St Matthew Chapter XXII : Verses 41-46
Contents
- Matt. xxii. 41-46. Douay-Rheims text & Latin text (Vulgate).
- Notes on the text.
- Additional Notes: How then doth David in spirit call him Lord ?
Matt. xxii. 41-46
Congregatis autem pharisæis, interrogavit eos Jesus,
42 Saying: What think you of Christ? whose son is he? They say to him: David's.
dicens : Quid vobis videtur de Christo? cujus filius est? Dicunt ei : David.
43 He saith to them: How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying:
Ait illis : Quomodo ergo David in spiritu vocat eum Dominum, dicens :
44 The Lord said to my Lord, Sit on my right hand, until I make thy enemies thy footstool?
Dixit Dominus Domino meo : Sede a dextris meis, donec ponam inimicos tuos scabellum pedum tuorum?
45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?
Si ergo David vocat eum Dominum, quomodo filius ejus est?
46 And no man was able to answer him a word; neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.
Et nemo poterat ei respondere verbum : neque ausus fuit quisquam ex illa die eum amplius interrogare.
Notes
41. Jesus asked them. He now questions the Pharisees in general, in order to lead them to accept what the Scriptures laid down concerning the Messias, and thus, if possible, lead them to accept His claims.
42. What think you of Christ : whose son is he ? The other Synoptists frame the question differently.
But he said to them : How say they that Christ is the son of David ? (St Luke).
How do the scribes say, that Christ is the son of David ? (St Mark).
Jesus bad in view by this question to instruct the people in His divinity, and to prove that the Messias was no mere earthly man, of which truth the spiritual teachers of the people were ignorant.
43. in spirit, — i.e. by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. Cf. For David himself saith by the Holy Ghost : The Lord said to my Lord, etc. (St Mark). ^
44. The Lord said, etc. The Pharisees held, from various texts of Scripture, that the Messias would be a descendant of David. This text is quoted from Ps. cix. 1. This psalm was rightly held to be Messianic, and is frequently so quoted in the New Testament (e.g. Heb. i. 13, x. 13 : 1 St Peter iii. 22).
In the original Hebrew of the psalm, the two words here translated Lord had different meanings — Jehovah, referring to God ; Adonai, to an anointed king.
until I make, etc. These were warning words to those who were plotting to destroy the Messias. The expression thy footstool refers to the Oriental custom of the conqueror putting his foot on the neck of the defeated enemy.
Josue acted thus when he called all the men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of the army that were with him : Go, and set your feet on the necks of these kings. And when they had gone and put their feet on the necks of them lying under them, etc. (x. 24). Tamerlane, the Tartar, made Bajazet, the Turkish emperor, serve as his footstool when he mounted on horseback.
45. If David then call, etc. Jesus, as regards His humanity, was the Son of David ; as regards His divinity, He was David’s Lord. The question was a difficult one for the Jews, who did not believe in the Divinity of the Messias, but looked on Him as a temporal prince, and refused to recognize our Lord as such, on account of His humble origin, and also because His teaching was not acceptable to them.
46. neither durst any man, etc., — i.e. they durst not ask any question to ensnare him in his speech. “ They perceived that they could gain no advantage over Christ by such methods of attack. Pharisees, Herodians, Sadducees had ignominiously succumbed ; to make a fresh assault was to court a fresh defeat. Seeing this, they dared no longer tempt him in this way. Henceforward they would use other tactics. Treachery and violence must now play their part. These weapons would be more successful in compassing the destruction of the innocent Victim.”
Additional Notes
43. How then doth David in spirit call him Lord ? From these words, which Jesus quotes, we gather that —
(а) David was the author of Psalm cix.
(b) He wrote it by inspiration.
(c) It referred to the Messias, and not to an ordinary descendant of David,
Jewish opinion was agreed on this point, hence the Pharisees could not evade our Lord’s question and reasoning by denying one of these three facts, therefore they had recourse to silence, — “ no man was able to answer him a word” (St Matt. xxii. 46).
The New Testament writers also quote Psalm cix. in this sense : “ But to which of the angels said he at any time : Sit on my right hand ? ” (Heb. i. 13). “So “ Christ also did not glorify himself .... but he that said unto him .... Thou art a priest for ever, according to the order of Melchisedech ” (Heb. v. 5, 6).
Later Jewish writers have denied that David was the author of this psalm, and also its reference to the Messias.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
No comments:
Post a Comment