Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew 39.1–39.4

“At that time Jesus went on the sabbath through the grainfields; and his disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.” And Luke says, “On the second-first sabbath.” And what is “second-first”? When the rest is double, both of the Lord’s sabbath and of another feast following on it; for they call every rest a sabbath. And why ever did he who foreknew all things lead them there, unless he wished the sabbath to be broken? He wished it, but not simply; therefore he never breaks it without a cause, but gives reasonable occasions, so that he might both put the law to rest and not offend them. But there are times when he breaks it as a primary purpose, not on account of circumstances, as when he anoints the eyes of the blind man with the clay, as when he says, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” And he does these things, by the one glorifying his own Father, by the other comforting the weakness of the Jews. Which he brings about here too, putting forward the necessity of nature; and yet in the case of acknowledged sins there could never be a defense. For neither could the murderer put forward his anger, nor the adulterer his desire, nor indeed state any other cause at all; but here, by mentioning their hunger, he freed them from every charge. But do you admire the disciples, so restrained and taking no account of bodily things, but treating the table of the flesh as a by-work, and fighting continual hunger, and not even so withdrawing. For unless hunger had compelled them exceedingly, they would not have done even this. What then do the Pharisees do? “When they saw it,” it says, “they said to him, ‘Behold, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath.’” Here they are not very vehement (though this would have been consistent), but nevertheless they are not much provoked, but simply accuse. But when he stretched out and restored the withered hand, then they became so savage as even to take counsel about his slaughter and destruction. For where nothing great and noble is done, they are quiet; but where they see some people being saved, they grow wild and are troubled and are more troublesome than all; so much are they enemies of men’s salvation. How then does Jesus defend them? “Have you not read,” he says, “what David did in the temple, when he was hungry, he and all those with him? How he entered into the house of God and ate the loaves of the presentation, which it was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those with him, but only for the priests?” For when he defends the disciples he brings David forward; but when he defends himself, the Father. And see how reprovingly he speaks: “Have you not read what David did?” For great was the prophet’s glory, so that Peter too afterward, making his defense before the Jews, spoke thus: “It is permitted to speak freely to you about the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried.” And why does he not call him by his title, either here or afterward? Perhaps because he himself traced his descent from him. If then they had been at all forgiving, he would have brought the discourse to the suffering of hunger; but since they were vile and inhuman, he also reads them a history. And Mark says, “in the time of Abiathar the high priest,” not saying what is contrary to the history, but showing that he had two names; and he adds that he gave it to him, showing by this too that the defense is great, seeing that even the priest permitted it; and not only permitted, but also served him. For do not tell me that David was a prophet; for not even so was it lawful, but it was the privilege of the priests; therefore he also added, “but only for the priests.” For even if he were ten thousand times a prophet, yet he was not a priest; and even if he was a prophet, yet those with him were not; for he gave to those too. “What then?” someone says. “Are these equal to David?” Why do you speak to me of rank, when there seems to be a transgression of the law, even though it is a necessity of nature? For in this way he rather freed them from the charges, when the greater is seen to have done the same thing.

“And what is this to the question?” someone says. “For he did not transgress the sabbath.” You tell me the greater point, and what above all shows the wisdom of Christ, that leaving the sabbath aside he brings an example greater than the sabbath. For it is not equal to transgress a day, and to touch that sacred table which it was lawful for no one to touch. For the sabbath has been broken many times, or rather it is always broken, both in circumcision and in many other works; and one may see the same thing done at Jericho too; but this was done then only. So the victory is from the greater. How then did no one accuse David, although there was another charge greater than this too, that of the murder of the priests, which took its beginning from this? But he does not set this down; for he keeps to the matter in hand only. Then again he resolves it in another way too. For at the beginning he brought forward David, restraining their folly by the dignity of the person; but when he had stopped their mouths and brought down their arrogance, he then brings in the more decisive solution. And what was this? “Do you not know that in the temple the priests profane the sabbath, and are guiltless?” “For there,” he says, “circumstances caused the breaking; but here the breaking is even without circumstances.” But he did not resolve it in this way at once, but first by way of pardon, then by way of objection. For the stronger argument had to be brought in afterward, though the former too had its own force. For do not tell me that it is not freedom from a charge to bring forward another who commits the same sin. For when the one who did it is not accused, what was ventured becomes a law of defense. However, he was not content with this, but brings in the more decisive point too, saying that what was done is not even a sin; which was above all a mark of brilliant victory, to show the law dissolving itself, and doing this twice over, both from the place and from the sabbath; or rather three times over, in that the work was done twice over, and besides this another thing, that of the priests; and, what is greater, that it is not even a charge: “For they are guiltless,” he says. Do you see how many things he has set down? The place: for he says, “in the temple”; the person: for “the priests”; the time: for he says, “the sabbath”; the act itself: for “they profane”; for he did not say, “they break,” but the harsher word, “they profane”; that they not only do not pay a penalty, but are even free from blame: “For they are guiltless.” Do not then

think,” he says, “that this is like the former case. For that happened once, and not by a priest, and from necessity; therefore they were worthy of pardon; but this happens every sabbath, and by priests, and in the temple, and according to the law. Therefore they are freed from the charges not by way of pardon, but according to the law. For I did not say these things accusing,” he says, “nor freeing them from blame by way of pardon, but according to the principle of justice.” And he seems to be defending those, but he frees these from the charges. For when he says, “Those are guiltless,” “much more these,” he says. “But they are not priests.” But they are greater than priests. For the very Lord of the temple is present here, the truth, not the type. Therefore he also said, “But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here.” But nevertheless, though they heard such great things, they said nothing; for the salvation of men was not their aim. Then, since it seemed heavy to the hearers, he quickly veiled it, again bringing the discourse round to pardon, and that with a rebuke too, speaking thus: “But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.” Do you see how he again brings the discourse round to pardon, and again shows them to be above pardon? “For you would not have condemned,” he says, “the guiltless.” The former point he drew from the case of the priests, saying, “They are guiltless”; this he sets down of himself, or rather this too from the law; for he read out a prophetic saying. Then he states another cause too: “For the Son of Man,” he says, “is Lord of the sabbath,” speaking of himself. But Mark says that he said this about our common nature too; for he said, “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.” For what reason then was the man gathering wood punished? Because if the laws were going to be despised even at the beginning, they would hardly have been kept afterward. For the sabbath was of much benefit, and of great benefit, at the beginning; for example, it made them gentle toward those of their household, and taught them God’s providence and his work of creation, as Ezekiel says; it trained them little by little to abstain from wickedness, and prepared them to attend to spiritual things. For since, in giving the law of the sabbath, if he had said, “Do good things on the sabbath, and do not do evil things,” they would not have endured it, he restrained them from all things alike: “For you shall do nothing”; and not even so were they held back. But he himself, in giving the law of the sabbath, hinted even so that he wishes them to abstain from evil things only: “For you shall do nothing,” he says, “except what shall be done for the soul.” And in the temple everything was done, and with greater zeal and twice the labor. So by the very shadow he was opening the truth to them. “Did Christ then abolish so great a gain?” someone says. God forbid! Rather he greatly heightened it. For it was time for them to be trained in all things through loftier things, and there was no need for the hands of one freed from wickedness and winged for all good things to be bound; nor to learn from this that God made all things; nor from this to be gentle, for those called to the very imitation of God’s love for humanity (“For be merciful,” he says, “as your heavenly Father”); nor to keep feast one day, for those commanded to keep feast all their life (“For let us keep the feast,” he says, “not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth”); nor to stand beside an ark and a golden altar, for those who have the Master of all himself dwelling within them, and converse with him through all things, through prayer, and through the offering, and through the Scriptures, and through almsgiving, and through having him within. What need then of a sabbath for one who keeps feast continually, whose citizenship is in heaven? Let us then keep feast continually, and do nothing evil; for this is a feast. But let spiritual things be heightened and earthly things give way, and let us rest with a spiritual rest, withdrawing our hands from covetousness, releasing the body from superfluous and unprofitable toils, and from those which the people of the Hebrews then endured in Egypt. For we who gather gold differ in nothing from those bound to the clay and making those bricks, and gathering straw, and being scourged. For now too the devil commands us to make bricks, as Pharaoh did then. For what else is gold but clay? And what else is silver but straw? At any rate it kindles the flame of desire like straw; like clay, so gold defiles the one who has it. For this reason he sent us not Moses from the wilderness, but his Son from heaven. If then after his coming you remain in Egypt, you will suffer the things of the Egyptians; but if, leaving it, you go up with the spiritual Israel, you will see all the wonders. However, not even this is enough for salvation. For one must not only be delivered from Egypt, but also enter into the promise. For the Jews too, as Paul says, both passed through the Red Sea, and ate manna, and drank spiritual drink, but nevertheless all perished. So that we too may not suffer the same things, let us not shrink nor draw back; but when you hear evil spies now too slandering the narrow and constricted way, and saying what those spies said then, let us not imitate the great crowd, but Joshua and Caleb the son of Jephunneh; and do not give up until you lay hold of the promise and set foot in heaven. Nor think the journey difficult. “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God, much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved.” “But this way,” someone says, “is narrow and constricted.” But the former one, by which you passed, was not only narrow and constricted, but also impassable and full of wild beasts. And as it was not possible to cross the Red Sea unless that wonder had happened, so it was not possible for those remaining in the former life to go up to heaven unless baptism had appeared in between. And if the impossible has become possible, much more will the difficult become easy. “But that,” someone says, “was of grace only.” Why, for this very reason you would most justly take courage. For if where there was grace alone he worked with you, will he not much more work together with you where you also display labors? If he saved you when you were idle, will he not much more help you when you work? Above, then, I said that from the impossible things you ought to take courage about the difficult ones too; but now I will say this, that if we are sober, these things will not even be difficult. For see: death has been trampled down, the devil has fallen, the law of sin has been quenched, the grace of the Spirit has been given, life has been drawn together into a short span, the burdensome things have been cut short. And so that you may learn these things from the deeds themselves too, consider how many have overshot the commands of Christ; but you fear even the measure itself. What defense then will you have, when, while others leap beyond the bounds of the contest, you yourself shrink from what is prescribed? For we exhort you to give alms from what you have, but another has stripped himself even of all that he has; we ask you to live chastely with your wife, but another has not even entered upon marriage; and we beseech you not to be envious, but we have another who even gives up his own life for love; and we beseech you to be forgiving and not severe toward those who sin, but another, when struck, turned the other cheek too. What then shall we say, tell me? What defense shall we make, not doing even these things, while others surpass us so far? And they would not have surpassed us unless the thing were very easy. For who is wasted away, he who envies the good things of others, or he who shares their pleasure and rejoices? Who suspects everything and trembles continually, the chaste man or the adulterer? Who is gladdened by good hopes, the robber, or he who shows mercy and shares his own things with the needy? Considering these things, then, let us not grow numb toward the races for virtue, but stripping with all eagerness for these noble wrestling bouts, let us toil a short time, so that we may receive the everlasting and unfading crowns; which may we all attain, by the grace and love for humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the might to the ages of ages.