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

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 to act contrary to the laws of Moses, he does not even pay the didrachma, knowing that Christ had also said "I came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it," and that the manner of the economy demands this. Peter therefore spoke to them—perhaps blushing to converse about these things. 212 Mt 17, 27 Though able to produce the stater from the earth, he did not do this, but he performed the sign from the sea, in order to teach us a mystery full of contemplation. For we were fish, drawn up from the bitter turmoil of life as from the sea by the apostolic hooks, having in our mouths Christ, the royal stater, who was given as a ransom for two, for our soul and body, or for two peoples, both Jews and Gentiles, ransoming poor and rich alike, since also the old law unshrinkingly demanded the tax of the drachma equally from both rich and poor. The Savior was able to produce the stater from the earth, but he did not do this, but he worked the sign from the sea, in order to show us a mystery full of contemplation. For we are the fish caught from the turmoil of life by the apostolic teachings. And we have in our mouths the stater, that is, Christ. 213 Mt 18, 1 And we consider and say the kingdom of heaven is especially in the present either the calling in sanctification or the measure in faith and holiness. For the Savior also suggests something of this kind, saying: "The kingdom" of heaven "is within you." 214 Mt 18, 10 Since a great and countless multitude of demons roams this universe, destroying our affairs with manifold deceits, Christ has appointed for us tutors from heaven, not as if human nature were bearing the lesser part—far from it; for they are far beyond our affairs, and the account is clear—but as ones who bring their own strength against the aggressions of demons and are strong enough to contend for our life. And Christ has accomplished this for our souls along with all other things. For a long time, when we had become worthless, heaven was shut, and the angels took no account of us, as if sharing the indignation of the Lord of all at being insulted. But when God was pleased "to sum up all things in Christ," he came down to earth and brought the holy angels and appointed them guardians of our life. Wherefore he also said: "You will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man." "Of Man," that is, for the sake of man. For he opened to us heaven, which had been closed in times now past, so that, running up and down for our sake, they might be certain ministers of the economy being accomplished for us through Christ. This, therefore, is also what Paul says: "Are they not all ministering spirits," and so on. The power of the dreams <τοῦ> of our forefather Jacob also has this meaning; he has seen, as he said, "the ladder" reaching from earth "to heaven," the dream <τοῦ ὀνείρου> signifying, I think, nothing other than that at the proper times there will be an ascent and descent for the holy angels on account of the man, the Only-Begotten shining forth in the world in the flesh. It is dreadful, therefore, for those who have been deemed worthy of such great care from God, as to be allotted angels as overseers and tutors, to be held in no account, and this by us, their fellow servants and brothers. 215 Mt 18, 20 Since Christ gives to those who have been allotted to teach the authority to loose and to bind, not

τῶν λυπηρῶν καὶ πλείω τούτων αἰσθάνονται ἢ τῶν ἡδίστων. 211 Mt 17, 24 καὶ πανούργως ἐρωτῶσι τὸν Πέτρον. ἐπειδή, φησίν, ἔθος ἔχει τοῖς τοῦ Μωσέως ἀντιπράττεσθαι νόμοις, οὐδὲ τὸ δίδραχμον τελεῖ, εἰδὼς ὅτι καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς ἦν εἰπὼν "οὐκ ἦλθον καταλῦσαι τὸν νόμον, ἀλλὰ πλη ρῶσαι", καὶ ὅτι τῆς οἰκονομίας ὁ τρόπος τοῦτο ἀπαιτεῖ. τούτοις μὲν οὖν εἶπεν ὁ Πέτρος-ἴσως ἐρυθριῶν ὑπὲρ τούτων διαλεχθῆναι. 212 Mt 17, 27 ∆υνάμενος καὶ ἐκ τῆς γῆς παραγαγεῖν τὸν στατῆρα οὐκ ἐποί ησε τοῦτο, ἀλλ' ἐκ τῆς θαλάσσης τὸ σημεῖον ἐποίησεν, ἵνα μυστήριον ἡμᾶς διδάξῃ θεωρίας γέμον· ἰχθύες γὰρ ἦμεν ἐκ τῶν πικρῶν τοῦ βίου ταραχῶν ἀνασπασθέντες ὡς ἐκ θα λάσσης διὰ τῶν ἀποστολικῶν ἀγκί στρων ἔχοντες ἐν τοῖς ἑαυτῶν στό μασι τὸν Χριστὸν τὸν στατῆρα τὸν βασιλικόν, ὃς ἐδόθη ὑπὲρ δύο ἀντίλυτρον, ὑπὲρ ψυχῆς καὶ σώ ματος ἡμῶν ἤτοι ὑπὲρ δύο λαῶν, Ἰουδαίων τε καὶ ἐθνικῶν, ὁμοίως λυτρούμενος πένητας καὶ πλουσίους ἐπείπερ καὶ ὁ παλαιὸς νόμος ἀνυ ποστόλως ἐξ ἴσου ἀπῄτει τὸ τέλος τῆς δραχμῆς παρά τε πλουσίου καὶ πένητος. Ἠδύνατο ὁ σωτὴρ καὶ ἐκ τῆς γῆς παραγαγεῖν τὸν στατῆρα, οὐκ ἐποίησε δὲ τοῦτο, ἀλλ' ἐκ τῆς θα λάσσης τὸ σημεῖον εἰργάσατο, ἵνα δείξῃ μυστήριον ἡμῖν θεωρίας ἔμ πλεον· ἡμεῖς γάρ ἐσμεν οἱ ἰχθύες θηρευθέντες ἐκ τῶν τοῦ βίου τα ραχῶν διὰ τῶν ἀποστολικῶν διδαγ μάτων. ἔχομεν δὲ ἐν τοῖς στόμασιν ἡμῶν τὸν στατῆρα, τοῦτ' ἔστιν τὸν Χριστόν. 213 Mt 18, 1 Οὐρανῶν τε βασιλείαν ἔν τε τῷ παρόντι μάλιστα λογιζόμεθα καὶ εἶναί φαμεν ἢ τὴν ἐν ἁγιασμῷ κλῆσιν ἢ τὸ ἐν πίστει καὶ ἁγιότητι μέτρον· ὑποφαίνει γάρ τι τοιοῦτον καὶ ὁ σωτὴρ εἰπών· "ἡ βασιλεία" τῶν οὐρανῶν "ἐντὸς ὑμῶν ἐστιν". 214 Mt 18, 10 Ἐπειδήπερ τις πολλὴ καὶ δυσαρίθμητος δαιμόνων πληθὺς τόδε τὸ σύμπαν περιφοιτᾷ πολυτρόποις ἀπάταις τὰ καθ' ἡμᾶς καταστρέφουσα, οὐρανόθεν ἡμῖν ἐπέστησεν ὁ Χριστὸς τοὺς παιδαγωγοὺς οὐχ ὡς τῆς ἀνθρώπου φύσεως τὸ ἔλαττον ἀποφερομένης-πολλοῦ γε καὶ δεῖ· μακρὰν γὰρ τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς ἐκεῖνοι καὶ ἐναργὴς ὁ λόγος-ἀλλ' ὡς ταῖς τῶν δαιμονίων πλεονεξίαις τὴν ἰδίαν ἰσχὺν ἀντεξάγοντας καὶ τῆς ἡμετέρας ζωῆς ὑπεραθλεῖν ἰσχύοντας· κατώρθωκεν δὲ καὶ τοῦτο μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων ταῖς ἡμετέραις ψυχαῖς ὁ Χριστός. πάλαι μὲν ἀχρειωθέντων ἡμῶν ἀπεκέκλειστο ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ οὐδένα τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς ἐποιοῦντο λόγον οἱ ἄγγελοι οἱονεὶ τῷ πάντων δεσπότῃ συναγανακτοῦντες ὡς ὑβρισμένῳ. ἐπειδὴ δὲ ηὐδόκησεν ὁ θεὸς "ἀνακεφαλαιώσασθαι τὰ πάντα ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ", κατεκόμισεν ἐλθὼν ἐπὶ γῆς καὶ τοὺς ἁγίους ἀγγέλους καὶ τῆς ἡμετέρας ζωῆς κηδεμόνας ἀπέδειξεν. διὸ καὶ ἔλεγεν· "ὄψεσθε τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀνεῳγότα καὶ τοὺς ἀγγέλους τοῦ θεοῦ ἀναβαίνοντας καὶ καταβαίνοντας ἐπὶ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου". "τοῦ ἀνθρώπου", τοῦτο ἔστιν διὰ τὸν ἄνθρωπον· κεκλεισμένον γὰρ κατὰ τοὺς ἤδη παρῳχηκότας καιροὺς ἤνοιξεν ἡμῖν τὸν οὐρανόν, ἵνα δι' ἡμᾶς ἄνω τε καὶ κάτω θέοντες ὑπουργοί τινες εἶεν τῆς εἰς ἡμᾶς τελουμένης οἰκονομίας διὰ Χριστοῦ. τοῦτο οὖν καὶ ὁ Παῦλός φησιν· "οὐχὶ πάντες εἰσὶν λειτουργικὰ πνεύματα" καὶ ἑξῆς. ταύτην ἔχει τὴν δήλωσιν καὶ τῶν ἐνυπνίων <τοῦ> προπάτορος ἡμῶν Ἰακὼβ ἡ δύναμις· τεθέαται, ὡς ἔφη, "τὴν κλίμακα" διήκουσαν ἀπὸ γῆς "εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν", οὐδὲν οἶμαι κατασημαίνοντος <τοῦ ὀνείρου> ἕτερον ἢ ὅτι κατὰ καιροὺς ἄνοδος τε καὶ κάθοδος ἔσται τοῖς ἁγίοις ἀγγέ λοις διὰ τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐπιλάμποντα ἐν κόσμῳ μετὰ σαρκὸς τοῦ μονο γενοῦς. πάνδεινον οὖν ἄρα τοὺς τοσαύτης φροντίδος ἠξιωμένους παρὰ θεοῦ ὡς ἐπιστάτας καὶ παιδαγωγοὺς ἀγγέλους καταλαχεῖν ἐν τῷ μη δενὶ τετάχθαι λόγῳ καὶ τοῦτο παρ' ἡμῖν τοῖς ὁμοδούλοις καὶ ἀδελφοῖς. 215 Mt 18, 20 Ἐπειδὴ δίδωσι τοῖς τὸ διδάσκειν λαχοῦσιν ἐξουσίαν τοῦ λύειν καὶ δεσμεῖν ὁ Χριστὸς μὴ