February 15 – Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

OVERVIEW: Christ, who has risen from the dead, enables us to know the Father, become pure in heart and eventually see God (ATHANASIUS). Blessedness and happiness come from knowing and living an undefiled life (BEDE). God requests and strongly commends obedience to his commandments (AUGUSTINE). We are always at the crossroads between good and evil, and when we sin, we should immediately correct our life by listening to and following the Word of God (AMBROSE). The only way to stay on the straight and narrow path is to obey the Word of God (CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA). Although the work of giving us new life is attributed to the Holy Spirit, it is also the work of the Father and the Son (AMBROSE). Whenever the Word of God is read, we should pray that God would enable us to understand it. Only God can remove the veil from our eyes so that we may gain a spiritual understanding of his Word (ORIGEN). The only way we can comprehend the Word of God is if God enables us to understand it. When we fail to understand things correctly, we must pray to God for enlightenment (JEROME). It is not sufficient merely to hear the Word of God; we must reflect or meditate on it (CHRYSOSTOM). We cannot understand what God reveals in his Scripture unless he enlightens us (JEROME). When we are terrified by our sins or discouraged in heart, we should turn to the Word of God for help. On earth we live in someone else’s home so that God is our landlord—it is up to God to tell us when to leave. Desire for justification, or as Paul says, “to be with Christ” is a good love, and the object desired will bring joy and pleasure (AUGUSTINE).

119:1-8 Walk in the Law of the Lord
BLESSED ARE THEY WHOSE WAYS ARE BLAMELESS. ATHANASIUS: And as he is Firstborn among brothers and rose from the dead “the firstfruits of them that slept”; so, since it became him “in all things to have the preeminence,” therefore he is created “a beginning of ways,” that we, walking along it and entering through him who says, “I am the Way” and “the Door” and partaking of the knowledge of the Father, may also hear the words, “Blessed are the undefiled in the Way,” and “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” DISCOURSES AGAINST THE ARIANS 2.21.64.

HUMANITY’S GREATEST HAPPINESS. BEDE: Jesus said, “If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” This statement of our Savior is very helpful for salvation, and we must ponder it attentively. We will be blessed if we know the heavenly commands, yet still more so if we eagerly pursue in our works the things that we know. One who neglects to keep his known commandments is not capable of being happy; one who scorns finding out about these [commandments] is separated much further away from the heritage of the blessed. The psalmist agrees with this. Weighing the hearts of mortals and in like manner perceiving that everyone loves happiness but few ask where it is, he clearly testified as to what is the greatest happiness of human beings in this life, saying, “Blessed are those who are undefiled in the way, who walk in the Lord’s law.” And lest it be supposed that this way of the undefiled and blessed can be laid hold of indiscriminately by the ignorant and the untaught, he subsequently continued and said, “Blessed are they who search his testimonies and seek him with their whole heart.” HOMILIES ON THE GOSPELS 2.5.

GOD’S COMMANDMENTS ARE TO BE KEPT DILIGENTLY. AUGUSTINE: What is so generally or so forcefully commanded as obedience, by which the commandments of God are observed? Yet we find that it is the object of petition. “You have commanded your commandments to be kept most diligently.” Then follows, “O! that my ways may be directed to obey your decrees. Then shall I not be confounded, when I shall look into all your commandments.” He [the psalmist] begged that this thing be fulfilled by him, which he stated God had commanded. HOLY VIRGINITY 41.42.

119:17-21 Deal Bountifully with Your Servant

THE HOLY SPIRIT GIVES US NEW LIFE. AMBROSE: And what wonder is it the Spirit works life, who enlivens as does the Father and as does the Son? And who can deny that giving new life is the work of the eternal Majesty? For it is written, “Give life to your servant.” He, then, is enlivened who is a servant, that is, a person, who before he did not have life but received the privilege of having it. Let us then see whether the Spirit is enlivened, or himself giving life. Now it is written, “The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” So, then, the Spirit enlivens. But that you may understand that the enlivening of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is no separate work, read how there is a oneness of quickening also, since God gives life through the Spirit, for Paul said, “He who raised up Christ from the dead shall also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who dwells in you.” ON THE HOLY SPIRIT 2.4.29-31.

PRAY AT THE READING OF GOD’S WORD. ORIGEN: We should ask the Father of the Word during each individual reading “when Moses is read,” that he might fulfill even in us that which is written in the Psalms: “Open my eyes, and I will consider the wondrous things of your law.” For unless he himself opens our eyes, how shall we be able to see these great mysteries that are fashioned in the patriarchs, that are pictured now in terms of wells, now in marriages, now in births, now even in barrenness? HOMILIES ON GENESIS 12.1.

TAKE THE VEIL FROM OUR EYES. ORIGEN: Therefore, let us fall, if it is necessary, into your detractions so long as the church, which has already turned to Christ the Lord, may know the truth of the Word that is completely covered under the veil of the letter. For thus the apostle said, “if anyone turns to the Lord, the veil will be removed; for where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Thus, the Lord, the Holy Spirit, must be entreated by us to remove every cloud and all darkness that obscures the vision of our hearts hardened with the stains of sins in order that we may be able to behold the spiritual and wonderful knowledge of his law, according to him who said, “Take the veil from my eyes, and I shall observe the wonders of your law.” HOMILIES ON LEVITICUS 1.1.4.

OPEN MY EYES TO THE WONDERFUL THINGS IN YOUR LAW. JEROME: Now it was in the law and in the prophets that he was foreordained and prefigured. For this reason too the prophets were called seers, because they saw him whom others did not see. Abraham saw his day and was glad. The heavens that were sealed to a rebellious people were opened to Ezekiel. “Open my eyes,” David says, “that I may behold wonderful things out of your law.” For “the law is spiritual,” and a revelation is needed to enable us to comprehend it and, when God uncovers his face, to behold his glory. LETTER 53.4.

UNLOCKING THE MEANING OF SCRIPTURE. JEROME: Hear me, therefore, my fellow servant, my friend, my brother; give ear for a moment that I may tell you how you are to walk in the holy Scriptures. All that we read in the divine books, while glistening and shining without, is yet far sweeter within. “He who desires to eat the kernel must first break the nut.” “Open my eyes,” says David, “that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.” Now, if so great a prophet confesses that he is in the darkness of ignorance, how deep, do you think, must be the night of misapprehension with which we, mere babes and unweaned infants, are enveloped! Now this veil rests not only on the face of Moses but on the Evangelists and the apostles as well. To the multitudes the Savior spoke only in parables and, to make it clear that his words had a mystical meaning, said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Unless all things that are written are opened by him “who has the key of David, who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens,” no one can undo the lock or set them before you. LETTER 58.9.

LISTEN AND MEDITATE ON GOD’S WORD. CHRYSOSTOM: God does not wish us merely to listen to the words and phrases contained in the Scriptures but to do so with a great deal of prudent reflection. Therefore, blessed David frequently prefixed to his psalms the expression “a meditation” and also said, “Open my eyes, and I will consider the wondrous things of your law.” And after him, his son also pointed out by way of instruction that one must seek for wisdom even as for silver, or, rather, to trade in it more than in gold. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 15.

GOD MUST ENLIGHTEN US AS TO THE MEANING OF HIS WORD. JEROME: This is true wisdom in a person: to know that he is imperfect; and, if I may say so, the perfection of all the just, living in the flesh, is imperfect. Whence, also, we read in Proverbs: “To understand true justice.” For unless there were also false justice, the justice of God would never be referred to as true justice. And the apostle continues in the same passage: “And if in any point you think otherwise, this also God will reveal to you.” It is a strange thing that I hear. He who but a moment ago had said “Not that I have already obtained it or have already been made perfect”; he, who was the chosen vessel, who dared to say with the confidence of Christ dwelling within him, “Do you seek a proof of Christ who speaks in me?” and yet frankly confessed that he had not been made perfect, now ascribes to the multitude something that he specifically denied to himself, and he associates himself with the others and says, “Let us then, as many as are perfect, be of this mind.” But he explains in the following verses what he meant by this statement. Let us, he says, who wish to be perfect, according to the measure of human frailty, be of this mind, that we have not yet obtained it; that we have not yet laid hold of it; that we have not yet been made perfect. And because we have not yet been made perfect, and, perhaps, think otherwise than is demanded by true and perfect perfection, if we think of and understand anything that is different from what is consistent with the knowledge of God, this, also, God will reveal to us, so that we may pray with David and say, “Open my eyes, and I will consider the wondrous things of your law.” AGAINST THE PELAGIANS 1.14.

CONSIDER THE WONDERS OF GOD’S WORD. AUGUSTINE: Terrified by my sins and the dead weight of my misery, I had turned my problems over in my mind and was half determined to seek refuge in the desert. But you forbade me to do this and gave me strength by saying, “Christ died for us all, so that being alive should no longer mean living with our own life but with his life who died for us.” Lord, I cast all my troubles on you and from now on “I shall contemplate the wonders of your law.” You know how weak I am and how inadequate is my knowledge: teach me and heal my frailty. Your only Son, “in whom the whole treasury of wisdom and knowledge is stored up,” has redeemed me with his blood. “Save me from the scorn of my enemies,” for the price of my redemption is always in my thoughts. I eat it and drink it and minister it to others; and as one of the poor I long to be filled with it, to be one of those who “eat and have their fill.” And “those who look for the Lord will cry out in praise of him.” CONFESSIONS 10.43.

GOD IS OUR LANDLORD. AUGUSTINE: Our wish, you see, is to attain to eternal life. We wish to reach the place where nobody dies, but if possible we do not want to get there via death. We would like to be whisked away there while we are still alive and see our bodies changed, while we are alive, into that spiritual form into which they are to be changed when we rise again. Who wouldn’t like that? Isn’t it what everybody wants? But while that is what you want, you are told, Quit. Remember what you have sung in the psalm: “A lodger am I on earth.” If you are a lodger, you are staying in someone else’s house; if you are staying in someone else’s house, you quit when the landlord bids you. And the landlord is bound to tell you to quit sooner or later, and he has not guaranteed you a long stay. After all, he did not sign a contract with you. Seeing that you are lodging with him for nothing, you quit when he tells you to. And this, too, has to be put up with, and for this, too, patience is very necessary. SERMON 359A.8.

THE SOUL IS CONSUMED WITH LONGING FOR GOD’S LAW. AUGUSTINE: The right will is, therefore, well-directed love, and the wrong will is ill-directed love. Love, then, yearning to have what is loved, is desire; and having and enjoying it, is joy; fleeing what is opposed to it, it is fear; and feeling what is opposed to it, when it has befallen it, it is sadness. Now these motions are evil if the love is evil; good if the love is good. What we assert let us prove from Scripture. The apostle “desires to depart, and to be with Christ.” And, “My soul desired to long for Thy judgments;” or if it is more appropriate to say, “My soul longed to desire Thy judgments.” And, “The desire of wisdom bringeth to a kingdom.” CITY OF GOD 14.7.

PSALM 119:25-48

OVERVIEW: Even the mightiest of people must become penitent suppliants in the presence of God (THEODORET). Creation and divine miracles, as recounted in Scripture, should not be seen as natural processes but be believed because they are attested to in Scripture (AMBROSE). Security and strength for this life can be found only in the Word of God and by faith and obedience to God’s will (CAESARIUS). The word useful should suggest not money or business success but Christ and godliness with contentment (AMBROSE). We should follow King David’s example and not be interested in the empty values of the theater and the arena if we want deliverance from this world (CYRIL OF JERUSALEM). People who want to be saved must turn to Christ and away from the vanities of this world (AMBROSE).

OVERVIEW: Even those who crucified the Lord (OECUMENIUS) were not beyond the range of forgiveness (CHRYSOSTOM), unless they refuse to repent and persist in their unbelief (THEODORET OF CYR). The depths of God (CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA) cannot be understood without the Spirit of God (AMBROSIASTER, THEODORET OF CYR), who is one with the Father and the Son (SEVERIAN OF GABALA). Human searching alone (AMBROSIASTER, OECUMENIUS) cannot penetrate these depths (ORIGEN, CHRYSOSTOM). Faith is not grasped by the deceptive spirit of the world (AMBROSIASTER). Worldly wisdom is of this age (ORIGEN), but the gospel sets forth wisdom of the age to come, when the truth of God will be manifested to those who now deny it (AMBROSIASTER, THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA). God’s wisdom is so great that it makes human wisdom appear foolish (CHRYSOSTOM). The gospel is not merely a riddle (THEODORET OF CYR). It is hidden not in words but in power (AMBROSIASTER). It has been stored up for us before we were born (CHRYSOSTOM). Both those who deny that Christ was fully human (Apollinarians) and those who claim that God suffers in his essential nature as Word (Arians) misunderstand the phrase “they crucified the Lord of glory” (PELAGIUS). Although the Fathers debated the source of Paul’s quotation in 2:9 (AMBROSIASTER, CHRYSOSTOM), they agreed on the central importance of Christ’s death (AUGUSTINE). Wherever the quotation came from, it shows how bright a spiritual body can be (ORIGEN) and how God foresees and foreknows our human choices (SEVERIAN). The rulers are every spiritual or demonic power that deliberately sets itself up against God (AMBROSIASTER).

2:6 Imparting Wisdom to the Mature
WORLDLY WISDOM. ORIGEN: When Paul talks about the wisdom of the rulers of this world he seems to be talking not about one wisdom common to them all but about different kinds of wisdom which are peculiar to each. ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 3.3.1.

THE MATURE. AMBROSIASTER: The mature are those who preach the cross as wisdom because of the witness of Christ’s power at work. They know that actions speak louder than words. Their wisdom is not of this age but of the age to come, when the truth of God will be manifested to those who now deny it. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

TRUE WISDOM FOUND IN THE CROSS. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul is saying that when he, a man thought to be foolish and a preacher of folly, gets the better of the wise, he overcomes their wisdom, not by foolishness but by a more perfect wisdom. This wisdom is so broad and so great that the other kind appears to be foolishness. True wisdom is the gospel, the means of salvation through the cross of Christ. The perfect are those who believe. They are indeed “perfect,” because they know that all human things are utterly helpless, and therefore they ignore them, being convinced that they have nothing to gain from them. This is what true believers are like. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 7.1.

2:7 The Hidden Wisdom of God
IMPOSSIBLE IN HUMAN TERMS. AMBROSIASTER: Paul testifies that he has been sent to reveal a secret wisdom which the princes of this world do not know and which they therefore label stupid. The wisdom of God is hidden because it is not in words but in power. It is impossible in human terms, but it can be believed by the power of the Spirit. God foresaw the future sins of the world and therefore decreed this in order to confound those who would turn his wisdom into their own stupidity, and also to glorify us, who would believe it. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

FROM THE BEGINNING. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul is keen to point out that God always loved us, even from the very beginning, when we did not yet exist. For if he had not loved us, he would not have foreordained our riches. Look beyond the broken relationship which has come in between, and you will see that God’s love for us is more ancient still. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 7.4.

THE WHOLE DISPENSATION. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: By wisdom Paul means the cross and the whole dispensation of salvation. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

NOT A RIDDLE. THEODORET OF CYR: Paul does not mean that he is now communicating in secrets and riddles but that the message he preaches was once hidden. COMMENTARY ON THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 175.

2:8a Rulers of This Age Do Not Understand
EVERY DEMONIC POWER AGAINST GOD. AMBROSIASTER: The rulers of this age are not only those who were great among the Jews and the Romans but also every spiritual power which sets itself up against God. The Jewish rulers cannot be called rulers of this age, because they were subject to the Romans. Nor did the Romans crucify Jesus, because Pilate himself said that he found no fault in him. The rulers who crucified him were the demons. They knew that Jesus was the Messiah but not that he was the Son of God, and so it can be said that they crucified him in ignorance. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

2:8b Crucifying the Lord of Glory
CONDEMNED BY IGNORANCE. PELAGIUS: Pilate, Caiaphas and the rest were condemned by their ignorance, because they should have known the truth. There are two kinds of heretics who misinterpret this passage. The first are the Apollinarians, and the second are the Arians. The Apollinarians are wrong because they do not accept that Christ’s human nature was perfect. The Arians err because they claim that the Word of God can suffer. Arius did not believe that it was the Lord of glory who took on a human nature, and therefore he thought that the Word, being only human, could suffer. COMMENTARY ON THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 2.

EVEN THE CRUCIFIERS ARE NOT BEYOND FORGIVENESS. CHRYSOSTOM: Could Herod and the priests who wanted to crucify Jesus have been forgiven? Yes. If they repented, they were forgiven. Even Paul, who persecuted the church, was forgiven when he repented, and so they could have been as well. The ignorance of the rulers was not concerning Christ’s person but rather concerning the significance of the event which was taking place on the cross. Jesus prayed that they might be forgiven, not because they did not know him but because they did not understand what they were doing. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 7.5.

WHAT IF CHRIST HAD NOT DIED? AUGUSTINE: But if Christ had not been put to death, death would not have died. The devil was overcome by his own trophy, for the devil rejoiced when, by seducing the first man, he cast him into death. By seducing the first man, he killed him. By killing the last man, he lost the first from his snare. THE ASCENSION 263.

THOSE WHO PERSIST IN UNBELIEF. THEODORET OF CYR: God forgave Pilate, Herod, Annas, Caiaphas and the rest for their ignorance at the time of the crucifixion, but after Christ had risen and ascended into heaven, and the Holy Spirit had come, and the apostles had performed many miracles, he handed them over for punishment, because they persisted in their unbelief. COMMENTARY ON THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 176.

WHO KILLED THE LORD OF GLORY? OECUMENIUS: This applies to Herod and Pilate. It does not apply in the same way to the high priests and scribes, because they knew that Jesus was the Christ. They were more like the workers in the vineyard who said: “This is the heir. Let us kill him, and the vineyard will be ours.” PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

2:9 What God Has Prepared
GOOD THINGS TO COME. ISAAC OF NINEVEH: When it says “which eye hath not seen, nor ear hath heard” and the rest, Scripture has declared to us that the good things to come are incomprehensible, and have no similarity to any thing here. ASCETICAL HOMILIES 2.

A SPIRITUAL BODY. ORIGEN: From this we may gain an idea of how great the splendor, the beauty and the brightness of a spiritual body is. ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 3.6.4.

PAUL’S SOURCE? AMBROSIASTER: These words were expressed somewhat differently by Isaiah, and they are also found in the apocryphal Apocalypse of Elijah. Paul uses them to refer to the incarnation of Christ, which not only goes against human perception but is beyond the understanding of heavenly powers as well. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

A PARAPHRASE? CHRYSOSTOM: Where are these words written? Either they are a paraphrase of some passage [such as Isaiah 52:15], or they were written in some book which has now disappeared. In fact, many books were destroyed, and very few survived the first captivity intact, as we know from the documents which have survived. Not all the words of the prophets are extant, but Paul, who was learned in the law and was also speaking by the Spirit, would have known them all accurately. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 7.6.

GOD FORESEES HUMAN CHOICES. SEVERIAN OF GABALA: One should not think that God has indiscriminately revealed the mystery to some and allowed the rest to perish in ignorance. Rather one should know and be persuaded that by the foreknowledge of his power God prepared the right thing for each person according to his deserts, for he foresees what each one will choose even before it happens. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

2:10 The Spirit Searches Everything
THE DEEP THINGS OF GOD. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: Those who possess the Spirit seek out the deep things of God, that is, the hidden secrets that surround prophecy. STROMATEIS 2.7.3.

THE LIMITS OF HUMAN SEARCHING. ORIGEN: Only the Spirit can search everything. The human soul cannot do this, which is why it needs to be strengthened by the Spirit if it is ever going to penetrate the depths of God. COMMENTARY ON 1 CORINTHIANS 1.10.6-10.

ONLY GOD CAN REVEAL GOD. AMBROSIASTER: God revealed these things through his Spirit to believers, because the things of God cannot be understood without the Spirit of God, who is of God and therefore knows everything about him. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

ACCURATE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD IS BEYOND OUR SEARCHING. CHRYSOSTOM: If the Spirit, who knows the secret things of God, had not revealed them to us, there is no way that we could ever have known them. The word search does not imply that the Spirit was ignorant but refers rather to accurate, detailed knowledge. It is the same usage as when Paul speaks of God, saying that he searches the human heart. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 7.7.

THE SPIRIT’S UNDERSTANDING. THEODORET OF CYR: Whoever has received the revelation of the Spirit has also received the Spirit’s understanding. COMMENTARY ON THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 177.

OVERVIEW: Jesus fulfilled the law (Hilary, Anonymous) when he completed by his passion the once prefigured mystery of the paschal meal (Chromatius). Those things considered least important by the unfaithful are not insignificant before God (Origen, Chromatius, Anonymous). The law is summed up in the gospel (Jerome). Those called least in the kingdom are those who misunderstand God’s commands (Chrysostom), who teach but do not follow the Lord’s commands (Anonymous). Whoever sets aside one of the least of the commandments of the law should expect to be set aside as an inventor of laws opposed to God (Cyril of Alexandria). The scribes and Pharisees were less concerned with faith in the divine promise than with human praise (Chromatius). Teachers’ learning, even if tainted by a small sin, demotes them from the highest degree. It does not profit them to teach a righteousness that they undermine by the slightest fault (Jerome). After the coming of Christ we are favored with a greater strength than law as such (Chrysostom).

5:17 Fulfilling the Law and the Prophets
Jesus’ Passion Fulfilled the Law. Chromatius: The Son of God, who is the author of the law and the prophets, did not come to abolish the law or the prophets. He gave the people the law that was to be handed down through Moses, and he imbued the prophets with the Holy Spirit for the preaching of the things to come. Therefore he said, “I have come not to abolish the law and the prophets but to fulfill them.” He fulfilled the law and the prophets in this way: He brought to pass those things that had been written about him in the law and the prophets. Hence, when he drank the vinegar offered him on the cross, he said, “It is finished,” evidently to show that everything written about him in the law and the prophets had been completed, even including the drinking of vinegar. He fulfilled the law at any rate when he completed by the sacrament of his passion the once prefigured mystery of the paschal meal. Consequently the apostle says, “For Christ our paschal lamb has been sacrificed.” Tractate on Matthew 20.1.1-2.

Fulfilling Even the Least of the Commandments. Chromatius: While it is sinful to abolish the least of the commandments, all the more so the great and most important ones. Hence the Holy Spirit affirms through Solomon: “Whoever despises the little things shall gradually die.” Consequently nothing in the divine commandments must be abolished, nothing altered. Everything must be preserved and taught faithfully and devotedly that the glory of the heavenly kingdom may not be lost. Indeed, those things considered least important and small by the unfaithful or by worldly people are not small before God but necessary. For the Lord taught the commandments and did them. Even small things point to the great future of the kingdom of heaven. For this reason, not only words but also deeds are important; and you should not only teach, but what you teach, you should do. Tractate on Matthew 20.2.1-3.

Not to Abolish. Anonymous: For two reasons Christ says that he did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. First, so he might persuade his disciples, whom he had instructed to excel in all good works, to follow his own example. Even as he fulfilled every law, they too must eagerly fulfill even the least part of the law. Second, because Jesus worked on the sabbath and touched lepers, other Jews accused him of attempting to abolish the law. Or at least so it seemed. He needed to respond to these false accusations. He said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish but to fulfill.” The Law and the Prophets are both in force. They prophesy concerning Christ and constitute the law of living. Christ fulfilled them both. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 10.

5:18 Until All Is Accomplished
The One Dot. Origen: But the “one dot” is not only the iota of the Greeks but also that which among the Hebrews is called the yod. And the “one iota” or “one dot” can symbolically be said to be Jesus, since the beginning of his name is written not only by Greeks with an iota but also by Hebrews with a yod. So Jesus will be the one dot, the Word of God in the law which does not pass from the law until all is accomplished. But the iota might also be (as he himself says) the Ten Commandments of the law, for everything else passes away, but these do not pass away. But neither does Jesus pass away; if he “falls to the ground” he does so willingly, in order to bear much fruit. Again, the “one iota” or “one dot” has mastery over things both in heaven and on earth. Fragment 99.

Law Summed Up in the Gospel. Jerome: We are promised a new heaven and a new earth, which the Lord God will make. If new ones are to be created, the old ones will therefore pass away. As for what follows, “Not one iota, not a dot, shall be lost from the law until all is accomplished,” this literally shows that even what is considered least important in the law is full of spiritual sacraments, and it is all summed up in the gospel. Commentary on Matthew 1.5.18.

Law Fulfilled Through Grace. Chromatius: He fulfilled the law at the time by completing the sacrifices of the law and all the examples prefigured in himself . . . by accepting a body. Certainly he fulfilled the law at the time he confirmed with evangelical grace the precepts of the law he had given. He proceeds to demonstrate he had come to fulfill the law: “Until heaven and earth pass away, not one iota, not a dot, shall be lost from the law until all is accomplished.” Therefore we know from Christ’s teaching how true and divine is the preaching of the law. The Lord reveals that not a single iota or a dot will be lost. Tractate on Matthew 20.1.3-4.

Not One Iota. Anonymous: A man aware of what he has said does not leave hollow words behind. So how could divine words ever remain hollow? God punishes a man if he does not do what God teaches him. How could Christ not actually fulfill what was spoken through the prophets? Therefore he fulfilled the law even in its least requirements. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 10.

5:19 Who Is Great in the Kingdom of Heaven
Beyond the Law. Hilary: With a beautiful introduction Christ moves beyond the work of the law. He does not intend to abolish it but to enhance it by fulfilling it. He declares that his apostles will not be able to enter heaven unless their righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees. Therefore he bypasses what is laid down in the law, not for the sake of abolishing it, but for the sake of fulfilling it. On Matthew 4.16.

Least in the Kingdom. Chrysostom: For what reason then does he call some of these commandments “least,” though they are so magnificent and lofty? Jesus spoke this way because he was about to introduce his own teaching as a new law. As he humbles himself and speaks of himself with great modesty, so he refers to his own teaching in the same manner. In this way Jesus teaches us to practice humility in everything. And besides, since some suspected his teaching to be a new departure, he temporarily taught it in a more reserved way. But when you hear “least in the kingdom of heaven,” you are to think of nothing but hell and punishment. For it was his practice to speak not only of the joy the kingdom brings but also of the time of the resurrection and the fearful event of the second coming. Think of one who calls a brother a fool. That one transgresses only one commandment, maybe even the slightest one, and falls into hell. Compare that one with another who breaks all the commandments and instigates others to break them. Do both have the same relation to the kingdom? This is not the argument Jesus is making. Rather, he means that one who transgresses only one of the commands will on the final day be the least—that is, cast out—and last, and will fall into hell. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 16.

Setting Aside the Least of the Commandments. Cyril of Alexandria: Whoever sets aside “one of the least of the commandments” of the law is set aside by God as God’s enemy and as an inventor of laws opposed to God. And now out of the law of the gospel that one receives the retribution which, under the ancient law, was not defined. For this reason Christ fittingly says, “I am not come to destroy but to fulfill.” For that which then was lacking, here is made full. It is said in the law: “Stand in the presence of the elderly” and “If you see the beast of your enemy fallen under its load, go help him lift it up.” If anyone transgressed these commandments, there was no retribution specified under the law. So Christ makes up this lack when he says that in the kingdom of heaven such a person will be treated with scorn. Fragment 48.

5:20 Righteousness Exceeding That of the Scribes and Pharisees
The Faults of the Teacher Taint the Teaching. Jerome: He therefore rebukes the Pharisees, who showed contempt for God’s commandments and set up their own traditions, for their teaching among the people is of no value if they destroy even a small part of what is in the law. We can understand this in another sense, namely, that a teacher’s learning, even if tainted by a small sin, demotes him from the highest place. It does not profit him to teach a righteousness that he undermines by the slightest fault. The Beatitude is perfected if what you teach with your words you practice with your works. Commentary on Matthew 1.5.18.

Exceeding the Righteousness of the Scribes. Chrysostom: Jesus speaks of righteousness here as virtue in its fullness. In speaking of Job, Jesus said, “He was a blameless man, righteous.” According to the same meaning of the word, Paul even called that person righteous for whom, as he said, no law is laid down: “For the law is not made for a righteous person.” One might find “righteous” in many other passages rendered as “virtuous in general.” But I urge you to observe how grace has abounded under the new covenant. Jesus desires to have his prospective disciples considered as greater than the teachers under the old covenant. For by “scribes and Pharisees” here he meant the upright, not the lawbreakers. If they were not acting in a commendable fashion, he would not have spoken of them as righteous. Nor would he have compared the unreal to the real. Note how Jesus also in this passage commends the old law. He does so by comparing it with the new, a comparison that implies that it is of the same family, so to speak. More or less, it does share many family resemblances. He does not find fault with the old law but in fact makes it more strict. Had it been evil, Jesus would not have accentuated it. Instead, he would have discarded it. If the law is so commendable, how is it not adequate to bring us into the kingdom? After the coming of Christ we are favored with a greater strength than law as such. Those who are adopted as children are bound to strive for greater things. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 16.4.

Smugness of the Pharisees. Chromatius: He finds fault with the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, for they were not concerned with faith in the divine promise but with human praise and worldly glory. We have an example of this in the puffed-up and proud Pharisee who seemed to prefer the merits of his own righteousness and shamelessly made himself conspicuous in God’s sight with his smugness and complacent words. The scribes and Pharisees therefore stressed the appearance of righteousness, not that they might please God but that they might seek the fame of human glory and acquire earthly gain and material comforts. Hence the Lord urges us to give priority to the works of heavenly righteousness and the merits of faith over that detestable righteousness of human praise. Tractate on Matthew 20.3.1-2.

Least in the Kingdom Distinguished from Entering the Kingdom. Anonymous: The righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees is found in the commandments of Moses, whereas the fulfillment of those commandments is found in the commandments of Christ. So this is what he says: Unless a person, in addition to the commandments of the law, fulfills these precepts of mine that people may believe to be unimportant, he shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. The former may free a person from punishment imposed on transgressors of the law, but they do not bring a person into the kingdom. The latter free a person from punishment and introduce him into the kingdom. On this point of abolishing and not keeping the least of these commandments, he says about the lawbreaker: “Whoever does away with one of these least commandments shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven,” meaning that even if that person is least he is still in the kingdom. But why does he say concerning the nonobservant person that unless the righteousness of the Christian exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, that one shall not enter the kingdom of heaven? For whoever does not enter the kingdom of heaven will be outside the kingdom. On this, note that to be least in the kingdom is the same as not entering the kingdom. For to be someone in the kingdom is not the same as to reign with Christ but only to be among Christ’s people. It is as though he said, He who does not keep the law though he teaches it will indeed be among the Christians, but he will be the least Christian, or with the least of the Christians. But he who enters the kingdom will share in the kingdom with Christ, as is said elsewhere about the good servant: “Enter into the joy of your master”; that is to say, rejoice together with your Lord. Hence that person who does not enter the kingdom of heaven will certainly not possess the glory of the kingdom of heaven with Christ, though he will be in the kingdom, that is, counted among those over whom Christ the king of heaven reigns. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 11.

OVERVIEW: Christ’s commandment contains the law, but the law does not contain Christ’s commandment (Anonymous). While the old law commands us not to murder, the gospel commands us not to get angry without reason, that we may remove every root of sin from our hearts (Chromatius). It is as though Jesus were saying to a lethargic student, “You have spent enough time on these lessons. It is now time to press on to lessons higher than these” (Chrysostom). One who reproaches someone who is filled with the Holy Spirit as empty-headed becomes liable to the council of holy men (Hilary). God, who looks at a person’s intentions, brings the one who is guilty of ridiculing his brother to the council of the holy, because ridicule aimed at one person redounds to the insulting of all (Chrysologus). If no human being can tame the tongue, we must look to God who will tame it (Augustine). When the Lord himself justly terms as fools people who are in no way righteous, he does this not out of anger but for the sake of truth (Theodore of Mopsuestia). A gift offered to God is not acceptable unless the giver puts aside his or her anger and becomes reconciled to the brother (Chromatius). One who hates is akin to a murderer (Theodore of Heraclea). Jesus does not even receive the sacrifice of worship without the sacrifice of love. Not before or later but precisely while the very gift is lying there, when the sacrifice is already beginning, he sends you to be reconciled to your brother (Chrysostom). One who does not love one’s brother does not love the Lord (Cyril of Alexandria). Let brotherly peace come first, before one approaches the altar (Jerome, Augustine). You be the first to ask pardon (Anonymous). If you do not make peace with your opponent and you both die and go before Christ the judge, you will be quickly handed over to punishment (Anonymous). When you ignore conscience you put yourself at grave risk (Origen). The accuser is the Holy Spirit through conscience (Chromatius). So do not delay settling with others until you are thrown into some enormous conflict (Chrysostom, Jerome). Cut off the intent to sin before you act to sin (Origen).

5:21 The Ancient Commandment Against Killing
It Was Said to the People of Old. Chrysostom: It was he himself who also gave those laws, but in an indirect manner. If on the one hand he had said, “You have heard that I said to those of ancient times,” the saying would have been hard for his present hearers to believe and would have been a roadblock for their understanding. If on the other hand, after Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times by my Father,” he had added, “But I say,” he still would have seemed to be taking yet more on himself. So he simply states the commandment, attempting to make only one point: to demonstrate that at the right time he had come to clarify this requirement. For by the words “it was said to those of ancient times” he pointed out the length of time since they had received this commandment. He did this to shame those hearers who were still reluctant to advance to the higher levels of his teachings. Jesus spoke much like a teacher to a lazy student: “Don’t you know how much time you have spent learning syllables?” He also covertly intimates this through his use of the expression “those of ancient times.” For the future, Jesus summons his hearers to a loftier order of instruction. It is as though he had said, “You have spent enough time on these lessons. It is now time to press on to lessons higher than these.” It is fitting that Jesus does not disturb the order of the commandments but begins with the earlier ones, those with which the law began, to point to the harmony between them. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 16.5.1

The Deeper Meaning of the Law. Chromatius: This is what the Lord said: “I have not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it.” In other words, to accentuate what was considered least; that is to say, to reform for the better the precepts of the law. For this reason the holy apostle says, “Do we, then, overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.”. . . The law commands us not to murder. The gospel commands us not to get angry without reason, that we may remove every root of sin from our hearts, because anger can even lead to homicide. Tractate on Matthew 21.1.1-2.

Christ Contains the Law. Anonymous: This fulfilling of the law, depending on the circumstances, fell naturally into place. As Christ did and taught these things, he fulfilled the law—he did not do away with it. For Christ’s commandment is not contrary to the law but broader than the law. Christ’s commandment contains the law, but the law does not contain Christ’s commandment. Therefore whoever fulfills the commandments of Christ implicitly fulfills the commandments of the law. For one who does not get angry is much less capable of killing. But one who fulfills what the law commands does not completely fulfill what Christ commands. Often a person will not kill because of the fear of reprisal, but he will get angry. Do you see then that the fulfilled law has the benefit of not being abolished? Consequently, without these commandments of Christ the commandments of the law cannot stand. For if the freedom to get angry is allowed, there are grounds for committing murder. For murder is generated by anger. Take away the anger, and there will be no murder. Therefore whoever gets angry without cause commits murder with respect to the will, even if he does not actually do so out of fear of reprisal. The remorse may not be the same as if he had committed the deed, but such a sin matches the one who gets angry. Thus John in his canonical epistle says, “Everyone who hates his brother without cause is a murderer.” Consider the wisdom of Christ. Wanting to show that he is the God who once spoke in the law and who now commands by grace, he placed that commandment before all others in the law. And now he placed it at the beginning of his commandments. It was first written in the law: “You shall not murder.” He immediately begins with murder, so that through a harmony between commandments he is found to be the author of the law and of grace. “Everyone who is angry with his brother without cause shall be liable to judgment.” Therefore whoever gets angry with cause will not be liable. For if there is no anger, teaching will be of no use, nor will judgments be necessary, nor will criminal actions have to be held in restraint. Therefore just anger is the mother of discipline. Those who get angry with cause not only do not sin, but, unless they get angry, they do sin. Moreover, irrational patience sows the seeds of vice, nurtures negligence and encourages not only the wicked but also the good to do evil. Although a wicked person may be rebuked, he is not made to change his ways; but a good person, unless he is rebuked, will come to ruin because evil rather than good prevails in his body. Anger with cause is not anger but judgment. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 11.

5:22 Liable to Judgment
Charging Empty-Headedness. Hilary: “Whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ shall be liable to the council.” One who reproaches with empty-headedness someone who is filled with the Holy Spirit becomes liable to the council of holy men and is to expiate this outrage against the Holy Spirit through punishment handed down by the holy judges. “Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be liable to the hell of fire.”. . .Thus whatever the law has not condemned as to a person’s works, the faith of the Gospels castigates because of one’s readiness simply to use insulting words. On Matthew 4.17.

Taming the Tongue. Augustine: What are we to do? “Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be liable to the hell of fire.” But “no human being can tame the tongue.” Will everyone therefore go to the hell of fire? By no means. “Lord, you have become our refuge from generation to generation.” Your wrath is just. You send no one to hell unjustly. “Where shall I go from your spirit? or where shall I flee from your presence,” unless to you? Thus let us understand, my dearly beloved, that if no human being can tame the tongue, we must take refuge in God, who will tame it. Does your own human nature prevent you from taming your tongue? “No human being can tame the tongue.” Consider this analogy from the animals that we tame. A horse does not tame itself; a camel does not tame itself; an elephant does not tame itself; a snake does not tame itself; a lion does not tame itself. So too a man does not tame himself. In order to tame a horse, an ox, a camel, an elephant, a lion and a snake, a human being is required. Therefore God should be required in order for a human being to be tamed. Sermon 55.2.

Put Aside Anger. Chromatius: How greatly the Lord esteems fraternal love we know from this, for he makes clear that a gift offered to God is not acceptable unless the giver of a gift to his brother puts aside his anger and becomes reconciled to him. Furthermore, we learn that the gifts offered by Cain were rejected by God. He failed to observe charity toward his brother and harbored anger in his heart. Hence, not without good reason does the Lord in the Gospel indicate in many places the prime necessity of fraternal charity when he says, “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another.” And again: “By this will all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Rightly so, the Lord also spoke through Zechariah: “Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy each to his brother.” Through David he likewise declared: “Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!” Tractate on Matthew 21.3.1-3.

With Airs of Superiority. Theodore of Heraclea: He has said two things: “Whoever says, ‘Raca,’ and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ ” referring foolishness to the soul, and “despicable” to things of the body. By this he describes one who assumes an air of superiority, exalts himself over his brothers in the faith. Such a one hates them and turns away from them or looks down upon them with disgust or, frequently, passes them by as not worthy of a single look. He derives this sense of superiority from advantages of either body or soul and, on this account, looks down on his brothers as inferior to him. Such a person, Jesus says, is not considered by me as immune from condemnation. For the one who hates is akin to a murderer; such a person ought especially to have had love for these others on account of their shared faith, even though their common human nature should have been reason enough to unite them in friendship. Fragment 27.

To Ridicule a Believer Is to Ridicule God’s Wisdom. Peter Chrysologus: “Whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ shall be liable to the council.” The word raca, my brothers, is not simply an expression but the visceral reaction of a ridiculer as well as an insult. It usually manifests itself by a sidelong glance or a flaring of the nostrils or a rattle in the throat, so that one’s will concocts insults and the extent of the harm done is unknown. But God, who looks at a person’s intentions, sees his desires and judges his feelings, brings the one who is guilty of ridiculing his brother to the council of the holy, because ridicule aimed at one person redounds to the insulting of everyone; the condition of one limb spreads to the body, and the suffering of the body goes up to the head. Thus, as to what a ridiculer has inflicted on his brother, he will realize and regret in the heavenly council that his insight reached up to God. “Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be liable to the hell of fire.” What the angry man concealed in his heart, what the ridiculer held in his throat, the backbiter has put into words. Thus the expressed insult will be reckoned with in the fire of hell. The judgment for hidden faults depends on the Savior’s decision, so that based on an examination of causes a just judgment is rendered. Clearly then a manifest crime will produce a punishment. But someone may ask, “Just how great is the force of a word, that whoever says to his brother, ‘You fool!’ will be accorded severe punishment?” Very great, my brothers, very great, for Christ is in your brother, and Christ is the wisdom of God. Therefore whoever says to his brother “You fool!” has ridiculed God’s wisdom. Sermons 177.6-7.

Truth May Speak of Fools. Theodore of Mopsuestia: In speaking of the judgment and of the council and of the Gehenna of fire, Jesus refers to one and the same punishment. He does not indicate various things through the difference of the words, nor some different chastisement. But if it is not permissible to call somebody a fool, why does the Lord himself employ the expression fools? It is not fitting to call one’s particular brother a fool, for such a word issues from anger and not from righteousness. It is even more impious when it is spoken against someone who is holy. But the Lord justly terms as fools people who are in no way righteous and in no way what he is. He does this not out of anger but for the sake of truth. Again, Gehenna is the place of eternal and infernal punishment. Fragment 28.

5:23 Offering Your Gift at the Altar
There Remember Your Brother. Chrysostom: What goodness! What all-surpassing love is shown to humanity! Showing no regard for the honor rightfully his, he calls us to pour forth love toward our neighbor. He explains that he did not speak his earlier threatening words out of hatred or desire to punish but from the most tender affection. For what can be more gentle than these words? “Interrupt the service you are offering me,” he says, “so that your love may continue. To be reconciled to your brother is to offer sacrifice to me.” Yes, this is the reason Jesus did not say “after the offering” or “before the offering.” Rather, precisely while the very gift is lying there, when the sacrifice is already beginning, he sends you at that precise time to be reconciled to your brother. Neither after removing nor before presenting the gift, but precisely while it lies before you, you are to run to your brother. What is his motivation in making such an immediate command? It seems to me he has two ends in mind toward which he is hinting and preparing. First, as I have previously said, he desires to show how highly he values love and considers it to be the greatest sacrifice. So he does not even receive the sacrifice of worship without the sacrifice of love. Next, he is imposing such a necessity for reconciliation that it admits of no excuse. The person who has been commanded not to offer sacrifice to God before one is reconciled will hurry to the one who has been grieved and eradicate the enmity between the two. He does so that his sacrifice may not lie unconsecrated. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 16.9.

Loving the Wounded Brother. Cyril of Alexandria: The statement “if you should bring your gift” shows that this is conceived as a means of salvation and as an escape from punishment for sinners. For this God invented repentance. One will avert punishment, however, who tends to the feelings of another who has been wounded. But one who does not love his brother does not love the Lord. Hence it is fitting that whoever bears hard feelings toward his brother is not accepted, since he does not approach the Lord in truth. Fragment 50.

5:24 First Reconcile with Your Brother
Cutting Off the Intent to Sin. Origen: To give assent to sin is already a completed evil, even if someone does not actually commit the deed. And by this saying our Savior, hurling us away from the cause of sins, endeavors to cut sin off completely. For when this intention is not present in our souls, neither shall the action accompany it. Fragment 103.

Let Brotherly Peace Come First. Jerome: He did not say, “If you have anything against your brother” but “If your brother has anything against you,” so that a greater need for reconciliation is imposed on you. As long as we are unable to make peace with our brother, I do not know whether we may offer our gifts to God. Commentary on Matthew 1.5.23.

Leave Your Gift Before the Altar. Augustine: In the spiritual sense therefore we may understand faith as an altar in the inner temple of God, to which the visible altar symbolically points. Whatever gift we offer to God—whether it be prophecy, or doctrine, or prayer, or a hymn, or a psalm, or whatever other spiritual gifts of this kind may come to mind—cannot be acceptable to God unless it is held up by sincere faith and firmly and immovably fixed on it, so that our words may be pure and undefiled. Sermon on the Mount 1.10.27.

Be First to Ask Pardon. Anonymous: Do not counter with “He offended me; I didn’t offend him. He ought to square up with me, and not I with him.” If for the sake of your salvation the Lord orders you to make friends, though you are the one who has been more offended, you must apologize, that you may have double credit: first, because you have been offended and, second, because you were the first to apologize. For if you have offended someone and then ask pardon of him, the Lord will forgive you for your offense because you were the first to ask pardon. You will have no reward, however, if you are found to be the guilty person and have asked pardon. But if one has done wrong by you and you are the first to apologize, you will have a great reward. Hurry therefore to be the first one to make friends. Otherwise, if you should delay, he may be the first to apologize and may snatch from your hands the reward of love. If he has offended you and asked your pardon, your friendship is fruitless. For what righteousness do you have before the Lord if you receive an apology and are thereby placated? Certainly the Lord does not want you to grovel for forgiveness, but he orders you to be the first to apologize. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 11.

5:25 Make Friends with Your Accuser
Do Not Ignore Conscience. Origen: In this life, this way traveled by all, you do well to accept and not ignore the suggestions of the conscience. But if you are inconsiderate and negligent in this life, conscience itself, assuming the role of a prosecutor, will accuse you before the judge. Conscience will subject to the juryman’s decision, and you will be handed over to incurable punishments. Such things you would not have suffered, if along the way you had in fact acquired goodwill toward your accuser, accepting his reproaches as offered out of goodwill. For this also the divine Evangelist John says in his letter: “If our conscience does not condemn us, we have confidence before God.” Fragment 102.

Make Friends Quickly. Chrysostom: Having mentioned first the judgment, then the council, then hell, and having spoken of his own sacrifice, Jesus then adds, “Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court.” That is, don’t be saying, “What if I am the injured party? What if I have been plundered and dragged before the tribunal?” Even this kind of circumstance fails to qualify as an excuse or occasion for refusing to be reconciled. Jesus commands us even in these circumstances not to be at enmity with others. Then, since this command was so significant, he illustrates his counsel with examples drawn from daily affairs. Less intelligent people, after all, are more apt to respond to present realities than future ones. “What is that you are saying?” he asks. “So your adversary is stronger and has wronged you? He will wrong you even more if you don’t make it right and he ends up taking you to court. In the former case, by giving up some money, you keep yourself free. Once a judge has passed sentence, however, you will be thrown in jail and pay a stiff fine. If you stay out of court, you will reap two benefits. First, you won’t have to suffer anything painful. Second, the good you end up doing will be your own doing and not something you have been forced to do. But if you refuse to be convinced by these words, you are wronging yourself more than your opponent.” The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 16.10.

The Holy Spirit Accuses. Chromatius: Others, who seem to have a more complete explanation, believe that the opponent here must be understood as the Holy Spirit, who opposes the vices and desires of the flesh. As the apostle points out, “The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you would.” The Spirit indeed desires heavenly things; the flesh lusts after earthly things. The Spirit rejoices over spiritual gifts; the flesh is attracted to bodily vices. Concerning this the apostle says, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you have been sealed for the day of redemption.” Therefore, the Lord instructs us to listen to this adversary of sin and human error, upholding those things that are righteous and holy. We should obey him in all things while we are with him on the way, in the caravan of this present life. By doing so we will have peace and perpetual fellowship with him. Tractate on Matthew 22.3.1-2.

Do Not Wait to Make Peace. Anonymous: The Lord makes haste, that we may hasten to make friends with our enemies as long as we live in this life. This life common to all people is a casual life, through which both the good and the wicked pass. God knows the danger if either enemy should die before peace is made. Even if they wanted to make peace, they are unable to, since they have been separated by death. But if in the course of this life you do not make peace with your opponent whom you have offended and you should both die and go before Christ the judge, he will deliver you up to Christ, accusing you of guilt in his court, and the judge will hand you over to the guard (the angel of cruel punishments), and the latter will send you to the prison of hell. But if you had made peace in this world, you could have obtained pardon of the most serious act, as is written: “Charity covers a multitude of sins.” Once you have been convicted and put in prison, punishment will be exacted from you not only for your serious sins but also for the idle words you spoke. For instance, if you said “Raca” to someone, your opponent will hand you over to the judge, even if he was the first one to apologize. As Solomon says, “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat . . . for you will heap coals of fire on his head.” What does it mean to “heap coals of fire” if not to make him more accountable to God? If someone does good to his enemy, therefore, he will make him more culpable before God. Hence he who is the first to apologize to his enemy makes him guilty before God. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 11.

5:26 You Will Remain in Prison
You Will Never Get Out. Jerome: From what precedes and follows, we are given to understand that our Lord and Savior exhorts us to peace and harmony while we are pilgrims in this world. As the apostle says, “Strive for peace with all persons.” For in the previous section Jesus said, “If you are offering your gift and there remember that your brother has something against you,” he immediately goes on to say “make friends” or come to terms with “your opponent,” and so forth. Then he orders, “Love your enemies and bless those who hate you and pray for those who persecute you.” This is clear from the explanation that follows. Many people, however, have a confused idea of the flesh and the soul or the soul and the spirit. They wonder: How is the flesh to be sent to prison if the soul is at odds with it, for the soul and the flesh must be united and the flesh can do nothing unless the mind gives the order? And how can the Holy Spirit dwelling in us turn over to a judge the opposing flesh or soul when he himself is the judge? The epistle of Peter says, “Our adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion.” Some interpret that the adversary is the devil. Then they draw the odd conclusion that they are being counseled by the Savior that as far as possible we should be kind toward the devil who is the enemy and avenger. Nor should we make him suffer for us—though he offers incentives to vice to us who sin through our own will—by consenting to have him who is the great troublemaker suffer punishment also for our sake. They say that each saint should be benevolent to this demonic adversary by not making him suffer torments on his account. Thus some people rashly reason that individuals make a covenant with the devil in baptism by saying, “I relinquish to you, Satan, your splendors and your vices and your world steeped in wickedness.” If we therefore keep that covenant, we will be benevolent and obliging toward our adversary and by no means deserving of imprisonment. Commentary on Matthew 1.5.25.

Payment for Sin. Jerome: But the Lord says that if we have transgressed any of the things we pledged to the devil, we shall be handed over to the judge and the guard. We shall be put in prison and not be released until we have paid back the last farthing. A farthing is a type of coin consisting of two mites. On this point, the poor widow in one Gospel is said to have put a farthing into the treasury; in another Gospel, two mites. There is no discrepancy here, for one farthing contains two mites. So this is what he says: You will not come out of prison until you have paid for the least of your sins. Commentary on Matthew 1.5.25.

The Last Farthing. Augustine: But, with regard to paying the last farthing, the expression can be quite reasonably understood as the equivalent of saying that nothing is left unpunished—just as in ordinary parlance we use the expression “to the very dregs” when we wish to declare that something is so completely consumed that nothing is left. Or it can be understood in the sense that earthly sins could be designated by the last fourth or the earth is found to be the fourth and the last part of the distinct elements of this world. This assumes that you begin from the heavens, count the air second, the water third and the earth fourth. For this reason the expression “until you have paid the last penny” can be rightly understood as meaning until you have expiated earthly sins. For the sinner has also heard the expression “Earth you are, and to the earth you shall return.” Sermon on the Mount 1.11.30.

OVERVIEW: As anger is the mother of murder, lust is the mother of adultery (Anonymous, Chromatius). The soul was created to have its own authority and thus is free. It is able to avoid anger, if it so wishes. It can choose not to lust, if it so wishes. God does not address his commands merely to the flesh, as if detached from the soul (Anonymous). Once one has kindled the flame of lust, even when the object of lust is absent, the one who lusts is forming continually images of prohibited actions (Chrysostom). The member of the body as such is not the subject of chastisement but the will and the voluntary motivation that underlies the impulse of the will (Hilary). What is best in us may soon devolve into a vice (Jerome). Insofar as the eye symbolizes, for example, an unworthy bishop, who through his disreputable faith becomes a scandal to the church, Christ advises that he be plucked out, lest the people be held to account for his sins (Chromatius). It is common to think analogically of the right hand as the will of the soul and the left hand as the will of the body (Anonymous). If your spiritual advisor or minister or right hand becomes a stumbling block or leads to evil, cut off the relationship (Augustine). One should not spare even things thought most necessary if through them any harmful activity threatens to come about (Apollinaris). Our Lord orders that chaste wedlock be preserved by indissoluble law, showing that the law of marriage was first instituted by Christ himself (Chromatius). A Christian man must not only not defile himself, but he must not give others an occasion to defile themselves (Anonymous). The divorcing husband makes the wife an adulteress (Chrysostom, Theodore of Heraclea). She remains his body, since they are one flesh (Theodore of Mopsuestia).

5:27-28 Committing Adultery
Adultery Already. Chrysostom: For he did not simply say “whoever shall desire,” since it is possible for one to desire even when sitting alone in the mountains. Rather, Jesus said, “whoever looks with lust,” that is, one who thinks about another solely for the purpose of lusting, who, under no compulsion, allows the wild beast to intrude upon his thoughts when they are calm. This intrusion no longer comes from nature but from self-indulgence. The ancient Scripture corrects this from the first, saying, “Don’t gaze upon another’s beauty.” And then, so that no one should say, if I gaze but am not taken captive, he punishes the look, lest through a false security you should some time fall into sin. “What then,” one may say, “if I should look, and desire indeed, but do no evil?” Even so you find your place among the adulterers. For the Lawgiver has pronounced it, and you must not question further. For when you look once, twice or three times, you will perhaps have power to refrain; but if you make this your habitual practice, kindling the furnace within you, you will assuredly be overcome. Your human nature is no different from that of other people. If we see a child holding a knife, though we don’t see him hurt, we spank him and forbid him to ever do so again. In the same way, God removes the licentious look even before the act, lest at any time you should fall in act also. For he who has once kindled the flame, even when the woman whom he has beheld is absent, is forming continually within himself images of shameful things. The images often lead even to the concrete act. Hence Christ takes away even that embrace which is in the heart only. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 17.2.2

The Fuel of Adultery. Chromatius: Because adultery is a serious sin and in order to uproot it, lest our conscience be defiled, he forbade even lust, which is the fuel of adultery. According to the words of blessed James in his epistle, “Lust when it has conceived gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown brings forth death.” The Holy Spirit speaks concerning this to David: “Happy shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock.” The symbolism here is that the blessed and truly evangelical person roots out the desires and lust of the flesh arising from human weakness. He does this immediately before they grow, at the onset, through faith in Christ who has been described as a rock. Tractate on Matthew 23.1.6-7.

God’s Command Addresses the Willing Soul. Anonymous: Those who care little for their souls do not look sufficiently into their hearts. They do not consider it a sin to get angry with their neighbors without cause and do not think it a sin to lust after a woman who belongs to another provided they do not follow up their lust. But it is a great sin among those who fear God and hold their hearts in high regard. And it is a great sin before God, who looks not only at one’s actions but also at one’s heart. With the inwardness of this commandment the law is not abolished but fulfilled, and without it the Lord’s commandment would be untenable. Every act of adultery arises from lust. Therefore how can adultery be restrained under the commandment of the law, unless the force of lust has been nipped in the bud under Christ’s commandment? For just as anger is the mother of murder, lust is the mother of adultery. Consequently one who gets angry at his brother without cause kills him in his heart, even though he does not actually kill him. It is still murder in the sight of God, who does not regard the action more than the disposition. So too the man who lusts after a woman who belongs to another has already committed adultery with her in his heart, though he has not had relations with her for whatever restraining reason. He is still an adulterer before God, who looks more at the will than the act. For the overt act of adultery may have been lacking, but not the will. Even those who are unaware of the deeper mystery of human nature can agree on this much: Every carnal nature is subject to these passions. No one, not even a saint, can possibly detach himself from the temptation to anger or lust. Yet they go on to imagine that Christ, as though commanding an impossible thing, is setting up a trap to make people culpable. Anyone who commands impossible things sows occasions of offense and lays grounds for punishment. This leads us to a reflection on the division between the wills of the soul and the body. We have two natures in us: the flesh and the soul. We thus indeed have two wills, that of the soul and that of the flesh. We may thus say we also have two angers, the anger of the soul and the anger of the flesh. Similarly we might speak of having a lust of the soul and a lust of the flesh. The flesh may come under the compulsion of getting angry and feeling lust, despite its will, since it was not created to have its own authority. It is not now under its own authority, as though created with it, but under the law of sin. For the flesh has been sold into the slavery of sin. That is why the apostle says, “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, indeed it cannot.” But the soul was created to be its own authority, according to the law of God’s righteousness. For that reason, the soul is able not to get angry, if it so wishes, and not to lust, if it so wishes. Thus when we get angry and feel the force of lust, if we are dissatisfied with ourselves and are quick to suppress either our anger or our lust, it is clear that our flesh alone is getting angry or lusting but not our soul. But if we become self-satisfied in these things and decide to give vent to any anger or lust we feel, then our soul as well gets angry and lusts at the same time as the flesh. Therefore, since God knows that the nature of the flesh is not subject to him, God does not bother to command the flesh as such, as if it stood alone. What knowing person then will give a command to someone who, despite good intentions, is unable to obey? Rather, God speaks to the soul, which is able to obey him in all things and which, despite an angry and lustful flesh, is able not to get angry and not to be consumed with lust. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 12.

5:29 Pluck Out Causes to Sin
The Member Not the Cause of Sin. Hilary: As the degree of innocence increases, faith becomes more advanced. For we are advised to be free not only from our own particular faults but also from those things that affect us outwardly. For is it not because of sin that the bodily members were condemned in the first place? The right eye is no less sinister than the left. It is pointless to chastise a foot that is unaware of lust and thus involves no grounds for punishment. But our members indeed do differ from each other while we are all one body. We are here being advised to pluck out inordinate loves or friendships if they are the occasion that leads us further into wrongdoing. We would do well to not even have the benefit of a member, like an eye or a foot, if it furnishes the avenue by which one is drawn by excessive affections into a partnership with hell. Even the cutting away of a member might be beneficial if the heart (figuratively speaking) were also able to be cut away. But if the impulse of the heart is left unchanged, the cutting away of a member would be pointless. On Matthew 4.21.

The Gist of the Hyperbole. Apollinaris: He speaks about the numbers of the body but employs hyperbole. It is not that one should literally “cut off one’s members.” Rather, one is called to mortify them and render them useless for sin, as the apostle has said. One should not spare even things thought most necessary, if through them any bad activity threatens to occur. Fragment 23.

The Analogy of the Eye. Jerome: Since Jesus spoke before about lust for a woman, he now rightly refers to an unruly thought or feeling as an eye. By the right hand and other members of the body the onset of the will and emotions is suggested. Thus what we conceive in the mind we might complete with an act. Hence we must be aware that what is best in us may soon devolve into a vice. If your right eye and your right hand are an occasion of sin to you, how much more is this true of the left members. If your soul begins to slip, how much more the body, which has a greater tendency to sin. In other words, in the right eye and the right hand of one’s siblings and wife and children and relatives and neighbors, an emotion is indicated. If we perceive they are an obstacle to us in contemplating the true light, we must cut off those parts. Otherwise, in our desire to profit from others, we may perish for all eternity. Hence it is said concerning the high priest whose soul is dedicated to the worship of God: “He shall not defile himself for mother and father and children.” That is, he shall have affection only for the One to whose worship he is dedicated. Commentary on Matthew 1.5.29.

Removing an Unworthy Bishop. Chromatius: But since the body has been mentioned, this can be understood more properly of the body of the church. In this body the eye, like a precious member, is recognized as the bishop who enlightens the entire body by the light of a divine commandment. The passage properly applies here: “If your right eye is an occasion of sin to you, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is better for you that one of your members should perish than your whole body should be thrown into hell.” Hence, if this type of eye—symbolizing an unworthy bishop—through his disreputable faith and base dealings becomes a scandal to the church, Christ advises that he be plucked out, lest the people be held accountable for his sins. For it is written that “a little leaven leavens the whole lump.” And again: “Keep yourself from every kind of evil.” The hand is understood to signify a priest who, because of his disreputable faith or life, becomes a scandal to God’s people. The Lord orders that he be cut away, that is, removed, lest the church become defiled by his sin. For the church, according to the apostle, ought to be holy and spotless. Tractate on Matthew 23.3.1-2.

5:30 Losing a Member, Saving the Body
On Rejecting Bad Counsel. Augustine: In this connection, I can think of no more fitting example than that of a dearly beloved friend, for that which we ardently love is certainly that which we may rightly call a member. And we may rightly call this member a counselor, for he is, as it were, an eye that shows the way, and because he is on the right side, we may rightly call him a counselor in divine matters. In this way, a friend on the left side is indeed a counselor, but a counselor in earthly matters, which pertain to the needs of the body. However, it would be superfluous to talk about him insofar as he may be an occasion of sin, since not even the friend on the right side is to be spared. But a counselor in divine matters is actually a stumbling block if, under the guise of religion and doctrine, he is trying to lead us into some pernicious belief. Let the right hand therefore be understood as a beloved helper and minister in divine works. For, just as contemplation is properly represented by the word eye, so action is rightly represented by the word hand. In this way, the left hand signifies the works that are necessary for this life and body. Sermon on the Mount 1.13.38.

Think of the Right Hand as the Will of the Soul. Anonymous: I believe that all these things [the eye and the hand and the foot] are spoken of in reference to the soul, as we said before. He speaks of the soul as an eye; that is, a mind through which the soul sees. On this he says in another place: “If your eye, is sound, your whole body will be full of light.” This carnal eye without the soul is not an eye. It is the mirror of that interior eye: the mind. The body has its own mind, even as it has its own soul, according to the apostle’s words on the mind of the soul: “Therefore I myself with my mind serve the law of God but with my flesh the law of sin.” Concerning the mind of the body, he says, “Puffed up by his mere human mind, such a one is not united to the Head.” Likewise concerning the hand or the foot. He may be thinking of a person’s right hand as the will of the soul but the left hand as the will of the body. This bodily hand is not a literal hand but the organ of that hand. For unless the will moves it, whether for good or for evil, it is not moved at all. Thus a person’s right hand is the will of the soul, but the left hand is the will of the body. Hence the parts of the soul are referred to as “right” and the parts of the body as “left,” for the soul was created with its own authority, which gives it a tendency either to good or to evil. It was also created under the law of righteousness, that it might see what is right, hear what is right and act and walk accordingly. The parts of the body are referred to as “left,” since the flesh was not created with its own authority that it might tend to either good or to evil. It has become prone to evil under the law of sin, and it cannot see or hear or do what is right. Thus all holy people are referred to as “right” but sinners as “left.” Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 12.

5:31 Divorcing One’s Wife
Let No One Put Asunder What God Has Joined. Chromatius: In all things our Lord and Savior reforms for the better the justice of the ancient law. Indeed, it seems that long ago a license for divorce was granted by Moses on tenuous grounds to the Jewish people who were living licentiously and serving their pleasures. This was due not to the system of law but to the unbridled pleasure of a carnal people unable to uphold the righteousness of the law according to rigorous standards. This concession was allowed, according to what the Lord himself said in another place in his reply to the inquiring Sadducees. For when they asked why Moses had allowed a bill of divorce to be given, the Lord answered, “Moses, by reason of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to put away your wives, but it was not so from the beginning.” And now, not without good reason does our Lord and Savior, with that license removed, restore the precepts of his former constitution. For he orders that chaste wedlock be preserved by indissoluble law, showing that the law of marriage was first instituted by himself. For he said, “What therefore God has joined together, let no one put asunder.” Tractate on Matthew 24.1.1-3.

Four Injustices Simultaneously Committed in Divorce. Anonymous: When he spoke about someone who gets angry without cause and who is consumed with lust, he deftly introduced the commandment about putting away wives. For if he who gets angry with his brother without cause is liable to judgment, how will that person not be liable who, without the sin of fornication, so hates his wife that he puts her away? But you say, “My wife has a lot of faults.” So what? Are you without fault? If we must bear the weaknesses of strangers according to the apostle, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ,” how much more must we bear those of wives? If a man looks with lust at a woman, he commits adultery with her in his heart. How will that person not be held to account for adultery who puts away his wife and gives her occasion to commit adulteries, so that she too commits adultery with another and he with her? For a Christian must both remain undefiled and not give others an occasion to defile themselves. Otherwise their wrongdoing redounds to the sin of him who becomes the cause of sin for others. Note also that whoever gives a certificate of divorce according to the law commits four injustices at the same time. First, as far as God is concerned, there is a killing that is occuring. Second, the man has put aside a woman who has not committed fornication. Third, he has made an adulteress out of her. Fourth, if he takes her back again, he still commits adultery. None of these injustices are committed, however, when Christ’s commandment has been kept. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 12.

5:32 Making a Woman an Adulteress
He Makes Her an Adulteress. Chrysostom: How can one who is meek and a peacemaker and poor in spirit and merciful cast out his wife? How can one who reconciles be alienated from her that is his own? . . . Even in this case he makes one exception: “for the cause of fornication.” One who does not look with unchaste eyes upon another woman will certainly not commit fornication. By not committing fornication he will give no occasion that they should become alienated. Thus you see Jesus presses his point without reserve and builds up this fear as a bulwark, urging on the husband great danger, who if he does cast her out, makes himself accountable for her adultery. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 17.4.

Dissolving a Marriage. Theodore of Heraclea: Through these things he clearly teaches that it is not unreasonable divorce which dissolves a marriage in God’s sight. Rather, irresponsible action dissolves a marriage, even if the divorce is legal. For the whole teaching of Christ judges things according to one’s disposition. Fragment 34.

She Remains His Body. Theodore of Mopsuestia: He has mixed his statement about divorce with one concerning fornication, for men who turn away from their own spouses out of a desire for intercourse with other women have committed adultery. The same applies to women. Thus he does not allow the divorced woman to remarry. The man she lives with must pay the penalties of an adulterer. For even if, to all appearances, she is separated from her husband, in spiritual reality she remains his body. At the beginning, she was joined and fitted by God to her husband as “one flesh.” For the same reason, neither is the man able to marry another woman. Fragment 33.

OVERVIEW: The law prescribes that no one swear falsely, but according to the gospel one must not swear at all (Chromatius). Those who are living in the simplicity of faith have no need for the formality of an oath (Hilary). If your opponents believed that you would swear truthfully, they would never compel you to swear (Anonymous). Do not make an idol of creation by swearing an oath to some creaturely being (Cyril of Alexandria). One who swears by earthly elements makes implicit reference to the One who is the author of all these things (Chromatius). Refer all glory to God (Chrysostom). If we begin with the law’s mandate to return evil for evil to everyone, we are all made evil and the foundation of the law itself is dissolved (Anonymous). Rather, we resist evil by surrendering ourselves to suffer wrongfully (Chrysostom). The Lord wishes that the hope of our faith, extending into eternity, be tested by these challenges, so that the very toleration of a hidden injury should be a witness of our future judgment (Hilary). Turning the other cheek scandalizes those who do not understand the reasonings of faith (Origen). If a tempter initiates a lawsuit for the testing of our faith and desires to rob us of the things that are ours, the Lord orders us to offer willingly not only the things that the person seeks unjustly but even those the tempter does not demand (Chromatius). Like Joseph, flee without your coat to the covering of a higher justice (Anonymous). You will win full freedom from unworthy passions by possessing all things in common and by going the second mile out of mercy (Chrysostom). Going the second mile may also have a spiritual meaning: that of going with one who believes in the Father, the first mile, yet with whom you must be patient in traveling the second mile to belief in the Son and Spirit (Chromatius). The rich person is less likely to be tested through physical suffering than to be tested and proved in generosity (Anonymous). Freely give as you have freely received (Jerome). Whether, Jesus says, it be a friend or an enemy, a believer or an unbeliever, do good to the person in need (Theodore of Heraclea). Christ commanded us to love our enemies not so much for our enemies as for us: not because enemies are fit to merit love but because it is not fitting that we hate anyone (Anonymous). Christ does not command impossibilities (Theodore of Heraclea). If you hate your enemy, you have hurt yourself more in the spirit than you have hurt him in the flesh (Anonymous). Adoption denotes the character of our vocation to the eternal inheritance as joint heirs with Christ by a spiritual regeneration (Augustine). One who loves an enemy loves not for one’s own sake but on account of God; hence that person has a great treasure (Anonymous). The spiritual meaning of the sun as representing truth is grounded in the literal meaning of the sun as light. The spiritual meaning of the rain as the watering by the teaching of the truth is grounded in the literal meaning of rain as refreshment (Augustine). God is more content that sinners should enjoy his benefits though they don’t deserve them than that the just should be robbed of benefits against their deserving (Anonymous). We are called to be models for the just and the unjust of the imitation of Christ, who distributes equally the sun and the rain by his coming in baptism and by the sacraments of the Spirit (Hilary).

5:33 Not Swearing Falsely
Faith Needs No Oath. Hilary: The law had prescribed a penalty for false swearing, so that the ritual of an oath might hold false testimony in check. . . . But faith removes the need for using an oath. It establishes in truth the dealings of our life. Once the inclination to deceive has been checked, it enjoins simplicity in speaking and hearing. . . . Therefore those who are living in the simplicity of faith have no need for the ritual of an oath. With such people, what is, always is, and what is not, is not. For this reason, their every word and deed are always truthful. On Matthew 4.23.1

Perjury Generated by Oaths. Anonymous: Here is the fourth commandment, which is considered the least one by those self-assured persons who think that truthful swearing is not a sin and that the commandment of the law cannot stand without it. Now, unless an oath is forbidden, we cannot put a stop to perjury, for perjury is generated by oaths. For there is no one who frequently swears who does not at times commit perjury. Because of this, Solomon warns, “Do not accustom your mouth to an oath; there is much misfortune in it.” For even as the one who is accustomed to speaking often finds it necessary to say inappropriate things . . . one who makes it a habit to swear on suitable occasions, drawn along by custom, frequently and even unwillingly will swear also in superfluous matters. Now, as with any custom, when we want to do something we do it; and when we do not want to do it, we refrain from doing it. And Solomon teaches us that God’s judgment is against those who swear: “A man who swears much shall not ward off the blight from his house.” If therefore the blight will not depart from those who swear frequently, how will it depart from those who swear occasionally? Tell me, my friend, what do you gain by swearing? For if your opponent believed that you would swear truthfully, he would never compel you to swear. But since he believes that you may commit perjury, he compels you to swear. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 12.

5:34 Do Not Swear by Heaven
Swearing Oaths Inappropriate. Chromatius: By the grace of gospel teaching, the law given by Moses acquired an advantage. The law prescribes that one must not swear falsely; but according to the gospel one must not swear at all. The Holy Spirit had seen fit to order this through Solomon when he said, “Do not accustom your mouth to oaths.” And again: “Even as a well-chastised servant is not deterred from envy, whoever swears and does business will not be purged from sin.” Therefore it is absolutely inappropriate for us to swear. What need is there for us to swear when we are not allowed to lie at all and our words must always be true and trustworthy, so much so that they may be taken as an oath? On this, the Lord not only forbids us to swear falsely but even to swear, lest we appear to tell the truth only when we swear and lest (while we should be truthful in our every word) we think it is all right to lie when we do not take an oath. For this is the purpose of an oath: Everyone who swears, swears to the fact what he is saying is true. Therefore the Lord does not want a gap between our oath and our ordinary speech. Even as there must be no faithlessness in an oath, in our words there must be no lie. For both false swearing and lying are punished with divine judgment, as the Scripture says: “The mouth that lies kills the soul.” So whoever speaks the truth swears, for it is written: “A faithful witness will not lie.” Tractate on Matthew 24.2.2-4.

5:35 Do Not Swear by Earth
Do Not Deify Creation. Cyril of Alexandria: For this reason Jesus prohibits us from swearing by heaven or by the earth. This is in order that we should not give to creation an honor surpassing creation. Do not deify creation. Those who swear, he says, “swear by the greater,” as the apostle has said. And he also forbids swearing by Jerusalem. For the earthly Jerusalem is a type of the Jerusalem above, and God swears only by himself, that is, by his own glory. Wherefore, since the similarity transcends us, we are obliged to swear neither by ourselves nor by our own glory, for we are not free like God but are subject to God’s authority. Fragment 63.

5:36 Do Not Swear by Your Head
Do Not Swear by Earthly Elements. Chromatius: These words of the Lord whereby he forbids us to swear by these different elements invite a double explanation. First, he wanted to draw us away from the use of oaths and the customs of human error, lest each of us through swearing by these elements accord a creature the honor of divine veneration or believe one has impunity in swearing falsely if one swears by the elements of the world. . . . It can also be explained in this way: When one swears by heaven and earth, one swears by him who made heaven and earth, as the Lord himself declared elsewhere: “He who swears by the altar swears by it and by all things that are on it; and he who swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it.” Jesus goes on to say, “nor by Jerusalem,” for it is the city of the great King, that is, the symbol of Christ’s body, which is the spiritual and heavenly church. “Neither shall you swear,” he says, “by your head,” for according to the apostle, “the head of every man is Christ.” Therefore the one who swears by these things makes reference to him who is the author of all these things. Tractate on Matthew 24.3.1-4.

5:37 Unadorned Speech
A Simple Yes or No. Chrysostom: He has prohibited anyone from swearing by his head, for in doing so one would be worshiping himself. Rather, Jesus intends to refer all glory to God, signifying that human beings are not finally masters of themselves. Oaths made by the head are thus discredited. For if no one would relinquish his own child to another, how much more will God refuse to relinquish his own work to you? For though it be your head, yet it remains the property of another. For he did not say, “You cannot make one hair grow” but “You cannot make one hair white or black” or change its quality. What is it then that exceeds a simple yes or no? It is the oath, not the perjury. For lying is openly acknowledged to be wrong, and no one needs to learn that it is of the Adversary. It is not an excess but a deficiency. An excess, though, means something more, something over and above the statement itself. This is the nature of an oath. Someone might then object: If the evil one is the source of all oaths, how could they have found a place in God’s law? Well, we could say much the same thing about Jesus’ teaching on divorce. How is divorce now accounted adultery, particularly when divorce was permitted by Moses? What can we reply? The precepts Moses uttered at that time accounted for the weakness of those who were receiving the laws. Just as a lisp is unworthy of a philosopher, so the scent of burnt offerings is unworthy of God. Our understanding of the principles of virtue has advanced beyond the time of Moses. Therefore divorce is now seen to be adultery and the necessity of an oath to be from the evil one. If the earlier laws had been devilish from the first, they would never have resulted in such goodness. Had Moses’ laws not been forerunners, Jesus’ teaching would not have been so easily received. Don’t require a present excellence from past laws, when their usefulness has now been surpassed. Still, if you wish to retain them, even now they demonstrate their virtue. They show their virtue most of all through the fault we discover by their aid. The faults we now see commend them most to us. For had they not brought us up well and prepared us for the reception of the greater precepts, they would not have appeared as good. It is similar with the breast of the mother; when it has fulfilled its task, it dismisses the child to a more mature diet and after that appears useless. Thus the mother who once viewed it as necessary for the baby now taunts with ten thousand mockeries the child’s need for the breast. Breastfeeding is over. In the same way, Christ says that the ancient laws are from the evil one, not to indicate that the old law is of the devil but in order that he might with great earnestness lead them away from their ancient poverty. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 17.5-6.