having sent them, since they were not able, on account of being very ill, to approach on their own, and they did not themselves touch the fringe, as the woman with the issue of blood did, but at their urging. Nevertheless, even of these, as many as touched were made whole. And if there is some difference between 'were made whole,' which was said of these, and 'to be saved' of that one—for it was said to the woman with the issue of blood, "Your faith has saved you"—you yourself will notice. 11.8 Then Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem come to him, saying: Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread (15, 1. 2[-9]). The one who has observed at what time the Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem approached Jesus saying, 'Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?' and so on, will know that necessarily Matthew did not simply record that the Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem approached the Savior asking him the proposed questions, but made it: Then they come to him from Jerusalem. When, then, is 'then'? One must understand. At the time when "they had crossed over and came to the land of Gennesaret" in the boat, Jesus and his disciples, after the wind had ceased from when Jesus got into the boat, and when "the men of that place, recognizing him, sent into all that surrounding region and brought to him all who were sick and begged him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched were made whole," at that time the Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem approached him, not being amazed at the power in Jesus which had healed those who had touched even "only the fringe of his garment," but contentiously making an accusation against the teacher, not concerning the transgression of a commandment of God but of one tradition of the Jewish elders. And it is likely that this very accusation of the contentious ones demonstrates the piety of Jesus' disciples, who gave no occasion for censure concerning the transgression of God's commandments to the Pharisees and scribes, who would not have brought the accusation concerning transgression against Jesus' disciples as transgressing the command of the elders, if indeed they had been able to find fault with the accused and prove them to be transgressing a commandment of God. But do not think these things to be arguments for the necessity of keeping the law of Moses according to the letter, since the disciples of Jesus were keeping it until that time; for not before his passion did he who in his passion on behalf of men "became a curse for us" "redeem us from the curse of the law." But just as fittingly Paul also became "a Jew to the Jews," "that he might win Jews," what is strange about the apostles, while spending their time among Jews, even if they understood the spiritual things of the law, making use of accommodation, as Paul also did when he circumcised Timothy and offered a sacrifice according to a certain legal vow, as is written in the Acts of the Apostles? Nevertheless, they seem very fond of making accusations, those who have nothing to accuse the disciples of Jesus of concerning a commandment of God, but only concerning one tradition of the elders. And their contentiousness is especially evident in this way, that in the presence of those who had been healed from being ill they bring the accusation, seemingly against the disciples, but in truth choosing to slander the teacher; for it was also a tradition of the elders to wash as necessary for piety. For they thought that the hands of those who had not washed before eating bread were common and unclean, but that those washed with water had become clean and holy, not symbolically, but analogously to the law of Moses according to the letter. But we, not according to the tradition of their elders, but according to what is reasonable, try to cleanse our own actions and thus wash the hands of our souls, when we are about to eat the "three loaves" which we ask for from Jesus who wants to be our friend; for with "common" and "unwashed" and not clean hands one must not partake of the loaves. 11.9 But he
ἀποστειλάντων, ἅτε μὴ δυνάμενοι διὰ τὸ σφόδρα κακῶς ἔχειν προσελθεῖν ἀφ' ἑαυτῶν, καὶ οὐδὲ μόνοι ἥψαντο τοῦ κρασπέδου, ὡς ἡ αἱμορροοῦσα, ἀλλὰ παρακαλεσάντων ἐκείνων. Πλὴν καὶ τούτων ὅσοι ἥψαντο διεσώθησαν. Εἰ δὲ ἔστι τις διαφορὰ τοῦ διεσώθησαν ἐπὶ τούτων εἰρημένου πρὸς τὸ σωθῆναι <ἐκείνην>-εἴρηται γὰρ πρὸς τὴν αἱμορ ροοῦσαν· «ἡ πίστις σου σέσωκέ σε»-, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπιστήσεις. 11.8 Τότε προσέρχονται αὐτῷ ἀπὸ Ἱεροσολύμων Φαρισαῖοι καὶ γραμματεῖς λέγοντες· διὰ τί οἱ μαθηταί σου παραβαί νουσι τὴν παράδοσιν τῶν πρεσβυτέρων; οὐ γὰρ νίπτονται τὰς χεῖρας ὅταν ἄρτον ἐσθίωσιν (15, 1. 2[-9]). Ὁ παρατηρήσας κατὰ ποῖον καιρὸν προσῆλθον τῷ Ἰησοῦ ἀπὸ Ἱεροσολύμων Φαρισαῖοι καὶ γραμματεῖς λέγοντες· ∆ιὰ τί οἱ μαθηταί σου παραβαίνουσι τὴν παράδοσιν τῶν πρεσβυτέρων καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς, εἴσεται ὅτι ἀναγκαίως ὁ Ματθαῖος οὐχ ἁπλῶς ἀνέγραψε προσεληλυθέναι τοὺς ἀπὸ Ἱεροσολύμων Φαρισαίους καὶ γραμματεῖς τῷ σωτῆρι πυνθανομένους αὐτοῦ τὰ ἐκκείμενα, ἀλλὰ πεποίηκε· Τότε προσέρχονται αὐτῷ ἀπὸ Ἱεροσολύμων. Πότε οὖν τότε, κατανοητέον. Ἡνίκα «διαπεράσαντες ἦλθον εἰς τὴν γῆν Γενησαρὲτ» τῷ πλοίῳ ὁ Ἰησοῦς καὶ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ, κοπάσαντος τοῦ ἀνέμου ἀφ' οὗ ἐπιβέβηκεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς τῷ πλοίῳ, καὶ ὅτ' «ἐπιγνόντες αὐτὸν οἱ ἄνδρες τοῦ τόπου ἐκείνου ἀπέστειλαν εἰς ὅλην τὴν περίχωρον ἐκείνην καὶ προσήνεγκαν αὐτῷ πάντας τοὺς κακῶς ἔχοντας καὶ παρεκάλουν ἵνα κἂν μόνον ἅψωνται τοῦ κρασπέδου τοῦ ἱματίου αὐτοῦ· καὶ ὅσοι ἥψαντο διεσώθησαν», τηνικάδε προσῆλθον αὐτῷ ἀπὸ Ἱεροσολύμων Φαρισαῖοι καὶ γραμματεῖς, μὴ καταπλαγέντες τὴν ἐν τῷ Ἰησοῦ δύναμιν ἰασαμένην τοὺς κἂν «μόνον τοῦ κρασπέδου τοῦ ἱματίου αὐτοῦ» ἁψαμένους, φιλαιτίως δὲ ἐγκαλοῦντες ἐπὶ τοῦ διδασκάλου, οὐ περὶ παραβάσεως ἐντολῆς θεοῦ ἀλλὰ παραδόσεως μιᾶς Ἰουδαϊκῶν πρεσβυτέρων. Καὶ εἰκὸς ὅτι αὐτὸ τὸ τῶν φιλαιτίων ἔγκλημα παρίστησι τὴν τῶν μαθητῶν Ἰησοῦ εὐλάβειαν, μηδεμίαν ἀφορμὴν διδόντων ἐπιλήψεως ὡς περὶ παραβάσεως ἐντολῶν θεοῦ τοῖς Φαρισαίοις καὶ γραμματεῦσιν, οἵτινες οὐκ ἂν προσή νεγκαν τὸ περὶ παραβάσεως τοῖς μαθηταῖς Ἰησοῦ ἔγκλημα ὡς παραβαίνουσι τὴν ἐντολὴν τῶν πρεσβυτέρων, εἴπερ εἶχον ἐπιλαμβάνεσθαι τῶν ἐγκαλουμένων καὶ ἀποδεικνύναι αὐτοὺς παραβαίνοντας ἐντολὴν θεοῦ. Μὴ νομίσῃς δὲ ταῦτα κατασκευαστικὰ εἶναι τοῦ δεῖν τηρεῖσθαι τὸν κατὰ τὸ γράμμα Μωσέως νόμον, ἐπεὶ οἱ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ μαθηταὶ ἕως τότε αὐτὸν ἐφύλαττον· οὐ γὰρ πρὸ τοῦ παθεῖν «ἐξηγόρασεν ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῆς κατάρας τοῦ νόμου» ὁ ἐν τῷ παθεῖν ὑπὲρ ἀνθρώπων «γενόμενος ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν κατάρα». Ἀλλ' ὡσπερεὶ καθηκόντως καὶ Παῦλος «τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις Ἰουδαῖος» ἐγένετο, «ἵνα Ἰουδαίους κερδήσῃ»,τί ἄτοπον τοὺς ἀποστόλους ἐν Ἰουδαίοις ποιουμένους τὰς διατριβάς, κἂν τὰ πνευματικὰ νοῶσι τοῦ νόμου, χρῆσθαι τῇ συμπεριφορᾷ, ὡς καὶ Παῦλος Τιμόθεον περιτεμὼν καὶ θυσίαν κατά τινα νομικὴν εὐχὴν προσαγαγών, ὡς ἐν ταῖς τῶν ἀποστόλων γέγραπται Πράξεσι; Πλὴν πάνυ φαίνονται φιλεγκλήμονες οἱ περὶ μὲν ἐντολῆς θεοῦ μηδὲν ἔχοντες ἐγκαλεῖν τοῖς Ἰησοῦ μαθηταῖς, μόνον δὲ περὶ πρεσβυτέρων παραδόσεως μιᾶς. Καὶ μάλιστα ἐμφαίνεται οὕτως τὸ φιλέγκλημον, ὅτι παρ' αὐτοῖς τοῖς ἰαθεῖσιν ἀπὸ τοῦ κακῶς ἔχειν προσάγουσι τὸ ἔγκλημα, τῷ μὲν δοκεῖν κατὰ τῶν μαθητῶν, τὸ δ' ἀληθὲς τὸν διδάσκαλον διαβάλλειν προαιρού μενοι· ὅ<τι> καὶ παράδοσις ἦν τῶν πρεσβυτέρων τὸ νίπτεσθαι ὡς ἀναγκαῖον πρὸς εὐσέβειαν. Ὤιοντο γὰρ κοινὰς μὲν καὶ ἀκαθάρτους εἶναι χεῖρας τὰς τῶν μὴ νιψαμένων πρὸ τοῦ ἀρτοφαγεῖν, καθαρὰς δὲ καὶ ἁγίας γεγονέναι τὰς τῶν ἀποπλυνομένων ὕδατι, οὐ συμβολικῶς, <ἀλλ'> ἀνάλογον τῷ κατὰ τὸ γράμμα Μωσέως νόμῳ. Ἡμεῖς δὲ οὐ κατὰ τὴν τῶν παρ' ἐκείνοις πρεσβυτέρων παράδοσιν, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸ εὔλογον καθαίρειν πειρώμεθα ἑαυτῶν τὰς πράξεις καὶ οὕτως τὰς τῶν ψυχῶν νίπτεσθαι χεῖρας, ὅταν μέλλωμεν ἐσθίειν οὓς αἰτοῦμεν ἀπὸ τοῦ φίλου ἡμῖν θέλοντος εἶναι Ἰησοῦ «τρεῖς ἄρτους»· «κοιναῖς» γὰρ καὶ «ἀνίπτοις» καὶ οὐ καθαραῖς χερσὶν οὐ χρὴ τῶν ἄρτων μεταλαμβάνειν. 11.9 Ὁ δὲ