Commentaries on Matthew

 it speaks of one who is uninitiated toward it, therefore the virgin has no thought of suspicion toward any other man. 8 Mt 1, 21 If he has a people ev

 flower, this name is found among many for Daniel calls him holy of holies. And Isaiah: a rod from the root of Jesse and a flower from it and the

 he was asking for he was unrepentant, but so that he might draw Christ into vainglory. Knowing this, the Savior did not obey him. 32 Mt 4, 3-4 Wishin

 making peace with him. Blessed are such as these, as having imitated the Son of God for they will be called sons, having partaken of immortality, tha

 which Luke, clarifying, named lepton. But let us be reconciled both with the enemy and avenger, that is, the devil, while we are on this way, and wi

 61 Mt 5, 31 He who casts out the chaste woman gives her permission to be married to another, which is a form of adultery as if the union were not diss

 6, 14 Jesus is also able as God to forgive sins, but as his disciples were still imperfect he had not yet clearly delivered the teaching concerning hi

 they condemn. For they sometimes say about someone: so-and-so is harsh, inhuman, greedy for gain, a lover of money, cruel, foolish, and then, attribut

 and 'the living bird' he sent out of the city into the field. Observe, therefore, how Christ is completely portrayed for us through the things tha

 having cast down the tyranny of the devil. You have come, they say, before the time for they knew in the word, that Christ was to come and that he ha

 if a profane person approaches a holy one, he must be turned away according to the saying: You shall not abhor an Edomite or an Egyptian. But in the

 what is not his, for suddenly those who bite him will rise up, and your plotters will awake, and you will become plunder for them· for Satan gathered

 He says the cities of Israel are also the assemblies of the faithful, which exist until the consummation of the age, and the teachers and the taught d

 rather from God. John indeed was born of a woman, but those who have accepted the faith are no longer called born of women, but were born of God. An

 in all my heart. But those of a twisted mind say, Behold, he gives thanks to the Father then how is he not less than him? To this, one of those wh

 the new covenant proclaimed through Jeremiah is alongside the first covenant, it is altogether necessary to use not the ancient laws, but the new ones

 to do. But they said this as if He was not able to do any of the things befitting God, being blinded in their mind for to open the eyes of the blind

 for those who have had a spark of intelligible light, but have turned to unintelligent knowledge, even the little gleam which they have will be exting

 having a sea-faring trade, they let down the net, not distinguishing, but whatever is caught in the meshes, this they drag completely and entirely to

 spiritual and able to sow seed and to teach the rest and strong enough to measure to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. 180 Mt 14

 The Lord calls them foolish who are concerned with the body, like the Pharisees, and who have not yet passed over to the inner man. Foods, therefore,

 to fall into weaknesses and, having thought of something like this, to say: How will someone deny himself? Or how, having lost his own soul, will he f

 and it was necessary for the father of the possessed one to go away grieving, not having obtained the favor, since he did not make his approach blamel

 of painful things and they feel more of these than of the most pleasant. 211 Mt 17, 24 And they cunningly ask Peter. Since, he says, it is his custom

 of those returning who once turned away from the desire for virtue, it is necessary to fear the voices of the saints, even if those who are defining i

 a reason for condemnation, who would not hereafter hold responsible the transgression against one thing, not even one who has fled? For not even the v

 times, and that some were found virtuous, but others despised the future age because of foolishness. But at the end of life, which is evening (for the

 being by nature also the Son of the Father became man and came in the name of the Lord, being called the Lord. This one therefore, as God by nature, i

 When the Jews were cast out of the temple with the typical sacrifices, the blind and the lame are healed, who are a type of the Gentiles. However, let

 a way and the fellowship with the Spirit, through which one obtains the kingdom of the heavens. 244 Mt 21, 42 The blessed David has marveled at this c

 they came into the midst and a certain lawyer, considered very learned among them, asks what is the great commandment in the law, thinking that he was

 having become their confessors, that the prophets have become revered and honored, they adorned for them the crowns, that is, the monuments, assigning

 it has an intelligible vision through faith for when the fullness of the gentiles has come in and they believe in Christ, then the Jews who believe

 the narrative and to try to be as precise as possible in detail. But if they should wish to learn excessively something beyond their own measure, to r

 for such a one is a partaker of the master's entire kingdom for this is what is meant by he will set him over all his possessions. He does not say

 280 Mt 25, 1-13 He compares the leaders of the peoples to virgins the minister must be spotless in both soul and body, just as Paul says, that she m

 the present time is for work, but the future for reward. 281 Mt 25, 6-9 Souls that neglect virtue wither and are, as it were, extinguished and proceed

 of the blessed David he accused, saying: But you, a man of one soul, who together with me shared sweet morsels. And again: He who eats my bread has

 sending into the souls of those who worship him and distributing according to the measure of each but that we will be in spiritual joys, the divine D

 He said twelve legions: speaking instead of you, the twelve disciples, so that I do not need your assistance for I have not used my power, but I give

 foretold for one says: Woe to the lawless one evil will befall him according to his works. And another: as you have done, so it shall be to you

 to be renewed, even if the former, like one of the robbers, refused, saying we have no king but Caesar and asking for the innocent blood to be on hi

 against those who had transgressed against him. And the rending of the rocks signifies that the souls of the Gentiles were opened to receive the faith

 with proclamations, and the armies of the spirits above attend to the son as master and lord of all, and when he became flesh, that is, man. 318 Mt 28

having cast down the tyranny of the devil. You have come, they say, before the time; for they knew in the word, that Christ was to come and that he has them to judge. And if they said 'before the time' as slandering the time of the incarnation as having happened at the wrong time, it is no wonder if, being evil, they dare to say this too. And yet knowing that they will be punished, so they say scornfully: What have we to do with you? For the judge has a case against us, since we transgressed his commandments. 102 Mt 9, 2 The Lord beheld not the faith of the paralytic, but of those who brought him; for there is a time when one person is healed through the faith of others, and the holy writing of the gospels is full of these. Beholding their faith, therefore, he does not declare their labor in vain, but says, 'child,' the 'child' either to him as one who believed or according to the principle of creation. He called the paralytic 'child' by the principle of creation or as one who believed in him and knew him as Lord and creator. 103 Mt 9, 3-7 The word went forth and the wonder followed. Why did he say that the son of man forgives sins when a divine sign was being performed? Or so that he might show that he brought down into human nature the authority of the divinity through the indivisible union with it; for even if, he says, I have become man, being God the Word, and because of the economy I live and move about on earth, nevertheless I perform wonders beyond reason and grant remission of sins; for I did not take away any of the properties of the divinity or diminish it by becoming unchangeably and truly son of man on earth according to the flesh. And after a little: But he says 'on earth' economically, to show that even having become man and having appeared on earth, he was God by nature. And he commanded the paralytic to carry his bed and go home, so that through him he might also confirm <to> those who were absent what had happened to him. 104 Mt 9, 9-13 And this too is full of a divine sign, that by a word alone such a man was turned to so great a virtue. But in calling Matthew he shows that although no one comes to him, "unless the Father draws him," yet the drawing happens through Christ. The savior, therefore, having unashamedly called a tax collector to discipleship and having come to his house, in which there was nothing else good except the change of the master of the house. There was therefore a great crowd of tax collectors reclining with Jesus, and the savior is not indignant nor does he receive what is happening as an insult to himself, but as master of nature he comes to the feast and eats and drinks, demonstrating the truth of his body and blessing the opportune use of foods. But Pharisees and scribes were also present, not to learn, but to meddle in what was happening. They see the tax collectors reclining and they call the disciples and find fault with what is happening. Jesus hears and says to them: You also have need of a physician; for if you were not sick, you would not find fault with the physician's philanthropy; Is it that I do not know that they are tax collectors? Is it that I am ignorant of the diseases of their soul? I know that they are sick. For this reason I have come to them, to heal their sick souls. But the reason why the Pharisees take the savior to task for eating with sinners is that there was a law "to distinguish between the holy and the profane." But they did not know that Christ provided philanthropic grace beyond the legal use; for the one cast out, but the other changed the evil. He showed, therefore, that he is present not as a judge, but as a physician, and he does what is fitting for the art, being with those who are in need of healing. 105 Mt 9, 11-13 Moreover, the old law prevented the holy from associating with the profane, so that their mind might not slip, but not the opposite,

διαβόλου καθελὼν τυραννίδα. ἦλθες, φασίν, πρὸ καιροῦ· ᾔδεσαν γὰρ ἐν τῷ λόγῳ, ὅτι καὶ ἔμελλεν ἥξειν ὁ Χριστὸς καὶ ὅτι αὐτὸς ἔχει αὐτοὺς κρῖναι. εἰ δὲ καὶ τὸ πρὸ καιροῦ εἶπον ὡς διαβάλλοντες τὸν τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως καιρὸν ὡς παρὰ καιρὸν γεγονυίας, οὐδὲν θαυμαστὸν εἰ πονηροὶ ὄντες καὶ τοῦτο τολμῶσι λέγειν. καίτοι εἰδότες, ὅτι τιμωρηθήσονται, ὥστε ὑπερόπται λέγουσιν· τί ἡμῖν καὶ σοί· ἔχει γὰρ λόγον μεθ' ἡμῶν ὁ κριτής, ἀφ' οὗ παρέ βημεν τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ. 102 Mt 9, 2 Οὐ τὴν πίστιν τοῦ παραλε λυμένου ὁ κύριος ἐθεάσατο, ἀλλὰ τῶν κομισάντων· ἔστι γὰρ ὅτε καὶ ἄλλος δι' ἄλλων πίστιν θεραπεύεται καὶ πλήρης τούτων ἡ ἱερὰ τῶν εὐαγγελίων γραφή. θεασάμενος οὖν τὴν πίστιν αὐτῶν οὐ μάταιον αὐτῶν ἀποφαίνει τὸν πόνον, ἀλλά φησιν τέκνον τὸ τέκνον ἢ καὶ αὐτῷ ὡς πιστεύσαντι ἢ κατὰ τὸν τῆς δημιουργίας λόγον. Τέκνον ἐκάλεσε τὸν παρα λυτικὸν τῷ τῆς δημιουργίας λόγῳ ἢ ὡς πιστεύσαντα εἰς αὐτὸν καὶ γνόντα αὐτὸν κύριον καὶ δημιουρ γόν. 103 Mt 9, 3-7 Ἐξῆλθε τὸ ῥῆμα καὶ τὸ θαῦμα ἐπηκολούθησεν. διὰ τί δὲ καὶ υἱὸν ἀνθρώπου εἶπεν ἀφιέναι ἁμαρτίας ἐπιτελουμένης θεοση μείας; ἢ ἵνα δείξῃ, ὅτι κατήγαγεν εἰς τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην φύσιν τὴν τῆς θεότητος ἐξουσίαν διὰ τὴν ἀδιαίρετον πρὸς αὐτὴν ἕνωσιν· εἰ γὰρ καὶ ἄνθρωπος, φησίν, γέγονα θεὸς λόγος ὑπάρχων καὶ διὰ τὴν οἰκονο μίαν ἐπὶ γῆς πολιτεύομαί τε καὶ ἀναστρέφομαι, ἀλλ' οὐδὲν ἧττον τὰ πέρα λόγου ἀποτελῶ θαύματα καὶ ἄφεσιν δωροῦμαι ἁμαρτημάτων· οὐ γὰρ ἀφειλάμην τι τῶν τῆς θεότητος ἰδιωμάτων ἢ ἐμείωσα τῷ γενέσθαι με ἀτρέπτως καὶ ἀληθῶς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς κατὰ σάρκα υἱὸν ἀνθρώπου. καὶ μετ' ὀλίγα· οἰκονομικῶς δὲ λέγει ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἵνα δείξῃ, ὅτι καὶ ἄνθρωπος γεγονὼς καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ὀφθεὶς θεὸς ἦν κατὰ φύσιν. ἐκέλευσε δὲ τῷ παραλυτικῷ βαστάσαι τὴν κλίνην καὶ ἀπελθεῖν οἴκαδε, ἵνα δι' αὐτοῦ καὶ <πρὸς> τοὺς ἀπόντας πιστώσηται τὸ γεγονὸς ἐπ' αὐτῷ. 104 Mt 9, 9-13 Γέμει δὲ καὶ τοῦτο θεοσημείας τὸ λόγῳ μόνῳ τὸν τοιοῦτον μετα τραπῆναι πρὸς ἀρετὴν τοσαύτην. καλῶν δὲ τὸν Ματθαῖον δείκνυσιν, ὅτι εἰ καὶ οὐδεὶς ἔρχεται πρὸς αὐτόν, "ἐὰν μὴ ὁ πατὴρ ἑλκύσῃ αὐτόν", ἀλλ' οὖν διὰ Χριστὸν γίνεται ἡ ἕλκυσις. ὁ τοίνυν σωτὴρ ἀνεπαισχύντως τε λώνην καλέσας εἰς μαθητείαν καὶ εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ παραγεγονώς, ἐν ᾧ οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἦν ἀγαθὸν εἰ μὴ τοῦ οἰκοδεσπότου ἡ μεταβόλεια. ἦν οὖν ὄχλος πολὺς τελωνῶν συνανακειμένων τῷ Ἰησοῦ καὶ οὐκ ἀγανακτεῖ ὁ σωτὴρ οὐδὲ εἰς ὕβριν αὐτοῦ δέχεται τὸ γινόμενον, ἀλλ' ὡς δεσπότης τῆς φύσεως παραγίνεται εἰς τὴν ἑστίασιν καὶ ἐσθίει καὶ πίνει τήν τε ἀλήθειαν τοῦ σώματος ἐνδεικνύμενος καὶ τὴν εὔκαιρον τῶν βρω μάτων εὐλογῶν χρῆσιν. παρῆσαν δὲ καὶ Φαρισαῖοι καὶ γραμματεῖς, οὐχ ἵνα μάθωσιν, ἀλλ' ἵνα περιεργάσωνται τὰ γινόμενα. βλέπουσιν τοὺς τελώνας συνανακειμένους καὶ καλοῦσιν τοὺς μαθητὰς καὶ τὸ γινόμενον αἰτιῶνται. ἀκούει ὁ Ἰησοῦς καί φησι πρὸς αὐτούς· καὶ ὑμεῖς χρείαν ἔχετε ἰατροῦ· εἰ γὰρ μὴ ἐνοσεῖτε, οὐκ ἂν ᾐτιᾶσθε τοῦ ἰατροῦ τὴν φιλαν θρωπίαν· μήποτε γὰρ οὐκ οἶδα, ὅτι τελῶναι ὑπάρχουσιν; μήποτε γὰρ ἀγνοῶ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτῶν τὰ νοσήματα; οἶδα, ὅτι κακῶς ἔχουσιν. διὰ τοῦτο πρὸς αὐτοὺς παραγέγονα, ἵνα τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν θεραπεύσω νο σούσας. δι' ἣν δὲ αἰτίαν ἐπιλαμβάνονται οἱ Φαρισαῖοι τοῦ σωτῆρος ἁμαρτωλοῖς συνεσθίοντος, ὅτι νόμος ἦν "διαστέλλειν ἀνὰ μέσον ἁγίου καὶ βεβήλου". οὐκ ᾔδεισαν δὲ Χριστὸν ὑπὲρ τὴν νομικὴν χρῆσιν παρέ χοντα τὴν φιλάνθρωπον χάριν· ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἐξέβαλεν, ἡ δὲ μετέβαλεν τὸ κακόν. ἔδειξεν οὖν, ὅτι οὐχ ὡς κριτὴς πάρεστιν, ἀλλ' ὡς ἰατρὸς καὶ τὸ ἐπιβάλλον τῇ τέχνῃ ποιεῖ συνὼν τοῖς καὶ ἰάσεως δεομένοις. 105 Mt 9, 11-13 Πλὴν τοὺς ἁγίους ὁ πάλαι νόμος ἐκώλυσε συγκολλᾶσθαι τοῖς βεβή λοις, ἵνα μὴ παρολισθήσῃ αὐτῶν ὁ νοῦς, οὐ μὴν τὸ ἐναντίον,