Глава XVII

Matthew 17:1. And when six days had passed, Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up to a high mountain alone, 362 We have already repeatedly said why Peter, James and John in some Gospel passages are separated from the others [disciples] or what advantage they have over others. Now the question is, how did He take them and lead them separately from the others to a high mountain six days later, when the Evangelist Luke (Luke 9:28) indicates an eight-day period? But the answer does not present any difficulty, because here only the middle [whole] days are indicated, and there [in Luke] both the first and the last are added to them, because it does not say: “After eight days Jesus took Peter and James and John,” but: “on the eighth day.” 363 Leading disciples to things above refers to kingship (pars regni est). They are erected separately from others, because many are called, but few are chosen (Matt. 20:16; Matt. 22:14). Matthew 17:2. And he was transformed before them. He appeared to the apostles as he would be 364 during the judgment. And let no one understand the words of the evangelist: “Transformed before them” 365 in the sense that He lost his former appearance and face or lost his real body (veritatem corporis) and took on a body either spiritual or airy; and how He was transformed is shown by the Evangelist, saying: And His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as light. Where the radiance of the face is indicated and the shine of clothing is described, the essence is not destroyed, but only the external glorification is changed. “His face shone like the sun.” There is no doubt that the Lord was transformed into that glorious form (ea gloria) in which He would later come 366 in His Kingdom. The Transfiguration added radiance, but did not remove His face. But suppose [esto] that His body became spiritual, did His clothes change when they became so light that, as another evangelist says, “on earth a whitener cannot bleach” (Mark 9:3). But what a yarn bleacher can do on earth is bodily and subject to touch, and not spiritual and airy - which only misleads the eye and is contemplated only in vision. Matthew 17:3. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. When the scribes and Pharisees tested Him by asking for a sign from heaven, He did not want to give them, but rejected the wicked demand with a prudent answer. And here, in order to increase the faith of the apostles, He gives a sign from heaven when Elijah descends from where he ascended, and when Moses rose from hell. And Ahaz, through Isaiah, receives a command to ask himself for a sign from heaven (de excelso) or from hell (Is. 7:3) 367 because the words: “Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with them” are also given in another Gospel as announcing to “them” what He must 368 endure in Jerusalem (Luke 9:31). 369 Here are shown the law and the prophets, who through incessantly repeated prophecies proclaimed both the passion of the Lord and His resurrection. Matthew 17:4. And Peter for his part (respondens) said to Jesus: Lord! It's good for us to be here. He who ascends to the heavenly has no desire to descend to the earthly, but wants to constantly remain in the heights. “If you want, then we will build three tents here” [or: “tents”]: One for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." - You, Peter, are mistaken, as the other evangelist testifies to this. You do not know what you are saying (Luke 9:33). 370. Do not ask for three tents, because there is one covering of the Gospel, in which the content of the law and the prophets is repeated. But if you are already looking three coverings 371; then do not unite 372 slaves with the Lord into one, but build three tents 373, namely: one for the Father, [another] for the Son, and [the third] for the Holy Spirit, so that in your heart there is one common covering for Those whose Divinity is one. Matthew 17:5. While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold, a voice from the cloud said: This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; Listen to him." Since Peter asked unreasonably, he does not deserve an answer from the Lord; but instead of the Son, the Father answers, so that the word of the Lord is justified (compleretur): “I do not give testimony about Myself, but the Father, who sent Me, Himself gives testimony about Me” (John 5:37) 374. And a shining cloud appears and covers them with shadow, so that those who desire the fleshly cover of branches and linen will be covered in the shadow of the bright cloud. In the same way, the voice of the Father speaking is heard from heaven, to which He gives testimony to the Son, and teaches Peter, who fell into error, the truth; moreover, through Peter 375 he also speaks to the other apostles: “This is My Beloved Son”; the cover must be established for Him, He must be obeyed. He is the Son, and they are slaves; and Moses and Elijah themselves, together with you, must prepare a shelter for the Lord in the innermost depths of their hearts. Matthew 17:6. And when the disciples heard [this] they fell on their faces and were very afraid. They were afraid for three reasons: either because they recognized their error, or because a bright cloud overshadowed them, or because they heard the voice of God the Father speaking, for human weakness (fragilitas fragility, fragility) cannot withstand the contemplation of the highest glory and falls to the ground with a shaken spirit and body. The more someone seeks the highest, the more he plunges into the lower regions if he does not know the extent of his strength. Matthew 17:7. But Jesus came and touched them. Since they were lying on the ground and could not get up, He Himself mercifully descends to them and touches them in order to drive away fear with a touch and so that [their] weakened members are strengthened. And he said: stand up and do not be afraid. Those whom he healed with the touch of his hand, [now] he healed with the command: “Do not be afraid.” Initially, fear is driven away in order to then provide instruction. Matthew 17:8. Lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus. It is clear to reason that when they rose, they saw only Jesus alone; this is so that the voice of the Father would not seem doubtful to them, if Moses and Elijah continued to abide with the Lord, to whom He gave the most valid testimony. So, after the disappearance of the cloud, they see that Jesus stands, and Moses and Elijah have disappeared: because after the dispersion of the shadow of the law and the prophets, which covered the apostles with its veil, the light of the first and last (utrumque lumen) [or: true light (verum lumen)] was revealed in the Gospel. Matthew 17:9. And when they came down from the mountain, Jesus rebuked them, saying: Tell no one about this vision until the Son of Man rises from the dead. On the mountain was shown a preview of the future Kingdom and the glory of the Triumphant One. Thus, He does not want this to be proclaimed among the people, both so that, due to its greatness, this [event] would not be incredible in the eyes of the people, and so that the coming 376 suffering on the cross after such great glory would not arouse temptation in rude souls. Matthew 17:10. And His disciples asked Him this way: Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first? 377 If we did not know the reason why the disciples asked about Elijah, their question would seem unreasonable and unusual to us. In fact, what does the question of the coming of Elijah have to do with what is described above? The Pharisees had a tradition, based on the words of the prophet Malachi, the last of the twelve, that before the coming of the Savior, Elijah would come and turn the heart of the father to the children and the children to the fathers and restore everything to its previous state (Mal.4:5). So, the disciples think that it was precisely the transfiguration of glory that they saw on the mountain, and they say: “If You have already come in glory, then how can Your forerunner not appear,” especially since they saw that Elijah had departed. And when they add: “The scribes say that Elijah must come first,” 378 then by saying: “first,” 379 they show that if Elijah did not come, then, according to Scripture, the coming of the Savior has not yet taken place. Matthew 17:11–12. Jesus answered and said to them, “It is true that Elijah must come first and arrange everything; but I tell you that Elijah has already come. The same one who was to come 380 bodily at the second coming of the Savior has already come now in the person of John in spirit and power. And they did not recognize him, but did with him as they wanted. That is: they treated him with contempt and beheaded him. Matthew 17:13. 381 [end of 12th]: So the Son of Man will suffer from them. Then the disciples realized that He was talking to them about John the Baptist. The question is: if Herod and Herodias killed John, then how is it said that they crucified Jesus when He was killed by the scribes and Pharisees? This must be answered briefly: just as the party of the Pharisees expressed their consent in the killing of John, so in the crucifixion of the Lord Herod expressed his consent, who sent Him to Pilate to be crucified, laughing at Him and treating Him with contempt. Matthew 17:15–16. Lord, have mercy on my son, because he is a sleepwalker and suffers greatly: he often falls into fire and often into water. And I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not heal him. 382 We said above why the demon, observing the course of the moon, harms people and seeks to dishonor the Creator through creation. But it seems to me that in a figurative sense, a lunatic should be understood as one who from time to time (per horarum momenta) changes in attitude towards vices and does not stand firm in what he started, but sometimes strengthens and sometimes weakens: sometimes he throws himself into the fire with which the hearts of those who lead a dissolute life burn (Hosea 7), sometimes into the waters that cannot quench love. As for the words: “I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him,” with them he openly accuses the apostles, although the impossibility of healing sometimes depends not on the powerlessness of those who heal, but on the faith of those who need to be healed, as the Lord says about this: “Your faith has saved you” (Mark 5:34; Mark 10:52). Matthew 17:16. [Verse 17]: Jesus answered and said: O faithless and perverse generation! How long will I be with you? How long will I tolerate you? Bring him to Me. 383 This does not mean that He was overcome by vexation, although (et) meek and lowly in heart, who does not open his mouth in the face of his shearer (Is. 53:7); He did not flare up with anger, on the contrary, this means that He, like a doctor who sees that a patient was being treated contrary to his instructions, disagrees with them, says: “How long will I go to your house? How long will I spend effort on your treatment when I order one thing and you continue to do another? So, He was angry not with a person, but with a vice, and through this one person he convicted the Jews of unbelief, so that he immediately added: “Bring him to Me.” 384 Matthew 17:17. [Verse 18]: And Jesus rebuked him; and the demon came out of him: and the boy was healed that hour. It was not the sufferer, but the demon who was to be banned. However, it may also be that He forbade the youth, and [as a result of this] a demon came out of him, since the suffering youth was oppressed by the demon as a result of his sins. Matthew 17:18. (19 and beginning of 20): Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive him out?” Jesus said to them: Because of your unbelief; for truly I say to you This is the same thing that He says in another place: “Whatever you ask in My name with faith, you will receive” (John 15:7). 385 So, when we have not reached the request, the reason for this is not the powerlessness of the One to whom the request is addressed, but 386 the guilt of those asking. Matthew 17:19. [end 20]: If you have faith the size of a mustard seed and say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. Some believe that faith compared to a mustard seed is called small when [the Lord] compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a mustard seed; but at the same time the apostle says: “If I have all faith, I can move mountains” (1 Cor. 13:2). 387 Consequently, faith, compared to a grain of mustard, is great. The moving of a mountain is indicated not in relation to the mountain that we see with carnal eyes, but to the one that was moved by the Lord from the sleepwalker, because when He says: “Say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will will move ", He means the demon. Therefore, those who seek to prove that the apostles and all the believers in fact had no small faith should be exposed as foolish, because none of them moved this mountain. In fact, what matters is not so much the movement of the mountain from one place to another and the vain search for the display of miraculous signs, but the movement for the benefit of all of that mountain, which, according to the prophet, destroys the whole earth ( Zechariah 4:7). Matthew 17:20. (21): This generation is driven out only by prayer and fasting. When He teaches how the worst demon can be cast out, He instructs everyone to life. Matthew 17:21–23. (22, 23): While they were in Galilee, Jesus said to them: The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and on the third day will rise again. And they were very sad. The Lord always combines the favorable with the sad; this is so that the apostles will not be afraid when this sad thing suddenly comes, and so that they will be moved by the readiness of the spirit. Indeed, while saddening them with the words that He must suffer death, He should have aroused joy in them, because He [said that] on the third day He would rise. Then their sadness, and deep sadness, stems [undoubtedly] not from unbelief (on the contrary, they knew that Peter was corrected because he thought not about the things of God, but about the things of man), but from the fact that, out of love for the Mentor, they were not able to hear anything unfavorable and humiliating about Him. Matthew 17:24–25. When they came to Capernaum [Capharnaum], the collectors of didrachms approached Peter and said: Will your teacher give didrachms? He says yes. After Caesar Augustus, Judea was subject to tax, and everyone was subject to a census by name; therefore Joseph and Mary, his relative, appeared [or": went] to Bethlehem. Then, since He was raised in Nazareth (a city of Galilee, which was subject to Capernaum), then [the collectors] rightfully (more) demand a tax contribution; but those who demand tribute due to the greatness of miraculous signs do not dare to ask Him Himself, but turn modestly to the disciple, or cunningly ask the question: will He give tribute, or will He resist the will of Caesar, as we read about this elsewhere: “Should tribute be given to Caesar or not” (Mark 12:14). 388 “And when [Peter] entered into the house, Jesus warned him, saying.” 389 Those who asked for didrachms addressed him in private; and when he entered the house, the Lord, before Peter informed Him, asked him so that the disciples would not be tempted by the demand for tribute, for then they saw that He knew what was going on in His absence. Matthew 17:25–26. [continuation of the 25th] What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take duties or taxes? from your own sons, or from strangers? Peter says to Him: from strangers. Jesus said to him: So the sons are free. Our Lord, both in flesh and in spirit, was the son of a king, that is, both as born of the tribe of David, and as the Word of the Almighty Father. So, as the Son of Kings, He was not obliged to give tribute; but as having taken on humble flesh He was to fulfill all righteousness. And we, the unfortunate ones, who bear the name of Christ and do nothing worthy of this name, do not render Him anything worthy of His name and, as if the royal children, are exempt from taxes, when He endured the cross for us and paid tribute. Matthew 17:26. (27): But so that we do not tempt them, go to the sea, throw a hook, and take the first fish that comes across; and, opening her mouth, you will find a statir; take it and give it to them for Me and for yourself. I don’t know what to be surprised at first when reading this passage: foreknowledge or the greatness of the Savior. Foreknowledge - because He knew that there was a statir in the mouth of the fish and that this fish should be the first to hit the hook; and to His greatness and power - if, according to His word, the statir was created at the same moment, and if He did with His word what should have happened. But in a mysterious sense it seems to me that under this fish one should see the One who was taken first, who was in the depths of the sea and spent time in the salty and bitter depths so that through [Him -] the second Adam the first Adam would be freed. And what is in his mouth, that is, in confession, is given for Peter and the Lord. And this very gift is a gift [or: price] perfect; but, it is divided [into two parts], because the price is paid for Peter as for a sinner; Our Lord did not commit sin and there was no deceit in His mouth (Is. 53:9). A stater is a coin that has two didrachms; he was taken in order to show the likeness (similitudinem) of their flesh by paying the same coin for the Lord and the slave. But speaking simply, this place instructs the listener that the Lord was so poor that He did not even have what He could use to pay the tax for Himself and for the Apostle. Therefore, if anyone wants to object: how did Judas sometimes carry money? We will answer that the Lord considered it a crime to use the property of the poor for His needs, and He set an example for us in this regard. In the translation: The Gospel of Matthew - ed. seorsum separately from others According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “After these words, in eight days.” The difficulty is resolved even more simply if we pay attention to the fact that in the Greek text (Luke 9:28) we read: μετά τούς λόγους τούτους ώσεί ήμέραι όκτώ, i.e. “after these words after “about” eight days” and in Latin: post haec verba fere dies octo, i.e.: after these words after “almost” eight days (cf. Biblia sacra vulgatae editionis Sixti V., Pontificis maximi juxtu recognita... Coloniae; and Τα Βιβλία ... έξετυπόθη ... έν Μόσχα .... έτει, αωχά) (Translator's note). In the lane: has to be - ed. In the lane: has to come - ed. “And the Lord said to Isaiah: Go out, you and your son Shearasub, to meet Ahaz, to the end of the water supply of the upper pond, to the road to the whitewash field; Art. 10–11: And the Lord continued to speak to Ahaz, and said: Ask yourself a sign from the Lord your God: ask either in the depths or on the heights.” Also 2 Kings 2 – ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “Having appeared in glory, they spoke of His exodus, which He was to accomplish in Jerusalem” - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “At this Peter said to Jesus: Lord! It’s good for us to be here; If you want, we’ll make three tabernacles here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” - ed. In the lane: three covers - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: Tabernacles - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “And the Father who sent Me has Himself testified of Me. But you have never heard His voice, nor seen His face; John 8:18: I testify of Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies of Me” – ed. From the words: ipsum audite αύτού άκούετε, i.e. “Listen to Him,” it is clear that the word of God the Father is addressed directly to the apostles, and not through the apostle. Petra, as Bl. says. Jerome (Translator's Note). In the lane: having to come - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “And His disciples asked Him: Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first? – ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “The scribes say that Elijah must first come first” - ed. In the old Synodal Russian translation of the Gospel: “at first” - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “before” - ed. Gives a different breakdown into verses than in the new Synodal Russian translation of the Gospel - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “He said: Lord! have mercy on my son; On new moons he goes berserk and suffers greatly, for he often throws himself into fire and often into water; I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not heal him - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “Jesus answered and said: O faithless and corrupt generation! How long will I be with you? How long will I tolerate you? bring him here to Me - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “Bring him to Me” - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation “If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” - ed. In the translator's text: and – ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries, and have all knowledge and all faith, so that I can move mountains” - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “Is it permissible to give tribute to Caesar or not” - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “And when he entered the house, Jesus warned him and said” - ed. You might be interested in: