Mt 5:1 Now when He saw the crowds…”
Concerning this discourse, Luke and Matthew seem to differ. For Luke relates that the Lord went out to pray on the mountain, spending the night in prayer; and when day came, He called His disciples and chose twelve from among them, whom He also named Apostles. Then, coming down with them, He stood in a level place, and there was a crowd of disciples and a great multitude of people; and lifting up His eyes toward His disciples He said: Blessed are the poor in spirit (Luke 6). Luke includes many things which Matthew includes, omits many things, and also inserts many others. Matthew, however, narrates that Jesus avoided the crowds and therefore went up the mountain with His disciples, and there held the discourse with them, sitting rather than standing, as Luke says.
It is possible, as Augustine says, to understand this as the same discourse—or as another. If it is the same, then it must be said that the Lord, the disciples, and the crowds went up the mountain to a certain level and flat place on the mountainside which could hold a great multitude. Afterwards He ascended to the summit of the mountain with the disciples alone, and there chose the Apostles. When these had been chosen, He descended to the level place and stood there until the crowds gathered to Him; afterwards He sat down—which Luke does not mention—and when He had sat, His disciples came closer to Him as those who were intimate with Him. Thus He delivered the discourse principally to the disciples, yet also to the crowds.
In this way we would say that Matthew mentions the Lord’s ascent to the summit of the mountain in order to avoid the crowds, because He wished to choose the disciples. How He chose the Apostles, how He descended from the summit of the mountain, and how He afterwards stood—Matthew passes over these things and begins with the ascent. Yet it seems better to hold that there were two discourses: one which He delivered familiarly and privately to the disciples, to whom He wished to hand on the New Testament, which they themselves were to bear forth—for not all things are to be said to all; and another which He delivered below, publicly before all, in which He also recapitulated many things He had said in the other discourse.
Accordingly, it should be known that Matthew omits what Luke says about the mountain, namely, that He spent the night in prayer when He chose the Apostles. Let us come to the literal sense. Christ, about to send the Apostles to preach and to hand on the New Testament, ascended the mountain, because He was going to hand on profound matters, and thus He signified the mysteries. The people, however, He taught below, because they did not have a lofty understanding. The Apostles, in their ordination, received not only the name of apostleship, but also the Spirit of greater understanding. Therefore, to those who were chosen He spoke lofty things. In a similar way, Moses received the Law on the mountain, because he understood the whole mystery; but he taught the people below, because they were unlearned and of lesser capacity. The precepts of the old Law were initial and imperfect with respect to justice; but the precepts which Christ was about to give would remove that imperfection which the former possessed, and in these justice is to be brought to completion. Hence He would say: “Unless your justice abounds more than…” (cf. Matthew 5).
Continuation. The crowds followed Him. Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the mountain, in order to avoid them, because such lofty things were not to be preached before them. Therefore He teaches here that the preacher must speak according to the capacity of his hearers. And when He sat down, His disciples came to Him. He sat in order to teach, showing Himself to be a master; for masters and teachers sit. The disciples approach in order to hear more closely and hasten to fulfill what they hear. “And opening His mouth…” By saying “opening,” he signifies that He was about to say not a few things, not lowly things, but profound ones—like one opening a treasure.
Allegory. Christ ascended the mountain, that is, the Church, in order that what was said by David might be fulfilled: “But I have been established as king by Him upon Sion, His holy mountain” (Psalm 2). What is called Sion there is here this mountain. To sit is to humble oneself through the humanity He assumed. Otherwise He would not teach us: by assuming our form He sat down, that is, He inclined Himself. And by seeing His seated humility, the disciples were able to draw near to Him; for as long as He was on the throne of His majesty they could not comprehend Him. Hence it is said: “He was in the world, and the world did not know Him” (John 1). He who formerly spoke to us in the prophets has now opened His own mouth to us in His Son. The Law was given amid terror, for there were smoke, crowds, and storms around the mountain. But in the giving of the New Testament there was none of this; everything was done so as to teach that this law is to be fulfilled not by fear but by love. The former law was written on stone; this one on hearts. Otherwise the New Testament would not differ from the Old. Hence the Apostle says: “He is the mediator of a much better covenant” (Hebrews 8). And the Lord says through the prophet: “This is the covenant… I will put My laws into their minds and write them on their hearts” (ibid.). After those days He will fill them with the Spirit of the fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11).
Mt 5:3 “Blessed…” As Moses gave the Law in precepts that contained all the others, so Christ bestowed the New Testament in seven. Just as Moses later treated at greater length more than three hundred commandments, so Christ also treats of these same matters at greater length in parts. There are seven gifts of the Holy Spirit; there are seven petitions in the Lord’s Prayer; there are seven beatitudes—all of which correspond. The gifts are enumerated as descending from above: “the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and fortitude, the Spirit of knowledge and piety,” because the discourse concerns Christ descending to the earth. Christ, however, following the manner of a good teacher, begins from what is lower and tends toward what is higher; and therefore He begins with poverty, that is, with the removal of evil and with fear. For whoever wishes to draw near to God must remove evils, renounce the world, and fear God. Note that in the Lord’s Prayer there are seven petitions: the first three concern heavenly things; the lower ones concern earthly matters; and the middle one is, as it were, a boundary, yet more closely attached to the heavenly. First the higher, then the lower; yet “deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6) is naturally first, just as in the seven gifts Scripture says: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Ecclesiasticus 1). These two correspond with poverty, from which He began.
Let us therefore first treat of poverty, and then of the other two. This poverty is the renunciation of oneself and of one’s possessions. Two things are to be renounced: exterior things and interior things. Exterior things are nobility, riches, and other possessions; interior things are intelligence, strength, beauty, swiftness, and the like. We must therefore renounce these, lest we place our hope in riches, in nobility, in our own abilities, or in anything else, but in God alone. Other things we should have as though we did not have them. This poverty can also exist amid riches, as David says: “If riches abound, do not set your heart on them” (Psalm 61). Yet it is safer not to possess them at all; hence the Lord says: “Sell all that you have” (Matthew 19), because they can scarcely be possessed without love.
This is what is asked when it is said: “But deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6). To be delivered from evil is to be freed from the world, lest we be enticed by it, and to be released from the desire for this world, which displays present goods and mocks invisible ones, drawing men to itself. We cannot do all this except through the Spirit of fear. For if we hear God threatening Gehenna, terrified by this we renounce the world and begin to serve God out of love.
Note that there are four kinds of fear: two earthly and two divine. One is when we fear men lest they take away what is ours, and thus we sin; whenever we sin out of fear—lest we be despised or lest we die, as when we become followers of men—this is forbidden by the Lord, who says: “Do not fear those who kill the body” (Matthew 10). This is called human fear. There is another fear called servile fear, when we fear punishment and therefore do not sin, yet we do not relinquish the will to sin. Thus the Jews abstained from evil only out of dread, without any love in doing good, nor did they love God. These two fears do nothing for salvation but rather harm it.
There are two others. One is when we fear God because of Gehenna and therefore abstain from evil, yet with love of the good and without the will to sin; thus we begin to love God. This fear the Lord commands when He says: “Rather fear Him who has power to cast both body and soul into the fire of Gehenna” (ibid.). Of this fear it is said: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Ecclesiasticus 1). For then we fear God insofar as through fear we love Him. We fear punishment only when we do not love God; yet we abstain from evil because of punishment. This third fear belongs to the imperfect, yet to those who are to be saved, even though they do not have perfect charity. For perfect charity casts out this third fear. He who has perfect charity, even if he knew there were no punishment at all, would nevertheless serve God solely out of love and would fear to offend Him—like a good wife who so loves her husband that she fears to offend him, even if she knew she would not be punished. Thus from imperfect charity arises a fear of reverence, not of punishments.
A question is raised: was there in Christ the fear which is the beginning of wisdom, in whom there was always perfect charity, since Isaiah says: “He shall be filled with the Spirit of the fear of the Lord” (Isaiah 11)? But just as He willed to fear, to be wearied, and to endure the pains of the Passion, so also He feared the punishments of Gehenna—not for Himself, but for us. Yet because of the perfect charity He had in His conscience, even if all punishments were absent, He would nevertheless not offend God.
It should be noted that from each virtue there arises a beatitude. For He says: “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” that is, by will, not by compulsion. “Blessed are the meek.” From poverty arises meekness. A meek man is one who cannot be disturbed by any loss or injury. He who loves earthly things cannot but be disturbed when they are lost. But the true poor man, just as he did not love what he possessed, so neither did he grieve when it was taken away. This is the virtue praised in Moses: although he was struck, he was meek, and he departed from charity only out of zeal for justice. Of this the Lord says: “Learn from Me, for I am meek and humble of heart” (Matthew 11).
This is prayed for when it is said: “And lead us not into temptation” (Luke 11). It is one thing to be tempted, another to be led into temptation. The faithful man does not refuse to be tempted—that is not taken away—but he fears to be led into temptation, that is, to succumb to it. The faithful man is tempted when he is injured or when his goods are taken away; he is led into temptation if he grieves and is afflicted by sorrow. This meekness is given by the Spirit of piety; for if one is pious, he must be meek.
But it is asked how a poor man can be saved without these, since each virtue is said to confer beatitude. It must be noted that it is one thing to have a virtue, another to exercise it. The poor man therefore has meekness in his mind, but not always in its exercise—for perhaps he was in the desert where no one injured him—yet he is blessed. For if he has one virtue in exercise only, he nevertheless does not have the contrary of the others; for if he had the contrary of another virtue, what is said would apply: “Whoever offends in one point is guilty of all” (James 2).
Mt 5:4-5“Blessed are those who mourn.” Although the faithful man has renounced the things of the world, and though he does not grieve over injuries, he nevertheless sometimes falls into many sins; therefore tears are necessary, which always cleanse, because we always sin and see ourselves amid the miseries of this world. We also grieve over the sins of our neighbors. There are two kinds of compunction: one when we groan over the miseries of this world and our sins, and another from desire for heavenly things. Hence the daughter of Caleb asked for the upper and the lower springs (Judges 1), because the soul asks from God compunction both for sins and for the desire of the heavenly homeland. But mourning over the miseries of this life and longing for the heavenly homeland belongs only to the poor and meek man, who does not love the world but recognizes himself as wretched and therefore longs for heaven. For those who mourn over their own sins and those of others, it is fitting to pray: “Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6).
This virtue, which senses the misery of the world and distinguishes it from the heavenly homeland, descends from the Spirit of knowledge. For knowledge concerns earthly things, so that we may know what this earthly dwelling is like—how heavy, how miserable. What we think about the heavenly homeland is so that, by comparison, we may understand the misery of this life.
Mt 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied.” These three preceding virtues concern earthly things only and can be called a kind of separation from the wicked world. By these means the world is despised: by renouncing earthly things, by not grieving over injuries, by washing away sins with tears, and by considering the misery of the world. Now the virtues that pertain to heavenly things begin, and the first of these is justice.
Justice is to render to each what is his own—that is, to God, to oneself, and to one’s neighbor. To God we owe proper worship and love with the whole heart. To ourselves we owe preserving God’s creation in us by food and clothing, and subjecting the flesh to the soul. To our neighbor, we owe doing to him what we would wish to be done to ourselves, yet without departing from what is good. But this justice of ours is not called justice, but the desire for justice. For justice cannot be perfectly possessed in this present life until we dwell in the heavenly homeland, where God will be all in all; therefore our justice is called not justice but the desire for true justice. Just as Pythagoras called the wisdom of men not sophia (wisdom) but philosophia (love of wisdom). Since we cannot perfectly exercise justice, at least we show the desire for it.
That desire is signified by hunger and thirst. Thus “those who hunger and thirst for justice” means the same as if it were said: Blessed are those who practice justice in time, which here is imperfect, yet as a hunger for true justice, which will be perfect in heaven. And they hunger, nor is it enough for them that they are just: they ask, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Luke 11). For the bread of the faithful, through which the grace of God is given and strengthened in them, is the word of God, the ministering angel, and all things that serve to strengthen justice—this is what is called the grace of God. This is that food of justice by whose strength Elijah walked forty days to the mountain of God, Horeb. Therefore justice is said to descend from the gift of fortitude, which sustains justice lest it fail on the way. This cannot be founded in the mind unless one first renounces the world through the virtues mentioned above.
Mt 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy,” etc. For by justice alone no one can ascend to the heights, unless God makes a way for us beyond what is just, through His mercy. Therefore the mercy of God must be obtained, which supplies what our justice cannot attain. Behold the path by which we come to the mercy of God: if we ourselves become merciful. Mercy must therefore be added to justice, so that we do not merely do what is just toward our neighbor, but even more than what is just.
Mercy has two parts: to give and to forgive. Hence it is said, “Give, and it shall be given to you; forgive, and you shall be forgiven” (Luke 6). These two virtues are so joined together that each must be tempered by the other. Justice without mercy is cruelty; mercy without justice is dissolution. Rebels are corrected by justice; penitents by mercy. How mercy may be acquired, He gives counsel when He says: “Be merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 6). We must forgive out of mercy. But because some exercise themselves more in justice than in mercy, and others more in mercy than in justice, therefore some are called blessed on account of mercy, others on account of justice—though they are not separated. This mercy is asked for when it is said: “Thy will be done in us,” namely, that we may be merciful, that we may forgive others; for this is the will of God. This descends from the Spirit of counsel. For this is the counsel given to us: if we wish to obtain the mercy of God, let us show mercy to others.
Mt 5:8 “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God,” etc. Purity of heart is placed sixth, because on the sixth day man was created to the image of God. Such will rejoice in the goods of others as in their own, whether they are treated gently or beaten in any manner whatever. For this purity is the image of God, by which—when all disturbances and every darkness of vices have been removed—we see God clearly. For those are called pure of heart who, stripped of all the mists of worldly things, fix the gaze of the mind on God alone by contemplation. This image had been darkened in man by sin, but now it is reformed by the grace of God; and now, on the sixth day—that is, in the sixth age—man is again made to the image of God.
In this pure heart the Lord reigns, because there He is more known and loved. Hence it is asked: “Thy kingdom come in us,” that is, that Thou mayest reign in us through purity of heart. This purity of heart descends from the Spirit of understanding. For the image of God is nothing other than the understanding of God.
Mt 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” After a man has all the virtues mentioned above, nothing else remains except that he attain God Himself, who is true peace, as his reward. God is in such perfect peace that there is no disagreement among the Persons, but perfect concord; nor is there any change in Himself, although the things in which He is may change. He will make His own like Himself, for they shall be incorruptible, impassible, and immutable. Thus they are so perfectly concordant that this peace is placed in the sabbath of rest, because in the sabbath of rest that peace will be given after the seven ages have passed—peace which Adam did not yet have, but which, after the completion of obedience, he was to receive when translated to heaven.
This is that peace of which the Apostle says: “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4). This is that peace of which Christ says: “My peace I give to you; my peace I leave with you” (John 14). “I give it here; I leave it here,” because that peace cannot be had except in the future; yet some remnants of it are given in the present. This can be seen in those who so restrain illicit bodily movements that they suffer no civil war within themselves, but the soul has its rest even in this life, nor can it be disturbed; and they labor to reconcile others. Hence it is said: “Great peace have those who love your law,” yet not perfect peace.
That perfect peace and the Spirit of wisdom do not differ. Understanding is one thing; wisdom another. Understanding is when a thing is investigated and examined; wisdom is when we no longer investigate, but already possess wisdom and delight in the very good of wisdom. This same thing is that peace: when we will not labor to search God out, but, knowing Him, we shall delight in Him. Then we shall be sons of God, because we shall be made like Him. This is prayed for when it is said: “Hallowed be Thy name,” that is, let Thy holy name be given to us, so that we may be called Thy sons and gods.
Mt 5:10 There are seven virtues that make one blessed. The eighth, which concerns persecution, is common to all; for it is nothing other than the testing of those mentioned above. For the true poor man is tested in this furnace, and the true meek, the true just man, the true merciful man, and the others—if they are true—become stronger and purer in the fire; if they are false, they fail and fall away. And of each it can be said: some suffer, others do not; and at every stage those who suffer become better. The eighth is nothing other than a repetition of the first; hence it has the same reward as the first.
Let us now treat of the rewards. To the poor is promised the kingdom of heaven, because nothing greater can be had than that which is the common and general reward. But although in the eighth the same reward is repeated, it must nevertheless be understood as differing. Thus it is understood: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Those who renounce earthly things already have the kingdom of heaven in hope; and even if some of these are purified for a time in purgatorial fire, they do not doubt that they will receive the kingdom of heaven. But those who suffer persecution have the kingdom of heaven not only in hope, but also in reality; for those who die for Christ immediately ascend to heaven. This is read thus, not because both do not receive the kingdom of heaven in reality, but to show how great the difference of reward is between the one who has it in hope and the one who has it in possession—between the one who does not suffer and the one who does.
To the meek it is fitting that the possession of the earth be promised, which seems paradoxical. The unmeek do not even possess themselves, much less their goods; they are always quarrelsome and always divided. But the meek, who possess themselves and have merited the inheritance of the Father, will possess it in the future. To possess is more than merely to have: we have things which we may lose tomorrow; but possession endures. The reward of the meek is therefore greater than that of the poor, even though the poor are promised the kingdom for having renounced the earth, just as the devil lost heaven for renouncing it.
To those who mourn, consolation is fittingly promised, so that the one who is sorrowful in the present may rejoice in the future. And just as it is greater to rejoice in a possessed kingdom than merely to have it for a time, so the reward of the one who mourns is greater than that of the poor and the meek. For whoever has the following virtues also has the preceding ones; but whoever has the preceding ones does not always have the following ones—not in merit, I say, but in exercise.
To those who hunger for justice, the satisfaction of justice is rightly promised. For just as it is greater to be satisfied in a palace than merely to be consoled from mourning, so the reward of the just is greater than mere separation from evil, which was noted in the three preceding virtues.
To the merciful, mercy is fittingly bestowed, so that they may receive more than they deserved. As at the table of a king, even when someone is satisfied with three or four dishes, many more are added; so likewise some of the blessed, although a lesser beatitude would suffice, nevertheless receive a hundredfold. And just as one who receives beyond satisfaction receives more than one who is merely satisfied, so the glory of the merciful is greater than that of those who precede them.
A fitting reward is given to the pure of heart, that those who have a clear eye of the mind may see and understand God clearly. These have a greater reward than the former, just as one who in the king’s court not only dines, but also sees the face of the king. But the highest dignity is to be called a son of the king; this dignity the peacemakers have—yet all are blessed. For blessed is he who desires no evil and has whatever he wills. He would not wish to have the glory of one above him in heaven, for he would will something unjust; but through charity he will have all things, insofar as in the higher he loves that height.
Mt 5:11 After having more fully expounded the precepts from which all these depend, and having spoken generally, “Blessed…,” behold, He turns to the disciples, who were to bear these precepts to others and therefore had first to be imbued with them, so that what they would preach by word they might show by example. And because they were to suffer evils and be sent as sheep among wolves, they first had to be strengthened in patience and in humility, which is the guardian of virtues. Then, after the sad things are heard, joyful things are announced for consolation. He therefore begins from the eighth, explaining it more fully in parts: “Blessed are you…,” briefly touching on the seven in general.
Continuation. I said that all who suffer will be blessed, and you in particular, whose task it especially is to suffer as vicars. Note the three parts of persecution: of the heart, of the mouth, and of the hand. But the order there is inverted. It should also be known that in another translation where we have “they shall revile,” it has “they shall hate”; but this translator put the meaning of hatred for hatred itself, that is, malediction for curse. For it is a great hatred when one curses another. “Persecute” signifies every persecution of the hand, and “to speak evil” is persecution of the mouth. In another translation, where we have “they shall persecute,” it has “they shall expel.” And because if they were to speak evil that was true, they would not be blessed, he adds “lying.” And because they might suffer reproaches for a worldly lord or for some other cause, as heretics do, he adds “for my sake.” For it is not the punishment that makes the martyr, but the cause.
Mt 5:12And because this might sadden them at first, he says: “Rejoice” in mind, and “be glad” in body, because your reward is not only great, as that of others, but also abundant in heaven—not only in material things, but also in spiritual ones, that is, in incorruption, immortality, and impassibility, in which heavens God is. Thus, etc. Do not be surprised if my servants suffer, for it is not unusual, since even the prophets before suffered in the same way, that is, the same punishments and for the same cause, namely, for me, who were before you—as if he were to say: if they suffered who had no example before them, then you also ought to suffer, and you can, because you have an example.
CONTINUE
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