[5880] Matt. xvii. 22.
[5881] Matt. xvi. 21.
[5882] Matt. xvii. 22.
[5883] Rom. viii. 32.
[5884] John i. 29.
[5885] Job i. 12.
[5886] Job i. 15-19.
[5887] Eph. ii. 2.
[5888] Job i. 16.
[5889] John xiii. 27.
[5890] 1 Cor. ii. 7, 8.
[5891] 1 Cor. xv. 22.
[5892] Heb. ii. 14, 15.
9. Satan and the "Delivery" Of Jesus.
Now we must think that the devil has the power of death,--not of that which is common and indifferent, in accordance with which those who are compacted of soul and body die, when their soul is separated from the body,--but of that death which is contrary to and the enemy of Him who said, "I am the Life," [5893] in accordance with which "the soul that sinneth, it shall die." [5894] But that it was not God who gave Him up into the hands of men, the Saviour manifestly declares when He says, "If My kingdom were of this world, then would My servants fight that I should not be delivered to the Jews." [5895] For, when He was delivered up to the Jews, He was delivered into the hands of men, not by His own servants, but by the prince of this age who says, concerning the powers which are in the sphere of the invisible, the kingdoms which are set up against men, "All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship Me." [5896] Wherefore also we should think that in regard to them it was said, "The kings of the earth stood side by side, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ." [5897] And those kings, indeed, and those rulers stood side by side and were gathered against the Lord and against His Christ; but we, because we have been benefited by His being delivered by them into the hands of men and slain, say, "Let us break their bonds asunder and cast away their yoke from us." [5898] For, when we become conformed to the death of Christ, we are no longer under the bonds of the kings of the earth, as we have said, nor under the yoke of the princes of this age, who were gathered together against the Lord. And, on this account, "the Father spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all," [5899] that those, who took Him and delivered Him up into the hands of men, might be laughed at by Him who dwells in the heavens, and might be derided by the Lord, inasmuch as, contrary to their expectation, it was to the destruction of their own kingdom and power, that they received from the Father the Son, who was raised on the third day, by having abolished His enemy death, and made us conformed, not only to the image of His death but also of His resurrection; through whom we walk in newness of life, [5900] no longer sitting "in the region and shadow of death," [5901] through the light of God which has sprung up upon us. But when the Saviour said, "The Son of man shall be delivered up into the hands of men, and they shall kill Him, and the third day He shall rise again," they were "exceeding sorry," [5902] giving heed to the fact that He was about to be delivered up into the hands of men, and that He would be killed, as matters gloomy and calling for sorrow, but not attending to the fact that He would rise on the third day, as He needed no longer time "to bring to nought through death him that had the power of death." [5903]
[5893] John xiv. 6.
[5894] Ezek. xviii. 4.
[5895] John xviii. 36.
[5896] Matt. iv. 9.
[5897] Ps. ii. 2.
[5898] Ps. ii. 3.
[5899] Rom. viii. 32.
[5900] Rom. vi. 4.
[5901] Matt. iv. 16.
[5902] Matt. xvii. 22, 23.
[5903] Heb. ii. 14.
10. Concerning Those Who Demanded the Half-Shekel.
"And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received the half-shekel came to Peter." [5904] There are certain kings of the earth, and the sons of these do not pay toll or tribute; and there are others, different from their sons, who are strangers to the kings of the earth, from whom the kings of the earth receive toll or tribute. And among the kings of the earth, their sons are free as among fathers; but those who are strangers to them, while they are free in relation to things beyond the earth, are as slaves in respect of those who lord it over them and keep them in bondage; as the Egyptians lorded it over the children of Israel, and greatly afflicted their life and violently held them in bondage. [5905] It was for the sake of those who were in a bondage, corresponding to the bondage of the Hebrews, that the Son of God took upon Him only the form of a slave, [5906] doing no work that was foul or servile. As then, having the form of that slave, He pays toll and tribute not different from that which was paid by His disciple; for the same stater sufficed, even the one coin which was paid for Jesus and His disciple. But this coin was not in the house of Jesus, but it was in the sea, and in the mouth of a fish of the sea which, in my judgment, was benefited when it came up and was caught in the net of Peter, who became a fisher of men, in which net was that which is figuratively called a fish, in order also that the coin with the image of Cæsar might be taken from it, and that it might take its place among those which were caught by them who have learned to become fishers of men. Let him, then, who has the things of Cæsar render them to Cæsar, [5907] that afterwards he may be able to render to God the things of God. But since Jesus, who was "the image of the invisible God," [5908] had not the image of Cæsar, for "the prince of this age had nothing in Him," [5909] on this account He takes from its own place, the sea, the image of Cæsar, that He may give it to the kings of the earth for Himself and His disciple, so that those who receive the half-shekel might not imagine that Jesus was the debtor of them and of the kings of the earth; for He paid the debt, not having taken it up, nor having possessed it, nor having acquired it, nor at any time having made it His own possession, so that the image of Cæsar might never be along with the image of the invisible God.
[5904] Matt. xvii. 24.
[5905] Exod. i. 13, 14.
[5906] Phil. ii. 7.
[5907] Mark xli. 17; Luke xx. 25.
[5908] Col. i. 15.
[5909] John xiv. 31.
11. The Freedom of Sons.
And this may be put in another way. There are some who are kings' sons on the earth, and yet they are not sons of those kings, but sons, and sons absolutely; but others, because of their being strangers to the sons of the kings of the earth, and sons of no one of those upon the earth, but on this very account are sons, whether of God or of His Son, or of some one of those who are God's. If, then, the Saviour inquires of Peter, saying, "The kings of the earth from whom do they receive toll or tribute--from their own sons or from strangers?" [5910] and Peter replies not from their own sons, but "from strangers," then Jesus says about such as are strangers to the kings of the earth, and on account of being free are sons, "Therefore the sons are free;" [5911] for the sons of the kings of the earth are not free, since "every one that committeth sin is the bond-servant of sin," [5912] but they are free who abide in the truth of the word of God, and on this account, know the truth, that they also may become free from sin. If, any one then, is a son simply, and not in this matter wholly a son of the kings of the earth, he is free. And nevertheless, though he is free, he takes care not to offend even the kings of the earth, and their sons, and those who receive the half-shekel; wherefore He says, "Let us not cause them to stumble, but go thou and cast thy net, and take up the fish that first cometh up," [5913] etc. But I would inquire of those who are pleased to make myths about different natures, of what sort of nature they were, whether the kings of the earth, or their sons, or those who receive the half-shekel, whom the Saviour does not wish to offend; it appears of a verity, ex hypothesi, that they are not of a nature worthy of praise, and yet He took heed not to cause them to stumble, and He prevents any stumbling-block being put in their way, that they may not sin more grievously, and that with a view to their being saved--if they will--even by receiving Him who has spared them from being caused to stumble. And as in a place verily of consolation,--for such is, by interpretation, Capernaum,--comforting the disciple as being both free and a son, He gives to him the power of catching the fish first, that when it came up Peter might be comforted by its coming up and being caught, and by the stater being taken from its mouth, in order to be paid to those whose the stater was, and who demanded as their own such a piece of money.
[5910] Matt. xvii. 25.
[5911] Matt. xvii. 26.
[5912] John viii. 34.
[5913] Matt. xvii. 27.
12. The Stater Allegorized.
But you might sometimes gracefully apply the passage to the lover of money, who has nothing in his mouth but things about silver, when you behold him healed by some Peter, who takes the stater, which is the symbol of all his avarice, not only from his mouth and words, but from his whole character. For you will say that such an one was in the sea, and in the bitter affairs of life, and in the waves of the cares and anxieties of avarice, having the stater in his mouth when he was unbelieving and avaricious, but that he came up from the sea and was caught in the rational net, and being benefited by some Peter who has taught him the truth, no longer has the stater in his mouth, but in place of it those things which contain His image, the oracles of God.
13. The Sacred Half-Shekel.
Moreover to the saying, "They that received the half-shekel came to Peter," [5914] you will adduce from Numbers that, for the saints according to the law of God, is paid not a half-shekel simply, but a sacred half-shekel. For it is written, "And thou shalt take five shekels per head, according to the sacred half-shekel." [5915] But also on behalf of all the sons of Israel is given a sacred half-shekel per head. Since then it was not possible for the saint of God to possess along with the sacred half-shekels the profane shekels, so to speak, on this account, to them who do not receive the sacred half-shekels, and who asked Peter and said, "Doth not your master pay the half-shekel?" the Saviour commands the stater to be paid, in which was the half-shekel which was found in the mouth of the first fish that came up, in order that it might be given for the Teacher and the disciple.
[5914] Matt. xvii. 24.
[5915] Num. iii. 47.
14. Concerning Those Who Said, Who is the Greatest? and Concerning the Child that Was Called by Jesus.
"In that day came the disciples unto Jesus saying, Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" [5916] In order that we might be taught what it was that the disciples came to Jesus and asked to learn of Him, and how He answered to their inquiry, Matthew, though he might have given an account of this very thing only, has added, according to some manuscripts, "In that hour the disciples came unto Jesus," but, according to others, "In that day;" and it is necessary that we should not leave the meaning of the evangelist without examination. Wherefore giving attention to the words preceding "in that day," or "hour," let us see if it is possible from them to find a way to understand, as being necessary, the addition, "in that day," or "hour." Jesus then had come to Capernaum along with His disciples, where "they that received the half-shekel came to Peter," and asked and said, "Doth not your Master pay the half-shekel?" Then, when Peter answered and said to them, Yea, Jesus giving further a defence with reference to the giving of the half-shekel, sends Peter to drag up the fish into the net, in the mouth of which He said that a stater would be found which was to be given for Himself and Peter. It seems to me, then, that thinking that this was a very great honour which had been bestowed on Peter by Jesus, who judged that he was greater than the rest of His friends, they wished to learn accurately the truth of their suspicion, by making inquiry of Jesus and hearing from Him, whether, as they supposed, He had judged that Peter was greater than they; and at the same time also they hoped to learn the ground on which Peter had been preferred to the rest of the disciples. Matthew then, I think, wishing to make this plain, has subjoined to the words "that take"--the stater, to-wit--"and give unto them for thee and me," the words, "In that day came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" [5917] And, perhaps, they were also in doubt because of the preference which had been given to the three at the transfiguration, and they were in doubt about this--which of the three was judged by the Lord to be greatest. For John reclined on His breast through love, and we may conclude that before the Supper they had seen many tokens of special honour given by Jesus to John; but Peter on his confession was called blessed in their hearing, because of his saying, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God;" [5918] but again because of the saying, "Get thee behind Me, Satan; thou art a stumbling-block unto Me, for thou mindest not the things of God but the things of men," [5919] they were distracted in mind as to whether it was not he but one of the sons of Zebedee, that was the greatest. So much for the words "in that day" or "hour," on which took place the matters relating to the stater.