Chapter LXI.—Of the Little Child Whom He Set Before Them for Their Imitation, and of the Offences of the World; Of the Members of the Body Causing Offences; Of the Angels of the Little Ones, Who Behold the Face of the Father; Of the One Sheep Out of the Hundred Sheep; Of the Reproving of a Brother in Private; Of the Loosing and the Binding of Sins; Of The Agreement of Two, and the Gathering Together of Three; Of the Forgiving of Sins Even Unto Seventy Times Seven; Of the Servant Who Had His Own Large Debt Remitted, and Yet Refused to Remit the Small Debt Which His Fellow-Servant Owed to Him; And of the Question as to Matthew’s Harmony with the Other Evangelists on All These Subjects.

119. The same Matthew then proceeds with his narrative in the following terms: “In that hour came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who, thinkest Thou, is the greater in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto Him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven;” and so on, down to the words, “So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.”611    Matt. xviii. Of this somewhat lengthened discourse which was spoken by the Lord, Mark, instead of giving the whole, has presented only certain portions, in dealing with which he follows meantime the same order. He has also introduced some matters which Matthew does not mention.612    Mark ix. 33–49. Moreover, in this complete discourse, so far as we have taken it under consideration, the only interruption is that which is made by Peter, when he inquires how often a brother ought to be forgiven. The Lord, however, was speaking in a strain which makes it quite clear that even the question which Peter thus proposed, and the answer which was returned to him, belong really to the same address. Luke, again, records none of these things in the order here observed, with the exception of the incident with the little child whom He set before His disciples, for their imitation when they were thinking of their own greatness.613    Luke ix. 46–48. For if he has also narrated some other matters of a tenor resembling those which are inserted in this discourse, these are sayings which he has recalled for notice in other connections, and on occasions different from the present: just as John614    John xx. 23. introduces the Lord’s words on the subject of the forgiveness of sins,—namely, those to the effect that they should be remitted to him to whom the apostles remitted them, and that they should be retained to him to whom they retained them, as spoken by the Lord after His resurrection; while Matthew mentions that in the discourse now under notice the Lord made this declaration, which, however, the self-same evangelist at the same time affirms to have been given on a previous occasion to Peter.615    Matt. xvi. 19. Therefore, to preclude the necessity of having always to inculcate the same rule, we ought to bear in mind the fact that Jesus uttered the same word repeatedly, and in a number of different places,—a principle which we have pressed so often upon your attention already; and this consideration should save us from feeling any perplexity, even although the order of the sayings may be thought to create some difficulty.

CAPUT LXI. De puero parvulo quem proposuit imitandum, de scandalis mundi, de membris corporis scandalizantibus, de angelis parvulorum qui vident faciem Patris, de una ove ex ovibus centum, de fratre corripiendo in secreto, de solvendis ligandisque peccatis, de concordia duorum et congregatione trium, de dimittendis peccatis usque septuagies septies, de servo cui dimissum est multum debitum, et ipse parvum non dimisit conservo, Matthaeus quemadmodum caeteris non repugnat.

119. Sequitur ergo idem Matthaeus, et dicit: In illa hora accesserunt discipuli ad Jesum dicentes: Quis, putas, major est in regno coelorum? Et advocans Jesus parvulum, statuit eum in medio eorum, et dixit: Amen dico vobis, nisi conversi fueritis, et efficiamini sicut parvuli, non intrabitis in regnum coelorum, usque ad illud ubi ait, Sic et Pater meus coelestis faciet vobis, si non remiseritis unusquisque fratri suo de cordibus vestris (Matth. XVIII). Ex isto aliquanto prolixiore Domini sermone non omnia, sed quaedam Marcus eumdem 1135 sequens ordinem posuit; quaedam etiam ipse, quae Matthaeus non dicit, inseruit (Marc. IX, 33-49). Totus autem sermo quousque eum considerandum suscepimus, a Petro solo interpellatur, quaerente quoties fratri debeat ignosci. Talia enim Dominus loquebatur, ut satis eluceat, etiam hoc quod Petrus interrogavit, eique responsum est, ad eumdem pertinere sermonem. Lucas autem, nisi illud de parvulo quem constituit ante discipulos imitandum, cum de sua magnitudine cogitarent, nihil hoc ordine servato commemorat (Luc. IX, 46-48). Si qua enim alia similiter dixit, quae et in isto sermone sunt posita, alibi et ex aliis occasionibus dicta recoluit: sicut Joannes de remissione peccatorum, quod tenebuntur, si cui tenuerint; et dimittentur, si cui dimiserint, post resurrectionem a Domino dictum commemorat (Joan. XX, 23); cum Matthaeus in hoc sermone Dominum hoc dixisse meminerit, quod et Petro antea dictum fuisse idem ipse testatur (Matth. XVI, 19). Eadem itaque saepe ac pluribus locis Jesum dixisse, necubi moveamur, si ordo dictorum quibusdam repugnare putabitur, sicut jam toties commendavimus, meminisse debemus, ne hoc semper admonere necesse sit.