St Matthew Chapter XV : Verses 1-20
Contents
- Matt. xv. 1-20. Douay-Rheims text & Latin text (Vulgate).
- Notes on the text.
Matt. xv. 1-20
 |
| Jesus with the scribes and Pharisees. J-J Tissot. Brooklyn museum. |
Tunc accesserunt ad eum ab Jerosolymis scribæ et pharisæi, dicentes :
2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the ancients? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
Quare discipuli tui transgrediuntur traditionem seniorum? non enim lavant manus suas cum panem manducant.
3 But he answering, said to them: Why do you also transgress the commandment of God for your tradition? For God said:
Ipse autem respondens ait illis : Quare et vos transgredimini mandatum Dei propter traditionem vestram? Nam Deus dixit :
4 Honour thy father and mother: And: He that shall curse father or mother, let him die the death.
Honora patrem, et matrem : et, Qui maledixerit patri, vel matri, morte moriatur.
5 But you say: Whosoever shall say to father or mother, The gift whatsoever proceedeth from me, shall profit thee.
Vos autem dicitis : Quicumque dixerit patri, vel matri : Munus, quodcumque est ex me, tibi proderit :
6 And he shall not honour his father or his mother: and you have made void the commandment of God for your tradition.
et non honorificavit patrem suum, aut matrem suam : et irritum fecistis mandatum Dei propter traditionem vestram.
7 Hypocrites, well hath Isaias prophesied of you, saying:
Hypocritæ, bene prophetavit de vobis Isaias, dicens :
8 This people honoureth me with their lips: but their heart is far from me.
Populus hic labiis me honorat : cor autem eorum longe est a me.
9 And in vain do they worship me, teaching doctrines and commandments of men.
Sine causa autem colunt me, docentes doctrinas et mandata hominum.
10 And having called together the multitudes unto him, he said to them: Hear ye and understand.
Et convocatis ad se turbis, dixit eis : Audite, et intelligite.
11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man: but what cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
Non quod intrat in os, coinquinat hominem : sed quod procedit ex ore, hoc coinquinat hominem.
12 Then came his disciples, and said to him: Dost thou know that the Pharisees, when they heard this word, were scandalized?
Tunc accedentes discipuli ejus, dixerunt ei : Scis quia pharisæi audito verbo hoc, scandalizati sunt?
13 But he answering them, said: Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
At ille respondens ait : Omnis plantatio, quam non plantavit Pater meus cælestis, eradicabitur.
14 Let them alone: they are blind, and leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the pit.
Sinite illos : caeci sunt, et duces cæcorum; cæcus autem si cæco ducatum praestet, ambo in foveam cadunt.
15 And Peter answering, said to him: Expound to us this parable.
Respondens autem Petrus dixit ei : Edissere nobis parabolam istam.
16 But he said: Are you also yet without understanding?
At ille dixit : Adhuc et vos sine intellectu estis?
17 Do you not understand, that whatsoever entereth into the mouth, goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the privy?
Non intelligitis quia omne quod in os intrat, in ventrem vadit, et in secessum emittitur?
18 But the things which proceed out of the mouth, come forth from the heart, and those things defile a man.
Quæ autem procedunt de ore, de corde exeunt, et ea coinquinant hominem :
19 For from the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies.
de corde enim exeunt cogitationes malæ, homicidia, adulteria, fornicationes, furta, falsa testimonia, blasphemiæ :
20 These are the things that defile a man. But to eat with unwashed hands doth not defile a man.
hæc sunt, quæ coinquinant hominem. Non lotis autem manibus manducare, non coinquinat hominem.
Notes
1. came to him from Jerusalem scribes and Pharisees. Probably those who had already opposed Jesus had now returned to Galilee, after having celebrated the Pasch in Jerusalem. Their enmity was all the keener since they had discussed His conduct with the rabbis in Jerusalem. Jesus Himself had not gone up to Jerusalem for this Pasch, apparently on account of the enmity of the rabbis.
2. Why do thy disciples, etc. ? They imply that Christ taught them to reject the traditions of the ancients.
St Mark is more explicit: And when they had seen some of his disciples eat bread with common, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. They had either watched them secretly at their meals, or they came to visit our Lord in Galilee, when He was at table with His disciples.
tradition of the ancients. The rabbinical ceremonies which are found in the Talmud, or those laid down by Hillel and Shammai, two rival rabbis who taught just before our Lord’s time. They attached a greater importance to ablutions than the preceding generations had done.
wash not their hands. All Jews were bound by the Levitical Law concerning ablutions, but they also observed the additional traditions of the rabbis.
Before sitting down to table, the strict and wealthy Pharisees were accustomed to bathe on their return from the market. The ordinary Jews only sprinkled themselves. Near the entrance of each house, there would be waterpots of stone, according to the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three measures apiece (St John ii. 6), Beside these pots a bunch of hyssop was placed, with which those who entered sprinkled themselves. Hyssop was used for the same purpose in the rites of the Temple, hence the allusion in Ps. 1, Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop and I shall be cleansed.
Note. — St Mark adds here : For the Pharisees and all the Jews eat not without often washing their hands, holding the tradition of the ancients: And when they come from the market, unless they be washed, they eat not : and many other things there are that have been delivered to than to observe, the washings of cups and of pots, and of brazen vessels and of beds.
eat bread. An idiomatic expression for taking food. Cf. For John the Baptist came neither eating bread (St Luke vii. 33).
3. Why do you also transgress, etc.? Note the antitheses : —
The traditions of men.
The commandments of God.
For God said. Jesus here shews that the commandments were of divine origin. St Mark reads, Moses said, etc., — i.e. God spoke through His servant.
4. Honour thy father, etc. These words are partial quotations from Ex. xx. 12 : Honour thy father and thy mother, that thou mayest be long-lived upon the land which the Lord thy God will give thee. Ex. xxi. 17 : He that curseth his father, or mother, shall die the death. The law distinctly commanded the Jews to honour their parents and to refrain from cursing them. By their tradition concerning free gifts, the rabbis justified a man in neglecting to succour a destitute parent, and in indirectly pronouncing a curse on him ; for, in the first place, the son left his parent destitute, and this was a breach of the fourth commandment. Now, to give to man what was vowed to God would be a sacrilege, and would bring a curse both on the giver and receiver. Hence, not to give relief to a parent was culpable neglect, while to give it, after having pronounced the word “Corban” over it, was a sacrilege, and involved a curse. Thus by their traditions the commandments of God were made void. let him die the death. A Hebraism. See quotation from Exod. xxi. 17, quoted above.
5. The gift whatsoever, etc. This is a difficult passage. The parallel passage in St Mark throws a light on it : But you say : If a man shall say to his father or mother, Corban (which is a gift) whatsoever is from me, shall profit thee: And further you suffer him not to do anything for his father or mother. Making void the word of God by your own tradition, which you have given forth. And many other such like things you do. The sense is evidently the same in both passages, and can be paraphrased thus : “If a man shall say to his father or mother, That, from which thou mightest have been benefited by me, is Corban.” The word “ Corban” was the technical term for a votive offering to God. A Jew pronouncing this word over any of his property thereby dedicated it irrevocably to the Temple. He was not, however, bound to give it to the Temple, but was allowed to use it for himself, though he could not give it for any other purpose. By this means the Jews frequently neglected to help their needy kinsfolk, and evaded payment of their just debts.
Jesus gives the example of “Corban” as one of the many things in which they made void the word of God.
6. And he shall not honour, etc., — i.e. that is, he who pronounces the word “Corban ” over his goods, that thereby he may dispense himself from assisting his parents, such a one will certainly not keep the commandment of God, Honour thy father and thy mother.
7. well hath Isaias. “Finely” or “admirably” did Isaias depict your character. Our Lord spoke ironically.
prophesied. Here used in the sense of delivering a message from God.
8. This people honoureth me, etc. Jesus gives the sense of the prophet’s words, not the exact text, which runs thus: And the Lord said: Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips glorify me, hid their heart is far from me, and they have feared me with the commandment and doctrines of men (Is. xxix. 13). In this chapter Isaias is declaring God’s judgments upon Jerusalem for their blind obstinacy, which consisted partly in substituting the commandments and doctrines of men for the Law of God.
9. teaching doctrines and commandments. The particle “and” is not found in the Greek, which reads “doctrines,” “commandments of men” (διδάσκοντες διδασκαλίας ἐντάλματα). The word “commandments” stands in apposition to “doctrines,” so that the sense is, teaching doctrines which are commandments of men.
10. having called together the multitudes. They had evidently been sent away or had retired, awed by the presence of the Pharisees and Scribes.
Hear ye and understand. Our Lord uses these solemn words, which shew that He is about to teach some very important truth. Since the Pharisees refused to accept His doctrine, He turned again to the multitude, who always heard him gladly.
11. what cometh out of the mouth, etc. This is the truth which Jesus so solemnly enunciates, viz. that the human heart or soul must be pure, and exterior things have no inherent power of defiling it, but only inasmuch as men, in their abstinence from, use or abuse of external things, are actuated by sinful motives.
This principle does not justify us in infringing the laws of the Church as regards abstinence and fasting. What constitutes sin in such acts, is not the material act of eating this or that meat, but the disregard or contempt of the laws of the Church. To eat meat on Friday by pure inadvertence, is only a material sin and involves no guilt ; to do so by dispensation is likewise no sin. It is praisewortliy to abstain from certain kinds of food from a spirit of mortification, as the Nazarites abstained from wine, or as a measure of prudence when we feel that we cannot refrain from abusing these things. Thus the Church approves of the total abstinence pledge, which some take from necessity, while others do so merely for edification and from a motive of zeal.
12. Then came his disciples. They came to question Him : when he was come into the house from the multitude (St Mark).
Dost thou know, etc ? This verse and the following are peculiar to St Matthew. The disciples could not understand why our Lord did not try to win over the Pharisees rather than increase their resentment. The disciples, like the rest of their compatriots, esteemed the Pharisees as holy men ; consequently, when our Lord denounced this sect, they were greatly astonished.
this word. What Christ had said to the multitude.
13. Every plant which my heavenly Father, etc. By this, most commentators understand the teaching and traditions of the Pharisees, which were based on human authority only. They and their erroneous doctrines would ultimately perish, but the vineyard of the Lord of hosts, the house of Israel, was destined to flourish in the end.
Cf. And thy people shall he all just, they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hand to glorify me. The least shall become a thousand, and a little one a most strong nation : I the Lord will suddenly do this thing in its time (Is. lx. 21, 22).
14. Let them alone. As they were not the true teachers of Israel, it did not matter about their having been scandalized.
if the blind lead the blind. A Hebrew proverb.
pit. The cisterns dug in the ground, used for collecting rain-water. They are frequently found in Palestine. Not being very securely covered, they are a source of danger to travellers, more especially to the blind.
15. Peter .... said to him. St Matthew alone relates that St Peter was spokesman for the rest.
this parable, — i.e. obscure saying.
16. Are you also, etc.? — i.e. “Are you even to this point” ( Ἀκμὴν καὶ ὑμεῖς κ.τ.λ.). Jesus rebukes them mildly for their want of intelligence. He then goes on to explain that no meat defiled in itself, as the Pharisees taught. This doctrine struck at the very root of the rabbis’ traditions and formalism.
Additional Notes
2. The tradition of the ancients. The “ oral law,” as distinct from the “written law” of Moses. The Jews erred as regards tradition —
(1) In imposing minute prescriptions as of more importance than weightier matters.
(2) In preferring the letter of the law to its spirit.
The Catholic Church has likewise her “ Tradition,” or “ unwritten word of God,” which has come down to us from apostolic times. The existence of Tradition is inferred from i St John xxi. 25 : ‘‘ But there are also many other things which Jesus did : which if they were written every one, the world itself, I think, would not be able to contain the books that should be written.”
It embodies the teaching of the Church, and has either —
(a) A direct Divine origin : e.g. the teaching of out Lord Himself, as contained in the matter and form of the Sacraments.
(b) An indirect Divine origin, as coming —
(1) From the Apostles, such as Infant Baptism. The observance of Sunday instead of the Sabbath. The Fast of Lent, etc. i(2) From Ecclesiastical sources. The decisions of the General Councils. ' The form of public worship, etc.
All Catholics are bound to accept Tradition as handed down by the Church, since we are told in Holy Scripture,
“ Faith then cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of i Christ” (Rom. x. 17). “Therefore, brethren, stand fast; and hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word or by our epistle ” (2 Thes. ii. 14). “ And the things which thou hast heard of me by many witnesses, the same com- : mend to faithful men, who shall be fit to teach others also ” (2 Tim. ii. 2). We must, however, carefully distinguish the difference between the constant Tradition of the Catholic Church, which all her children are bound to accept, and local traditions or legends, which are not binding, though it would be unwise to reject them all. Tradition is to the Church I what “precedent” is to the judge and the lawyer, since both “tradition” and “precedent” interpret and elucidate a written law.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
No comments:
Post a Comment