THE HOLY GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST, ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW
PREFACE from the Haydock Commentary
This and other titles, with the names of those that wrote the Gospels, are not the words of the Evangelists themselves. The Scripture itself nowhere teacheth us, which books or writings are to be received as true and canonical Scriptures. It is only by the channel of unwritten traditions, and by the testimony and authority of the Catholic Church, that we know and believe that this gospel, for example of St. Matthew, with all contained in it, and that the other books and parts of the Old or New Testament, are of divine authority, or written by divine inspiration; which made St. Augustine say, I should not believe the gospel, were I not moved thereunto by the authority of the Catholic Church: Ego Evangelio non crederem, nisi me Ecclesiœ Catholicœ commoveret auctoritas. (Lib. contra Epist. Manichœi, quam vocant fundamenti. tom. viii. chap. 5, p. 154. A. Ed. Ben.) (Witham)
St. Matthew, the author of the gospel that we have under his name, was a Galilean, the son of Alpheus, a Jew, and a tax-gatherer; he was known also by the name of Levi. His vocation happened in the second year of the public ministry of Christ; who, soon after forming the college of his apostles, adopted him into that holy family of the spiritual princes and founders of his Church. Before his departure from Judea, to preach the gospel to distant countries, he yielded to the solicitations of the faithful; and about the eighth year after our Saviour’s resurrection, the forty-first of the vulgar era [A.D. 41], he began to write his gospel: i.e., the good tidings of salvation to man, through Christ Jesus, our Lord. Of the hagiographers, St. Matthew was the first in the New, as Moses was the first in the Old Testament. And as Moses opened his work with the generation of the heavens and the earth, so St. Matthew begins with the generation of Him, who, in the fulness of time, took upon himself our human nature, to free us from the curse we had brought upon ourselves, and under which the whole creation was groaning. (Haydock) —This holy apostle, after having reaped a great harvest of souls in Judea, preached the faith to the barbarous nations of the East. He was much devoted to heavenly contemplation, and led an austere life; for he eat no flesh, satisfying nature with herbs, roots, seeds, and berries, as Clement of Alexandria assures us, Pœdag. lib. ii. chap. 1. St. Ambrose says, that God opened to him the country of the Persians. Rufinus and Socrates tell us, that he carried the gospel into Ethiopia, meaning probably the southern or eastern parts of Asia. St. Paulinus informs us, that he ended his course in Parthia; and Venantius Fortunatus says, by martyrdom.—See Butler’s Saints’ Lives, September 21st.
Cornelius a Lapide Commentary
ON THE TITLE
SAINT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
THIS Gospel in the Latin, Greek, and Syriac versions, has for its title, “The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Matthew.” That is, this is the book which contains the most excellent and joyful message of the advent of Christ, the Messiah promised to the patriarchs, of His Incarnation, Birth, Life, Preaching, Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension, of the grace of His salvation, and the glory flowing from it and given to the whole world, of which things S. Matthew was the writer, the Holy Ghost the dictator.
The Syriac version prefixes the following title: “In power of the Lord, and of our God, Jescua Christ, we begin to write the book of the most sacred Evangel, the first Gospel, the preaching of Matthew.” At the end of the book is written, “Of the holy Gospel, the preaching of Matthew, which he preached in the Hebrew tongue, in the land of Palestine, the end.” The Arabic has, “The Gospel of Jesus Christ, as Mar (i.e., lord) Matthew, one of His twelve disciples, wrote it.”
Holy: The Gospel both is, and is called holy, because all the things which it contains are pre-eminently holy; viz., holy is the Birth of Christ, holy is His doctrine, holy are His works. There is also an allusion to Daniel ix. 24, where it is said that seventy weeks of years must be fulfilled until Christ, that the Holy of Holies may be anointed, because it is shown in this Gospel that the prophecy of Daniel was fulfilled in Christ which was for to come. For Christ is the Holy of Holies, and therefore as of old to the patriarch Jacob, so now to all Christians, His servants, He will give knowledge of holy things; for His object is our sanctification, “That being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve him without fear: in holiness and justice before him, all our days.” (Luke i. 75.)
Gospel, in Greek Evangel, good news, from ευ̉αγγέλλω, I bring good news. So S. Chrysostom. See Budæus, in Pandectas, where he adds that Evangel, by metonyme, signifies a donation, or an offering given for good news. Thus Cicero writes to Atticus, “O, thy sweet letters, for which I confess I owe evangelia!” that is, a reward for good tidings. In Hebrew, Gospel is called besorah, from basar, “flesh,” because besorah is the most joyful tidings of the WORD “being made flesh.”
According to Matthew. The words, according to, denote that primarily and chiefly its author is the Holy Spirit, and in the second place S. Matthew. For Matthew was as it were the organ, instrument, and pen of the Holy Spirit, writing the things which the Holy Ghost dictated to him, according to those words in the forty-fourth Psalm, “My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.”
2. According to denotes that the Gospel is one and the same, but was written in a fourfold manner by four Evangelists. Therefore the words indicate that the Gospel of S. Matthew is not another Gospel than that of SS. Mark, Luke, and John, but only that there was a different writer, and a different manner of writing the Gospel.
3. It signifies that the Holy Ghost accommodated Himself to the nature and disposition of S. Matthew. The Holy Ghost illuminated, stirred him up, and directed him, so as to write the things which he had partly witnessed himself, partly had heard from the other Apostles, and partly God had revealed to him, in such a way as should be in accordance with the method, order, style, diction, and genius of S. Matthew. For there was no need of a fresh revelation from God for such things as Matthew already knew, by seeing or hearing them, but only of assistance and direction of the Holy Spirit, lest through forgetfulness, or any other human infirmity, he should err from the truth, even in the very slightest point, or write anything else, or in any different manner from what the Holy Spirit willed.
Some are of opinion that this title was prefixed to his Gospel by S. Matthew himself, as were also the titles of S. Mark, S. Luke, and S. John by those Evangelists. For thus the Prophets prefixed their names to their prophecies, as the Vision of Isaiah, the Vision of Obadiah.
But it is far more probable that the titles of each of the Gospels were attached to them, not by the Evangelists themselves, but by the Church. The similarity of the titles is an indication that such was the case. The title of the Syriac Gospel, which I have already cited, makes it still more probable that it was so. And from hence you may gather an irrefragable argument for the authority of tradition, that Holy Scripture does not suffice for building up the true faith and morals of the Church, but that there is need likewise of Apostolic traditions. This is one of the false negations of the heretics. For tell me if you can, from whence you know that this is the Gospel of S. Matthew, and Canonical Scripture, and that the Gospels of Thomas, of Barnabas, and the Twelve Apostles, which were formerly in circulation, are not Canonical Scripture, except by the tradition and consent of the Church? For many books have false titles, and are inscribed with the names of other authors, as is plain by the works of SS. Augustine, Jerome, Cyprian, and other Fathers. In the same way some Gospels which were compiled by heretics, were inscribed with the names of SS. Bartholomew, Thomas, and Barnabas. By like art and deceit, they might have ascribed a false Gospel to S. Matthew, as in effect the Gnostics did, when they changed and corrupted S. Matthew’s Gospel by their additions. In order, therefore, that we may be sure that this Gospel is rightly ascribed to S. Matthew, and still more, that the whole of it was really dictated by the Holy Ghost, there must needs be the declaration and definition of the Church, which severs it from Apocryphal writings, and pronounces it Canonical. Hence S. Austin, in his book against the Epistle of Manes, which they call Fundamental, wisely says, “I would not believe the Gospel, unless the authority of the Catholic Church moved me to do so.” Not because the authority of the Church is worthier, or of more weight than that of Holy Scripture—for Scripture is the word and the oracle of God Himself—but because it is the office of the Church to separate genuine Scripture from what is false and spurious, and to give its true sense and meaning. “When, therefore, we say,” says a weighty author, “that the Evangelists and other sacred writers have authority from the Catholic Church, according to the sense in which we say it, no one has a right to be offended, as if we set the Church before God. For the sense in which we say that the Church confers authority upon the Scriptures is this, that she declares them to be given by God, and pronounces that they have been dictated by Him. Do they prefer the servant to his master, who say, as is commonly done, that the king’s letters have the chancellor’s authority, because he has attached the great seal to them? But the Church has the Seal of God, even the Spirit Himself, who was promised, and has been given to her, that He may abide with her for ever. The Spirit recognizes His own handwriting. He it was who first dictated these four Gospels. And now He makes known to us, by the Church, that He did indite them.”
Matthew. Matthew, who was called by Christ from the receipt of custom to the apostolate, was the first who wrote a Gospel. Blessed Peter Damian, in his sermon on S. Matthew, gives him this eulogium:—“Amongst the greatest saints who have gained their titles of victory in celestial glory by their triumph over the world, Matthew seems to me especially glorious and famous, and to obtain a certain primacy of dignity amongst them. To speak plainly, there is no one after Christ to whom, as it appears to me, the holy universal Church is more indebted. For this is the very cause of the life of the world, that the Gospel has shone upon us. Like a captain, he carried a standard for his followers, and by his example stirred them up to write.”
Cajetan and the Anabaptists are of opinion that S. Matthew wrote in Greek, because Hebrew words—such as Emmanuel; Eli, Eli; lama sabachthani?—are translated into Greek. But these may have been added by the Greek translator. SS. Jerome and Augustine, Eusebius, and the rest of the ancients, unanimously affirm that Matthew wrote in Hebrew, and that he did so because he was asked by the Jews, when he was going away amongst the Gentiles, to leave them in writing what he had orally preached to them. This is asserted by S. Chrysostom, in his first Homily. The Auctor Imperfecti adds, “The cause of S. Matthew’s writing was this: at a time of severe persecution in Palestine, when all were in danger of being dispersed, in order that if the disciples were deprived of teachers of the faith, they might not be deprived of teaching, they asked Matthew to write them a history of all the words and deeds of Christ, that wheresoever they might be, they might have with them a statement of all that they believed. S. Jerome declares that he had seen S. Matthew’s Gospel, written in Hebrew, in the Library of Pamphilus the Martyr, at Cæsarea, and from it had transcribed his own copy. This Hebrew text is now, however, lost. For what Sebastian Munster, an unfrocked renegade, has offered to us, as though he had received it from the Jews, is suspected to have been written, or else falsified, by heretics or Jewish traitors, and has besides an offensive odour of spuriousness.
S. Matthew wrote a Gospel in Hebrew, at the bidding of the Apostles, says S. Epiphanius (Hæres. 51), in the same year that they took counsel about separating, that they might go to the Gentiles. This was in the year 37 after the birth of Christ, the fourth from the Passion. So that the opinion of Baronius is not so probable that Matthew wrote in A.D. 41. Still less probable is what S. Irenæus says (lib. 3, c. I), that he wrote whilst SS. Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome. For S. Peter did not come to Rome before the second year of the Emperor Claudius, and S. Paul not before the third year of Nero. Whence it would follow that S. Matthew did not write until the eighteenth or twentieth year after Christ’s ascension, which is evidently untrue.
Certainly S. Matthew’s Hebrew Gospel was immediately translated into Greek. This was done either by S. Matthew himself, S. John, or S. James, or by some such person. S. Athanasius, in his Synopsis of Holy Scripture, says, “Matthew’s Gospel was written by Matthew in the Hebrew dialect, published at Jerusalem, and a translation made by James, the Lord’s brother.” But Theophylact, in his Preface says, “John, it is reported, translated this Gospel out of Hebrew into Greek.” Some again are of opinion that Barnabas was the translator of this Gospel from Hebrew into Greek. Among others this is asserted by Sixtus Senensis. But Anastasius Sinaita says that Luke and Paul were the translators. The Syriac version of S. Matthew was certainly translated not from the Hebrew, but the Greek. S. Jerome also, when by the command of Pope Damasus, he corrected the Latin translation of the four Gospels, made S. Matthew conform to the Greek rather than the Hebrew, as he tells us in his preface to the Gospels. I may observe in passing that when S. Jerome, at the bidding of Damasus, translated the Old Testament out of Hebrew into Latin, he did not translate afresh the New Testament, but brought the existing translation into accordance with the Greek original.
So that the translator of the New Testament was not S. Jerome, but some one much earlier, though far from being a good Latinist, as is plain to every reader.
S. Jerome says, that when S. Matthew wrote his Gospel in Hebrew, he appears to have followed the Hebrew original in his citations from the Old Testament. But the Greek translator has preferred to cite them from the Septuagint, as better known to the Gentiles.
Whether S. Matthew wrote in pure Hebrew, such as that of Moses and the Prophets, or in the corrupt Hebrew current after the Babylonish captivity, usually called Syriac, is not plain. It is certain that the Jews in the time of Christ did not speak pure Hebrew. Syriac was their vernacular. It is very evident that the rest of the New Testament was translated from Greek into Syriac, and the same person apparently translated all the books. The Hebrew words quoted in the Greek text differ from the Syriac words used in the Syriac version now extant.
In S. Matthew xxvii. 8, instead of the Hebrew Haceldama, or field of blood, the present Syriac has agurescadama, an evident Grecism, partly formed from άγρος, a field. Instead of the Hebrew Cephas, the Syriac has Kypho. For Eli, Eli, my God, my God, it has Il, Il, omitting the my. For Golgota, it has Golgoulto; for Jacob, Jaacoub, &c.
The Syrians thought that the translator of the New Testament from Greek into their language was S. Mark the Evangelist. But it is difficult to believe this, for both the Cyrils, Clement of Alexandria, SS. Athanasius and Damascene, Theodoret, S. Ephrem, who lived either in Syria, or else in Egypt, make no mention of it. I may add that the Version has several things which are little pleasing to learned men. This translator appears to have lived subsequently to the Fathers just named. He has this good point about him, however, that he was a Catholic opposed to heretics. For in the headings of his chapters he often makes mention of fasts, vigils, feasts, invocation of saints, &c.
As regards divisions, the Gospel of S. Matthew has been variously divided, and parted into sections. By the ancient Latin Church, according to S. Hilary, it was divided into 33 Canons: by others, it was divided into 67 Canons. By the later Latins it is divided into 28 chapters. By the Greeks, according to Euthymius, it was divided into 68 chapters; according to Suidas into 68 titles, and 355 chapters.
Lastly, S. Matthew is pre-eminent amongst the Evangelists in the following respects:—
1. He was the first who published a Gospel, wherefore Tertullian calls him, “that most faithful exponent of the Gospel.” (Lib. de Carne Christi, c. 22.)
2. Because he dwells upon Christ’s regal dignity more than the others.
3. Because S. Matthew was the Apostle of Ethiopia, and the victim of virginity. He was slain by King Hirtacus, because he was not willing that Iphigenia, the daughter of the King of Ethiopia, who had consecrated her virginity to God, should be given him to wife.
4. Because S. Matthew, who was perfectly conversant with business affairs, for he was over the tribute, was converted to Christ, not by seeing His miracles, not by hearing His preaching, says S. Chrysostom, but by a single word, “Follow Me,” obeying this with the utmost promptitude, he was straightway changed into another man, even into an Apostle, so that he left all things, and followed Christ. I may add, that after this he never left Christ, but was a beholder and a witness of His miracles, an imitator of His life, a companion of His journeys and labours a partaker of His cares and griefs, and thus was conversant with Him during the whole period of His earthly ministry.
Matthew means in Hebrew, given, as Origen and Isidore say—or a gift, as Pagninus thinks—from matthan, a gift. Anastasius of Antioch gives a different interpretation, Matthew, he says, means the “command of the Most High.” S. Gregory makes the following remarks about him: “Iron is taken out of the earth. Was not Matthew found in the earth, when he was immersed in worldly business, and served the customs board. But when he was taken out of the earth, he possessed the strength of iron. For by his tongue, and by the dispensation of the Gospel committed to him, the Lord, as by a most sharp sword, transfixed the hearts of unbelievers.” Clement of Alexandria says of this Evangelist, that he was not wont to eat flesh, but to live on seeds, berries, and herbs.
I pass over what Abdias (lib. 3 Hist. Apost.) says, that Matthew on account of the Gospel which he was preaching to the Myrmidons, had his eyes put out by those idolaters, but was restored to sight by the Apostle S. Andrew, at the bidding of an angel, who appeared to him, with many other things, for this Abdias is an apocryphal writer. You may consult Surius, Baronius, John de le Haye, and several other writers for further particulars about S. Matthew.
The last thing I will mention is, that S. Matthew made himself known to S. Brigitt, when she was praying at his tomb in the city of Malphi, and said to her, “When I was writing my Gospel, so intense was the heat of the Divine flame which abode with me, that even if I had wished to keep silence, I could not, because of that burning heat.”
The Catena of St Thomas Aquinas
Prooemium – INTRODUCTION
Super montem excelsum ascende, tu qui evangelizas Sion; exalta in fortitudine vocem tuam, qui evangelizas Ierusalem; exalta, noli timere. Dic civitatibus Iudae: ecce Deus vester; ecce dominus Deus in fortitudine veniet, et brachium eius dominabitur, ecce merces eius cum eo. (Is. 40, 9-10).
Go up to the top of the mountain, thou that preachest glad tidings in Sion; lift up thy voice with might, thou that preachest in Jerusalem: cry aloud, fear not: say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Lo, the Lord God shall come with power, and His arm shall have dominion; Lo, His reward is with Him. [Isaiah xl. 9]
Evangelii praenuntiator apertus Isaias propheta, evangelicae doctrinae sublimitatem, nomen et materiam breviter comprehendens, evangelicum doctorem ex persona domini alloquitur, dicens super montem excelsum ascende tu, et cetera. Ut autem ab ipso Evangelii nomine sumamus exordium.
The Prophet Isaiah, a manifest preacher of the Gospel, briefly expressing the loftiness, the name, and the substance of the Gospel doctrine, addresses the evangelic teacher in the person of the Lord, saying, “Go up to the top of the mountain, &c.” But to make our beginning with the title, The Gospel.
Augustinus contra Faustum: Evangelii nomen Latine interpretatur bonum nuntium vel bona Annuntiatio; quod quidem cum aliquod bonum annuntiatur, semper dici potest, proprie tamen hoc vocabulum obtinuit Annuntiatio salvatoris. Narratores quippe originis, factorum, dictorum, passionum domini Iesu Christi proprie dicti sunt Evangelistae.
Augustine, contra Faust., ii, 2: The word, ‘Evangelium,’ (Gospel), is rendered in Latin ‘bonus nuntius,’ or ‘bona annuntiatio,’ (good news). It may indeed be used on all occasions whenever any good is announced; but it has come to be appropriated to the announcement of the Saviour. Those who have related the birth, deeds, words, and sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ, are properly styled Evangelists.
Chrysostomus super Matth: Quid enim his bonis nuntiatis fiat aequale? Deus in terra, homo in caelo, amicitia Dei ad nostram facta naturam, prolixum solutum praelium, Diabolus confusus, mors soluta, Paradisus apertus. Et haec omnia super dignitatem nostram, et cum facilitate nobis data sunt, non quia laboravimus, sed quia dilecti sumus a Deo.
Chrysostom, Homil. in Matt., i, 2: For what is there that can equal these good tidings? God on earth, man in heaven; that long war ceased, reconciliation made between God and our nature, the devil overthrown, death abolished, paradise opened. These things, so far beyond our merits, are given us with all fulness; not for our own toil or labour, but because we are beloved of God.
Augustinus de vera religione: Cum enim omnibus modis medeatur animis Deus, pro temporum opportunitatibus, quae mira sapientia eius ordinantur, nullo modo beneficentius consuluit generi humano, quam cum unicus filius consubstantialis patri et coaeternus, totum hominem suscipere dignatus est, et verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis, ita enim demonstravit quam excelsum locum inter creaturas habeat humana natura, in hoc quod hominibus in vero homine apparuit.
Augustine, de vera relig, c. 16: Whereas God in many ways heals the souls of men, according to the times and the seasons which are ordained by His [p. 2] marvellous wisdom, yet has He in no way more beneficently provided for the human race, than when the Very Wisdom of God, the Only Son of one substance and coeternal with the Father, stooped to take upon Him perfect man, and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Hereby He made manifest how high a place among creatures had human nature, in that He appeared to men as Very Man.
Augustinus in sermone 9 de nativitate Demum factus est Deus homo, ut homo fieret Deus. Hoc igitur bonum evangelizandum praenuntiat propheta dicens ecce Deus vester.
Pseudo-Aug., Serm. de Nativ., Serm. ix: God was made man, that man might be made God. Gloss.: This part of the glad tidings that should be preached, the Prophet foretells saying, “Behold, your God, &c.”
Leo ad Flavianum: Exinanitio autem illa, qua se invisibilem praebuit, et creator ac dominus omnium rerum unus voluit esse mortalium, inclinatio fuit miserationis, non desertio potestatis.
Pope Leo, Epist. ad Flavian., xxviii, 3: For this emptying of himself, by which the Invisible made Himself Visible, and the Creator and Lord of all things choose to become one of us mortal creatures, was a stooping of His mercy, not a failing of His power.
Glossa: Ne ergo sic Deus adesse credatur ut fieret aliqua diminutio potestatis, subiungit propheta ecce dominus in fortitudine veniet.
Gloss.: Therefore that the Lord should not be supposed to be present in such a way as that there should be any thing lost of His power, the Prophet adds, “The Lord shall come with power.”
Augustinus de doctrina Christiana: Non per locorum spatia veniendo, sed in carne mortali mortalibus apparendo.
Aug., de doct. Christ, i, 12: “Come,” not by passing through the regions of space, but by shewing Himself to men in the flesh.
Leo in Serm. 19 de passione domini: De ineffabili autem Dei potentia factum est ut dum Deus verus est in carne passibili, conferatur homini gloria per contumeliam, incorruptio per supplicium, vita per mortem.
Leo, Serm. in Nativ., xix, 3: By the unspeakable power of God, it was wrought, that while very Man was in the inviolable God, and very God is passible flesh, there was bestowed upon man, glory through shame, immortality through punishment, life through death.
Augustinus de peccatorum meritis: Fuso enim sanguine sine culpa, omnium culparum chirographa deleta sunt, quibus homines a Diabolo antea tenebantur.
Aug., de Peccatorum Meritis, ii, 30: For blood that was without sin being shed, the bond of all men’s sins was done away, by which men were before held captive by the Devil.
Glossa: Quia ergo per virtutem Christi patientis homines a peccato liberati servi facti sunt Dei, sequitur et brachium eius dominabitur.
Gloss.: Therefore because men, having been delivered from sin by virtue of Christ suffering, became the servants of God, it follows, “And His arm shall have dominion.”
Leo Papa in Serm. 10 de passione: Affuit autem nobis in Christo singulare praesidium, ut in natura passibili mortis conditio non maneret, quam impassibilis essentia recepisset; et per id quod non poterat mori, possit id quod mortuum fuerat, suscitari.
Leo: In Christ then was given us this wonderful deliverance, that on our passible nature the condition of death should not abide, which His impassible essence had admitted, and that by that which could not die, that which was dead might be brought to life.
Glossa: Et sic per Christum nobis immortalis gloriae aditus aperitur, unde sequitur ecce merces eius cum eo; de qua scilicet ipse dicit: merces vestra copiosa est in caelis.
Gloss.: And thus through Christ is opened to us the entrance of immortal glory, concerning which it follows, “Lo, His reward is with Him;” that, namely, of which Himself speaks, “Your reward is abundant in heaven.” [Matt 5:12]
Augustinus contra Faustum: Aeternae enim vitae promissio, regnumque caelorum ad novum pertinet testamentum, temporalium vero promissiones testamento veteri continentur.
Aug., contra Faust., iv, 2: The promise of eternal life, and the kingdom of heaven belongs to the New Testament; in the Old Testament are contained promises of temporal things.
Glossa: Sic ergo quatuor nobis de Christo evangelica doctrina tradit: divinitatem assumentem, humanitatem assumptam, mortem per quam a servitute eripimur, resurrectionem per quam nobis aditus gloriae vitae aperitur; et propter hoc in Ezechiele sub figura quatuor animalium demonstratur.
Gloss.: So then evangelic teaching delivers to us four things [p. 3] concerning Christ; the Divinity that takes upon it, the Humanity that is taken upon it, His Death by which we are delivered from bondage, His Resurrection by which the entrance of a glorious life is opened to us. On this account it is represented in Ezekiel under the figure of the four animals.
Gregorius super Ezech: Ipse enim unigenitus Dei filius veraciter factus est homo; ipse in sacrificio nostrae redemptionis dignatus est mori, ut vitulus; ipse per virtutem suae fortitudinis surrexit, ut leo; ipse etiam ascendens ad caelos est elevatus, ut aquila.
Gregory, in Ezek, Hom., iv: The Only-begotten Son of God was Himself verily made Man; Himself condescended to die as the sacrifice of our redemption as a Calf; He rose again through the power of His might, as a Lion; and as an Eagle He ascended aloft into heaven.
Glossa: In qua ascensione manifeste ostendit suam divinitatem. Matthaeus ergo in homine intelligitur, quia circa humanitatem Christi principaliter immoratur; Marcus in leone, quia agit de resurrectione; Lucas in vitulo, quia agit de sacerdotio; Ioannes in aquila, scribens sacramenta divinitatis.
Gloss.: In which ascension He shewed manifestly His Divinity; Matthew then is denoted by the Man, because he dwells chiefly on the humanity of Christ; Mark by the Lion, because he treats of His Resurrection; Luke by the Calf, because he insists on His Priesthood; John by the Eagle, because he describes the sacraments of His Divinity.
Ambrosius super Lucam (in praefatione in Lucam, parum ante finem): Et bene accidit, ut quoniam Evangelii huius librum secundum Matthaeum dicimus esse moralem, opinio huius praemitteretur: mores enim proprie dicuntur humani. Figura autem leonis ascribitur Marco, quia a potentiae coepit expressione divinae, cum dixit: initium Evangelii Iesu Christi filii Dei. Ioanni autem figura aquilae, eo quod divinae miracula resurrectionis expressit.
Ambrose, Comm. in Luc., pref.: And it has happened well that we set out with delivering the opinion that the Gospel according to Matthew is of a moral kind, for morals are the peculiar province of man. The figure of a Lion is ascribed to Mark, because he begins with an assertion of His Divine power, saying, “The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.” The figure of the Eagle is given to John, because he has described the miracles of the Divine Resurrection.
Gregorius super Ezech: Haec autem ipsa uniuscuiusque libri evangelica exordia testantur: nam quia ab humana generatione coepit, iure per hominem Matthaeus; quia per clamorem in deserto, recte per leonem Marcus; quia a sacrificio exorsus est, bene per vitulum Lucas; quia vero a divinitate verbi coepit, digne per aquilam significatur Ioannes.
Greg.: These things the commencement of each of the Gospel books testifies. Because he opens with Christ’s human generation, Matthew is rightly designated by a Man; Mark by a Lion, because he begins with the crying in the desert; Luke by a Calf, because he begins with a sacrifice; because he takes his beginning from the divinity of the Word, John is worthily signified by an Eagle.
Augustinus de Cons. Evang: Vel Matthaeus, qui regiam Christi personam maxime commendavit, per leonem significatur; Lucas autem per vitulum, propter victimam sacerdotis; Marcus autem, qui neque stirpem regiam, neque sacerdotalem narrare voluit, et tamen in humanis versatus ostenditur, hominis figura significatur. Haec autem tria animalia: leo, homo, vitulus in terra gradiuntur, unde isti tres Evangelistae in istis maxime occupati sunt quae Christus in carne operatus est. At vero Ioannes velut aquila volat, et lucem incommutabilis veritatis acutissimis cordis oculis intuetur. Ex quo datur intelligi tres Evangelistas circa activam vitam fuisse versatos, Ioannem vero circa contemplativam. Doctores autem Graecorum per hominem intelligunt Matthaeum, quia genealogiam domini secundum carnem descripsit; per leonem vero Ioannem, quia sicut leo suo rugitu cunctis bestiis timorem incutit, sic et Ioannes cunctis haereticis timorem incussit; per vitulum intellexerunt Lucam, quia vitulus sacerdotalis est hostia, et ipse semper circa templum et sacerdotium versatus est; et per aquilam Marcum intellexerunt, quia aquila in Scripturis divinis solet significare spiritum sanctum, qui locutus fuit per ora prophetarum, et ipse a prophetico testimonio exorsus est.
Aug., de Consensu Evang., i, 6: Or, Matthew who has chiefly represented the regal character of Christ, is designated by a Lion; Luke by a Calf, because of the Priest’s victim; Mark, who chose neither to relate the royal nor the priestly lineage [ed. note: The original text of Augustine has here, “neque stirpem regiam neque sacerdotalem vel consecrationem vel cognationem.”], and yet is clearly busied about His human nature, is designated by the figure of a Man. These three animals, the Lion, the Man, the Calf, walk on the earth, whence these three Evangelists are mostly employed about those things which Christ wrought in the flesh. But John, [p. 4] as the Eagle, soars on high, and with most keen eyes of the heart beholds the light of unchangeable Truth. From which we may understand, that the other three Evangelists are occupied about the active, and John about the contemplative, life. The Greek Doctors by the Man understood Matthew, because he has deduced the Lord’s lineage according to the flesh; by the Lion, John, because as the lion, strikes terror into the other beasts by his roaring, so John struck terror into all heretics; by the Calf, they understood Luke, because the calf was the victim of the Priests, and he is much employed concerning the Temple and the Priesthood; and by the Eagle they understood Mark, because the eagle in the Divine Scripture is used to denote the Holy Spirit, who spake by the mouths of the Prophets; and Mark begins with a citation from the Prophets.
Hieronymus super Matth Circa numerum vero Evangelistarum sciendum est plures fuisse qui Evangelia scripserunt, sicut et Lucas Evangelista testatur dicens: quoniam quidem multi conati sunt ordinare etc., et sicut perseverantia usque ad praesens tempus monimenta declarant, quae a diversis auctoribus edita, diversarum haeresum fuere principia, ut est illud iuxta Aegyptios, et Thomam et Matthiam et Bartholomaeum, duodecim quoque apostolorum, et Basilidis, atque Apellis, et reliquorum, quos enumerare longissimum est. Ecclesia autem, quae supra petram domini voce fundata est, quatuor fluminum Paradisi instar eructans, quatuor annulos et angulos habet, per quos quasi arca testamenti et custos legis domini lignis mobilibus vehitur. Jerome, Hier.
Prolog. in Evan. Matt. ad Euseb., Luke 1, 1: Concerning the number of the Evangelists, it should be known, that there were many who had written Gospels, as the Evangelist Luke witnesses, saying, “Forasmuch as many have taken in hand, &c.,” and as books remaining to the present time declare which divers authors have set forth, therein laying the foundation of many heresies; such as the Gospel according to the Egyptians, according to Thomas, Matthias, and Bartholomew [see note, b, just below]; that of the twelve Apostles, and Basilides, and Apelles, and others whom it would be long to reckon up.
Augustinus de Cons. Evang: Vel quoniam quatuor sunt partes orbis terrae, per cuius universitatem Christi Ecclesia dilatatur. Alius autem fuit eis ordo cognoscendi atque praedicandi, alius autem scribendi. Ad cognoscendum quippe atque praedicandum primi fuerunt qui secuti sunt dominum in carne praesentem, docentem audierunt, facientemque viderunt, atque ex eius ore ad evangelizandum sunt missi; sed in conscribendo Evangelio, quod divinitus ordinatum esse credendum est, ex numero eorum, quos ante passionem dominus elegit, primum ultimumque locum duo tenuerunt: primum Matthaeus, ultimum Ioannes, ut reliqui duo, qui ex illo numero non erant, sed tamen Christum in illis loquentem secuti erant tanquam filii amplectendi, ac per hoc in loco medio constituti, utroque ab eis latere munirentur.
Aug., de cons. Evan. i. 2: Or, Because there are four quarters of the world, through the whole of which Christ’s Church is extended. In learning and preaching they had a different order from that they had in writing. In learning and preaching they ranked first who followed the Lord present in the flesh, heard Him teaching, saw Him acting, and by His mouth were sent to preach the Gospel; but in penning the Gospel, an order which we must suppose to have been fixed by Heaven, the first place, and the last place were filled out of the number of those whom the Lord chose before His passion, the first by Matthew, the last by John; so that the other two, who were not of that number, but who yet followed Christ speaking in them, were embraced as sons, and placed in the middle between the other two, so as to be supported by them on both sides.
Remigius: Matthaeus quidem scripsit in Iudaea sub tempore Caii Caligulae imperatoris; Marcus in Italia, Romae, sub tempore Neronis vel Claudii, secundum Rabanum; Lucas vero in Achaiae Baeotiaeque partibus, rogatus a Theophilo; et Ioannes Ephesi in Asia minori sub tempore Nervae principis.
Remigius: Matthew wrote in Judaea in the time of the Emperor Caius Caligula; Mark in Italy, at Rome, in the time of Nero or Claudius, according to Rabanus; Luke in the parts of Achaia and Baeotia, at the request of Theophilus; John at Ephesus, in Asia Minor, under Nerva.
Beda: Sed tamen cum sint quatuor Evangelistae, non tam quatuor Evangelia quam unum quatuor librorum veritati consonum ediderunt. Sicut enim duo versus eamdem prorsus habentes materiam, pro diversitate metri et verborum duo sunt, et tamen non nisi unam continent sententiam, sic Evangelistarum libri, cum sint quatuor, unum continent Evangelium, quia unam doctrinam faciunt de fide Catholica.
Bede: But though there were four Evangelists, yet what they wrote is not so much four Gospels, as one true harmony of four books. For as two verses having the same substance, but different words and different metre, yet contain one and the same matter, so the books of the Evangelists, though four in number, yet contain one Gospel, teaching one doctrine of the Catholic faith.
Chrysostomus super Matth: Sufficiebat autem ut unus Evangelista omnia diceret, sed cum quatuor ab uno ore omnia loquantur, non secundum eadem tempora, neque in eisdem locis convenientes, et ad invicem colloquentes, maxima fit demonstratio veritatis. Et hoc ipsum quod in aliquibus modicis dissonare videntur, maximum signum veritatis est; si enim omnia consonarent, crederent inimici, quod ex placito quodam humano convenientes scripserint quae scripserunt. In principalibus quidem, quae pertinent ad informationem vitae et praedicationem fidei, nequaquam dissonant nec in parvo. Si autem in miraculis hic quidem haec, ille vero illa dixit, hoc te non conturbet; si enim unus omnia dixisset, superfluus esset numerus reliquorum; si omnes diversa, nequaquam consonantiae demonstratio appareret; si autem aliquid de temporibus vel modis differenter annuntiant, hoc nihil impedit eorum quae dicta sunt veritatem, ut infra ostendetur.
Chrys.: It had indeed been enough that one Evangelist should have written all; but whereas four speak all things as with one mouth, and that neither from the same place nor at the same time, nor having met and discoursed together, these things are the greatest test of truth. It is also a mark of truth that in some small matters they seem to disagree. For had their agreement been complete throughout, adversaries might have supposed that it was by a human collusion that this was brought about. Indeed, in essentials which pertain to direction of life, and preaching the faith, they do not differ in the least thing. And if in their accounts of miracles, one tells it in one way, another in another, let not this disturb you; but think that if one had told all, the other three would have been a needless superfluity; had they all written different things, there would have been no [p. 6] room for proof of their harmony. And if their account differs in times or modes, this does not hinder the truth of the facts themselves which they relate, as shall be shewn below.
Augustinus de Cons. Evang: Quamvis autem singuli eorum suum quemdam narrandi ordinem tenuisse videantur, non tamen unusquisque eorum velut alterius praecedentis ignarus voluisse scribere reperitur, vel ignorata praetermisisse, quae scripsisse alius invenitur; sed sicut unicuique inspiratum est, non superfluam cooperationem sui laboris adiunxit.
Aug.: Though each seems to have followed an order of narration of his own, yet we do not find any one of them writing as if in ignorance of his predecessor, or that he left out some things which he did not know, which another was to supply; but as each had inspiration, he gave accordingly the cooperation of his own not unnecessary labour.
Glossa: Sublimitas autem evangelicae doctrinae consistit quidem primo in eius excellentissima auctoritate.
Gloss.: But the sublimity of the Gospel doctrine consists, first, in its preeminent authority.
Augustinus de Cons. Evang: Inter omnes enim divinas auctoritates, quae sanctis litteris continentur, Evangelium merito excellit, cuius primi praedicatores apostoli fuerunt, qui dominum Iesum salvatorem nostrum Christum etiam in carne praesentem viderunt; quorum quidam, hoc est Matthaeus et Ioannes, etiam scripta de illo, quae scribenda visa sunt, libris singulis ediderunt. Ac ne putaretur, quod attinet ad percipiendum ac praedicandum Evangelium, interesse aliquid utrum illi annuntient qui eumdem dominum hic in carne apparentem secuti sunt, an alii qui ex illis comperta fideliter crediderunt, divina providentia procuratum est per spiritum sanctum ut quibusdam etiam ex illis qui primos apostolos sequebantur non solum annunciandi, verum etiam scribendi Evangelium tribueretur auctoritas.
Aug.: For among all the Divine instruments which are contained in Holy Writ, the Gospel has justly the most excellent place; its first preachers were the Apostles who had seen the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ present in the flesh; and some of them, that is, Matthew and John, published each a book of such things as seemed good to be published concerning Him. And that it should not be supposed, that, as far as relates to receiving and preaching the Gospel, it makes any difference whether it is announced by those who followed Him during His sojourn in the flesh, or by those who faithfully believed what they heard from others, it is provided by Divine Providence through the Holy Spirit [ed. note: a clause is inserted here from the original to complete the sense.], that a commission, as well of writing as of preaching the Gospel, should be bestowed on some out of the number of those that followed the first Apostles.
Glossa: Et sic patet quod sublimitas evangelicae auctoritatis a Christo dependet, et hoc designatur in verbis prophetae praemissis, cum dicitur super montem excelsum ascende tu. Mons enim excelsus Christus est, de quo idem Isaias dicit: erit in novissimis diebus praeparatus mons domus domini in vertice montium, idest super omnes sanctos, qui a monte Christo montes dicuntur, quia de plenitudine eius omnes accepimus. Recte autem ad Matthaeum dicitur supra montem excelsum ascende tu, quia, sicut praedictum est, ipse in propria persona facta Christi vidit et eius doctrinam audivit. Gloss.: And thus it is clear that the sublimity of the authority of the Gospel is derived from Christ; this is proved by the words of the Prophet cited above, “Go up to the top of the mountain.” For Christ is that Mountain of whom the same Isaiah speaks, “And there shall be in the last days a mountain prepared, the house of the Lord in the top of the mountains;” [Isa 2:2] that is, upon all the saints who from Christ the Mountain are also called mountains; for of His fulness have we all received. And rightly is that, “Go thou up upon a high mountain,” addressed to Matthew, who, as had been foretold, in his own person saw the deeds of Christ, and heard His doctrine.
Augustinus de quaest. Evang: Illud autem discutiendum est quod solet nonnullos movere, cur ipse dominus nihil scripserit ut aliis de ipso scribentibus necesse sit credere. Sed nequaquam dicendum est quod ipse non scripserit, quandoquidem membra eius id operata sunt quod dictante capite cognoverunt. Quicquid enim de suis factis et dictis nos legere voluit, hoc scribendum illis tamquam suis manibus imperavit.
Aug., de cons. Evan. i. 7: This should be considered which to many presents a great difficulty, why the Lord Himself wrote nothing, so that we are obliged to give our belief to others who wrote [p. 7] of Him. Gloss.: But we ought not to say that He wrote nothing, seeing His members have written those things which they learned by the dictation of their Head. For whatever He would have us to read concerning His actions or His words, that He enjoined upon them to write as His own hands.
Glossa: Secundo etiam habet evangelica doctrina sublimitatem virtutis, unde apostolus dicit quod Evangelium virtus Dei est in salutem omni credenti. Et hoc ostendit propheta in praemissis verbis, cum dicit exalta in fortitudine vocem tuam, in quo etiam modum evangelicae doctrinae designat in exaltatione vocis, per quam doctrinae claritas datur.
Gloss.: Secondly, the Evangelic doctrine has sublimity of strength; whence the Apostle says, “The Gospel is the power of God to the salvation of all that believe.” [Rom 1:16] The Prophet also shews this in the foregoing words, “Lift up thy voice with might;” which further marks out the manner of evangelic teaching, by that raising the voice which gives clearness to the doctrine.
Augustinus ad Volusianum: Modus enim ipse quo sancta Scriptura contexitur, est omnibus accessibilis, paucissimis penetrabilis; ea quae aperte continet quasi amicus familiaris sine fuco ad cor loquitur indoctorum atque doctorum; ea vero quae in mysteriis occultat, nec ipsa eloquio superbo erigit, quo non audeat accedere mens tardiuscula et inerudita, quasi pauper ad divitem; sed invitat omnes humili sermone, quos non solum manifesta pascat, sed etiam secreta exerceat veritate, hoc tam in promptis quam in reconditis habens. Sed ne aperta fastidirentur, eadem rursum aperta desiderantur, desiderata quodammodo renovantur, renovata suaviter intimantur. His salubriter et prava corriguntur et parva nutriuntur et magna oblectantur ingenia.
Aug., ad Volus. Ep. 3: For the mode in which Holy Scripture is put together, is one accessible to all, but thoroughly entered into by few. The things it shews openly, it doth as a familiar friend without guile speaking to the heart of the unlearned, as the learned. The things it veils in mysteries, it does not deck out in lofty speech, to which a slow and unlearned soul would not dare to approach, as a poor man would not to a rich; but in lowly phrase it invites all, whom it not only feeds with plain truth, but exercises in hidden knowledge; for it has matter of both. But that its plain things might not be despised, these very same things it again withholds; being withheld they become as new; and thus become new they are again pleasingly expressed. Thus all tempers have here what is meet for them; the bad are corrected, the weak are strengthened, the strong are gratified.
Glossa: Sed quia vox exaltata longius auditur, potuit in exaltatione vocis, evangelicae doctrinae publicatio designari: quia non ad unam tantum gentem, sed ad universas nationes praedicanda mandatur. Praedicate, inquit dominus, Evangelium omni creaturae.
Gloss.: But because the voice when raised on high is heard further off, by the raising of the voice may be denoted the publication of the Gospel doctrine; because it is given to be preached not to one nation only, but to all nations. The Lord speaks, “Preach the Gospel to every creature.” [Matt 16:15]
Gregorius in Evang: Potest enim omnis creaturae nomine natio gentium designari.
Gregory, Homil. in Evan, 28: By every creature may be meant the Gentiles.
Glossa: Tertio autem habet evangelica doctrina altitudinem libertatis.
Gloss.: The Evangelic doctrine has, thirdly, the loftiness of liberty.
Augustinus contra adversarium legis et Proph.: In veteri enim testamento, propter temporalium bonorum promissionem, malorumque comminationem, servos parit temporalis Ierusalem, in novo autem, ubi fides impetrat caritatem, qua lex possit impleri, non magis timore poenae quam dilectione iustitiae, liberos parit Ierusalem aeterna.
Aug., con. Adver. Legis et Proph. i. 17: Under the Old Testament because of the promise of temporal goods and the threatening of temporal evils, the temporal Jerusalem begets slaves; but under the New Testament, where faith requires love, by which the Law can be fulfilled not more through fear of punishment, than from love of righteousness, the eternal Jerusalem begets [p. 8] freemen.
Glossa: Unde et hanc sublimitatem doctrinae evangelicae propheta designat dicens exalta, noli timere. Restat autem videre quibus et qua de causa hoc Evangelium sit scriptum.
Gloss.: This excellence of the Gospel doctrine the Prophet describes when he says, “Cry aloud, fear not.” It remains to see to whom, and for what purpose, this Gospel was written.
Hieronymus super Matth Matthaeus enim Evangelium in Iudaea Hebraeo sermone edidit, ob eorum maxime causam qui in Ierusalem crediderant ex Iudaeis. Cum enim primo praedicasset Evangelium in Iudaea, volens transire ad gentes, primus Evangelium scripsit Hebraice, quod fratribus a quibus ibat, in memoria dereliquit. Sicut enim necesse fuit ad confirmationem fidei Evangelium praedicari, sic et contra haereticos scribi. Jerome, Hier.
Prolog. ad Euseb: Matthew published his Gospel in Judaea, in the Hebrew tongue, for the sake of those of the Jews who believed in Jerusalem. Gloss. Ordinaria: For having first preached the Gospel in Judaea, being minded to pass to the Gentiles, he first put in writing a Gospel in Hebrew, and left it as a memorial to those brethren from whom he was departing. For as it was necessary that the Gospel should be preached for confirmation of the faith, so was it necessary that it should be written to oppose heretics.
Chrysostomus super Matth: Corpus autem suae narrationis ordinavit Matthaeus: primum ergo nativitatem, deinde Baptismum, tertio tentationem, quarto doctrinam, quinto miracula, sexto passionem, septimo resurrectionem et ascensionem ipsius; non solum historiam de Christo exponere volens per hoc, verum etiam evangelicae vitae statum docere, quoniam nihil est quod ex parentibus nascimur, nisi iterum per aquam et spiritum renati fuerimus ex Deo. Post Baptismum autem necesse est contra Diabolum stare. Post hoc quasi omni superata tentatione factus idoneus ad docendum, si quidem sacerdos est, doceat, et doctrinam suam bonae vitae quasi miraculis factis commendet; si laicus est, operibus doceat fidem. Deinde necesse est exire nos de hoc stadio mundi et tunc restat ut tentationum victoriam resurrectionis merces sequatur, et gloria.
Pseudo-Chrys., Comm. in Matt., Prolog: Matthew has arranged his narrative in a regular series of events. First, the birth, secondly, the baptism, thirdly, the temptation, fourthly, the teachings, fifthly, the miracles, sixthly, the passion, seventhly, the resurrection, and lastly, the ascension of Christ; desiring by this not only to set forth the history of Christ, but to teach the order of evangelic life. It is nought that we are born of our parents, if we be not reborn again of God by water and the Spirit. After baptism we must resist the Devil. Then being as it were superior to all temptation, he is made fit to teach, and if he be a priest let him teach, and commend his teaching, as it were, by the miracles of a good life; if he be lay, let him teach faith by his works. In the end we must take our departure from the stage of this world, and there remains that the reward of resurrection and glory follow the victory over temptation.
Glossa: Patet igitur ex praemissis Evangelii nomen, evangelicae doctrinae materia, scriptorum Evangelii figura, numerus, tempus, lingua, differentia et ordo, evangelicae doctrinae sublimitas, et quibus hoc Evangelium sit conscriptum et ordo processus ipsius.
Gloss.: From what has been said then, we understand the title Gospel, the substance of the Gospel doctrine, the emblems of the writers of the Gospel, their number, their time, language, discrepancy and arrangement; the sublimity of the Gospel doctrine; to whom this Gospel is addressed, and the method of its arrangement.