Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew 41.1

“But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said to them, ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand?’” They had already made this accusation before, that he casts out the demons by Beelzebul. But then he did not rebuke them, giving them the opportunity to know his power from his more numerous signs and to learn his majesty from his teaching. But since they persisted in saying the same things, he now rebukes them too: first by showing his divinity in this, by bringing their secret thoughts out into the open; and second, by this very act of casting out the demons with ease. And yet the accusation was exceedingly shameless. For, as I said, (…) does not seek what to say, but only to say something. But nevertheless not even so did Christ despise them, but he makes his defense with his fitting gentleness, teaching us to be meek toward our enemies, and, even if they say such things as we are not conscious of in ourselves, and which have no reason at all, not to be disturbed nor troubled, but with all long-suffering to give them an account. Which he especially did then too, furnishing the greatest proof that what they had said was false. For it was not the part of one possessed by a demon to show such gentleness; it was not the part of one possessed to know secret thoughts. For indeed, both because such a suspicion was exceedingly shameless, and because of their fear of the many, they did not even dare to make these charges public, but turned them over in their mind. But he, showing them that he knows those thoughts too, does not set down the accusation, nor expose their wickedness, but brings in the solution, leaving the conviction to the conscience of those who had spoken. For one thing only was his earnest concern, to benefit those who sin, not to expose them. And yet, if he had wished to stretch out a long speech, and to make them ridiculous, and besides this to exact the utmost penalty from them, there was nothing to hinder him; but nevertheless, passing over all these things, he looked to one thing only, not to make them more contentious but more reasonable, and in this way to make them fitter for correction. How then does he defend himself to them? He says nothing from the Scriptures (for they were not attending, but were even going to misinterpret them), but from what commonly happens. “For every kingdom,” he says, “divided against itself will not stand”; and a city and a house, if it is split, is quickly dissolved. For wars from outside do not destroy as civil wars do. For this happens in bodies too, and in all things; but meanwhile he brings his examples from the better known. And yet what is mightier on earth than a kingdom? Nothing; but nevertheless it perishes when it is in revolt. And if there one blames the bulk of its affairs, as breaking up against itself, what would you say of a city? What of a house? For whether a thing is small or great, if it is in revolt against itself it perishes. “If then I, having a demon, cast out the demons by him, there is revolt and battle among the demons, and they stand against one another. And if they stand against one another, their strength has perished and been destroyed. For if Satan casts out Satan” (and he did not say “the demons,” showing that there is great agreement among them toward one another), “he is divided,” he says, “against himself. And if he is divided, he has become weaker and has perished; and if he has perished, how can he cast out another?” Do you see how laughable the accusation is? How great the folly? How great the contradiction? For it is not consistent to say both that he stands and that he casts out the demons, and to say that he stands by the very thing by which he would likely have been destroyed. And this is the first solution; and the second, after it, is the one about the disciples. For he does not always resolve their objections in one way only, but in a second and a third, wishing to stop their shamelessness with abundance. Which he did in the case of the sabbath too, bringing forward David, the priests, the testimony that says, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice,” and the reason for which the sabbath was made: “For the sabbath,” he says, “is for man.” This he does here too. For after the first he goes on to a second solution, clearer than the first. “For if I,” he says, “cast out the demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out?” See his gentleness here too. For he did not say, “my disciples,” nor, “the apostles,” but “your sons,” so that, if they wished to return to the same nobility as those men, they might take a great starting point from this; but if they were ungrateful and persisted in the same things, they might not have even a shameless pretext left to say. What he says is this: “By whom do the apostles cast them out?” For they were already casting them out, having received authority from him; and these men accused them of nothing; for they were fighting not against the things but only against the person. Wishing then to show that what had been said was only from envy toward him, he brings the apostles forward. “For if I cast them out in this way, much more those who received the authority from me. But nevertheless you have said nothing of the kind to them. How then do you bring these charges against me, who am the cause of what is done by them as well, while you acquit them of the charges? But this will not free you from punishment; rather it will condemn you the more.” For this reason he also added, “They themselves will be your judges.” “For when men who are from among you, and who have been trained in these things, both believe me and obey me, it is clear that they will also condemn those who both do and say the contrary.” “But if I cast out the demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” What is “the kingdom”? “My coming.” See how again he draws them and heals them, and attracts them to the knowledge of himself, and shows that they are warring against their own good things and contending against their own salvation. “For you ought to rejoice,” he says, “and to leap for joy, that one has come bestowing those great and unspeakable gifts sung of old by the prophets, and the time of your prosperity is at hand; but you do the opposite, not only not receiving the good things, but even slandering them and composing charges that do not exist.” Matthew then says, “But if I cast out by the Spirit of God”; but Luke, “But if I cast out the demons by the finger of God,” showing that to cast out demons is a work of the greatest power, and not of ordinary grace. And he wishes from these things to draw the conclusion and to say, “But if this is so, then the Son of God has come.” But this he does not say; but veiledly, and as was not offensive to them, he hints at it, saying, “Then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” Do you see the abundance of wisdom? By the very things for which they accused him, by these he showed his coming shining forth. Then, to draw them on, he did not say simply, “The kingdom has come,” but “upon you”; as if he said, “The good things have come to you; why then are you displeased at your own blessings? Why do you war against your own salvation? This is that time which the prophets foretold of old; this is the sign of the coming sung by them, that these things are done by divine power.” “For that they are done, you yourselves know too; and that they are done by divine power, the facts cry out. For it is not possible that Satan is stronger now, but of all necessity he is weak; and he who is weak cannot, as if he were strong, cast out the strong demon.” And he said these things showing the power of love, and the weakness of division and contention. Therefore he himself also continually exhorted the disciples, up and down, about love, and said that the devil does everything to destroy it. Having then stated the second solution, he adds a third too, speaking thus: “Or how can anyone enter the house of the strong man and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his goods?” For that it is not possible for Satan to cast out Satan is clear from what has been said; and that it is not possible to cast him out otherwise unless one first overcomes him, this too is agreed by all. What then is established from these things? What was said before, with greater abundance. “For I am so far,” he says, “from using the devil as an ally, that I even war against him and bind him; and the proof of this is the plundering of his goods.” See how the opposite of what they were trying to establish is demonstrated. For they wished to show that it was not by his own power that he casts out demons; but he shows that not only the demons, but also their chief himself, he holds bound with great authority, and that he has overcome him before these by his own power; and this is clear from what happens. For if the one is ruler and the others are subject, how, unless he had been defeated and had submitted, would these have been plundered? And here what is said seems to me to be a prophecy too. For not only the demons are the devil’s goods, but also the men who do his works. Showing then that he not only casts out demons, but will also drive out the whole error of the world, and will destroy his sorceries, and will make all his things useless, he said these things. And he did not say, “will seize,” but “will plunder,” showing that it is done with authority. And he calls him strong, not because he is such by nature (God forbid!), but showing his former tyranny, which came about through our own carelessness. “He who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me scatters.” Behold a fourth solution too. “For what do I wish?” he says. “To bring men to God, to teach virtue, to proclaim the kingdom. And what do the devil and the demons wish? The opposite of these things. How then would he who does not gather with me, nor is with me, have worked together with me? And why do I say work together? On the contrary, he desires even to scatter my things. He then who not only does not work with me, but even scatters, how would he have shown such concord with me as to cast out the demons with me?” And it is likely that he said this not about the devil only, but also about himself, as being against the devil and scattering his things. “And how,” someone says, “is he who is not with me against me?” By this very fact of not gathering. And if this is true, much more he who is against him. For if he who does not work together is an enemy, much more he who wars. And he says all these things so as to show that his enmity toward the devil is great and unspeakable. For tell me, if you had to fight someone, is not he who is unwilling to fight as your ally against you by this very fact? And if elsewhere he says, “He who is not against you is for you,” this is not contrary to this. For here he showed one who is against them, but there he shows one who is in part with them: “For in your name,” he says, “they cast out the demons.” And it seems to me that here he also hints at the Jews, setting them with the devil. For they too were against him and scattered what he gathered. For that he was hinting at them too he made clear by speaking thus: “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men.” For since he had made his defense, and resolved the objection, and shown them to be shameless in vain, he now makes them afraid. For this too is no small part of counsel and correction, not only to make a defense and persuade, but also to threaten, which he does in many places when giving laws and counsel. And what has been said seems to have much obscurity; but if we attend, it will have an easy solution. First, then, it is well to hear the words themselves. “Every sin,” he says, “and blasphemy will be forgiven men; but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven them. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in this age nor in the age to come.” What then is it that he says? “You have said many things against me, that I am a deceiver, that I am opposed to God. These things I forgive you if you repent, and I do not exact penalties from you; but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven, not even to those who repent.” And how would this have reason? For this too was forgiven to those who repented. Many at least of those who had said these things believed afterward, and all was forgiven them. What then is it that he says? That this sin above all is unpardonable. Why ever? Because they did not know him, who he was; but of the Spirit they had received sufficient experience. For the prophets spoke through him what they spoke, and all those in the old covenant had a very high notion of him. What he says, then, is this: “Granted, you stumble at me because of the flesh that clothes me; can you say of the Spirit too, ‘We do not know him’? For this reason the blasphemy will be unpardonable for you, and you will pay the penalty both here and there.” For many were punished here only, as the fornicator, as those who partook of the mysteries unworthily among the Corinthians; but you both here and there. “Whatever blasphemies, then, you spoke against me before the cross, I forgive, and the very daring of the cross itself; and you will not be condemned for unbelief alone” (for neither did those who believed before the cross have complete faith; and in many places he charges them to make him known to no one before the passion; and on the cross he said that this sin was forgiven them). “But what you have said about the Spirit will have no pardon.” For that he is speaking about what was said against him before the cross, he added, “Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, no longer.” Why? “Because this is known to you, and you are shameless toward what is manifest. For even if you say that you do not know me, surely you are not ignorant of this too, that to cast out demons and to perform healings is a work of the Holy Spirit. So you insult not me only, but also the Holy Spirit. Therefore the penalty for you is inexorable, both here and there.” For of men some are punished both here and there; some here only; some there only; and some neither here nor there. Both here and there, like these very men (for they paid the penalty here too, when they suffered those incurable things at the capture of the city, and there they will endure a most grievous one), like the citizens of Sodom, like many others. There only, like the rich man being roasted, and not master even of a drop. Here only, like the fornicator among the Corinthians. Neither here nor there, like the apostles, like the prophets, like the blessed Job; for what they suffered was not of punishment, but of contests and wrestlings. Let us be eager, then, to belong to the portion of these; and if not of these, at least of those who wash away their sins here. For that judgment seat is fearful, and the punishment inexorable, and the penalty incurable. And if you wish not to pay the penalty even here, judge yourself, exact an account from yourself. Hear Paul saying, “If we judged ourselves, we would not be judged.” If you do this, advancing on the way you will come even to a crown. “And how shall we exact a penalty from ourselves?” someone says. Lament, groan bitterly, humble yourself, afflict yourself, remember your sins one by one. This is no small torment of the soul. If anyone has been in compunction, he knows that above all things the soul is punished by this. If anyone has been in remembrance of sins, he knows the pain that comes from it. For this reason God sets righteousness as the prize for such repentance, saying, “Declare your sins first, that you may be justified.” For it is not, it is not a small thing for correction, to gather all one’s sins together and turn them over one by one continually and reckon them up. For he who does this will be so pierced with compunction as not to think himself even worthy to live; and he who thinks this will be softer than any wax. For do not tell me only of acts of sexual immorality, nor of adulteries, nor of these things that are manifest and acknowledged by all; but gather also the secret plots, and the false accusations, and the evil speakings, and the vainglories, and envy, and all such things. For these too will bring no small punishment. For the reviler will fall into Gehenna; and the drunkard has nothing in common with the kingdom; and he who does not love his neighbor so offends God as not to be benefited even if he bears witness as a martyr; and he who neglects his own has denied the faith; and he who overlooks the poor is sent into the fire. Do not then think these things small, but gather them all, and write them as in a book. For if you write them, God blots them out; just as, if you do not write them, God both writes them in and exacts the penalty. It is far better, then, that they be written by us and blotted out above, than the opposite, that, when we have forgotten them, God should bring them before our eyes on that day. So that this may not happen, let us reckon up everything with exactness, and we shall find ourselves answerable for many things. For who is clean of covetousness? Do not tell me of the measure, but consider this, that even in a small thing we shall pay the same penalty, and repent. Who is free of insult? And this casts into Gehenna. Who has not secretly spoken evil of his neighbor? And this deprives of the kingdom. Who has not been arrogant? And this man is more unclean than all. Who has not looked with licentious eyes? And this man is a complete adulterer. Who has not been angry with his brother without cause? And this man is liable to the council. Who has not sworn? And this is from the evil one. Who has not sworn falsely? And this man is more than from the evil one. Who has not served mammon? And this man has fallen from the true service of Christ. I have other things too, greater than these, to say; but these are enough, and sufficient to bring to compunction one who is not of stone nor utterly insensible. For if each of them casts into Gehenna, what will they not do when all come together? “How then is it possible to be saved?” someone says. By applying the remedies that counterbalance these: almsgiving, prayers, compunction, repentance, humility, a contrite heart, contempt of possessions. For God has cut countless roads of salvation, if we are willing to attend. Let us attend, then, and by all means cleanse our wounds, showing mercy, letting go our anger against those who have grieved us, giving thanks to God for all things, fasting according to our power, praying sincerely, making friends for ourselves of the mammon of unrighteousness. For so we shall be able both to obtain pardon for our offenses and to attain the promised good things; of which may we all be counted worthy, 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. Amen.