Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas
8:1–4
1. When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.
2. And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
3. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
4. And Jesus said unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the Priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
JEROME. After the preaching and teaching, is offered an occasion of working miracles, that by mighty works following, the preceding doctrine might be confirmed.
PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. (quoad sens.) Because He taught them as one having authority, that He might not thence be supposed to use this method of teaching from ostentation, He does the same in works, as one having power to cure; and therefore, When Jesus descended from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.
PSEUDO-ORIGEN. (Hom. in Liv. 5.) While the Lord taught on the mount, the disciples were with Him, for to them it was given to know the secret things of the heavenly doctrine; but now as He came down from the mount the crowds followed Him, who had been altogether unable to ascend into the mount. They that are bowed by the burden of sin cannot climb to the sublime mysteries. But when the Lord came down from the mount, that is, stooped to the infirmity, and helplessness of the rest, in pity to their imperfections, great multitudes followed Him, some for renown, most for His doctrine, some for cures, or having their wants administered to.
HAYMO. Otherwise; By the mount on which the Lord sate is figured the Heaven, as it is written, Heaven is my throne. (Is. 66:1.) But when the Lord sits on the mount, only the disciples come to Him; because before He took on Him the frailty of our human nature, God was known only in Judæa; (Ps. 76:1.) but when He came down from the height of his Divinity, and took upon Him the frailty of our human nature, a great multitude of the nations followed Him. Herein it is shewn to them that teach that their speech should be so regulated, that as they see each man is able to receive, they should so speak the word of God. For the doctors ascend the mountain, when they shew the more excellent precepts to the perfect; they come down from the mount, in shewing the lesser precepts to the weak.
PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. Among others who were not able to ascend into the mount was the leper, as bearing the burden of sin; for the sin of our souls is a leprosy. And the Lord came down from the height of heaven, as from a mountain, that He might purge the leprousness of our sin; and so the leper as already prepared meets Him as He came down.
PSEUDO-ORIGEN. (ubi sup.) He works the cures below, and does none in the mount; for there is a time for all things under heaven, a time for teaching, and a time for healing. On the mount He taught, He cured souls, He healed hearts; which being finished, as He came down from the heavenly heights to heal bodies, there came to Him a leper and made adoration to Him; before he made his suit, he began to adore, shewing his great reverence.
PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. He did not ask it of Him as of a human physician, but adored Him as God. For faith and confession make a perfect prayer; so that the leprous man in adoring fulfilled the work of faith, and the work of confession in words, he made adoration to him, saying;
PSEUDO-ORIGEN. (ubi sup.) Lord, by Thee all things were made, Thou therefore, if thou will, canst make me clean. Thy will is the work, and all works are subject to Thy will. Thou of old cleansedst Naaman the Syrian of his leprosy by the hand of Elisha, and now, if thou will, thou canst make me clean.
CHRYSOSTOM. He said not, If Thou wilt ask of God, or, If Thou wilt make adoration to God; but, If thou wilt. Nor did he say, Lord, cleanse me; but left all to Him, thereby making Him Lord, and attributing to Him the power over all.
PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. And thus he rewarded a spiritual Physician with a spiritual reward; for as physicians are gained by money, so He with prayer. We offer to God nothing more worthy than faithful prayer. In that he says, If thou wilt, there is no doubt that Christ’s will is ready to every good work; but only doubt whether that cure would be expedient for him, because soundness of body is not good for all. If thou wilt then is as much as to say, I believe that Thou wiliest whatever is good, but I know not if this that I desire for myself is good.
CHRYSOSTOM. He was able, to cleanse by a word, or even by mere will, but He put out His hand, He stretched forth his hand and touched him, to shew that He was not subject to the Law, and that to the pure nothing is impure. Elisha truly kept the Law in all strictness, and did not go out and touch Naaman, but sends him to wash in Jordan. But the Lord shews that He does not heal as a servant, but as Lord heals and touches; His hand was not made unclean by the leprosy, but the leprous body was made pure by the holy hand. For He came not only to heal bodies, but to lead the soul to the true wisdom. As then He did not forbid to eat with unwashen hands, so here He teaches us that it is the leprosy of the soul we ought only to dread, which is sin, but that the leprosy of the body is no impediment to virtue.
PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. But though He transgressed the letter of the Law, He did not transgress its meaning. For the Law forbade to touch leprosy, because it could not hinder that the touch should not defile; therefore it meant not that lepers should not be healed, but that they that touched should not be polluted. So He was not polluted by touching the leprosy, but purified the leprosy by touching it.
DAMASCENE. (De Fid. Orth. iii. 15.) For He was not only God, but man also, whence He wrought Divine wonders by touch and word; for as by an instrument so by His body the Divine acts were done.
CHRYSOSTOM. But for touching the leprous man there is none that accuses Him, because His hearers were not yet seized with envy against Him.
PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. Had He healed him without speaking, who would know by whose power he had been healed? So the will to heal was for the sake of the leprous man; the word was for the sake of them that beheld, therefore He said, I will, be thou clean.
JEROME. It is not to be read, as most of the Latins think, ‘I will to cleanse thee;’ but separately, He first answers, I will, and then follows the command, be thou clean. The leper has said, If thou wilt; the Lord answers, I will; he first said, Thou canst make me clean; the Lord spake, Be thou clean.
CHRYSOSTOM. No where else do we see Him using this word though He be working ever so signal a miracle; but He here adds, I will, to confirm the opinion of the people and the leprous man concerning His power. Nature obeyed the word of the Purifier with proper speed, whence it follows, and straight his leprosy was cleansed. But even this word straightway is too slow to express the speed with which the deed was done.
PSEUDO-ORIGEN. (ubi sup.) Because he was not slow to believe, his cure is not delayed; he did not linger in his confession, Christ did not linger in His cure.
AUGUSTINE. (De Cons. Ev. ii. 19.) Luke has mentioned the cleansing of this leper, though not in the same order of events, but as his manner is to recollect things omitted, and to put first things that were done later, as they were divinely suggested; so that what they had known before, they afterwards set down in writing when they were recalled to their minds.
CHRYSOSTOM. Jesus when healing his body bids him tell no man; Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man. Some say that He gave this command that they might not through malice distrust his cure. But this is said foolishly, for He did not so cure him as that his purity should be called in question; but He bids him tell no man, to teach that He does not love ostentation and glory. How is it then that to another to whom He had healed He gives command to go and tell it? What He taught in that was only that we should have a thankful heart; for He does not command that it should be published abroad, but that glory should be given to God. (Mark 5:19.) He teaches us then through this leper not to be desirous of empty honour; by the other, not to be ungrateful, but to refer all things to the praise of God.
JEROME. And in truth what need was there that he should proclaim with his mouth what was evidently shewed in his body?
HILARY. Or that this healing might be sought rather than offered, therefore silence is enjoined.
JEROME. He sends him to the Priests, first, because of His humility that He may seem to defer to the Priests; secondly, that when they saw the leper cleansed they might be saved, if they would believe on the Saviour, or if not that they might be without excuse; and, lastly, that He might not seem, as He was often charged, to be infringing the Law.
CHRYSOSTOM. He neither every where broke, nor every where observed, the Law, but sometimes the one, sometimes the other. The one was preparing the way for the wisdom that was to come, (ἡ μέλλουσα φιλοσοφία.) the other was silencing the irreverent tongue of the Jews, and condescending to their weakness. Whence the Apostles also are seen sometimes observing, sometimes neglecting, the Law.
PSEUDO-ORIGEN. (ubi sup.) Or, He sends him to the Priests that they might know that he was not cleansed according to the manner of the Law, but by the operation of grace.
JEROME. It was ordained in the Law, that those that had been cleansed of a leprosy should offer gifts to the Priests; as it follows, And offer thy gift as Moses commanded for a testimony to them.
PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. Which is not to be understood, Moses commanded it for a testimony to them; but, Go thou and offer for a testimony.
CHRYSOSTOM. For Christ, knowing beforehand that they would not profit by this, said not, ‘for their amendment,’ but, for a testimony to them; that is, for an accusation of them, and in attestation that all things that should have been done by Me, have been done. But though He thus knew that they would not profit by it, yet He did not omit any thing that behoved to be done; but they remained in their former ill-will. Also He said not, ‘The gift that I command,’ but, that Moses commanded, that in the meantime He might hand them over to the Law, and close the mouths of the unjust. That they might not say that He usurped the honour of the Priests, He fulfilled the work of the Law, and made a trial of them.
PSEUDO-ORIGEN. (ubi sup.) Or; offer thy gift, that all who see may believe the miracle.
PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. Or; He commands the oblation, that should they afterwards seek to put him out, he might be able to say, You have received gifts on my cleansing, how do ye now cast me out as a leper?
HILARY. Or we may read, Which Moses commanded for a testimony; inasmuch as what Moses commanded in the Law is a testimony, not an effect.
BEDE. (Hom. in Dom. 3 Epiph.) Should any be perplexed how, when the Lord seems here to approve Moses’ offering, the Church does not receive it, let him remember, that Christ had not yet offered His body for a holocaust. And it behoved that the typical sacrifices should not be taken away, before that which they typified was established by the testimony of the Apostles’ preaching, and by the faith of the people believing. By this man was figured the whole human race, for he was not only leprous, but, according to the Gospel of Luke, is described as full of leprosy. For all have sinned, and need glory of God; (Rom. 3:23.) to wit, that glory, that the hand of the Saviour being stretched out, (that is, the Word being made flesh,) and touching human nature, they might be cleansed from the vanity of their former ways; and that they that had been long abominable, and cast out from the camp of God’s people, might be restored to the temple and the priest, and be able to offer their bodies a living sacrifice to Him to whom it is said, Thou art a Priest for ever. (Ps. 110:4.)
REMIGIUS. Morally; by the leper is signified the sinner; for sin makes an unclean and impure soul; he falls down before Christ when he is confounded concerning his former sins; yet he ought to confess, and to seek the remedy of penitence; so the leper shews his disease, and asks a cure. The Lord stretches out His hand when He affords the aid of Divine mercy; whereupon follows immediately remission of sin; nor ought the Church to be reconciled to the same, but on the sentence of the Priest.
Catena Aurea Matthew 8
NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
From: Genesis 17:1, 9-10, 15-22
The Renewal of the Covenant: Abram's Name is Changed
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[1] When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless.
[9] And God said to Abraham, "As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. [10] This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your descendants after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.
Abahram Will Have a Son by Sarah
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[15] And God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. [16] I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her; I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall come from her." [17] Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said to himself, "Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?" [18] And Abraham said to God, "O that Ishmael might live in thy sight!" [19] God said, "No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. [20] As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly; he shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. [21] But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year." [22] When he had finished taking with him, God went up from Abraham.
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Commentary:
17:1-27. If previously, in chapter 15, the text stressed the way the promise was linked to God's covenant with Abraham, it now shows the duties it placed on the patriarchs and their descendants -- to be holy, to acknowledge the one true God and to practise the rite of circumcision. The covenant, as we have seen, had its origin in an initiative on God's part, but it also commits man. In Abraham’s case this commitment involves in accepting circumcision as a commandment from God to himself and his descendants.
17:1. "El-Shaddai” is the name the patriarchs often gave to God (cf 28:3; 35:11; 43:14; 48:3; 49:25), because the name "Yahweh” had not yet been revealed (cf. Ex 3:13-14). Following the earliest Greek version (the Septuagint) it is usually translated as "God Almighty” (which is the RSV practice), although it could also mean ‘‘God of the mountains’’ or "God of abundance”. By recording the names the patriarchs used when referring to God or invoking him, the Bible is, on the one hand, identifying the God the patriarchs worshipped with Yahweh, the God of the Sinai Covenant; and on the other hand, it is showing the way God reveals himself gradually over the course of time.
God asks Abraham to live in his presence and to be perfect. The two things are closely connected: "This is the only way to avoid falling.’’ Clement of Alexandria points out: "being conscious that God is always at our side” ("Paedagogus," 3, 33, 3). This is the first time in the Bible that God tells a human being to be perfect, "blameless”. This call, here addressed to Abraham, will be extended by Jesus to all mankind (cf. Mt 5:48).
17:5. Abraham is the first person in biblical history to have his name changed by God. By doing this God is conferring a new personality and a new mission, as can be seen from the meaning of his new name, ‘‘father of a multitude of nations’’.
This name, therefore, is linked to the promise attached to the Covenant; from now on, the entire personality of the patriarch stems from the Covenant and is subservient to it. Abraham is the "father of the Covenant”; in the light of New Testament revelation St Paul will interpret this new name of Abraham as having a connexion with Gentiles converted to Christianity (cf. Rom 4:17). This name, "father of a multitude of nations" becomes, therefore, a prophetic announcement of the fact that the non-Jewish world will in due course become part of the people of the New Covenant, the Church.
17:10-14. Circumcision, which consists in a circular cutting of part of the foreskin, may originally have been a sexual and marriage initiation rite of a type widespread in the ancient Near East. Reasons of hygiene may have played a part in its use. The people of Israel regarded it as a divine commandment involved in the Covenant, and as a distinguishing mark to show membership of the people of God. It is easy to see why Christian tradition regards circumcision as prefiguring Baptism. "Jesus 'circumcision', on the eighth day after his birth (cf. Lk 2:21), is the sign of his incorporation into Abraham’s descendants, into the people of the covenant. It is the sign of his submission to the Law (cf. Gal 4:4) and his deputation to Israel’s worship, in which he will participate throughout his life. This sign prefigures that ‘circumcision of Christ’ which is Baptism (Col 2:11-13)" "(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 527)". In the new economy of salvation that sign would no longer serve any purpose: ‘For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love" (Gal 5:6).
17:15-22. The carrying into effect of God’s plan (cf. the promise in chap. 15) is going to exceed Abraham's expectations. True, he already does have a son, lshmael, by the slave-girl Hagar according to the customs of the time, that is, in accord with human laws and recourses. But it is not through this son that God is going to keep his promise, but through a son to be born of Sarah, and whose birth will clearly reveal the power of God.
Sarah, Abraham's wife, is also going to have a direct involvement in the way the promise is fulfilled. And so she too is going to be given a new name, to show the new personality she acquires by sharing directly in God's designs through her motherhood. This is what Abraham is now told.
Abraham ‘s laugh (as also Sarah’s in the next chapter: cf. 18:12-14) conveys the astonishment the announcement causes (it seems unbelievable); it is also connected with the name of the child who will he born -- Isaac (cf. the note on 21: 1-7). However, Abraham keeps on thinking in terms of the son he already has, lshmael. He too will be the recipient of divine blessings: he will become the father of a great nation, the lshmaelites, or Arabs. But the patriarch is now asked for a new act of faith in God despite the fact that they are both old, to expect Sarah to give birth to a son, who will be the protagonist in the Covenant, just like his father. God's actions, in effect, surpass man's expectations.
From: Matthew 8:1-4The Curing of a Leper
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[1] When He (Jesus) came down from the mountain, great crowds followed Him; [2] and behold, a leper came to Him and knelt before Him, saying, "Lord, if You will, You can make me clean." [3] And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. [4] And Jesus said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to the people.
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Commentary:
Chapters 8 and 9 of St. Matthew deal with a series of miracles worked by our Lord. The first Christians had vivid experience of the fact that the glorified Jesus was still present in His Church, confirming its teaching by signs, by miracles (Mark 16:20; Acts 14:3).
And so, St. Matthew, after giving the nucleus of Jesus' public teaching in the Sermon on the Mount (Chapters 5-7), goes on now to gather a number of miracles to support our Lord's words. Some commentators call this section--Chapters 8 and 9--"the works of the Messiah", paralleling what they called "the words of the Messiah" (the Discourse on the Mount). In Chapters 5-7 we see Jesus as the supreme lawgiver and master who teaches with divine authority, a unique authority superior to that held by Moses and the prophets. Now, in Chapters 8 and 9, He is shown as endowed with divine authority over disease, death, the elements and evil spirits. These miracles worked by Jesus Christ accredit the divine authority of His teaching.
1. The Gospel draws attention, for the third time, to the huge crowds that flocked to Jesus: literally, "many multitudes followed Him". This shows the popularity He had achieved: He was so popular that the Sanhedrin (the great council of the Jewish nation) dared not arrest Him for fear of what the people would do (cf. Matthew 21:46; 26:5; Mark 14:2). Later on, they would accuse Him before Pilate of stirring up the whole country from Judea to Galilee. And we will see Herod Antipas' eagerness to meet Jesus, of whom he has heard so much (cf. Matthew 14:1). In contrast to this huge popularity, we find the elders opposing Him and deceiving the people into calling for Jesus' execution (cf. Matthew 27:20-22).
2. The Fathers have taken the following meaning from this cure: leprosy is a vivid image of sin: it is ugly, disgusting, very contagious and difficult to cure. We are all sinners and we are all in need of God's forgiveness and grace (cf. Romans 3:23-24). The leper in the Gospel knelt down before Jesus, in all humility and trust, begging to be made clean. If we have recourse to our Savior with that kind of faith, we can be sure than He will cure the wretchedness of our souls. We should often address Christ with this short prayer, borrowed from the leper: "Lord, if You will, You can make me clean."
4. According to the Law of Moses (Leviticus 14), if a leper is cured of his disease, he should present himself to a priest, who will register the cure and give him a certificate which he needs to be reintegrated into the civil and religious life of Israel. Leviticus also prescribes the purifications and sacrifice he should offer. Jesus' instruction to the leper is, then, in keeping with the normal way of fulfilling what the laws laid down.
