Homilies on Matthew, Homily 85

“Then they spat in His face and struck Him with their fists, and others slapped Him with the palms of their hands, saying, Prophesy to us, Christ: who struck You?” Why did they do these things when they were going to put Him to death? What need was there for this mockery? So that you might see their unrestrained spirit in everything: having caught Him like prey, they displayed their drunken frenzy and gave their madness free rein, making a festival of it, attacking Him with pleasure, and revealing their murderous disposition. But admire, I ask you, the disciples’ self-control and how precisely they relate these things. This clearly shows their love of truth, because they truthfully relate the things that seem disgraceful, disguising nothing and feeling no shame about them. Instead, they consider it a very great glory—as indeed it was—that the Lord of the universe should willingly suffer such things for us. This shows both His indescribable tenderness and the inexcusable wickedness of those men, who had the heart to do such things to One so gentle and meek, who was winning them over with words powerful enough to turn a lion into a lamb. For He left nothing undone in gentleness, while they left nothing undone in arrogance and cruelty, in either their actions or their words. The prophet Isaiah foretold all these things, proclaiming them beforehand and conveying all this arrogance in a single statement. For he says, “Just as many were astonished at You, so Your form will be held in dishonor by men, and Your glory by the sons of men.” For what could equal this arrogance? They spat on that face which the sea had revered when it saw it, and from which the sun turned its rays away when it saw it on the cross. They slapped it with the palms of their hands, and some struck Him on the head, giving their madness free rein in every way. Indeed, they inflicted the most insulting blows of all: punches and slaps with the palms of their hands, adding to these blows the insult of spitting at Him. They also spoke words overflowing with mockery, saying, “Prophesy to us, Christ: who struck You?” because the crowd called Him a prophet. But another says that they covered His face with His own garment and did these things as though they had some vile, worthless fellow among them. And at that time, not only free men but slaves too behaved with this same lack of restraint toward Him. Let us read these things continually, let us hear them properly, let us write them in our minds, for these are our honors. I take pride in these things, not only in the thousands of dead whom He raised, but also in the sufferings He endured. Paul emphasizes these things in every way: the cross, the death, the sufferings, the verbal abuse, the insults, the mockery. At one point he says, “Let us go out to Him, bearing His disgrace”; at another, “Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, treating the shame with contempt.” “Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him, saying, You too were with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied it before them all, saying, I don’t know what you’re saying. And when he had gone out to the porch, another servant girl saw him and said, This man too was there with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied it with an oath. After a while, those standing nearby came to Peter and said, Surely you too are one of them, for your speech gives you away. Then he began to curse and swear, I don’t know the man. And immediately the rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the words of Jesus, who had said, Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times. And he went out and wept bitterly.” What strange and astonishing actions! When he saw his master merely being seized, he was so passionate that he drew his sword and cut off the man’s ear. But when he naturally should have been more indignant, inflamed and burning as he heard such abuse, he denied Him instead. For who would not have been driven to a frenzy by what was being done then? Yet the disciple, overcome with fear, showed no indignation at all and even denied Him. He could not withstand the threat of a wretched, lowly girl, and denied Him not just once, but a second and third time, all within a short period—and not even before judges. It happened outside, for they questioned him “when he had gone out to the porch.” Nor did he even quickly realize how far he had fallen. Luke says this too, namely, that Christ looked at him, showing that he not only denied Him but did not even remember on his own, although the rooster had crowed. He needed a further reminder from his master, and His look took the place of a voice for him; he was so utterly filled with fear. But Mark says that after he had denied Him once, the rooster crowed for the first time, and after he had denied Him three times, it crowed for the second time. For he describes the disciple’s weakness in greater detail, showing that he was utterly dead with fear. He learned these things from his master himself, for he was a follower of Peter. In this respect we should especially admire him: far from hiding his teacher’s faults, he described the matter more clearly than the others precisely because he was his disciple. 2. How, then, is the statement true when Matthew affirms that Christ said, “Truly I say to you, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times,” while Mark reports after the third denial that “the rooster crowed the second time”? Certainly, it is both true and consistent. For at each crowing a rooster usually crows a third and a fourth time as well. Mark says this to show that even the sound did not stop him and bring him to his senses. So both statements are true: before the rooster had finished that one round of crowing, he had denied Him a third time. And even when Christ reminded him of his sin, he did not dare to weep openly, for fear that his tears would give him away. Instead, “he went out and wept bitterly.” “And when day came, they led Jesus away from Caiaphas to Pilate.” For they wanted to put Him to death, but could not do it themselves because of the feast, so they led Him to the governor. But notice, I ask you, how the deed was pushed forward so that it would take place at the feast. For this was how it had been prefigured from the beginning. “Then Judas, who had betrayed Him, when he saw that He was condemned, repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver.” This was an accusation against both him and these men: against him, not because he repented, but because he did so late and slowly, and condemned himself (for he himself confessed that he had handed Him over); and against them because, although they had the power to reverse it, they did not repent. But notice when he feels remorse: when his sin was complete and had been carried out. For this is what the devil is like: he does not let those who are not watchful see the evil beforehand, for fear that the person he has captured might repent. At any rate, when Jesus was saying so many things, Judas was unmoved; but when his offense was complete, repentance came upon him—and even then it did him no good. For condemning his act, throwing down the pieces of silver, and disregarding the Jewish people were all acceptable things. But hanging himself was again unpardonable, and the work of an evil spirit. For the devil drew him away from his repentance too soon, so that he would gain no fruit from it, and carried him off by a most disgraceful death, plain for all to see, after persuading him to destroy himself. But notice, I ask you, how the truth shines out on every side, even through what His enemies do and suffer. Indeed, the traitor’s very end silences those who condemned Him and leaves them without even a shadow of an excuse, however shameless. For what could they possibly say when the traitor is shown passing such a sentence on himself? But let us also look at the words, at what is said: “He brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and said, I have sinned by betraying innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? See to it yourself. And he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple, departed, and went and hanged himself.” For he could not bear his conscience scourging him. But notice, I ask you, that the Jews also suffer the same things. These men too, when they should have been corrected by what they suffered, do not stop until they have completed their sin. His sin was already complete, for it was betrayal; but theirs was not yet complete. Yet when they too had carried theirs out and nailed Him to the cross, then they too became troubled. At one point they say, “Do not write, This is the king of the Jews” (and yet why are you afraid? Why are you troubled by a dead body nailed to the cross?); at another, they keep guard over Him, saying, “So that His disciples do not steal Him away and say that He has risen again; then the last deception will be worse than the first.” And yet if they do this, the claim can be disproved if it is untrue. But how could they say it, when they did not dare even to stand their ground when He was seized, and their leader denied Him three times because he could not withstand a servant girl’s threat? But, as I said, the chief priests were now troubled. That they knew the deed violated the law is clear from their saying, “See to it yourself.” Listen, you greedy people, and consider what happened to him: he lost the money, committed the sin, and destroyed his own soul, all at once. Such is the tyranny of greed. He enjoyed neither the money nor this present life nor the life to come, but lost everything at once. And after earning a bad reputation even among those very men, he hanged himself. But, as I said, some people see clearly only after the deed. Look at these men too, unwilling for a time to recognize the facts clearly, but saying, “See to it yourself.” This in itself is a very serious accusation against them. For this is the language of men testifying to their own reckless audacity and transgression, yet drunk with their passion and unwilling to abandon their satanic attempts, senselessly wrapping themselves in a veil of pretended ignorance. For if these things had been said after the crucifixion and His death, the statement would still truly have made no reasonable sense, but it would not have condemned them as severely. But now, while you still have Him in your hands and have the power to release Him, how can you say these things? For this defense would be a very serious accusation against you. How? In what way? Because, while throwing all the blame on the traitor (for they say, “See to it yourself”), they could have freed themselves from this murder of Christ, yet they abandoned the traitor and carried the crime further, adding the cross to the betrayal. For when they said to him, “See to it yourself,” what prevented them from abandoning the criminal act themselves? Instead, they did the opposite, adding murder to it and, in everything they did and said, entangling themselves in unavoidable evils. Indeed, after these things, when Pilate left the choice to them, they chose to have the robber released rather than Jesus. But they killed Him, who had done no wrong and had even done so much good for them. 3. What, then, did that man do? When he saw that his efforts were accomplishing nothing and that they would not agree to take back the pieces of silver, “he threw them down in the temple and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood. And after consulting together, they bought the potter’s field with them, to bury strangers in. That is why that field has been called the field of blood to this day. Then what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of Him who was valued, and gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.” Do you see them again condemned by their own conscience? Because they knew they had been buying murder, they did not put the money into the treasury, but bought a field to bury strangers in. This too became a witness against them and proof of their treachery. For the place’s name proclaimed their guilt for bloodshed more clearly than a trumpet. Nor did they do it at random, but after consulting together, as they did in every case, so that no one would be free of the deed, but all would be guilty. Yet prophecy foretold these things long ago. Do you see how not only the apostles but also the prophets describe precisely the things that brought disgrace, proclaiming the passion in every way and pointing to it beforehand? This happened to the Jews without their realizing it. For if they had thrown the money into the treasury, the matter would not have been exposed so clearly. But as it was, by buying a piece of ground, they made everything plain even to later generations. Listen, all of you who think you can do good works with the proceeds of murder and accept payment for human lives. Such almsgiving is Jewish, or rather, satanic. For there are—there are even now—people who violently seize countless things belonging to others and think they have excused everything if they contribute ten or a hundred gold pieces. The prophet also speaks of them when he says, “You covered my altar with tears.” Christ does not wish to be fed through greed; He does not accept this food. Why do you insult your Lord by offering Him unclean things? It is better to leave people wasting away with hunger than to feed them from these sources. The former is the conduct of a cruel person; the latter, of someone both cruel and insolent. It is better to give nothing than to give one group of people’s possessions to another. For tell me: if you saw two people, one naked and the other clothed, and stripped the one who had a garment to clothe the naked one, would you not have committed an injustice? Surely that is plain to everyone. But if, even when you give everything you have taken to someone else, you have committed an injustice rather than shown mercy, what punishment will you escape when you give away not even a small portion of what you steal and call the deed alms? For if people who offered lame animals were condemned, what favor will you receive when you do even worse things? For if a thief, even when making restitution to the owner himself, still commits an injustice, and an injustice so great that even repaying fourfold barely clears the charge against him—and this under the old covenant—consider how much fire someone heaps on his own head when he does not merely steal but takes by violence, gives to someone other than the person he robbed, gives neither fourfold nor even half, and lives under the new order rather than the old. And if he has not yet suffered his punishment, I say you should mourn for him for that very reason, because he is storing up greater anger against himself unless he repents. For what does He say? “Do you think that those on whom the tower fell were the only sinners? No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you too will suffer the same things.” Let us repent, then, and give alms free from greed and in great abundance. Consider that the Jews used to feed eight thousand Levites, along with widows and orphans, and they bore many other public expenses and also served as soldiers. But now the church has fields, houses, rental lodgings, carriages, muleteers, mules, and a great array of such things because of you and your hardness of heart. For the church’s store of resources should be with you, and your willingness should provide her income. But now two wrong things happen: you remain unfruitful, and God’s priests do not carry out their proper duties. Could the houses and lands not have been kept in the apostles’ time? Why, then, did they sell them and give the proceeds away? Because this was better. 4. But now our fathers became afraid (when you were so madly pursuing worldly things, accumulating possessions instead of giving them away) that the communities of widows, orphans, and virgins would die of famine. So they were forced to provide these things. They did not wish to involve themselves in something so unfitting. Their desire was for your goodwill to supply their needs, for them to gather their fruits from that source, and for them to devote themselves only to prayer. But now you have forced them to imitate the households of those who manage public affairs, and this has turned everything upside down. For when both you and we are entangled in the same things, who is there to propitiate God? That is why we cannot open our mouths, when the church’s condition is no better than that of worldly people. Have you not heard that the apostles would not even agree to distribute money that had been collected without any trouble? But now our bishops have gone beyond agents, stewards, and peddlers in their concern for these things. When they should be caring and thinking about your souls, they trouble themselves every day with the matters that occupy innkeepers, tax collectors, accountants, and stewards. I do not mention these things simply to complain, but so that there may be some improvement and change, so that we may be shown pity for the harsh servitude we endure, and so that you may become the church’s income and store of resources. But if you are unwilling, look at the poor before your eyes. We will not stop feeding as many as we can support; but those we cannot support, we will leave to you, so that on that dreadful day you may not hear the words that will be spoken to the merciless and cruel: “You saw me hungry and did not feed me.” For this inhumanity makes us, along with you, a laughingstock, because we abandon our prayers, our teaching, and the other duties of holiness and spend all our time fighting—some with wine merchants, some with grain dealers, and others with those who retail other provisions. This leads to battles, quarrels, daily verbal abuse, accusations, and jeers, and each priest is given titles more appropriate to the households of secular men. We should instead have received other titles, drawn from the duties for which the apostles also made appointments: feeding the hungry, protecting the injured, caring for strangers, helping those who are mistreated, providing for orphans, standing by widows, and overseeing virgins. These duties should be distributed among us in place of caring for lands and houses. These are the church’s stores, these the treasures that suit her and bring us great relief and you great benefit—or rather, bring you relief along with the benefit. For I estimate that, by God’s grace, those who gather here number one hundred thousand. If each gave one loaf to a poor person, everyone would have plenty; and if each gave just one small coin, no one would be poor. Nor would we suffer so much abuse and mockery because of our concern about money. Indeed, the saying, “Sell your possessions, give to the poor, and come and follow me,” could fittingly be addressed to the leaders of the church concerning the church’s property. For we cannot follow Him as we should in any other way, unless we are freed from all material and more worldly concerns. But now God’s priests attend to the grape harvest and grain harvest, and to buying and selling the produce. And while those who served the shadow were entirely exempt from such matters, although entrusted with a more fleshly service, we who are invited into the innermost sanctuaries of heaven itself, and who enter the true holy of holies, take on the cares of tradesmen and retail dealers. This leads to great neglect of the Scriptures, slackness in prayer, and indifference toward all our other duties, for it is impossible to divide ourselves between these two things with the zeal they deserve. That is why I ask and beg you to let many fountains spring up for us from every direction, and to let your eagerness be our threshing floor and winepress. For in this way the poor will be supported more easily, God will be glorified, and you will grow in love for humanity and enjoy the eternal good things. May God grant that we all attain them through the grace and love for humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.