Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew 65

Then Peter answered and said to Him:

Behold, we have left all, and have followed You.

What 'all,' O blessed Peter? The reed? The net? The boat? Your trade? Is it these that you tell me of as 'all'? 'Yes,' he says.

But I say this not out of vainglory, but that through this question I may bring in the multitude of the poor.

For since the Lord had said:

If you would be perfect, sell your possessions, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven;

in order that none of the poor might say:

What then? If I have no possessions, am I unable to be perfect?—Peter asks, that you, the poor man, may learn that you are in no way diminished on this account;

Peter asks, that you may not be in doubt as though you had learned it from Peter (for he was still imperfect, and destitute of the Spirit), but, having received the verdict from Peter's Teacher, may take courage.

For just as we ourselves do,

we often make matters our own when we are pleading on behalf of others;

so also the apostle did, bringing forward this inquiry to Him on behalf of the whole inhabited world.

For that he knew his own case clearly is plain from what has been said before;

for he who had already received here the keys of the heavens could much more take courage concerning the things there.

But observe also how exactly he answers, just as Christ had required.

For He too had asked these two things of the rich man:

to give his possessions to the poor, and to follow.

For this reason he too sets down these two things, the leaving and the following:

For behold, we have left all, he says, and have followed You.

For the leaving took place for the sake of the following, and the following became easier because of the leaving, and He was preparing them to take courage and rejoice over the leaving.

What, then, does He Himself say? 'Verily I say unto you, that ye who have followed Me, in the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit upon the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.'

What then? Will Judas also, one asks, sit there? By no means.

How then does He say, 'Ye shall sit upon twelve thrones'? How shall the terms of the promise be fulfilled? Hear how, and on what principle.

There is a law laid down by God, read to the Jews through Jeremiah the prophet, and it says thus:

'At one moment I will speak concerning a nation and a kingdom, to pluck up and to destroy;'

'and if that nation turn from their wickedness, I also will repent of the evil which I purposed to do unto them.'

'And at one moment I will speak concerning a nation and a kingdom, to build up and to plant;'

'and if they do that which is evil in My sight, that they hearken not to My voice, then I also will repent of the good, which I said I would do unto them.'

'For this same custom,' He says, 'I likewise maintain in the case of good things.'

'For even if I should say that I will build up, yet if they render themselves unworthy of the promise, I will do it no more.'

Which is just what happened in the case of man when he was formed.

'For the dread of you,' He says, 'and the fear of you shall be upon the beasts;'

for he showed himself unworthy of that dominion.

For in order that some might not, through despairing of the sentences of punishment, become more hardened, nor, through the promises of good things, simply grow more slothful, He heals both these dangers by means of what has been said before, speaking thus:

'Even if I threaten, do not despair;'

for thou art able to repent, and to loose My threat.

and even if I promise thee some good thing, do not grow slack because of the promise.

For if thou show thyself unworthy, My having promised will avail thee nothing, but will rather even bring punishment upon thee;

for I make My promise to one who is worthy.

For this reason, when at that time also He was conversing with the disciples, He did not make His promise without qualification;

for neither did He say merely, 'Ye,' but He added, 'who have followed Me,' both that He might cast out Judas, and that He might draw in those who should come after.

For it was neither spoken to those alone, nor to Judas, who had by now become unworthy.

To the disciples, then, He promised the things to come, saying:

'Ye shall sit upon twelve thrones;'

for they were by now more exalted, and sought after none of the present things;

but to the others He promises even the things here below.

'For everyone,' He says, 'who hath forsaken brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, or house, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold in this world, and shall inherit everlasting life.'

For in order that some, hearing the word 'ye,' might not suppose this to be a special privilege of the disciples (I mean, namely, the enjoyment of the greatest and foremost things in the age to come), He extended the saying, and spread out the promise over the whole earth, and by means of the present things He gives assurance also of the things to come.

And to the disciples too, in the beginning, when they were in a more imperfect state, He discoursed with them from the standpoint of present things.

For when He drew them from the sea, and took them away from their craft, and bade them leave the boat, He made no mention of heavens, nor of thrones, but of the matters here below, saying:

'I will make you fishers of men;'

but when He had made them more exalted, then thereafter He also discourses concerning the things yonder.

But what does it mean, 'Judging the twelve tribes of Israel'? That is, condemning them.

For surely they are not to sit as judges in the strict sense;

but just as He said that the queen of the south shall condemn that generation, and that the Ninevites also shall condemn them;

For this reason He did not say, 'The nations and the world,' but 'The tribes of Israel.'

For since both the Jews and the apostles had been brought up in the same laws and customs and manner of life, when the Jews say, 'For this reason we were not able to believe in Christ, because the law hindered us from accepting His commandments,' He will bring these men into the midst, those who received the same law and yet believed, and will condemn all those others;

which is just what He said already: 'For this reason they themselves shall be your judges.'

'And what great thing did He promise them,' one asks, 'if they shall have only that which the Ninevites and the queen of the south have?' Assuredly He had promised them many other things before this, and after this He makes yet further pledges;

and this is not the only reward.

And in another way too, in this very matter, He hinted at something greater than in those former cases.

For concerning those He spoke simply, saying:

'The men of Nineveh shall rise up, and shall condemn this generation';

and, 'The queen of the south shall condemn it';

but concerning these He did not speak so simply,

but how? 'When the Son of Man shall sit upon the throne of His glory, then shall ye also sit upon twelve thrones,' He says;

showing that they shall both reign together with Him and share in that glory.

'For if we endure,' he says, 'we shall also reign together with Him.'

For the thrones do not denote a literal seat;

for He alone is the One who shall sit and judge;

but by means of the thrones He intimated an honour and glory unspeakable.

To these, then, He said these things;

but to all the rest, eternal life, and a hundredfold even from this present time.

And if to the rest, much more also to these—both these things and the things in this present age.

For having left rod and net, they possessed the substance of all men with authority—the value of houses and lands, and the very bodies of those who believed.

For they often chose to be slain on their behalf, as Paul also testifies in many places, when he says:

'If it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me.'

But when He says that everyone who has left a wife, He does not mean this—that marriages should be broken up outright;

rather it is what He said concerning the soul, that 'He who loses his soul for My sake shall find it';

not that we should destroy ourselves,

nor that we should here and now separate

it from the body, but that we should prefer godliness above all things;

this He says also concerning wife and brethren.

And it seems to me that here too He is hinting at the persecutions.

For since there were many fathers dragging their children into impiety, and wives their husbands,

'When they command such things,' He says, 'let there be neither wives nor fathers';

which is the very thing that Paul also said:

'But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart.'

Having therefore raised up the minds of all, and having persuaded them to take courage both for themselves and for the whole world, He added that 'Many that are first shall be last, and the last first.'

And though this was said indefinitely and concerning many others as well, it was said also concerning these, and concerning the Pharisees who were disobedient;

which He had also said before, that 'Many shall come from east and west, and shall recline with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob;'

'but the sons of the kingdom shall be cast out.'

Then He adds also a parable, anointing unto much eagerness those who had fallen behind.

'For the kingdom of heaven,' He says, 'is like unto a man that is a householder, who went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.'

'And when he had agreed with them for a penny a day, he sent them into the vineyard.'

'And at the third hour he saw others standing idle, and to them he said:'

'Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you.'

'And about the sixth and ninth hour he did likewise.'

'And about the eleventh hour he saw others standing idle, and he says unto them:'

'Why stand ye here all the day idle?' And they say unto him:

'Go ye also into my vineyard, and whatsoever is right ye shall receive.'

'And when evening was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward:'

'Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.'

'And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.'

'And when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.'

'And when they had received it, they murmured against the master of the house, saying:'

'These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.' But he answered one of them and said:

'Didst thou not agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way.'

'But I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.'

'Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last.'

'For many are called, but few chosen.'

What does this parable mean for us? For that which is said at the beginning does not agree with that which is said at the end; rather, it shows quite the contrary.

For in this parable He shows all men enjoying the same reward, and not some being cast out while others are brought in;

yet He Himself, both before the parable and after the parable, said the contrary, namely, that 'The first shall be last, and the last first;'

that is, that even of the first themselves they become first, not by remaining first, but by those former ones becoming last.

For to show that this is what He meant, He added:

'For many are called, but few chosen;'

so as in a twofold way both to sting those and to comfort and to encourage these.

But the parable does not say this;

rather, that they shall be equal to the well-approved and to those who have laboured much.

For 'Thou hast made them equal unto us,' he says, 'which have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.'

What then is it that the parable says? For it is necessary first to make this plain, and then we shall resolve that other matter.

By the vineyard He says are meant the injunctions of God and His commandments;

by the time of the working, the present life;

by the labourers, those who are called at different times to the tasks;

and by the early morning, and about the third, and the sixth, and the ninth, and the eleventh hour, those who at different ages came forward and were well-approved.

But the thing inquired into is this: whether the first, having been brilliantly approved and having pleased God, and having shone through the whole day from their toils, are held fast by the last passion of wickedness, namely envy and jealousy.

For seeing them partaking of the same rewards,

'These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat?' And this, though they were to suffer no loss, nor to have anything taken from their own wages, yet they were displeased and vexed over the good things given to others;

which was a mark of envy and jealousy.

And what is yet more, that even the master of the house, pleading their case and making answer to him who had said these things, judges him guilty of wickedness and of the uttermost jealousy, saying:

'Didst thou not agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way.'

'But I will give to this last, even as to thee.'

'Is thine eye evil, because I am good?' What then is the thing established from these words? For indeed in other parables also this very same thing may be seen.

For indeed the well-approved son is brought in as having suffered this very thing, when he saw the prodigal brother enjoying much honour, and more than himself.

For just as these enjoyed more by receiving first, so also that one was honoured more greatly by the abundance of the things given him;

and to this the well-approved one himself bears witness.

What then is one to say? There is no one pleading such a case, nor bringing such accusations, in the kingdom of the heavens;

for that place is clean of envy and of jealousy.

For if the saints, even while they are here, give their own souls on behalf of sinners, much more, when they see them there partaking of these good things, do they rejoice, and count them as their own good.

For what reason, then, did He frame His discourse in this way? What was spoken was a parable;

and therefore one ought not to scrutinize everything in parables word for word, but, having learned the aim for which it was composed, to gather that, and to inquire no further into anything beyond.

For what reason, then, was this parable composed in this way, and what does it seek to establish? To make more eager those who in extreme old age change and become better, and not to let them think that they possess anything less.

For this very reason He also brings in others who are vexed at the good things these receive—not in order to show that those men were pining away and being gnawed with envy,

but in order to teach these that they had enjoyed so great an honour as could even breed envy in others.

This we ourselves also often do when we say, 'So-and-so found fault with me because I counted you worthy of such great honour';

not because we have been accused, nor because we wish to slander that person, but in order to show this one the greatness of the gift he has enjoyed.

But why then did He not hire them all at once? So far as it depended on Him, He did hire them all;

but if they did not all obey together, it was the disposition of the ones called that made the difference.

For this reason some are called at dawn, some at the third, some at the sixth, some at the ninth hour, and some at the eleventh, when they were about to obey.

This Paul also made plain when he said:

'But when it pleased Him who set me apart from my mother's womb.'

And when did it please Him? When Paul was about to obey.

For He Himself indeed willed it, even from the very outset;

but since Paul himself would not yield, then it pleased Him, when Paul too was about to be persuaded.

In this same way He also called the thief, although He could have called him even earlier;

but that man would not have obeyed.

For if Paul would not have obeyed at the beginning, much more the thief.

But if these say, 'No one hired us,'

then above all—as I have said—one ought not to scrutinize everything in the parables;

and here it is not even the householder who is seen saying this, but those men;

and he does not refute them, so as not to throw them into confusion, but rather to draw them to himself.

For that He called all, so far as it depended on Him, from the first, the parable also made plain when it said that from early morning He went out to hire.

From every side, then, it is clear to us that the parable was spoken with reference both to those who from their earliest age, and to those who in old age and more tardily laid hold of virtue;

toward the former, that they may not be puffed up, nor reproach those who came about the eleventh hour;

toward the latter, that they may learn that it is possible even in a short time to recover the whole.

For since He was discoursing about earnestness, and about casting away money, and despising all one's possessions—and this required much strenuousness and youthful eagerness—kindling in them a flame of love and making their resolve vigorous, He shows that it is possible even for those who come later to attain the whole.

Yet He does not say it thus outright, lest again He should make them puffed up;

but He shows that the whole is a matter of His own love toward mankind, and that through this they will not fall away, but will themselves also enjoy the ineffable good things.

And this is above all what He wishes to establish by means of this parable.

But if He adds, 'So the last shall be first, and the first last;

for many are called, but few chosen,' do not marvel.

He does not say it as gathering this from the parable, but He means this: that just as this came to pass, so also that will come to pass.

For here the first did not become last, but all enjoyed the same things beyond hope and beyond expectation.

But just as this turned out beyond hope and beyond expectation, and those who came afterward became equal to the ones before them,

so too something even greater and more paradoxical than this will come to pass: that the last will actually come before the first, and the first after these.

So that the one thing is one matter, and this another.

And it seems to me that He says these things hinting at the Jews, and at those among the faithful who shone from the beginning but afterward grew careless of virtue and were carried backward;

and again those others who rose up out of wickedness and outstripped many.

For we see such changes taking place both in faith and in life.

Wherefore I exhort you, let us give great diligence both to stand fast in the right faith and to display the noblest manner of life.

For unless we add to our faith a life worthy of it, we shall suffer the uttermost penalty.

And this the blessed Paul showed even from the times of old, when he said that 'They all ate the same spiritual food, and they all drank the same spiritual drink';

and adding that they were not saved;

'For they were overthrown in the wilderness.'

And Christ too showed it in the case of the Evangelists, when He brought forward certain who had cast out demons and prophesied, yet were led away to punishment.

And indeed all His parables—such as that of the virgins, that of the net, that of the thorns, that of the tree that bears no fruit—all seek after the virtue that comes from works.

For concerning doctrines He discourses but seldom,

for that matter requires no toil;

but concerning the manner of life He speaks often—or rather, everywhere;

for the warfare against it is unceasing, and therefore so is the toil.

And why do I speak of a whole way of life? For even one part of it, when neglected, brings on great evils;

as almsgiving, when neglected, casts into hell those who have come short in it;

and yet this is not the whole of virtue, but only a part of it.

But nevertheless the virgins too, because they had not this, were punished;

and the rich man for this cause was scorched as in a frying-pan;

and those who fed not the hungry are on this account condemned together with the devil.

Again, not to revile is a very small part of it;

but nevertheless even this casts out those who have not achieved it.

For 'he that says to his brother, Thou fool, shall be liable to the hell of fire.'

Again, chastity itself is likewise but a part;

but nevertheless without this no one shall see the Lord.

For 'Follow after peace,' He says, 'and holiness, without which no one shall see the Lord.'

And humility likewise is a portion of virtue;

but nevertheless, even though one accomplish other good things, yet if he attain not this, he is unclean.

And this is plain from the case of the Pharisee, who, abounding in ten thousand good deeds, on this account lost them all.

But I have yet more than these to say once again.

For not only does the neglect of some one of these things shut heaven against us, but even if it be done, yet not with the fitting exactness and abundance, this same thing happens again.

For 'Unless your righteousness,' He says, 'exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.'

So that even if thou give alms, but not more

than they did, thou shalt not enter in.

'And how much alms did they give?' one may ask.

For this very thing I now wish to say, that those who give not may be stirred up to give, and those who give may not think highly of themselves, but may labor to make an addition. What then did those men give? Of all their possessions a tenth, and again another tenth, and after this a third;

so that they gave no less than a third of their substance;

for three tenths, put together, make this amount.

And together with these, first-fruits also, and firstborn, and many other things besides;

such as the offerings for sins, those for purifications, those at the feasts, those in the year of Jubilee, those in the remission of debts, and in the release of servants, and in the loans that were free of interest.

But if he who gave a third of his goods, or rather the half—for these things, added to the former, make up the half—if then he who gave the half did nothing great,

of what shall he be worthy who supplies not even the tenth? With reason did He say, 'Few are they that are saved.'

Let us not then despise the careful attention that is due to our manner of life.

For if a single member of His body, when despised, brings so great a destruction, then when we are on every side liable to the sentence that condemns us, how shall we escape the punishment? What penalty shall we not pay? 'And what hope of salvation,' someone says, 'is left for us, if each of the things enumerated threatens us with hell?' And I too say this very thing;

Yet if we give heed, it is possible to be saved, by preparing the medicines of almsgiving and by tending our wounds.

For oil does not so strengthen the body as loving-kindness strengthens the soul, and renders it unconquerable by all, and makes it invincible to the devil.

For wherever he may lay hold, he thereupon slips off, since this oil does not permit his grip to fasten upon our backs.

With this oil, therefore, let us anoint ourselves continually.

For it is a source of health, a supply of light, and an occasion of gladness.

'But such a one,' he says, 'has so many and so many talents of gold, and gives out nothing.'

And what is that to you? For thus you will appear the more admirable, when out of your poverty you prove more generous than he.

It was thus that Paul also admired the Macedonians;

not that they gave, but that even while they were in poverty they gave.

Look not, then, at these men, but at the common Teacher of us all, who had nowhere to lay His head.

'And why,' he says, 'do such a one and such a one not do this?' Do not judge another, but rid yourself of the accusation.

Since the punishment is greater, when you both accuse others and yourself do not act;

when, while judging others, you yourself also become liable again to the very same judgment.

For if He does not permit us to judge others even when they do rightly, much more when they fall.

Let us therefore not judge others, nor look toward others who are slothful, but toward Jesus, and from thence let us draw our examples.

For was it I that did you good? Was it I that redeemed you, that you should look toward me? It is Another who bestowed these things upon you.

Why, forsaking the Master, do you look toward your fellow servant? Have you not heard Him saying,

that 'I am meek and lowly in heart'? And again, 'Whosoever will be first among you, let him be servant of all'? And again, 'Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister'? And after these things again, that you may not, stumbling at the slothful among your fellow servants, remain in negligence, He draws you away from them, saying:

'I have given you Myself as an example, that as I have done, you also should do.'

But have you no teacher of virtue among the men around you, nor any able to lead you on to these things? Then the praise is the greater, the commendation the more, that you have become admirable without even having an abundance of teachers.

and it is very easy, if we are willing;

and those first men who accomplished these things make it plain;

such as Noah, Abraham, Melchizedek, Job, and all the men of their times;

toward whom it is needful to look every single day.

whom you never cease to emulate, and to carry about in your gatherings.

For nowhere do I hear men saying anything else, but only these words:

'Such a one has acquired so many and so many acres of land; such a one is rich; he is building.'

Why do you gape, O man, at things outside? Why do you look toward others? If you wish to look toward others, look at those who do rightly, at those of good repute, at those who fulfill the law with exactness, not at those who have offended and are dishonored.

For if you look toward these, you will gather from thence many evils, falling into slothfulness, into arrogance, into the condemning of others;

but if you reckon up those who do rightly, you will lead yourself into humility of mind, into diligence, into contrition, into countless good things.

Hear what the Pharisee suffered, when, forsaking those who did rightly, he looked upon the one who had erred;

See how admirable David became, when he looked toward his forefathers who were virtuous.

'For I am a sojourner,' he says, 'and a pilgrim, as all my fathers were.'

For both he and all who were like him, forsaking those who had sinned, kept in mind those who had won a good report.

For you do not sit as a judge of the offenses committed by others, nor as an examiner of the sins committed by others;

you were charged to judge yourself, not others. 'For if we judged ourselves,' he says, 'we should not be judged;'

'but when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord.'

But you have overturned the order, requiring of yourself no accounting for faults great or small, while scrutinizing with exactness the faults of others.

But let us do this no longer; rather, forsaking this disorder, let us set up a tribunal within our own selves over the sins committed within our own selves, ourselves becoming accusers and judges and executioners of our own offenses.

But if you must busy yourself with the affairs of others, pry into their good deeds, not their sins.

so that both by the remembrance of our own transgressions, and by emulation of the good deeds accomplished by others, [and by setting before us that inexorable tribunal, being pricked daily in our conscience as it were by some goad,] we may lead ourselves into humility and greater earnestness, and may attain the good things that are to come, by the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom, to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, might, and honor, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.