Chapter X.
Second, the mission of the seventy-two disciples is treated with respect to three things.
1. After these things the Lord designated etc. The part concerning the mission of the Apostles having been completed, here is added the part concerning the mission of the disciples after the manner of lesser prelates. This part has three sections, in the first of which he treats of the form of preaching; in the second, of the form of living, below in the same chapter: And behold, a certain lawyer; in the third, of the form of praying, below in the eleventh chapter: And it came to pass, when he was in a certain place, etc.
The first part treats of the mission of the accompanying disciples in three ways.
The first part has three sections, in the first of which is set forth the mission of the accompanying disciples; in the second is added the instruction of those going forth, at the passage: Carry neither purse etc.; in the third is added the consolation of those returning, at the passage: And the seventy-two returned with joy, etc. The disciples are sent with the authority of divine command, instructed from the truth of divine teaching, and consoled from the familiarity of divine companionship.
The Lord sends the disciples to preach in this order: first, by designating them according to the due number; second, by sending forth those designated into every city and place; third, by hastening those sent forth toward the salvation of the elect; fourth, by strengthening those hastened against the fury of persecutors.
2. (Verse 1.). First, therefore, with regard to the designation of the disciples according to the due number, he says: After these things the Lord designated also other seventy-two, etc.: he designated them, that is, he chose them with distinction, according to that passage of John 15: "I have chosen you and appointed you, that you should go forth," etc. Whence in the Gloss: "Just as in the Apostles there is the form of bishops, so in the seventy-two there is the form of priests of the second order." These ought to be designated by God, that is, assumed to honor, according to that passage of Hebrews 5: "Neither does anyone take the honor to himself, but he who is called by God, as Aaron was." As a testimony of which designation they ought to be marked with the seal of order and of priestly character, with the seal of the tonsure and of all discipline and most holy manner of life; so that it may be apparent that they are of the number of those to whom it is said in Ephesians 4: "You were sealed with the Holy Spirit unto the day of our redemption."
Moreover they designate them in the number seventy, according as they had been designated in the Old Testament, in Exodus fifteen, in the seventy palm trees, where it is said that "in Elim there were twelve springs of water" with regard to the Apostles, "and seventy palm trees" with regard to the disciples; and in Numbers eleven, these were signified in the seventy men, to whom the Lord gave the Holy Spirit of prophesying, where it is said: "The Lord spoke to Moses, taking from the spirit that was in Moses, and giving to the seventy men, who prophesied and did not cease thereafter. Moreover two men remained in the camp, upon whom the spirit rested. For they too had been enrolled"; in which these were expressly prefigured. Moreover the reason why these were seventy-two was, according to the literal sense, that just as the Apostles preaching to the twelve tribes were twelve, so these were seventy-two, according to what is said in the Gloss: "Seventy-two are sent, who would preach the Gospel to as many nations of languages"; according to the mystical understanding, because it contains in itself seven times ten and two; in which is designated the sevenfold Spirit given through their ministry for the fulfillment of the Decalogue and the two precepts of charity. — Or, because seventy-two contains the hours of three days, because they were to preach the faith of the Trinity, as is said in the Gloss, according to the three-day circuit of the sun of Christ, namely of the incarnation, passion, and resurrection.
3. Secondly, as to the sending forth of the designated ones before his sight, it is added: And he sent them two by two before his face. He sent them, I say, by divine authority, because, as is said in John twenty, "as the Father has sent me, so I send you." Two by two moreover he sent them, according to the literal sense, so that they might mutually guard and help one another, according to that passage in Ecclesiastes four: "It is better for two to be together than one, for they have the benefit of their companionship"; or according to the spiritual understanding, as Bede says, "by this, that he sends them two by two, he intimates that no one ought to undertake the office of preaching who does not have charity toward another." In designation of which thing it is said in Song of Songs four: "Your teeth," that is, preachers, whose task it is to chew food for the little ones, "are like flocks of shorn sheep that have come up from the washing, all with twin offspring, and none among them is barren." As a figure of which thing also, as the Gloss says, the animals were in pairs in the ark of Noah, as is said in Genesis six. — And since this mission was nothing other than a certain preparation for Christ, therefore he adds: Into every city and place where he himself was about to come; whence they went before like heralds, according to that passage in Isaiah forty: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths." Whence the Gloss: "Where the words of preaching run before, the Lord comes to the dwelling of the mind."
4. (Verse 2.). Third, with regard to the acceleration of the foregoing toward the salvation of the elect, it is added: And he said to them: The harvest indeed is great, that is, a multitude prepared for conversion. Whence in John 4, when the Samaritans had believed, the Lord said: "Look at the fields, for they are already white for the harvest." This harvest was sown in the law of nature, and grew in the law of figure, but was gathered in the time of grace. Whence it is said in John 4: "I sent you to reap that which you did not sow; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors." Now the gathering of this harvest is twofold: universal in the last time, of which in Revelation 14 it is said to the Angel: "Put forth your sickle and reap, for the hour has come to reap, because the harvest of the earth is ripe"; the other is a particular gathering or harvesting in the preaching of the Gospel.
But because there are few good harvesters, he therefore adds: But the laborers are few; he pointedly says laborers, because for the sickle of preaching to gather the harvest, it is necessary that the hand of work hold it, according to what Gregory says on Ezekiel: "In order that the truthfulness of preaching be preserved, loftiness of living is necessary." Those who do what they say with their mouth are laborers and are to be rewarded by the Lord, according to that passage in Matthew 20: "Call the laborers and pay them their wages." But few are zealous laborers, while more are malicious, according to that passage in Second Corinthians 11: "They are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into Apostles of Christ." But very many are slothful; whence in Matthew 20 the Lord said to the laborers: "Why do you stand here idle all day?" Very many are like those of whom it is said in Matthew 23: "They say and do not do. For they bind heavy and unbearable burdens; but they are unwilling to move them with their own finger."
And since the harvest is lost when good laborers are lacking, he therefore adds: Ask therefore the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest, namely good preachers, who carry the sword of the divine word, by which the crops are reaped, not only in their mouth but also in their hand. Whence concerning good preachers in the Psalm: "The praises of God in their throats, and two-edged swords in their hands." Whence preaching is a sword which, unless it is held by the hand, does not terrify the adversary. This was well prefigured in Nehemiah 4 concerning those rebuilding Jerusalem, and there it is said that "each one was doing the work with one hand, and with the other held a sword." Such laborers are given by God, according to what is signified in Genesis 2, that "God placed man in the paradise of pleasure, that he might work and guard it"; and therefore they must be sought from the Lord, that he may hire them by promising and send those hired by commanding, according to that passage in Matthew 20: "Who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. And having made an agreement," etc.
5. (Verse 3). Fourth, however, with regard to the strengthening of those dispatched against the fury of persecutors, he adds: Go: behold, I send you as lambs among wolves. Go, that is, swiftly, like those living creatures in Ezekiel 1: "The living creatures went and returned in the likeness of flashing lightning"; and Proverbs 6: "Run about, make haste, rouse your friend." Or go, that is, expose yourselves to dangers for the salvation of the sheep, according to that passage in John 10: "The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. But the hireling sees the wolf coming and abandons the sheep and flees"; as if to say: go to mourning, that you may bring back joy, according to that passage in the Psalm: "Going they went and wept, casting their seeds; but coming they shall come with rejoicing," etc.; or go to battle, that you may bring back triumph, according to that passage in Joshua 1: "Go armed before your brothers, all you who are strong of hand, and fight for them."
6. And because the strongest armor is meekness and patience, therefore he says: As lambs among wolves, that is, as pious, humble, and meek ones among the impious, proud, and malicious, so that you may conquer them by meekness, just as Christ also did, according to that passage in Isaiah 53: "Like a lamb before its shearer he was silent and did not open his mouth." Thus the Apostles by lamb-like meekness tamed wolfish ferocity, and that passage in Isaiah 11 was fulfilled: "The wolf and the lamb shall dwell together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox"; and chapter 65: "The wolf and the lamb shall feed together." Whence Christ by his meekness converted Paul the wolf into a lamb, and that passage in the second-to-last chapter of Genesis was fulfilled in him: "Benjamin, a ravenous wolf, in the morning shall devour the prey and in the evening shall divide the spoils." For first he persecuted Christ as a wolf, afterward he suffered persecutions for him as a lamb. Such ought the prelates of the Church to be, according to that passage in First Peter 5: "Elders, feed the flock that is among you, exercising oversight," etc.; and afterward: "Neither as lording it over the clergy, but being made a pattern of the flock from the heart": as if to say: do not be as wolves among lambs, but rather lambs among lambs and wolves, so that you may cherish the good and bear with the wicked. Whence Chrysostom says: "The grace of God is stronger than nature: while we are sheep, we conquer, even if there be many wolves; but if we become wolves, we are conquered, and the aid of the supreme Shepherd departs from us."
7. Do not carry, etc. After the sending of the accompanying disciples, he adds the instruction for those who go forth. Now this part has two sections, in the first of which is set forth a common instruction with respect to all; second, a particular instruction with respect to particular persons, at: And into whatever city you enter.
Now by the general instruction he invites us to four things, namely, to embracing mendicancy, to avoiding loquacity, to showing kindness, and displaying maturity.
8. (Verse 4.). First, therefore, with regard to embracing mendicancy, he says: Do not carry a purse, namely for storing money. For purse is taken to mean a money-bag, according to Proverbs 7: "He took a bag of money with him." Nor a knapsack, for keeping bread, according to Matthew 6: "Do not be anxious about tomorrow, saying: What shall we eat?" etc. Nor sandals, namely for covering the feet; for in Mark 6 it is said: "But only shod with sandals." For sandals protect the foot from injury but do not cover it, as is the case with the soles of the friars. Now the Lord wished to enjoin this upon the disciples so that they would not only be poor but also appear poor, and call others to poverty more by examples than by words. "Poverty, as Seneca says, is a hateful good," and therefore, since it appears base and contemptible, the Lord attached to it the greatest dowry, so that through it poverty might at least be taken in marriage, when he said in Matthew 5: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
9. Second, with regard to avoiding loquacity, he adds: And greet no one along the way. On this passage the Gloss says that he says this "lest he be deflected from his enjoined office by the conversation of someone met along the way." For he was sending them in haste, just as Elisha sent his servant, in 4 Kings 4: "If you meet a man, do not greet him; and if anyone greets you, do not answer him." Now the Lord enjoined this not to avoid a sign of affability, since he himself was most kind and most courteous, but to avoid much speaking, about which it is said in Proverbs 10: "In much speaking, sin will not be wanting"; and therefore in Ecclesiasticus 19: "He who hates loquacity extinguishes malice." Now this is very common among travelers and is frequently an occasion for quarrels; whence it is said in Mark 9 concerning the disciples: "For they had disputed among themselves along the way, which of them was the greatest." On account of which, in Genesis 45, it is said that "Joseph said to his brothers as they departed: Do not quarrel along the way."
10. Now according to the spiritual understanding, he forbids desiring the salvation that belongs to the way, not the salvation that belongs to the homeland; which is indicated when he says: Along the way. For salvation is to be desired for all, as it is said in 1 Timothy 2 that "God wills all men to be saved," and this because he himself is salvation and savior. But that salvation ought to be desired of which the Psalm says: "But the salvation of the just is from the Lord." This the Apostles always desired, and concerning this it is said in Ecclesiasticus 22: "Do not be ashamed to greet a friend"; and in Romans 16: "Greet one another with a holy kiss"; and in the Psalm: "You are my king and my God, who commands the salvations of Jacob."
It can be explained otherwise, so that it is said: Greet no one along the way, that is, do not yet declare anyone saved, since he can still be condemned as long as he is on the way: for Matthew 10: "He who perseveres to the end, he shall be saved." Therefore salvation is at the end of the way, not in the middle or at the beginning.
Or otherwise: Greet no one along the way, that is, on account of the fellowship of the way, but on account of the fellowship of life. From which it is apparent that salvation does not come to men through conversation with the Saints, but through the imitation of them: whence Matthew 7: "Not everyone who says to me: Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father, who is in heaven."
11. (Verse 5.). Third, as regards showing kindness, he adds: And into whatever house you enter, first say: Peace to this house: so that it may appear that you are men who love and announce peace, according to that passage of Isaiah 52: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who announces and preaches peace"! This peace the Lord made, according to that passage of Colossians 1: "Making peace through the blood of his cross," etc.: the Lord also left it: John 14: "Peace I leave to you, my peace I give to you"; the Lord announced it; John 20: "Jesus stood in the midst and said to them: Peace to you"; the Lord commanded and proclaimed peace, as is said in Ephesians 2: "Coming, he proclaimed peace to you who were far off, and peace to those who were near."
12. (Verse 6.). And because they might fear that they would offer peace in vain, therefore he adds: And if a son of peace be there: of peace according to eternal foreknowledge, of whom it is said in John 11 that "Jesus suffered, that he might gather together the children of God who were scattered"; of whom it is said in 2 Timothy 2: "The Lord knows who are his." Such are sons of peace, because it is said in Matthew 5: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God." — In such a one the word of preaching has efficacy: on account of which he adds: Your peace shall rest upon him, that is, the peace announced by you: whence Isaiah 66, according to another translation: "Upon whom shall my spirit rest, if not upon the humble and quiet one"? Assuredly the peace of Christ that was announced rests upon those predestined by God, according to that passage of Acts 13: "As many as were preordained to life believed"; and John 10: "You do not believe, because you are not of my sheep. My sheep hear my voice."
It is useful therefore to speak the Gospel of peace to the predestined; it is also useful to speak to the foreknown; and therefore he adds: But if not, it shall return to you, according to that passage of the Psalm: "My prayer shall return into my own bosom"; and this, because a work of piety and mercy is always useful to the one doing it and returns to the doer, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus seventeen: "The alms of a man is as a purse with him, and shall preserve the grace of a man as the apple of the eye; and afterward he shall rise up and shall render retribution to each one upon his own head."
13. (Verse 7.). Fourth, indeed, as regards showing maturity, he adds: But remain in the same house, as mature men, lest perhaps you be noted for instability; whence Ecclesiasticus twenty-one: "The foot of a fool is quick into his neighbor's house." Therefore Bede says: "It is foreign to a preacher to run about through houses and to change his lodging." And because they might believe that lodging should be changed on account of food, therefore he adds: Eating and drinking such things as are with them, without discrimination of foods, as First Corinthians ten: "Whatever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience's sake"; also without rejection of foods, according to that passage of First Timothy four: "Every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected which is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer"; also without demanding of foods, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus thirty-one: "You have sat down among many; do not stretch out your hand before them, nor be the first to ask for drink."