The Four Books of Commentaries on

The Gospel of Matthew to Eusebius

(IV)

Book Four

Verses 41-45828: And when the Pharisees were assembled, Jesus asked them, What do you think of Christ? Whose son is He? And they said to him, David. He said to them, "How then does David, by inspiration, call Him Lord, when he says, "The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, until I make Thy enemies Thy footstool?" - Those who gathered to tempt Jesus and tried to find out the truth through a falsely posed question gave cause for themselves to be confused. They are presented with a question about Christ: whose son is He? The question of Jesus is useful for us at the present time in the struggle against the Jews, because they, too, confessing that Christ must come,829 assert that He is a simple man and a holy man of the line of David. Thus we, who have been taught by the Lord, ask them, "If he be a mere man, and only a filius of David, how is it that David calls him his Lord, not by error, not by his own will, but by the Holy Spirit?" And the testimony He gave is taken from the One Hundred and Ninth Psalm. Therefore the Lord is called David, not because He was born of it, but because He is born of the Father from eternity (always semper), being before the Father himself according to His flesh. To resolve this question, the Jews invent many empty things, asserting that Abraham had a servant who had a son Eliezer of Damascus; that the psalm was written in his name, and that after the slaughter of the five kings, the Lord God said to his lord Abraham, "Sit at my right hand until I make thy enemies thy footstool."830 But in such a case, how did God say to Abraham the following: In the day of Thy power, Thy people are ready in the splendor of holiness; From the womb before Lucifer Thy birth is like dew. And: The Lord has sworn, and will not repent: Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.831 On the other hand, they are forced to answer: How was Abraham born before Lucifer and was a priest after the order of Melchizedek, when Melchizedek sacrificed bread and wine for him, and when he received from him a tenth of the spoils?

Verse 46: And no one could answer Him a word, and from that day no one dared to ask. - The Pharisees and Sadducees, seeking a pretext for backbiting and some word that would give them an opportunity to plot against Him, no longer ask, because they were confused, but, seizing Him, openly hand Him over to the Roman authorities. From this we conclude that the poison of envy can indeed be conquered, but it hardly calms down.

Chapter XXIII. - Verses 1-3: Then Jesus began to speak to the people and to his disciples, and said, "On the seat of Moses sat the scribes and the Pharisees; therefore whatsoever they command you to observe, observe and do; but do not do according to their works, for they speak and do not. "What can be more meek and merciful on the part of the Lord?" He is tempted by the Pharisees; their wiles are broken, and according to the words of the Psalmist: "The arrows of babes were plagues to them" (Psalm 63:8832 [to 70]), and yet, because of the priesthood and dignity associated with the office,833 he persuades the people to submit to them, paying attention not to their deeds, but to the words of their teaching. And His words: "On the seat of Moses sat the scribes and Pharisees," under the word834 the seat indicate the teaching of the law. Therefore we must understand what is said in the Psalm: "On the seat of destruction he did not sit"835 and: "He overthrew the seats of the sellers of doves"836 in the sense of teaching.

Verse 4: They bind heavy and unbearable burdens, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves do not want to move them with a finger. - This is against all teachers in general, who command [to perform] difficult actions, and do not make easier ones (minora). But at the same time, it should be noted that the shoulders, the fingers, the weight, and the ligaments that bind the weight must be understood in a spiritual sense.

Verse 5: Yet all do their works that men may see them. "Therefore, he who does any work so that only people can see it is a scribe and a Pharisee.

Verse [end of 5th], 6, [7]: They enlarge their storehouses (phylacteria - ??????????) and enlarge the wings of their garments, and they also love to preside at banquets, and to preside over synagogues, and to salute them in the assemblies of the people, and that the people should call them, Teacher! teacher! - Woe to us unfortunates, to whom the vices of the Pharisees have been transferred. When the Lord gave the commandments of the law through Moses, He added: "You will bind them in your hand, and they will be immovable before your eyes."837 And the meaning of this passage is this: My commandments are in your hand, that they may be kept in practice; let them be before your eyes, that you may meditate on them day and night. Misunderstanding this passage, the Pharisees wrote the Ten Commandments (Decalogum - Decalogue) of Moses, that is, the ten words of the law, on parchment, folding them and tying them on the forehead, and making a kind of crown on the head, so that they would always move before their eyes; this is still done by the Hindus, Persians, and Babylonians, and he who does this is considered by the people as if he were especially pious (religiosus). Moses also commanded something else,838 namely, that on the four corners of the cloaks they should fasten a fringe of hyacinth color, in order to distinguish the people of Israel, so that, having given circumcision to the bodies as a sign of the tribe of Judah, he decreed that the clothing of the Jews should also have some difference. Superstitious teachers, seeking the glory of the people and taking care to gain the good will of women, sewed on a large fringe and tied very sharp needles to it, so that both while walking and while sitting, through incessant, they might arouse in themselves the memory and be impelled to the service of God and to the fulfillment of His work. And so, when He said, "All their works are done in order that men may see them,"839 He sent a general accusation against them, and now He divides it, applying it piece by piece. This little tablet containing the ten commandments of the law was called a storehouse, because whoever possessed it840 was considered to have a kind of guard, or stronghold (monumentum), since the Pharisees did not understand that the commandments should be worn not on the body, but in the heart. On the contrary, they had boxes and chests of books and had no knowledge of God. This is often done by women among us to this day, carrying with them small Gospels (parvulis Evangelii) [or: parables, Gospel - in parabolis Evangelii] or an ancient cross and similar things (they have the zeal of God, it is true,841 but not according to reason,841 straining a mosquito and devouring a camel. sentibus] of the Pharisees, but was healed by touching Him. As they have excessively enlarged the storehouses, and sewed on a great fringe, in order to glorify the people, they are also reproached for the rest, because they seek the first places to recline at banquets, and the first places to sit in the synagogues, and pursue glory in society and sweet food, and also to be called by the people, "Teacher" (magister), as the Latin word Rabbi is signified. Then follow the words: