Mt 5:17 Do not think that I have come to destroy the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For the Lord came not only to dissolve and expound what the Law and the Prophets commanded, but also to carry it out in deed. Moreover, the Lord came not merely to interpret and explain the Law and the Prophets, but also to fulfill what they lacked. For in many ways, unless He Himself had come, the Law and the Prophets could not have been fulfilled. For they had foretold His birth, His Passion, His Resurrection, His Ascension, and the mighty works which He accomplished in human nature—things which in no way could have been fulfilled unless He Himself had come.
Much more, therefore, did the Law and the Prophets lack spiritual understanding, which could not be fulfilled except through Christ. This John the Evangelist also testifies, when he wept much because no one was found worthy to open the book sealed with seven seals, and it was said to him: Do not weep; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, to open the book and to loose its seven seals (Rev. 5:5). Amen I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, one iota or one apex shall not pass from the Law until all things are done.
Mt 5:18 For how could the things come to pass which God Himself foretold would come to pass? Otherwise He would be a liar—He who cannot lie. But iota and apex, which are the smallest elements in letters, signify even the smallest statement of the Law and the Prophets. And when He says that until heaven and earth pass away none of these things shall pass until all things are done, He clearly shows that by saying until, He refers only to what precedes, and does not impose necessity on what follows. For many things are spoken by the Law and the Prophets concerning the blessedness of the saints, which will be done afterward, and not before heaven and earth pass away.
Thus also must that be understood which He said above concerning Joseph and Mary, that he did not know her until she bore her firstborn Son. For until determines what precedes, but imposes no necessity on what follows. For if it imposed necessity on what follows, then after heaven and earth pass away nothing of those things could be done which the Law and the Prophets foretold would be done afterward.
Mt 5:19 He continues: Whoever therefore breaks one of these least commandments and teaches men so shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. I have not come, He says, to destroy the Law and set it aside, but to do what the Law commands and to fulfill it. Why is this? Do you wish to hear why? Because he who only interprets and explains the Scriptures, but does not do what the Scriptures command, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who both does and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
In which kingdom of heaven? For not only the heavenly homeland is called the kingdom of heaven, but also the Church. But how shall he be called least there, where there will be neither great nor small? Therefore this must be understood of the Church, which in many places is called the kingdom of heaven. In it the holy Apostles, martyrs, and confessors are great, for they both did and taught. The others, since they are least—what is the point of even mentioning them, since they are neither remembered among men nor numbered among the saints in heaven? And indeed we see many such people in the Church, and we do not doubt that there have been many more: those who know how to preach well, but do not know how to live well. These therefore are both called and are least in the kingdom of heaven, since although they may seem great to some, they are despised by others, in whom the Lord of heaven dwells.
But let us see what is meant by whoever breaks one of these least commandments. Of what these if not of those which are contained in the Law, which He said He came not to destroy but to do? How can we understand that any commandment is least, such that he who does not do it is called least, and he who does it is called great? For such a commandment seems not least but greatest. Therefore I think that by these words it is signified that all the commandments of the Law are least to those who do not do them, but greatest to those who do them, since they make the former least and the latter great. Moreover, there are least things among the least and great things among the great, since the former regard them as least, while the latter regard them as greatest.
Mt 5:20 He continues: For I say to you, unless your righteousness abounds more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. For the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees was that they preached well and admonished the people well, but did not do the things which they preached and admonished. Hence elsewhere the Lord says: They have sat on the chair of Moses… whatever they say to you, do; but do not do according to their works (Matt. 23:2). Why this? Because they say and do not do. Therefore their righteousness is to say and not to do, to dissolve and not to fulfill; but these things are not sufficient for those who hasten to the kingdom of heaven.
Mt 5:21 You have heard that it was said to those of old: You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment. The things which sufficed the scribes and Pharisees for righteousness, the Lord says, do not suffice for you. Greater precepts are given to the new than to the old: they are restrained from murder, but you are restrained from anger and hatred. But what is it that the Lord says, Whoever kills shall be liable to judgment? For not everyone who kills is judged guilty of death in judgment, nor does the Law condemn all who kill, since it itself commands many to kill. Therefore this passage, like others that are briefly stated and seem to lack something, must be determined more precisely. For the Law says that whoever kills a man willingly or through hatred and ambush shall himself be put to death (Num. 35:13). But for others it establishes three cities of refuge, to which they may flee so that they may not be put to death. What this signifies is not the place to explain here.
Mt 5:22 Let us see what follows: But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment. In what judgment? For in that which is carried out in the Church, this is not held in this way. But in that strict judgment, if everyone who is angry is condemned, then either none or very few could be saved. For who is so calm and gentle that he is never angry at any time? Therefore this also must be determined: it is not to be understood of every kind of anger, but of persistent and settled anger, which is now called by another name—hatred. For inveterate anger is called hatred. Hence He rightly uses not the past or future tense, but the present, saying: everyone who is angry. And this is clearly shown, because if he who hates his brother is condemned just as he who kills, for both are called murderers, as the Apostle John says: Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him (1 John 3:15).
Thus, everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment. But whoever says to his brother, Raca, shall be liable to the council. For raca signifies an affection of the mind joined with indignation and mockery, as when, by puffing out the cheeks, we mock someone with contempt. It is said, however, that raca is interpreted as empty. But is it so great a sin to say raca, that is, to mock someone by any sound of the voice, that whoever says this should be held guilty before the council? For every injury is a great sin. Therefore let it be said thus: if anyone says to his brother raca and, mocking him who is not worthy of mockery, provokes him to indignation and anger, he shall be judged guilty and culpable before the council of bishops. For often from a small injury great quarrels arise, all of which fall back upon the head of him who was their principal cause, according to that saying: He who lets loose waters is the head of quarrels (Prov. 17:14). Hence also in the Law it is commanded: If fire breaks out and finds thorns and catches stacks of grain or standing crops in the fields, he who kindled the fire shall make restitution (Exod. 22:6). And the Lord Himself says: Woe to him by whom scandal comes (Matt. 18:7). For if we must render account for every idle word, how much more for injuries and insults.
But whoever says, You fool, shall be liable to the fire of Gehenna. What is this, O Lord? What is this, O Master of truth? For what if someone says this and then does penance? For we know that many of the saints did not fear to call others not only fools but also heretics, and condemned them as convicted of heresy. Even the Apostle Paul, writing to the Galatians, called them senseless and foolish, which is no less an injury than if he had called them fools; for he says: O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you not to obey the truth? (Gal. 3:1). And a little later: Have you become so foolish that, having begun in the Spirit, you are now being perfected in the flesh? Thus let us say: whoever, puffed up with the spirit of pride, not for the sake of correction but maliciously and with envy, calls his brother a fool, and does not fear to provoke him to indignation against himself, shall be liable to the fire of Gehenna so long as, moved by repentance, he does not in whatever way he can reconcile with the one whom he unjustly provoked.
Mt 5:23-24 That you may understand that the Lord Himself meant this, hear what follows: If therefore you offer your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go first to be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. As if He were to say: you called your brother a fool; he is angry with you; he has a just cause against you; his indignation is your sin. I do not receive you; go first to be reconciled to your brother. And perhaps for this reason the Lord named these particular injuries, because at that time they were more commonly used and seemed to be either a small sin or no sin at all. Therefore He gave us a rule and established a new law, that we neglect no sin, since even those which are thought to be small, unless they are cut off, destroy and damn souls. Nor are they to be neglected as small, for which God, being offended, disdains to receive gifts already before the altar.
Mt 5:25-26 He continues: Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest perhaps your adversary hand you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be cast into prison. This is as if He were to say: you have heard what I have said; these words are words of life and salvation. Therefore be in agreement with them; for this is your adversary. For who so opposes man as the divine word? One wishes to kill; it says, You shall not kill. One wishes to commit adultery; it says, You shall not commit adultery. One wishes to steal; it says, You shall not steal. And finally, gathering almost everything into one saying, it says: What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to another. Therefore be in agreement with this your adversary—and do this quickly, while you are on the way with him. For this way ends quickly; the milestones are few. For as long as the life of each person is, so long is this way. And although it is longer for some and shorter for others, for no one is it very long.
But after the way has been completed and life has ended, it will no longer help to wish to agree. What then? For your adversary will accuse you and hand you over to the judge. Why do You not say, most excellent Lord, and hand you over to Me? For You are He who has been appointed by God judge of the living and the dead. But what follows? And the judge will hand you over to the officer. O how unjust an officer—to be handed over for torment, because one would not agree with a good counselor! And what will happen afterward? And you will be cast into prison. This prison is hell. Such as the officer is, such also is the prison. For he is more cruel than all, and this prison is more dreadful and horrible than all: in it darkness never fails, in it fire is never extinguished, in it the worm never dies. Amen I say to you, you will not come out from there until you have paid the last farthing. This is a great debt; infinite and innumerable is that sum of money, to whose last farthing one never comes, which is always being paid and never finished.
Mt 5:27-30“You have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman in order to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” By these words not only the fornication of the body but also that of the mind is taken away; for not only to act with the members, but also to desire in the mind is called fornication. And lest someone should lay the blame on the eyes, as though they drag the mind after themselves into unlawful things, He added, saying: “If your eye scandalizes you, pluck it out and cast it from you.” Why? “For it is expedient for you that one of your members perish, rather than that your whole body be cast into Gehenna.” Likewise also do this if the hand scandalizes you.
Now to understand this literally is forbidden by the councils of the holy Fathers, and they do not admit to sacred orders those who are found to have done any such thing. Nevertheless, then we pluck out our eyes and cast them from us when we take away from them, in our own body, the license of wandering into unlawful things. Hence the Psalmist says: “Turn away my eyes, that they may not behold vanity” (Psalm 118[119]:37).
In another way, to pluck out the eye that scandalizes is when we violently cast away and cut off from ourselves a brother, or a son, or some other friend whom we love as an eye or a hand, if they scandalize us in the faith of Christ and in the salvation of our soul. For we must love nothing against these things. Thus the priest Eli is severely reproved because he tolerated the scandal of his sons. Let us therefore remove and pluck out from ourselves all who invite us to the fornication of the body or of the soul, even if they are dear and necessary to us like eyes and hands. For it is expedient for us that they alone perish, rather than that we also perish together with them.
Mt 5:31-32 It follows: “It was also said: Whoever shall dismiss his wife, let him give her a bill of divorce. But I say to you that everyone who dismisses his wife, except for the cause of fornication, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries her that is dismissed commits adultery.” In these words it is clearly shown that no one is permitted to dismiss his wife except for the cause of fornication. But although for the cause of fornication it is permitted for a man to dismiss his wife, it is not permitted for him to take another.
This the other Evangelist also shows, saying: “Everyone who dismisses his wife and marries another commits adultery.” For who is it that dismisses his wife except the one whose wife has committed fornication? For to others it is not permitted to dismiss. Likewise the woman also commits adultery if she dismisses her husband and marries another.
But someone says: Behold, he who dismisses commits adultery. Does she who is dismissed likewise commit adultery? Hear the Evangelist: “And whoever marries her that is dismissed commits adultery.” Why does he commit adultery who marries the dismissed woman? Because he marries her whom it is not lawful to marry. For if he married another, he would not commit adultery. If therefore he commits adultery who marries her, much more does she commit adultery who is married.
If therefore it is not lawful to dismiss one’s wife except for the cause of fornication, what is it that he says: “If the unbeliever departs, let him depart. The brother or sister is not subject to servitude in such cases” (1 Corinthians 7:15)? As if he were to say: If the unbeliever wishes to depart, the faithful spouse is no longer bound by the conjugal bond so as not to dismiss; yet it is better to hold on, if by so doing perhaps he or she may be converted. Therefore it is not by necessity but by charity alone that one is urged to hold on. Hence, if the unbeliever departs and cannot be held by the faithful one, let him depart.
And this divorce is effected by fornication alone. For what fornication is greater and more intolerable than that a husband should adhere to Christ while a wife fornicates with idols? Therefore the Apostle, since Christ had said that a man cannot dismiss his wife except for the cause of fornication, understood this of both kinds of fornication, namely of the body and of the soul. And we must not doubt that the Lord Himself so understood it.
Mt 5:33-37 Again: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not perjure yourself, but you shall render to the Lord your oaths. But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, because it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, because it is the footstool of His feet; nor by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King; nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your speech be: Yes, yes; No, no. Whatever is more than this is from evil.”
The Apostle also placed this in his Epistle, saying: “Above all, my brethren, do not swear, neither by heaven, nor by earth, nor by any other oath. But let your speech be: Yes, yes; No, no; lest you fall under judgment” (James 5:12). For perhaps someone could have understood that the Lord forbade swearing only by a few things, and by His silence consented to others, unless James the Apostle had added to all these: any other oath whatsoever.
Why, moreover, did He forbid it? Immediately adding, He says: “Lest you fall under judgment.” For he who never swears never incurs perjury; and he who does not swear is never judged for perjury. This therefore is the reason why both the Lord and the blessed Apostle forbid swearing. The same Spirit spoke in both; therefore both signified the same thing.
But it must also be explained why we are forbidden to swear by creatures. For what obligation is there that we should fear to swear by heaven and earth and other such things? For when we swear by God or by His words, there seems to be an obligation, since when we swear by heaven we in a certain way put Him in pledge, and we renounce His help unless we keep what we have promised under such a pledge.
But in other things, by what obligation are we bound? If I say, “I swear to you by my head,” what is understood? Perhaps this: “So may my head be sound.” If I say, “I swear to you by heaven and earth and by the city of Jerusalem,” it can be understood: “So may heaven give me rain, so may the earth give its fruit, and so may I inhabit this city.” And these indeed are obligations, especially if they are understood allegorically: by heaven the Apostles, by the earth the Church, by the city of Jerusalem the heavenly homeland. For the Lord Himself says of heaven that it is the throne of God, of the earth that it is the footstool of His feet, and of Jerusalem that it is the city of the great King. It is therefore very much to be feared to place these in an oath if they are so understood.
Moreover, let no one swear by his own head, whose health he is not able to restore by divine power, since he cannot do even the lesser thing, namely to make one hair white or black. For no one is able to cause black or white hairs not to arise at their appointed time.
How then shall we speak? How shall we make our words firm? “Let your speech be: Yes, yes; No, no.” That is as if He said: What is, say that it is; what is not, say that it is not. Thus speak; thus answer. If you do this, you will not sin, nor will you lie. Add nothing to these; let your speech be simple. For what is more than these is from evil. For what is more than these except a lie? For he who says that what is not is, or that what is is not, such speech is more than these and is from evil; it is from sin and from the devil, for he was a liar from the beginning and did not stand in the truth.
CONTINUE
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