Matthew 8:12

As what the leper had affirmed concerning Christ's power, "If thou will, thou canst cleanse me," was confirmed by the mouth of Christ, saying, "I will, be thou clean;" so here He did not blame the centurion for bearing testimony to Christ's authority, but even commended him. Nay more; it is something greater than commendation that the Evangelist signifies in the words, "But Jesus hearing marvelled."

Observe how great and what that is at which God the Only-begotten marvels. Gold, riches, principalities, are in His sight as the shadow or the flower that fadeth; in the sight of God none of these things is wonderful, as though it were great or precious, but faith only; this He wonders at, and pays honour to, this He esteems acceptable to Himself.

But who was He that had created this faith in him, but only He who now marvelled at it? But even had it come from any other, how should He marvel who know all things future? When the Lords marvels, it is only to teach us what we ought to wonder at; for all these emotions in Him are not signs of passion, but examples of a teacher.

Wherefore He is said to have thus wondered in the presence of all the people, giving them an example that they also should wonder at Him; for it follows, "And he said to them that followed, I have not found so great faith in Israel."

He praises his faith, but gives no command to quit his profession of a soldier.

This He speaks of the present generation, not of all the Patriarchs and Prophets of past ages.

36] Peter believed, but it was by reading the Scriptures; and Nathanael first received a proof of His Divinity, and then spoke forth his confession of faith.

Jairus, a prince in Israel, making request for his d aug hter, said not, "Speak the word," but, "Come quickly." Nicodemus, hearing of the sacrament of faith, asks, "How can these things be?" [John 3:9] Mary and Martha say, "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died;" [John 11:21] as though distrusting that God's power could be in all places at the same time.

Or, if we would suppose [ed. note: The text of Pseudo-Chrys has "si non sumus ausi putare."] that his faith was greater than even that of the Apostles, Christ's testimony to it must be understood as though every good in a man should be commended relatively to his character; as it were a great thing in a countryman to speak with wisdom, but in a philosopher the same would be nothing wonderful. In this way it may be said of the centurion, In none other have I found so great faith in Israel.

For it is a different thing for a Jew to believe and for a Gentile.

Or perhaps in the person of the centurion the faith of the Gentiles is preferred to that of Israel; whence He proceeds, "But I say unto you, Many shall come from the east and from the west."

He says, not "all," but many; yet these from the east and west; for by these two quarters the whole world is intended. Haymo: Or; From the east shall come they, who pass into the kingdom as soon as they are enlightened; from the west they who have suffered persecution for the faith even unto death. Or, he comes from the east who has served God from a child; he from the west who in decrepit age has turned to God.

How then does He say in another place, that "the chosen are few?" Because in each generation there are few that are chosen, but when all are gathered together in the day of visitation they shall be found many. "They shall sit down," not the bodily posture, but the spiritual rest, not with human food, but with an eternal feast, "with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven," where is light, joy, glory, and eternal length of days.

Because the God of Abraham, the Maker of heaven, is the Father of Christ, therefore also is Abraham in the kingdom of heaven, and with him will sit down the nations who have believed in Christ the Son of the Creator.

As we see Christians called to the heavenly feast, where is the bread of righteousness, the drink of wisdom; so we see the Jews in reprobation. "The children of the kingdom shall be cast into outer darkness," that is, the Jews, who have received the Law, who observe the types of all things that were to be, yet did not acknowledge the realities when present.

Or the Jews may be called "the children of the kingdom," because God reigned among them heretofore.

Or, He calls them "the children of the kingdom," because the kingdom was prepared for them, which was the greater grief to them.

Moses set before the people of Israel no other God than the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and Christ sets forth the very same God. So that so far was He from seeking to turn that people away from their own God, that He therefore threatened them with the outer darkness, because He saw them turned away from their own God. And in this kingdom He tells them the Gentiles shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for no other reason than that they held the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To these Fathers Christ gives His testimony, not as though they had been converted after death, or had received justification after His passion.

It is called, "outer darkness," because he whom the Lord casts out leaves the light. Haymo: What they should suffer there, He shews when He adds, "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Thus in metaphor He describes the sufferings of the tormented limbs; the eyes shed tears when filled with smoke, and the teeth chatter together from cold. This shews that the wicked in hell shall endure both extreme cold and extreme heat: according to that in Job, "They shall pass from rivers of snow to the scorching heat." [Job 24:19]

Weeping and gnashing of teeth are a proof of bones and body; truly then is there a resurrection of the same limbs, that sank into the grave.

Or; The gnashing of teeth expresses the passion of remorse; repentance coming too late and self-accusation that he had sinned with such obstinate wickedness.

Otherwise; By "other darkness," He means foreign nations; for these words of the Lord are a historical prediction of the destruction of the Jews, that they were to be led into captivity for their unbelief, and to be scattered over the earth; for tears are usually caused by heat, gnashing of teeth by cold. "Weeping" then is ascribed to those who should be dispersed into the warmer climates of India and Ethiopia, "gnashing of teeth" to those who should dwell in the colder regions, as Hyrcania and Scythia.

But that none might suppose that these were nothing more than fair words, He makes them credible by the miracles following, "And Jesus said to the centurion, Go, and be it done to thee as thou hast believed."

As though He had said, According to the measure of thy faith, so be thy grace. For the merit of the Lord may be communicated even to servants not only through the merit of their faith, but through their obedience to rule. It follows, "And his servant was healed in the self-same hour."

Wherein admire the speediness, shewing Christ's power, not only to heal, but to do it in a moment of time.

As the Lord did not enter the centurion's house with His body, but healed the servant, present in majesty, but absent in body; so He went among the Jews only in the body, but among other nations He was neither born of a Virgin, nor suffered, nor endured human sufferings, nor did divine wonders; and yet was fulfilled that which was spoken, "A people that I have not known hath served me, and hath obeyed me by the hearing of the ear." [Ps 18:43] The Jews behold, yet crucified Him; the world heard, and believed.

8. Then, in the case of the publican, who excelled the Pharisee in prayer, [we find] that it was not because he worshipped another Father that he received testimony from the Lord that he was justified rather [than the other]; but because with great humility, apart from all boasting and pride, he made confession to the same God. The parable of the two sons also: those who are sent into the vineyard, of whom one indeed opposed his father, but afterwards repented, when repentance profited him nothing; the other, however, promised to go, at once assuring his father, but he did not go (for “every man is a liar;” “to will is present with him, but he finds not means to perform”), [this parable, I say], points out one and the same Father. …

But He also teaches us, that “He is rather to be feared, who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell,” that is, the Lord alone; “not those which kill the body, but are not able to hurt the soul,” that is to say, all human powers. Here, then, we have a recognition of the natural immortality of the soul, which cannot be killed by men; and of the mortality of the body, which may be killed: whence we learn that the resurrection of the dead is a resurrection of the flesh; for unless it were raised again, it would be impossible for the flesh to be “killed in hell.” But as a question may be here captiously raised about the meaning of “the body” (or “the flesh”), I will at once state that I understand by the human body nothing else than that fabric of the flesh which, whatever be the kind of material of which it is constructed and modified, is seen and handled, and sometimes indeed killed, …

In the Gospel the Lord says: “Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

VI. Let us therefore renounce our parents, and kinsmen, and friends, and wife, and children, and possessions, and all the enjoyments of life, when any of these things become an impediment to piety. For we ought to pray that we may not enter into temptation; but if we be called to martyrdom, with constancy to confess His precious name, and if on this account we be punished, let us rejoice, as hastening to immortality. When we are persecuted, let us not think it strange; let us not love the present world, nor the praises which come from men, nor the glory and honour of rulers, according as some of the Jews wondered at the mighty works of our Lord, yet did not believe on Him, for fear of the high priests and the rest of the rulers: “For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.” But now, by confessing a good confession, we not only save ourselves, but we confirm those who ar …

24. We have already said as much as ap peared desirable of the curse pronounced on every one that hangs on a tree. Enough has been said to show that the command to kill any prophet or prince who tried to turn away the children of Israel from their God, or to break any commandment, is not directed against Christ. The more we consider the words and actions of our Lord Jesus Christ, the more clearly will this appear; for Christ never tried to turn away any of the Israelites from their God. The God whom Moses taught the people to love and serve, is the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, whom the Lord Jesus Christ speaks of by this name, using the name in refutation of the Sadducees, who denied the resurrection of the dead. …

2. However, there is a difficulty in deciding as regards this verse too, whether the words were really spoken to Christ, for there is a discrepancy in the narratives. For while two evangelists, Matthew and Luke, both alike tell of the centurion whose servant was sick, and to whom these words of Jesus are supposed to have applied, that He had not seen so great faith, no, not in Israel, as in this man, though a Gentile and a Pagan, because he said that he was not worthy that Jesus should come under his roof, but wished Him only to speak the word, and his servant should be healed; Matthew alone adds that Jesus went on to say, "Verily I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall be cast into outer darkness." By the many who should come are meant the …

7. But Faustus finds contradictions in the Gospels. Say, rather, that Faustus reads the Gospels in a wrong spirit, that he is too foolish to understand, and too blind to see. If you were animated with piety instead of being misled by party spirit, you might easily, by examining these passages, discover a wonderful and most instructive harmony among the writers. Who, in reading two narratives of the same event, would think of charging one or both of the authors with error or falsehood, because one omits what the other mentions, or one tells concisely, but with sub stantial agreement, what the other relates in detail, so as to indicate not only what was done, but also how it was done? This is what Faustus does in his attempt to impeach the truth of the Gospels; as if Luke’s omitting some saying of Christ recorded in Matthew implied a denial on the part of Luke of Matthew’s statement. …

29. “Be kindly disposed,” says he, “toward thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.” I understand who the judge is: “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.” I understand who the officer is: “And angels,” it is said, “ministered unto Him:” and we believe that He will come with His angels to judge the quick and the dead. …

48. After these things, Matthew proceeds with his narrative in the following terms: “And when Jesus was entered into Capharnaum, there came unto Him a centurion, beseeching Him, and saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, and he is grievously tormented;” and so forth, on to the place where it is said, “And his servant was healed in the self-same hour.” This case of the centurion’s servant is related also by Luke; only Luke does not bring it in, as Matthew does, after the cleansing of the leper, whose story he has recorded as something suggested to his recollection at a later stage, but introduces it after the conclusion of that lengthened sermon already discussed. …

6. Hear now how the natural branches are cut off, how the wild olive is grafted in, by means of the centurion himself, whom I have thought proper to mention for the sake of comparison with this ruler. “Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith in Israel; therefore I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and from the west.” How widely the wild olive took possession of the earth! This world was a bitter forest; but because of the humility, because of this “I am not worthy, many shall come from the east and from the west.” And grant that they come, what shall become of them? For if they come, they are cut off from the forest; where are they to be ingrafted, that they may not wither? “And shall sit down,” saith He, “with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob.” At what banquet, in case thou dost not invite to ever living, but to much drinking? Where, “shall sit down? In the ki …

26. “Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we?” But they did not say, Let us believe. For these abandoned men were more occupied in considering what evil they could do to effect His ruin, than in consulting for their own preservation: and yet they were afraid, and took counsel of a kind together. For “they said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles: if we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him; and the Romans shall come, and take away both our place and nation.” They were afraid of losing their temporal possessions, and thought not of life eternal; and so they lost both. …

10. “The princes of the peoples are gathered together unto the God of Abraham” ( ver. 9 ). The God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. True it is, God said this, and thereupon the Jews prided themselves, and said, “We are Abraham’s children;” priding themselves in their father’s name, carrying his flesh, not holding his faith; by seed cleaving to Him, in manners degenerating. But the Lord, what said He to them so priding themselves? “If ye are Abraham’s children, do the works of Abraham.” Again…“The princes of the peoples:” the princes of the nations: not the princes of one people, but the princes of all people have “gathered together unto the God of Abraham.” Of these princes was that Centurion too, of whom but now when the Gospel was read ye heard. For he was a Centurion having honour and power among men, he was a prince among the princes of the peoples. …