And when he returned, having received the kingdom, he commanded to call to him the servants to whom he had given silver, in order to find out who had acquired what. The first came and said, "Lord! And he said to him, "Well done, good servant! because you have been faithful in small things, take over the government of ten cities. The second came and said, "Lord! thy mine brought five pounds, and said also to this one, And thou shalt be over five cities. A third came and said, "Lord! This is your mina, which I kept wrapped in a handkerchief, for I feared you, because you are a cruel man: you take what you did not put in, and reap what you did not sow. The lord said to him, "With your mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant!" Thou knowest that I am a cruel man, that I take what I did not lay in, and reap what I did not sow; Why did you not give my money into circulation, so that when I came I would receive it with profit? And he said to those who were standing by, "Take a pound from him, and give it to him who has ten pounds." he has ten minas: I tell you that to everyone who has it will be given, but from him who does not have it will be taken away even that which he has. And those of my enemies, who would not have me reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me. Having said this, He went on, going up to Jerusalem. "When Christ, noble both in humanity (for the Lord came from a royal family) and in Divinity, returns at His second coming, when He appears with the Apostles as the King, coming in the glory of the Father, and when every knee bows before Him, then He will certainly demand an account from the servants who have received gifts. It is revealed that one benefited many and multiplied the gift tenfold; the other also benefited, but to a smaller number; and the third was decidedly of no use to anyone, but spent the time of his activity in idleness. Therefore he who has multiplied what he has received tenfold is placed over ten cities, that is, he receives power over ten cities, and consequently is rewarded many times over. The one who follows him receives a corresponding reward. And the one who did not bring any profit is condemned. Let us see what he says: "Sir! here is your mine," take it; "I kept it, wrapped in a handkerchief." A cloth was placed on the head of the Lord who had died (John 20:7), and the face of Lazarus in the tomb was bound with a handkerchief (John 11:44). Therefore this negligent man rightly says that he wrapped the gift in a handkerchief. For having made it dead and inactive, he made no use of it, and did not bring profit. "For I was afraid of thee," he says, "therefore what thou takest that thou hast not put in." Many respond with this pretext. Not wishing to be useful to anyone, they say: where God has not sown giftedness and ability, there do not seek the harvest. He did not create such and such a person gifted and capable of learning: what then should I demand of me the benefit of him? That is why the Lord also says: "Teach and give My money to the workers, that is, to all people appointed for profit." For every man has been appointed by God as a merchant in order to make turns in the great working world of this world. And "so that when I come, I would receive it with a profit," that is, I would demand it back with a profit. We must do our work, and God will judge those who do not want to take advantage of what follows. The gift is taken away and given to the good worker. Although he has, it is useful for him to get more for himself. "To him who has it shall be given," that is, he who has made rich means through good turnovers will be given more. For if he has increased a little tenfold, then, obviously, by increasing ten times more, he will bring still greater profit to the master. And from the negligent and lazy, and not trying to multiply what he has received, he will take it so that the master's possessions do not lie in vain, when they can be given to another and increased many times over. We understand this not only about the word and the teaching, but also about the moral virtues. For even in them God has given us gifts, to one fasting, to another almsgiving, to another meekness, to another humility. And if we watch, we will multiply these gifts; but if we are careless and die voluntarily, then later we will lay the blame on God, as we usually say: "What shall I do? if so-and-so is holy, it is because God is pleased with him, and he is holy; but it does not please me, and I am not holy; and that was Peter, another Paul. A mad man! The very mina (given to you) makes you Peter and Paul. Do according to your ability, and offer something to Him who gave it, if not as much as Peter and Paul did: for they have received a pound each, and you have received a pound. And then, not in the least moved to do good, you accuse God! Therefore, when we turn out to be unworthy of gifts, we are deprived of them. "And my enemies," he says, "those who would not have me reign over them, bring hither and slay them before me," that is, the Jews, whom he will give up to destruction, sending them into everlasting fire. Yes, the unfortunate ones here, that is, in this world, they were beaten by the Roman troops, and are still being preserved and will be kept for slaughter there.

And when he drew near to Bethpage and Bethany, to the mountain called Olivet, he sent two of his disciples, saying, "Go ye to the opposite village; when you enter it, you will find a young donkey tied up, on which no man has ever sat down; when you have untied him, bring him in; And if anyone asks you, Why do you loose it? say to him thus: the Lord has need of him. And when they were untying the colt, the owners said to them, "Why do you untie the colt?" They answered, "The Lord needs him." And they brought him to Jesus, and threw their garments over the colt of an ass, and put Jesus on it. And as He rode, they spread their garments along the way. And when He approached the descent from the Mount of Olives, all the multitude of disciples began in joy to praise God with a loud voice for all the miracles that they had seen, saying, "Blessed is the King who cometh in the name of the Lord!" Peace in heaven and glory in the highest! And certain Pharisees from among the people said to Him, "Teacher! rebuke Thy disciples. But he answered and said to them, "I tell you, if they are silent, the stones will cry out." The Lord sits on the colt for two purposes at one and the same time: first, to fulfill the prophecy that says: "Behold, thy King is coming, all upon the foal" (Zech. 9:9); and secondly, to let us know figuratively that He will subdue to Himself a new, uncleansed, and unbridled nation of the Gentiles. Judging by the distance of the journey, the Lord, without a doubt, did not need a foal. For, having walked all over Galilee and Judea, how did He have need of a colt on the way from Bethany to Jerusalem, where the distance, as everyone knows, is insignificant? So He does it, as I said, with a mysterious meaning. The colt was tied and had many owners, but the sent, that is, the "apostles", are untied. This has the following meaning: Bethany, according to the interpretation, means "house of obedience", and Bethpage means "house of jaws", a place befitting priests. For the priests were given jaws, as prescribed in the Law (Deuteronomy 18:3). The jaws denote the teacher's word, which is rubbed and refined by the spiritual jaws. Thus, where is the house of the teacher's word and obedience to this word, the disciples of the Lord are sent there and release people who are bound by sinful snares and many worldly cares, and from slaves of many masters and gods they make them worshippers of one Lord Jesus and one God the Father. And where there is no house of obedience, not a teacher's word is accepted, nothing of the kind happens, and the colt is not untied. There are "two" of those sent. This means that two orders, the prophets and the apostles, serve to bring the Gentiles to Christ and obey Him. A colt is brought from a certain "village" (village), so that we may know that the pagan people were in great simplicity and ignorance. For he never obeyed either the teaching of Moses or the prophetic, but he was an untrained colt. If, as another Evangelist said (Matt. 21:15), the children also cried out: "Hosanna to the Son of David," then they can also mean the same new people who, believing in Jesus, Who was manifested in the flesh of the seed of David, sent up glory to God, according to what is written: "The generation to come shall praise the Lord" (Psalm 101:19). The spreading of garments, it seems, means that those who are worthy to sing the praises of Jesus, putting off the old man, lay and subject him to Jesus, so that when he steps on him, He sanctifies him, and so that the flesh does not rebel against the spirit, so that they themselves can say: "Submit to the Lord, and trust in Him" (Psalm 36:7). - Saying that the whole multitude of the disciples praised God, Luke calls "disciples" all the followers of Jesus in general, not only twelve and not seventy, but all the people who, either in need of miracles, or at times carried away by teaching, followed Jesus. Naturally, children were also noticed, as the other Evangelists report (Matt. 21:15). Moved by God, children confess Jesus as King coming "in the name of the Lord," that is, God, and say, "peace in heaven." Otherwise: the former enmity that we had with God has ceased. For there was no King-God on earth. And now, when God is coming on earth, there is truly peace in heaven, and therefore "glory in the highest," since the angels also glorify the unanimity and reconciliation that the King and God who rides on an ass have granted us. For the very fact that the true God appears on earth and walks in our country, the land of His enemies, shows that there is reconciliation between Him and us. - The Pharisees murmured that the people called Jesus King and praised Him as God; for (in their opinion) the solemn assumption of the name of King to Him was a sign of indignation and blasphemy against the Lord. But Jesus said, "If they be silent, the stones will cry out." Or: People do not say this to please Me, but pronounce this doxology because they are persuaded to do so, and impelled by all the signs and powers which they have seen.

And when he drew near to the city, he looked at it, and wept over it, and said, Oh, that thou also wouldst know in this thy day that it is for thy peace. But these things are now hidden from thy eyes, for the days shall come upon thee, when thy enemies shall entrench thee, and surround thee, and press thee on every side, and destroy thee, and slay thy children in thee, and shall not leave in thee one stone upon another, because thou hast not known the time of thy visitation. The Lord, as a lover of mankind, weeps for the city; for He did not wish the destruction of its inhabitants because of the audacious act against Him. Thus, by weeping, He reveals a compassionate heart. And that He pitied them, not only before the crucifixion, but also after the crucifixion, longed for their conversion, is evident from the fact that He delivered them up to the Romans after so many years, for thirty-five years had passed. Surely He delayed punishment in no other way than by a strong desire for their conversion. Thus He weeps over the insensibility of Jerusalem, and says, "Oh, that thou also, in this day of thee, may know that which is for thy peace." That is, O that thou wouldst know at least now that which is for thy benefit and leads to peace and tranquillity, namely, that it is necessary to believe in Me and to depart from evil designs against Me! And now it is hidden from your eyes that unbearable calamities will come upon you because of your rejection of Me, and that you will suffer this and that because you did not understand the time of your "visitation," that is, My appearance, when I came to visit you and save you. Therefore it was for you to know what was for your welfare, that is, to believe in me, and you would be safe from the Romans and free from all damage. For all those who believed in Christ remained free from captivity, so that if all had believed, no one would have fallen into captivity. And having entered into the temple, he began to drive out those who were selling in it and those who were buying, saying to them, It is written, My house is a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves. And he taught every day in church. And the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, sought to destroy him, and found not what to do with him; for all the people listened unceasingly to Him.

Chapter Twenty

And they answered: we do not know from where. Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things." The Lord, who entered Jerusalem with glory, in proof of His authority does what He cleanses His Father's house from merchants. He did this also at the beginning of the sermon, as the Evangelist John says (2:13-18). And now he is doing the same thing again, for the second time. This serves to accuse the Jews more that they were not chaste from His first open admonition, but continued to trade in the temple and called Him an adversary of God, while He reveres the Father and God to such an extent that He cleanses His house from merchants. In rebuke of them, He also cites the words of Isaiah: "My house shall be called a house of prayer" (56:7). And they madly ask Him, "By what authority dost Thou do this?" Yet they could understand that since He quoted the words of the prophet as a testimony that the house of God is a house of prayer, and not a marketplace and a den of thieves (for covetousness and hucksterism are proper to robbers), what need is there at least to ask Him by what authority He does this, when it can be directly concluded? why does God command thus through the prophet? And they ask, "By what authority do you do this?" The law, they say, has given the government of the temple to those who are descended from Levi: how then do you, who are not descended from the tribe of Levi, do this and steal the sacred rights? But, O Jews, remember the words of David: "Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek" (Psalm 109:4). Melchizedek is called a priest. And Melchizedek was not a priest either by the Law, or by descent from the tribe of Levi. For what is to be done, when he was so many years before Levi? Then, why do you demand of Christ the order of the law? God is not subject to laws. When necessary, He commanded that the priests should be from the tribe of Levi, and now He is abolishing that law and pre-selecting the Melchizedek priesthood. For this reason, He also drives out those who sell sacrificial animals, such as sheep and doves, on the one hand, in order to preserve the splendor and decency of the temple, and on the other hand, in order to show that one should no longer believe in the propitiation of God with animal sacrifices. Thus, it was easy for the Lord to answer them, "Thus it is said," and to say that so commands the prophet, or rather, God. However, in order to convict them of their constant resistance to the Holy Spirit and of the fact that they did not want to believe not only in the ancient prophet Isaiah, perhaps even forgotten, but also in the recently appeared, almost immaterial and bodiless John, for this purpose, in response to their question, for his part, he gives them a real question, worthy of wonder. With this question He stops their mouths, and shows us that if they did not believe such a prophet as John, who in their opinion was greater than Him, when he testified about Him, then how would they have believed His answer to the authority by which He does this? For whatever He said, they could at least interpret it and ridicule it, just as they despised the words of John, who was with them in great glory.

And he began to speak this parable to the people: "A certain man planted a vineyard, and gave it to the tenants, and went away a long time; and in due time he sent a servant to the tenants to give him fruit from the vineyard; but the tenants, having nailed him, sent him away empty-handed. And he sent another servant; but they killed him and cursed him, and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent a third; but they wounded him and drove him out. Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps, when they see him, they will be ashamed. But when the tenants saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, "This is the heir; Come, let us kill him, and his inheritance shall be ours. And they brought him out of the vineyard and killed him. What will the lord of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants, and give the vineyard to others. This parable is brief, but it teaches us many great things, namely, that God had and proved a special providence for the Jews, that they have long been inclined to murder, that there is one God of the Old and New Testaments, that the Gentiles will be brought in, and the Jews rejected. The vineyard is the very church of the Jews, the husbandmen, the scribes and the Pharisees, these foremost people and the stewards of the people. Or: each in himself is a vineyard and a husbandman, for each of us cultivates himself. The lover of mankind, having given this vineyard to the laborers, "departed," that is, left them to act according to their own will. He sends various "slaves," that is, prophets, in order to have at least a small profit; for he desired, it is said, "fruits," and not all the fruits. What fruit does God have from us, if not His knowledge? And it is our gain; yet He makes our salvation and our benefit His own. Evil workers offended those who were sent, beat them, and sent them away empty-handed, that is, they came to such ingratitude that they not only turned away from good and did not give any good fruit, but also committed evil, which deserves a greater punishment. After the prophets have suffered such a terrible evil, the Son is sent. "Perhaps," he says, "they will be ashamed" of My Son. He says "they will be ashamed" not because he does not know the future, namely, that they will do much worse to Him than to the prophets, but because it had to be so, namely, that they should have been ashamed of Him. But if they were so shameless that they killed Him, then this serves to accuse them more, because even after God had said that it was good to be ashamed of the Son, they put down a contrary sentence. Such a figure of speech is found in many places of Scripture, for example: "Perhaps they will hear" (Jeremiah 26:3); "Will they hear" (Ezekiel 2:5; 3:11)? In these passages God does not speak in this way out of ignorance of the future, but uses such a way of expression, so that no one should say that God's foreknowledge was the necessary cause of disobedience. They "killed" the Son, "bringing him out of the vineyard." It is convenient to say: get out of Jerusalem; for Christ suffered "outside the gates" (Heb. 13:12). But since above we understood the people by the vineyard, and not Jerusalem, it is almost closer to the point to say that the people, although they killed Him, did not inflict death on Him with their own hands, but by handing Him over to Pilate and the Gentiles. Thus, the Lord suffered outside the vineyard, that is, not at the hands of the people, for He was not allowed to kill anyone, so He died at the hands of the soldiers. Some understood the vineyard to be the Scriptures. Thus, the Lord suffered outside the Scriptures, that is, He was killed by those who did not believe Moses. For if they had believed Moses and turned in the Scriptures, examining them, they would not have killed the Lord of the Scriptures. - Having said this, he adds the sentence that he has to pronounce on them, namely, that he will "give the vineyard to others," that is, to others he will give that grace to be called My people. See, those who say that the vineyard signifies the Scriptures seem to guess the meaning more closely, as it appears from this. For the Scriptures taken from the Jews have been handed down to us. And some bold people will perhaps say that the vineyard is all that is spiritual, whether it is contained in the Scriptures and the laws, or in the deeds and histories, of which the Jews have lost everything, and we enjoy it.

And those who heard it said, Let it not be! But he looked at them, and said, What is the meaning of this writing, that the stone which the builders rejected became the head of the corner? Whoever falls on that stone will be broken, and whoever it falls on will be crushed. And at that time the chief priests and the scribes sought to lay hands on Him, but they were afraid of the people, for they understood that He had spoken this parable about them. As you hear, the Evangelist Luke says that the Lord said these words: "The lord of the vineyard will destroy the ungrateful tenants and give the vineyard to others," and that the Pharisees, hearing this, said: "Let it not be!" And the Evangelist Matthew says differently, namely: the Lord asked, what will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants? And the Jews answered and said, "He will put the evildoers to death, and give the vineyard to others" (Matt. 21). Isn't this a contradiction? Far from it. For it is probable that both things happened: first they themselves pronounced the sentence, as the Evangelist Matthew relates; and then, guessing to whom the parable referred, namely, that it was said to them, they again said what the Evangelist Luke now relates, namely: "Let it not be!" What about Christ? He also cites another testimony from the Psalms of David (117:22), calling Himself a stone, and the teachers themselves building, just as the prophet Ezekiel says: "And when he builds a wall, they smear it with mud" (Ezekiel 13:10), that is, speaking to please and cover up the shortcomings of the people, and therefore, as it were, anointing with mud the damage to the people, as if it were some wall. How did they "reject" this stone? When they said: "This man is not of God" (John 9:16). - The Lord speaks here of a twofold perdition. One is the destruction of their souls, which they suffered because they were offended. For everyone who falls on this stone will be broken. The other is destruction from captivity, which this stone brought upon them because of its humiliation from them. For whomsoever it is said to fall, it will crush him. The Jews are crushed and scattered like chaff from one threshing floor - Palestine - to the whole world. Notice, then, that first they fell on this stone, that is, they were offended, and then the stone fell on them and punished them. For first I commit sin, and then a righteous punishment from God befalls me. But the Jews rejected this stone. And he was so good and chosen that he was placed at the head of the corner, and put together and joined two walls, that is, the old and the new. Though they ought to have listened to Isaiah, saying, "Honour him holy, and he is your fear, and he is your trembling. And He shall be a sanctification, and a stumbling block, and a rock of offense" (Isaiah 8:13-14). But even then, when they understood that the Lord was speaking this parable against them, they plotted against Him and would have laid hands on Him, if they had not been afraid of the people. And the Law says: "Thou shalt not put to death the innocent and the righteous" (Exodus 23:7); but they do not listen to Him, but fear the wrath of men, and, avoiding the visible laying on of hands, they set other snares against Him.

And watching Him, they sent evil men, who, pretending to be godly, would catch Him in some word, in order to deliver Him up to the rulers and the power of the ruler. And they asked Him, "Teacher! we know that Thou hast spoken truthfully and taught, and that Thou dost not look at the face, but that Thou thoutest truly the way of God; Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not? And he, perceiving their wickedness, said unto them, Why do ye tempt me? Show Me the denarius: whose image and inscription are on it? And they answered, Caesar's. He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they could not catch Him in His word before the people, and being amazed at His answer, they were silent.

The Pharisees prepared a net, which, in their opinion, was difficult for the Lord to avoid, but in this net "their foot was entangled" (Psalm 9:16). Look, what cunning! If the Lord says that one should give tribute to Caesar, then they will accuse Him before the people of bringing into slavery the people, who are the seed of Abraham and did not work for anyone (John 8:33). If He forbids giving tribute, then they will bring Him before the governor as a rebel. But the Lord avoids their snares like a "chamois," for the bride called Him so in the Song of Songs (2:9), and teaches that bodily subjection to the one who possesses our bodies, whether he be a king or a tyrant, does not in the least prevent us from spiritually pleasing the God of spirits. "Render therefore," he says, "to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And look, he did not say, "give," but "give." This, he says, is a duty, therefore pay what is due. Your sovereign protects you from enemies, makes your life peaceful, for which you owe him a tribute. And in other words: the very thing that you contribute, that is, the coin, you have from him himself. Therefore, return the royal coin to him (the king) again. Meanwhile, you have benefited from it for yourself, exchanging it and obtaining the necessities of life. - In the same way, God's things must be rendered to God. He has given you a mind: return it to Him by rational activity. He gave you reason: return it to Him, not being like irrational animals, but acting in everything as one endowed with understanding. And in general He gave you soul and body: return to Him all things and restore His image to Him, living according to faith, with hope, in love. - And in a different sense we must render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's. Each of us bears on himself either the image of God or the image of the prince of peace. When we become like Caesar, becoming sons of the devil, we bear his image on us. This image must be given to him and rejected, so that he may have his own with him, and find in us nothing that belongs to him. Through this, the image of God can be preserved in our purity. For this reason the Apostle Paul also urges us to bear the image of the earthly, so we should also bear the image of the heavenly (1 Corinthians 15:49); and in another place: "put off the former way of life of the old man" (Eph. 4:22). What is expressed here by the word "give" is in Paul by the word "to lay aside," and what is here called by the image of "Caesar," is there the image of the "earthly" Adam who sinned, and the "old man." For the earthly image is nothing else but corruption and sin, which image we have because we have become like an apostate, and not like the King. The Pharisees could not catch Jesus in the word before the people. For they had a special effort to slander Him before the people, as enslaving the people to the Romans. And this they could not achieve because of His all-wise answer.

Then some of the Sadducees who rejected the resurrection came and asked Him, "Teacher! Moses wrote to us, that if a man's brother, who had a wife, dies, and dies childless, his brother shall take his wife, and raise up seed for his brother.

And that the dead would be resurrected, Moses also showed at the bush, when he called the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. But God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for with Him all are alive. To this some of the scribes said, "Teacher! You've said it well. And they no longer dared to ask Him anything. The Sadducees, while asserting themselves on weak grounds, did not believe in the doctrine of the resurrection. Assuming that there would be bodily life after the resurrection, they were naturally mistaken. Therefore, when they ridicule the doctrine of the resurrection as absurd, they invent a real reckless story. But the Lord refutes their foundation and declares that there is no bodily life there. And with this weak foundation and assumption he also destroys their teaching, saying, "You are in error, not knowing the Scriptures, and misinterpreting their meaning." "Children of this world," that is, those who give birth and are born in this world, marry and encroach, that is, they are married. But the sons of that age do nothing of the kind, for they cannot die; therefore, there is no marriage there, but an angelic, divine life. Here marriage is because it is death, and therefore death because it is marriage. And there, when death is abolished, what need is there for marriage? For marriage is instituted to help mortality and to make up for the deficiency. And where there is no lack, what need is there for replenishment? "For they are equal to the angels, and are the sons of God." Why? Because they are the sons of the resurrection. These words have this meaning: "I," he says, "have called them sons of God, because in their birth there is nothing corporeal, but everything divine. For in the resurrection there is neither coitus, nor seed, nor womb, nor conception, but God gives birth to our bodies in the manner known to Him. Since God acts in the resurrection, those who are reborn from the resurrection are rightly called the sons of God. - To the conclusion the Lord adds the testimony of the Scriptures. Moses says that God said to him from the bush: "I am the God of Abraham" and so on (Exodus 3:6). If the patriarchs had been destroyed forever and were not alive before God in the hope of resurrection, He would not have said, "I am," but "I was." For of things damaged and lost, we usually say: I "was" the owner of such and such a thing. And now that God has said, "I am," He has shown that He is the Lord and God of the living, and not of those who have been utterly destroyed. For though they are dead, yet they are alive by the hope of the resurrection, just as Adam, though he was alive, was nevertheless mortal, and it is said of him that he died at the very time that he ate of the forbidden fruit. When the Sadducees were thus ashamed, the scribes, pleased with their victory, approved of Jesus as their rival.

And he said to them, "As they say that Christ is the Son of David, and David himself says in the book of Psalms, 'The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.' So David calls Him Lord; how then is He His Son? And when all the people had heard, he said to his disciples, Beware of the scribes, who love to walk about in long robes, and love to greet in the assemblies of the people, to preside in the synagogues, and to preside at banquets, who devour the houses of widows, and hypocritically pray long. they will receive all the greater condemnation. Soon having to go to suffering, the Lord preaches about His Divinity, and then not openly and with pride, but very modestly. For he asks them and, having perplexed them, leaves them to deduce the consequence for themselves. David, he says, calls Him Lord (Psalm 109:1): how then is He a simple Son to him? He was also the son of David according to the flesh, but at the same time his God, and they considered Him only the son of David. Therefore He refutes their opinion that Christ is a mere son of David, and declares that He is not contrary to the Father, but has great unanimity with Him, for the Father overcomes His enemies. This is what He said to the scribes. Since He sent His disciples as teachers into the world, He justly urges them not to imitate the Pharisees in love of glory, in love of primacy, and in general, in worldliness and man-pleasingness. For it is characteristic of those who flatter everyone they meet and ingratiate themselves with a good opinion of themselves, or use it as a means of collecting money. "They eat," he says, "the houses of widows," filling the belly and scattering beyond the bounds of what is due. And the pretext for this is kind of reverent. For, under the pretext of prayer and spiritual benefit, they do not teach fasting, but drunkenness and gluttony, and for this, he says, "they will receive all the greater condemnation," because they not only do evil, but also cover it up with prayer. And they have a reverent appearance, they make virtue a pretext for deceit. Therefore they deserve greater condemnation, since they subject the good to blame. Widows should be pitied, but they enter their houses as if to bless them with long prayers. Meanwhile, widows are forced to incur expenses on the occasion of their visit, and thus are ruined.

Chapter Twenty-One

And when he looked, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury; He also saw the poor widow who had put in two mites, and said, "Verily I say to you, this poor widow has put in the most; for all of them out of their abundance gave as a gift to God, but she out of her poverty put in all her sustenance that she had. There was a sacred treasure, removed by the God-loving, which was used for handicrafts and corrections in the church, and in general for the decoration of the church and for the sustenance of the poor. But in recent times the priests have turned this treasure into trade, dividing it among themselves, and not using it for what it was originally intended for. - The Lord praises the widow more than all others, because she has overthrown all her wealth from her poverty. For two mites are apparently insignificant, but in the case of the one who fed on alms, they made up the whole belly: for the widow was a beggar. Thus, the Lord gives a reward, paying attention not to how much is given, but to how much remains. In the houses of the rich, who had brought little and little, there was much more, but her house was all empty, and there was nothing left in it. Therefore she is truly worthy of praise greater than those. - Some thought that by "widow" one can understand any soul that has renounced her former husband, that is, the Old Law, but has not yet been vouchsafed to be united with God the Word, and that instead of a pledge she brings a subtle and possible faith and a good conscience. For with faith one must also offer a good conscience, that is, a blameless life. And whoever comes to God with them seems to think more than all those who are rich in learning and abound in pagan virtues.