Third, because it holds the nature of a multiplicative principle: John twelve: "Unless a grain of wheat falling into the ground dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit"; and concerning this, First Corinthians fifteen: "Foolish one, what you sow is not brought to life unless it first dies." Moreover, a seed of this kind is the uncreated Word of God, as inspired, as incarnate, as preached, as exemplified.
23. (Verse 16.). No one lighting a lamp etc. After the Apostles have been instructed for the understanding of the parable, here secondly they are invited to the communication of doctrine, to which the Apostles are invited in four ways: first, by the fittingness of a general example; second, by the necessity of the supernal judgment, there: For nothing is hidden etc.; third, by the usefulness of one's own merit, there: Take heed how you hear etc.; fourth, by the immutability of the divine good pleasure, there: And they came to him etc.
Concerning the fittingness of the general example, two things are to be noted: the first is the dissonance in the opposite, the second is the congruence in what is proposed .
First, therefore, as regards the dissonance in the opposite, it is said: No one lighting a lamp. The lamp is the word of God, according to that text of Proverbs 6: "The commandment is a lamp, and the law is light, and the way of life is the reproof of discipline"; and in the Psalm: "Your word is a lamp to my feet." Now the lamp is lit when the understanding of the divine word is granted to the human heart. Whence concerning John, John 5: "He was a burning and shining lamp." — Covers it with a vessel. This lamp is not to be covered with a vessel of carnal uncleanness: Hosea 8: "Israel has become among the nations as an unclean vessel." But Paul is not such a vessel, of whom Acts 9: "He is a vessel of election to me, to carry my name before the nations and kings and the sons of Israel." This was an open vessel, which illuminated the world: Sirach 43: "The sun in its appearance announcing at its rising, a wondrous vessel, the work of the Most High." — Or places it under a bed. Now in the bed, sloth is signified: Proverbs 26: "As a door turns on its hinge, so the sluggard on his bed." Hence it is that "that servant is reproved who hid his master's money," Matthew 25, against that text of Sirach 29: "Do not hide it under a stone to be lost." He wishes therefore to say that just as it is unfitting to hide a lit lamp under a vessel or a bed, so it is unfitting to conceal divine understanding. And this is what is said in Sirach 20: "Hidden wisdom and unseen treasure, what profit is there in either?" and after: "Better is the man who hides his foolishness than he who hides his wisdom." This, however, is understood when one has the proper time and place. For in the Psalm it is said: "In my heart I have hidden your words, that I may not sin against you"; and again: "I set a guard over my mouth, when the sinner stood against me: I was silent and was humbled."
24. Second, indeed, as to the fittingness in the matter at hand, he adds: But he places it upon a lampstand, as to the perfection of virtue: so that those who enter may see the light, through the disclosure of truth, according to that text of Matthew 5: "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, who is in heaven"; Philippians 2: "Among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life." But that light is not seen except by those who enter through faith, because Isaiah 7 according to the Septuagint: "Unless you believe, you will not understand." And concerning this entrance of faith it is said in John 10: "If anyone enters through me, he will be saved"; enters, through faith, because "he who believes will be saved." These ones entering through faith, by means of the teaching of the Saints, arrive at the understanding of the mysteries, according to that text of the Psalm: "You wondrously illuminate from the eternal mountains." "For those who instruct many unto justice shall be as stars for perpetual eternities," Daniel 12.
And therefore the Lord said to his disciples, Matthew 10: "What I say to you in darkness, speak in the light, and what you hear in the ear, preach upon the housetops."
25. (Verse 17). For nothing is hidden. Here secondly he invites them to the sharing of doctrine by the necessity of the heavenly judgment in two ways: both on account of the future manifestation of all good, and on account of the future revelation of all evil.
First, therefore, as to the future manifestation of all good, it is said: For nothing is hidden, namely good, that shall not be made manifest, namely through the future judgment; whence 2 Corinthians 5: "For we must all be made manifest before the tribunal of Christ, that each one may receive according to what he has done in the body." But this will be at the judgment, concerning which 1 Corinthians 4 says that "he will illuminate the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of hearts, and then there will be praise for each one"; and this, because light has the property of making manifest, according to that text of Ephesians 5: "Whatever is reproved by the light is made manifest"; whence the good truth of faith and morals, as a light, seeks to be made manifest, not to be hidden, according to that text of John 3: "He who does the truth comes to the light, that his works may be made manifest, because they have been done in God." Which will especially come to pass when that light will be made manifest in the judgment; on account of which in the Psalm: "You who sit upon the Cherubim, show yourself"; and again in the Psalm: "God shall come manifestly, and he shall not be silent."
26. Second, with regard to the future revelation of all evil, it is said: Nor hidden, namely sin or evil, which man willingly hides, according to that passage in Job thirty-one: "If I have hidden my sin as a man"; which will not be known and come into the open, that is, at the judgment, according to that passage in Proverbs twenty-six: "He who covers hatred deceitfully, his malice will be revealed in the assembly." Whence Ecclesiasticus one: "Be not a hypocrite in the sight of men, lest God reveal your hidden things and cast you down in the midst of the synagogue"; because, as is said in Wisdom one, "the ear of jealousy hears all things, and the tumult of murmurings shall not be hidden." "For he it is who reveals the deep and hidden things and knows what is established in darkness," etc. Since therefore all things must be made manifest, it is foolish to hide them for a time; and consequently it is necessary to disclose the doctrine received to others.
27. (Verse 18). Take heed therefore how you hear, etc. Here, third, the Apostles are invited to the same by the advantage of their own merit, and this because its possession makes one rich, while its privation indeed renders one poor. —The divine doctrine must therefore be preached, first, because the possession of teaching leads to abundance: on account of which he says: Take heed therefore how you hear: Bede: "That you may receive it in your heart and continually ruminate upon it and be able to pour it forth for the hearing of others"; as if to say: do not hear the words of divine instruction negligently, so as not to care, but diligently, so that you may abound and bestow upon others. Whence he also adds: For whoever has, it shall be given to him: for whoever has the desire and the will to advance, God will give him understanding and the ability to teach. Whence Wisdom seven: "I wished, and understanding was given to me; and I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came upon me"; and afterward: "All good things came to me together with her." Whence if anyone wishes that it be given to him abundantly, he ought himself also to give freely from what he has: above, chapter six: "Give, and it shall be given to you," namely the gift of wisdom, according to that passage in James one: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all abundantly," etc. Whence the gift of wisdom is given to no one unless he has the desire: Isaiah fifty-five: "All you who thirst, come to the waters, and you who have no money, make haste," etc.
28. Second, by the contrary, because its privation leads to want, he adds: And whoever does not have, namely the affection for divine teaching in the heart, even what he thinks he has, through the swelling of pride, will be taken from him, namely through the rigor of the divine sentence: below in the nineteenth chapter: "Take the mina from him and give it to the one who has ten minas"; and Matthew twenty-one: "The kingdom shall be taken from you," namely of Sacred Scripture, "and given to a nation producing its fruits." From this it is gathered that no one can attain the fullness of divine wisdom unless he has the readiness to communicate doctrine: whence Wisdom six: "What wisdom is and how she came to be, I will relate, and I will not hide from you the mysteries of God." "Nor will I travel with consuming envy: for such a man will not be a partaker of the wisdom" of God.
29. (Verse 19). Now his Mother came to him etc. Here, fourth, he invites the Apostles to communicate doctrine from imitation of their Master, namely Christ, who preferred the affection of teaching to parental affection. Whence two things are introduced here: the first is the seeking of relatives; the second, the preferring of disciples.
First, therefore, regarding the seeking of parents, it is said: Now his Mother and his brothers came to him, toward whom special affection ought to be held—toward the mother indeed, because it is said in Exodus twenty: "Honor your father and your mother"; and Tobit four: "You shall have honor for your mother all the days of her life"; toward brothers, namely relatives and kinsmen: Leviticus nineteen: "You shall love your brother as yourself." Therefore, the seeking of these, to whom preeminent affection is owed, is introduced, but they could not by themselves: whence it is added: And they could not reach him because of the crowd; and therefore they sought him through a messenger.
30. (Verse 20). On account of which it is added: And it was told him: Your mother and your brothers, to whom you owe much affection by reason of kinship, stand outside, wishing to see you, through the affection of charity. And thus he is effectively sought, that he might pass over or go out to his relatives, both on account of nature to be acknowledged and on account of charity to be repaid. Whence on this the Gloss says, on Matthew twelve, that "this was reported to Christ evasively, so that it might be known whether he would abandon his teaching." For they knew that what is said in Ephesians five is true: "No one ever hated his own flesh"; and thus they wished to test what he would more accept, whether the affection of parents or the instruction of disciples.
31. (Verse 21). Second, regarding the preferring of disciples, it is added: Who answering said to them: My mother and my brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it. In which he shows,
that he valued the instruction of disciples more than the affection of parents, and that he valued disciples more than kinsmen, and that he valued the affection of teachers toward disciples more than that of parents toward children. — And note that on account of the affection, need, and request of parents, the teacher ought not to interrupt the instruction of doctrine: in which he invites more by deed than he had invited above by word.
32. And note that he calls his hearers mothers, insofar as through instruction they beget others, according to that passage in Galatians 4: "My little children, whom I bring forth again in labor, until Christ be formed in you." — He calls them brothers, insofar as through the word they are begotten and become sons of God, according to that passage of the Psalm: "I will declare your name to my brothers"; and Hebrews 2: "He is not ashamed to call them brothers." For those who receive the word of God are grafted in as to the root stock, and consequently are watered by the moisture of the Holy Spirit, and therefore are made sons of the living God, according to that passage in Galatians 4: "Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying out," etc. And therefore, as much as spirit surpasses flesh, and grace surpasses nature, and divine things surpass human things, and eternal things surpass perishable things, so much is spiritual generation, which is through the word of life, preferred to carnal generation: and therefore it is to be preferred to it. For on account of this, the true preacher is more moved toward children begotten through preaching than toward carnal parents. This is evident, because the Apostles poured out their own blood to confirm them, just as Christ himself had done, who is the master of masters.
33. And since those alone rightly receive the seed of the word who carry out what they have heard, therefore he rightly adds: Who hear the word of God and do it: because, in Romans 2, "not the hearers of the Law are just before God, but the doers shall be justified before God"; and James 1: "Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." For Christ prefers such people to his own parental kinship, below in chapter 11: "Blessed is the womb that bore you." "Rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it." He says this, however, not because he despises his Mother, since he loved her above all, but to show by example what he commands below in chapter 14: "Whoever does not leave father and mother and wife, children, brothers, and sisters, cannot be my disciple."
Third, there is set forth an authoritative confirmation in manifest miracles.
34. It came to pass on one of the days, and He went up etc. After the parabolic instruction in hidden mysteries and the apostolic formation in open discourses, the Evangelist here adds, in his customary manner, an authentic confirmation in express miracles. Moreover, in this part three miraculous signs are introduced, "that in the mouth of three witnesses every word may stand," and so that Christ may be shown to be Lord of all things. The first is in the calming of the storm, from which He is shown to be Lord over corporeal creation; the second is in the expulsion of the demonic legion, from which He is shown to be Lord over spiritual creation, at the passage: And they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes etc.; the third is in the restoration of life and health, from which He is shown to be Lord over what is composed of both, at the passage: And it came to pass, when He had returned etc.
Concerning the first kind of miracle, which is in the calming of the storm, four things are introduced by the Evangelist for its complete explanation. The first is the preceding occasion; the second, the imminent opportunity; the third, the efficient power; the fourth, the consequent benefit. The preceding occasion was the crossing of the sea; the imminent opportunity, the onslaught of the storm; the efficient power, the virtue of the Divinity; the consequent benefit is the advancement of our belief.
First, therefore, the crossing of the sea is introduced by the Evangelist; second, the onslaught of the storm, at the passage: And as they were sailing etc.; third, the virtue of the Divinity, at the passage: But He, rising up, rebuked etc.; fourth, the advancement of our belief, at the passage: And He said to them: Where is your faith?
Concerning the first, it should be noted that the Evangelist introduces two things: the first is the boarding of the boat; the second is the crossing of the lake.
35. (Verse 22). First, therefore, as regards the boarding of the boat, it is said: And it came to pass on one of the days, that He went up into a boat, and His disciples, namely so that He might be carried by its service, according to that passage of Wisdom fourteen: "Men entrust their souls to a small piece of wood." And note that Christ boarded the boat with His disciples, to show Himself like them in nature and need, according to that passage of Hebrews two: "In all things He ought to be made like unto His brethren"; and Philippians two: "Made in the likeness of men, and found in appearance as a man." The disciples boarded with Christ, to show the perfection of their companionship, by which they never abandoned their Master, just as Elisha did with his master Elijah, in 4 Kings two: "As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you." Whence in the person of such ones Job said in chapter twenty-three: "My foot has followed His steps; I have kept His way and have not turned aside from it." They were not of those "who believe for a time and in the time of temptation fall away," above in the same chapter, and therefore never attain to the wisdom of truth.
36. Second, regarding the crossing of the lake, it is added: And he said to them: Let us cross over the lake. And they went up, namely to cross over and go beyond the strait or sea, because that body of water, as was discussed above in chapter five, was called both sea and lake. Moreover, the Lord willed that his disciples should cross over with him, so that his miracles might be made manifest to them: the Psalm: "They who go down to the sea in ships, they have seen the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep." Or he willed that they should go up with him in order to show that they cannot arrive at the port of salvation except through the sea of present tribulation. Whence Wisdom 14: "Those crossing the sea by a raft were delivered"; and in the Psalm: "We passed through fire and water"; because, according to what is said in Acts 14, "through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God."