Chapter Five

¹ And it came to pass, that the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, as he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, and saw two ships standing by the lake; but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said to Simon: Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said to him: Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing; nevertheless at your word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes; and their net brake. And they beckoned to their partners, who were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying: Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken; and so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon: Fear not; from henceforth you shall catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him. The Lord flees glory, but it pursues him all the more. While the multitude, then, pressed upon him, he enters into the ship, that from the ship he might teach those standing on the shore, all being face to face with him and no one coming behind his back. And when he had taught the multitude out of the ship, he does not let the owner of the ship go unrewarded, but benefits him doubly: in that he granted him a multitude of fishes, and in that he made him his disciple. And marvel at the Lord’s dispensation, how he draws each man through what is his own and familiar; for as he drew the Magi through a star, so the fishermen through fishes. And see the gentleness of Christ, how he entreats Peter to thrust out from the land — for understand “he prayed” in the sense of “he entreated.” And see how obedient Peter was, so as to receive into his ship a man whom he did not know, and to obey him in all things; for when he told him to launch out into the deep, he did not chafe, nor say, “I toiled all the night and gained nothing; shall I now obey you and give myself to a second labor?” He said none of these things, but rather, “At your word I will let down the net” — so warm was he in faith even before the faith; whence also he encloses so many fishes that, unable to draw them, he beckons to his partners in the other ship. And he summons them by a beckoning, since for amazement at the draught he could not even speak. And out of much reverence Peter begs Jesus not to be in the ship, calling himself a sinner and not worthy to be with him. And understand these things also in a higher sense, if you wish. The ship is the synagogue of the Jews; Peter holds the type of the teachers under the law. The teachers before Christ, then, toiled all the night (for the time before Christ’s coming is night), and took nothing. But when Christ had come, and day had dawned, the apostles, being set in the place of the teachers of the law, at his word — that is, at his command — let down the net of the Gospel, and catch a multitude of men. And the apostles alone are not able to draw the net of fishes, and they beckon to their partners and fellows, and these help them. And these are the shepherds and teachers of the Churches in each generation, who, interpreting and teaching the apostolic words, help the apostles to catch men. And consider the expression “they let down the net.” For the Gospel is the net; but having a lowly and plain and condescending diction, suited to the simplicity of the hearers, for this reason it is said to be “let down.” And if anyone should say that thereby the depth of the meanings is signified — and so also the saying of the prophet, who said, “Behold, I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them” — by hunters he means the teachers of the Churches in each generation.

² And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold, a man full of leprosy; who, seeing Jesus, fell on his face, and besought him, saying: Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying: I will; be you clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him. And he charged him to tell no man; but, Go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony to them. But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities. And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed. Worthy of wonder is the leper, in that, having a God-befitting thought concerning the Lord, he says, “If you will, you can make me clean.” For this shows that he thought of Christ as of God; for he came to him not as to a physician (for leprosy is not to be handled by the hands of physicians), but as to God, for it belongs to him alone to heal such things. And the Lord touches him — not without reason, but since, according to the law, one who touched a leper was reckoned unclean — wishing to show that he has no necessity to keep such pettinesses of the law, but that he himself is the Lord of the law; and that the clean man is in no way defiled by what seems unclean, but that leprosy of the soul is what defiles. For this reason he touches him; and at the same time, that he might show that his holy flesh has divine power, being both cleansing and life-giving, as being the flesh of God the Word. And he charges the leper to tell no one, teaching us not to seek praise from those we benefit. “But go,” he says, “show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift for a testimony to them.” For it was a law that the priest should examine those who were leprous, and judge whether they were cleansed; and if one was cleansed within seven days, the leper remained inside the city, but if not, he was cast out. This, then, the Lord says: “Go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift.” And what was the gift? Two little birds. And what is “for a testimony to them”? That is, for their conviction and accusation, that when they accuse me of transgressing the law, they may be convicted from this that I do not transgress, in that I commanded you to offer the gift which Moses commanded. And how those two little birds were offered to God, it is not out of season to say. One bird was slain, and they received its blood in a new earthen vessel; then both wings of the other bird were dipped in the blood, and so the bird was released alive. These things, then, imaged the things of Christ; for the two birds are the two natures of Christ, the divine and the human, of which the one was slain — that is, the human — and the other was released alive. For the divine nature remained impassible, anointed with the blood of the nature that suffered, and taking the passion into itself. And the blood of the Lord a new earthen vessel received — I mean the new people from among the Gentiles, receptive of the New Covenant. And note that after one is cleansed of leprosy, then he is worthy to offer this gift — that is, to sacrifice Christ and minister as priest; for being leprous and unclean in soul, he would not be counted worthy to offer such gifts, that is, to bring near the body and blood of the Lord, which is united to the divine nature. And mark this too, how immeasurable a superiority the Lord has over Moses. For Moses, though he prayed much, could not heal his sister when she became leprous; but the Lord cleansed the leper by a word alone. And consider also the humility of the Lord, how, while the multitude desired to touch him, he rather gladly spent his time in the wilderness and prayed; thus in all things he gave us examples both of praying in private and of declining glory.

³ And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present to heal them. And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy; and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said to him: Man, your sins are forgiven you. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying: Who is this which speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said to them: What reason you in your hearts? Whether is easier, to say, Your sins be forgiven you; or to say, Rise up and walk? But that you may know that the Son of man has power upon earth to forgive sins (he said to the sick of the palsy), I say to you, Arise, and take up your couch, and go into your house. And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying: We have seen strange things today. It was fitting, the enemies being gathered, that the Lord should work some newer wonder; he heals, then, a man sick with a disease hard to cure, that, through healing such a disease, he might also heal the hard-to-cure madness of the Pharisees. First, then, he heals the things of the soul, saying, “Your sins are forgiven you,” that we may learn that many of our diseases are born of our sins; then he heals also the things of the body, having seen the faith of those who brought him. For often, through the faith of others, he saves others. But the Pharisees say, “Why does this man speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” And they say these things, condemning him to death; for the law commanded that he who spoke blasphemy against God should suffer death. The Lord, therefore, showing them that he is truly God and does not boast in vain, persuades them from another sign. For what they reasoned, this he understands; whence it is altogether plain that he is God, for it belongs to God to know hearts. He says, then, “Which seems to you easier, to forgive sins, or to make the body whole? Surely, by your reckoning, to forgive sins seems easier, as being unseen and not subject to proof, though it is the harder; but to heal the body seems harder, as being visible, though it is by nature the easier. Yet I will do both this and that; and by healing the body, which seems to you harder, I will confirm also the healing of the soul, which, though it is hard, seems to you easy because it is unseen.” And note that on earth sins are forgiven; for as long as we are on earth, we are able to blot out our sins through confession. But after our departure hence we can no longer blot out our sins. The story is told more at length in the other evangelists.

⁴ And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom; and he said to him: Follow me. And he left all, rose up, and followed him. And Levi made him a great feast in his own house; and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying: Why do you eat and drink with publicans and sinners? And Jesus answering said to them: They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Matthew openly proclaims his own name, saying, “Jesus saw Matthew the publican sitting at the receipt of custom.” But Luke and Mark, honoring the evangelist, set forward in the midst his other name, Levi. Marvel at the love of God for man, how he plunders the vessels of the wicked one. For a publican is a vessel of the wicked one, and a wicked beast; those who have had experience of bitter exactors know it. For these publicans, who bought the public taxes, did so in order to make gain against their own souls. And the Lord gained not Matthew only, but was zealous to gain also the other publicans with whom he feasted; for it was for this that he deigns to feast with them, that he might draw them too. And the Pharisees, finding fault with him, see what they hear: “I came not to call the righteous,” he says — that is, you who justify yourselves — “but I came to call sinners,” not that they should abide in sin, but that they should repent. And in another sense: “I came not to call the righteous,” for indeed I find none, since all have sinned; for if it were possible to find righteous men, I would not have come. And a publican is also everyone who serves the ruler of this world, and offers tribute to the flesh. The glutton pays to the belly foods; the fornicator, the filthy mixture; and another, another thing. When, then, the Lord — that is, the evangelic word — sees him sitting at the receipt of custom, that is, not advancing nor going forward and moving into greater wickedness, but as it were idle, then he will rise up from evil and follow Jesus, and receive the Lord into the house of his soul. But the Pharisees, the arrogant and those cut off from the rest, murmur because he eats with sinners.

⁵ And they said to him: Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but your eat and drink? And he said to them: Can you make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days. And he spoke also a parable to them: No man puts a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new makes a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agrees not with the old. And no man puts new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles, and both are preserved. And no man also having drunk old wine straightway desires new; for he says, The old is better. We spoke of these things in the Gospel according to Matthew. And now we will say briefly that he calls the apostles children of the bridechamber. For the coming of the Lord is likened to a marriage, because, having betrothed the Church, he led her home. The apostles, then, ought not to fast now; for the disciples of John ought to fast, inasmuch as their teacher accomplished virtue by toil and labor — for “John came,” it says, “neither eating nor drinking.” But my disciples, as being with me, God the Word, have no need as yet of the benefit that comes from fasting, being graced from this very source and guarded by me. But when I shall have been taken up, and they are sent forth to the preaching, then shall they both fast and pray, as men stripped for great contests. And in another sense, being now weak and not yet renewed by the Spirit, they resemble old bottles and an old garment. One must not, then, lay upon them any heavier manner of life, just as one does not put a new piece upon an old garment. You may, then, as I said, take the apostles to be like old bottles, as being still weak. But you may also understand the Pharisees to be likened to these, the Lord all but saying to them: “My teaching is new wine; but you, being old bottles, cannot receive it; rather, having drunk the old, you do not desire my new, but say, The old is better.”