Third, in the purification of the mind: Isaiah 27: "The iniquity of the house of Jacob shall be forgiven, and this is all its fruit, that its sin be taken away."
19. In the second year, that is, in the state of those making progress, the Lord seeks the fruit of justice: concerning which, Philippians 1: "That you may be sincere and without offense, filled with the fruit of justice through Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God."
This fruit concord initiates or sows: James 3: "And the fruit of justice is sown in peace by those who make peace"; Job 22: "Have peace, and through it you shall have the best fruits."
Clemency opens the way and advances it: the Psalm: "He shall be like a tree which is planted near the running waters" etc.; whence again in the Psalm: "By the fruit of their grain, wine, and oil they are multiplied."
Patience preserves it: James 5: "Behold, the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the earth, bearing patiently" etc.; and Hebrews 12: "All discipline in the present indeed seems not to be of joy but of sorrow; but afterwards it yields the most peaceful fruit."
But perseverance gathers it in: Luke 21: "See the fig tree and all the trees: when they bring forth fruit from themselves, you know that summer is near"; Proverbs 31, it is said of the valiant woman that "from the fruit of her hands she planted a vineyard."
20. In the third year He seeks the fruit of wisdom, concerning which, Proverbs 3: "Her first and purest fruits." Now this fruit is most beautiful for contemplating: Deuteronomy 33: "Of the blessing of the Lord is his land, of the fruits of the sun and the moon."
Most fragrant for smelling: Ecclesiasticus 24: "I, like a vine, have brought forth the sweetness of fragrance, and my flowers are the fruit of honor and nobility"; Song of Songs 4: "Your shoots are a paradise of pomegranates with the fruits of fruit trees."
Most savory for tasting: Song of Songs 2: "I sat under the shadow of him whom I had desired, and his fruit was sweet to my palate"; and Song of Songs 5: "Let my beloved come into his garden and eat the fruit of his fruit trees" etc.
Most precious for possessing: Proverbs 8: "My fruit is better than gold and precious stone, and my produce than choice silver."
Everlasting for enduring: Wisdom 3: "Glorious is the fruit of good labors, and the root of wisdom never fails"; because wisdom is begun here and endures forever.
Since, therefore, the Lord seeks in the tree which He planted, in the first state the fruit of repentance, and that is threefold; in the second, the fruit of justice, and that is fourfold; in the third, the fruit of wisdom, and that is fivefold: He therefore seeks twelve fruits in the planted tree. As a figure of this, it is said in Apocalypse 22: "On both sides of the river, the tree of life, bearing twelve fruits, yielding its fruit each month, and the leaves of the tree for the healing of the nations."
Second, those who calumniate the miracles are refuted on the part of the circumstance of time according to a twofold occasion.
21. Now he was teaching in the synagogue, etc. That part, in which the Savior refutes the deceitfulness of the calumniating Jews, was divided into two parts according to the twofold manner of calumniating the miracles of Christ, namely on the part of the efficient cause and on the part of the circumstance of time . The first part having been treated, here begins the second. And this part is divided into two according to a twofold occasion of time: in the first, he refutes those calumniating the miracles of Christ, because they were performed on the Sabbath, in an assembly; in the second, he refutes at a banquet, there: And it came to pass, when he entered, in the fourteenth chapter.
The refutation which takes place in the assembly, concerning which two things.
The first part is divided into two. For first he refutes those who said that miracles ought not to be performed on the Sabbath; second, however, having taken the occasion, he shows
that good works must be done without intermission, there: He said: To what is the kingdom of God like?
Concerning the refutation of those calumniating the miracles on account of the Sabbath, he proceeds in this manner. First, the working of a wondrous healing is set forth. Second, a rebuke of Jewish superstition is added, there: But the ruler of the synagogue answering, etc. Third, a refutation of the proposed objection is subjoined, there: But the Lord answering him. Fourth, the attainment of a glorious victory is inferred, there: When he said these things, they were ashamed, etc.
Concerning the working of a wondrous healing, three things are introduced, namely the solemnity of the day and the gravity of the long-standing illness and the power of the hastened miracle.
22. (Verse 10). First, therefore, as to the solemnity of the sacred day, he says: Now he was teaching in their synagogue on the Sabbaths. Note that the Lord taught on the Sabbaths either for the sake of preserving the custom of the Jews: Acts 15: "Moses from ancient times has in every city those who preach him in the synagogues, where he is read every Sabbath."
Or also for the sake of the publication of doctrine, because then, as on a solemn day, they were more commonly attentive to the word of God: John 18: "I always taught in the synagogues, where all the Jews come together."
Or because the Sabbath was a day of rest, and he had come to announce peace and rest; whence Ephesians 2: "Coming, he preached peace to you who were far off, and peace to those who were near."
Or also because the precept concerning the Sabbath, which pertained to charity, was especially a figure of the time of grace, in which it is commanded: "This is my commandment, that you love one another," John 15.
Or also for the sake of preserving the order: because restoration ought to have begun where creation was completed: in Genesis 2 it is said that "God completed on the seventh day His work which He had made." "And He blessed the seventh day," etc.
Or for giving instruction, that one intent upon wisdom ought to cease from all occupations, according to that saying in Sirach 38: "Write wisdom in a time of leisure." — Or also for a seventh reason, that He might show Himself Lord of the Law and of the Sabbath by working miracles on the Sabbath: John 5: "My Father works even until now, and I work. For this reason therefore the Jews sought to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath but also called God His own Father, making Himself equal to God."