Luke 11 · The Lantern

And it happened, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

When in a certain place he had been praying to that Father above, looking up with insolent and audacious eyes to the heaven of the Creator, by whom in His rough and cruel nature he might have been crushed with hail and lightning-just as it was by Him contrived that he was (afterwards) attached to a cross at Jerusalem-one of his disciples came to him and said, "Master, teach us…

Now whereas He possesses every good in abundance, why does He pray, since He is full, and has altogether need of nothing? To this we answer, that it befits Him, according to the manner of His dispensation in the flesh, to follow human observances at the time convenient for them.

After he delivered to the disciples the form of teaching and the form of living, in this part he bestows the form of prayer, through which the grace of knowing and of living rightly is obtained.

And he said to them, When you pray, say, Our Father who are in heaven, Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

Neither pray as the hypocrites; but as the Lord commanded in His Gospel, thus pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Give us to-day our daily (needful) bread, and forgive us our debt as we also forgive our debtors.

For as when a man gazes upon the beauty of the heavens, he says, Glory be thee, O God; so likewise when He beholds a man's virtuous actions, seeing that the virtue of man glorifies God much more than the heavens. As if He says, Enable us, O Lord, to follow the heavenly life, that whatever Thou willest, we may will also.

(App. Serm. 84.) The first word, how gracious is it? Thou durst not raise thy face to heaven, and suddenly thou receivest the grace of Christ. From an evil servant thou art made a good son. Boast not then of thy working, but of the grace of Christ; for therein is no arrogance, but faith. To proclaim what thou hast received is not pride, but devotion.

Give us day by day our daily bread.

Whose kingdom shall I wish to come-his, of whom I never heard as the king of glory; or His, in whose hand are even the hearts of kings? Who shall give me my daily bread? Shall it be he who produces for me not a grain of millet-seed; or He who even from heaven gave to His people day by day the bread of angels? Who shall forgive me my trespasses?

"Give us this day our supersubstantial bread." Another Evangelist uses the term daily.The first expression indicates that this bread has a noble and substantial character by which its exalted splendor and holiness surpass all substances and all creatures. With "daily" the Evangelist shows that without this bread we cannot live a spiritual life for even a day.

(App. Serm. 84..) In the Greek the word is ἐπιούσιον, that is, something added to the substance. (supersubstantialem) It is not that bread which goes into the body, but that bread of everlasting life, which supports the substance of our soul.

And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

He never remembers those who have sinned against him, but forgives them. Wherefore also he righteously prays, saying, "Forgive us; for we also forgive." For this also is one of the things which God wishes, to covet nothing, to hate no one. For all men are the work of one will.

(in Enchirid. c. 116.) But what Matthew has placed at the end, But deliver us from evil, Luke has not mentioned, that we might understand it belongs to the former, which was spoken of temptation.

(ubi sup.) But what is the debt except sin? If thou hadst not received, thou wouldest not owe money to another. And therefore sin is imputed to you. For thou hadst money with which thou wert born rich, and made after the likeness and image of God, but thou hast lost what thou then hadst.

And he said to them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight, and say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves;

The neighbour was without bread, and therefore he knocked; but as soon as the door was opened to him, and he received the bread, he discontinued knocking. The widow kept asking to be heard by the judge, because she was not admitted; but when her suit was heard, thenceforth she was silent.

The Saviour had before taught, in answer to the request of His apostles, how men ought to pray. But it might happen that those who had received this wholesome teaching, poured forth their prayers indeed according to the form given to them, but carelessly and languidly, and then when they were not heard in the first or second prayer, left off praying.

But according to the spiritual understanding, by this friend is understood Christ, of whom Ecclesiasticus six says: "A faithful friend is a strong protection: and he who finds him finds a treasure." Concerning this, John fifteen says: "I will no longer call you servants, but I have called you friends"; and again: "You are my friends," etc.

For a friend of mine in his journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?

And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give you.

Well does he call those children who by the arms of righteousness have claimed to themselves freedom from passion, showing that the good which by practice we have acquired, had been from the beginning laid up in our nature.

"Children" resting "on the bed" are people who have converted and thereby become children of the Lord and have been deemed worthy to rest together with Him.

(ordin.) He does not then take away the liberty of asking, but is the more anxious to kindle the desire of praying, by showing the difficulty of obtaining that we ask for. For it follows, The door is now shut. (ordin.) And because of what has gone before he adds, I cannot rise and give thee, which must have reference to the difficulty of obtaining.

I say to you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needs.

It is the Creator, who once shut the door to the Gentiles, which was then knocked at by the Jews, that both rises and gives, if not now to man as a friend, yet not as a stranger, but, as He says, "because of his importunity." Importunate, however, the recent god could not have permitted any one to be in the short time (since his appearance).

And if he persists in knocking, I tell you, even if he will not give him rising because he is his friend, still because of his impudence, he will rise and give him as many as he needs. And I tell you: Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened to you. It is a comparison from the lesser.

Third, regarding compelling importunity, he adds: And if he shall continue knocking, with prayers, not overcome by shame nor wearied by tedium nor broken by despair, as a true friend, according to that passage in Ecclesiasticus 22: "If you have drawn a sword against a friend, do not despair; for there is a way back to a friend.

And I say to you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.

But the most ancient of the philosophers were not carried away to disputing and doubting, much less are we, who are attached to the really true philosophy, on whom the Scripture enjoins examination and investigation. For it is the more recent of the Hellenic philosophers who, by empty and futile love of fame, are led into useless babbling in refuting and wrangling.

(ubi sup.) Having laid aside the metaphor, our Lord added an exhortation, and expressly urged us to ask, seek, and knock, until we receive what we are seeking. Hence he says, And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you. (Serm. 105.) But He would not so encourage us to ask were He not willing to give.

(Severus Antioch.) Or by the word knock perhaps he means seeking effectually, for one knocks with the hand, but the hand is the sign of a good work. Or these three may be distinguished in another way. For it is the beginning of virtue to ask to know the way of truth. But the second step is to seek how we must go by that way.

For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.

These things we suffer by our own fault and our own deserving, even as the divine judgment has forewarned us, saying, "If they forsake my law and walk not in my judgments, if they profane my statutes and keep not my commandments, then will I visit their transgressions with the rod, and their iniquities with stripes." It is for this reason that we feel the rods and the stripes,…

"Everyone who asks receives." Does the one who asks for useless things receive? No. For, first of all, a request for useless things cannot even be called a request before God. For whoever prays to God must ask for what He gives. And if someone asks for useless things, he makes his request not to God, for He does not give what is not beneficial.

Second, with respect to the exhortation regarding all, he adds: For everyone who asks receives, if he devoutly asks. Whence the Lord intimates this in John 15: "If you shall ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it to you," that is, for your salvation; otherwise he does not give.

If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?

Him, therefore, whom you call the Creator recognise also as "Father." It is even He who knows what His children require. For when they asked for bread, He gave them manna from heaven; and when they wanted flesh, He sent them abundance of quails-not a serpent for a fish, nor for an egg a scorpion.

(de Quæst. Ev. lib. ii. qu. 22.) Or by the bread is meant charity, because we have a greater desire of it, and it is so necessary, that without it all other things are nothing, as the table without bread is mean. Opposed to which is hardness of heart, which he compared to a stone.

But which of you etc. After the incitement to frequency of prayer, he here adds an incitement to confidence in prayer, and by showing this he displays the liberality in God the Father who hears us.

Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

And he was casting out a devil, and it was mute. And it happened, when the devil had gone out, the mute spoke; and the people wondered.

In like manner, it is He who will give the Holy Spirit, at whose command is also the unholy spirit. When He cast out the "demon which was dumb" (and by a cure of this sort verified Isaiah), and having been charged with casting out demons by Beelzebub, He said, "If I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out?

But that demoniac is related by Matthew to have been not only dumb, but blind. Three miracles then were performed at the same time on one man. The blind see, the dumb speaks, and he that was possessed by a devil is set free.

(non occ.) The Lord had promised that the Holy Spirit should be given to those that asked for it; the blessed effects whereof He indeed clearly shows in the following miracle. Hence it follows, And Jesus was casting out a devil, and it was dumb.

But some of them said, He casts out demons through Beelzebul the chief of the demons.

And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven.

But others by similar darts of envy sought of him a sign from heaven. As it follows, And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. As if they said, "Although thou hast cast out a devil from the man, this is no proof however of Divine power. For we have not yet seen any thing like to the miracles of former times.

And others, testing Him, sought a sign from heaven from Him. Either they wished for fire to come down from above in the manner of Elijah, or, similarly to Samuel, for thunder to roar, lightning to flash, and rains to fall in the summer, as if those could not also be slandered and said to have happened from hidden and varied passions of the air.

Thirdly, regarding the controversy of the adjoined dispute, he adds: And others, testing him, sought from him a sign from heaven. They did not seek such a sign in order to believe as faithful men, but as rebels in order to attack, according to that saying of the Savior in Matthew 22: "Why do you test me, hypocrites?" and in the Psalm: "Your fathers tested me," etc.

But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falls.

Herein also He shows His own kingdom to be undivided and everlasting. Those then who possess no hope in Christ, but think that He casts out devils through the chief of the devils, their kingdom, He says, is not everlasting. This also has reference to the Jewish people.

He answered not their words but their thoughts, that so at least they might be compelled to believe in His power, who saw into the secrets of the heart. The kingdom also of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is not divided, because it is sealed with an eternal stability.

But he, when he saw their thoughts, said to them. After the expression of the Jewish fraud, there is here subjoined the refutation of the fraud expressed. In refuting falsehood, he proceeds in this order: first he leads to a manifest impossibility, second he brings to an indefensible falsehood, third he leads back to an infallible truth.

If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because you say that I cast out demons through Beelzebul.

(ubi sup.) He did not answer them from the Scriptures, since they gave no heed to them, explaining them away falsely; but he answers them from things of every day occurrence. For a house and a city if it be divided is quickly scattered to nothing; and likewise a kingdom, than which nothing is stronger. For the harmony of the inhabitants maintains houses and kingdoms.

But if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand, because you say that I cast out demons in Beelzebub? By saying this, he wanted it to be understood from their own confession that by not believing in him, they had chosen to be in the kingdom of the devil, which certainly could not stand divided against itself.

And if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.

When He cast out the "demon which was dumb" (and by a cure of this sort verified Isaiah), and having been charged with casting out demons by Beelzebub, He said, "If I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out?

Or else, By the sons of the Jews He means the exorcists of that nation, who cast out devils by the invocation of God. As if He says, If the casting out of devils by your sons is ascribed to God, not to devils, why in My case has not the same work the same cause?

Second, he leads to a false improbability, when he adds: But if I cast out demons by Beelzebub: in which he intends to form such an argument: if I cast out demons by the power of demons, and I gave your sons the power of casting out demons —this he presupposes and leaves unstated—therefore they themselves cast out demons by the prince of demons.

But if I with the finger of God cast out demons, no doubt the kingdom of God has come upon you.

So that it was not by Beelzebub that even they were casting out demons, but (as we have said) by the power of the Creator; and that He might make this understood, He adds: "But if I with the finger of God cast out demons, is not the kingdom of God come near unto you?

(Hom. 41. ut sup.) But it is said, upon you, that He might draw them to Him; as if He said, If prosperity comes to you, why do you despise your good things?

Thirdly, he leads back to the infallible truth, when he adds: But if I cast out demons by the finger of God. But, that is, certainly; if, that is, because; by the finger of God, that is, by the Holy Spirit: whence in Matthew twelve it is said: "If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God." For the Holy Spirit is called the finger of God, as it is said in Exodus eight: "The finger…

When a strong man armed keeps his palace, his goods are in peace:

How can they be saved unless it was God who wrought out their salvation upon earth? Or how shall man pass into God, unless God has [first] passed into man?

And such has been the fate of our common enemy, the wicked Satan, that many headed serpent, the inventor of sin. For before the coming of the Saviour, he was in great power, driving and shutting up, so to speak, in his own stall flocks not his own, but belonging to God over all, like some rapacious and most insolent robber.

This fortitude is from God redeeming. "When a strong man armed guards his court, those things which he possesses are in peace; but if a stronger one than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he will take away all his armor in which he trusted, and will distribute his spoils." This stronger one is God, because "the weakness of God is stronger than men." The Son of God was made w…

But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.

Christ also divides the spoil, showing the faithful watch which angels keep over the salvation of men.

For as soon as the Word of the Most High God, the Giver of all strength, and the Lord of Hosts, was made man, He attacked him, and took away his arms. For the Jews who had been a long time entrapped by him into ignorance of God and sin, have been called out by the holy Apostles to the knowledge of the truth, and presented to God the Father, through faith in the Son.

He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathers not with me scatters.

But it is to approve the baptism of heretics and schismatics, to admit that they have truly baptized. For therein a part cannot be void, and part be valid. If one could baptize, he could also give the Holy Spirit.

He who is not with me is against me. And he who does not gather with me, scatters. Let no one think that this refers to heretics and schismatics, though by extension it can be so understood, but from the context, the subject of the discourse refers to the devil, and that the works of the Savior cannot be compared to the works of Beelzebub.

Thirdly, joining the adjoined truth, he adds: He who is not with me is against me: and through this, the men whom the devil possesses resist Christ, and according to that passage of 2 Corinthians 6: "What accord has Christ with Belial?" And because no one can resist his strength, therefore he adds: He who does not gather with me scatters: because, as it is said in Job 9, "who h…

When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he walks through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, I will return to my house from which I came out.

The unclean spirit dwelt in us before we believed, before we came to Christ when our soul was still committing fornication against God and was with its lovers, the demons.

After what had gone before, our Lord proceeds to show how it was that the Jewish people had sunk to these opinions concerning Christ, saying, When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, &c. For that this example relates to the Jews, Matthew has explained when he says, Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation. (Matt.

When the unclean spirit, etc. After the refutation of falsehood and the confirmation of truth, the Evangelist here adds the condemnation of deceitfulness, whose origin is from the malign spirit, according to that passage of John 8: "He is a liar and the father thereof," that is, of lying and pretense.

And when he comes, he finds it swept and garnished.

That is, to those who are of Israel, whom he saw possessing nothing divine in them, but desolate, and vacant for him to take up his abode there; and so it follows, And when he came, he findeth it swept and garnished.

And when he comes, he finds it swept and garnished, that is, cleansed by the grace of baptism from the stain of sins, but not filled with the industry of good works.

To this house, however, the simulation of goodness and justice leads back the expelled devil; and therefore he adds: And when he comes, he finds it swept clean and adorned, not within, as the Prophet says in the Psalm: "I was exercised and I swept my spirit"; and again: "All the glory of the king's daughter is from within"; he does not find it swept and adorned in this way, but…

Then goes he, and takes to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.

But it does not turn away those who are full of faith, nor does it act on them, for the power of the Lord is with them. It is the thoughtless and doubting that it turns away. ...

By the seven evil spirits which he takes to himself, he signifies all the vices. And they are called more wicked, because he will have not only those vices which are opposed to the seven spiritual virtues, but also by his hypocrisy he will pretend to have the virtues themselves.

We cannot have the grace of God except through the fear of God. No one receives the grace of God unless he fears God. He who does not have grace ought to fear greatly for himself; likewise, if the Lord restores to a man the grace he had lost, he ought to fear greatly for himself, lest he lose it and become ungrateful, "and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first…

And it happened, as he spoke these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said to him, Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the paps which you have sucked.

Now, as Marcion was apprehensive that a belief of the fleshly body would also involve a belief of birth, undoubtedly He who seemed to be man was believed to be verily and indeed born.

Mary was more blessed in accepting the faith of Christ than in conceiving the flesh of Christ. To someone who said, "Blessed is the womb that bore you," he replied, "Rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it."Finally, for his brothers, his relatives according to the flesh who did not believe in him, of what advantage was that relationship?

In Luke: "A certain woman from the crowd, raising her voice, said to him: Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that nursed you." And Jesus said: "Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it." Not only is she blessed who conceived and nursed him, but also those who follow her. And who are they? Those who hear the word of God and fulfill it.

But he said, Yes rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

But he said: Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it. The Savior beautifully agreed to the testimony of the woman, meaning not only her who was worthy to physically bear the Word of God, but also all those who spiritually, by the hearing of faith, conceive the same Word, and in the custody of good works strive either to bear it in their own heart or in th…

But He blesses those who keep the word of God, not, however, in order to deprive His Mother of blessedness, but in order to show that even She would have received no benefit from having given birth to Him and nursed Him at Her breast, if She had not possessed all the other virtues. He says this also because it is timely.

"A certain woman from the crowd, raising her voice, said to him: Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that nursed you." And Jesus said: "Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it." Not only is she blessed who conceived and nursed him, but also those who follow her. And who are they? Those who hear the word of God and fulfill it.

And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonah the prophet.

Behold how unequal, inconsistent, and capricious he is! Teaching one thing and doing another, he enjoins "giving to every one that seeks; "and yet he himself refuses to give to those "who seek a sign." For a vast age he hides his own light from men, and yet says that a candle must not be hidden, but affirms that it ought to be set upon a candlestick, that it may give light to a…

He will not grant you another sign, so that he may give holy things to dogs or throw pearls before swine.…He said only the sign of Jonah will be given to them. This means the passion on the cross and the resurrection from the dead.

But as the crowds were gathering together, etc. After the Savior refuted the fallacy of the blasphemers or detractors, here secondly he refutes the fallacy of the unbelievers, who under the appearance of eagerness sought signs out of curiosity. This fallacy of the unbelief of the Jews is refuted, and this by a threefold way.

For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.

(in Esai. 7.) A sign is a thing brought openly to view, containing in itself the manifestation of something hidden, as the sign of Jonas represents the descent to hell, the ascension of Christ, and His resurrection from the dead. Hence it is added, For as Jonas was a sign to the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.

For just as he spent three days in the belly of the whale, so too shall I spend three days in the belly of the whale, the great beast, that is, Hades, and rise again. When Jonah, cast out by the whale and as if brought back to life, began to preach, the Ninevites listened (Jonah 3:3-6); but even after My Resurrection, this generation will not believe in Me.

On account of which he adds: For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so shall the Son of Man be to this generation. For Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites not only by word, but also by the deed of a miracle, because, cast into the sea and swallowed by a fish, on the third day he returned to the heights above: by which he prefigured Christ suffering, dying, and rising again.

The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed, a greater than Solomon is here.

The Queen of the South will condemn it because she is a type of the church. Just as she came to Solomon, so too the church came to our Lord, and just as she condemned this generation, so also will the church.

"But that indeed in the day of judgment the doings of those who have known the truth are compared with the good deeds of those who have been in error, the unlying One Himself has taught us, saying to those who neglected to come and listen to Him, 'The queen of the south shall rise up with this generation, and shall condemn it; because she came from the extremities of the earth…

Second, the generation of the Jews is reproved because it was lukewarm in learning, when it is added: The queen of the south shall rise in the judgment with the men of this generation. From which it appears that the resurrection will be universal, not only of the good, but also of the wicked.

The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed, a greater than Jonah is here.

And to those amongst the people who would not repent at His preaching He said, 'The men of Nineveh shall rise up with this generation and shall condemn it, for they heard and repented on the preaching of Jonas: and behold, a greater is here, and no one believes.' And thus, setting over against all their impiety those from among the Gentiles who have done well, in order to conde…

The men of Nineveh will rise in judgment with this generation and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. Jonah preached for a few days, I for so long a time. He to the Assyrians, an unbelieving nation; I to the Jews, the people of God. He to strangers, I to citizens.

Thirdly, the generation of the Jews is reproved, because it was cold toward repenting, when he adds: The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it: and this on account of their repentance and the impenitence of the Jews. For by comparison with the better, the less good are reproved.

No man, when he has lighted a candle, puts it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a lampstand, that they which come in may see the light.

The light of the body is the eye: therefore when your eye is single, your whole body also is full of light; but when your eye is evil, your body also is full of darkness.

For He gives the name of the eye especially to our understanding, but the whole soul, although not corporeal, He metaphorically calls the body. For the whole soul is enlightened by the understanding. For the understanding from its very beginning desires only singleness, containing no dissimulation, or guile, or division in itself.

The lamp of your body is your eye. By body, He means the works that appear openly to all; indeed, the eye itself performs the intention of the mind, and by its merit, these works are discerned as works of light or darkness, as He Himself subsequently explained, saying:

Second, there is added the application of the similitude, when it says: The lamp of your body is your eye. For of the material body, the bodily eye is the lamp, because it rules, directs, and illuminates the whole body; but of the spiritual body, that is, of the aggregate of good works, the lamp is the spiritual eye, that is, the intention.

Take heed therefore that the light which is in you be not darkness.

That is, If thy material body, when the light of a candle shines upon it, is made full of light, so that not one of thy members is any longer in darkness; much more when thou sinnest not, shall thy whole spiritual body be so full of light, that its brightness may be compared to the shining of a candle, while the light which was in the body, and which used to be darkness, is dir…

Therefore, see to it that the light in you is not darkness. This means that the very intention of the heart, which is the light of the soul, should not be darkened by the fog of sins, but should be carefully considered with diligent discernment. As it is commanded elsewhere: With all vigilance, guard your heart, for from it flows the springs of life (Prov. IV).

Third, there is added a commendable instruction, when he says: See therefore that the light which is in you be not darkness, that is, lest the intention by which you ought to be light be obscured by the darkness of vices.

If your whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle does give you light.

And as he spoke, a certain Pharisee begged him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to food.

(de Con. Evan. lib. ii. c. 40.) For in order to relate this, Luke has made a variation from Matthew, at that place where both had mentioned what our Lord said concerning the sign of Jonah, and the queen of the south, and the unclean spirit; after which discourse Matthew says, While he yet talked to the people, behold his mother and his brethren stood without desiring to speak t…

And while he was speaking, a certain Pharisee asked him to dine with him, and he went in and reclined. Luke carefully does not say, "And when he had spoken these things," but "While he was speaking," to show that he was invited to dine by the Pharisee not immediately after finishing the words he had set out, but after some others were interposed.

And as he was speaking, one asked him etc. After the Evangelist commended the simplicity of right intention, in this part he confutes the deceitfulness of malignant dissimulation. This part has two sections. In the first of which there is set forth a rebuke of duplicity: in the second there is added a threatening of calamity, at: But woe to you, Pharisees etc.

And when the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that he had not first washed before dinner.

(Serm. 106.) For every day before dinner the Pharisees washed themselves with water, as if a daily washing could be a cleansing of the heart. But the Pharisee thought within himself, yet did not give utterance to a word; nevertheless, He heard who perceived the secrets of the heart.

The Pharisee began to think to himself why he had not washed before the meal. The evangelist Mark revealed the reason for the Pharisee's thought, saying, "For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands frequently, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash" (Mark 7).

On account of which it is added: But the Pharisee began, pondering within himself, to say, that is, to seek the reason and cause, namely, why he had not been baptized, that is, washed according to the custom of the Jews, before the meal, and thereby to judge him as unclean and a despiser of the traditions of the fathers.

And the Lord said to him, Now do you Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.

He therefore said: "You wash the outside of the cup," that is, the flesh, "but you do not cleanse your inside part," that is, the soul; adding: "Did not He that made the outside," that is, the flesh, "also make the inward part," that is to say, the soul?-by which assertion He expressly declared that to the same God belongs the cleansing of a man's external and internal nature,…

And the Lord said to him: Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.

Second, as regards the severity of the rebuke on the part of the Master, he adds: And the Lord said to him: Now you Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and of the dish. The cup is a vessel for drinking, the dish for eating; and these vessels the Pharisees and Jews especially cleansed, because they thought themselves defiled by the uncleanness of vessels.

You fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also?

Ye presumptuously maintain that ye are acquainted with the unspeakable mysteries of God; while even the Lord, the very Son of God, allowed that the Father alone knows the very day and hour of judgment, when He plainly declares, "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, neither the Son, but the Father only." If, then, the Son was not ashamed to ascribe the knowledge of that…

He says that he who made that which is on the outside also made that which is on the inside. This means that he who created the body also made the soul. Since they are both the works of one virtue-loving God, their purification must be uniform.

Whence it is added: Fools, did not He who made that which is without, namely the body, also make that which is within? namely the spirit.

But rather give alms of such things as you have; and indeed, all things are clean to you.

For He subjoins the command: "Give what ye possess as alms, and all things shall be clean unto you." Even if another god could have enjoined mercy, he could not have done so previous to his becoming known.

(Serm. 106.) But if they cannot be cleansed except they believe on Him who cleanses the heart by faith, what is this which He says, Give alms, and behold all things are clean to you? Let us give heed, and perhaps He Himself explains it to us. For the Jews withdrew a tenth part from all their produce, and gave it in alms, which rarely a Christian does.

Third, as to the sweetness of the admonition, on the part of the physician, he adds: But yet, that which remains, give alms; that which remains, that is, the remedy which is left is that you may purge wickedness through alms.

But woe to you, Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

In like manner, He upbraids them for tithing paltry herbs, but at the same time "passing over hospitality and the love of God. The vocation and the love of what God, but Him by whose law of tithes they used to offer their rue and mint?

The transgression of one commandment transgresses the law. It proves the man to be without the law. When anyone disregards those commandments, which especially are important above the rest, what words will he find able to save him from deserved punishment?

But woe to you, Pharisees, etc. After the rebuke of duplicity, there is here subjoined against the double-minded and hypocrites a threatening of calamity: whence in Matthew twenty-three this determination is as it were added: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" And since these two classes of persons, namely the Pharisees and the scribes, especially feigned religiou…

Woe to you, Pharisees! for you love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.

Further, He banishes utterly love of glory, saying, "Woe to you, Pharisees! for ye love the chief seat in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets." But He welcomes the repentance of the sinner-loving repentance-which follows sins. For this Word of whom we speak alone is sinless. For to sin is natural and common to all.

Woe to you Pharisees who love the foremost seats in synagogues, and the greetings in the market. Woe to us miserable ones, to whom the vices of the Pharisees have passed, who, in the brief and uncertain course of our life in which we ought to have humbly lamented our sins, by proudly contending with each other for priority, we did not fear to burden ourselves further with sins.

Second, he repeats this threatening on account of arrogance, when he adds: Woe to you Pharisees: because "you love the first seats in the synagogues, with regard to the ambition for dignities.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.

And like graves which appear not, they deceive by their outside beauty, and by their look impose upon the passers by; as it follows, And the men that walk over them are not aware of them; so much that in truth, though they give outward promise of what is beautiful, inwardly they enclose all manner of pollution.

Woe to you who are like unseen tombs, and men walking over them do not know it. And this challenges the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, who outwardly present an appearance of correct doctrine, but within conceal what filth they carry, like tombs which, while showing the common surface of the earth outwardly, are filled within with the stench of rotting corpses.

Thirdly, He repeats this denunciation on account of fraudulence, when He adds: Woe to you!, who are as monuments that do not appear, namely as to what they are within, because they are fetid and unclean within, but outwardly they are beautiful: whence He adds: And men walking over them know it not.

Then answered one of the lawyers, and said to him, Master, thus saying you reproach us also.

(de con. Ev. lib. ii. c. 75.) Now all these things Matthew records to have been said after our Lord had come into Jerusalem. But Luke relates them here, when our Lord was yet on His journey to Jerusalem. From which they appear to me to be similar discourses, of which Matthew has given one, Luke the other.

But one of the lawyers, answering, said to him: Teacher, in saying these things you also reproach us. How miserable a conscience that, hearing the word of God, thinks itself reproached, and always understands itself to be condemned by the mentioned punishment of the faithless.

But a certain one of the lawyers answering etc. After He threatened woe to the Pharisees, here secondly He threatens the lawyers, and this for three reasons: first, on account of sloth against the truth of life; second, on account of perfidy against the truth of justice, at: Woe to you who build the monuments: third, on account of deceit against the truth of doctrine, at: Woe t…

And he said, Woe to you also, you lawyers! for you lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and you yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.

He also inveighs against the doctors of the law themselves, because they were "lading men with burdens grievous to be borne, which they did not venture to touch with even a finger of their own; " but not as if He made a mock of the burdens of the law with any feeling of detestation towards it.

But Christ brings a severe charge against the Lawyers, and subdues their foolish pride, as it follows, And he said, Woe unto you also, ye Lawyers, for ye lade men, &c. He brings forward an obvious example for their direction.

Secondly, as regards the threat of calamity on account of sloth in doing good, it is said: But he said: And woe to you lawyers also! namely, of eternal damnation. And the reason for this is that they said much and did little.

Woe to you! for you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.

But why is a "woe" pronounced against them for "building the sepulchres of the prophets whom their fathers had killed? " They rather deserved praise, because by such an act of piety they seemed to show that they did not allow the deeds of their fathers.

Woe to you who build the tombs of the prophets, but your fathers killed them. It is a crime not to adorn the tombs of the prophets, but to imitate the murderers of the prophets.

Woe to you who build etc. After he has threatened them with woe for the fault of sloth arising from a defect of truth of life, here secondly he repeats the same for the fault of perfidy against the truth of justice, which indeed consisted in the impious persecution of the just. Concerning which, first the fault itself is aggravated, then the punishment is intensified.

Truly you bear witness that you allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs.

His hands, at all events, are ever unclean, eternally dyed with the blood of the prophets, and of the Lord Himself; and on that account, as being hereditary culprits from their privity to their fathers' crimes, they do not dare even to raise them unto the Lord, for fear some Isaiah should cry out, for fear Christ should utterly shudder.

Indeed you testify that you approve the deeds of your fathers. For they killed them, and you build their tombs. They pretended indeed, to win the favor of the masses, to abhor the treachery of their fathers, adorning the memorials of the prophets who were killed by them with great splendor.

On account of which he says: But indeed you testify that you consent to the works of your fathers, that is, you consent that these were the works of your fathers: whence Matthew twenty-three: "You are witnesses against yourselves that you are the sons of those who killed the Prophets." Therefore he adds: For they indeed killed them, but you build their tombs: and thus by sign a…

Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:

Therefore Wisdom sends apostles and prophets to them. Who is Wisdom if not Christ? Finally, in Matthew you have: Behold, I send you prophets and wise men.

Therefore also said the wisdom of God: I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall kill and persecute. He calls himself the wisdom of God, for he is indeed the power of God and the wisdom of God, as the Apostle teaches (1 Cor. 1). Accordingly, in Matthew, you have it thus: Therefore behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes.

And because the malice which they bore in their heart was, by God's permission, to be made manifest in deed, therefore he adds: Therefore also the wisdom of God said, "that is, disposed from eternity," or Christ himself disposed or foresaw, who is "the power of God and the wisdom of God." Or said, that is, foretold by prophetic voice.

That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;

From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: truly I say to you, It shall be required of this generation.

(Orat. in Diem Nat. Christi.) But some say that Zacharias, the father of John, by the spirit of prophecy forecasting the mystery of the immaculate virginity of the mother of God, in no wise separated her from the part of the temple set apart for virgins, wishing to show that it was in the power of the Creator of all things to manifest a new birth, while he did not deprive the m…

But our Lord shows that the Jews have inherited the malice of Cain, since he adds, From the blood of Abel, to the blood of Zacharias, &c. Abel, inasmuch as he was slain by Cain; but Zacharias, whom they slew between the temple and the altar, some say was the Zacharias of old time, the son of Jehoiadah the Priest.

(Geometer.) But others give another reason for the destruction of Zacharias. For at the murder of the children the blessed John was to be slain with the rest of the same age, but Elisabeth, snatching up her son from the midst of the slaughter, sought the desert.

Woe to you, lawyers! for you have taken away the key of knowledge: you entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in you hindered.

And as he said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things:

Now this urging is taken to mean pressing upon Him, or threatening Him, or waxing furious against Him. But they began to interrupt His words in many ways, as it follows, And to force him to speak of many things.

For when several are questioning a man on different subjects, since he can not reply to all at once, foolish people think he is doubting.

Second, as regards the hardening of wickedness, it is added: But when he said these things to them, the Pharisees and the lawyers began to press him vehemently: in which they show that their heart was hardened and weighed down upon hearing the divine word, so that it might be shown that in them was fulfilled that passage from Isaiah 6: "Blind the heart of this people and close…

Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him.

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