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Matthew
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Matthew 21
23.	And when he was come into the temple, there came to him, as he was teaching, the chief priests and ancients of the people, saying: By what authority dost thou these things? and who hath given thee this authority?	Et cum venisset in templum, accesserunt ad eum docentem principes sacerdotum, et seniores populi, dicentes : In qua potestate hæc facis ? et quis tibi dedit hanc potestatem ?	και ελθοντι αυτω εις το ιερον προσηλθον αυτω διδασκοντι οι αρχιερεις και οι πρεσβυτεροι του λαου λεγοντες εν ποια εξουσια ταυτα ποιεις και τις σοι εδωκεν την εξουσιαν ταυτην
24.	Jesus answering, said to them: I also will ask you one word, which if you shall tell me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.	Respondens Jesus dixit eis : Interrogabo vos et ego unum sermonem : quem si dixeritis mihi, et ego vobis dicam in qua potestate hæc facio.	αποκριθεις δε ο ιησους ειπεν αυτοις ερωτησω υμας καγω λογον ενα ον εαν ειπητε μοι καγω υμιν ερω εν ποια εξουσια ταυτα ποιω
25.	The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven or from men? But they thought within themselves, saying:	Baptismus Joannis unde erat ? e cælo, an ex hominibus ? At illi cogitabant inter se, dicentes :	το βαπτισμα ιωαννου ποθεν ην εξ ουρανου η εξ ανθρωπων οι δε διελογιζοντο παρ εαυτοις λεγοντες εαν ειπωμεν εξ ουρανου ερει ημιν δια τι ουν ουκ επιστευσατε αυτω
26.	If we shall say, from heaven, he will say to us: Why then did you not believe him? But if we shall say, from men, we are afraid of the multitude: for all held John as a prophet.	Si dixerimus, e cælo, dicet nobis : Quare ergo non credidistis illi ? Si autem dixerimus, ex hominibus, timemus turbam : omnes enim habebant Joannem sicut prophetam.	εαν δε ειπωμεν εξ ανθρωπων φοβουμεθα τον οχλον παντες γαρ εχουσιν τον ιωαννην ως προφητην
27.	And answering Jesus, they said: We know not. He also said to them: Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.	Et respondentes Jesu, dixerunt : Nescimus. Ait illis et ipse : Nec ego dico vobis in qua potestate hæc facio.	και αποκριθεντες τω ιησου ειπον ουκ οιδαμεν εφη αυτοις και αυτος ουδε εγω λεγω υμιν εν ποια εξουσια ταυτα ποιω

"εαν ειπωμεν εξ ουρανου ερει ημιν δια τι ουν ουκ επιστευσατε αυτω" begins verse 26 in the translations.

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

Matthew CHAP. 21

21:23–27

23. And when he was come into the temple, the Chief Priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?

24. And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things.

25. The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?

26. But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.

27. And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. The Priests were tormented with jealousy, because they had seen Christ entering the Temple in great glory. And not being able to master the fire of jealousy which burnt in their breasts, they break forth in speech.

CHRYSOSTOM. Forasmuch as they could not detract from His miracles, they bring matter of blame from His forbidding to sell in the Temple. As though they had said, Hast Thou assumed the seat of authority? Hast Thou been anointed Priest, that Thou exertest this power?

PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. By that they add, Or who gave thee this authority? they shew that there be many persons who give power to men, whether corporal or spiritual! as though they had said, Thou art not come of a priestly family; the Senate has not conferred on Thee this power, neither has Cæsar granted it. But had they believed that all power is from God, they would never have asked, Who gave thee this authority? For every man judges of others by himself. The fornicator thinks that none are chaste; the chaste does not readily suspect any of fornication; he who is not a Priest of God, thinks no man’s Priesthood to be of God.

JEROME. Or in these words they urge the same cavil as above, when they said, He casteth out demons through Beelzebub the Prince of the demons. (Mat. 12:24.) For when they say, By what authority doest thou these things? they doubt concerning the power of God, and would have it understood that the things He does are of the Devil. But when they add, Who gave thee this authority? they most clearly deny the Son of God, whom they suppose to work miracles, not by His own, but by others’ strength. The Lord could have confuted the calumny of His tempters by a simple answer, but He put a question to them of such skilful contrivance, that they must be condemned either by their silence or their knowledge; Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one question.

PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. Not that they should answer it, and thereupon hear of Christ the answer to their question, but that being puzzled they should ask Him no farther; according to that precept He had given above, Give not that which is holy to the dogs. (Mat. 7:6.) For even if He had told them, it would have profited nothing, because the darkened will cannot perceive the things that are of the light. For him that enquires we ought to instruct, but him that tempts, to overthrow by a stroke of reasoning, but not to publish to him the power of the mystery. The Lord thus sets before them in His question a dilemma; and that they might not escape Him, says, Which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things. His question is this; The baptism of John whence was it? from heaven, or of men?

AUGUSTINE. (in Joan. Tr. v. 4.) John received his authority to baptize from Him, whom he afterwards baptized; and that baptism which was committed to him is here called the baptism of John. He alone received such a gift; no righteous man before or after him was entrusted with a baptism to be called from himself. For John came to baptize in the water of repentance, to prepare the way for the Lord, not to give inward cleansing, which mere man cannot do.

JEROME. What the Priests revolved in their malice is shewn when he adds, But they reasoned with themselves. For had they replied that it was from heaven, the question was inevitable, Why then were ye not baptized by John? But should they reply that it was an invention of human device, and had in it nothing divine, they feared a tumult among the people. For all the assembled multitudes had received John’s baptism, and held him accordingly for a Prophet. This godless party therefore make answer, and by a seeming humility of speech confessing that they know not, turned to hide their insidious designs. And they answered Jesus, and said, We know not. In saying that they knew not, they lied; and it might have followed upon their answering thus, that the Lord also should say, I know not; but truth cannot lie, and therefore it follows, And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things. This shews that they knew, but would not answer, and that He also knew, but would not answer, because they would not speak what they knew.

ORIGEN. But some one will say in opposition to this, that it was absurd to ask by what authority Jesus did these things. For that it could not be that He would answer, that He did these by the Devil’s authority; and He would not tell them as it truly was, that He did them by His own power. If it should be said, that the rulers put this question to Him in order to deter Him from His proceedings; as when we say to one who is dealing with what is ours in a way which we do not like, we say to him, Who bade thee do this? meaning to deter him from what he is so doing;—if it is to be taken so, what means Christ’s answer, Do you tell Me this, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Perhaps therefore, the place should be understood as follows. There are in the general two opposite powers, one on the side of God, the other on the side of the Devil; but of particular powers there are many; for it was not one and the same power that wrought in all the Prophets to enable them to do miracles, but one in these, another in those; and, it may be, for lesser things a lesser power, for greater things a greater power. The Chief Priests had seen Jesus working many miracles, whereupon they desired to know the special degree and properties of that power which wrought in Him. For others who have wrought miracles wrought them at first in one power, and afterwards when more advanced in another and greater power; but the Saviour wrought all in one power, that which He received of the Father. But because they were not worthy to hear such mysteries, therefore He gives them no answer, but on the contrary put a question to them.

RABANUS. There are two reasons why the knowledge of truth should be kept back from those who ask; either when he who asks is unfit to receive, or from his hatred or contempt of the truth is unworthy to have that which he asks opened to him.

Catena Aurea Matthew 21

The Sermon of St John the Baptist

Pieter Bruegel the Elder

1566
Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest

St. Adelaide
Feast day: Dec 16

Born in 931 in Burgundy, France as the daughter of King Rudolph II of Burgundy, Adelaide was promised in marriage when she was only two years old, to a man named Lothaire, the son and heir of his enemy, Hugh of Provence.

Lothaire was killed when still young, and Adelaide was to have a tumultuous life that paralleled the struggle for political power of the times, something she had come to symbolize. She appealed to Otho the Great of Germany for help.

Having been sought after by various kings and nobles after Lothaire’s death, she was finally married by Otho the Great of Germany, who had invaded Italy.

After Otto’s death on May 7, 973, Adelaide exercised influence over her son Otto II until their estrangement in 978, when she left the court and lived in Burgundy with her brother King Conrad. At Conrad’s urging, she became reconciled with her son, and, before his death in 983, Otto appointed her his regent in Italy. With her daughter-in-law, Empress Theophano, she upheld the right of her three-year-old grandson, Otto III, to the German throne. She lived in Lombardy from 985 to 991, when she returned to Germany to serve as sole regent after Theophano’s death (991). In 991, Adelaide was invested as the Regent of the Empire, and she used her power as the effective empress to increase evangelization efforts, especially in northern Europe, and built many monasteries and churches, and also gave much aid the poor. She governed until Otto III came of age in 994, and, when he became Holy Roman emperor in 996, she retired from court life, devoting herself to founding churches, monasteries, and convents.

She died in 999 at the monastery of Seltz, Alsace, and was canonized in 1097 by Pope Urban II.

catholicnewsagency.com

NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)

First Reading:

From: Numbers 24:2-7, 15-17a

Balaam's Third Oracle (Continuation)
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[2] And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and saw Israel encamping tribe by tribe. And the Spirit of God came upon him, [3] and he took up his discourse, and said, "The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened, [4] the oracle of him who bears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down, but having his eyes uncovered: [5] how fair are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel! [6] Like valleys that stretch afar, like gardens beside a river, like those that the Lord has planted, like cedar trees beside the waters. [7] Water shall flow from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted."

[15] And he took up his discourse, and said, "The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened, [16] the oracle of him who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down, but having his eyes uncovered: [17] I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh: a star shall come forth out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel."

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Commentary:

24:3-9. This third oracle consists not so much in words placed by God on Balaam's lips, as in the vision given to him, which shows the splendor of Israel (expressed in images of luxuriant scenery); it also alludes to a victorious king and recalls, once more, deliverance from Egypt.

24:15-24. The three blessings are followed by four oracles about nations--Israel, Amalek, the Kainites and Asshur. The first tells about the coming of a king symbolized by a star and a scepter (v. 17). In the ancient East stars were considered to be gods and goddesses. This passage of Numbers may contain a reference to David and his star: in fact, from very early on this text was given a messianic interpretation; Jewish traditions link the coming of the Messiah with the appearing of a star--cf. some Aramaic translations ("targumin") of this text. In St Matthew's Gospel there is mention of a star in the episode of the Magi who came to adore Jesus (cf. Mt 2:1-12). And in the second Jewish revolt against Rome (132-135 AD), a famous Jewish teacher, Rabbi Akiha, changed the name of the Jewish leader of the rebellion from Ben Kosheba, to Bar Kokheba, that is, "son of the star"--another indication of the connection between the star and the expected Messiah.

The Fathers interpreted the star that Balaam speaks about, as being the one the Magi saw. From this they went on deduce that the Wise Men came from Mesopotamia, which was where Balaam came from.

Gospel Reading:

From: Matthew 21:23-27

The Authority of Jesus is Questioned
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[23] And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?" [24] Jesus answered them, "I also will ask you a question; and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. [25] The baptism of John, whence was it? From heaven or from men?" And they argued with one another, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?' [26] But if we say, 'From men,' we are afraid of the multitude; for all hold that John was a prophet." [27] So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

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Commentary:

23-27. When the chief priests and elders ask "By what authority are you doing these things?" they are referring both to his teaching and to his self-assured public actions--throwing the traders out of the Temple, entering Jerusalem in triumph, allowing the children to acclaim him, curing the sick, etc. What they want him to do is to prove that he has authority to act in this way or to admit openly that he is the Messiah. However, Jesus knows that they are not well-intentioned and he declines to give them a direct answer; he prefers to put a question to them that forces them to make their own attitude clear. He seeks to provoke them into examining their consciences and changing their whole approach.

Click here to go to the My Catholic Life! Devotional thread for a meditation on today’s Gospel Reading.

Readings at Mass

The oracles of Balaam

'I will not tell you my authority for acting like this'

Nothing has changed

Christian Art

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

Matthew CHAP. 21

St. Adelaide
Feast day: Dec 16

Readings at Mass

The oracles of Balaam

'I will not tell you my authority for acting like this'

Nothing has changed

Christian Art

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

Matthew CHAP. 21

St. AdelaideFeast day: Dec 16

St. Adelaide
Feast day: Dec 16