St Matthew Chapter XVIII : Verses 10-14
Contents
- Matt. xviii. 10-14. Douay-Rheims text & Latin text (Vulgate).
- Notes on the text.
Matt. xviii. 10-14
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| The Good Shepherd. J-J Tissot. Brooklyn Museum. |
Videte ne contemnatis unum ex his pusillis : dico enim vobis, quia angeli eorum in cælis semper vident faciem Patris mei, qui in cælis est.
11 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
Venit enim Filius hominis salvare quod perierat.
12 What think you? If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them should go astray: doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the mountains, and go to seek that which is gone astray?
Quid vobis videtur? si fuerint alicui centum oves, et erravit una ex eis : nonne relinquit nonaginta novem in montibus, et vadit quærere eam quae erravit?
13 And if it so be that he find it: Amen I say to you, he rejoiceth more for that, than for the ninety-nine that went not astray.
Et si contigerit ut inveniat eam : amen dico vobis, quia gaudet super eam magis quam super nonaginta novem, quae non erraverunt.
14 Even so it is not the will of your Father, who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
Sic non est voluntas ante Patrem vestrum, qui in cælis est, ut pereat unus de pusillis istis.
Notes
10. See that you despise not. Our Lord gives two reasons for this warning : —
(a) These little ones have powerful friends and protectors — the angels of God.
(b) These little ones are very dear to God the Father, to whom they belong.
always see the face, etc. The holy angels, although they never cease to gaze on the face of the Father, can succour us on earth because “ they never so go forth apart from the vision of God as to be deprived of the joys of interior contemplation. They are both sent from Him and stand by Him too, since both in that they are circumscribed, they go forth, and in this that they are also entirely present, they never go away. Thus they at the same time always behold the Father’s face, and yet come to us : because they both go forth to us in a spiritual presence, and yet keep themselves there whence they had gone out, by virtue of interior contemplation” (St Greg., Moral., cap. ii.).
The Fathers interpret this verse generally as applying to angels of very high rank, such as the Jews designated by “the angels of the presence.” The figure is taken from the custom observed in an Oriental court, where only the highest ministers of state are allowed to stand in the king’s presence and to speak with him face to face. The Catholic Church teaches that every human being is confided to the care of a guardian angel.
11. For the son of man, etc. The Vatican and Sinaitic MSS. omit this verse, but the Vulgate retains it, following many of the best Uncials and numerous ancient versions. Tischendorf also accepts the passage.
that which was lost. (τό απολωλός) The singular neuter participle is here used, thus giving the words a wider meaning. The whole human race was lost ; all are born in sin. “ Everybody, poor, helpless, ignorant, tempted, comes under this category, and to save such Christ came down from heaven. Therefore their souls are very precious in His sight.”
12. What think you A question to arouse the disciples’ attention. Cf . And he said : To what shall we liken the kingdom of heaven ? (St Mark iv. 30).
If a man, etc. This parable is found in another context in St Luke (xv. 3-7), where we find it placed in answer to the Pharisees and Scribes who had murmured, saying : This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them. We may therefore infer that our Lord uttered this parable more than once, as circumstances called for the.lesson it enforced.
“ The chief point of comparison in St Matthew’s account is the insignificance of the one sheep that had left the fold, compared with the ninety-nine that had remained in it — which insignificance does yet not exclude it from the care and loving pursuit of the shepherd. In the connection wherein the parable appears in St Luke, it rather teaches that none have wandered so widely from God but that He will follow them with His love, and rejoice over them when they are brought back to Him, — the salient point being, not the comparative insignificance of the one sheep, but the fact of its being lost, of its departure from the fold, which yet does not hinder the shepherd from seeking it, nor from rejoicing over it when it is found ” (Trench, Notes on the Parables, p. 331).
Interpretation of the Parable of the Lost Sheep.
1. The Shepherd, Jesus Christ, “the Good Shepherd.”
2. The hundred sheep. Mankind.
3. The lost sheep. The sinner.
4. The ninety-nine sheep. The just (or the angels).
5. The bringing home op the lost sheep. The sinner’s return to God by repentance.
Lessons. — (a) God, in His infinite love, seeks to save all.
(b) The Good Shepherd has a special love and pity for those who have strayed from the fold.
(c) Man, by his own efforts, cannot save his soul.
Note. — This parable and that of the Lost Groat bring into relief the preventing love of God.
an hundred sheep. The emphasis of the number is heightened by contrasting it with the insignificance of the one sheep that had strayed away.
The metaphor of a flock is frequently found in the Scriptures.
Cf. And my sheep were scattered, because there was no shepherd : and they became the prey of all the beasts of the field, and were scattered .... For thus saith the Lord God : Behold I myself will seek my sheep, and will visit them . . . . And you, my flocks, the flocks of my pasture are men: and I am the Lord your God, saith the Lord God (Ez. xxxiv. 11, 31.)
one. ... go astray. There is an Arab proverb attributed to Mahomet : “ The Lord God has divided pity into one hundred parts : of these He has retained ninety and nine for Himself, and sent one upon earth.”
leave the ninety -nine. Many of the Fathers and other writers take this number as referring to the angels, while the one lost sheep typifies fallen humanity. The more usual interpretation is that it represents the just, and the lost sheep the sinner.
in the mountains. Both the Authorized and the Revised Versions connect “in the mountains” with “ goeth,” as the Vulgate gives it. (See above.) In the one case, we have the shepherd seeking the lost sheep on the mountains, in the other we contemplate the ninety-nine pasturing on the sides of the mountain, while the shepherd goes down into the plain or desert to seek the wandering sheep. By analogy with St Luke where we read : Doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the desert ? It seems preferable to adopt the rendering of the Vulgate, and consequently of our Rheims Testament. The construction of the Greek, however, favours the first view (ἐπὶ governing the accusative, ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη ⸀καὶ πορευθεὶς ; “having gone into the mountains.”
goeth to seek. He seeks until he find it. The good Shepherd spares no time or trouble in seeking His sheep. He is not daunted by past fruitless searching, and at last having found it. He brings it home upon his shoulders rejoicing : Does he not call together his friends and neighhours saying to them: Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost ? (St Luke).
which is gone astray. “The lost sheep returns not by his own strength, but is carried back on the shepherd’s shoulders : that which could lose itself, in wandering according to its own way and pleasure, could not find itself, nor be found at all, unless it had been sought after by the tender mercy of the shepherd” (St Aug.).
13. if it so he, etc. Man can refuse to co-operate with the grace of God, and consequently it is not certain that the lost sheep will be brought back to the fold. God forces no man to enter heaven. Cf. If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments (infra, xix. 17).
that he find it. If His search is successful, “ the good Shepherd does not chastise the sheep nor drive it violently back to the fold, but placing it on His shoulders. He carries it pitifully back and places it with the rest of the flock ” (St Greg. of Nyssa).
he rejoiceth. The penitent rejoices in his own conversion, but our Saviour rejoices still more, because He alone knows the terrible danger to which the penitent sinner exposes himself.
The angels too rejoice with the good Shepherd. Cf. I say to you, that even so there shall be joy in heaven upon one sinner that doth penance, more than upon ninety-nine just who need not penance (St Luke xv. 7). The angels are not omniscient, hence they cannot foresee that the sinner will repent : and as they share God’s pitying love for humanity, they rejoice at the conversion of a sinner, as one who has experienced some great anxiety rejoices when his mind is relieved.
more. He experiences a more sensible joy, since he is relieved from anxiety and suspense concerning the fate of the lost sheep. But it is evident that the perseverance of the just must be a greater cause of rejoicing “ per se ” than the conversion of one sinner.
that went not astray. The parallel passage reads, who need not penance.
The just have been already reconciled to God by penance, and are in a state of grace. All men need to repent of their sins, but those who are living in mortal sin have an imperative need of repentance, since such sins, unless forgiven, incur eternal perdition. Cf. Jesus saith to him: He that is washed, needeth not but to wash his feet, but is clean wholly. And you are clean, but not all (St John xiii. 10).
14. Even so it is not, etc. Our Lord Himself here briefly interprets the parable, lest men should fail to grasp the special lesson it teaches, viz. that God wills all men to attain to salvation.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
ss
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