[1114] Matt. xix. 1-12.
[1115] Gen. ii. 24.
Chapter LXIII.--Of the Little Children on Whom He Laid His Hands; Of the Rich Man to Whom He Said, "Sell All that Thou Hast;" Of the Vineyard in Which the Labourers Were Hired at Different Hours; And of the Question as to the Absence of Any Discrepancy Between Matthew and the Other Two Evangelists on These Subjects.
123. Matthew proceeds thus: "Then were there brought unto Him little children, that He should put His hands on them, and pray; and the disciples rebuked them;" and so on, down to where we read, "For many are called, but few are chosen." [1116] Mark has followed the same order here as Matthew. [1117] But Matthew is the only one who introduces the section relating to the labourers who were hired for the vineyard. Luke, on the other hand, first mentions what He said to those who were asking each other who should be the greatest, and next subjoins at once the passage concerning the man whom they had seen casting out devils, although he did not follow Him; then he parts company with the other two at the point where he tells us how He stedfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem; [1118] and after the interposition of a number of subjects, [1119] he joins them again in giving the story of the rich man, to whom the word is addressed, "Sell all that thou hast," [1120] which individual's case is related here by the other two evangelists, but still in the succession which is followed by all the narratives alike. For in the passage referred to in Luke, that writer does not fail to bring in the story of the little children, just as the other two do immediately before the mention of the rich man. With regard, then, to the accounts which are given us of this rich person, who asks what good thing he should do in order to obtain eternal life, there may appear to be some discrepancy between them, because the words were, according to Matthew, "Why askest thou me about the good?" while according to the others they were, "Why callest thou me good?" The sentence, "Why askest thou me about the good?" may then be referred more particularly to what was expressed by the man when he put the question, "What good thing shall I do?" For there we have both the name "good" applied to Christ, and the question put. [1121] But the address "Good Master" does not of itself convey the question. Accordingly, the best method of disposing of it is to understand both these sentences to have been uttered, "Why callest thou me good?" and, "Why askest thou me about the good?"
[1116] Matt. xix. 13-xx. 16.
[1117] Mark x. 13-31.
[1118] Luke ix. 46-51.
[1119] [Compare note on § 120.--R.]
[1120] Luke xviii. 18-30.
[1121] The Latin version is followed here. In Matt. xix. 17, where the English version gives, "Why callest thou me good?" the Vulgate has, Quid me interrogas de bono? [The Revised Version text agrees with the Vulgate (in Matthew), following the most ancient Greek mss. But the same authorities read "Master" instead of "good Master," differing from the Vulgate. Augustin accepts the latter reading.--R.]
Chapter LXIV.--Of the Occasions on Which He Foretold His Passion in Private to His Disciples; And of the Time When the Mother of Zebedee's Children Came with Her Sons, Requesting that One of Them Should Sit on His Right Hand, and the Other on His Left Hand; And of the Absence of Any Discrepancy Between Matthew and the Other Two Evangelists on These Subjects.
124. Matthew continues his narrative in the following terms: "And Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples apart, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify Him; and the third day He shall rise again. Then came to Him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, worshipping Him, and desiring a certain thing of Him;" and so on, down to the words, "Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many." [1122] Here again Mark keeps the same order as Matthew, only he represents the sons of Zebedee to have made the request themselves; while Matthew has stated that it was preferred on their behalf not by their own personal application, but by their mother, as she had laid what was their wish before the Lord. Hence Mark has briefly intimated what was said on that occasion as spoken by them, rather than by her [in their name]. And to conclude with the matter, it is to them rather than to her, according to Matthew no less than according to Mark, that the Lord returned His reply. Luke, on the other hand, after narrating in the same order our Lord's predictions to the twelve disciples on the subject of His passion and resurrection, leaves unnoticed what the other two evangelists immediately go on to record; and after the interposition of these passages, he is joined by his fellow-writers again [at the point where they report the incident] at Jericho. [1123] Moreover, as to what Matthew and Mark have stated with respect to the princes of the Gentiles exercising dominion over those who are subject to them,--namely, that it should not be so with them [the disciples], but that he who was greatest among them should even be a servant to the others,--Luke also gives us something of the same tenor, although not in that connection; [1124] and the order itself indicates that the same sentiment was expressed by the Lord on a second occasion.
[1122] Matt. xx. 17-28.
[1123] Luke xviii. 31-35.
[1124] Luke xxii. 24-27.