,
at the place: And Jesus said to them: The children of this,
etc.
Concerning the erroneous question,
the Sadducees are introduced as denying the truth,
as alleging a precept,
as proposing a case,
as raising a doubt,
through which they were cast headlong into the aforesaid error.
35. (Vers. 27.). First, therefore, regarding the error of the Sadducees denying the truth,
he says: But some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward,
and consequently they were destroying the foundation of divine worship. Whence Chrysostom: "In every matter or act, the driving force of action is the hope of future reward. For he who plows, plows that he may reap; and he who fights, fights that he may conquer." And afterwards: "Take away therefore the hope of the resurrection, and the entire observance of piety is dissolved"; First Corinthians fifteen: "What shall they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for them? Why do we also stand in danger every hour?" The Sadducees denied the resurrection both on account of the mortality of souls, which they believed—whence the Gloss: "The Sadducees believed that souls perish with the body"—and also on account of the irreparability of bodies. — And in their favor seems to be what is said in the Psalm: "His spirit shall go forth, and he shall return to his earth," etc.; likewise: "Their sepulchres shall be their houses forever"; and Job fourteen: "Man, when he shall have fallen asleep, shall not rise again until the heavens be worn away," etc. But here they do not say that there will be no resurrection, but rather that it is to be deferred until the end of judgment.
For that spirits
are immortal, this is proved by their very intellect, appetite,
and virtuous activity;
but that bodies
shall be restored, this is made manifest at once by divine justice,
divine clemency,
and divine power.
Whence against such persons it is said in First Corinthians fifteen: "But someone will say: How do the dead rise? Or with what manner of body shall they come? Foolish one, what you sow is not quickened unless it first die. And what you sow, you sow not the body that shall be, but a bare grain, as of wheat, or of some of the rest. For God gives it a body as he wills, and to each of the seeds its proper body"; and afterwards: "This corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality."
36. (Vers. 27. 28.). Second, regarding the inquiry of the Sadducees alleging the precept,
it is added: And they asked him, saying: Master, Moses wrote for us,
that is, in authentic and just scripture, according to that of Ecclesiasticus twenty-four: "Moses commanded a law in the precepts of justices"; whence Deuteronomy thirty-one: "After Moses had written the words of this Law in a volume and completed it, he commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant, saying: Take this book and place it at the side of the ark," etc. Whatever therefore Moses wrote is authentic, and so they put forward his scripture as authoritative.
On account of which it is added: If the brother of anyone shall have died having a wife, and he shall have been without children, that his brother should take her as wife and raise up seed for his brother.
This is written in Deuteronomy twenty-five: "When brothers shall have dwelt together, and one of them shall have died without children, the wife of the deceased shall not marry another, but his brother shall take her and shall raise up the seed of his brother, and the firstborn son from her he shall call by the name of his brother, that his name may not be blotted out from Israel."
37. The literal reason for this was to foster charity among relatives, to restrain cupidity, to preserve fidelity, and to maintain carnal generation. According to the spiritual understanding, our brother is Christ: Song of Songs eight: "Who will give you to me as my brother, nursing at the breasts of my mother," etc.; and the Psalm: "I will declare your name to my brothers." His wife is the Church; Revelation nineteen: "The marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has prepared herself." He died before the multitude of the faithful, who are the children of God: John one: "He gave them the power to become children of God," etc., and this in death: John eleven: "Jesus was about to die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but that he might gather into one the children of God who were dispersed." As the brother of this one, he who bears the care of the Church takes his wife, not to beget carnal children, but spiritual ones, as Paul says, First Corinthians four: "In Christ Jesus through the Gospel I have begotten you." And he ought to call them not by his own name, but by that of the brother, because he ought to baptize them not in his own name, but in Christ's, according to that passage of First Corinthians one: "Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?" But upon him who neglects to fulfill this, the penalty of unshoeing ought to be imposed, according to that passage of Deuteronomy twenty-five: "If he shall answer: 'I do not wish to take her as wife,' the woman shall approach him before the elders of the people and shall remove the shoe from his foot and shall spit in his face and shall say: 'Thus shall it be done to the man who does not build up the house of his brother'"; because from him who does not wish to raise up the seed of Christ, the authority of preaching ought to be taken away, which is understood through the removal of the shoe, according to that passage of Ephesians six: "Having your feet shod in the preparation of the Gospel of peace." On account of which, Deuteronomy twenty-three: "A eunuch, with crushed or cut off testicles, shall not enter the Church of the Lord." On the contrary, it is said of holy men in Ecclesiasticus forty-four: "With their seed good things remain, a holy inheritance their descendants."
38. (Vers. 29. 30. 31. 32.). Third, regarding the allegation of those introducing the case, it is added: Therefore there were seven brothers, and the first took a wife and died without children. And the next took her, and he himself died without a son. And the third took her. Likewise also all seven, and they did not leave seed and died. Last of all the woman also died. It could be that they fabricated this as something possible: whence the Gloss: "Those who do not believe in the resurrection of bodies and think that souls perish with the body fabricate the baseness of a fable." The Jews are accustomed to occupy themselves with such fables: on account of which First Timothy 1: "I urged you to remain at Ephesus, that you might charge certain persons not to teach otherwise nor to attend to fables and interminable genealogies, which furnish questions rather than edification." - Or it could be that this happened literally and is introduced here according to the spirit of divine ordinance on account of the figure. For spiritually, by these seven who died without children, is understood the universality of the reprobate, who left no fruit: whence the Gloss: "These seven are all the reprobate, who throughout this whole life, which consists of seven days, are barren of good work." These can be understood through the seven husbands of Sarah, of whom it is said in Tobit 3 that they were killed by a demon named Asmodeus: because in Wisdom 3 it is said: "The seed from an unlawful bed shall be exterminated."
Or by the seven husbands are understood the seven capital vices, which the soul serves, concerning which Luke 11: "He takes along seven spirits more wicked than himself."
Or the five senses and the twofold consideration of reason, which are understood through the woman with seven husbands: of whom it is said in John 4: "Call your husband." For he who subjects himself to the senses of the flesh bears no fruit: Job 24: "He fed the barren woman who does not bear, and did no good to the widow"; because, as is said in Galatians 6, "he who sows in the flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption"; and First John 2: "The world passes away and its concupiscence."
39. (Vers. 33.). Fourth, regarding the cavil of the Sadducees posing the doubt, it is added: In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of them shall she be? Since indeed seven had her as wife, as if they were saying: she belongs no more to one than to another; therefore either all will have her, or none. If therefore both are unfitting, it is against the Law to posit the resurrection.
From which it appears that they erred concerning the resurrection on account of a carnal understanding of spiritual Scripture and spiritual glory; whence carnal understanding kills, while it corrupts spiritual Scriptures; on account of which, Second Corinthians 3: "The letter kills, but the spirit gives life." Therefore John 6: "The words which I have spoken to you are spirit and life"; on account of which, First Corinthians 15: "But this I say, that flesh and blood shall not possess the kingdom of God, neither shall corruption possess incorruption," that is, those who think carnally. And such were these Sadducees, who, not understanding the nobility of the rational spirit nor the meaning of spiritual Scripture nor the power of almighty God, did not believe the resurrection was to come. Therefore it is said in Matthew 22: "You err, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God."
40. (Vers. 34.). And Jesus said to them
etc. After the erroneous inquiry, he here subjoins the truthful response. Concerning which four things are introduced, namely the assertion of truth, the reason for the assertion, the confirmation of the reason, and the commendation of the confirmation.
First, as regards the assertion of truth, he says: And Jesus said to them: The children of this world marry and are given in marriage, for the sake of having succession, as in Tobit 8: "You, Lord, know that not for the sake of lust do I take my sister as wife, but solely out of love of posterity, in which your name may be blessed forever and ever." And this marriage, although it could belong to spiritual men, is nevertheless only among those living in the flesh; whence children of this world does not connote vice. But others marry for the sole fulfillment of pleasure, concerning whom Genesis 6: "The sons of God, seeing the daughters of men that they were fair, took to themselves wives of all whom they chose"; and above in chapter 14: "I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come." And then children of this world connotes vice, as also above in chapter 16: "The children of this world are more prudent than the children of light," etc. And these are the children of the bondwoman, concerning whom Galatians 4: "The son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman." But neither of these will exist in the resurrection, neither succession nor carnal pleasure.
41. (Vers. 35.). Therefore he adds: But they who shall be accounted worthy of that age and of the resurrection from the dead shall neither marry nor take wives: neither shall they marry, as regards women, nor take wives, as regards men. He calls the just worthy of the resurrection. For he speaks here specifically about the resurrection of the just, who will not only rise again but will also be changed, according to that passage of First Corinthians fifteen: "We shall all indeed rise again, but we shall not all be changed." "For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall rise incorruptible." Therefore, although the wicked shall rise with the good, as is said in John five: "The hour comes, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear the voice of the Son of God"; nevertheless he speaks specifically of the good, who will be elevated above time and temporal movements, and thereby above marriage and every carnal act.
42. (Vers. 36.). Second, as regards the reason for the assertion, he adds: For neither can they die anymore; from which it follows that they will not have wives. Hence Bede: "Since marriages exist for the sake of children, children for the sake of succession, and succession exists on account of death: where therefore there is no death, neither are there marriages."
But then it can be argued from this that since in paradise there was no death before sin, marriages would not have existed.
And the response to this is that although there was no death by necessity, as there is now, there was nevertheless death by possibility, because the first parents had an animal body, but after the resurrection the body will be spiritual, according to that passage of First Corinthians fifteen: "It is sown an animal body, it shall rise spiritual: it is sown in weakness, it shall rise in power: it is sown in dishonor, it shall rise in glory."
Therefore he adds: For they are equal to the Angels and are sons of God, since they are sons of the resurrection, that is, just as the Angels are immortal, incorruptible, above time and the variations of temporal movements, so shall the good be, because after the resurrection we shall then be equal to the Angels according to the dignity of glory; on account of which, Revelation twenty-one: "The measure of a man, which is that of an Angel." Nor is this surprising, because then we shall be made like God through glory, according to that passage of First John three: "Now we are sons of God, and it has not yet appeared what we shall be. We know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is." Hence Rabanus: "They are as the Angels of God in heaven, who, renewed by the glory of the resurrection, without any fear of death, without any stain of corruption, without any act of earthly condition, enjoy the perpetual vision of God. To which equality of angelic dignity, whoever desires to ascend must condescend to the least of the brethren by acting piously." And he rightly says this, because one who does not wish to be made like the Angels in ministry cannot be like them in glory.
43. (Vers. 37.). Third, as to the confirmation of reason, he adds: That the dead truly rise, even Moses showed at the bush, that is, the word of the Lord which he spoke to Moses in the vision of that burning and unconsumed bush, according to what is said in Exodus 3: "The Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of the bush, and he saw that the bush burned and was not consumed"; and it follows that the Lord spoke the words which follow here: As he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob: Exodus 3: "The Lord called Moses from the midst of the bush" "and said: I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob."
44. (Vers. 38.). From this, however, the Lord wishes to infer the future resurrection, when he adds: But God is not of the dead, but of the living. For all live to him. From which it follows that they live to him either in act or in potency; but all these were actually dead; therefore they were living to God as to power and disposition. It is therefore necessary to posit a future resurrection. There are, moreover, many testimonies in the Old Testament by which the resurrection of the dead can be proved: Isaiah 26: "Your dead shall live, my slain shall rise again"; and Ezekiel 37: "Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord: Behold," etc.; likewise, Daniel 12: "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake"; likewise, Job 19: "I know that my Redeemer lives, and on the last day I shall rise from the earth"; likewise, Hosea 6: "After two days he will revive us, on the third day he will raise us up"; likewise, Joel 3: "Let them rise up and let the nations ascend into the valley of Jehoshaphat," etc.; likewise, 2 Maccabees 7: "He himself will give you spirit and life with mercy." But the Lord introduced none of these seven witnesses, because the Sadducees, to whom he was responding, accepted only the Pentateuch; whence the Gloss: "He could have given clearer testimonies of the resurrection from the Prophets, but the Sadducees do not accept the Prophets." Or because through this he proves the life of souls after death, which the Sadducees denied, and this was the root of their error. Or because in the citation of this word there is simultaneously enclosed the mystery of the Trinity in the threefold repetition of God, the mystery of the threefold virtue, namely of faith, hope, and charity, in the three aforementioned Patriarchs, the mystery of the Incarnation in the burning bush and also the mystery of the Passion, and in the entire authority the mystery of the Resurrection, and thus, as it were, the whole mystery of the Christian faith; because every figure of mysteries and variety of words has been consummated in the incarnate Word, according to that passage in Isaiah 28: "I have heard of consummation and abbreviation," etc.; and Hebrews 1: "In many ways," etc.
45. (Vers. 39.). Fourth, with respect to the commendation of the confirmation, he adds: And certain of the scribes answering said to him: Master, thou hast spoken well. The scribes commended this because they were of the sect of the Pharisees, who say that there is a resurrection. Whence in Matthew twenty-two it is said that "the Pharisees, seeing that he had silenced the Sadducees, came together in one," because on this account they applauded him. For concerning this there was contention between the Sadducees and the Pharisees: whence in Acts twenty-three, "Paul, knowing that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, cried out in the council: Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am judged. And when he had said this, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the multitude was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection of the dead, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees confess both."
46. (Vers. 40.). Since therefore he had confounded both parties, both were silent: whence it is added: And they dared not ask him any more questions: from which it is apparent that they were asking not out of eagerness to learn, but to conquer and overcome. Whence the Gloss says: "Refuted in arguments, they no longer ask questions, but openly seize him and hand him over to the Roman power. From this we understand that the poisons of envy can be overcome, but they can scarcely be quieted." Therefore they did not dare to question him, because they saw that he had something divine in himself, with whom it is not safe to dispute: Job nine: "How great am I that I should answer him and speak with him in my own words? Who, even if I had anything just, would not answer, but would entreat my judge." Therefore in them was verified that word of the Psalm: "They failed in their searching with scrutiny"; and therefore: "Man shall approach to a deep heart, and God shall be exalted."
Second, he refutes the error concerning the mystery of the incarnation, about which there are three points.
47. (Vers. 41.). And he said to them: How do they say, etc. After he refuted those erring concerning the mystery of the resurrection, here he refutes those erring concerning the mystery of the incarnation, who namely do not believe Christ to be true man and God. Now Christ does this by inquiring and introducing a question which is impossible to resolve unless it is believed and understood that Christ is of a twofold nature. In this question, therefore, Christ, the master of faith, proposes the carnal generation of Christ himself, commonly believed by the Jews; second, he assumes the eternal generation foretold by the Prophet; and he concludes with the apparent controversy between the two.
First, therefore, as to the carnal generation of Christ commonly believed,
he says: But he said to them: How do they say that Christ is the son of David?
All the Jews commonly say this, and also all Christian men. For to David himself the promise concerning Christ was made, as it is said in the Psalm: "Of the fruit of your womb I will set upon your throne"; and in 2 Kings 7: "I will raise up your seed after you, who shall come forth from your womb, and I will establish his kingdom and make firm the throne of his kingdom forever." This cannot be said except of Christ, as the Angel attests, according to that passage above in chapter one: "The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he shall reign in the house of Jacob forever." Therefore rightly "the crowds cried out: Hosanna to the son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" Matthew 21. And the Apostle preached this according to that passage in 2 Timothy 2: "Remember that the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead, of the seed of David, according to my Gospel"; and in Acts 2, Peter said: "Therefore, since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath that of the fruit of his loins one would sit upon his throne, foreseeing this he spoke of the resurrection."
48. (Vers. 42.). Second, as to the eternal generation foretold by the Prophet,
he adds: And David himself says in the book of Psalms: The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand.
Without doubt David says this word for word in the Psalm, which treats most excellently and most profoundly of the two natures of Christ. For it is established that this is understood of Christ. For God gave to no one the supreme kingdom, the eternal priesthood, and the judgment of all things except to Christ; and all this is described in that Psalm. It is necessary, therefore, that this verse be understood of Christ, in which David himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit, expresses the eternal generation
of the Son in this, that he says: "The Lord said to my Lord"; for to say
is nothing other than to conceive a word in the mind, which saying
indeed could not exist in God except from eternity, because, as is said in Job 33, "God speaks once and does not repeat the same thing a second time." And therefore in John 1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." He spoke, therefore, eternally when he begot the Son; the Psalm: "The Lord said to me: You are my Son, today I have begotten you."
He also expresses the equality of the Son with the Father,
when he says: "Sit at my right hand," that is, equal to me: Hebrews 1: "Who, being the brightness of glory and the figure of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, making purgation of sins, sits at the right hand of the Majesty on high," etc., up to: "This day have I begotten thee." Therefore Philippians 2: "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God." That sitting
therefore does not signify a local position, but rather supreme rest, dignity, and authority, and through this also equality, which belongs to the Son alone. Therefore Lucifer fell, who desired it: Isaiah 14: "How art thou fallen, O Lucifer, who didst rise in the morning, who didst say in thy heart: I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit upon the mountain of the testament, and I will be like the Most High."
49. (Verse 43). He expresses nonetheless the universal dominion
of the Son of God himself, when he adds: Until I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet:
The Psalm: "Thou hast subjected all things under his feet," etc., because by his almighty power he both governs the good and tramples the wicked. Whence 1 Corinthians 15: "He must reign, until he hath put his enemies under his feet"; "for he hath subjected all things under his feet"; Isaiah 45: "Thus saith the Lord to my anointed Cyrus, whose right hand I have taken hold of, that I may subdue all nations and turn the backs of kings," etc. For of Christ it is said in Apocalypse 19: "He had on his garment and on his thigh written: King of kings," etc.
50. (Verse 44). Third, as regards the apparent controversy of both,
he adds: David therefore calls him Lord, and how is he his son?
For it is impossible to say that according to his human nature Christ was the lord of David, because Christ was not yet born nor conceived; and moreover, a son is never called the lord
of his father; and again, since David was an exalted king, it does not seem that he had any mere man as his lord. It remains therefore that, since Christ according to the same nature cannot be said to be at once the true son
and lord,
of King David, it is necessary that he be at once God and man. And this indeed is true, which no one can deny unless he wholly overthrows Scripture and the faith received from the Fathers.
51. Now there are manifold testimonies in Scripture concerning this twofold nature of Christ, but he chose this testimony especially, both because David among the Prophets prophesied most excellently concerning Christ, and also because that Psalm from which this verse is taken most excellently expresses the mystery of the entire truth of faith. Whence Cassiodorus also says of that Psalm that "it is a mirror of the heavenly mystery, a treasury of the Sacred Scriptures, where everything is said in summary that is proclaimed in the narrative of both Testaments."
For the intention of the whole of both testaments principally concerns the twofold nature of Christ, concerning which David himself says: "He shall come down like rain upon a fleece"; and afterwards: "Let his name be blessed forever"; and again: "Beautiful in form above the sons of men"; and afterwards: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever"; and Baruch chapter three: "This is our God, and no other shall be esteemed against him." "After these things he was seen upon the earth and conversed with men"; and Isaiah chapter seven: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel"; and Isaiah chapter nine: "A little child is born to us, and a son is given to us, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, God, the Mighty," etc. Likewise, Isaiah chapter fifty-three: "He shall grow up like a tender plant"; and afterwards: "Who shall declare his generation?" And Micah chapter five: "And you, Bethlehem Ephratha, you are small among the thousands of Judah; for from you shall come forth he who is to be ruler in Israel, and his going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity." Therefore, Romans chapter one: "Who was made for him from the seed of David according to the flesh, who was predestined the Son of God in power, according to the spirit of sanctification," etc.; and Romans chapter nine: "Whose is the adoption of sons and the glory and the covenant and the giving of the law and the worship and the promises, whose are the fathers, from whom is Christ according to the flesh, who is over all things God blessed." And this is expressly stated in John chapter one: "In the beginning was the Word"; and afterwards: "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory," etc. Finally, Christ himself, in John chapter eight: "The Beginning, who also speak to you"; and Apocalypse, the last chapter: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." "I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star."
In this, therefore, "he established the end of his teaching," as Ambrose says, because in this is the foundation
of the Christian religion, in which is rooted and enclosed everything to be believed, namely, that Christ is believed to be man and God. For all the articles of faith are reduced either to the Divinity or to the humanity; and therefore the Apostle said in First Corinthians chapter three: "As a wise architect I have laid the foundation; but no other foundation can anyone lay besides that which has been laid, which is Christ Jesus." And he himself is also the completion,
according to that passage in Ecclesiasticus chapter forty-three: "We say many things and fall short in words, but the consummation of our discourse is he himself."
The instruction of the disciples unto prudence, concerning which there are three points.
52. And in the hearing of all the people,
etc. After he had confuted the Pharisees, who erred from malice, and the Sadducees, who erred from ignorance, here thirdly he instructs the disciples in prudence.
And since prudence consists in three things, namely in caution against evil, choice of the good,
and foresight of the future:
therefore this part has three parts. In the first of which he instructs the disciples in caution against evils;
in the second he invites them to the choice of better things,
at the passage: And looking up, he saw,
etc.; and in the third, to foresight of future things,
at the passage: And as some were speaking of the temple,
etc.
Instruction for caution against four evils.
He therefore instructs
the disciples in caution against evils
that were in the scribes and Pharisees, lest by their example they should turn aside from the path of truth: and this indeed he does by calling the disciples back from the fourfold vice of the scribes, namely from adornment of clothing, ambition for honors, appetite for riches,
and simulation of virtues.
The first pertains to wantonness, the second to vainglory, the third to avarice, the fourth to fraudulence: to which four, as to the four wheels of Pharaoh's chariot, all evils can be reduced.
53. (Verses 45–46). First, therefore, as regards the adornment of clothing,
which was the manifest vice of the scribes,
he says: And in the hearing of all the people, he said to his disciples: Beware of the scribes, who desire to walk in long robes.
Now he said in the hearing of all the people
because this was a manifest vice, and therefore to be rebuked openly, according to that passage in First Timothy 5: "Those who sin, rebuke before all, that the rest also may have fear"; and this he said in their presence, lest he act against that passage in Leviticus 19: "You shall not curse the deaf," etc. Now he speaks more about the scribes because they were more effective in doing harm, since they seemed to be men worthy of trust in word and to be imitated in example. Hence the Gloss: "For a twofold reason we are commanded to beware of those desirous of vainglory: lest we be deceived by their pretense, or lest we be inflamed by their example to the love of temporal things." One must therefore take heed lest anyone imitate them in the adornment of clothing, which is understood by the term long robes.
For long robes
are said to be the white and long garments that the scribes used: hence the Gloss on this: "They desire to walk in long robes,
that is, to go forth in public clothed in finer garments: which is reproved in the rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen.
" And therefore Augustine says in the Rule: "Do not seek to please by clothing, but by conduct"; and Sirach 11: "Never glory in clothing"; and First Timothy, the last chapter: "Having food and clothing, let us be content with these."
54. Second, as regards the ambition for honors,
which was a vice of the scribes to be detested,
he adds: And they love greetings in the marketplace,
as regards glory in word,
as if to say that they wish to be greeted in a public place first in time, with a louder voice, and with a bowed head: against which, above in the tenth chapter: "Salute no man by the way," etc.
And the chief seats in the synagogues,
as regards glory in office:
against which, Ecclesiasticus seven: "Seek not from a man leadership, nor from a king the seat of honor."
And the first places at feasts,
as regards glory in sign:
against which, above in the fourteenth chapter: "When you are invited to a wedding, recline in the last place." Now he reproves the scribes, not because to be greeted
is evil, or to be placed upon a seat,
or to be seated in the first place at a feast,
but because such desire
and such glorying
deservedly ought to be reproved. Whence Bede: "He does not forbid being greeted in the marketplace or the first seats to those to whom they are owed by order of office, but to those who love them unduly. For he rebukes the disposition, not the rank." Therefore what is censured in the scribes is not the excellence of dignity, but the ambition for honor. For in these things truth has no place, according to that saying of John five: "How can you believe, who receive glory from one another, and do not seek the glory that is from God alone"? And concerning this glory, Hosea four: "I will change their glory into shame." And such glory ought to be despised: Isaiah twenty-three: "The Lord of hosts has devised this, to bring down the pride of all glory, and to bring to shame all the renowned of the earth"; and First Maccabees two: "The glory of a sinful man is dung and worms: today he is exalted, and tomorrow he shall not be found."
55. (Vers. 47.). Third, with respect to the appetite for riches,
he adds: Who devour the houses of widows,
and this through cupidity, whose voracity is never satisfied, and especially when carnality is joined to it. Therefore he says: Who devour the houses of widows,
simultaneously implying the voracity of cupidity toward the house and of carnality toward the sex; and concerning these two, Proverbs thirty: "The horseleech has two daughters, crying: Give, give"; and immediately he adds: "Three things are insatiable, and a fourth that never says: Enough. Hell, the mouth of the womb, and the earth, which is never satisfied with water; fire never says: Enough"; because, as is said in Ecclesiastes five, "the covetous man shall not be satisfied with money, and he who loves riches shall reap no fruit from them." The devouring, therefore, is reprehensible on account of avarice, but association with widows is reprehensible on account of evil suspicion. Whence Chrysostom: "While he confounds the Jewish priests, he admonishes Christians not to remain with widows more than with others, because, even if the will is not evil, the suspicion nevertheless is evil." And Jerome to Nepotian: "Let the feet of women rarely or never wear out your threshold. All the maidens and virgins of Christ either equally ignore or equally love. See that you do not remain under the same roof, nor trust in past chastity. You cannot be more holy than David, nor stronger than Samson, nor wiser than Solomon. Remember always that woman cast the settler of paradise out of his possession." The scribes, therefore, are not to be imitated, neither with respect to carnality nor with respect to cupidity, because concerning the imitators of these, Second Peter two: "These are like irrational beasts," "enticing unstable souls, having a heart exercised in avarice, children of malediction, forsaking the right way they have gone astray, following the way of Balaam of Bosor, who loved the wages of iniquity." Against such the Lord is indignant, according to that passage in Isaiah three: "You have devoured the vineyard, and the spoil of the poor is in your house."
56. Fourth, with respect to the simulation of virtues,
he adds: Feigning long prayer;
the Gloss: "So that they may appear more religious, they pray at greater length, in order that from any who are weak and troubled by the consciousness of their sins, they may receive praises and money as though they were patrons."
But is prolonged prayer evil? Certainly not, since it is said above in the eighteenth chapter: "One ought to pray always"; and First Thessalonians 5: "Pray without ceasing." But this is said on account of simulation, because, since simulation and fraud are reprehensible in all things, they are most especially reprehended in those acts which ought above all to be done in truth:
and such is the act of prayer: John 4, "Those who adore him must adore in spirit and truth." Concerning him, therefore, who prays fraudulently and with simulation, it is said in the Psalm: "Let his prayer be turned into sin," because, Jeremiah 48: "Cursed is he who does the work of God negligently." - And therefore he adds: These shall receive greater damnation,
because, as is said in Job 36, "dissemblers and the crafty provoke the wrath of God." Therefore Ecclesiasticus 1: "Be not a hypocrite in the sight of men," "lest God reveal your hidden things and cast you down in the midst of the synagogue." And therefore upon the scribes as hypocrites he pronounces woe seven times, Matthew 23: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" on account of their sevenfold simulation, on account of which they were worthy, together with their followers, to be cast down into eternal damnation, according to that passage of Apocalypse 19: "And the beast was apprehended, and with him the false prophet, who wrought signs before him, by which he seduced those who received the mark of the beast: and these two were cast alive into the pool of fire burning with sulphur. And all the birds were filled with their flesh."