Chapter 13
Simon is appointed leader in place of his brother: he sends silver and two of Jonathan’s sons to Tryphon. Concerning the death of Jonathan and his sons. Concerning the construction of the tomb. Tryphon treacherously kills the young Antiochus and places upon himself the crown of Asia. Demetrius establishes peace with Simon, etc.
13:1 And Simon heard that Tryphon had assembled a great army to come into the land of Judea, etc. 13:27 And Simon built upon the tomb of his father, etc.
Simon constructs, for his father and mother and brothers, out of polished stone a memorial above the tombs, just as holy preachers, by recalling to those present the deeds of the fathers who went before and their glorious end, show them with great authority as examples: for this is what it means to place polished stone before and behind, namely that they strive clearly, by a faithful narrative, to explain to their hearers how they lived before the end of life in regard to doctrine and holy conduct, and what kind of example of the patience of their long-suffering they left to their descendants after their death. Moreover, that holy men are called by the name of father and mother and brothers is shown by the Savior in the Gospel, saying: “Whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother” (Matt. 12:50). Therefore the Apostle Paul, writing to the Corinthians, says (1 Cor. 4:15): “For though you have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet not many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel;” and of Timothy he says to the Philippians: “But know the proof of him, that as a son with a father he has served with me in the Gospel.” (Philip. 2:22)
13:28 Simon also established seven pyramids, one facing another for his father and mother and for his four brothers,
with each teacher showing how the light of wisdom of each of the earlier Fathers was conferred on each person, a light which is granted to the faithful through the sevenfold Spirit.
13:29a And he set around them columns, and on the columns coats of arms, as an eternal memorial,
indicating their weakness and uprightness in faith, and how in that same faith they fought against enemies with spiritual weapons.
13:29b And next to the arms, carved ships, which would be seen by all who sail the sea.
For, in this way those righteous who went before have crossed the sea of this present life in the ship of the cross of Christ, toiling amid the waves of this world, and by teaching they strengthen others in the hope of their comfort, so that they may know that just as that aforementioned ship safely brought them to the shore of rest, so also faith in the passion of Christ and in our redemption in it, if they are willing to have works worthy of that same faith, will grant to them the harbor of eternal salvation.
13:31 But Tryphon, while he was making a journey with King Antiochus, who was a youth, treacherously killed him, etc.
About this Pompey reports as follows: While these things were taking place meanwhile in the regions of Syria, Tryphon, who had endeavored to have himself appointed by the people as guardian of Antiochus, the stepson of Demetrius, after killing his ward, seized the government of Syria. Having long held it, at last, when the favor of his recent rule had faded, he was defeated in war by Antiochus, still very much a boy, the brother of Demetrius, who was being brought up in Asia, and therefore the kingdom of Syria returned again to the offspring of Demetrius.
13:34 And Simon chose men and sent them to King Demetrius, etc.
That Simon sent men to King Demetrius to obtain remission for the region signifies, if I am not mistaken, that holy Church sends its preachers to the rulers of this world, so that by the word of faith it may win them to itself and bring to nothing the figurative deeds of Tryphon, that is, of heretics and schismatics, and crush by the rigor of external powers their pride, on account of which they were unwilling to submit to ecclesiastical gentleness. To these rulers the messengers also present a golden crown and peace, which they say is an ornament made entirely from golden rings according to the custom of the province: with these they promise, for the good contest of eternal life, a crown, and, for the timely support by which they help the churches through their edicts and acts of protection, heavenly rewards. Therefore in general.
13:43 In those days Simon advanced to Gaza and surrounded it with camps, etc.
What does it mean that Simon undertakes to attack Gaza, if not that preachers strive to vanquish errors that must be condemned? Gaza, which is interpreted “his strength,” signifies the hardness and rigidity of the nations. Therefore Simon builds many schemes against Gaza, when holy teachers employ various doctrinal means of the spirit to capture the fortifications of the nations, so that they may turn them into the saving spoil of their Lord and King, that is, Jesus Christ. In this he struck one tower and took it, when he laid low the pride of the Gentiles and brought their hearts into obedience to the Gospel.
But who were they, and who are those who, with their wives and children, climbed up onto the wall with their garments torn and asked Simon to give them the right hand, if not those who, entangled in the anxieties and desires of this world by its riches, later converted, not tearing their clothes but their hearts through repentance, seek to receive from church leaders the right hands of reconciliation and fellowship? To whose petition Simon, the man of the Spirit, assenting with mercy, does not strike them with the sword of excommunication, but, leading them out from the superstition of paganism, removes their errors by cutting them away, so that he may prepare a fitting dwelling in their sinful hearts for the Lord Christ.
13:44a They had burst forth within the war‑engine into the city.
For although the disrespect of the barbarians has indeed tried to escape the Gospel, it has nevertheless been bound and restrained by the truthful testimonies of the law of God.
13:44b And there arose a great disturbance in the city.
When the whole world was shaken by the preaching of the Gospel, for a great disturbance arose in the city when the savagery of the nations was stirred up to persecute the confessors of Christ, so that those who were faithful defenders of the faith and doctrine of Christ became true martyrs.
14:47 And then he entered into it with hymns, blessing the Lord, etc.
So also, when the errors of the pagans have been cast out, with praises of God the holy teachers will enter the assemblies of the nations; then likewise they place there the men who make the law, because by sincere preachings they cause the true worshipers of Christ to be there.
14:48 And he fortified it and made a dwelling for himself there.
As, through the Gospel, they strengthen the Church everywhere with the defense of faith, by residing in its abode, the very teachers, for their devout labor, await the eternal rewards which, for the confession they have made, are to be rendered to them at the end by the judge of the living and the dead.
14:49 But those who were in the citadel of Jerusalem were prevented from going out, etc.
Those who were in the citadel of Jerusalem and were attacking the Jews themselves signify the heretics and schismatics who, establishing themselves in the fortress of their own pride, stir up disputes and wars against Catholics. Simon forbids them to go out and enter the region and to buy and sell, because the holy teachers, together with the Catholics, order that no communion of fellowship at all be maintained with such people. For this reason many of them perished by famine, because many of them, once they were cut off outside the communion of the Church with anathema, perish through hunger for the word of God and lack of spiritual knowledge. But because, driven by extreme necessity, people of this sort asked that right hands of fellowship be given them by the Church, this agreement is imposed on them by the Church itself: that they abandon their errors, anathematize the wicked sects to which they had previously observed, and cleanse their conscience from all the wickedness of heretics, and therefore they are restored to the communion of the Church. Therefore it is fittingly added:
13:51 And they entered into it on the twenty-third day of the second month, in the one hundred and seventy-first year, with praise, etc.
These numbers, that is, one hundred and seventy-one and twenty-three, are full of sacred mysteries: for the hundredth, in which Abraham begot Isaac, the son of promise, signifies the perfection of life; the seventieth, in which the captivity of the inhabitants of Jerusalem was ended, signifies the remission of sins. But because these things exist only in the truth of the Church, therefore a unit is added to the number seventy. Moreover, the number twenty-three signifies the faith of the Holy Trinity together with the two commandments of love, in which the whole fullness of the Law consists; and the second month, in which it seemed that Passover was to be celebrated for those who were pure with respect to the soul of man, shows the time of grace and the calling of the nations. Therefore, when according to this wording and the meaning of the mystical numbers victory is obtained by the faithful, that is, when they keep whole, according to the evangelical doctrine, the faith of the Holy Trinity with the two commandments of love, and, having the perfection of life according to their capacity, remain in the unity of the Church in understanding and faith so that they may come to the fullness of remission: therefore then they will rightly enter the heavenly Jerusalem with song and branches of palms, that is, with true praise and sure victory, and they will render various thanks and praises perpetually to their Creator for the salvation and security obtained, because the great enemy has been crushed out of Israel and death, together with its author dead, stands condemned forever. Nor does this sense conflict with the meaning of the following exposition, where it is written that Simon decreed that on this day joy should be celebrated every year, and that he fortified the mount of the temple, which was beside the citadel, and that he himself and those who were with him dwelt there: because at every time of this life the memory of that day is to be reserved in hope, on which, triumphing over death through the grace of our Redeemer, we shall be restored to eternal life.
Since each year we celebrate the somberness of the Lord’s resurrection to show that through his resurrection and victory over death we hope both for the resurrection of our own bodies at the end of the age and for everlasting life in the heavenly kingdom, therefore we must fortify the mount of the temple, which is beside the citadel, that is, the incarnation of Christ, which by its own perfection surpasses every height of the perfection of the saints, by holding it with firm faith in our heart and by devoutly laboring in this throughout all the time of our life, both on our own behalf and on behalf of those entrusted to us, or joined to us in fellowship, so that, being joined to his body and united with it, we may likewise, together with him who is the head of the heavenly kingdom, become heirs. The blessed apostle Peter commends to us the joy and remembrance of that day in his Epistle, saying: But do not let this one thing escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promises, but deals patiently for your sake, not wishing anyone to perish, but that all should turn back to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a great rush, and the elements will be dissolved by heat. Since therefore all these things are to be dissolved, what sort of persons ought we to be in holy conduct and devotion, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of the Lord, through which the burning heavens will be dissolved and the elements will melt with the heat of fire? Yet we await new heavens and a new earth and his promises, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, as you await these things, strive to be found without blemish, in peace, and regard the patience of our Lord Jesus Christ as salvation (2 Peter 3:8-14).
13:54 And Simon saw Joachim [Vulgate: John] his son, that he was a strong man, etc.
Simon entrusted to his son Joachim, when he saw that he was a man, the leadership of all the virtues, so as to show that no teacher ought to commit to his son or his disciple the authority and order of ecclesiastical governance unless he has first seen that he is a man, that is, proven in understanding and diligent in the works of virtue. But since above we have said that Simon bears the figure of the holy doctors, he can in this place express the meaning of the prince of shepherds, who has given to the Catholic people the ministry of sacred governance and the knowledge and effect of all virtues, to whom what is written in the following fits most suitably.