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The Gospel of Jesus Christ According to St. Matthew Pasquier Quesnel Translated by the Rev. Daniel Wilson, D.D., Vicar of Islington and now Bishop of Calcutta. Revised by the Rev. Henry A. Boardman, D.D. Philadelphia: Parry & McMillan, 1855. Chapter XII. Sect. I. The Ears Of Corn Plucked. The Observation Of The Sabbath. 1. AT that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were ahungered, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. Who will not wonder at the extreme poverty of Jesus Christ and his disciples? He was himself present with them, and yet suffered them to want bread! A man, therefore, is not forsaken of God because he is in want. It is more honour to suffer in the fellowship and spirit of Christ, than, in the midst of the world, to have all things in abundance. If, when we first begin to serve God, we should also begin to suffer, and to have more temporal necessities, we should not be surprised at it; the riches of Jesus Christ, and those of his disciples, are all spiritual. 2. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day. The pretenders to devotion are sometimes superstitious to inhumanity, sometimes indulgent even to impiety; the true lovers of the law regulate their exactness in observing it by the intent of the law. God sometimes permits such things in the church as may perhaps make some persons murmur, on purpose to afford an opportunity of attacking superstitions or popular errors. Envy is always ready to blame and to condemn. Conceited sciolists are still forward to determine to the disadvantage of others that which they do not understand. 3. But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was ahungered, and they that were with him; The example of holy men, which the Scripture relates with out any censure, may serve to regulate our behaviour. We must, after the example of Christ, confute those by Scripture, who misapply it contrary to charity, and who flatter them selves that they understand it. It is the effect of envy to make us easily see what may serve to accuse others, and not perceive what may justify them. 4. How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? Positive laws cease to oblige four ways: First, by the natural law of necessity. Charity opens the eyes and the understanding in defence of slandered innocence. No consecration of things can dispense with the charity which is due to our neighbour in necessity. 5. Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? 6. But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. In the second place, positive laws cease to oblige, by means of some other particular law, which is superior. That which is done for the service of God, ought not to be looked upon as a thing profane. Christ is not discouraged at the malice of his enemies, but gives them occasion to reflect upon all they had seen, which fully proved his divinity. The reverence and devotion of the Jews in their temple, which was only figurative, will condemn the irreverence and profaneness of Christians in the presence of Christ, who is the true temple. 7. But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. In the third place, the obligation of these laws yields to the law of charity and mercy, which is preferable to all other. Few, even among Christians, do thoroughly know, with regard to practice, what this sentence means. It is easy enough to sacrifice to God external things; the sacrifice of charity is that which he requires. The liberty to judge ill of others, is what most agreeably flatters the heart of the sons of Adam. The world is sometimes full of wrongs and violences, which have no other foundation but unjust and rash judgments. The multiplying the external sacrifice of works, is no certain sign of a progress in holiness; but a proficiency in charity and mercy toward our neighbour is always such. 8. For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. Lastly, these laws cease to oblige by a lawful dispensation, or by the authority of the legislator. Jesus Christ is Lord; when we once know his will, we must obey it. The change of the Jewish into the Christian and spiritual Sabbath, shows that Christ is not only the Lord, but also the truth and completion of it. When, Lord, wilt thou change this Sabbath into that of eternity, into that unchangeable rest which thou reservest for the people of God? Sect. II. The Withered Hand Restored. 9. And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue: 10. And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him. Envy is an implacable enemy, which it is very dangerous for a man to admit into his heart; she is provoked, and her malignity fed, even by her neighbour’s charity. The fear of giving offence to pharisaical persons should not hinder an evangelical labourer from going forward with God’s work, ac cording to his rules and maxims. A truly good man is always disposed to excuse what is evil in his brethren; a hypocrite seeks occasion to accuse them even from good itself. This last makes no manner of scruple about plain and evident crimes, and acts the scrupulous person in things most clearly and manifestly good. 11. And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? Charity sometimes bears with what is done only out of worldly interest; envy cannot bear even that which is done out of charity. Interest is a very decisive casuist, and removes abundance of scruples in a moment. It is always the soonest consulted, and the most readily obeyed. We are not indeed forbid to hearken to it; but we must not let it govern, or determine by itself. 12. How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. He who violates charity, violates the law, though he observe the letter of it. He who exercises charity, observes the law, even then, when for just reasons he neglects the letter. There are but too many Christians who do more for the sake of a beast of profit or pleasure, than for their neighbour. If we owe a great deal to a man, let him be what he will, how much more to a Christian, together with whom we help to form the body of Christ? Strange corruption of the heart of man, to whom it must be proved that he is permitted at all times to do good! 13. Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other. The bare will of Jesus Christ has an almighty power of restoring life and vigour to our souls. He makes the affliction evident, in order to make known his mercy, and to excite that of the Pharisees. When God designs to heal the withered hand of a sinner, he need only give command, and the sinner begins presently to stretch it forth toward him by prayer, and toward his neighbour by alms, and by all the assistances which he owes him. Lord, my soul is before thee, like this hand; vouchsafe to show it the same mercy! 14. Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. Nothing sooner leads to blindness and hardness of heart than envy; and when once a man is brought to that, of what is he not capable? To exercise charity on a sabbath day is crime, to labour on the same day to destroy one’s neighbour is a good work! thus reasons a corrupt heart before it is aware. Such a one gives himself up to all sorts of wicked ness on days the most holy, who will condemn without mercy a poor man whom necessity forces to work on any such day; to that degree may a man’s heart, not devoted to God, be blinded as to himself, and hardened toward his neighbour. Sect. III. The Meekness Of The Messiah. The Bruised Reed And Smoking Flax. 15. But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all; It is the part of prudence and charity not to provoke the blind and the hardened, and to take from them the occasion of sin. The man of God gives place to persecution. He appears amid the world, only to do good in it; he retires from it when he is no longer useful in it, or when the obstacles to good are, humanly speaking, invincible. Men still find much good by following Christ; but it is he himself who draws those after him whom he intends to heal. Let us follow the Physician of our souls, and never leave him. 16. And charged them that they should not make him known: Let us love to be hid with Christ, either out of humility or necessity; there is always some advantage in it. To secure himself from being discovered, he uses no other than human means, for which he had no occasion, to teach us not to neglect them in our necessity. He could have concealed himself as God; but he chooses rather to do it as man, for the instruction and edification of men. He makes use of his power, less on his own account, than on that of men, because he knows that his Father gave it him for them. How much charity and meekness, how much prudence and humility, are here to be imitated in him! 17. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, 18. Behold ray servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. The majesty of God is so great as to have a God-man for his servant! It was by his Father’s choice that he entered into this condition; and it is by the same choice that men must enter into the sacred ministry. Christ is, by way of excellence, the Servant of God being alone worthy to serve him. He who serves God faithfully, becomes his delight. The perfect fulness of the Holy Spirit dwells in Christ alone and we can receive none of it, but from this fulness. How ought he to be replenished with it who is appointed to preach the truth? The Spirit of Jesus Christ must be in a minister of God, and that not transiently nor feebly, but after a full and persevering manner, and must reside in him. 19. He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. How lovely is this meekness of Christ! How worthy to be imitated! His spirit is not a spirit of contention, murmuring, clamour, or litigiousness. He who loves all this, be longs not to him. The meekness of Jesus Christ, as his Father’s minister, was particularly foretold, on purpose to teach the clergy that their ministry is not a ministry of pride, imperiousness, and violence, but of humility, moderation, and mildness. 20. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. The strength of the perfect must not be left inactive; the good which is in the weak and imperfect must be managed with prudence; and even the most wicked must not be driven to despair. Let nothing discourage us; for truth will certainly prevail. But let us have patience; for neither Christ nor his truth will completely triumph till after the last judgment. He bears with the enemies of his truth and his church in this life, because this is the time of humiliation and suffering; his power will break forth at the time of triumph. 21. And in his name shall the Gentiles trust. Jesus Christ is the sole trust and hope of Christians. To trust and hope in his name, is to expect salvation, and all things necessary thereto, from him alone; to despise all earthly promises: to esteem, love, and desire only heavenly things; and to bear with patience and tranquillity all the losses and evils of this life, upon the prospect and hopes of that felicity which he has obtained for us. Sect. IV. The Blasphemy Of The Pharisees. The Divided Kingdom. 22. Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. The devil makes himself master of the heart, the eyes, and the tongue of the sinner: Of his heart, by possessing it with the love of sin; of the eyes of his mind, by hindering him from seeing the guilt and consequences of it; and of his tongue, by diverting him from prayer and confession. Work, my God, these three miracles upon sinners, and deliver my heart from every degree of this threefold captivity! 23. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? Let us but reflect upon what God has done in us, and upon what he can do, to drive out the evil spirit of sin, to open our eyes, and untie our tongues; and we shall be then wrapt up in admiration, and full of hopes, with much greater cause than this people. Whenever we have a good thought, a holy de sire, or an edifying word, let us say, without hesitation, “The son of David works this in us;” and let us say it with gratitude. 24. But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. The more disciples truth gains, the more enemies she raises. Thus it is that the malicious world sometimes ascribes the conversion of sinners to motives of covetousness and interest, or to some passion contrary to the Spirit of God. Can the spirit of contradiction, hatred, and envy proceed farther than this, to choose rather to give to the devil than to God, the honour of a work which it is forced to acknowledge as miraculous? It is a sin more common than we imagine, for men to be unwilling to own the finger of God in those they hate. 25. And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: 26. And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? Christ knows the secrets of the heart: and this is a new proof of his divinity, which cannot be attributed to the devil. God permits those who, out of a spirit of envy and contra diction, oppose the truth, to fall into manifest contradictions themselves. Division ruins every thing; and the stability of the church depends upon its unity, which must never be broken on any account whatsoever. 27. And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. The affections have a great share in our judgments; and we must take care that envy do not make us condemn that in one which we approve in another. There were exorcists among the Jews. 28. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. None but Christ can destroy the kingdom of the devil. Wherever God’s Spirit is, there is also the kingdom of God. The destruction of that of Satan is a proof and an effect of the incarnation. Christ, by freeing the bodies of the possessed, shows plainly what he came to do in the soul. Exert thy power upon mine, Jesus, and by thy Spirit prevent all the attempts against thy rights which the evil spirit would otherwise there make! Sect. V. The Strong Man Armed. The Sin Against The Holy Ghost. The Treasure Of The Heart. The Idle Word. 29. Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. Men, through sin, are become the house of Satan, having, of their own accord, surrendered themselves up to this unjust possessor. Whoever gives up his soul to sin, gives it up to the devil. Christ alone can deliver from this bondage, and bind the power of this strong one. Return into thy house and into thy rights, my God! and take possession again, by Christ, of my heart and mind, and of all the good things wherewith thou hast been pleased to furnish me! 30. He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. In vain do men seek for ways of accommodation to soften the gospel: there is no medium between loving God and being his enemy; between belonging to Christ or to the devil; between being governed by charity or self-love! If we would belong to Christ as we ought, we must give ourselves entirely to him. He alone has paid down the price for us; he alone ought to be our Lord. When Jesus Christ, his truth, his precepts, and his servants, are openly assaulted, how can a man avoid declaring for them, without incurring the guilt of deserting and betraying them? How many are there in the world who are really against Christ, and “scatter abroad,” who yet flatter themselves that they are workers together with him, and in the number of his friends! 31. Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. There is nothing more contrary to the Holy Ghost and his grace, than to withstand manifest truth, to decry good doc trine and Christian maxims in opposition to particular persons, and to attribute to an evil spirit that which proceeds from the Spirit of God. This is the sin of arrogant scholars, and of selfish, envious, and opinionative bigots, out of which they scarce ever recover. The forgiveness of this sin is not absolutely impossible, but only very rare, because the conversion of such persons is very rare and difficult. The people are converted in crowds, but very few Scribes and Pharisees yield to the truth. 32. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. Jesus Christ, who came to be abased, has endured all manner of humiliation in his flesh, but he will not be abased in his Spirit. Whatever ignominies and persecutions he suffered in his life and death at the hands of the Jews, were forgiven those who received the faith, after the mission of the Holy Ghost; but there is no mercy for such as have rejected the testimony of this Holy Spirit in the preaching of the apostles, in the miracles, gifts, and other marvellous effects produced by him in the church. Impenitency is the most common punishment of this kind of spiritual sins. 33. Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. The fruit is always like the tree the works like the will. Nothing good can proceed from an evil spirit no good fruit from a corrupt heart, unless it be renewed and moved by the good Spirit, which only can render it good. If we would know our heart, let us view our actions. That is good, if our life be so; that is devoted to the world, if this be conform, able to the maxims thereof. 34. Generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. These are very severe words, but such as were justly due to the malignity of the Pharisees. Charity has its sting, but never uses it except in order to heal. What good can a soil so bad as the heart of man produce of itself? What judgment shall we make of our own, if we judge of it by our vain, slanderous, light, bitter, and haughty words? All the sons of Adam have naturally a pharisaical heart. Thou alone, Jesus, canst change it into a Christian heart, by conferring upon it Christian virtues out of thy fulness! 35. A good man, out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. The good heart is the good treasure, and it is charity makes it so; for charity only never offends. Concupiscence produces nothing but what is evil, and makes the evil heart and the evil treasure. 36. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. It is no small matter to know how to rule the tongue, and to restrain the unprofitable use thereof. God would not have us doubt but that he will demand an account of it. And if he demand it of every vain, idle, and unprofitable word, how much more then of every calumnious, impure, and offensive word, contrary to religion and charity? How terrible is this exactness of the divine justice! the very thought of which should be enough to dry up the source of such a multitude of words which have no necessity, no usefulness to excuse them. 37. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. There are few who conceive how instrumental the tongue is to salvation or condemnation. We count words as nothing; and yet eternity depends upon them! Set a guard, Lord, upon my mouth, and reduce my tongue under an absolute subjection to thyself! Sect. VI. Jonas A Sign. The Ninevites. The Queen Of The South. 38. Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. Incredulity, pride, and curiosity have never proofs enough of the truth. Learned men have particular reason to fear these vices. To require miracles in this age is to affront and injure God, and, like the persons before us, to make no ac count of all those which he has wrought for the establishment of the gospel. The proofs of religion are not in the choice of men: God only knows those which are most proper. 39. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous gene ration seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: Christ complies with the weakness of men, but never with their extravagant desires. He takes notice of the corruption of heart in these wretches, to show the cause of their incredulity and of his refusal. That man wrongs the truth who submits to the caprice of its enemies in the manner of proving it. It is natural for unbelievers to imagine, that a miracle wrought on purpose for them would change their heart. But it is presumption, blindness, and delusion, to expect extra ordinary signs in order to conversion. What miracle can convert him to whom even the resurrection of Christ is not sufficient? The general resurrection and last judgment will indeed do it; but that will be too late. 40. For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly: so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Our blessed Saviour’s resurrection is his grand miracle, the confirmation of all the rest, the seal of his mission. Jonas is the most eminent type of Christ, as preacher of repentance, as voluntary victim of his people, as returning alive from the grave and hell three days after his burial, and as abandoning the Jews after his resurrection, to preach salvation to the Gentiles. These types and prophecies are very strong arguments for the truth of religion. 41. The men of Nineveh shall rise in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. Impenitency is the greatest of all misfortunes; and into this they must necessarily fall who hear not Jesus Christ. We shall have those for witnesses or judges of whom we would not be the imitators. The fear of temporal destruction causes a people to repent, who had neither Moses nor Christ, neither the law nor the prophets, and who. perhaps, never had but this one preacher among them. What judgment, then, shall we undergo, if we continue impenitent, after all that which has been bestowed upon us! 42. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. How many who affect the character of strong reasoning, believe, without any proof, what comes from places the most distant, and yet take a pride in doubting of the gospel, though confirmed by so many miracles? Men are apt to run after such preachers as are most powerful in word and deed, and to value themselves upon adhering to them; when it is this very thing which will condemn them the more. Whenever we read the gospel, our faith should thus dictate to us: “He who is here, who speaks here, is both greater than Jonas, and wiser than Solomon; let our respect, obedience, and fidelity be proportionably increased.” Sect. VII. The Unclean Spirit Entering Again. Relapses. 43. When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. The devil ceases not to tempt those whom Christ has taken from him; he has no other joy but only in doing hurt to man. The unfaithfulness of a Christian, and the relapse of a penitent, are his delight. Strange debasement of a spirit created to enjoy God, and to rest in him, not to be able to find any rest but in a corrupt heart! If a man of great power placed his happiness in ruining us, should we venture to be long asleep? Let us watch, therefore, and arm ourselves with faith and prayer; for it is not a man whom we are to resist. 44. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Unhappy that person whom the devil still looks upon as his house, because his evil habits are yet alive at the bottom of his heart, or are only suspended! In what condition is a soul, when, on one side, the devil besieges and attacks it with an eagerness and application which are indefatigable; and, on the other, the soul itself opens the gate to him out of sloth and cowardice? Let us consider, whether this soul be not our own. Negligence and idleness invite the devil. The secret to keep him out, is to employ all our time in good works, and to be wholly taken up with God. 45. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation. The devil makes new efforts, and takes new precautions, that he may not fail to ruin us, while we, perhaps, use none at all to escape him. This is because he counts our loss his gain and delight, and we count not our salvation our proper business. How much is a relapse to be dreaded! This renders the sinner worse and more intolerable than before, through his ingratitude and perfidiousness. Habits are formed and strengthened by relapses; and relapses are multiplied and become more incurable through new habits. How is it that the sinner has not eyes to see what a soul is when deserted by the Holy Ghost and his seven gifts, and made a slave to as many contrary habits, as it were, to “seven devils,” to whom it has surrendered up itself by sin? A galley-slave, loaded with seven chains, would raise compassion in us. With what terror, then, ought we to be affected at the idea of a captive soul, reduced, by frequent relapses, under the power of seven devils! Sect. VIII. Christ’s Mother And Brethren. 46. While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. 47. Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. How great are the modesty and humility of the blessed virgin, who does not interrupt her son while he is talking to the people, but is contented to stand without! Her pious concern for a son, whose absence sensibly affected her, is the cause of her coming, not the desire of having a share in the applause of the people. 48. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? How holy soever relations are, a clergyman, who under stands the holiness of his office, professes not to know them in the sacred ministry. It is always a loss to be diverted from God’s work by any human thing whatsoever. A minister of eternal salvation ought to be above every thing which is temporal. This answer seems a little harsh, but it is sanctifying for the virgin, corrective for the other relations, and instructive for all. 49. And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! 50. For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. Grace and faithfulness to God, unite us to Jesus Christ in all respects. He shows us here what a truly apostolical person is. Such a one is insensible to the affections of flesh and blood, entirely taken up and employed about God’s work, and full of tenderness for souls, he has nothing in his heart and before his eyes but the divine will; he adheres to God only, regards him only in all things, and counts as nothing what ever belongs not to him; he knows no relations on earth, but such as have God for their Father in heaven; and he consecrates and sanctifies every passion and affection of nature, by turning and applying them to the souls committed to his charge, to whom he is instead of a father, a mother, or a brother, by affording them all kind of assistance and relief.