Although it was not to be made public to all, it was nevertheless to be foretold to the disciples; for which reason he adds: Saying, that the Son of man must suffer many things. The reason for this prediction is given in John fourteen: "Now I have told you before it comes to pass, that, when it shall come to pass, you may believe." For the disciples themselves did not yet grasp this, according to what is said below in chapter eighteen: "And Jesus took the twelve and said to them: Behold, we go up"; and afterwards: "And they understood none of these things, but they received this after the consummation." Whence it is said in the last chapter of Luke: "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was yet with you, that all things must needs be fulfilled which are written concerning me"; and afterwards it is added: "He opened their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures."
36. Now he says: It is necessary, that is, needful, not absolutely, but from the presupposition of the divine disposition and promise, according to that passage in Acts three: "But God, what he foretold by the mouth of all the Prophets, that his Christ should suffer, he has thus fulfilled." Or it is necessary, that is, it is opportune and expedient, according to what Caiaphas prophesied in John eleven: "It is expedient that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not." It is necessary, I say, to suffer many things, because for many souls to be redeemed, many sins to be forgiven, many offenses to be absolved: Isaiah fifty-three: "He was wounded for our iniquities, he was bruised for our transgressions." "All we like sheep have gone astray; each one has turned aside into his own way, and the Lord has laid upon him the iniquities of us all."
He also suffered many and great things; he also suffered from many and great ones; for which reason he adds: And be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes. The elders excelled in antiquity, the chief priests in authority, but the scribes by reason of learning, so that thus might be fulfilled that passage in Isaiah one: "I have nourished and brought up children, and they have despised me."
And because the passion of Christ was to be terminated in death, therefore it is added: And be slain, namely it is necessary, according to that passage in Daniel nine: "Christ shall be slain." But lest it be believed that he suffered unwillingly, therefore Isaiah fifty-three says: "He delivered his soul unto death."
But because this passion was life-giving for the dead, therefore he adds: And the third day rise again, according to that passage in Hosea six: "He will revive us after two days, and on the third day he will raise us up." The Savior says the figure of this preceded in Jonah, in Matthew twelve: "As Jonah was," etc.
From these things, therefore, it is apparent what the perfect knowledge of the faith is, upon which the Church of Christ is founded, namely, that by which the divine honor is approved, human error is rejected, the mediator is affirmed, and the restorer is acknowledged.
37. (Vers. 23.). He said to all etc. Having shown how Christ is to be known according to faith, here secondly it is shown how he is to be imitated through the cross, because "faith is dead without works." Since it is difficult to bear the cross, therefore he urges this by a fourfold consideration, namely from consideration of his own example, of one's own peril, of the future judgment, and of the divine kingdom: so that, if admonitions do not move, examples may move, or at least dangers, or future judgments, or at least promises.
First therefore he invites by consideration of his own example, when he says: He said to all: If anyone wishes to come after me, that is, to imitate me, to which I do not compel, but invite; therefore he says: If anyone wishes: Ecclesiasticus fifteen: "If you wish to keep the commandments, they will preserve you." "He has set before you water and fire: stretch forth your hand to whichever you wish." Whence Chrysostom: "If someone were giving gold, or setting out a treasure, he would not call with violence, but men would run: how much more to those things which are in heaven. For if the nature of things persuades one to run: if you do not run, you are not worthy to receive." Therefore he says: If anyone wishes to follow my example.
Let him deny himself, through every kind of humility, bringing captive sense, affection, and "understanding into the service of Christ"; which he indicates in this that he says: Himself. And this is the counsel of Ecclesiasticus, chapter seven: "Humble your spirit greatly"; and this indeed is necessary for one wishing to follow the humble Christ. Whence Gregory in the Gloss: "Unless one departs from himself, he does not draw near to him who is above him."
But this does not suffice: therefore he adds: And let him take up his cross daily, through continual austerity, so that he may be able to say that word of Paul in Galatians two: "I am nailed to the cross with Christ"; and Second Corinthians four: "Always bearing about in our body the mortification of Jesus Christ." And therefore it is said in Galatians five: "And they that are Christ's have crucified their flesh with its vices and concupiscences."
38. Note that he says: Daily, because daily the penance of the cross ought to be new and fresh, so that one may always say: "I said: Now I have begun," just as blessed Francis, who at death was saying that he was then beginning to do good: "Brothers, let us begin and advance, because until now we have made little progress." For the cross of Christ has a renewing nature: whence Second Corinthians four: "Although our outward man is corrupted, yet the inward man is renewed from day to day."
For the perfect imitation of Christ, however, humility and austerity do not suffice, but poverty is also necessary. Therefore he adds: And let him follow me, namely through the most exalted poverty, by which he wished to carry nothing at all on the way, so that he might arrive rightly and without hindrance at the fatherland. Therefore Peter said in Matthew 19: "Behold, we have left all things and have followed you"; upon which Bernard says: "Well done, Peter, and not unto foolishness for you, because you could not follow one who runs while burdened." And this is very honorable, although it may seem lowly, because, in Ecclesiasticus 23, "it is a great glory to follow the Lord."
From this word, however, there is drawn forth the threefold counsel and vow of religious, namely of obedience in self-denial, of chastity in the cross, and of poverty in the following; but "not all receive this word, but those to whom it has been given by my Father," as is said in Matthew 19; therefore he premises: If anyone wishes, etc. So that no one may excuse himself, as though he did not have grace, he says: If anyone wishes, etc., as if to say that the grace of God is at hand for us, if the will is not lacking: Hebrews 12: "Looking carefully, lest anyone fall short of the grace of God."
39. (Verse 24). Secondly, he invites by consideration of one's own peril, when he says: For whoever wishes to save his soul shall lose it, that is, whoever wishes to save his life in the present shall lose his life in the future, namely for a momentary life he shall lose the eternal one: whence John 12: "He who loves his soul shall lose it"; because he who loves too much loves iniquitously, and "he who loves iniquity hates his own soul," as is said in the Psalm. For he who loves his soul above God loses God, and by losing God he consequently loses himself. And therefore Paul said in Acts 20: "I do not count my life more precious than myself."
And because this seems to be a hard saying, therefore he proves it from the contrary sense: For whoever loses his soul for my sake, in this life, namely, shall save it, namely in the future life, according to that passage of 2 Maccabees 7: "You indeed destroy us in the present life, but the King of the world will raise us up, who have died for his laws, in the resurrection of eternal life." And therefore Paul said in Acts 21: "I am prepared not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." Thus therefore to lose one's soul for Christ is to save it; to wish to save one's soul is to expose it to perdition, according to that passage of Romans 8: "If you live according to the flesh, you shall die"; and this is the greatest peril.
40. (Vers. 25.). And therefore in its amplification he adds: For what does it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and this temporally, but lose himself and suffer the loss of himself ? and this eternally: as if to say: nothing, because he who loses himself loses all things, and therefore it does not profit but harms. Hence James 5: "Come now, you rich, weep and howl in your miseries which shall come upon you." And the reason for this is that, as Augustine says in his sermon on the Innocents, "no one has unjust gain without just loss; gain in the chest, loss in conscience; he took a garment and lost faith; he acquires money and loses justice," and thus consequently his own soul. Hence Isidore: "If you had the wisdom of Solomon, the beauty of Absalom, the strength of Samson, the longevity of Enoch, the riches and power of Octavian — what does it profit you, if at last the flesh is given to worms, and the soul to demons, to be tormented without end with the rich man?"
41. (Vers. 26.). Third, he invites to the bearing of the cross by consideration of the future judgment, when he says: For whoever shall be ashamed of me, namely to imitate me, and of my words, namely to confess them, scorning the cross of Christ as ignominious, and also his doctrine out of evil shame, concerning which it is said in Sirach 4: "Do not be confounded to say the truth for the sake of your soul; for there is a confusion that brings sin, and there is a confusion that brings grace and glory." In this he gives us to understand that we ought not to be ashamed of the truth of Christ, by the example of the Apostle, who said in Romans 1: "I am not ashamed of the Gospel; for it is the power of God," etc. But we ought to be ashamed of the vileness of sin, according to that in Romans 6: "What fruit had you then in those things of which you are now ashamed?" But many are not ashamed of the deformity of sin, of whom Jeremiah 8 says: "They were confounded because they committed abomination; nay rather, they were not confounded with confusion and they knew not how to blush"; and again: "The forehead of a harlot woman is become yours," etc. Such a one is ashamed of the humility of Christ. — And concerning this he adds: The Son of man shall be ashamed of him, that is, shall make him ashamed, or shall cast him off as one to be ashamed of by his just judgment, according to which it is said in 1 Kings 2: "Those who honor me I will honor; but those who despise me shall be inglorious," and this on the day of judgment. — And therefore he subjoins: When he shall come in his majesty and that of the Father and of the holy Angels: in which he touches upon the judicial power with respect to the principle of causality in the Father, with respect to the privilege of excellence in himself, and with respect to the ministry of obedience in the multitude of Angels. Hence Matthew 24: "Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man," etc.; and Isaiah 3: "The Lord will come to judgment with the elders of his people." In this judgment the proud shall be confounded and the humble shall be exalted, according to that of the Psalm: "All the horns of sinners I will break, and the horns of the just shall be exalted."
42. (Vers. 27.). Fourth, he invites to the consideration of the divine kingdom, which he shows to his imitators, when he adds: But I say to you truly: There are some standing here, through the elevation of mind, according to that verse of the Psalm: "Our feet were standing in your courts, O Jerusalem."
To such persons the kingdom ought to be shown, so that their desire may be fulfilled; therefore he adds: Who shall not taste death, from the separation of soul and body, until they see the kingdom of God, through revelation, not through open vision. For it was said to Moses in Exodus thirty-three: "No man shall see me and live." But this was said through some special revelation, by which it was said to Moses: "I will show you all good." From which it is given to understand that those standing in the word of Christ shall not taste death but shall pass over to life, according to that verse of John eight: "If anyone keeps my word, he shall never taste death."
Since therefore Christ promises so great a reward to those who imitate him through the cross, threatens so severe a judgment, holds forth so great a danger, and shows so great an example: very hard is he who is not moved to imitate him. On account of which it is said in Hebrews twelve: "Having so great a cloud of witnesses set before us, let us run," etc.; and at the end: "Let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach; for we have not here a lasting city, but we seek one to come."
43. Now it came to pass after these words. After the exhortation to the harshness of the way, the Evangelist subjoins the showing of the sweetness of glory. He proceeds in this order. For first he describes the revelation of the promised glory; second, the consideration of the revealed glory, at the passage: But Peter, and those who were with him; third, the confirmation of the revelation shown, at the passage: Now it came to pass on the following day, and this indeed he does through the admirable healing of the demoniac.
The revelation of future glory the Evangelist describes in two ways: first, as to the antecedents; second, as to the concomitants, at the passage: And it came to pass, while he was praying, etc. — Now it should be known that with regard to the Transfiguration of Christ there were three antecedents or disposing factors, namely the requirement of the appointed time, the selection of companions, and the eminence of place. Now these three are what God observes in communicating divine revelations.
44. (Vers. 28.). First, therefore, as to the requirement of the appointed time, he says: Now it came to pass after these words, about eight days. For since the Lord had promised that he would show glory to his disciples, and "the Lord does not delay his promise," as is said in Second Peter three, therefore between the promise and its fulfillment only a small space of time ought to have intervened, namely one week. A figure of this preceded in the betrothal of Rachel, concerning which Laban said to Jacob: "Complete the week of days of this union, and I will give you this one also."
And he indicates this when he says, about eight days having passed, because he did this on the eighth day, the order of the week having come full circle, which are not eight complete days on account of the incompleteness of part of the first and last day; and in Matthew 17 and Mark 9 the first and last days are not counted, but only the complete intermediate ones. For there it is said: "It came to pass after six days," in which there is no contradiction, but one statement explains the other. Moreover, the Holy Spirit willed it to be expressed in both ways for the intimation of the mystery. For since God fashioned the world in six days and rested after the sixth day, therefore one must labor for six days and afterward devote oneself to contemplation. Therefore, to intimate this, Matthew says: "After six days." But since perfect and supreme rest and contemplation do not come before the eighth day, namely the resurrection, therefore he says here: eight days. And this is what is said in the Gloss by Bede and Ambrose: After these words, etc.
45. Second, as regards the choice of companions, it is said: And he took Peter, John, and James. He took these three as the more intimate and familiar, just as he took them above in chapter eight, at the raising of the girl. Therefore he takes three to commend the mystery of the Trinity and for the firmness of testimony, whence it is said in the Gloss: "So that the whole world might believe through three suitable witnesses." Moreover, he especially chose these three on account of the eminence which he discerned in them: because Peter was to be first in governing the Church, as Matthew 16 says: "You are Peter," etc. "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven." And James was to be the first among the Apostles to be killed for the multiplication of the Church: in Acts 12 it is said of Herod that "he killed James, the brother of John, with the sword." John was preeminent in guarding the Mother: John 19: "Jesus, seeing his Mother and the disciple standing," etc. — Or he took these three for figural instruction. Through them the threefold state of those to be saved in the Church is designated, namely prelates in Peter, actives in James, contemplatives in John, just as in Noah, Daniel, and Job; or in Peter the married, in James the continent, in John the virgins, according to the threefold continence, to which is owed the thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and hundredfold fruit. For we read of the wife of Peter, of the virginity of John, but of James neither is said expressly.