Thought to share this incase useful

[mikeforjesus]

I saw a random usb at home and wanted to see what is in it and I found these two text files I saved which was commentary by church fathers on matthew 24 and matthew 25 I saved and I don't know if the Lord wants me to look at it either to learn from it to test it to see if useful to preach or to learn from it.

It explains the parables of Jesus according to church. Which though I believe may not be true as I believe it may not be true because I know God offers salvation to all but they could perhaps suppose perhaps if you don’t join church you may die before you have opportunity to repent when you are not seeking to. I thought I should teach to learn or so others know

 

[mikeforjesus]

24:1–14 Jesus Speaks of the Destruction of the Temple, of Troubles and Persecutions
Overview: Everyone who receives the Word of God is a temple. Every sin damages the temple, yet complete departure from God destroys it. Moreover, Jesus meant replacement of the material building of the temple with the unsurpassed mystical temple of Scripture, composed of the inspired words and phrases (Origen). Jesus meant the temple to be destroyed after his crucifixion, not in the consummation of the age (Cyril of Alexandria). In accordance with Jesus’ prediction, the Jewish temple stood while Christ and the kingdom of God dwelt among the Jews. When they departed from the Jews to the Gentiles, the temple collapsed (Origen). The temple of Jerusalem was to be destroyed, since the more beautiful and eternal temple, which is every practicing Christian, was being consecrated by the Holy Spirit (Hilary of Poitiers). The olives that were planted on the Mount of Olives are the Christian churches, which are taken care of by the farmer, the Word of God. It is this farmer who grafts branches of a wild tree, the Gentiles, into the good tree of the righteous (Origen). The disciples asked about the end of the world for our benefit so that we would know the signs of the coming end and would expect it eagerly. These signs, however, are to be interpreted not literally and chronologically but spiritually (Incomplete Work on Matthew). Jesus foretold the coming wars to strengthen his disciples (Chrysostom). Interpreted in a moral sense, this passage refers to the spiritual struggle and afflictions of anyone who is about to see the Word of God coming into their soul (Origen). Even the most grievous cooling down of love will not harm the noble and the firm (Chrysostom). The preaching of the gospel in the whole world is almost accomplished, so no one has the excuse of not knowing it (Jerome). Before the end of the world the church will be seduced by diverse heresies (Incomplete Work on Matthew).


24:1 The Buildings of the Temple

You Are a Temple.

Origen: Everyone who receives the Word of God into himself is a temple. Everyone who does not completely fall away from God after sinning but retains some vestiges of faith and devotion to the commandments of God remains a temple, albeit partially destroyed. Whoever fails to take care of his soul after he sins, however, but continues to walk away from the faith and from the life of the gospel is progressively alienated until he has fully departed from the living God. Then he will be a temple in which “there will not be left one stone” of the teaching of the commandments of God “upon another that will not be destroyed.” …
The temple of God was a building composed of distinct words, every Scripture from the Old Testament plainly having been constructed according to the historical sense. By their arrangement of words and phrases, Moses and the prophets built it in such a way that the beauty of the stones, that is, the meaning of their carefully chosen sayings, would command the admiration and praise of everyone. When the disciples of Jesus attempted to direct his attention to the structure of the temple, he responded by saying that this first, merely physical building must be destroyed by the Word so that another, more divine, more mystical temple might be constructed in its place. That other temple is the Scripture, as has already been demonstrated. Commentary on Matthew 30–31.

You See These Buildings.

Cyril of Alexandria: Some were pointing out to Christ the magnificent things in the temple and how it was adorned by the gifts that had been dedicated to God. For they supposed that Jesus would admire with them all there was to see, although being God he has heaven as his throne! He does offer a teaching concerning them, but he had already predicted that according to the times the temple would utterly fall. The Roman army is being gathered for this very thing, demanding the surrender of Israel itself as all Jerusalem suffers the punishment of the slaying of the Lord. For let me tell you, it came to pass that they suffered these things after the crucifixion of the Savior. But they did not understand the meaning of Jesus’ teachings. They supposed his teachings concerned the consummation of the age. Fragment 266.

24:2 One Stone Not Left on Another

The Kingdom Will Be Taken from You.

Origen: After Christ predicted everything that was about to happen to Jerusalem, he who had preserved the temple left it, lest it collapse while he was still in it. The temple stood safe and secure as long as the Word and the kingdom of God were with the Jews, as did all things Jewish. Subsequently, however, the kingdom of God was taken from the Jews and given to the Gentiles, as it is written, “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to the nations who produce its fruit.” Both Jesus and the kingdom of God were then established among the Gentiles. Therefore neither Jesus nor the kingdom of God is to be found among the Jews, because they were abandoned “like a booth in a vineyard and like a hut in a cucumber field and like a city besieged,” on account of the crime they committed against Christ. Commentary on Matthew 29.

Not One Stone upon Another.

Hilary of Poitiers: The magnificent splendor of the temple’s design was shown to Christ immediately after he had warned of Jerusalem’s desolation, as though to move him. Yet he said that everything had to be destroyed and the scattered stones of its entire foundation demolished, for an eternal temple was being consecrated as a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. This eternal temple is the man who is made worthy of becoming God’s habitation through knowledge of the Son, confession of the Father and obedience to the commandments. On Matthew 25.1.

24:3 What Will Be the Sign of Your Coming?

He Sat on the Mount of Olives.

Origen: I regard the allegory of the Mount of Olives to refer to the churches of the Gentiles, among whom olive trees were planted. Each church is able to say, “I am like a fruitful olive tree in the house of God.” Perhaps also in this Mount of Olives, where the roots of good olive trees live, branches of a wild olive tree were grafted into the good tree in the place of those branches which had been “broken off for their unbelief.” The farmer residing on the Mount of Olives is the Word of God as professed in the church, which is Christ, who continually grafts wild olive branches into the good tree of our father Moses and the other prophets, so that having been strengthened by the holy prophets (whose prophecies they understood to refer to Christ), these new branches might offer more abundant, richer fruit than the first olive branches, which had been cut off and made useless on account of the curse which was in the law. Commentary on Matthew 32.

They Questioned for Our Benefit.

Incomplete Work on Matthew: Here the disciples were asking, “When will this be that no stone of the temple stands upon another, as you said?” With these questions and others, they asked Jesus also to indicate to them the end of the age, which he had not mentioned. They asked questions about the temple for their own benefit, but those questions concerning the end of the age were asked for our benefit. We never saw the destruction of the temple, nor did they see the end of the age. It was expedient therefore that they hear about the signs of the temple’s destruction and that we learn to recognize the signs of the world’s consummation. The work’s completion is sweet to every laborer, and the traveler eagerly awaits his arrival at home. The mercenary frequently counts the days to year’s end, and the farmer constantly looks forward to harvest time. The merchant examines his purse day and night, and an expecting mother continually thinks of her delivery date. In a similar way, the servants of God eagerly anticipate the consummation of the age, for it is written, “Wherever your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
If you have a certain quantity of valuable property stored away in your house, when you come in from the street, you will naturally direct your gaze in the direction of those valuables before you look anywhere else. Likewise, the saints fix their gaze there where their crown has been laid up for them. It is also of some benefit to be able to recognize the end of the age, for when a man is on a journey, the closer he gets to home, the more he begins to celebrate. Homily 48.

The Disciples Came to Him Privately.

Chrysostom: Since they meant to inquire about confidential matters, the disciples came to him privately. They were deeply troubled about when the day of his coming would be. They eagerly desired to behold that glory and the countless blessing that will accompany it. Yet they asked him two things. When will these things come to pass—especially the overturning of the temple? And what will be the sign of his coming at the close of the age? The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 75.1.

24:4–5 Do Not Be Led Astray

They Will Lead Many Astray.

Origen: Come up to the moral and spiritual sense of Scripture and see if you can discover an interpretation worthy of the excellence of the knowledge of Christ and of the discernment of the Evangelists, lest you denigrate the dignity of evangelical wisdom with a lesser interpretation. Let us see then if mindful of that which was handed down from above concerning him who said “Many will come in my name saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will seduce many,” we can interpret these things in accordance with their consequences. It is inevitable that everyone who has been made perfect and has been given to see the glorious coming of the Word in his soul, everyone who has destroyed, devoured and crucified the world so that all things worldly are dead to him, and has trained his mind for understanding, will eventually engage doctrinal battles in the course of his search and discernment. He will hear many voices from divergent traditions professing to have the truth. Like a good soldier of the Word, however, his soul shall remain safe from all those opponents of the truth who feign adherence to the truth. In this way, he will be made worthy to receive in his soul the glorious coming of Christ, the Word of God who was “in the beginning with God,” who comes to those who, having recognized him “according to the flesh” and having received the Word who “became flesh,” then ascended far beyond these things to behold no ordinary glory, but “the glory as of the only begotten of the Father.” Commentary on Matthew 35.

24:6 Wars and Rumors of Wars

Interpreting the Signs.

Incomplete Work on Matthew: In the interest of acquiring a better understanding of Christ’s response, it would seem imprudent to neglect to consider first the apostles’ question. The apostles asked two questions. First, they asked, “What will be the sign of the destruction of Jerusalem?” Second, they asked, “What will be the sign of the end of the world?” At the dissolution of the nation of Judea, Jerusalem was destroyed, but what seemed to be Jerusalem was not the true Jerusalem. Likewise, the church will appear to have been forsaken or almost forsaken at the end of the world, but what seemed to be the church was not and is not the true church. The Lord did not differentiate between the signs of the destruction of Jerusalem and the signs of the end of the world, for the signs that pertain to both events are one and the same. This is so because Christ did not respond to his apostles’ questions as though he were a historian explaining the chronological order of events but rather in the manner of a prophet foretelling what would have to take place. Prophecies are always communicated through mysteries and properly understood as mysteries.
What does this mean for the passage at hand? If we want to understand them in the full spiritual sense, the signs of which Christ speaks—famine, wars, tremors—could not pertain to the destruction of Jerusalem, because at the time of its capture nation was not rising against nation in the spiritual sense. [That] is to say that heretics were not then fighting among each other, since at the time of the apostles the heresies were still only in their seminal stage but didn’t germinate until the time of the Christian king, even though they are now fully grown, powerful forces. Moreover, there was no spiritual famine at the time of Jerusalem’s destruction but great abundance, as the psalmist said, “You visited the earth and watered it and increased its riches.”
Again, if we attempted to interpret these signs literally, they would tell us nothing about the end of the world, for there always have been and always will be wars, in the literal sense of the term. The same is true of famines and tremors. Nothing can serve as a sign of future events that already is a normal occurrence. Only something new can properly be called a sign. Just as there is a literal Jerusalem, therefore, which is already conquered figuratively, there is also another, spiritual Jerusalem, the church of Christ, which must be tested at the end of the world and indeed is currently being tested. Therefore the signs of which the Lord spoke must be understood both spiritually and literally. Literally they speak of the destruction of Jerusalem, but spiritually they signify the trial of the church at the consummation of the age. Train your mind on both aspects then, on what occurred before Jerusalem was captured and on what will occur before the final trial of Christ’s church. Homily 48.

24:7 Nation Will Rise Against Nation

Famines, Plagues and Tremors.

Incomplete Work on Matthew: “And there will be famines and plagues and tremors throughout the land.” Anyone who reads Josephus knows what kind of famines, plagues and tremors afflicted Judea before the fall of Jerusalem. Before the spiritual plundering of the church, however, a spiritual hunger for the Word and spiritual tremors and various plagues of carnal sins will undoubtedly afflict the Christian people. So many schisms would never have arisen among Christians had they not already been famished for the Word, nor would they have suffered so many plagues, that is, diseases of carnal passion, if they had not been stirred up from without. This is what the Lord taught in the parable of the evil one planting weeds: “While the men were sleeping,” that is, when they neglected to guard against sin, “the enemy came and sowed weeds.” Homily 48.

24:8 All This is But the Beginning

Birth Pangs.

Chrysostom: By “wars and rumors of wars” he refers to the troubles that are coming upon them. They supposed after that war the end would come. But see how he warns them: “But the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” He speaks of the preludes to the troubles of the Jews. “All this is but the beginning of the birth pangs,” that is, of the troubles that will befall them. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death.” This was the season for being candid about what was to come, in order that they might strengthen one another in facing their common miseries. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 75.2.

24:9 Hated for My Name’s Sake

You Will Be Hated. Chrysostom: Then he added, “And you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because wickedness is multiplied, most men’s love will grow cold. But he who endures to the end will be saved.” This is the time of greatest evil, when the war becomes internal, for there are many false brothers.
Note that the war is coming from three sources simultaneously: from the deceivers, from the enemies, from the false brothers. Later Paul would lament over the same complications, saying that there were “fightings without, fears within” and “danger from false brothers.” Again he wrote, “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.”The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 75.2.

 

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24:10 Many Will Fall Away

Many Will Betray and Hate.

Origen: If we ought to understand this passage in the moral sense, in accordance with how we treated the passages above, then we will explain its meaning as follows. It is necessary that he who is about to see the glorious coming of the Word of God in his soul should, like a great athlete, suffer the snares of his enemies and be given over to afflictions insofar as they advance the perfection of the Word within him.…
The manifestation of the qualities of Christ implanted in him, on account of which he is called a Christian, makes him an object of hatred to everyone who has the spirit of the world. This persecution also only tends more and more toward the perfection of the indwelling of Christ.
Few, however, will be left untouched by discussions and questions concerning the fullness of truth. Indeed, many will be “scandalized” and will fall on account of it, having been made betrayers and accusers of one another because of their dissensions over the truth of doctrine, which not everyone is able to learn. This is why they “hate one another.” Among the great many who will be engaged in questions of this sort, those “false prophets who deceive many” will report prophecies concerning the future inaccurately and will interpret them incorrectly. Very few will seek the truth. False doctrines in and of themselves cannot overcome the power of truth, but those who have itchy ears will multiply and will take delight in speaking evil contrary to the law. And the tendentious words of many teachers will do such great harm that even those whose charity was once fervent in the simplicity of faith will “grow cold” toward the divine mysteries and toward the truth. But whoever is able to see all these things and yet to remain in communion with the original purpose of the church’s founding and the apostolic tradition will be saved. In this way then the gospel will be preached to every soul and a testimony will be given to every nation, that is, to all the unbelieving thoughts of every single individual. Commentary on Matthew 39.

24:11 Many False Prophets Will Arise

Why Heresy Is Permitted.

Incomplete Work on Matthew: For whom is it said, “Whoever perseveres to the end”? Is this said for the benefit of those who are persecuting Christians or seducing prophets? No, it is not. For just as medicine is administered to the sick rather than to the healthy, so also consolation is given to the endangered, not to the dangerous.
“And the gospel will be proclaimed throughout the whole world.” St. Mark clarifies this verse by adding, “First the gospel must be preached.” When the literal war was brought against Jerusalem, the gospel had just begun to be preached, but it had not yet extended to the whole world. Prior to the rise of the heresies, however, the proclamation of the gospel had already been completed. For the knowledge of Christ reached everyone either through individual preachers or by one nation evangelizing another continually until the time of the Christian king. If you want to know with certainty, however, that the knowledge of Christ had been extended to the whole world by that time, consider that the very purpose for which the heretical wars began was so that there might be a decision for the better doctrine. Therefore as long as there is still a summons, since a summons is as much an impediment to a final decision as a decision is to a summons, there can be no decisive choice. Homily 48.

24:12–14 The Gospel Preached Throughout the World

Preached Throughout the Whole World.

Chrysostom: What is even more terrible than all of these things is that they shall not even have love’s consolation. “Most men’s love will grow cold.” Even all this, however, will in no way harm those who are noble and firm. So do not be afraid. Do not be troubled. If you demonstrate the patience that fits your faith, these dangers will not prevail over you. You will see proof of this when the gospel will be preached everywhere in the world. Then you will be above all these things that would otherwise alarm you. You will preach everywhere. You will not waste away in despair asking whether you will survive. Then he added, “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come.” The sign of this final time will be the downfall of Jerusalem. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 75.2.

Leaving No Excuse.

Jerome: The sign of the Lord’s coming is that the gospel will be preached throughout the entire world, leaving no one any excuse. We believe that this has already been accomplished or is about to be accomplished, since it appears to me that there remains no nation that does not know the name of Christ. Even if they haven’t been visited by an evangelist themselves, certainly they have heard about the Christian faith from neighboring countries. Commentary on Matthew 4.24.14.

Then the End Will Come.

Incomplete Work on Matthew: Both the end of the world and the antichrist must be understood according to the spiritual sense of Scripture, since heresies, famines, epidemics and all such things will precede each of them. Finally, however, the abomination of desolation, which is the army of the antichrist, will stand in the holy place. The army of the antichrist consists principally of every heresy which finds its way into the church and stands in its holy place that it might appear to be the word of truth, even though it is no word of truth at all, but the abomination of desolation and the army of the antichrist which separates the souls of many from God. Perhaps it was of this that the apostle said, “who opposes and exalts himself against everything which is called God or is worshiped, so that he might be seated in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.” In this way, the collective evil of diverse heresies, which at one time were only rumored, will then stand in the holy place and desecrate the church of Christ. Having been given license to go this far, they will then begin to possess the churches entirely. We here announce that reports of war, famines, earthquakes, epidemics, rumors of heresy, deprivation of the Word, the beating of Christians and the corruption of morals have already been preceding these events from the time of Constantine to the reign of Theodosius. Homily 49.

24:15–28 The Desolating Sacrilege

Overview: Abomination of desolation signifies either idolatry or worship of antichrist (Jerome). In the end of time there will be no hope of salvation from destruction (Chrysostom). Prohibition of going from housetop back to the house may be interpreted as prohibition of returning from spiritual life to earthly cares (Hilary of Poitiers). Not to turn back from the field means not to turn back to the prebaptismal state of sin (Origen). The field represents the church, where the flowers of virtue flourish. Turning back from the field is returning to sin, which obstructs salvation (Epiphanius the Latin). Flight on the sabbath means departing from this life in the state of indolence, while winter signifies the season of spiritual unfruitfulness (Cyril of Alexandria). In accordance with Jesus’ prophecy, the terrors and tragedy of the Roman anti-Jewish universal campaign (under Vespasian and Titus) were unprecedented (Chrysostom). Shortening of the days signifies cutting off the doctrines and practices alien to Scripture, which are added by heretics (Origen). Although there were numerous false christs around the time of the Jerusalem siege, Jesus’ warning also applies to the end of the world and the war of heretics against the church (Jerome). Antichrist will demonstrate great signs and miracles, and will declare himself God (Epiphanius the Latin). Those who try to lead astray even the elect are preachers of the false doctrine. The signs and miracles they employ are their skillful reasoning and pretentious piety. In Christ’s second coming the glory of his divinity will be so apparent that there will be no need to seek him (Incomplete Work on Matthew). Christ, the Word of God, is shining in the whole of Scripture, from the law to the prophets (Origen). The body represents Christ’s Passion; the eagles represent the saints (Jerome). The saying about the body and eagles is a metaphoric description of Christ’s second coming (Apollinaris).

24:15 Daniel Spoke of the Sacrilege

The Abomination of Desolation.

Jerome: Whenever we are urged to use our understanding, the meaning is shown to be mystical. But we read in Daniel this only: “And for half a week my sacrifice and offering will be removed, and the abomination of desolation shall be in the temple until the end of time, and the end will be given in abandonment.” The apostle also said in this regard that the man of iniquity, the enemy, would rise up against everything uttered by God and would dare to stand in the temple and be worshiped as though he were God. After Satan’s work is finished, however, Christ’s coming will destroy all who raised themselves against him and will return them to the state of divine abandonment. This man of iniquity can be interpreted either simply as the antichrist, or as the image of Caesar which Pilate put in the temple, or as the statue of Hadrian the equestrian which still today stands in the Holy of Holies. Because the Old Testament normally calls the abomination an idol, the word desolation is added here to indicate that the idol shall be placed there resulting in the temple’s abandonment and destruction. Commentary on Matthew 4.24.15.

24:16 Let Them Flee to the Mountain

Flee to the Mountains.

Chrysostom: Having spoken of the ills that were to overtake the city, and of the trials of the apostles, and that they should remain unsubdued, and that they will overcome the whole world, he turns again to the calamities of the Jews. While the gospel dispensation will be gloriously fulfilled, the others will be faced with deepening adversities. He shows how intolerable the war will be, even in every detail.
“Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.” When does he mean by “then”? These things will take place, he says, “when you see the desolating sacrilege spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place.” He seems to me to be speaking of armies and wars. So flee. There is no hope of safety for you in the cities.
Yet some will say that it has happened again and again that the people of Judah have recovered from terrible times. Think of the conditions under Sennacherib. Remember Antiochus. Remember the time when the armies had come upon them and the temple had been seized and the Maccabees rallied to give their affairs an opposite turn! But Jesus forbids them thinking of any such rescue. He does not want to feed them false hopes. For this is different. It is the end time.The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 76.1.

24:17 One on the Housetop

The Housetop and the Field.

Hilary of Poitiers: The roof is the summit of the house, the noble perfection of the entire dwelling. For one may not even say that a house exists if it does not have a roof. Whoever therefore is established at the summit of his house—that is, in the perfection of his body made new by regeneration, raised high by the Spirit and perfected by the absolution of the divine gift—should not allow himself to be provoked within by bodily enticements and to descend to the sinful desire for the lowly things of this world or fall from the heights of the roof.
“And let whoever is in the field not return to retrieve his tunic,” that is, if he is busy fulfilling the commandments, he should not return to his previous cares or desire clothing for this body, lest he restore and wear again the old tunic of sin with which he was once covered. On Matthew 25.5.

24:18 One in the Field

What Roof? What Field?

Origen: Whoever is in Judea, that is, “in the letter of the old law,” should flee to the mountains of the new things of the Spirit. And whoever is found to have gone up onto the roof, which is the Word, and stands high above his home should not descend to retrieve anything from within his house. For he who remains on the roof and denies himself will never need to come down.
Whoever is in the field must not turn back. If he is in the field in which the treasure is hidden, as the Lord taught in his parable, he must not turn back. If he is in the field to which Jacob was compared when his father blessed him, saying, “Behold, the smell of my son is like the smell of a bountiful field which the Lord has blessed,” in which everyone who lives according to the law will be blessed with the spiritual blessings of the law, he still must not turn back. As the Scripture says, “You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the field.” Whoever therefore is in the field of “every plant which the heavenly Father has planted,” he too must not turn back. Just as he who puts his hand to the plow and turns back is unfit for the kingdom of God, so also the one in the field who turns back on account of those things which he ought to have forsaken will undoubtedly incur the abomination of desolation which is deception. This is especially true of those who had previously stripped off their old tunic (that is, “the old nature with its practices”) and return again to retrieve it. Commentary on Matthew 42.

To Take His Mantle.

Chrysostom: Under these conditions one would do well merely to escape with one’s naked body. So if anyone is on a housetop, he should not take time to run back into the house to get his clothes. For the evils are inevitable. The calamity is without end. Anyone nearby will surely perish. Therefore he adds also, “if one is in the field,” saying, “do not try to take cover or turn back to find your belongings.” For if those who are indoors flee, much more ought they that are out of doors not take refuge indoors. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 76.1.

Do Not Turn from the Church.

Epiphanius the Latin: The holy reading continues: “Let him in the field not turn back.” This field represents the church, as was demonstrated by the blessing our blessed patriarch Isaac gave to his son Jacob: “Behold, the smell of my son is like the smell of a bountiful field which the Lord has blessed.” The field was replete with a multitude of flowers and was redolent with the sweetest aroma. Clearly this signifies the church where the Lord’s flowers—that is, virginity, chastity, continence, confession, faith, mercy, justice, truth and martyrdom—are perfected. These are the flowers of the field, which is the church; the flowers in which the Son of God rejoices, which have merited God’s blessing. Therefore he said, “Let him in the field not turn back.” Likewise, the same Lord once said, “Remember Lot’s wife.” While fleeing the conflagration of Sodom, she looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt, leaving an example of foolishness behind her. Therefore the Lord admonishes us that clinging more fully to his love and faith, we would not turn back, yet rather would save our souls for eternal life. Interpretation of the Gospels 33.

24:19 Alas for Those with Child

Pregnancy, Infancy and Flight Viewed Spiritually.

Hilary of Poitiers: One must not believe that the Lord was drawing our attention to the burden of pregnant women when he said, “Woe to those who are with child.” Instead, he wanted to demonstrate the heavy weight of souls filled with sins, a weight which prevents them from escaping the storm of wrath stored up for them, whether they are on the roof or in the field. Suffering naturally accompanies pregnancy, and no one is born into the world without his entire body being shaken by the experience. Souls therefore who are found in a similar condition will continue in their suffering and burdens.
“Woe also to those who are nursing.” The weaned infant is no less unfit for flight than is the one who is still nursing. But if the difference in age and status between those who are nursing and those who are weaned is of no importance, how are we to understand “Woe also to those who are nursing”? This warning is meant to show the infirmity of souls who were being taught to know God as though they were being nursed. But in fact they only had a weak foretaste of the knowledge of God and were deprived of the strength which comes from the perfect food. The Lord’s woe therefore is said to the souls themselves who are too weighed down to escape the antichrist or too weak to face him because they had not been avoiding sin and because they had not been fed with the true bread.
Therefore we are admonished to pray that our flight does not take place in the winter or on the sabbath. In other words, let us not be found in the coldness of our sins or in the absence of good works. A heavy, intolerable affliction will be visited upon everyone, unless those days are shortened because of the elect of God. On Matthew 25.6–7.

Ties of Sympathy.

Chrysostom: He first mourns for the one weighed down by the burden of pregnancy, who cannot flee easily, who is less mobile. Then he mourns for “those who are nursing.” They are bound by ties of sympathy for their children. Yet they cannot protect those who nurse. Who can escape these bonds of natural affection? By comparison, parting with money is nothing. How could the pregnant woman become mobile? How could she that nurses be able to overlook that which she had borne? The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 76.1.

 

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Times of Tribulation.

Epiphanius the Latin: The holy reading continues: “Woe to those who are with child and to those who are nursing in those days.” This means woe to those who have conceived suffering and begotten iniquity by neglecting the faith. For just as a pregnant woman in flight has no rest but only pain and tribulation, so also sinners and disbelievers in the Christian faith will have nothing but grief when the day of judgment comes upon them.
The holy Gospel next says, “Pray that your flight not fall in the winter or on the sabbath, for there will be a tribulation such as has not been from the beginning of the world.” These two times, winter and the sabbath, represent two races of people: the Gentiles and the Jews. Just as everything is fruitless, desolate and dead in the winter, so also are the Gentiles. The Lord is hereby warning us therefore not to be found as the Gentiles: desolate, dead and without the fruit of good works on the day of judgment or in the time of persecution. The sabbath … is a day reserved entirely for leisure. The Jews do nothing on the sabbath other than rest. We ought to be vigilant then that the time of persecution or the day of judgment does not find us resting. Whoever is found like this will deservedly suffer “a tribulation such as the world has not seen since its beginning.” Interpretation of the Gospels 33.

24:20 The Time of Your Flight

Not in Winter.

Chrysostom: Recall that this discourse is addressed to the Jews. He is speaking here of the ills that should overtake them. He is not speaking primarily to the apostles, who did not keep the Jewish sabbath day. They were nowhere around when Vespasian did these things. Indeed, most of the apostles would soon be dead or in other distant parts of the world.
It is to the Jews that he says “Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a sabbath.” Pray that it not be in winter, because of the difficulty of the season. Pray that it not be on the sabbath day, because of the absolute authority exercised by the law. For they had need of flight, and of the swiftest flight. The Jews would not dare to flee on the sabbath day, because of the law. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 76.1.

A Winter of Evils.

Cyril of Alexandria: Perhaps this saying contains a puzzle. It admonishes us to pray that our departure from this body would not happen in the time of rest from good works, which the sabbath signifies, nor in the time of unfruitfullness, which is winter. It is notable, however, that God did not create the winter of misfortunes. Winter means the time that we are possessed by the fleshly passions. Fragment 269.

24:21 Great Tribulation

Pray amid the Greatest Tribulation.

Chrysostom: You must pray, for “then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.” Do not let anyone suppose that he is merely speaking in hyperbole. All you need to do is study the writings of Josephus to learn the truth of these predictions. No one who knows the fact of history can say that Christian believers have exaggerated this tragic history or been any part of trying to see that Christ’s words were fulfilled. For Jesus himself was a Jew, a determined and faithful Jew, very zealous. And among believers who lived after Christ there were many Jews. What then is this man predicting? That these terrors would surpass all tragedy. And indeed no such similar tragedy has ever overtaken any nation. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 76.1.

24:22 For the Sake of the Elect

No One Would Be Saved.

Chrysostom: This is a tribulation such as never has been before nor will be. He adds, “And if those days had not been shortened, no human being would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.” By this he is indicating that they are deserving of a more grievous punishment than any that had previously been experienced. He is speaking now of the days of the war and of the siege. If the war of the Romans against Jerusalem had continued, all the Jews would have perished. By “no human being” in this case he means the Jews. And this doubtless applies to Jews at home and abroad. For the Romans were fighting not only against those in Judea but also against those Jews that were dispersed everywhere. They too were outlawed and banished, because of the Romans’ hatred against the Jews of Judea. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 76.1.

The Shortening of Days.

Origen: “Those days” refers to the commandments and truths which were placed in Scripture for the illumination of rational souls. Accordingly, every doctrine that comes from “false knowledge” and is joined to the words of Scripture is to be understood as corresponding to additions beyond the natural length of days in Scripture. The good God, however, shortens the addition of these days through whom he chooses. Whenever you see then by the advent of the Word of truth in your mind that the “arrogant who fight against the knowledge of God” are cut off, understand that the days of tribulation are shortened. The extra length is abbreviated which the abomination of desolation always adds in opposition to the natural number of the days of the Lord which are in Scripture. “Those days” will be shortened “for the sake of the elect,” so that they will suffer nothing from the desolation of abomination nor from what was added to the true and natural days of Scripture. This assumes that the addition of days has been shortened and that the only remaining light is that of the word of truth. Commentary on Matthew 45.

Believers in Their Midst.

Chrysostom: But who in this case does he mean by the elect? He means the believers that were hidden away in the midst of them. In order that Jews may not say that it was because of the gospel and the worship of Christ that these ills took place, he showed that so far from the believers being the cause, if it had not been for them, all Jews would have perished utterly. For if God had permitted the war to be protracted, not so much as a remnant of the Jews would have remained. But lest those of them who had become believers should perish together with the unbelieving Jews, he quickly put down the fighting and allowed an end to the war. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 76.2.

24:23 Ignoring False Reports

Do Not Believe It.

Jerome: “If anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There is the Christ,’ do not believe him.” At the time of the Jewish captivity by Rome, many Jewish elders claimed to be the Christ. There were so many, in fact, that there were three distinct camps of them when the Romans besieged Jerusalem. This saying is better understood as referring to the end of the world, however.
“False Christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders so that even the elect might be led into error. Behold, I told you.” As I have already noted, this passage is to be explained in one of three ways. It refers either to the Roman siege of Jerusalem or to the end of the world or to the war waged by heretics against the church and by antichrists who oppose Christ under the pretext of false knowledge.
“If, therefore, they say to you, ‘Behold, he is in the desert,’ do not go out. And if they say ‘Behold, he is inside,’ don’t believe it.” If anyone were to tell you that Christ dwells in the wilderness of the pagans or in the doctrine of the philosophers or within the inner chambers of heretics who promise to reveal the secrets of God, do not go out and do not believe them. And lest false prophets find an opportunity for deceiving you at a time of persecution and anxiety, you should not trust just anyone who claims to speak in the name of Christ. Commentary on Matthew 4.24.23–26.

24:24 False Signs and Wonders

False Christs Will Arise.

Epiphanius the Latin: We are warned by the Lord so that if anyone were to come to us falsely in his name, none of us would believe in such a person, having already been prepared. Henceforth how great will be the signs by which the faith of the elect is demonstrated! But whoever builds his house on the rock, that is, establishes his faith on Christ, cannot be destroyed by winds or rains. The rock represents Christ, the floods are the kings, and the winds are the kings’ orders to persecute the servants of God.
The holy reading continues: “False Christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders so that even the elect would be led into error, if possible. Behold, I have told you.” You see then, beloved, what great love the Lord displays toward us. He carefully instructs each one of us individually regarding the future so that even if we see all these signs come to pass (having been forewarned by him) we will be wise to the enemy and accept nothing contrary to Christ and the catholic faith. In the Acts of the Apostles, Simon declared himself to be the power of God. Likewise, in the last days, the antichrist will declare himself to be God, as the apostle says, “Thus he will sit in the temple of God, calling himself God … whom the Lord Jesus Christ will kill with the breath of his mouth.” The day of judgment will come upon the antichrist also, and the Lord will kill him with the sword of his mouth. Interpretation of the Gospels 33.

The Elect.

Incomplete Work on Matthew: “That they might lead even the elect into error, if possible.” Scripture doesn’t say “that they might deceive even the elect, if possible,” but that they might “lead them into error.” Commonly, when the saints encounter hidden works of the devil under the appearance of goodness, they cannot understand the enemy’s boundless treachery. They are troubled in their hearts and scandalized, asking, “What is happening here?” Yet they are not easily convinced to believe him, for even if their human reason is overcome, they stand firm by faith.
Scripture says “if possible” in order to show the greatness of the signs. How prodigious those signs must have been to deceive even the elect! Yet they were not deceived, because those whom God has preordained to life cannot die. The power of God was shown forth when he forewarned the faithful about these signs for the sake of their salvation. Nevertheless these matters are best understood with regard to the rise of the heresies. False Christs are the false truths of the heresies, and false prophets are preachers of false truths. Their signs consist in doing the same things falsely which the faithful do truthfully. They remain chaste and observe the fasts and practice mercy and fulfill every rule of the church. Do not the devil’s signs appear most deceptive when you see him doing the works of God? Homily 49.

24:25–26 I Have Told You Beforehand

Will He Come in the Desert?

Incomplete Work on Matthew: He forewarned them lest, having heard of the coming of Christ, they would be seduced by men to step out into the open and either be captured in the desert or imprisoned within the house. Why should the coming of Christ happen in a desert? Does he love isolation more than human community? Is he so afraid of people that he needs to hide in the desert? If he did not fear kings or judges when the time for his Passion had arrived but openly preached the word of righteousness to impious people, how is it that he will suddenly be afraid when he comes to judge sinners? “If anyone says to you, ‘Behold, he is inside the house,’ do not believe it.” You insult the Lord’s divinity if you search inside a house for the one who fills all of heaven and earth or if you think him to be hiding who came to resist the proud and to exalt the humble. At his first advent, his divinity was concealed in a body that he might test the faithful. When he comes again, he will be revealed in glory that he might reward their faith. At his first advent, therefore, it was necessary that he be sought out. Now, however, it is not the case that he must be sought in order to be believed. Rather, he himself will seek those by whom he has already been believed. The last times must be interpreted spiritually. Accordingly, there are two kinds of heresies: those which mask their falsehood by attempting to ground it in the divine authority of Scripture and those which are unable to do so because they are so thoroughly contrary to Scripture. The desert therefore represents heresies whose doctrines have forsaken Scripture altogether. The house represents those heresies that are sprinkled with citations from Scripture, thus giving only the appearance of truth. Homily 49.

24:27 As the Lightning Comes

Truth Radiates from East to West.

Origen: Christ is shown to be the Word and Truth and Wisdom of God from the very first creature of the world to the last of the writings of the apostles (that is, from Genesis through the apostolic books of the Bible). No Scripture written after these is to be believed in the same way. Because “the law and the prophets prophesied until the coming of John,” the law and the prophets represent the lightning or radiance of truth which “comes from the East and shines as far as the West.” The East represents the law, and the West represents the “end of the law,” which is marked by “the coming of John.” The church alone has neither removed one word from this radiance nor added any prophecy of its own. If we were to consider carefully why the Evangelist does not use the singular here but writes of a plurality shining “from the Easts to the Wests,” we would see that the law and the prophets are one thing and Jesus Christ himself is yet another reality which extends from East to West, appearing to the apostle Paul “last of all, as to one untimely born.” Commentary on Matthew 47.

Illuminating the Fullness of Truth.

Theodore of Heraclea: For it is much the same with lightning. Lightning is figuratively compared with truth. It is likened to the coming of the Son of man, which is explained in every Scripture, whether it concerns the law, prophecy, the gospel or apostolic testimony. It flashes out from the east, the region of principalities and spiritual powers, and shines all the way to the west, the realm of darkness and Satan, in the time of the Passion. Note that if the law is rising in the east, the end of the law is setting in the west. But from Jesus Christ to Paul is a rising and setting. He was revealed to Paul last of all as “to one abnormally born.” Fragment 124–25.

24:28 Eagles Gathered Together

Wherever the Body Is.

Jerome: We are taught about the sacrament of Christ by the use of a natural example taken from daily life. Eagles and vultures are said to sense the presence of a carcass all the way across the sea and to gather their food in this way. If therefore these irrational creatures have the natural capacity to know where a small body lies, even though separated by so great a distance across land and sea, how much more ought we and the whole multitude of believers hasten to him whose splendor comes from the east and shines as far as the west!
In Greek the body is called a ptōma, but the Latin word for it, cadaver, is more illuminating because it comes from the word “to fall,” cadere, and implies that the body has fallen dead. We can understand this body to refer to the Passion of Christ because wherever Scripture says that we are gathered together, it is for the purpose of coming to the Word of God. For example, “A company of evildoers encircle me; they have pierced my hands and feet,” “like a lamb led to the slaughter,” and in other passages like these. The eagles represent those saints whose youth is renewed like the eagle’s and who, according to Isaiah, shall mount up with wings to come to the passion of Christ. Commentary on Matthew 4.24.28.

 

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The Gathering of Eagles.

Apollinaris: Jesus spoke in a kind of comparison, as in the form of an illustration and example. For, he says, the appearing of the Son of man will be much the same as when eagles and other flesh-eating birds find a carcass and dead body lying on the ground. They secretly and unexpectedly bear them through the heights and by doing so will provide food for themselves. In the same way, he will appear again on the earth a second and glorious time to judge the world. Ranks of angels will be seen serving as an escort with all the saints rising up “in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye,” according to the last trumpet.… But some attempted to explain this text as teaching that at the second coming of the Lord all who conducted themselves uprightly, corresponding with eagles in their lofty and spiritual outlook, will leave paradise behind and be gathered to that place where the fall of Adam occurred. This is the place where Adam violated the commandment and through his disobedience fell into sin. Fragment 126.

24:29–31 The Coming of the Son of Man
Overview: The sun will be darkened because it is fitting that the day of resurrection would be preceded by the night (Incomplete Work on Matthew). The powers of heaven will tremble because of the terror of the judgment day (Chrysostom). As humanity is renewed, the whole of creation is transformed to the new order also (Cyril of Alexandria). At the dread judgment all the sinners will mourn: Jews on account of Christ’s crucifixion, Gentiles on account of their false teachings, neglectful Christians on account of their just condemnation. The heretics who deny Christ’s divinity will be defeated by seeing him as Judge of the universe (Incomplete Work on Matthew). The sign of the Son of man, the cross shining brighter than the sun, will appear in the sky (Chrysostom). Sending the angels by the Son of man clearly demonstrates that he is God (Apollinaris). The angels will gather all the elect, who lived in accordance with Scripture, both learned and simple. Moreover, as there were degrees of perfection in the saints’ lives, so there will be degrees in their state of blessedness—different heavens, so to speak (Origen).

24:29 After the Tribulation of Those Days

The Sun Will Be Darkened.

Incomplete Work on Matthew: “The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light.” Either on account of the undeserved persecution suffered by the saints, for even worse crimes committed by the wicked or to show forth the wrath of God in the last days while the wicked are still living upon the earth, a taste of the infernal darkness will be given. Whatever the reason, it is fitting that a night should intervene between the two days, for a new day of resurrection is about to be born. The days will be separated lest there seem to be one nature belonging both to this world and to the next. For we die in carnal bodies, but we will be raised in spiritual bodies. The day of darkness then serves as a sort of death, indicating that something new will be born. Or it could be that the night represents evil and the daytime righteousness. Homily 49.

A Great Change Will Come.

Chrysostom: The sun shall be darkened, not destroyed. It will be overcome by the light of God’s presence. The stars shall fall, for what shall be the need of them thereafter, if there is no night? And “the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” For a great change had come to pass. When the stars were made, they trembled and marveled. When the stars were made, all angels praised the Lord with a loud voice. Much more upon seeing all things in course of final change, and their fellow servants giving account, and the whole world standing by that awful judgment seat, and all those who had lived from Adam until his coming having an account demanded of them of all that they did, wouldn’t you expect the powers of the heavens to tremble and be shaken? The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 76.3.

The Recapitulation of Creation

Cyril of Alexandria: How will they not shudder with fear? For heaven and earth are transformed for the sake of God’s own discretion (to speak something accurately about such things requires more than one word). The sun and the moon will be darkened, and the stars will fall like flowers. Their very nature is again changed by the One who created them, just as he wills, and the heavenly bodies will be thrown into disorder. For as humanity is renewed the whole creation, which had been created for the sake of humanity, is recapitulated and restored. Fragment 271.

24:30 The Sign of the Son of Man
All the Tribes of the Earth Will Mourn.

Incomplete Work on Matthew: “Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn.” The Jews will mourn because they will see him living and enlivening whom they thought to be dead. Convicted by the wounds on his body, they will be unable to deny their crime. The Gentiles will mourn because they were deceived by the vain arguments of the philosophers into thinking it irrational foolishness to worship a crucified God and to attribute the glory of the Creator to a creature. Sinful Christians who loved the world more than they loved Christ will also mourn when they hear him say to them, “I was made man on your account. It is because of you that I was arrested, mocked, beaten and crucified. Where is the fruit of these great injuries I suffered? Consider that the salvation of your souls came at the price of my blood. Where is the service you owe me in return for this? I who am God valued you above my own glory when I became a man. You, however, consider me to be of less worth than anything else you possess. You love the most menial things of the earth more than you love my righteousness and faithfulness.” And heretics who say that a mere man was crucified will mourn when they see him whom the Jews pierced return as judge. Homily 49.

The Appearance of the Son of Man.

Chrysostom: “Then will appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven.” The cross will be brighter than the sun. The sun will be darkened and hide itself. The sun will appear at times when it would not normally appear. But why is this sign given? In order that the brazenness of the Jews might be more abundantly silenced. For having the cross as the greatest plea, the Son of man thus comes to that judgment seat, showing not only his wounds but also the reproach of his death. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 76.3.

24:31 The Angels Will Gather the Elect

The Son of Man Will Send His Angels.

Apollinaris: By saying that the Son of man will send his angels, he demonstrates that the Son of man is God. For they are God’s angels, and to send them is solely God’s prerogative. The saying “from one end of the heavens to the other” teaches us that the extremes of earth and heaven are the same. Hence it is necessary to believe in Christ and not to be deceived as though the smallest part of earth, situated in the midst of the heavens, was surpassed by their infinite greatness. Fragment 127.
The Gathering of the Elect. Origen: You will understand why the saints are gathered “from the heights of the earth” if you consider the conduct of their lives and the perfection, insofar as possible, of their dealings with others. All who lived uprightly will be gathered not simply from the earth but “from the heights of the earth.” After their earthly lives have ended, their conduct in the next life will raise them not simply from the highest point in heaven, as it was from the highest level of earth, but from the “heights of the heavens” because each and every heaven has both a beginning and a conclusion or perfection. After their exemplary lives on earth, the saints’ conduct in the first heaven, once they have attained its perfection or conclusion, will elevate them still further. The same is true for the second heaven and the third heaven. It seems to me therefore that there are many heavens, each with its own initiation and perfection. It is from the beginnings and ends of these diverse heavens that God gathers his elect.
“From the heights of the heavens to their ends.” It is also possible that the heavens here represent either the divine Scriptures or their authors, in both of which God dwells. In that case, the heights of the Scripture is its beginning, and the perfection of Scripture is its conclusion. To say that the saints will be gathered from “the heights of the heavens” means that they will be found from among those who live in the beginning of Scripture to those who live at its conclusion, or, if I may speak more profoundly, from the unskilled to the experts.
The angels who will be sent by the Savior to gather his elect will gather them not just with any ordinary voice but with what Scripture calls a “great trumpet.” It won’t be an uncertain voice but one that is definite and clear so that all who hear and learn will be established on the way of perfection which leads to the Son of God. Commentary on Matthew 51.

24:32–35 The Lesson of the Fig Tree

Overview: The lesson of the fig tree has to do with the signs of the last time. As the fig tree leaves correlate with the leaves Adam used to cover himself, and thus with sin, so the tree’s branch represents antichrist. Greening of the tree signifies the intensification of sin before the end (Hilary of Poitiers). By pointing to the fig tree Jesus assured his disciples that his second coming will not be delayed and will surely take place. When it occurs, saints will enjoy their “summer season” of rest, while the sinner suffers the winter season of damnation (Chrysostom). The fig tree is a metaphor for the church; as the tree contains myriad seeds under one bark, so in the body of the church many Christians are incorporated. Moreover, the fig tree is the only one that produces fruit even in winter, and so the church always produces saints (Incomplete Work on Matthew). The fig tree represents the “people of circumcision,” who did not produce fruit and withered away. Yet later another fig tree, the Gentiles, produced an abundance of fruit (Origen). “This generation will not pass away” refers to the generation of the faithful who will persist until the second coming (Chrysostom). “This generation” refers to both those who suffer temptation and those who cause them, demons. Both groups will persist in their struggle until the end, since temptations are necessary to test faith (Incomplete Work on Matthew).

24:32 Learn the Lesson of the Fig Tree

From the Fig Tree Learn Its Lesson.

Hilary of Poitiers: The parable of the fig tree is offered as a lesson in recognizing the signs of the times. When its branches become tender and green we know that summer is near. Both this fig tree and this summer are very different from those found in nature, however. In nature there is a considerable interval between the onset of summer and the greening of a tree’s branches, which begin to grow tender early in the spring. Consequently this parable cannot be about the tree. Indeed, we have already dealt above with the particular meaning of the tree. We saw that Adam had covered himself with its leaves to hide his shameful conscience, which is to say that he was bound under the law as though clothed in sin. The fig tree’s branch therefore represents the antichrist, who is a son of the devil, a partaker of sin and protector of the law. When it begins to grow tender and green, then the summer, which here represents the day of judgment, is near. The greening of the tree then refers to the rise of sinners, a time that will be marked by the flowering of slanderers and the popularity of criminals and favor for blasphemers. This signals that summer, the heat of eternal fire, is near. On Matthew 26.2.

How Long a Time?

Chrysostom: The time is “immediately after the tribulation of those days.” After how long a time would it be? They desired to know in particular the very day. So he puts forth the analogy of the fig tree. He indicates that the interval was not great but that in quick succession these things would occur at his advent. He declared this not by the parable of the fig tree alone but by the words that follow. “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.” He foretells a spiritual summer, a calm for the righteous that would come on that day, after the storm. But to sinners, on the contrary, there would be winter after summer, which he declares in what follows, saying that the day shall come upon them when they are living in luxury. For these two purposes he spoke about the fig tree: in order to declare the short interval and to underscore that these things assuredly will come to pass. It was possible for him to have demonstrated this in other ways, but he chose the fig tree as an example of a necessary series of things occurring in sequence. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 77.1.

You Know That Summer Is Near.

Incomplete Work on Matthew: Jesus uses the fig tree, rather than another kind of tree, as an illustration for the onset of summer because it commonly happens that after other trees have begun to bloom, a cold snap forces them back into hibernation. Since the fig tree blooms later than almost any other tree, however, its fruitfulness is virtually never interrupted by the cold. In a similar way, the church is a sure sign of the advent of a new age. But let us consider this analogy more carefully. The fig tree begins to produce its leaves at the optimal moment of the spring season, but the church is afflicted with horrible persecutions and driven toward death. The Lord is here correlating the springtime jubilance of the fig tree to the spiritual progress of souls, not to bodily afflictions. For the soul flourishes when the flesh suffers, as the apostle said, “And you received the Word of God in great tribulation, with joy from the Holy Spirit.” Just as warm spring winds trigger the trees to begin producing their foliage and fruit, so persecution provokes the human soul to virtue. The fig tree therefore is perennially comparable to the church in the sense that it contains many seeds within a heart of sweetness under one bark, while the church unites many Christians within its heart of love under one body. There is yet another similarity, however. Other trees produce their fruit at approximately the same time of year, for everything ripens and falls to the ground in the space of a few days. Only the fig tree continues to produce fruit unceasingly until winter. While some figs are ready to be harvested, other figs are just beginning to grow. Likewise, the church will never cease to produce saints until the end of time. In every age, while some are dying, others are just being born. Homily 49.

24:33 At the Very Gates

He Is Near.

Origen: The fig tree may be understood to represent the people of the circumcision. The Lord came to them when he was hungry and, “finding no fruit there” but the appearance of life only, said, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” At his coming therefore this fig tree, the people of the circumcision, “withered immediately.” But the other fig tree, the one which until that time had been barren and was about to be cut down because no one had ever applied himself diligently to its cultivation, began to bear fruit when fertilizer was spread around it. What was formerly a blight upon the earth will now produce fruit in such abundance sufficient even for the entire time in which it was barren. Commentary on Matthew 53.

24:34 Until All These Things Take Place

This Generation Will Not Pass.

Chrysostom: “Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all these things take place.” All these things. What things? Those about Jerusalem, those about the wars, about the famines, about the pestilences, about the earthquakes, about the false Christs, about the false prophets, about the sowing of the gospel everywhere, the seditions, the tumults, and all the other things which we said were to occur until his coming. What does he refer to when he says “this generation”? He is speaking not of the generation then living but of the age of believers. For he is prone to distinguish a generation not by times only but also by the mode of their religious service and practice, as when he says, “Such is the generation of those that seek him.” He said “all these things will take place,” and yet “the gospel will be preached.” These two are not inconsistent. The generation of the faithful shall remain through all things that will surely come to pass. The faithful will not be cut off by any of the things that have been mentioned. For both Jerusalem shall be destroyed and a large part of the Jews shall be decimated, but over this generation—the faithful—shall nothing prevail, not famine, not pestilence, not earthquake, not the tumults of wars, not false Christs, not false prophets, not deceivers, not traitors, not those that cause to offend, not the false brothers, nor any other such temptation whatever. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 77.1.

 

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My Words Will Not Pass Away.

Incomplete Work on Matthew: Uncertainty always makes a person careless. We prepare ourselves earnestly only for what we truly believe will happen to us. Therefore, lest his disciples initially prefer certain danger to uncertainty and then, having doubts about its advent, allow themselves to become complacent, the Messiah strengthened his teaching with an oath, saying, “Truly, truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.” Great danger requires great preparation. Great preparation requires diligent admonition and caution. It must be recognized then that Christ did not intend to show his disciples that the coming trial was already beginning but rather that it was altogether in the future. He wasn’t addressing only those who had already been born by that time, therefore, but the entire family.
“This generation” refers both to those who suffer temptation and to those who cause it. It refers to sinners among men and to the demons who are at work in them. For neither group will cease being in the world until its consummation. For Christ said, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Moreover, it is necessary that the source of temptation be preserved as long as there is faith which needs testing. It is also possible, however, that “this generation” refers to those mortal Christians who would not pass over into eternal life and be made immortal and impassible “until” all the events about which Christ was speaking had taken place.
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” because heaven and earth were created to serve you, but my words were uttered to govern you. Both heaven and earth are subject to vanity, as the apostle said, “Creation is subject to vanity.” Truth, however, is by nature unable to deceive and can never die.Homily 49.

24:36–44 No One Knows the Day and Hour

Overview: By saying that he does not know the day and the hour, Christ associates himself with his body, the church (Origen). By declaring that no one knows the day, Christ removes from us any need to be concerned about a particular date. This uncertainty is beneficial for our spiritual life (Hilary of Poitiers). The Lord indicates that he will return unexpectedly, when many will pursue the life of pleasure, luxury and unlawful passions. Yet for the saints it will be a time of tribulations (Chrysostom). When speaking about those eating and drinking in the time of the deluge, the Lord does not forbid these activities; rather he teaches us to exercise them spiritually, to the glory of God, as opposed to pleasing the flesh. As in the time of Noah only those in the ark were saved, so also in the second coming only those in the church will be saved. The outsiders, the heretics, will perish (Incomplete Work on Matthew). Those who live according to the gospel do not attempt to find out the date of the end. Rather, knowing that our personal end—death—may happen at any moment, they pursue vigilance (Origen). The second coming will be completely unexpected. Neither occupation or social status will matter for the final judgment (Chrysostom). Christ’s judgment is the final separation between the saints and the sinners (Hilary of Poitiers). As one has to be always prepared to confront a thief, so one has to be always prepared to face the end of life and the following judgment. To keep us always vigilant and active the Lord does not indicate the precise day of his second coming (Chrysostom, Hilary of Poitiers). To be ready means to keep all of the possible entrances (that is, all of the senses) shut to sin and the devil, the thief. Since the date of the second coming as well as the date of personal death are not known to us, every generation should live in the constant expectation of Christ’s return (Incomplete Work on Matthew).
24:36 Of that Time Only the Father Knows
Knowing the Day and Hour. Origen: As long as the church, Christ’s body, does not know that day and hour, the Son himself is said not to know it in order that he may be understood to learn of that day and hour only when all of his members do. But “to know” is given its own special meaning here (as is customary with sacred Scripture), for only he who remains to meet its arrival will know that day and hour. Commentary on Matthew 55.
Whether the Son Knows the Day. Hilary of Poitiers: When Christ taught us that no one knows the day on which the end of time will come, not the angels and not even himself, he removed from us any need to be concerned about its date. O immeasurable mercy of divine goodness! Since the Son said, “All things have been delivered to me by my Father,” we know that the Father did not deny him the knowledge of this day. If anything was denied him, he could not have said that all things were delivered to him. But because the Son has handed on to us everything the Father gave him and the Word of God does not contain in himself as much assurance of the future as of things already accomplished, therefore it was established by God that the date of the end should be indefinite. Thus he could allow us an abundant amount of time for repentance yet still keep us solicitous for fear of the uncertain and so as to avoid giving anyone the idea of a particular day by expressing his will. For just as at the time of the flood, in the normal course of our life, in our activities and in our sufferings, that great day will suddenly appear. On Matthew 26.4.

The Day and Hour No One Knows.

Chrysostom: He spoke these things in order to show that he would return unexpectedly and suddenly and when many were living luxuriously. For Paul also says this: “When they shall speak of peace and security, then sudden destruction will come upon them.” To show just how unexpectedly he uses the metaphor “as travail comes upon a woman with child.” The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 77.2.

24:37 As Were the Days of Noah

Pursuing Pleasures.

Chrysostom: What then is meant by “after the tribulation of those days”? If there is to be luxury at that time, and peace and safety, as Paul indicates, how then can he say, “after the tribulation of those days”? If there is luxury, how is there also tribulation? The luxury is spoken of those who are in a state of insensibility and peace. He does not say that there will be peace but rather “when they speak of peace and safety,” indicating that their insensibility would be something like those in Noah’s time, that even amid such evils they lived in luxury. Yet it will not be a time of peace and luxury for the righteous. The righteous will be passing through this time of tribulation in dejection. He shows that when antichrist has come, the pursuit of unlawful pleasures shall be more eagerly pursued among the transgressors, who have learned to despair of their own salvation. There will then be gluttony, partying and drunkenness. He then offers an example of this. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 77.2.

24:38 Those Days Before the Flood

In the Days Before the Flood.

Incomplete Work on Matthew: Christ did not forbid eating, drinking and marrying when he said “As in the days of Noah, they were eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage.” He would never destroy what he himself established. Instead, he was commanding that what we do with our bodies, we do spiritually and to the glory of God so that our flesh might be made spiritual on account of the spiritual purposes for which we use it.…
Before the flood, people were fleeing from the fear of God and doing nothing for his glory. Everything they did was only for their own flesh. Whenever they ate or drank, they ate and drank only to satisfy their bodily desires, not to glorify God as the apostle had commanded. What Christ wanted to say here is that it will be like this again near the end of the world.…
At the end of the world, the destruction will be universal and sudden like it was “in the days of Noah.” Just as every creature of the earth was destroyed in the flood, except only those who escaped in the ark, so also at the consummation of the world every heresy will be destroyed, but only one ark will be saved—the church of Christ, composed of the righteous. Everything outside of the ark died in the flood. Likewise, at the end of the world whoever is found to be outside the one true church will perish. Homily 50.

24:39 So Will Be the Coming of the Son of Man

They Did Not Know Until the Flood Came.

Origen: All who listen to the depths of the gospel and live it so completely that none of it remains veiled from them care very little about whether the end of the world will come suddenly and all at once or gradually and little by little. Instead, they bear in mind only that each individual’s end or death will arrive on a day and hour unknown to him and that upon each one of us “the day of the Lord will come like a thief.” It is important therefore to be vigilant, whether in the evening (that is, in one’s youth) or in the middle of the night (that is, at human life’s darkest hour) or when the [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse] crows (at full maturity) or in the morning (when one is well advanced in old age). When God the Word comes and brings an end to the progress of this life, he will gather up the one who gave “no sleep to his eyes nor slumber to his eyelids” and kept the commandment of the One who said, “Be vigilant at all times.” …
But I know another kind of end for the righteous person who is able to say along with the apostle, “Far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world is crucified to me and I to the world.” In a certain sense, the end of the world has already come for the person to whom the world is crucified. And to one who is dead to worldly things the day of the Lord has already arrived, for the Son of man comes to the soul of the one who no longer lives for sin or for the world. Commentary on Matthew 56.

24:40–41 One Taken, One Left

In the Field, at the Mill.

Chrysostom: All these things are demonstrations that he knew what was to come. It would be like the days of Noah: “Then two men will be in the field; one is taken and one is left,” so unexpected will it be. It is without thought that they will be taken. “Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left.” This is not the employment of those who are contemplating such a calamity.
From both employees and employers some will be taken and some will be left. Among those who are at ease and those who labor, some will be taken, some left. Rank or station will not matter, as it says in the Old Testament: “From him that sits upon the throne to the captive woman who is at the mill.” Even though he had said earlier that it is hard for a rich man to be saved, here he shows that not even the rich are altogether lost, neither are all the poor saved, but out of both groups people are saved and lost.
And to me he seems to indicate that the advent will come at night, like a thief, as Luke also indicates. It is amazing how fully he knows all things. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 77.2.

A Judgment Coming.

Hilary of Poitiers: Christ shows that a judgment is coming, since between two people in a field, one is taken up and one left behind. Between two grinding at the mill, one is chosen and one rejected. Between two lying in bed, one departs and one remains. This teaching means that the separation of the faithful from the unfaithful will consist in one being accepted and the other abandoned. For, like the prophet says, when the wrath of God rises, the saints will be hidden in God’s chambers but the faithless will be left exposed to celestial fire. The two in the field therefore represent the faithful and the unfaithful, both of whom will be surprised by the day of the Lord in the midst of the world, in the course of their life’s work. They will be separated, one taken and the other left. It will be the same for the two grinding at the mill, which represents the work of the law. For only some of the Jews, like Elijah, believed through the apostles that they must be justified by faith. One group will be taken up through the faith that produces good works, and the other group will be abandoned in the fruitless works of the law, grinding in vain at a mill that will never produce heavenly food. The two lying in bed are proclaiming the repose of the Lord after his Passion, which both Catholics and heretics confess alike. But because the truth of the Catholic faith preaches the unity of the Father and the Son, which we call their deity, whereas the false doctrine of heretics attacks this unity with many different insults, one of the two lying in bed will be taken up but the other will be left behind. For by accepting one and rejecting the other, God’s judgment will prove the merit of each confession. On Matthew 26.5.

24:42 You Do Not Know the Day

Watch Therefore.

Chrysostom: But his meaning is like this: If ordinary persons knew when they were going to die, they would surely be striving earnestly at that hour. In order therefore that they may strive, not at that hour only, he does not tell them the hour or day. He wants to keep them on their toes looking for it, that they may be always striving. This is why he made the end of each person’s life so uncertain.
In this passage he openly implies that he himself is Lord. Nowhere before has he spoken of this so distinctly. But here he seems to me also to be putting to shame those who remain careless about his lordship. They take much more care about a thief taking their money than about their own soul. Those who care about their house and do not want their possessions stolen take measures against the thief. They watch; they are prepared for the thief. So it is with you. You do not know when he will come. But you know assuredly that he will come. If you do not continue to watch, you will not be ready on that day. You will be unprepared. Destruction will come in your sleep. If the person had known when the thief was coming, he would have been prepared. So be like the one who is prepared at all times, so you will escape free.
Having then mentioned the judgment, he directs his thoughts next to teachers, speaking of honorable and dishonorable actions. His discourse closes with that which is alarming, for he speaks first of those who do right, then of those who continue in sin.The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 77.2–3.

24:43 The Householder Would Have Watched

You Do Not Know the Time.

Hilary of Poitiers: To teach us that our ignorance of the date of his return (which his silence has kept hidden from everyone) is not without its usefulness, Christ warns us to keep all his commandments. We should also be occupied with constant prayer in order to guard against the coming of the thief. For the thief is the devil who seeks to invade our bodily homes with the darts of his thoughts and allurements in order to ruin us while we are sleepy and careless. It is good therefore that we be prepared. Our ignorance of the day of Christ’s return should provoke us to be careful as we eagerly await his coming. On Matthew 26.6.

24:44 At an Hour You Do Not Expect

You Must Be Ready.

Incomplete Work on Matthew: Does the soul not know when the thief has gained access through one of these entrances? Indeed, it does not know until it has been led into sin. The soul must be vigilant, therefore, and close all its ports of entry. The mouth should be occupied with holy speech, the ears with pious sounds; the eyes with a vision of the wondrous works of God; and the mind with heavenly thoughts. It is not sufficient merely to refrain from speaking, hearing, seeing or thinking evil things. For to do that is only to block the access of good spirits along with the bad. Whoever renounces evil but fails to take up the good is said to have left the gates to his soul open. The enemy enters easily when he finds them vacant. It is necessary therefore that the portals to the soul of the just not only be free of evil but also be fully occupied with the good, lest evil find a way to gain access. Homily 51.

Living in Expectation.

Incomplete Work on Matthew: Why is the date of an individual’s death hidden from him? Clearly it is so that he might always do good, since he can expect to die at any moment. The date of Christ’s second advent is withheld from the world for the same reason, namely, so that every generation might live in the expectation of Christ’s return. This is why when his disciples asked him, “Lord, will you restore the kingdom to Israel at this time?” Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know the times and the seasons which the Father has established by his authority.”
“But know this, that if the head of the household had known the hour at which the thief would arrive, he would have been vigilant and would never have allowed his house to be burglarized.” The head of the household represents the human soul, the thief is the devil, the house is the body, the doors are the mouth and ears and the windows are the eyes. Like the thief who gains access through the doors and windows to despoil the householder, the devil also finds easy access to the soul of a man through his mouth, ears and eyes to take him captive. This is why Jeremiah wrote, “For death entered through our windows.” If you wish to be secure, install a bolt on your door, which is to say, put the law of the fear of God in your mouth so that you can say with the psalmist, “I will guard my ways that I might not sin with my tongue. I will put a guard at my mouth.” Homily 51.

 

[mikeforjesus]

24:45–51 The Faithful and Unfaithful Servants

Overview: Faithful and wise make a rare combination. There are many clever individuals, yet the wise are very few. The good steward is granted authority over all possessions of his master; that is, he is made coheir with Christ and will reign with Christ (Origen). Both wisdom in dispensing the gifts of God and faithfulness to God are the necessary components of good stewardship. This applies both to teachers, entrusted with the distribution of knowledge, and to those entrusted with the greatest and most honorable responsibility over “all possessions” in the life to come (Chrysostom). The parable of the good and wise steward applies first of all to bishops, who are called to wisely feed their flock with the Word of God and to be constantly ready to give account of their stewardship in Christ’s coming (Hilary of Poitiers). This parable is against the wicked rulers who lead a luxurious life and against negligent teachers. Both of them sin because they do not believe that their judge will ever come. These will be condemned at the last judgment and will be cut off from the grace of God forever (Cyril of Alexandria). Cutting off means separating from the fellowship of Christians and condemning to destruction with the sinners (Incomplete Work on Matthew). The Holy Spirit is the agent of union with God. Therefore, as Adam after the Fall was cut off from the Spirit, so will be those condemned at the last judgment. Thus cutting off the Spirit means the punishment of separation from God (Cyril of Alexandria).

24:45 Who is the Faithful and Wise Servant?

The Faithful and Wise Servants.

Origen: We should understand the phrase “faithful and wise servant” as referring to a person who is faithful in the customary sense of the term, not as referring to those who are wise or clever by natural endowment. Many who are clever and wise are not at all faithful. For instance, whoever considers the great number of people who fancy themselves Christians will discover many who are faithful and who have great zeal for the faith but are not very wise. He will thus conclude that “the sons of this world are wiser in their own generation,” knowing that “God chose the foolish of the world to confound the wise.” He will also see that others who are thought to be believers are clever and wise enough but of only limited faith. If they are not unfaithful, they are certainly at least less faithful than the “foolish of the world” whom “God chose.” But it is rare for faithfulness and wisdom to coincide in one person to enable him to “give his fellow servants their food at the proper time.” He needs wisdom to give food to the needy “at the proper time” and faith to refrain from keeping the food for himself in time of need. Commentary on Matthew 61.

24:46 Blessed is that Servant

Responsible for the Lord’s Goods.

Chrysostom: Everyone should make full use of what he has been given for the common advantage of all. If you possess power or wealth or wisdom, do not use it to hurt your fellow servants. If you do, it will be to your own ruin. Since sins come from foolishness, he requires both wisdom and fidelity. One is faithful who has been a good steward of his Lord’s goods, not stealing from the Lord, not spending without aim or fruit. One is wise who knows how to dispense the things given him in a fitting way. Indeed, we have need of both these things together, faithfulness and wisdom, and these in conjunction. We are called to exercise our stewardship in a fitting manner, spending carefully. And we must not steal from the Lord. If one of these is lacking, the other is halted. There would be great blame if one were to waste the Lord’s goods, spend freely the resources we have been given, even if we never stole anything at all. Similarly there would be heavy charges to make against one who spent his Lord’s goods well but occasionally stole something for himself. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 77.3.

A Great Promise.

Origen: “Blessed is the servant whom the Lord will find so doing when he comes.” A great promise is extended to the Lord’s faithful and wise stewards. It is like the promise he made to those to whom he said, “Take authority over five cities” or “take authority over ten cities.” For to be made the head “over all his possessions” is nothing other than to be made an “heir of God and coheir with Christ” and to reign with Christ. The Father has given him everything he himself possesses, as Christ said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” The Son of the good Father who is given authority over all his Father’s possessions also shares this honor and glory with his faithful and wise stewards, so they also might be with Christ above every creature and authority. This is what he meant when he said, “Truly I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.” Commentary on Matthew 62.

24:47 Set Over All His Possessions

Entrusted with Riches.

Chrysostom: Let everyone who is entrusted with riches listen carefully. He is not only speaking to teachers but to those who manage money. In both cases they are entrusted with riches. Those who teach are entrusted with a wealth that is far more necessary than those who deal with money. There are times when teachers have difficult times. If in these times you who have money are not willing to demonstrate your generosity, what excuse will you have? You need to exhibit both generosity and honesty, for the two go together.
It is an honor to be entrusted with the responsibility of someone else’s resources. This happens to the faithful: “Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.” What can be equal to this honor? What sort of speech would be fitting to this dignity? What sort of blessedness would accompany it? Here we are speaking of nothing less than the King of heaven who possesses all things. It is he who is setting a person “over all his possessions.” This is why he calls him to be wise. He must not spend large sums for small benefits. It is only having been responsible here in this life that he will receive the riches of heaven. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 77.3.

Over All His Possessions

Hilary of Poitiers: Although he urged everyone to exercise an indefatigable vigilance, Christ commanded the princes of the people, the bishops, to demonstrate a special attentiveness in expectation of his advent. The bishop is represented in this parable by the faithful and wise servant who was set over the household. He is fully equipped and enabled to care for the people entrusted to him. He needs to be attentive to his instructions and obedient to the commandments. When he speaks the truth and prudently applies doctrine, he will confirm the weak, heal the broken, convert sinners and feed his household with the Word of life—their eternal food. If he is found performing these tasks diligently, he will receive glory from the Lord as a faithful servant and effective steward. He will be set over all his possessions. In other words, he will be established in the midst of the glory of God. Nothing could possibly be better than this. On Matthew 27.1.

24:48–49 The Wicked Servant

Beating One’s Fellow Servants.

Cyril of Alexandria: This teaching is directed against the rulers who are leading a luxurious and leisurely lifestyle. He calls the negligent teacher a wicked and evil servant because he takes advantage of the judge’s absence and believes he will not be observed because of the judge’s forbearance. So he beats harshly those over whom he holds power and associates with those who are in love with the flesh. They sin both because the judge is not present and because they don’t think judgment will ever arrive. By wounding some of them, he points out those who are disabled in soul because of the luxury of their exalted positions. Just as the apostle says, “When you sin against your brothers in this way [you] wound their weak conscience.” Therefore he threatens to introduce the most severe punishments to those living self-indulgently.…
Those who pretend to understand the principles of the good life are not thinking as they should but are only clothing themselves in the appearance of virtue. They will be cut into pieces on that fearful day of judgment. This is a judgment from the Spirit and results in a perpetual alienation.… Grace will be cut off from all the pollution of his soul, and his part will be reckoned with the hypocrites. Jesus calls hypocrites those who are cut into pieces and yet continue to teach others the way to live. They succeed only in making things worse for those learning the life of discipleship. Further, Jesus teaches that those who have not carried out faithfully the ministry given to them in this present life from the Lord will not receive another from him.… For the cutting Jesus reveals is not a bodily one but the stripping of their adoption as sons from the Spirit. Moreover, they are punished because they lived a life of derision. They will gnash their teeth when they consider the reason for their pain and the exceedingly severe character of their punishment. Fragment 277.

24:50–51 Weeping and Gnashing Teeth

The Unfaithful Servant Punished.

Incomplete Work on Matthew: “He will cut him off” means that the Lord will cut him off from the fellowship of Christians. The unfaithful servant will neither be glorified with the saints nor gently punished with those who have committed venial sins. Instead, he will be thrown in with the hypocrites and infidels, where he will suffer the destruction of those whose behavior he imitated. A good priest is glorified above all others, not only on account of his own righteousness but also on account of theirs as well, since he is the cause of their righteousness. In the same way, a sinful priest is punished more severely than anyone else, not only for his own sins, but also for theirs, since he made himself the cause of their sin. The Lord calls them not only hypocrites but also infidels, because every hypocrite is an infidel, but not every infidel is a hypocrite. Whoever gives the appearance of being in the church and then acts against the church is properly called a hypocrite. Homily 51.

The Gift of the Spirit Cut Off.

Cyril of Alexandria: Let us investigate carefully what “to be cut into pieces means.” When in ancient times Adam came into being, God made him a partaker of his own Spirit, giving to his nature a most perfect beauty. For “he breathed on his face the breath of life.” For to truly give life is to have the Spirit of life, that is, of Christ. But because Adam was deceived and slipped into sin, he was cut off from the Spirit. For it pleased our God and father “to bring all things together under one head in Christ” and to restore the ancient beauty to human nature. We have received this through grace, but the stealthy entrance of sin stripped it from us. For Christ breathed into us after the resurrection, restoring ancient beauty to us. “Receive,” he says, “the Holy Spirit.” And so the Spirit is united to us. For “he who unites himself to the Lord is one with him in spirit.” Surely, just as we have been compelled to be zealous in our efforts by a sense of devotion, we are receiving the utmost fullness since we now have the pledge of the Spirit at the appropriate time. We are deprived of that same foretaste of the Spirit when we stand accused in our own sin since the gift of the Spirit is cut off and sent away from us as in the time of the judgment. We affirm that it is this judgment that Jesus speaks of when he mentions cutting something apart. For one such as this who has the Spirit is not delivered over to punishment. Fragment 278.

 

[mikeforjesus]

25:1–13 The Parable of the Ten Virgins
Overview: In the final judgment, no one can look to another’s praise to help him or her shine. The five virgins are the whole church. The lamps are good works of love done from a pure heart. The wise are those souls who have the catholic faith and seem to demonstrate good works. The lamps of the wise burn with a good conscience, with an inner glory and with inmost charity, yet even they tremble on the last day (Augustine). The wise virgins are those who, embracing the time available to them, were prepared at the first onset of the Lord’s coming (Hilary of Poitiers). Watchfulness is required, lest Christ come to take the church for his bride at the least expected moment, when some of those waiting are seeking the praise of others (Augustine).
On the day of the resurrection and judgment, however much people might be rich in good works, they will fear for themselves, lest they not be prepared with faith that has been active in works. The foolish virgins were those who were lazy and unmindful. They were foolish because they were not prepared for the future but only for the present. Thus they were foolish because they did not have works of compassion, for the oil symbolizes compassion (Epiphanius the Latin). They troubled themselves only over present matters and, forgetting what God said, did not direct their efforts toward the hope of the resurrection. Because the foolish were not able to go out and meet the bridegroom, for their lamps had gone out, they asked the wise to share their oil. They were not part of the group entering the wedding feast but were late and unworthy of entering. They had lost their opportunity (Hilary of Poitiers). If our hearts, symbolized by lamps, have in them no sense of the deep reserve of God’s graciousness, we are forever running short of oil and forgetting to carry enough ourselves (Augustine).

25:1 The Kingdom Compared with Ten Maidens

Division Between Good and Bad.

Hilary of Poitiers: The whole story is about the great day of the Lord, when those things concealed from the human mind will be revealed through our understanding of divine judgment. Then the faith true to the Lord’s coming will win the just reward for unwavering hope. For in the five wise and five foolish virgins, a complete separation between the faithful and unfaithful is established. Similarly, Moses had received the Ten Commandments written on two tablets. For it was necessary that all these things be written on each. The double column represented, under a single testament, the division between the good and the bad, between the designation of right and left. On Matthew 27.3.

To Meet the Bridegroom.

Augustine: Let us now, beloved, discuss the five wise and the five foolish virgins. They wished to go to meet the bridegroom. What is the meaning of “to go and meet the bridegroom”? To go with all the heart, to eagerly await his coming. Sermon 93.5.

The Ten Maidens.

Augustine: So then let us understand, dearly beloved, that this parable relates to us all, that is, to the whole church together, not to the clergy only, of whom we spoke yesterday, nor to the laity only but generally to all. Why then are the virgins five and five? These five and five virgins are all Christian souls together. But that I may tell you what by the Lord’s inspiration I think, it is not souls of every sort but such souls as have the catholic faith and seem to have good works in the church of God. Yet even of them it is said, “Five are wise, and five are foolish.” Sermon 93.5.

25:2 Five Foolish, Five Wise Foolish and Wise.

Hilary of Poitiers:: The wise virgins are those who, embracing the time available to them, were prepared at the first onset of the coming of the Lord. But the foolish were those who were lax and unmindful. They troubled themselves only over present matters and, forgetting what God said, did not direct their efforts toward hope for resurrection. On Matthew 27.5.

Five Senses.

Augustine: Every soul that enlivens a body is denoted by the number five, because it makes use of five senses. For there is nothing of which we have perception by the body except through this fivefold gate, either by sight, or hearing, or smelling, or tasting or touching. Whoever abstains from unlawful seeing, unlawful hearing, unlawful smelling, unlawful tasting and unlawful touching, by reason of blamelessness, is here called by the name of virgin. Sermon 93.2.

The Only Distinction.

Augustine: It says that even of these, who were virgins and carrying lamps, some are wise and some foolish. How is this distinction made? By what clue do we tell the difference? Only by whether the oil is present or missing. Sermon 93.4.

25:3–4 Flasks of Oil

What the Oil Signifies.

Augustine: It is some great thing, some exceedingly great thing, that this oil signifies. Do you think it might be charity? If we try out this hypothesis, we hazard no precipitate judgment. I will tell you why charity seems to be signified by the oil. The apostle says, “I will show you a still more excellent way.” “If I speak with the tongue of mortals and of angels but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” This is charity. It is “that way above the rest,” which is with good reason signified by the oil. For oil swims above all liquids. Pour in water, and pour in oil upon it; the oil will swim above. Pour in oil, pour in water upon it; the oil will swim above. If you keep the usual order, it will be uppermost; if you change the order, it will be uppermost. “Charity never fails.” Sermon 93.4.

Took No Oil with Them.

Augustine: What is the meaning of “took no oil with them”? What is “in their lamps”? In their hearts. For this reason the apostle wrote, “Indeed, this is our glory, the testimony of our conscience.” There is the oil, the precious oil. This oil is of the gift of God. We can put oil into our lamps, but we ourselves cannot create the olive. See, I have oil. But did I create the oil? It is of the gift of God. So you have oil. Carry it with you. What does it mean to “carry it with you”? To have it within, where it is pleasing to God. Note: those “foolish virgins, who brought no oil with them,” wish to please a human audience by that abstinence of theirs by which they are called virgins, and by their good works, when they seem to carry lamps. But wishing to please human spectators, doing praiseworthy works, they forgot to carry with them the necessary oil. Sermon 93.7–8.

The Foolish Did Not Take Oil.

Epiphanius the Latin: Those ten virgins, whom the Lord compared with the kingdom of heaven, were set up as an example for all virgins. They went out to meet the bridegroom and the bride. This means that they had received the grace of the Holy Spirit. They had come forth as virgins never stained by sin and had left behind earthly matters to meet Christ and the church. “But five were foolish and five wise. For the wise took oil with them along with their lamps. But the foolish did not take oil.” Thus they were foolish, because they were not prepared for the future but only for the present. Thus they were foolish, because they did not have works of compassion. For the oil is compassion. But the wise took oil with their lamps. Thus they were wise, because they took these things not on account of people but on account of God. Thus they were wise, because they were virgins not for the sake of the present but the future. Thus they were wise, because they had works of compassion. Thus they were wise, because they were virgins in spirit and body. Interpretation of the Gospels 36.

The Virgins and Their Lamps.

Augustine: But if it is good to abstain from the unlawful excitements of the senses, and on that account every Christian soul has received the name of virgin, why then are five admitted and five rejected? They are both virgins, and yet half are rejected. It is not enough that they are virgins but that they also have lamps. They are virgins by reason of abstinence from unlawful indulgence of the senses. But they have lamps by reason of good works. Of these good works the Lord says, “Let your works shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Again he said to his disciples, “Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning.” In the “girded loins” is virginity. In the “burning lamps” is good works. Sermon 93.2.

25:5 The Bridegroom Delayed

Both Bride and Bridegroom.

Hilary of Poitiers: The bridegroom and bride represent our Lord, God in the flesh. For as the spirit is wedded to the flesh, so the flesh is wedded to the spirit. When the trumpet finally summons us and the bridegroom is at hand, all this will be revealed. Indeed, the two aspects are the corruptible body and the incorruptible soul. On Matthew 27.4.

They All Slept.

Augustine: But he tarried. And “while he tarried, they all slept.” What is “all”? Both the foolish and the wise. “All slumbered and slept.” But is this sleeping good? What does this sleep mean at this time? Might it mean that during the delay of the bridegroom there is an inattentiveness, so that “because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold”? Are we to understand this sleep in this way? I don’t like that reading, and I will tell you why. Because among the ten are the five wise virgins. Certainly when the Lord said, “And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold,” he then went on directly to say, “But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” So on this premise, where would you place the wise virgins? Are they not among those that will “endure to the end”? They would not be admitted within unless they had “endured to the end.” No coldness of love then crept over them. In them love did not grow cold. Love preserves its glow even to the very end. And because it glows even to the end, therefore are the gates of the bridegroom opened to them. So they are told to enter in, just as did that excellent servant to whom it was said, “Enter into the joy of thy Lord.”
What then is the meaning of “they all slept”? There is another sleep which no one escapes. Don’t you remember the apostle saying, “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning those who are asleep,” that is, concerning those who are dead? For why are they called “those who are asleep,” except that they all have died in their own time? Therefore it is said “they all slept.” Do you imagine that just because one is wise, she does not have to die? Whether the virgin is foolish or wise, all suffer equally the sleep of death. Sermon 93.5.

The Moment of Least Awareness.

Augustine: Why “at midnight”? That is the moment of least expectation. There is no thought of it. It is a moment of complete unawareness. It is as though one might calculate complacently, … “So many years have passed since Adam, and the six thousand years are being completed, and then immediately, according to the computation of certain expositors, the day of judgment will come.” Yet these calculations come and pass away, and still the coming of the bridegroom is delayed. So the virgins who had gone to meet him now are sleeping. But just when he is least looked for, when the best calculators are saying, “The six thousand years were waited for, and, look, they are already gone by. So how then shall we know when he will come?”—he comes at midnight. So what is “midnight”? It means when you are least aware. Sermon 93.7.

At Midnight, a Cry.

Hilary of Poitiers: The delay of the bridegroom is the time for repentance. The sleep of those waiting is the peaceful rest of believers. The delay has given time for repentance. The cry comes at midnight, when no one yet knows what is happening. The sound of the trumpet of God heralds his coming, rousing all to go out and meet the bridegroom. The taking up of the lamps is the return of souls into their bodies. And the light shining from them is the consciousness of good work, which is contained in our bodies, which are like flasks. On Matthew 27.4.

25:7–8 Preparing to Meet the Bridegroom

The Maidens Arose.

Augustine: Of what cry are we speaking? That of which the apostle says, “In the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump? For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed”? And so when the cry was made at midnight, “Behold, the bridegroom comes!” what follows? “Then all those maidens arose.” But who are “all those” who arose? “The hour will come,” said the Lord himself, “when all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth.” Therefore at the last trumpet they all arose. “When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.” Sermon 93.7.

They Trimmed Their Lamps.

Augustine: Note then, beloved, that before those virgins slept, it is not said that their lamps were extinguished. The lamps of the wise virgins burned with an inward oil, with the assurance of a good conscience, with an inner glory, with an inmost charity. Yet the lamps of the foolish virgins were also still burning. In what way were they burning? They burned because there was no lack of praise among human onlookers. But after that they arose, that is, in the resurrection from the dead. They began to trim their lamps, that is, began to prepare to render to God an account of their works. And because there is then no human beholder to praise them, all persons are wholly employed in their own cause. There is no one then who is not thinking of self. Therefore there were none to sell them oil. Sermon 93.8.

Seeking the Praise of Others.

Augustine: So their lamps began to fail, and the foolish plead with the five wise, “Give us of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” They sought for what they had been most prone to seek for, to shine, that is, with others’ oil, to walk after others’ praises. Sermon 93.8.

25:9 Not Enough for Us and for You

Perhaps There Will Not Be Enough for Us.

Epiphanius the Latin: “As the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ ” Likewise, the blessed apostle, Paul, declared, “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord.” So those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. But the foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” Their spiritual virginity was running out and failing, because they did not have works of religious devotion and compassion. But the wise replied, “Perhaps there will not be enough for us and for you; go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.” For on the day of the resurrection and judgment, however much anyone might be rich in holy works, he will fear for himself, lest he not have enough. Interpretation of the Gospels 36.

Go to the Dealers and Buy for Yourselves.

Augustine: “But the wise replied, ‘Perhaps there will not be enough for us and for you; go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ ” This is hardly the voice of those who give counsel but rather those who rebuke. Why are they scornful? Because they were wise, because wisdom was in them. For they were not wise by anything that belonged to them. Rather that wisdom was in them of which it is written in a certain Scripture that wisdom shall say to those that despised her, when they have fallen upon the evils which she threatened them, “I will laugh over your destruction.” No wonder the wise mock the foolish virgins. And what is this mocking?
“Go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves,” you who never desired to live well but because people praised you, who sold you oil. Who are these who “sold you oil”? They are the ones who sell praises. Who sells praises, but flatterers? How much better would it have been for you not to have acquiesced to flatterers, and to have carried oil within, and for the sake of a good conscience to have done all good works.…
Go then to those who deal in human praise, as you have been accustomed to doing, but do not expect the wise to give you oil at this crucial moment. Why? “Lest there not be enough for us and you.” What is “lest there not be enough”? This was not spoken in any lack of hope but in a sober and godly humility. For though the good person have a good conscience, how does he know how the final judge, who is deceived by no one, will judge? He has a good conscience; no sins conceived in the heart argue with him. Yet, though his conscience is good, because of the daily sins of human life, he says to God daily, “Forgive us our debts,” on the assumption that he has already done what comes next, “as we also forgive our debtors.” He has broken his bread to the hungry from the heart; from the heart has he clothed the naked. Out of that inward oil he has done good works, and yet in that judgment even his good conscience trembles. Sermon 93.8–9.

 

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25:10–11 The Bridegroom’s Arrival

While They Went to Buy.

Augustine: Now it is no wonder that precisely “while they were going out to buy,” while they were seeking for praise from others and found none, while they were seeking for persons by whom to be comforted and found none—just then the shut door opened. Just then “the bridegroom came,” and the bride, the church, was glorified then with Christ and all its members gathered together into one. Sermon 93.9.

The Door Was Shut.

Hilary of Poitiers: Because the foolish were not able to go out and meet the bridegroom, since their lamps had gone out, they asked the wise to share their oil. They replied that they could not give them oil for there would perhaps not be enough. They told them to go to the dealers and buy for themselves. These foolish were not part of the group entering the wedding feast but late and unworthy of entering. They had lost their opportunity. On Matthew 27.5.

The Foolish Came Afterward.

Augustine: “And those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast; and the door was shut.” Then the foolish virgins came afterward. But had they bought any oil? Had they found any from whom they might buy it? No. Therefore they found the doors shut. They began to knock, but too late. Sermon 93.9.

25:12–13 Not Knowing the Time

I Do Not Know You.

Cyril of Alexandria: Jesus compares the rulers of the people with virgins. The person who discharges a sacred function must be undefiled in soul and body, just as Paul says, “that she might be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit.” For it is customary for the Scripture to divide the present age into five seasons or times. It assigns to each time both God-fearing and foolish souls, just as each time has wise persons and simpletons, righteous persons and wicked ones. In the parable all the virgins go out with their lamps. Jesus indicates by this that all souls have been illuminated by God through innate and natural laws but also indeed by the laws written by Moses. Now all the virgins went out to meet the bridegroom. All were determined to seek favor with God and to join themselves spiritually to the bridegroom. He sows in the hearts of the faithful the seed of every kind of virtue. Indeed, this is why he is called a bridegroom! Nevertheless some prove to be undistinguished, though they possess an illumination from God.… He mockingly calls their drowsiness the death of the flesh, which by necessity will go before both wise and foolish, whom the trumpet of the angels awakes at the time of Christ’s second coming. For all who have been rendered powerless by death are awakened, the good and the bad, and all are made ready to present their defense before the judge. This is represented in the parable when each virgin trims her lamp, summing up all that has occurred in her life. The thoughtless virgins have brought no oil with them. Their soul begins to grow gloomy and as if snuffed out departs into a delirious state, so as to think they will be shown mercy through the virtue of the others. They are rejected as the other virgins say there is not enough for us and for you. The virtue of each scarcely suffices for the salvation of the soul, because even those who are very wise transgress in many ways. Fragment 280..

25:14–30 The Parable of the Talents
Overview: Those who do not love lose the love they have (Gregory the Great). One who is given a gift of preaching or teaching is given it so others may profit from it. If people do not use this gift, they will lose it. But one who uses the gift diligently will gain even more of the gift in abundance, even as the inactive recipient will lose what he or she received (Chrysostom). The risen Christ, entrusting his gifts to his servants the church, returns to receive an account.
The five talents may be viewed as the gift of the five senses, that is, knowledge of externals by means of sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. The two talents signify theory and practice; the one talent signifies theory alone. Many in the church resemble the man given one talent, who hides it in the earth, employing abilities in earthly affairs but failing to seek spiritual profit (Gregory the Great). One talent is by no means a paltry sum (Origen). Note how sins of omission also are met with extreme rejection. Not only the active doer of evil things, the murderer and the adulterer, but also the one who fails to do good is culpable (Chrysostom).
Two seems to be an average or mundane number. The servant who received the two talents gained two talents more. This can be viewed either with respect to worldly knowledge or to a higher knowledge. Righteous persons belong to God, who reaps where not he but the righteous person has sown. So we may say that the righteous have scattered and given to the poor. The Lord, however, gathers to himself whatever the righteous person has given to the poor. Reaping what he has not sown and gathering where he has not winnowed, he counts as having been done to himself whatever the faithful have sown or winnowed for the poor (Origen). Let us therefore contribute whatever we have—wealth, diligence, or care giving—for our neighbor’s advantage. For the talents here are each person’s ability, whether in the way of protection, or in money, or in teaching or in whatever thing one has been given. Let no one say, “I have but one talent and can do nothing with it.” For this end God gave us speech, and hands, and feet, and strength of body and mind and understanding, that we might use all these things both for our own salvation and for our neighbor’s advantage (Chrysostom). Who is this man who sets out for foreign parts but our Redeemer, who departed to heaven in the body he had taken on (Gregory the Great)?

25:14–15 Entrusted with Talents According to Ability

He Entrusted His Property.

Origen: This man, therefore, “like a man going abroad, called his servants and delivered to them” his money with pure words. Indeed, his “words” are “words that are pure, silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.” Commentary on Matthew 65.

A Man Going on a Journey.

Gregory the Great: Who is the man who sets out for foreign parts but our Redeemer, who departed to heaven in the body he had taken on? Earth is the proper place for his body. It is transported to foreign parts, so to speak, when he establishes it in heaven. Forty Gospel Homilies 9.1.

Matthew’s Numbers Differ from Luke’s.

Chrysostom: In Luke the parable of the talents is told differently, and it is indeed different. For there, from the one pound different degrees of increase were made. From one pound one brought five, another ten, one nothing more, and they received recompense accordingly. Here it is different: The one that received two gave two. The one who received five made five more. But in Luke’s version, from the same investment, one made the greater and one the less increase, with the reward dispensed accordingly. But in both cases he does not require his investment back immediately. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 78.2.

The Distributor of Talents.

Cyril of Alexandria: The man who is the landowner is actually the Creator and Lord of all. The Word compares the time the landowner spends away from home in the parable to either the ascension of Christ into heaven or at any rate to the unseen and invisible character of the divine nature. Now one must conceive of the property of God as those in each country and city who believe in him. He calls his servants those who according to the times Christ crowns with the glory of the priesthood. For the holy Paul writes, “No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God.” He hands over [his property] to those who are under him, to each giving a spiritual gift so that he might have character and aptitude. We think that this distribution of the talents is not supplied to the household servants in equal measure because each is quite different from the other in their understanding. Immediately they head out for their labors, he says, directly indicating to us here that apart from the procrastination of one they are fit to carry out the work of God. Surely those who are bound by fear and laziness will end up in the worst evils. For he buried, Jesus says, the talent given to him in the earth. He kept the gift hidden, making it unprofitable for others and useless for himself. For that very reason the talent is taken away from him and will be given to the one who is already rich. The Spirit has departed from such as these and the gift of the divine gifts. But to those who are industrious an even more lavish gift will be presented. Fragment 283.

The Five Bodily Senses.

Gregory the Great: The man setting out for foreign parts entrusted his goods to his servants, for he granted his spiritual gifts to those who believed in him. To one he entrusted five talents, to another two, to another one. There are five bodily senses, sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. The five talents represent the gift of the five senses, that is, knowledge of externals; the two talents signify theory and practice; the one talent signifies theory alone. Forty Gospel Homilies 9.1.

25:16–18 Five Talents, Two Talents, One Talent

To Each According to Ability.

Origen: There is the ability of those to whom “five talents” were given, the ability of those to whom “two talents” were given and the ability of those to whom “one talent” was given. Also, one person did not receive the same amount as the other. And “he who had received the one talent” received by no means a paltry sum, for even one talent from this master is considerable. However, three in number are the servants of him who “set out like a man going abroad,” just as in another parable those who bear fruit are three in number: “some” of them. Again “one hundred, some sixty and some thirty.” But he who gains thirty is saved. Commentary on Matthew 66.

Five Talents More.

Gregory the Great: The person who received five talents gained another five. There are some who, even without knowing how to probe into inward and mystical matters, use the natural gifts they have received to teach correctly those they can reach to strive for their heavenly home. While guarding themselves from physical wantonness, from striving after earthly things and from taking pleasure in things they can see, they restrain others too from these things by their counsel. Forty Gospel Homilies 9.1.

Two Talents More.

Gregory the Great: And there are some endowed with two talents, so to speak, who comprehend both theory and practice. They understand the fine points of interior matters and accomplish astonishing things outwardly. When they preach to others by both theory and practice, their business venture, so to call it, yields a twofold gain. It is good that another five and another two are said to have been gained, since when preaching is provided for both sexes the talents received are so to speak doubled. Forty Gospel Homilies 9.1.

He Dug in the Ground.

Origen: The master’s words scold him “who had received the one talent” and “hid it in the ground.” And I wonder whether those who received “five talents” can be deemed to be more mature than those who study and receive the more noble and sublime context of Scripture. Now those who received “two talents” improved somewhat on the original sum given but were unable to gain more. Those in the third group, however, were unable to capitalize on the amount they had first received. It is entirely a matter of numbers, therefore, in those words that form a fitting discourse of our Lord and Savior—namely, five and two and one. Commentary on Matthew 66.

He Hid the Money.

Gregory the Great: But the person who received one talent went away, dug in the earth and hid his master’s money. Hiding a talent in the earth means employing one’s abilities in earthly affairs, failing to seek spiritual profit, never raising one’s heart from earthly thoughts. There are some who have received the gift of understanding but have a taste only for things that pertain to the body. The prophet says of them, “They are wise in doing evil, but they do not know how to do good.” Forty Gospel Homilies 9.1.
25:19 The Master Settled Accounts
The Master Came to Them. Origen: Notice too that the servants did not go to the master so they might be judged and receive their just deserts. Rather, “the master came to them” in due course. “After a long time” he came and “settled accounts with them” on everything they had done, compensating them for the gains of their good works and the losses of their sins. Settling “accounts” and scrutinizing everything, he dealt with each one individually. It behooves us, then, as those who by sinning have done evil and by doing good reaped a profit, to keep a guard on our hearts. In this way, when our Master comes to settle accounts with us, we may not be found to have done evil, even through idle words. Commentary on Matthew 66.

After a Long Time.

Chrysostom: In the case of the vineyard, he let it out to farmers and went into a far country. Here he committed to them the talents and took his journey that you might understand his patience and long-suffering. And to me he seems to say these things as an intimation of the resurrection. But here it is no more a vineyard and husbandmen but all farmers. For it is not to rulers only or to Jews but to all that he addresses this discourse. And those who bring a return to him confess frankly, both what is their own and what their Master’s. And the one says, “Lord, you gave me five talents,” and the other says, “two,” indicating that from him they received the source of their gain, and they are very thankful and reckon all to him. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 78.2.

Weighing the Gain.

Gregory the Great: The Lord who dispensed the talents returns to demand an account, because he who now generously bestows spiritual gifts may at the judgment inquire searchingly into what was achieved; he may take into account what everyone has received and weigh up the gain we bring back from his gifts. Forty Gospel Homilies 9.1.

25:20–21 Entering the Joy of the Master

Bringing Five Talents More.

Origen: We earnestly believe that we are incapable of explaining such things, unlike those who infer from the perceptible events of the Scriptures more inspired meanings. These are spiritual meanings that Solomon calls “divine” and which Jeremiah calls “faculties of the heart” and which Paul in his epistle to the Hebrews calls “faculties trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.” The persons in the first group are those who in addition to the “five talents” gained five more, trading with them and capitalizing on their ability. Successfully negotiating and zealously teaching, they traded and acquired five more talents. Indeed, no one readily benefits from another’s ability unless he has that ability to begin with. A wise man grows in wisdom, a trustworthy man in trust.
“He brought five talents more.” Note this: What each man knows, he can teach to another, up to the level of as much as he knows. This he can teach to another and no more. Therefore whatever someone has in himself, by teaching this to another, he gains it in the other, making that person have what he too has. Consequently he who had received the “five talents” is said not to have gained more than the five which he had and “he who had received the two talents” not more than the two which he had. Commentary on Matthew 66.

Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant.

Origen: The first servant stepped forward in confidence, because he had gone to work and made a profit. That confidence now made him bold, for he was the first one to approach the master and declare to him, “Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.” The master replied in words favorable to us all, even as our master will reply when he settles with us: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” These words run counter to what he said to the third man: “You wicked and slothful servant.” Commentary on Matthew 67.

Set Over Much.

Chrysostom: What then does the master say? “Well done, good and faithful servant.” For it is good to see the neighbor’s benefit. “You have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.” He means by this expression, enter into the realm of all blessedness. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 78.2.

 

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25:22–23 Rewarding Faithfulness

You Gave Two Talents.

Origen: Concerning the two talents, those who did not stay with the original sum given but sought to excel—though unable to surpass the measure of two talents—are those who had imbibed worldly know-how. Two seems to be an average or mundane number. Having received the two talents from the one who knew their ability, he gained two talents more. This can be viewed either with respect to worldly knowledge or to a higher knowledge. Commentary on Matthew 66.

Two Talents.

Gregory the Great: The servant who returned with two talents was praised by his master. He was led to his eternal reward when his master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Because you have been faithful about a few things, I shall put you in charge of many.” Forty Gospel Homilies 9.2.

Eternal Joys.

Gregory the Great: All the good deeds of our present life, however many they may appear to be, are few in comparison with our eternal recompense. The faithful servant is put in charge of many things after overcoming all the troubles brought him by perishable things. He glories in the eternal joys of his heavenly dwelling. He is brought completely into the joy of his master when he is taken into his eternal home and joined to the company of angels. His inner joy at his gift is such that there is no longer any external perishable thing that can cause him sorrow. Forty Gospel Homilies 9.2.

25:24–25 Hiding the One Talent

You Reaped Where You Did Not Sow.

Origen: They exemplify the very words of the servant who answers and says, “I knew you to be a hard man” and one who was able to reap “where you did not sow and gather where you did not winnow.”
The master answered him and reproached him as a wicked and lazy servant. Note that he did not call himself a hard man. But he agreed with the servant when he went on to say, “You knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I did not winnow.”
How are we to understand the phrase that our Lord truly reaps where he did not sow and gathers where he did not winnow? In this way, it seems to me: The righteous man “sows in the Spirit,” from which he will also “reap eternal life.” Everything that is sown and reaped for eternal life by the righteous man, God reaps. The righteous man belongs to God, who reaps where not he but the righteous man has sown. So we may say that the righteous man has “scattered and given to the poor.” The Lord, however, gathers to himself whatever the righteous man has “scattered and given to the poor.” Reaping what he has not sown and gathering where he has not winnowed, he counts as having been done to himself whatever the faithful have sown or winnowed for the poor. He says to those who have done good to their neighbors: “Come you, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom which was prepared for you. I was hungry and you gave me to eat …”
And since he wishes to reap where he did not sow and to gather where he did not winnow, when he does not find anything, he says to those who failed to reap and gather: “Depart from me, you wicked, into everlasting fire, which my Father has prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you did not give me to eat.” Commentary on Matthew 68.
One Talent. Origen: Then there was another servant who showed less ability. Because of it, the master of the household gave him “one talent” as though to the servant less capable. “Receiving” it, the servant went away and “hid the talent in the earth.” Instead he should have entrusted the money to the bankers. Commentary on Matthew 66.

I Was Afraid.

Chrysostom: But not so that other one, but how? “Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not winnow. I was afraid. I hid your talent. Here it is. It belongs to you.” The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 78.2.

I Hid Your Talent.

Gregory the Great: But the third servant was unwilling to work with his talent. He returned to his master with words of excuse: “Master, I knew that you are a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, gathering where you have not scattered; being afraid, I went away and hid your talent in the earth. Here it is; see, you have what is yours.” The useless servant called his master hard, and yet he neglected to serve him for profit. He said that he was afraid to invest the talent for interest, when he should have been afraid only of bringing it back to his master without interest. For many people in the church resemble that servant. They are afraid to attempt a better way of life but not of resting in idleness. When they advert to the fact that they are sinners, the prospect of grasping the ways of holiness alarms them, but they feel no fear at remaining in their wickedness.
Peter is a good example. When he was still weak, he saw the miracle of the fishes and said, “Depart from me, O Lord, because I am a sinful man.” If you regard yourself as a sinner, it is only right that you not drive God away from you! But those who see that they are weak and are for this reason unwilling to improve their habits or way of life are like people admitting that they are sinners and at the same time banishing God. They flee him whom they ought to hallow in themselves; even in the agony of death they do not know where to turn and cling to life. Forty Gospel Homilies 9.3.

25:26–27 A Wicked and Lazy Servant
Slothful Servant.

Gregory the Great: The Lord answered, “You wicked and lazy servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered. Therefore you ought to have given my money to the moneylenders. On my return I would at least have received what was mine with interest.” The servant was trapped by his own words when his master confirms, “Yes, I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered. I expect something of you that I have not given. I expect much more than merely what I gave you to trade with.” Forty Gospel Homilies 9.3.

You Ought to Have Invested My Money.

Chrysostom: What then does the Master say? “You ought to have invested my money with the banker.” You ought to have spoken to someone and received his advice and been admonished. Are the bankers bad people? That is not for you to say.
What could be more gentle than this? Those who give money at interest keep close accounts on its repayment. But you have not done anything with it. You ought to have given it to someone else to work with and required them to report to you. I require it back with increase, that is, with some good works to boot. You ought to have done the easy part and left with someone else the part that is more difficult. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 78.2–3.

I Should Have Received Interest.

Gregory the Great: To give money to moneylenders means to lay out knowledge of preaching to those who can practice it. As you perceive my danger, if I hold the Lord’s money, so carefully consider your own, dearly beloved. What you have will be required of you with interest. The point about interest is that more comes back than was laid out. Forty Gospel Homilies 9.3–4.

25:28–29 Giving and Taking Away

To the One with Ten Talents.

Origen: Note that the talent is taken away from the wicked and slothful servant and is given “to him who has ten talents.” It is not easy to explain how what has been given to a person can be taken away and given to another who does good, so he may have it in addition to what he gained. It is possible, however, since God, who invariably makes good sense in the teaching of truth, by his divinity can take away the corresponding amount from him who made poor use of it and give it to him who multiplied his own.
“For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” Furthermore, whatever someone has from natural creation, when he has exercised it, he receives that very thing also from the grace of God. In this way he may have abundance and be stronger in what he has. Concerning not only wisdom but also every good quality, we should reflect on the words of Solomon: “And if there is anyone perfect among the children of men, if your wisdom is taken away from him, he will be counted as nothing.” Commentary on Matthew 69.

So Take the Talent.

Chrysostom: “Since he did nothing with his one talent, even that one is to be taken from him and given to the more productive partner. For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance, but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” What does this mean for us? One who is given a gift of preaching or teaching is given it so others may profit from it. If one does not use this gift, he will lose it. But one who uses the gift diligently will gain even more of the gift in abundance, even as the inactive recipient will lose what he received. The penalty is not, however, limited to this. The punishment in addition is intolerable, and the sentence is filled with heavy accusation. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 78.3.

Scriptural Examples of Those to Whom More Was Given.

Origen: If someone should wish to peruse Scripture elsewhere to hear from his Master the word faithful, I believe Abraham is a good instance: “Abraham believed God; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness.” Then there is the man who heard from his master the words “faithful servant.” Without doubt his faith was reckoned as righteousness to him, like the faith of him who was faithful in little things, so that every mystery of the resurrection and the administration of godly affairs may be entrusted to him. Everything in this life, by the way, consists of little things.
Let us note also where that good and faithful servant is going who was faithful in the little things of this life. “Enter into the joy of your master,” he is told. Every delight and every joy will be there when those who weep here below will be merry hereafter and those who righteously mourn will receive a worthy consolation. He says this in effect both to the one “who had received the five talents” and to the one “who had received the two.” He says, “Enter.” Know what it is to approach me and to pass from this world to the next. Notice also that the master said to the second servant what he said to the first: “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much.”
I wonder also, since the same words were said to both servants, whether by chance the one who had less ability and exercised it fully would be regarded less by God than the one who had more ability. I wonder if this is in fulfillment of what was said elsewhere: “He that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack.”
Such is indicated also concerning the commandment of love for God or for one’s neighbor, according to the words “You shall love the Lord your God with all your whole heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Without doubt, when someone has loved God with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, he has the same reward of love as the person with a bigger heart or with a more gifted soul or with greater ability. This alone is required: At whatever level one has received a gift from God, one should use it for God’s glory.
It seems to me that “he who had received the one talent” was indeed among the believers, even though he was not among those who acted boldly in faith. He is among those who scatter their energies in trying to do everything but have nothing to show for it. Perhaps their behavior in other respects is not blameworthy. What they received they guard carefully, but they do not add to it, nor do they trade or faithfully transact with it. For that reason, the word does not bear any fruit in them, nor did anyone else gain from it. They even seem to be the type of people who fear God. They often see God as harsh and hard and implacable. Commentary on Matthew 67.

The Three Servants Distinguished.

Origen: The master had three servants. After they believed and became his servants, they were given a task to do. They received money from their master. One of them “traded” with it and “gained.” The second one “gained,” but not as much. And the third, out of fear and being insufficiently faithful, “went away and hid” his master’s money. From his defensiveness it appears that he feared the master. He was in awe of the master even as the other had “zeal for God but not according to knowledge.” Diffidently, he “hid” his talent in the ground. Such are those who neither exert themselves nor question what has been said nor extend themselves to benefit souls, but they scatter their energies on what they have received and have been entrusted with. Commentary on Matthew 66.

From One Who Has Not.

Chrysostom: Let us therefore, knowing these things, contribute whatever we have—wealth, diligence or care giving—for our neighbor’s advantage. For the talents here are each person’s abilities, whether in the way of protection, or in money, or in teaching or in whatever thing you have been given. Let no one say, “I have but one talent and can do nothing with it.” You are not poorer than the widow. You are not more uninstructed than Peter and John, who were both “unlearned and ignorant men.” Nevertheless, since they demonstrated zeal and did all things for the common good, they were received into heaven. For nothing is so pleasing to God as to live for the common advantage.
For this end God gave us speech, and hands, and feet, and strength of body and mind and understanding, that we might use all these things both for our own salvation and for our neighbor’s advantage. Our speech not only is useful for hymns and thanksgiving, but it is profitable also for instruction and admonition. And if indeed we used it to this end, we should be imitating our Master; but if for the opposite ends, the devil. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 78.3.

Vigilance in Guarding Love.

Gregory the Great: And immediately a general thought is added: “For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have more than enough; but from everyone who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away from him.” To the one who has, more will be given, and he will have more than enough. Whoever has love receives other gifts as well. Whoever does not have love loses even the gifts he appeared to have received. Hence it is necessary, my friends, that in everything you do, you be vigilant about guarding love. True love is to love your friend in God and your enemy for the sake of God. Whoever does not have this loses every good that he possesses; he is deprived of the talent he received, and according to the Lord’s sentence he is cast into external darkness. External darkness comes as a punishment to one who has fallen voluntarily into internal darkness through his own sin. The one who freely enjoyed pleasurable darkness in this world will be constrained to suffer punishing darkness in the next. Forty Gospel Homilies 9.6.

25:30 Cast into Outer Darkness

The Worthless Servant Cast into Darkness.

Chrysostom: “The unprofitable servant is to be cast into outer darkness, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Do you see how sins of omission also are met with extreme rejection? It is not only the covetous, the active doer of evil things and the adulterer, but also the one who fails to do good.
Let us listen carefully then to these words. As we have opportunity, let us work to cooperate with our salvation. Let us get oil for our lamps. Let us labor to add to our talent. For if we are backward and spend our time in sloth here, no one will pity us any more hereafter, though we should wail ten thousand times.… Remember the virgins who again entreated and came to him and knocked, all in vain and without effect. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 78.3.

25:31–46 The Final Judgment
Overview: When someone is brought into the presence of a king or a judge, on the spot where he is ordered to stand he will learn whether he has been brought in because of the good he did or the evil (Incomplete Work on Matthew). He who knows our thoughts, who foresees all human works and knows how to judge rightly, will separate them according to the merits of each person, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats (Epiphanius the Latin). The sheep signify righteous people by reason of their gentleness, because they harm no one, and by reason of their patience, because when they are harmed by others, they bear it without resistance. Jesus refers to sinners as goats, however, because these vices characterize goats: capriciousness, pride and belligerence (Incomplete Work on Matthew). If Jesus has appeared in a lowly role, he now appears in an entirely different role, in which he reproaches, confronts and sits on his throne of glory (Chrysostom).
Even as Christ is healthy in souls that are healthy, he is ailing in souls that are ailing. They welcome Christ himself and clothe, by teaching righteousness, those who are naked and even without a garment of righteousness (Incomplete Work on Matthew). They have woven a garment for the cold and shivering Christ (Origen). But he curses the works of those at his left hand. “I prepared the kingdom for you,” he says, “but the fire I did not prepare for you but for the devil and his angels.” But you have cast yourselves in it. You have imputed it to yourselves. Even when you see a dog hungry, you feel sympathy. But when you see the Lord hungry, you ignore it. You are left without excuse (Chrysostom).

 

[mikeforjesus]

25:31 The Son of Man Coming in Glory

When He Comes in His Glory.

Chrysostom: In his previous parables when he speaks of two persons he is referring to two portions of humanity, the disobedient and the obedient. Here he speaks out more fearfully and with fuller clarity.
He does not say that the coming kingdom is compared to this or that, as he has been speaking previously, but now openly shows himself to be the Son of man, who “shall come in his glory.” If he has up to now appeared in a condition of dishonor, now he appears in a different role. He reproaches. He confronts. He sits upon his throne of glory.
And he continually mentions glory. For his cross was drawing near, a thing that seemed to be a matter of reproach. So he lifts his hearers up and brings before their sight the judgment seat, with all the world gathered around him. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 79.1.

The Son of Man.

Jerome: Jesus rightly promises that the glory of the triumphant one [would follow] after two days in which he would celebrate the Passover and be consigned to the cross, mocked by humanity and given wine and gall to drink. Thus he will offset with the promised reward the blameworthy actions to follow. Clearly he who is to be seen in majesty is the Son of man. Commentary on Matthew 4.25.33.

All the Angels with Him.

Chrysostom: And not in this way only does he make his discourse awesome but also by showing the heavens opened. For all the angels will be present with him. They are there to bear witness to the many ways they had served when sent by the Lord for the salvation of humanity. Everything spoken of that day shows that it is fearful. Then “shall be gathered together,” he says, “all nations,” that is, all humankind. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 79.1.

25:32–33 Gathering and Separating
Gathered Before Him.

Epiphanius the Latin: How can he be the Son of man when he is God and will come to judge all nations? He is the Son of man because he appeared on earth as a man and was persecuted as a man. Therefore this person who they said was a man will raise all nations from the dead and judge every person according to his works. Every race on earth will see him, both those who rejected him and those who despised him as a man. They will see him then, but not everyone in the same way: some will see him in punishment and others in heavenly bliss. All nations will be gathered together by the angels from the foundation of the world, beginning first with Adam and Eve down to the last person on earth—whoever experienced human birth. “And he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” He, our Lord, who knows our thoughts, who foresees all human works and knows how to judge righteously, will separate them according to the merits of each person, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Interpretation of the Gospels 38.
He Will Separate Them. Incomplete Work on Matthew: “And he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” So then, people on earth are intermingled, and not only intermingled in that the righteous live side by side with the wicked, but they are also indistinguishable. Between the righteous and the wicked there is no apparent difference. Even as in wintertime you cannot tell the healthy trees apart from the withered trees but in beautiful springtime you can tell the difference, so too each person according to his faith and his works will be exposed. The wicked will not have any leaves or show any fruit, but the righteous will be clothed with the leaves of eternal life and adorned with the fruit of glory. In this way they will be separated by the heavenly shepherd and Lord. The earthly shepherd separates animals by their type of body, whereas Christ separates people by their type of soul. The sheep signify righteous people by reason of their gentleness, because they harm no one, and by reason of their patience, because when they are harmed by others, they bear it without resistance. He refers to sinners as goats, however, because these vices characterize goats: capriciousness toward other animals, pride and belligerence. Homily 54.

Right and Left.

Incomplete Work on Matthew: “And he will place the sheep at his right hand but the goats at the left.” When someone is brought into the presence of a king or a judge, on the very spot where he is ordered to stand he will learn whether he has been brought in because of the good he did or the evil. If he has been brought in because of the good, he is immediately made to stand close; if because of the evil, he is ordered to stand at a distance. So too God will place the righteous at his right hand but the goats at the left. Each one will know what his merits are, then and there. When judgment is passed, the punishment of shame will follow. He will justly place the righteous at his right hand, because they never knew the left side; he will justly place the wicked at the left, because they never wanted to know the right side. Homily 54.

25:34 Blessed by My Father
Inherit the Kingdom.

Chrysostom: He commended them for doing what was right. He reveals how great is his bond of love for them and has been from the beginning. “Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’ ” To what other blessedness could this blessedness be compared? To be blessed of the Father! Why were they counted worthy of such a great honor? “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink.” What honor! What blessedness!
He did not say “take” but “inherit” as one’s own, as your Father’s, as yours, as due to you from the first. “For before you were,” he says, “these things had been prepared and made ready for you, because I knew you would be such as you are.” The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 79.2.

First the Right Hand.

Incomplete Work on Matthew: “Then he will say to those at his right hand …” And why will he not address first those at his left? Because God is always more willing to praise than to denounce. For he gives good things to those who are good according to his intentions because he is good; but to those who are bad, he reluctantly gives bad things against his intentions because he is a judge. Whatever humanity does against his nature, he does rather hesitantly. If indeed Christ de-lighted in the punishment of sinners, he never would have delivered himself up for them. “Come, O blessed of my Father,” he says, “inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” You who sowed one seed on earth will deservedly have a hundredfold in heaven. Indeed, the kingdom of heaven has not been created according to what human righteousness deserves but according to what God’s power can prepare. “I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink.” And many other acts of mercy, as we pointed out. Homily 54.

25:35–40 Fed, Clothed, Welcomed
You Gave Me Food.

Chrysostom: Then, in order that you may see in another way also the justice of the sentence, he first praises those who have done right: “Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry, and you gave me food,” and all that follows. Note that the judgment is in effect made by their fellow servants. This has happened before, when the virgins are judged by the virgins and in the case of the drunken and gluttonous servant who was judged by the faithful servant. It happened once again in the case of the man who buried his talent, [who was judged] by the actions of those who produced more. … This is said to bring them to the point of answering, “When did we see you hungry?” The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 79.2.

Teaching as Feeding and Clothing.

Incomplete Work on Matthew: This can also be said of teachers who gave the food of learning to those hungry for righteousness, so they might be fed and grow healthy in good actions; who administered the drink of truth to those thirsty for the knowledge of God. Teaching in the Word, they certainly fed them and also gave to drink, baptizing in the Holy Spirit those who are strangers in the world. For all souls are truly strangers on this earth who can say, “For I am your passing guest, a sojourner, like all my fathers.” Preaching the word of faith, they welcome souls from the spreading of error and make them fellow citizens and family members of the saints. They welcome Christ himself and clothe, by teaching righteousness, those who are naked and even without a garment of righteousness. As is written: “Put on, then, compassion, faith, peace and kindness.” That is to say, they clothe Christ and baptize them in Christ, as is written: “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Homily 54.

A Stranger or Naked?

Origen: In the same way, we have woven a garment for the cold and shivering Christ. We have received the fabric of wisdom from God that we may impart knowledge to some and clothe them with “compassion, chastity, kindness, lowliness” and the other virtues. All these virtues are the spiritual garments of those who have listened to the words of those who teach these virtues, according to him who says, “Put on, then, compassion, kindness, lowliness, gentleness” and so forth, more so Christ himself, who is all these things to the faithful, according to him who said, “Put on the Lord Jesus.” Therefore, when we have clothed with garments of this type “one of the least” who believe in Christ, we have apparently clothed the Lord himself, so that the word of God in the world will not go naked. But we must also welcome the Son of God who became a stranger and the members of his body who are strangers in the world, untainted by all mundane actions, even as he says about himself and his disciples: “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” And Christ asks the Father to permit them to be with him where he is. Commentary on Matthew 72.
Sick or in Prison? Incomplete Work on Matthew: He who visits the sick and those languishing with the disease of earthly vices, who heals them with the medicine of good doctrine, heals Christ in them. Even as Christ is healthy in souls that are healthy, he is ailing in souls that are ailing. But he is also the one who comes to those who have gone down to the world of the dead alive and are doing infernal work—that is, they are in prison and under guard of the devil. As Scripture says, “Let them go down to the world of the dead alive.” Coming through his word, he leads them out of that infernal prison and frees them from the guard of the devil. They give thanks to him, saying, “O Lord my God, I cry to you for help, and you have healed me. O Lord, you have brought up my soul from the world of the dead.” Homily 54.
The Lord Hungers in His Saints. Epiphanius the Latin: “I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink.” [Jesus mentions] many other things, which we have recited. Having been given the faith, the righteous say, “Lord, when did see you hungry and fed you, thirsty, and gave you something to drink, naked and clothed you?” Other things also follow. What then, my most beloved? Does our Lord hunger and thirst? Is he who himself made everything in heaven and on earth, who feeds angels in heaven and every nation and race on earth, who needs nothing of an earthly character, as he is unfailing in his own nature, is this one naked? It is incredible to believe such a thing. Yet what must be confessed is easy to believe. For the Lord hungers not in his own nature but in his saints; the Lord thirsts not in his own nature but in his poor. The Lord who clothes everyone is not naked in his own nature but in his servants. The Lord who is able to heal all sicknesses and has already destroyed death itself is not diseased in his own nature but in his servants. Our Lord, the one who can liberate every person, is not in prison in his own nature but in his saints. Therefore, you see, my most beloved, that the saints are not alone. They suffer all these things because of the Lord. In the same way, because of the saints the Lord suffers all these things with them. Interpretation of the Gospels 38.

25:41–44 Depart from Me

You Imputed It to Yourselves.

Chrysostom: But to the others he says, “Depart from me, you cursed.” He does not say they are cursed by the Father, for the Father had not laid a curse upon them, but only their own works. He does not say that the eternal fire is prepared only for you but “for the devil and his angels.” For concerning the kingdom indeed, when he had said, “Come, inherit the kingdom,” he added, “prepared for you before the foundation of the world.” But concerning the fire, he does not say this but “prepared for the devil.” I prepared the kingdom for you, he says, but the fire I did not prepare for you but “for the devil and his angels.” But you have cast yourselves in it. You have imputed it to yourselves. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 79.2.

I Was Hungry.

Chrysostom: “For I was hungry, and you gave me no food.” For even though you should meet your enemy, is not his suffering enough to overcome and subdue your resistance to being merciful? And what about his hunger, cold, chains, nakedness and sickness? What about his homelessness? Are not these sufferings sufficient to overcome even your alienation? But you did not do these things for a friend, much less a foe. You could have at once befriended and done good. Even when you see a dog hungry you feel sympathy. But when you see the Lord hungry, you ignore it. You are left without excuse. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 79.2.

You Did Not Visit Me.

Origen: He could have said to the unrighteous, “I was sick, and you did not visit me; I was in prison, and you did not come to me.” Instead he abbreviated his discourse and compressed both phrases into one, saying, “I was sick and in prison, and you did not visit me,” for it was proper for a merciful judge to embellish the good deeds of people but to skim over their evil deeds. The righteous, however, dwell on each word, saying, “When did we see you hungry, and feed you; or thirsty, and give you drink?” And “when did we see you a stranger, and take you in; or naked, and clothe you?” Or “when did we see you sick or in prison, and come to you?” For it is characteristic of the righteous, out of humility, studiously to make light of each of their good deeds held up to them. It is as though to the Lord’s words, “This, that and the other good thing you did to me,” they disavowingly reply, “Neither this, that nor the other thing did we do to you.” The unrighteous do not treat each item individually but are quick to say, “When did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you, for we ministered the word to you.” They refer to everything they did and tend to play down their evil actions, which might appear worse if enumerated one by one, for it is characteristic of wicked people to mention their faults, by way of excuse, as being either nonexistent or few and far between. Commentary on Matthew 73.

When Did We See You Hungry?

Incomplete Work on Matthew: “Then they will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry … or thirsty?’ ” Oh, the invariable disobedience of sinners! Who does not realize that every evil we do is done not because we are corruptible but because we have a bad intention? Plainly then the corruptible flesh of sinners will die, but wickedness will live on. Did they not hear the Lord saying to the righteous, “As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me?” Certainly they should have understood that what they fail to do to people, they fail to do to Christ. But those who hear, remain adamant; those who understand, pretend they do not understand. They stand in judgment, and yet they keep on sinning. This applies also to bad teachers … who did not clothe the naked, either by teaching justice or by baptizing in Christ; who did not welcome strangers in the world through the word or introduce them into the house of the church through faith; who did not heal the sick by their words; who did not lead out, through penance, those who were sitting in the prison of ungodliness. If it is ungodly not to offer material things to bodies, which cannot live forever even if they accept these things, can you imagine how ungodly it is not to administer spiritual things to souls that are in danger and could live forever if only these things were administered to them? Since the soul is more precious than the body, it is all the more sinful not to give spiritual alms to troubled souls rather than material alms to bodies. Homily 54.

 

[mikeforjesus]

25:45–46 Eternal Punishment or Eternal Life

Eternal Punishment, Eternal Life.

Epiphanius the Latin: You see, my beloved, there is no excuse for it. They knew what they had to do in this world. But greed and ill-will prevented them, so they laid up for themselves not treasures for the future but the world of the dead. Neither were they condemned because of the active wrong they did, nor did the Lord say to them, Depart from me, you wicked, because you committed murder or adultery or theft. But instead: because I was hungry and thirsty in my servants, and you did not minister to me. If those who did no wrong are thus condemned, what must be said of those who do the works of the devil? Will not the prophecy of blessed David come upon them: “The wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous?” Not that they will not rise, but that neither in judgment [nor in] the congregation of the righteous do they deserve to enter. They will stand, however, so that from punishment they may enter into punishment. “And they will go into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Whatever will be is everlasting. Sinners will have everlasting punishment; and the righteous, everlasting life. Interpretation of the Gospels 38.

 

[mikeforjesus]

This is nice song

It was written by American Roman Catholic priest, teacher, playwright, folk-composer and author Willard F Jabusch (1930-2018)

m.youtube.com/watch?v=eqMEZWjH2b4

 

[mikeforjesus]

I would like to clear confusion to emphasise the work of Christ to save man than man’s work as bible says by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves lest any should boast for you are His workmanship in Christ Jesus that God preparared in advance that you walk in it
That those truly saved understood gospel properly to lead them to works

One is not saved by seeking to do many works but if person does not help those who one knows they need your help that others may not help then person did not accept Christ as Lord to have right to trust Him as Savior

Salvation is free gift to knowing Christ but I believe the purpose of the parables of the parable is just to show who truly accepted Christ as Lord and saviour that some call themselves Christian’s to gather with them as they were told but they never knew the faith or did not receive Him as Lord and Savior and did not ever receive Him in their heart to seek to repent as they could that Christ would come when they do not expect so only those tried and found ready can be saved that person would need to have been seeking to do good if there is someone they know need their help or if can not to be repentant to show it is wrong if they have opportunity to repent to seek that is to buy oil by helping others and to be preaching not silent incase you die not seeking
That all that is not salvation by works but if you are Christian you would do likewise parable of the talents shows if you are Christian you would be seeking to do what you know you can do now to make some profit that you know is easy but should use all to make most profit

Works are not needed if can not do now but if you are not doing when there is need that there is opportunity then one has not accepted Christ as Lord and saviour

One is saved now if he trusts Christ but if one is not doing when there is need at that time one is not remaining in Him so is in danger if he dies then so one needs to repent while one can to seek to do what is right only if possible that the seeking is enough if can’t

Romans 3:21-30
21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Boasting Excluded
27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. 29 Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, 30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.
Romans 4:1-8
1 What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” 4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.
David Celebrates the Same Truth
5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, 6 just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:
7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
And whose sins are covered;
8 Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.”

 

[mikeforjesus]

I believe all need to repent to have a part with Christ that is to turn from sin and put trust in Christ but there is a certain walk discipleship to keep your life to enter upon death for Him to say well done good and faithful servant. Or I suppose one needs to connect with God to read His word for Him to give understanding of His will to do if you can do just to seek to do what you can for I heard an internal voice when I was on my bed when I woke from sleep while laying on bed before I got up not from outside like a thought not from myself telling me I need to read the word like my life depends on it that it came without trying but perhaps as I read that somewhere but I believe that just means to preserve one life to be saved on death. I know any can be saved whoever calls on the Lord is saved that God desires all to be saved as He said those who came at 11th hour that is just before death even if all they could do is call on Christ.

 

[mikeforjesus]

I posted this below and added what Paul washer said which I once posted but did not take seriously. I do believe now one hope should not be in any work because such works are not needed just a result of true faith that without works when you know of a need that it may be possible to seek to do or not being willing to seek to do to any in need even if not possible one shows his faith is not living really being of benefit to be accepting true faith. I don’t mean that person does not need to seek to obey all commandments of Christ which Paul also explained he knows now for that shows faith that one is abiding in Christ when he seeks Christ to do what one can which he should want to do all incase he dies at any time when he is not seeking to obey to do what one can if he does not have opportunity to repent to seek to

I think we can not take risk the bible says call only Him teacher and scripture may show you can not earn salvation it is a gift of God to any who put their trust in Him that all will be raised in the last day but now one is called only to do works that it is truth you receive Christ as Lord and saviour that if you are really saved you would want to do and you know you must seek to do only if you might be able to if there is need to be abiding in Him.

I saw this note also on Christian forums it was said God will not convict forever to trust Christ as saviour if you hear His voice to trust to obey.

I was planning to send a video only to upload on a site and also this document was added that I don’t plan to I wonder if it is sign.

I think all Christian’s should receive Christ as Lord and saviour incase perhaps necessary to be saved and to be raptured if there is perhaps if we pray Christ will show that all Christians can be saved.

From Charles Spurgeon page works can not save

Oh, my hearers, your works cannot save you.

Since many people seem to be misunderstanding this basic of Christian truth, let me post a couple of Bible verses to show that we are saved not by our works:

Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Titus 3:5: Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 3:28: Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.

Romans 4:5: But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.

Romans 5:1: Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Galatians 2:16: Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.
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But what about works, should a Christian produce good works? Yes! A truly saved person will perform good works (Romans 3:31; James 2:14-24). Our faith is shown / proven by our works; if we don't have good works, then it creates the question of if we have saving faith. In James 2 we see the example given of Abraham, his faith was proven when he was prepared to offer Isaac as a sacrifice (Genesis 22), but if you read Genesis 15 we see that Abraham was already counted as righteous through faith before this event. The picture is: Saving faith produces good works. What we don't see is good works producing salvation. We are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

Paul washer explains person should not put hope in works

https://m.facebook.com/groups/3013149185630009/permalink/3021537568124504/?mibextid=qC1gEa

 

[mikeforjesus]

Saw post meme no good deeds will save I agree that it just come as fruit of relationship of good works that you want to but without good deeds now there is no evidence of salvation.

 

[mikeforjesus]

The below was from a pdf I downloaded once from Facebook which explains gospel fully and have not read all again if I agree with all to verify but worth a read

blessings148.blogspot.com/?m=1

File is below better read

The-Gospel-1.pdf

PDF File

1drv.ms

 

[mikeforjesus]

Such story is for message sending purposes only not literal as though christ needs to learn anything but just as book of job says God talked to satan even though he knows what He will do to send a message to satan.

Let me tell you, make sure you read it all to the end. I almost deleted this message but was blessed when it came to an end. Important: Read it only if you have time for God. One day Satan and Jesus were talking. Satan just went to the Garden of Eden and he was messing and laughing, saying: Yes sir. Just took a world full of people out there. I set them up, used bait, I knew they couldn't resist. They are all down! What are you going to do with them? Jesus asked. Ah I'm going to have fun with them. Satan replied. I will teach you how to marry And divorce, how to hate and abuse each other, drink drink drink drink and smoke and of course I teach them how to invent guns and bombs to destroy each other. I'm really going to have fun!

And what will you do when you get tired of them? Jesus asked him. Ah, I'll kill them. Satan said with a look full of hate and pride. How much do you want for them? Jesus asked. Ah, you don't like those people. They are not good. Why would you want to take them. You take them and they hate you. They will spit in your face curse you and kill you. You don't like those people!! How much? Jesus asked again. Satan looked at Jesus and answered sarcastically: All your blood, tears and your life. Jesus said, done! And that's how I pay the price. NOTE: I wonder how easy it is to disrespect God and then wonder why the world is going to hell Funny how someone can say "I believe in God" and follow Satan. Interestingly, you send thousands of messages with jokes via email that water like gunpowder, but when you start messaging referring to the Lord, do people think twice before sharing them?

Funny how people can be more concerned than others think of them than what God thinks. MAY GOD BLESS YOU GREAT!!!!!. 10 THINGS GOD DIDN'T ASK YOU 1-God will not ask you what model car you used; he will ask you how many people you have taken. 2-God will not ask you square meters of your house; he will ask you how many people you got in it. 3-God won't ask you for a clothing brand in your closet; he will ask you how much you helped dress up. 4-God won't ask you how high your salary was; he asked if you earned it clean. 5-God won't ask you what your title was; ask you if you did your job with the best of your ability. 6-God won't ask you how many friends you had; he will ask you how many people considered you as his friend. 7-God will not ask you which area you lived in; he asked you how you treated your neighbors. 8-God will not ask you about the color of your skin; He will ask you about the purity of your interior. 9-God will not ask you why it took so long to seek salvation; He will take you with love to his home in heaven, not to the gates of hell

10-God won't ask you how many people you have shared this message; he will simply ask you if you were embarrassed to do so..... Jesus Christ said, "If you deny me before friends, I will deny you before my Father. Today is the day to bless you, I bless you, I bless your heart, Your life your life, Your home Your family Your projects and Your dreams, in Jesus name. If you finish to the end, leave amen and share it in 3 groups. I love you

 

[mikeforjesus]

This thread with church fathers I thought might be helpful how how to make Jesus one Lord but I believe some things may be added by church father that the only think required is to seek to be ready watching to repent to live according to jesus commandments in your relations with those you know and preach gospel and seek to help all who need especially your help that I believe makes not difference what church you follow if you seek to follow bible and your bible beliefs are not something bible condemns.