Chapter 10

Chapter 10. — On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife; and Concerning Children; and Concerning Bartimaeus

¹ And rising up from there, he comes into the borders of Judea by the farther side of the Jordan, and the multitudes resort to him again, and, as he was accustomed, he taught them again. And the Pharisees came and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him. And he answered and said to them, What did Moses command you? And they said to him, Moses permitted to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. And Jesus answered and said to them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh; so that they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder. The Lord continually withdrew from Judea on account of the envy of those men; now, then, he sojourns there, since the Passion was about to be near. Yet he does not as yet go up to Jerusalem, but to the borders of Judea, that he might benefit the guileless multitude. For Jerusalem was the workshop of all wickedness, on account of the malice of the Pharisees. See, then, their wickedness, how they tempt the Lord, not suffering him, that the multitudes might believe in him, but ever coming forward and thinking to cast him into perplexity and to silence him by their questions. For they asked him a question having precipices on both sides: Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? So that if he should say that it is lawful to put her away, they might meet him with, How then did you say that, except for the matter of fornication, it is not lawful to put her away? But if he should say that it is not lawful, they might charge him as opposing the decrees of Moses. Christ, then, the very Wisdom, answers them an answer that escapes their snares. For he asks them what Moses commanded them. And when they had said that he commanded to put her away, he interprets the law to them. For Moses was not so harsh, he says, as to bring in such a law, but he wrote this for your hardness of heart. For God, knowing the inhumanity of the Hebrews, and that he who wished would readily murder his own wife once he had come to hate her, permitted the man who was not pleased with her to put away his wife. But from the beginning it was not so; rather, the counsel of God glues the spouses to one another, and makes them one, so that they neglect even their parents. And see what he says, that God does not will polygamy, so as to leave this one and take another wife, and again to leave her and cleave to another. For if this were so, he would have made one man, but many women. But now this has not come to pass; rather, he made them male and female, ordaining one to be joined to one. And perhaps we may also understand the present passage thus. The teaching word, casting good seeds into the soul of the faithful man, holds the place of a husband toward the soul that receives it. Often, then, the word, wishing to benefit the soul that receives it, leaves its own father—that is, a lofty mind—and its own mother—that is, an embellished diction. And it cleaves to its wife—that is, it teaches the things unto the benefit of that soul, condescending and preferring [to do so]. And thereafter the two become one flesh—that is, the soul is united in the knowledge and in the Word of God. And no human word shall separate them from one another, since they have become one through faith.

² And in the house his disciples asked him again concerning this matter, and he says to them, Whosoever shall put away his wife and marry another, commits adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she commits adultery. The disciples too were still being made to stumble; for this cause, then, they come to him again and ask, as though their reasoning had not yet been sufficiently healed. And he answers them, saying, Whosoever shall put away his wife and marry another is an adulterer against that second woman. Likewise, then, the woman also is an adulteress who has forsaken her own husband and joined herself to another.

³ And they brought young children to him, that he might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said to them, Suffer the little children to come to me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God. Truly I say to you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, and laid his hands upon them, and blessed them. Great was the faith of the multitudes, if indeed they thought that Christ blessed those brought to him even by the mere laying on of hands. But the disciples, thinking it unworthy of Christ that little children should be brought to him, hindered those who brought them. What, then, does Christ do? Teaching them to be modest-minded, and to trample down worldly conceit, he both takes them and embraces them. For he shows that he receives the guileless; wherefore also he says, For of such is the kingdom of God. Mark, he did not say, For of these is the kingdom, but, Of such—that is, of those who have by discipline the guilelessness which the children have by nature. For the child neither envies, nor bears malice, nor, when it is beaten by its mother, withdraws from her. But even though she wear rags, it prefers her to a queen. So also he who lives according to virtue prefers nothing to his mother—I mean the Church—nor the pleasure that reigns over the many. Wherefore also the Lord embraces such ones, saying, Come to me, all you that labor and are heavy laden. And he blesses them, saying, Come, you blessed of my Father. And by the kingdom of God he here means the preaching and the promise of good things. Whoever, then, shall receive the preaching of God as a little child—that is, doubting in nothing nor disbelieving—that man enters into the kingdom of God, and into the good things which he has already received by faith.

⁴ And when he was gone forth into the way, one came running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good? There is none good but one, that is, God. You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honor your father and mother. And he answered and said to him, Master, all these have I kept from my youth. Then Jesus, beholding him, loved him, and said to him, One thing you lack: go your way, sell whatever you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved; for he had great possessions. Some find fault with this young man, as being a sly fellow and wicked and a tempter. But this is not so; rather, the man was a lover of money, but not a tempter. For hear the evangelist, that Jesus, beholding him, loved him. Why, then, did Christ answer him thus, saying, There is none good? Because he came to him as to a man, and as to one of the many teachers. For this is what Christ says: If you suppose me to be good as a teacher, no man is good as compared with God; but if you suppose me to be good as God, why then do you name me teacher? So that by these words Christ wishes this—to make the man’s understanding loftier, unto recognizing him as God. But he accomplishes yet another thing also, namely, to teach him, whenever he is about to converse with anyone, not to converse flatteringly, but to know God as the root and the fountain of goodness, and to refer the honors to him. And I marvel at this young man, that, whereas all the rest came forward concerning the healing of diseases, he himself seeks the inheritance of eternal life, even though he was held fast by a most grievous passion, the love of money, on account of which, when he heard, Go, sell, and give to the poor, he went away grieved. And mark, he did not say, Go, sell what you have piecemeal and give, but, Sell it all at once, and give—and not to flatterers and prodigals, but to the poor. And, moreover, Come, follow me—that is, lay hold also of every other virtue. For many are without possessions, yet not humble-minded; or even humble-minded, yet drunkards or having some other vice. For this cause, then, the Lord says, Sell, and give to the poor, and follow me, taking up the cross—that is, having prepared yourself for the death that is on my behalf. But he, being sad at the saying, went away. For he had great possessions; and not in vain is this added, the word but. For neither are those who have many possessions and those who have few held fast in like manner, but more grievous and harder to loose are the bonds of many possessions. But even if one be a younger man, light in mind, and not settled in his wits, let him sell what he has—such as wrath and desire, and all the evils that spring from these—and let him give and cast these away to the demons, who are poor, being deprived of every good and fallen from the riches of the goodness of God. And then let him follow Christ. For he who has cast away the riches of his sins to the demons, that man is able to follow Christ. For depart from evil, that is, from the demons; and do good, that is

⁵ And Jesus looked round about, and says to his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answers again, and says to them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? And Jesus, looking upon them, says, With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible. It is not riches that are evil, but those who possess them are worthy of blame; for one ought not to have them—that is, to hold them fast—but to use them unto what is needful. For riches (chrēmata) are so named from their being for the use (chrēsis) of men, not from their being held fast. Those, then, who possess these and shut them up, shall hardly enter into the kingdom of God. And the word hardly here understand instead of impossible. For it is impossible for a rich man to be saved. And this is plain from the example which the Lord sets down, saying that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man into the kingdom of God. For it is impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. And by camel understand either the animal itself, or a thick rope, such as the greatest of ships use. It is impossible, then, for a man, while he is rich, to be saved. With God, however, this is possible. For Christ said, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness. Do you see how, when we hearken to God, this becomes possible? But with men it is impossible—that is, whenever we are minded according to men, this is impossible. And for what cause were the disciples astonished at these words? For surely they themselves were not rich. It seems to me that they were in anguish on behalf of all men. For they had already begun to become lovers of mankind. But some here are perplexed how he said, With God all things are possible. We say, then, that whenever he says all things, he means the things that are; but sin is a thing that is not. For sin is a thing without substance and without subsistence; and besides, sin is not of power, but of weakness, as the Apostle also says, Christ, when we were yet without strength, died. And again David, Their infirmities were multiplied. So that sin, being a weakness, is not possible with God. Can God, then, they say, also make that which has happened as though it had not happened? We say, then, that God is truth. But to make that which has happened as though it had not happened is a falsehood. How, then, shall the truth make the falsehood? For first it would destroy its own nature; so that this is what those say who ask, Can God, then, not be God? For you see the absurdity of the question.

⁶ And Peter began to say to him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed you. And Jesus answered and said, Truly I say to you, There is no man that has left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake and the Gospel’s, but he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions, and in the world to come eternal life. But many that are first shall be last, and the last first. Peter, even if he left but little, yet names all these things. For even the little things have a bond of attachment, so that he who has left even little is blessed. But when Peter alone had asked, the Lord makes the saying universal, saying, Everyone who has left either wife or father; and he says these things, not that we should leave our fathers without help, and separate ourselves from our wives, but teaching us to prefer godliness toward God to all carnal things. For since war was kindled by the preaching, and children were about to deny their fathers for the sake of godliness, he says, Whoever shall leave his carnal kindred, and simply all bodily things for the sake of the Gospel, shall receive all things a hundredfold in the present age, and in the age to come eternal life. Shall he, then, receive wives also a hundredfold? Yes; even though the accursed Julian made comedy of this. For tell me, what does the wife contribute to the man’s household? Surely she takes care of the man’s nourishment and clothing, and the man is led to be free of all care from these things. See, then, this also in the case of the apostles: how many women took thought for their clothing and their food, and ministered to them while they took thought for nothing save the word and teaching only. Likewise the apostles had also many fathers and mothers, those who loved them all and were tenderly affectionate toward them. But Peter too, having left one house, afterward had the houses of all his disciples. And now he has the temples throughout all the earth, in his name, as splendid houses; and what is greater, that with persecutions the saints inherit all these things—that is, being persecuted, and not faring softly, but afflicted. Whence also those who seem to be last in the present age, because they are afflicted and persecuted, shall be first on account of their hope toward God; but the Pharisees too, being first, became last. And those who left all and followed Christ became first.

⁷ And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus went before them, and they were amazed, and as they followed they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen to him, saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles, and they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him; and the third day he shall rise again. For what cause does he foretell the things that should happen to him? In order to smooth out the disciples’ understanding beforehand, that having heard it in advance, they might bear it more easily, and not be struck down by its suddenness, and that they might know that he suffers willingly. For he who foreknows and is able to flee, yet flees not, plainly delivers himself up willingly to his sufferings. And taking the disciples apart, he speaks to them alone. For since the Passion was a mystery, it had to be revealed to the more intimate ones. For this cause, then, he also goes before all in the way, wishing to separate his disciples from the rest of the throng. At the same time, also, by going before all and outstripping them in the way, he shows that he runs toward the Passion, and does not flee the death that is on behalf of our salvation; only, even all the gloomy things are dissolved by this, And the third day he shall rise again.

⁸ And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come to him, saying, Master, we would that you should do for us whatever we shall ask. And he said to them, What would you that I should do for you? And they said to him, Grant to us that we may sit, one on your right hand, and one on your left hand, in your glory. But Jesus said to them, You know not what you ask. Can you drink of the cup that I drink of, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? And they said to him, We can. Another evangelist says that their mother came to Christ. And it is likely that both things happened: that the apostles, being ashamed, put their mother forward, and then came forward themselves privately; wherefore also the evangelist marks this, saying, They come to him, instead of, They come privately, having separated themselves from the rest. But let us learn what it was they asked. They supposed that this going up to Jerusalem was a going up to reign in a perceptible kingdom, and that after he had reigned, then he would suffer what he was about to suffer. Thinking these things, then, they ask for the seat on the right and on the left; wherefore the Lord rebukes them as seeking something foolish. For you know not, he says, what you ask. For you suppose my kingdom to be perceptible, and you ask for a perceptible seat. But it is not so; rather, all these things are above understanding. And to sit on my right hand is a great thing, surpassing even the angelic orders; and you indeed gape after glory, but I call you to death. For by cup and baptism he names the cross: a cup, as leading straightway to sleep, and as gladly received by him; and a baptism, as working a cleansing of sins. But they, not understanding what he said, made their promise, supposing that he spoke concerning a perceptible cup, and a baptism such as the Jews were baptized with, washing before they ate.

⁹ And Jesus said to them, You shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of, and with the baptism that I am baptized with shall you be baptized; but to sit on my right hand and on my left is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared. The martyrdom, he says, you shall enter into, and you shall die the death that is on behalf of the truth. But to sit is not mine to give. And here two things are inquired into. The one is this: Is the sitting prepared for anyone? And the other, Can the Master of all not give this seat? We say, then, that no one shall sit on the right hand or on the left. But even though in many places of the Scripture you hear of seats, do not understand a seat, but a surpassing honor. And the saying, It is not mine to give, has this meaning: It is not mine, the just judge’s, to give you this honor by favor; for I should not be just; but to those who have striven, to those is this honor prepared—just as if a just king were presiding over some contest, and then certain friends of his came to him and said, Give us the crowns, he would say, It is not mine to give, but if anyone strive and conquer, for that one is the crown prepared; so that you also, sons of Zebedee, shall indeed bear witness for me, but if anyone be found, together with the martyrdom, having also every other virtue above you, that one shall take precedence of you.

¹⁰ And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John. But Jesus called them to him, and says to them, You know that they who are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you; but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister; and whosoever of you will be the first, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. The disciples were still disposed in a human way, and were assailed by envy. Wherefore also they are displeased with the two. But when? When they saw them not received beforehand by the Lord, but, as it were, thrust away, then they are displeased. For as long as they were honored by the Lord, they endured without being displeased, although they saw them being preferred; but since here these very ones asked for the honor, the rest no longer bear it. But now indeed they were thus imperfect, while later you will see them yielding even the chief places to one another. But Christ heals them, first by calming them through bringing them near to himself. For this is what is signified by, having called them to him. Then by showing that to snatch at honor, and to be enamored of the chief places, is a heathen thing. For the rulers of the Gentiles, those bear themselves authoritatively and tyrannically. But my disciples not so; rather, he who wishes to be great, let him minister to all, since this too is the mark of a great soul, to bear with all and to serve all. And the example is near at hand; for even the Son of man came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many—which is greater than to minister; for whenever anyone not only ministers, but even dies on behalf of the one ministered to, what is greater or more wonderful than this? But nevertheless this ministry and this condescension became an exaltation and a glory both for him and for all. For before he became man, he was known to the angels alone. But since he became man and was crucified, he has not only that glory, but has also taken on another besides, and reigns over the whole world.

¹¹ And they come to Jericho, and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the wayside begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. And many rebuked him, that he should hold his peace; but he cried so much the more, Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called; and they call the blind man, saying to him, Be of good cheer, rise, he calls you. And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said to him, What do you want me to do for you? The blind man said to him, Rabboni, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said to him, Go your way; your faith has made you whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed him in the way. But Matthew speaks of two blind men. And it is likely that there were two who were healed, but that the more notable of them was this one now mentioned by Mark. And see how the multitudes too honor Jesus, so as to rebuke the blind man for crying out, as though some king were passing by. And the Lord asks him, that no one might say that the Lord gives one thing to a man who wishes another. And of a noble disposition was the soul of the blind man; for after he was healed he did not leave the Lord, but followed him. And this may also be understood in an anagogical sense. Jericho is this place below. And the blind man sitting here is human nature, which was a son of God, who is above all honor. This nature, then, cried out to Jesus as he passed through Jericho—that is, through this life. And he had mercy on it, and saved it through faith, when it had put off the old garment of sin. And being saved, it followed him, working the commandments in the way—that is, in this life. For here it is possible to follow Christ; but after these things all are shut out from working the commandments.