Commentary on the Gospel according to Matthew

^A Thus, in a corresponding manner, one will fall into an abyss of concepts, imagining the remaining feasts in such days, and the entire weekly year, in which God bestows upon the poor, the proselytes, and the beasts of the earth the fruits that sprout from previous cultivation in a season when the land is not being cultivated. But who is able to ascend to the number of the days of the abyss in the jubilee—and by "abyss" I mean the depth of the doctrines—so that one might ascend and see the fiftieth year and the things legislated in it being fulfilled? Nevertheless, seeking the one day of the proposed parable and thinking it to be the entire present age, we have inadvertently entered into the depths of God, needing the Spirit that searches "all things," "even the depths of God."

The last to be called to the work are said to be such because they received the reward before the first. Having prayed to God and invoked the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, let us set forth the parable, and let us see what it will be granted to us to examine and to speak concerning it, or even to have dictated; and it is as follows:

Concerning the laborers hired.

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers," and the rest up to: "For many are called, but few are chosen." ^B Indeed, the whole parable may be taken for this reason: that we may learn how those who came to the work last, just like those who were called first, received the reward first; and in what manner those who were called first were assigned to the last place by the master of the house, and therefore received the reward last.

It must be known that, as a parable of Jesus, "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge," when it is examined, so many doctrines of the wisdom hidden in mystery will be found, hinting at things for those able to find such things, that one could reasonably apply to this parable above all the words of the Savior: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things from the beginning," and: "I will utter things hidden from the foundation." For it is necessary for one who is going to understand the parable to see the day indicated in it, and the hours in it, and that not by a casting of lots does the master of the house deliver the works of the vineyard to the five groups of laborers. But one able to do so will examine the cause of hiring some laborers for the vineyard in the morning, and after that not at the second, but at the third hour, others, and following this not at the fourth or fifth, but at the sixth; then after this at the eleventh. For there must be some reason worthy of Jesus for the time after the morning period to be divided into three equal intervals—the third, sixth, and ninth hours—and after that a shorter interval for those standing at the eleventh hour, as much as was the interval from early morning until the third hour. ^C And not perfunctorily should one attend to the fact that the master of the house has agreed... (for it is) not by a casting of lots (that) the master of the house delivers the works of the vineyard to the five groups of laborers. And not by a casting of lots should one worship an ibis, or a goat, or a female ox. "According to a casting of lots," "by lot," "casting of lots."

^A why do you stand here all the day idle?" And after this, we seek how it is that the householder does not deliver the works of the vineyard to the five groups of laborers by a casting of lots: first, when "he went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard;" second, when "going out about the third hour, he saw others standing in the marketplace idle;" third and fourth, when "going out again about the sixth and ninth hour, he did the like;" and fifth, to those "about the eleventh hour," when "going out he found others standing, and says to them: Why do you stand here all the day idle?" And see whether you can call the first group that which is according to Adam, at the creation of the world; for "the householder went out early in the morning" [and, so to name him,] hired Adam and Eve, that they might work "the vineyard" of piety.

^B The householder [gave] to those taken along at daybreak the one denarius, which he sent into his vineyard; but to those called about the third hour, he did not specify the wage in an orderly way, but that: "Whatever is right, I will give you." It should be noted that he did the same to those called about the sixth and ninth hours, and that he said to those about the eleventh hour, who were making excuses for their idleness throughout the whole day, "Go you also into the vineyard." But also, as one who happened to be outside the vineyard and found the laborers there, the first he sends into the vineyard, but to the second he says: "Go you also into the vineyard"; and similarly, he spoke the same phrase to those called about the eleventh hour: "Go you also into the vineyard." Whoever is able, let him consider what this marketplace is, in which the householder, going out, found the second group standing idle; and thus let it also be examined who those are who were found standing about the eleventh hour, to whom the householder says: "Why do you stand here all the day idle?" Let one also pay attention to the excuse of those who stood idle all the day, and to the travail of those who endured to stand through the whole day, saying with boldness that they were indeed eager to work, but no one hired them, as there were many who would have been hired, but not who would hire.

^C Nor should one neglect to note that when "it was evening, the lord of the vineyard said to his steward: Call the laborers, and pay the wage, beginning from the last even to the first."

OLD INTERPRETATION

who ^A early in the morning were hired? For this is clearly indicated by, "Pay the wages, beginning from the last even unto the first." But who, besides the Lord of the vineyard, is the Lord’s steward, who gives the wages according to the Lord’s command? But if they who were called at the ninth hour did not bear the burden of the day and the heat, it is manifest that these did not murmur against the householder, saying, "These last have wrought one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, who have borne the burden of the day and the heat." Nor did they who were called at the sixth hour ^B bear the burden of the day, but if anything, half of the day. And they who were called at the third hour did not bear the burden of the whole day, but if one must speak accurately, half and a quarter of the day. Only they who were hired from the early morning bore the burden of the day and the heat; those hired from the early morning [bore] the whole, while the rest, besides the last, [bore] in proportion to the time they had labored in the vineyard.

30. Since there are various parables mentioning a vineyard, one might ask whether the vineyard is taken in each case to signify different things, or the same thing. I think one ought to inquire why the householder did not answer all who came first, and who thought that they ^C would receive more, and who had murmured against the householder, but said to one only of them, "Friend, I do thee no wrong; didst not thou agree with me for a penny? I will give unto this last even as unto thee." That the parable before us admits of these things and others similar to them, I would maintain, but that there is no one else to whom it belongs to discourse upon the parable according to its worth than he who truthfully said, "But we have the mind of Christ," this I will confidently affirm. Who therefore has known the mind of Christ ^D hidden in this parable, except he who has given himself over to the Paraclete, of whom the Savior says, "He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you"? For unless the Paraclete teaches all things that Jesus said, and this parable itself, it would not be

possible for anything worthy of Jesus to be brought forward concerning it. And indeed, those who have investigated it according to the saying of Jesus—everyone who unfolds the Gospel according to John—have surely not ^A paid heed to those who, as if from the Paraclete, attend to "spirits of error and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared," so that they pronounce the spirits of error and the demons by the great name of the Paraclete, as though they were similar to the apostles, which the Savior promised. I am persuaded, indeed, that Matthew knew the mysteries involved in this parable—as well as those in the parable of the tares among the wheat—but judged it not fitting to record the interpretation of this one as he did the ^B others, not believing that the explanation of this parable should be committed to writing, just as he recorded the full account of the others. And if Matthew was right in suppressing the account of this parable, clearly so that whoever could understand even a part of it might perhaps rightly hint at the reasons for the things appearing to him, yet not explain all things revealed to him, and by trusting to writing, avoid the danger involved in the exposition of the mysteries.

31. Come then, let us, though we are far removed from the depth of the things ^C in the parable and conceive but very little in our minds about it, propose what we have with some slight measure of prayer, and after having set forth a part of our opinion, and having pointed out a little of what appears, let us then, after having fulfilled what is required regarding the parable, proceed to the rest. First, therefore, let us look at what is meant by "that day" concerning which the parable speaks; and let us see if we can understand the "day" in the sense of the "day" mentioned ^D below.

OF THE LATIN INTERPRETATION.

[The text continues from the Latin column, which mirrors the Greek argument regarding the parable of the laborers in the vineyard:]

And he said to one of them: "Friend, I do you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?" But I wish to say, just as you do, concerning this last one: Since the present parable accepts this, one might ask who is in it; and no one can say anything worthy, unless it be he who said: "We have the mind of Christ."

51. Come, let us who are far from the depth of the parable, guess at some small things, if we may, and first we see what this present age is that we tell of as "one day," great indeed in respect to us, but small and of short duration in respect to the life of God the Father, and of Christ, and of the Holy Spirit. And what is this "short time" compared to the life of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit? Perhaps [it is as] the life of certain blessed virtues and sublime things, compared with the generation of the ages. For this [is] one day compared to the life of all who live, just as this whole age is [short] compared to the life of the supernal virtues. And if it is of such little moment compared to the life of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, let he who can, ask whether such a mystery is demonstrated in the canticle where it is said: "Remember the ages," or, if he asks, let him seek to understand that which is similar to the tradition that says: "And eternal years I have had in my mind, and I meditated by night with my heart, and I exercised my spirit and said: 'Will God not cast away for ages?'" For it is one thing to cast away God for one age: but he perhaps casts away sins that are not remitted, not in this [age] in the future. And perhaps I will say boldly, that in ages [He] does not cast away God: but he casts away perhaps in the second age, when sins are not remitted, not in this, nor in the future. Who is sufficient for those six days and the seventh of rest, and how they refer, and after the Sabbath and the New Moons, and in the fourteenth of the month of Pascha, and in the other days of Unleavened Bread? And so let him who follows [the argument] fall into the abyss of the intellect, considering the other festivals according to this day, and the great weekly [festival] in which [God] gives to the poor, and to strangers, and to the beasts of the earth his fruits, which in the first working of the earth were generated in the time when no one will work the earth. But I call the abyss, because of the altitude of the dogmas, as I ascend, one who sees the fiftieth year, and [as to] what is constituted in the Law, and fulfilled. But seeking one day proposed by the parable, and believing this to be the whole of this present age, we arrived at the altitudes, having the work of the Spirit of God who searches all things, even the altitudes of God. I myself, however, think that just as in the ending of the year certain things are said—

[The text resumes from the Greek column at the start of the next page:]

"He [so] did" to those "around the sixth and ninth hour," clearly he said to them also: "Whatever is just, I will give you." And they can indeed have performed an equal work in the vineyard to those who labored "along with" the dawn, those wishing to intensify the power and energy for the work in less time, not having been fatigued beforehand, which happened to those who were called "along with" the dawn. But someone will ask, how is it that the master of the house says to those who were not only idle but "standing all the day," that is, during the whole time before the eleventh hour, "going out about the eleventh" hour: "Why do you stand here all the day idle?" I suspect that a secret [reason] concerning the soul is hidden also in these things, when they were idle "all the day" until the eleventh hour, wishing indeed to work, but not being taken "into the vineyard," those who confidently defend themselves and say:

I seek also what is outside "the vineyard," where those laborers are found by Him who went out to "hire" them; and I observe whether the region of souls prior to the body is perhaps the place outside "the vineyard," while the vineyard itself is not only things here, but also things outside the body, where I think the laborers work. For the souls that have departed from the body, once they have been taken as laborers into the master's field, are not in idleness. And Samuel, indeed, while outside the body, worked by prophesying, as did Jeremiah in praying "for the people." Let us therefore be zealous and work "the vineyard," "whether at home or away," that we may receive "whatever is right." And certainly, as far as the parable is concerned, no one is sent into it who will not work the works of the vineyard; for the householder did not reproach anyone for having done the work less adequately, even if he did reproach them for hoping for a "wage" that was greater and better.

^A We might call the whole present age a certain day, great indeed in relation to us, but small and short-lived in relation to the life of God, and of Christ, and of the Holy Spirit. For perhaps, even to some of the blessed powers who have ascended higher, in comparison with the many begotten things that are below the primary Trinity, the whole present age has the same ratio to their life as the day among men has to the whole time a man can possibly live. But whether such a mystery is revealed in Deuteronomy according to the song in which it is written, "Remember the days of old" (Deut. XXXII, 7), or not, he who is able will inquire; then, if such are the days of the age, it would follow that one should conceive of a similar interpretation for the passage: "I remembered the days of old, and I meditated in the night with my heart; I was deeply troubled, and my spirit searched, and I said, 'Will the Lord cast off for ever?'" (Ps. LXXVI, 6, 7, 8). ^B And perhaps, to speak more boldly, the Lord will not cast off "for ever," for it is a great thing to cast off the Lord even for one age; but perhaps He will cast off for a second age, when such sin is forgiven neither in the present age nor in the age to come. Who then is capable of raising the six days, and the seventh day of the resurrection, to such days, and after the Sabbaths the new moons, and the feasts in the first month, and the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month, and the days of unleavened bread that follow? In the same way, someone will fall into an abyss of thoughts, imagining the other feasts in such days, and the whole hebdomadal year, in which God grants to the poor and to the proselytes, and to the beasts of the earth, the fruits springing up from the former ^C cultivation, during a time when the earth is not being cultivated. But who can ascend to the number of the days of the abyss in the jubilee (and by "abyss" I mean the depth of the dogmas), so that one may ascend and see the fiftieth year and the things legislated in it being fulfilled? But since we are searching for the one day of the parable set before us, and have thought it to be the whole present age, we have inadvertently stepped into the depths of God, needing the Spirit who searches all things, even the "depths of God" (I Cor. II, 10). I think, however, that just as it is said that certain things must happen at the exit of the completion of the year, so too, as if at the completion of more ages, whether they be fulfilling some year or whatever it may be, for the ^D setting aside of sin—

^A Jesus our Lord appeared, so that after the completion of the ages—as it were a year of days—another beginning might follow, and God might show, in the ages to come, the surpassing riches of his kindness toward those whom he himself knows are to be shown it. And these things have been said on account of the day in the parable; you can confirm them also from the Epistle of John, which says: "Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen, from which we know that it is the last hour." For the last hour succeeds the eleventh hour of the proposed parable, since in the parable the householder went out ^B about the eleventh hour and found others standing, and says to them, "Why do you stand here idle all the day?"

700 32. Next, we must investigate why the householder did not distribute the task of cultivating the vineyard to the five bands of laborers by chance or at random. Indeed, concerning the first, when he went out early in the morning to hire laborers into the vineyard; and concerning the second, when he went out about the third hour and saw others standing in the marketplace idle; and thirdly and fourthly, when he again went out about the sixth and ninth hours and did likewise; and finally, concerning the one who was found about the eleventh hour, when he went out and found others standing, and says to them, "Why do you stand here idle all the day?" See if you can say the first order is that which had its beginning from Adam along with the creation of the world; ^C for the Householder went out early in the morning, and, if I may so speak, hired Adam and Eve so that they might cultivate the vineyard of piety. The second order is that which is reckoned from Noah and the covenant made with him; the third is that which pertains to Abraham, with whom it must be understood that those things pertaining to the fathers up to Moses are also included; the fourth pertains to Moses and all the stewardship in Egypt and the legislation established in the desert; the final order signifies the coming of Christ Jesus about the eleventh hour. But there is one man, the householder, as the proposed parable has it, who went out five times, and has come to these matters, in order that ^D he might...

“The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.” All, therefore, who work the works of “the vineyard,” performing the works of the kingdom of God in a manner worthy of salvation, shall “receive the penny.” After dictating these things regarding this present parable, there occurred to us these further points, which may be useful to those who are making progress in a deeper and more secret interpretation. Someone will say, then, that the whole of human life is the day according to the parable.

^A And those who are pious from childhood and have labored and constrained their youth—if they are to have an equal salvation with those who were idle from their youth regarding piety until old age, and who were idle in unbelief, and who came to faith and the works of faith only for a short time—are indignant at this. Now the vineyard, according to this narrative, would be the Church of God, and the marketplace and those things outside "the vineyard" are those things outside the Church, from where the Master of the house takes those who are called and sends them into "the vineyard," the Church. But they would not be counted according to this narrative among the "laborers" of the vineyard, those who were indeed called to piety earlier, but not having kept the things of faith, were conquered by passions and left; for even if, after being filled with sinful pleasures, they wish, as if repenting, to work in the vineyard [again from the beginning], they cannot say to the Master of the house, "No one hired us," for they were hired at the time when they were first called to believe. But it shall not be said to them: ^B There was still some final work left for the vineyard, which required a new and fresh calling, one capable of working out with speed and suddenly in a short time what was lacking in the vineyard; and this was the work of the New Testament. The intervals of those called at the third, and sixth, and ninth hours are therefore equal; and analogous to the interval from the beginning to the third hour is the interval from the ninth hour of Moses to the eleventh of the advent of Christ Jesus in the flesh. The Master of the house agreed with those who were taken at daybreak for a denarius; this, I suppose, is the coin of salvation, not including those things that are considered in terms of glory; for I think the name of salvation will be the denarius; but what is beyond the denarius, if it is named anywhere, are the coins of him who multiplied the given mina fivefold or tenfold. And he who says to those taken at the third hour, "Whatever is just, I will give you," ^C encouraged the laborers of the third hour to do everything that they were able to do; but he kept for himself the judgment of what is the just wage for the work done. And since he did the same for those of the sixth and ninth hours, it is evident that he also said to them, "Whatever is just, I will give you." And those who are willing to exert the power and energy for the work in a shorter time are able to have done an equal amount of work in the vineyard as those who labored at daybreak, and they do not toil less, which is what happened to those who were called at daybreak. But one might ask how the Master of the house, having gone out about the eleventh hour, says to those who are not only idle but indeed have been standing there the whole day—that is, during all the time before the eleventh hour—"Why do you stand here all the day idle?" ^D I, however, suspect that a secret doctrine regarding the soul is hidden also in these words, when they were idle the whole day until the eleventh hour; wishing indeed...

to work, and being ready in spirit, they were not invited ^A into the vineyard by those who confidently excused themselves, saying, "No one has hired us." We, therefore, being induced both by various Scriptures and by this proposed parable, have dared to put forth such things, in order to declare how it is that those who were summoned about the eleventh hour stood idle all day long, because no one had hired them.

35. But for those to whom these sentiments do not at all appeal, let them teach us the significance ^B of this whole day, and also of those who, though ready in spirit for work, stood idle the whole day and were not invited into the vineyard, and dared to respond, "No one has hired us." For if the soul is sown together with the body, how did they stand idle the whole day? Or let them tell us what that whole day is, and the various callings of the laborers according to the different hours; and whether those whom the householder mentioned in the parable hired were blessed, and whether there were other laborers hired ^C by other householders, or by the same one; and whether they were blessed, or not equally blessed. To understand such things according to their worth is altogether beyond our ability, or to commit to writing as we understand them. I, for my part, search out even the places that are outside the vineyard, in which the laborers are found by him who went out to hire them, and I ponder ^D whether the place of souls before the body is the place outside the vineyard; and whether the vineyard signifies not only things here, but also things outside the body, in which I believe the laborers work; for the souls of the laborers that have been released from the body when they are taken into the field of the householder are not in idleness. At any rate, Samuel, even outside the body, worked while prophesying, and Jeremiah while praying for the people. Let us therefore strive and work in the vineyard, whether dwelling in the body or departing from it, that we may receive whatever is just; and no one, so far as the parable is concerned, is sent into it without working the works of the vineyard.

^A For the master of the house did not rebuke him as one who had done the work less perfectly, even if he did rebuke him because he had hoped for a greater and more abundant reward. And perhaps the place outside the vineyard is the marketplace, where those who were standing idle were. Great indeed is the defense which suggests that they were worthy to receive the wages for the whole day, in that they said, "No one has hired us." Therefore he hired them, and, if I may so say, paid them the wage for having stood patiently the whole day and for having awaited the one who would hire them until evening. After this, when evening had come—that is, the consummation of the age and of the day mentioned in the parable—the Lord says to His steward, whether to one of the angels set over the wages, or to one of the many stewards who exercised stewardship, according to what is said: "A heir, as long as he is a child, is under tutors and governors." ^B Therefore, at the command of the master of the house, the laborers are called by the steward, so that the wage might be given to the last first; for the former laborers, "having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God providing something better for us"—those called at the eleventh hour—"that they should not be perfected without us." And we have received mercy in that we stood for the whole day, and desired for the one who would hire us to come to us, and, though having been idle, were deemed worthy after an excuse to participate in the work; and having received mercy, we, who are Christ’s acquaintances, expect to receive the wages first. He will then subsequently give the wage to those who worked before us, and then to those before them, and so on until he reaches the first. ^C But let one who has seen the place where Samuel dwelt, and has subsequently considered the matter regarding the laborers called at the eleventh hour, see in what way the former ones bore the burden and the heat of the day; but those called at the eleventh hour, as though they had not borne the burden of the day and the heat, yet did bear the burden of having stood idle. Before the coming of the Master to us, who said to us: "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (for the burden was the idleness itself, and the fact that we were not judged worthy in the meantime to perform the works of the vineyard), those who were called before the eleventh hour bore the heat, each according to the estimation of his calling. Now, not knowing the master of the house...

^A and that it is not right to murmur against him, the first ones thought they would receive something more than the salvation which the last ones receive, and they murmured against the master of the house, envying us who are the last, who have labored for the one hour until the consummation, and have become equal to those called from the beginning to the divine vineyard. But the master of the house said to one of them, perhaps to Adam: "Friend, I do thee no wrong. Didst thou not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is thine, and go." For the denarius is salvation. "For I will," he says, "to give to this one even as to thee." And he did not say, "to these," but showed ^B one person in particular, whom it is bolder to say who he is, yet one might not implausibly conjecture to be the Apostle Paul, who labored for one hour, perhaps more than all those before him. And if it is necessary to say something about the vineyard, taking a starting point from him who interpreted the vineyard in another parable, we shall say that the vineyard is the kingdom of God. For thus he himself said in the text: "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." All, therefore, who work the works of the vineyard, performing the works of the kingdom of God worthily of salvation, shall receive the denarius. ^C After dictating these things upon the set-forth parable, and these things occurred to us regarding it, as being able to be useful to those who stumble at deeper and more recondite interpretation. Someone, then, will say...

OLD INTERPRETATION

...the dignity of the first, and because they ought not to murmur against him, they thought they should receive more of salvation than the last; and they murmured against the father of the family, envying us the last, who for one hour even unto the consummation have worked, and have become similar to those who from the beginning of the day were called to the divine vineyard. But the father of the family said to one of them (perhaps to Adam): "Friend, I do thee no wrong. Did I not agree with thee for a denarius? Take what is thine (for thine is salvation, which is the denarius) and go. But I will to give to this last one even as to thee." And he did not say "to these last ones," but showed ^D some one according to this outcome, whom it is indeed rash to name, yet not incredibly can one think to be the Apostle Paul, who worked for one hour, and perhaps over all those who were before him, as he himself testifies, saying: "But I labored more than they all." But if it is necessary to say anything about the vineyard, I accept the occasion from him himself, who interpreted in another parable concerning the vineyard, that the vineyard is the kingdom of God. For thus he himself said: "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and shall be given to a nation producing its fruit." All, therefore, who perform the works of the vineyard, that is, the works of the kingdom of God, and those who perform things worthy of salvation, shall obtain the denarius. 36. After we have declared these things in the present parable, there come to us also these things which are useful to those who profit in a higher and more secret exposition. For someone will say that every life is...

represented as a day in the parable; and that, for this reason, those who are called from their tenderest years to the works of God’s kingdom are those whom the householder is said to have hired at the very break of day. Those, however, who come to piety after they have become youths are those who arrive at the third hour; those who are already men are those sent to the vineyard around the sixth hour; those who have turned to the worship of God at a more advanced age, and are taken up by the Word of God ^A after the heat of youth has subsided and the burden of the period before old age has been removed, signify the ninth hour; and old men, already close to death, are represented by those who are called to the works of the vineyard around the eleventh hour. Since, therefore, it is the intention ^B and the zeal, not the time, that is weighed, on account of which someone has persevered in faith, those who have labored for as long as they have been called receive the equal reward of salvation. Hence, those who have been faithful from childhood, and have exercised themselves in labors, and have borne the intensity of youth, are resentful that those who have been idle from the worship of God until old age, and have only come to the works of faith for a short time, should attain equal salvation.

37. According to this interpretation, the vineyard is the Church; the market, however, and what is outside the vineyard, signify what is outside the Church; whence the Word takes those who are called and sends them into the vineyard, that is, the Church. ^C But it does not require this exposition to recount as laborers of the vineyard those who, having been called to divine worship earlier, did not obey the commandments of faith, but were overcome by their passions and fell away; for even if, after they have been satiated with wicked pleasures, they desire to cultivate the vineyard as if with repentance, yet they do not belong to the number of those who have labored at the eleventh hour, for they have not received the heat and the burden of the day, having spent their youth in sin. And when they have dared to do these things to Jesus, then those who delivered Him were abandoned, and the high priests ceased to be high priests, so that there were no longer high priests among them. Then, too, those scribes who condemned Jesus ^D to death, having their intellect calloused and their reason blinded, did not see the purpose of the holy Scriptures. And all those who condemned Jesus to death were delivered to the death which is the enemy of Christ, and having mocked Jesus, they became a mockery when Jerusalem was surrounded by armies, when "its desolation drew near." Moreover, they themselves were scourged, having scourged Jesus, and they are being scourged until "the fullness of the Gentiles shall come in," for "he who throws a stone into the air throws it upon his own head." And all these things have happened so that their office might depart from them and pass to those from the Gentiles, who are being saved together with the remnant "according to the election." For "if the Lord of Sabaoth had not left" them "a seed, they would have become as Sodom, and would have been made like unto Gomorrah."

^A they truly cannot say to the householder: "No one has hired us," for they were hired when they were first called to the faith; nor will it be said to them: "Why do you stand here all the day idle?" especially if "having begun in the spirit," they were afterward "made perfect in the flesh," and wish to return to living again from the beginning in the spirit. Yet we do not say these things to deter those who have fallen from rising again, or to signify that we would not have wanderers return to the path, or those who have squandered the resources of evangelical instruction through luxury return to their father's house; for it is right that, because of their repentance and the fact that they have been apprehended in a converted life, they should receive rewards ^B greater than those caught in their sins; yet they are not to be considered equal to those who sinned in their youth because they were utterly ignorant of the precepts of the faith. Therefore, the householder wishes to give the denarius—that is to say, salvation—to the last just as he does to the first, since it is permitted to him to do what he wills with his own, and he rebukes him who, because the householder is good, has an evil eye. "So the last shall be first, and some of the first called shall be last; for many are called, but few are chosen." It is likely that one who is more skilled than we are, and who has been judged by God worthy of a clearer and richer grace of the word of wisdom through the Spirit of God, and of the gift of knowledge that is in the word according to the Spirit, and who possesses every faculty of understanding, will find higher and greater things in this parable, and will be able to provide an abundance of proofs by ^C taking up more magnificent scriptural passages. As for us, since we have expounded the meaning of the parable as we were able, we ask for indulgence from our readers if we have not been able to attain the dignity of the matters written here; for we may perhaps deserve some measure of approval for our zeal and for not having shrunk back from the task.

OLD INTERPRETATION

Whence the Lord's discourse accepts those who are called by Christ and sends them into the vineyard, that is, into the Church. But according to this exposition, those who were indeed called first to the service of God, but did not keep what pertained to the faith and were overcome and departed from the vineyard—that is, from the Church of God, or from the faith of the truth, or from the righteousness of the heavenly kingdom—having sinned, and after the fulfillment of their lusts, having desired as if in repentance to work in the vineyard again from the beginning, were not counted among the laborers of the vineyard. Nor can they say to the householder: "No one has hired us." For they were hired according to the first time in which they were called to the faith. Nor will it be said to them: "Why do you stand here all the day idle?" especially if, beginning in the spirit, they were afterward made perfect in the flesh, and if they wish after these things to go back, so that they might live again in the spirit. And we have not said these things to dissuade those who have fallen from rising, or to prevent the averted from being converted, so that those lustful sons who have lived luxuriously and consumed the substance of evangelical teaching might not return to their father's house. For on account of their repentance, because they were overcome by perverse vices, they have a better consolation of salvation than those who might have been caught in sins; yet we ought not to think that they are equal to those who sinned in their youth because they had not yet learned what belonged to the faith. Therefore, the householder wishes to give the denarius of salvation to the last in the same way as to the first, since it is permitted to him to do what he wills in his own affairs, and to rebuke him who has an evil eye, because the householder is good. Therefore many of the last shall be called first, and some of the first shall be last: for "many are called, but few are found chosen."

«λαὸς» δὲ ὁ τῶν ἐθνῶν «ὁ καθήμενος ἐν σκότει εἶδε φῶς», οὐχ ὁποῖον ὁ Ἰσραὴλ μικρόν [μικρὸν γὰρ φῶς ἕκαστος ἦν τῶν προφητῶν], ἀλλὰ «λαὸς ὁ καθήμενος ἐν σκότει εἶδε φῶς μέγα», τὸν κύριον καὶ σωτῆρα ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν, οὗ τὸ μέγεθος φαίνεται διατείνοντος «ἀπὸ πέρατος γῆς εἰς τὸ πέρας αὐτῆς εὐρώστως, καὶ διοικοῦντος» τὰς ἐκκλησίας «χρηστῶς», ὅτε τὸ πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ πεπλήρωκε τὴν οἰκουμένην, πληρωθείσης τῆς λεγούσης προφητείας, «ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις ἐμφανὲς» ἔσεσθαι «τὸ ὄρος τοῦ θεοῦ»· καὶ νῦν «πορεύονται ἐπ’ αὐτὸ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη», καὶ ἔστι τοῦτο Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς. «Τότε προσῆλθεν αὐτῷ ἡ μήτηρ τῶν υἱῶν Ζεβεδαίου μετὰ τῶν υἱῶν αὐτῆς» καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς ἕως τοῦ «ἀκούσαντες δὲ οἱ δέκα ἠγανάκτησαν περὶ τῶν δύο ἀδελφῶν». τὸ δ’ ὅμοιον αὐτῷ καὶ ὁ Μᾶρκος ἀνέγραψε τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον· «καὶ προςπορεύονται αὐτῷ Ἰάκωβος καὶ Ἰωάννης οἱ υἱοὶ Ζεβεδαίου καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ» καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς ἕως τοῦ «ἤρξαντο ἀγανακτεῖν περὶ Ἰακώβου καὶ Ἰωάννου». Ἄξιον ἐν τοῖς προκειμένοις ζητῆσαι νοῦν οὐκ εὐκαταφρόνητον καὶ ἀληθῶς εὐαγγελίῳ πρέποντα Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.

VOLUME SIXTEENTH.

^A “And as Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside in the way, and said to them,” and the rest, until, “And on the third day he shall rise again.” Marcus has written the equivalent of these in this manner: “And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was proceeding before them,” and the rest, until, “And on the third day he shall rise again.” And Luke also seems to agree with these, having written: “And taking the twelve, he said to them,” and the rest, until, “And they understood none of these things.” Paul, who urges us to imitate him, just as he also imitated Christ, and who said, “Be imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ,” having seen Christ going resolutely toward the obvious dangers, and going up to Jerusalem, knowing beforehand that he would be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and would be condemned to death, and the rest, did something similar. For Agabus, having taken his girdle, and binding his own hands and feet, said: “Thus saith the Holy Spirit: The man whose this girdle is, so shall they bind him when he has gone to Jerusalem.” ^B Having learned these things, Paul, as if imitating his master, went up eagerly to Jerusalem, and having been humanly affected by those who, because of their love for him, were weeping and preventing him from going up to Jerusalem, he said: “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound at Jerusalem, but also to die for the name of my Lord Jesus.” Considering these things, then, and being at times aware of the painful temptations that lie ahead, ^C we should resolutely resist them, as will be consistent with reason; [taking] an example of this kind, first indeed from the Savior, then also from the apostle Paul. And do not think that these things are contrary to what we said earlier, and frequently, that “If any one persecutes you in this city, flee into another,” and that hearing the Lord [say to] John…

OLD INTERPRETATION.

1. At that time, while Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took his twelve disciples aside in the way, and said to them: “Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be delivered up to the chief priests.” Paul, who exhorts us to become his imitators, just as he himself imitated Christ, knowing that Christ had most promptly gone up through these things to manifest dangers, knowing that he was to be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and was to be condemned to death, and was to be delivered to the Gentiles to be mocked, and scourged, and crucified, did something similar. For when Agabus had taken his girdle, and had bound his own hands and feet, saying: “Thus saith the Holy Spirit: The man whose this girdle is, the Jews shall bind him thus in Jerusalem, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles;” hearing these things, Paul, having imitated his master, was going up most promptly to Jerusalem. And when he had suffered something human from those who, for the sake of their love for him, had begun to weep and prevent him from going up to Jerusalem, he said: “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Considering these things, therefore, and recognizing them, we ought to know that because we shall frequently undergo certain temptations, we ought to offer ourselves to pain, according to what is just, in order to avoid temptations, taking an example of this kind, first indeed from the Savior, then also from the apostle Paul. And do not consider these things to be contrary to what we said above, and frequently, that “If any one persecutes you in this city, flee into another,” and what hearing the Lord [saying] that John [incurs]…