Commentary on Matthew

Chapter Fourteen

158 CHAPTER FOURTEEN ave you understood all these things?” And they said to him: “Yes.” And he said to them, “Therefore, every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven,” 1 etc. The Lord spoke not to the crowd but to the disciples and provided a proper explanation to those who understood the parables. He makes a comparison between them and himself in the guise of the master of a house,2 because they accepted instruction from the Lord’s treasury of new and old things. Given their knowledge , he calls those “scribes” who understood these things, new and old, which were presented in the Gospels and in the Law; they understood that there is the one master of the house for one and the same treasure. 2. And it happened that when Jesus had finished these parables, he moved from there and came to his home country,3 and the rest. The Lord was dishonored by his own [people]. Although they admired the wisdom of his teaching and the power of his acts, their unbelief prevented them from accepting the truth of his claim. They did not believe that God was doing these things in a man.4 In fact, they identified his father, his mother, and his brothers and were contemptuous of his father’s trade.5 Plainly he was the son of a carpenter who hammers on iron with fire, he who smelts all the power of this world by his judgment, and who gives form to matter all for the benefit of humanity. In other words, he is the one who molds the formless matter of our bodies so that our members may perform different functions and do every work that leads toward eternal life.6 1. Mt 13.51–52. 2. sub patris familiae nomine. 3. Mt 13.53–54a. Some Old Latin versions combine these two verses into one as Hilary does here. 4. A frequent characteristic of unbelief for Hilary; see supra, 3.5; 10.27; 12.18. 5. Mt 13.55, interpreted in light of Jn 6.42; 7.15. 6. The analogy here is that of a craftsman who fashions from raw materials “ ON MATTHEW, CHAP. 14 159 All of them were scandalized by these things.7 Though he performed many magnificent deeds among them, they were troubled8 about his corporeality.9 The Lord responded that a prophet is dishonored in his homeland,10 just as he would be despised in Judaea to the point of being condemned to the cross.11 He refrained from doing any works of divine power, because of their incredulity and because the power of God belongs only to the faithful. 3. At that time, Herod the tetrarch heard reports about Jesus,12 etc. We have often stated that we should use all diligence in the reading of the Gospels because, in the events that are recounted , there is often a principle of deeper understanding underlying them.13 The narration of all the events occurs in its order,14 and an image of the underlying cause is prefigured in these events, as is understood in the case of Herod and John.15 Now Herod was the leader of the people and by the right of his authority announced his marriage to Herodias, the spouse of his brother Philip.16 This Herodias had a daughter, and when her dancing pleased Herod on his birthday,17 she received a promise from him that she could have whatever reward she wished. The girl, prompted by her mother, requested that the head of John,18 who had been held for a long time in prison, be brought to her and offered on a plate. Although Herod was saddened, he fulfilled his promise, and the girl then presented the reward to her mother.19 Then John’s disciples, after having buried him, went to Jesus.20 4. When the Lord heard about these things, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place.21 The crowds followed him and he (such as iron) useful implements for human life, as God shapes, hammers out, and smelts humanity for temporal and eternal benefits. 7. Mt 13.57. 8. I.e., that a human being could do such things. 9. contemplatione. 10. Mt 13.57b. 11. ad cruces sententiam. 12. Mt 14.1. 13. interioris intelligentiae ratio reperiatur. 14. I.e., a literal reading of the account. 15. Mt 14.3–12. 16. Mt 14.4. 17. Mt 14.6. 18. Ibid...