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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 Chapter XXVI. Sect. I. The Rulers Conspire Against
Christ. His Head Anointed. 1. AND it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples, Christ having instructed the Jews by his
discourses, edified them by his example, convinced them by his miracles, and loaded
them with his benefits, prepares himself now to redeem them with his blood,
and to sanctify them by his sacrifice. This new testimony of his love
requires of us new attention, new respect, and new acknowledgment. 2. Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified. To hear Christ speak, with such sedateness
and tranquillity, of so cruel and ignominious a death to be suffered by him
two days after, is a sufficient proof that this Son of man is like wise the
Son of God. It is even something more than speaking of it, to foretell it as
he does. Let us learn from hence, to look on the crosses which are prepared
for us with the serenity and meekness of our Head. He teaches us to spare our
enemies, by not so much as naming here his own. He joins the two passovers together, the figurative and the true, in order
to teach us to imitate him, by always joining with the eucharistic
passover the love of the cross, and a disposition
to suffer whatever shall please God: this is the true evangelical passover. 3. Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, 4. And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him. Who would not have thought that the
priests and magistrates assembled together only to cause Jesus Christ to be received
and proclaimed as the Messias, after all which they
had seen and heard concerning him? Let us fear, lest, after their example,
the abuse of the light and grace of God should draw upon us the like
blindness and infidelity. The designs of men, though contrary in their
intention to those of Christ, are, notwithstanding, by his sovereign wisdom,
made the means of bringing these to pass. How incomprehensible and adorable is
his conduct! 5. But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people. The wicked person regards religion no
farther than it is subservient to his designs and interests. Who is there who
keeps himself entirely free from this disorder? He
who obeys the law only with regard to himself, loves himself and not the law.
He who observes a feast-day on motives purely human,
violates it in his heart. 6. Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, 7. There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat. Charity employs every thing it has for God.
Riches are not at all to be regarded, but only so far as they are service able
to Christ or his members. The contempt which he showed for riches, and his
aversion to pleasures, hinder him not from admitting this unction: every
thing is mysterious in this time of mysteries; every thing ought to
contribute to the honour of Christ in this season of his lowest humiliations,
and to the making Judas ashamed of his avarice, to which he is just going to
sacrifice the blood and life of Jesus Christ himself. 8. But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? 9. For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. One discontented or perverse spirit is
enough to corrupt and disturb a whole community. How often does charity serve
as a cloak for covetousness! We must not neglect what is due to Christ under
pretence of what we owe his members. Men count every thing wasted which is
expended in the external worship of God, when they love neither God nor his
worship. Jesus Christ authorizes external worship, by accepting it at the
very instant in which he was going to establish religion by a worship the most spiritual and internal. 10. When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. It is then a good work to pay an external
worship to God and Christ, and that sometimes even with lustre and expense. The
church, calumniated on this account by the followers of the perfidious Judas,
or by the imitators of these imperfect disciples, will still have Jesus
Christ for her advocate. No thing which is produced by charity can be evil in
the sight of God. A waste of our gold and silver is of no moment in his
account, when they are not wasted on our lusts; but it is a matter of great
moment to grieve our neighbour, by discouraging his charity, out of temporal
interest. 11. For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. Christ substitutes the poor in his stead,
that he may be relieved in them. But that which we owe to them for his sake, cannot
excuse us from paying what is due to him in his own person. He is always
present with us in the eucharist, but after an
invisible manner. He is visibly present here below only in the poor. It is in
these that we must seek him, in order to assist and feed him, as we must seek
him in the eucharist to feed on him. 12. For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. Love is quick in foreseeing things, and
has sometimes instincts of which it knows not the cause. Let us admire the goodness
and condescension of Christ, who anticipates the ceremony of his burial in
favour of this holy woman, because he knows she will not have the comfort of
embalming him after his death. True charity shall be rewarded for whatever it
would have done; and Jesus Christ sees that in its intentions which it does
not perceive itself. The actions of holy persons often contain mysteries
which they understand not themselves; as that of Christ’s burial is
represented by this action of the woman. The solicitous care of Christ makes him
improve all opportunities to renew the thoughts of his death, to prepare his
true disciples for it, and to give some remorse to the traitor by discovering
to him his own heart. 13. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her. God takes delight in distinguishing those
actions which the world blames through a spirit different from his. Happy is that
man who is contented with the approbation of Him who sees the heart! Good
works embalm the whole church with their sweet odour. The contradiction of
men passes away; the fruits and edification of such actions will subsist
forever. A constant succession and perpetual tradition of them is continued
by imitation. Let us esteem ourselves happy in being capable of conveying
down this tradition, by a fervent application to anoint Jesus Christ in the
poor and sick, either by relieving or comforting them. Sect. II. The Bargain And Treachery Of
Judas. The Paschal Supper. 14. Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests. A charitable reproof completes sometimes
the obduration of a reprobate; however, he who gave
it has done his duty. A provoked passion, or even a small disgust, has often
caused that to be done to the church which Judas does in respect of its Head:
making men betray its interests, and violate its faith, unity, peace, and
discipline, by sacrilegious conspiracies with its enemies. Thus all heresies
and schisms spring from the passions of men. 15. And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. For a man to accuse Christ of nothing, and
not to complain of him while he betrays him, is to justify him and to condemn
himself. He who nourishes any passion in his heart,
is in great danger of delivering up Christ and the church to their enemies
upon every temptation. When a man hopes for any thing from the world, he
ought to fear every thing from him self. He who
treats and bargains with it, leaves his con science very often in pawn, if he
do not entirely resign it up thereto. There is nothing which we have not
reason to fear from avarice, since it stoops so low as to sell Jesus Christ
at so vile a price. 16. And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him. Men seldom leave a crime imperfect. Unhappy
he who engages himself therein for want of resisting the smallest beginnings!
We are but too faithful to the world, and generally keep our word with it at
the expense of all. What has God done to us, that he is the only person with
whom we break it? Opportunities of finishing sin are seldom wanting when a
man seeks them. The devil is too vigilant not to present them. Would to God
that men were as diligent and faithful in seeking and embracing opportunities
to disengage themselves from sin, to break off all familiarity with the wicked,
and to renounce every dangerous conversation! 17. Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover? See here the extreme poverty of Christ,
who had no house of his own on earth! He who would
fain settle himself here, as in his native country, is not his disciple. The
disciples and imitators of his poverty follow the spirit of their Master, depend
on providence, and live in peace all their days, with out knowing either
where or how it will provide for their necessities. A man is easy as to every
thing when he has Jesus Christ in his heart. 18. And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples. 19. And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover. The command of Christ, the obedience of
the disciples, and every thing which passes here, show plainly that he is truly
the Master of all, who is going to suffer. He makes himself obeyed when he
pleases; but he knows also how to obey when it is necessary, for the
salvation of his people and for our example. He looks on the time of his
sufferings and death as his own proper time; it is also the time of every Christian
in this life. 20. Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve. A man must be a disciple of Jesus Christ
in order to eat the passover with him; that is, in
order not to receive his body and blood in the eucharist
unworthily, he must have learned in his school, which is the church, to
believe the truths which God has revealed, to hope for the good things which
he has prepared, and to love the commandments which he has enjoined. The Son
of God, in this last assembly, which contains an abridgment, as it were, of
the whole church, shows us the mixture of the good, the weak, and the wicked,
who are all united in the participation of the same
sacraments. 21. And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. Prudence and charity require that we
should use the greatest sinners tenderly to the last; admonishing, without
discovering them. God does this continually, leaving the most impious persons
unknown. Lord, thou seest, in my wretched will, the
principle of all sorts of infidelity and treachery; but thou canst restrain
it by thy own holy and almighty will. Do it, Jesus, out of thy mercy and
goodness. 22. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I? It is natural to the just to fear lest
some sin should lie hid in their heart without their knowing it. A man ought
always to think himself more subject to fall than others, because every one
best knows his own weakness, and has reason to apprehend every thing from his
own infidelity. There is a sorrow of foresight as well as of repentance. Can
a man who reflects on his own corrupt heart, and sees temptation approaching,
forbear sighing and being grieved at the danger of losing his God, to which
he is continually exposed? 23. And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. Judas, admonished the second time, and
that more plainly than before, is not at all the more affected thereby. When
a heart is once hardened, it has no longer any ears to hearken to admonitions.
The multiplying of benefits does but give it a new
occasion of resisting more obstinately the goodness of God. It is the
property of hardness of heart to make us, like Judas, deaf, obdurate, and
insensible, without perceiving that we are so. 24. The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. Jesus Christ considers his death no
otherwise than as a passage or journey. Long before the birth of his enemies,
it was written of him that he must die, to make it evident that it is not
through necessity, but obedience, that he dies for us. It is also by
obedience that we must apply the merit of his death to ourselves. Wo to those who, like Judas, have no share therein but by
their crime and treachery! Such is the crime of all wicked Christians, who
deliver up, as it were, to the power of wickedness, Jesus Christ, who had
taken pos session of their hearts by baptism. But such, in a higher degree,
is the crime of wicked priests, who betray Christ while they offer his (representative)
body, and receive it with a guilty conscience themselves, while they cause
others who are unworthy to receive it, while they either suffer sinners to continue
in their disorders through negligence, ignorance, cowardice, interest,
flattery, etc., or even encourage them to wickedness by a treachery like that
of Judas. 25. Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said. Judas, admonished now the third time,
hears all with the insensibility and impudence of an abandoned sinner. To imagine
that God sees not the bottom of our heart, is an impiety not very common. We
believe that every thing is pre sent to him, and yet we do that in his
presence which we would not do before a mortal man! Nothing so common, no thing
so incomprehensible. There is neither reason, nor shame, nor faith, nor
religion in a sinner entirely possessed and taken up with his sin. Sect. III. The Eucharist. 26. And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. There is nothing more common and plain in
appearance than that which Christ does here but yet it is a mystery of faith.
God confounds the pride of carnal men, and exercises the humble faith of true
Christians, in hiding his greatest mysteries under such veils as are common
and contemptible to the eyes of the flesh. Let us believe, and we shall comprehend
it. Holy and adorable words! which contain the establishment
of the Christian worship, the institution of the new law, the contract of the
true covenant, the testament of a dying Father, a commandment of the greatest
importance, the foundation of the true religion, the substitution of reality in
the room of shadows, and the end of all types and figures. 27. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; Jesus Christ makes his body and blood the
price of our redemption, the victim of our sacrifice, the nourishment of our souls,
and the bond of our union with God. Let us return sacrifice for sacrifice. The
sacrifice of the outward man, by repentance, mortification, and purity; the
sacrifice of the inward man, by adoration, thanksgiving, love, self-denial,
and prayer, which are the soul of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and of every
Christian sacrifice. The eucharistic sacrifice is an
admirable contrivance of the wisdom of God, wherein every thing is rendered
to God by his creatures; and every thing is given anew by God to his
creatures in the communion. 28. For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Religion is a covenant with God, confirmed
by the blood of the true victim. As long as religion shall continue on the earth,
and until this covenant, which is but begun, shall be finished in the course
of ages, it is necessary that this blood should be also really represented. Unhappy
is that man who, by his sin, breaks a covenant cemented with the blood of
God, who scandalizes a soul redeemed, or defiles a heart which has been
sanctified by this blood! 29. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom. The communion of the body and blood of
Christ is a pledge or earnest of the communion in heaven. Jesus raised from the dead is a perfect new man, the Priest, the
Victim, and the Sacrifice of eternity. The whole church, renewed by the participation
of his glory, and reunited to him as its Head, shall offer with and in him
this sacrifice, and communicate thereof, by feeding on the uncreated Truth,
the bread and wine of the elect. When shall this happy hour come, my God! 30. And when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives. Here is a pattern of thanksgiving after
the communion. The sacrifice of our altars is itself a thanksgiving. But what
acknowledgment do we not owe to God, for having afforded us so divine a means
of enriching ourselves afresh, by returning him thanks for his former gifts?
A communion-day is a day entirely set apart for thanksgiving, adoration, and
hymns of joy, which are to be the beginning of the hymns and anthems of
eternity. A man cannot pass such a day unprofitably without great infidelity,
nor spend it in worldly diversions, such as dancing, play, comedies, or
operas, without doing the greatest outrage to religion. Sect. IV. St. Peter’s Denial Foretold. 31. Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. Who has not reason to fear, when he sees
the sufferings of Christ become an occasion of offence, even to the apostles themselves,
and make them forget the duties of friendship, and the fidelity which
disciples owed to so good a Master, after more than three years of
instruction and miracles? Men often follow Christ and his maxims freely
enough, until they meet with times of trial and temptation. Friends are the
last refuge in affliction; but even this is wanting to Christ, and he thereby
expiates the abuse of worldly friendships. Let us imitate him, instead of complaining,
when our friends turn their backs upon us, and dare not declare for us. 32. But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. The sheep forsake the Shepherd, but he
forsakes not his sheep. He will seek, recall, and bring them back; and he fortifies
and comforts them beforehand with the hopes of his resurrection. Vulgar souls
suffer themselves to be depressed by affliction, and can hardly receive any
consolation: great souls always keep their station, and support others who
are sinking. 33. Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. The presumptuous person imagines he can do
every thing, and can do nothing; thinks he can excel all, and excels in nothing;
promises every thing, and performs nothing. The humble man acts the quite
contrary part. There is nothing so unknown to us as
ourselves. Nothing which we see less, than our own poverty and weakness. Let
us rather believe what God tells us of ourselves in Scripture, than what we perceive
in ourselves. The strength of pride is but the strength of a moment. Vanity
serves only to conceal from us what we are, and what we are not. 34. Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. Shall this earthen vessel have the
presumption to think that it knows itself better than its Maker does? Our own
experience is not sufficient to convince us of our frailty. It is not even
sufficient that Christ assures us that our fall is near, and that, without
his grace, it is infallible. A divine light is absolutely necessary, to
pierce, illuminate, and change the heart. 35. Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples. The defenders of liberty against grace,
like St. Peter, give the lie to Jesus Christ. St. Peter, who draws the other
disciples into his own mistake and error, shows us plainly that nothing finds
a readier admission and entertainment in the minds of such as have but an
ordinary degree of faith, than this presumptuous opinion of their own
strength. We are not to wonder, but to lament, that it is so common. Sect. V. Christ’s Agony And Prayer In The
Garden. The Disciples Asleep. 36. Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. It is a true Christian foresight to
prepare ourselves for sufferings and death, by retirement and prayer. The
disciples had great occasion to pray; but the weak are not always to have
their duty pressed upon them. It is better sometimes only to lay their wants
before them, to leave them to find their own weakness, to pray for them, and
to commit them to the grace of God. All are not capable of the same communications;
it is necessary to know how to discern, not only between the weak and the
strong, but also between the different degrees of weakness. 37. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Jesus Christ imparts his sorrow and
heaviness of heart to those whom he loves most. As the victim of sinners, he
expiates their vain joys by his holy sorrows; as clothed with their persons,
he undergoes that grief and contrition which they ought all to feel for their
sins. This is the source from whence we must draw the spirit of contrition,
and the whole some sorrow of repentance, by adoring it in him, and praying
that he would impress it on our hearts. 38. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even, unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. Such a sorrow as this in men is never the
subject of their choice; there must be a divine strength and power in Christ to
draw on himself this sorrow unto death, and to open his heart thereto. He
delivered his soul to this internal tormentor of his own accord, as he also
delivered his body to the external tormentors when he pleased. Good God! what a shame is it to see him deprive himself of the most
supreme joy, and abandon himself to the deepest sorrow, for our sakes, while
we will not sacrifice so much as one pleasure, satisfaction, or diversion to
him! Let us faithfully accept all the sorrows which may befall us here. Let
us beseech Christ to sanctify them by that state of sorrow which he chose for
our sakes. Let us make it our joy to continue, persevere, and watch therein
with him. 39. And he went a little further, and fell on his face and prayed, saying, my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. What posture ought a sinner to use before
God, when he sees Jesus Christ “prostrate on his face” before his Father, to
expiate the loftiness of our pride! He here teaches us always to look upon
God as our Father, even when he afflicts us; to invoke him in this quality;
to represent our wants to him; to beg of him deliverance, out of an humble
sense of our own weakness; and to submit to his appointments with confidence
in his assistance. Christ withdraws in the height of his agony,
that he may spare his disciples. It is not expedient for a good pastor
to let the weak know all the struggles and combats which he undergoes; it is
prudence to hide his infirmities from them. It is the wisest way, on these
occasions, to keep a reserved confidence with our friends,
that we may not afflict or deject them too much. 40. And he cometh unto his disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? How few Christians set themselves to
meditate on the agony and secret sufferings of Christ! Faithful friends in
affliction are very rare. Christ would not spare himself this sort of grief,
which is one of the most sensible afflictions of life, to see his friends so
little concerned at his misfortunes, while he is so sensibly affected with
theirs, beyond all imagination! We are but too ready to lose our sleep, when
it is to watch with the world, and to share in the pleasures and diversions thereof
during the night; but what pain, what sluggishness seizes us, when we should
watch one hour with Christ, either by way of mortification, or out of charity
toward a sick person, or to praise God in the great solemnities, or to adore Jesus
Christ in his sufferings, to take part in his afflictions by prayer, and to
beg the spirit and grace to do it! 41. Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit in deed is willing, but the flesh is weak. A good pastor, a true father, after the
example of Christ, takes care of the salvation of his flock to the last. He who exhorts his flock to watchfulness and prayer, is
sure to make an impression upon them, if they see him watch and pray himself.
In perilous conjunctures men sometimes fall asleep, and rely on some sudden
gust of courage and sensible fervour, wherewith they flatter themselves; and
are often too late convinced, that they have more presumption than strength. Christian
vigilance and humble prayer are the source of all our strength. The former
renders the vigilance of the devil ineffectual; the latter procures the
vigilance and protection of God. 42. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. The example of Jesus Christ teaches us to
resign ourselves to the will of God, and to redouble our prayers at the apprehension
of death, the approach of dangers, and the presence of afflictions. How
holily is a pastor’s heart divided, between the vigilance of his function,
and his recourse to God; between his attendance on his flock, and the care of
his own salvation! The fear here showed by our Head under his voluntary weak ness,
is a great lesson of humility for his members, in the midst of so many
necessities, voluntary and involuntary. Clothe me, Lord, with thy courage and
thy strength, through that goodness which inclined thee to put on our fear
and our weakness! 43. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. Men sacrifice with joy their sleep and
whole nights to ambition, avarice, and pleasure; but they cannot afford one
to God, to charity, and to their own salvation. 44. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Let us not be tired with studying this
pattern of perseverance, humility, and simplicity in prayer. Let us learn to speak
little, and to humble ourselves much therein. This is the model of the prayer
of penitents, humbled under the almighty hand of God; as that of perfect
Christians, of priests, and the chief pastors of the church, is exhibited in the
prayer given us in the seventeenth chapter of St. John. Let us comfort
ourselves with Christ, when God makes us sensible of our barrenness and
poverty in prayer. If he reduces us to one single good thought, to one
comfortable word, or to one pious motion, it is reasonable that we should be
con tented therewith, and humbly make use of it. 45. Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Self-love renders us more vigilant when
danger is present, than all the advice of our most discerning friends. If we
are moved with indignation to see holiness itself in the hands of sinners,
let us lay the blame on ourselves, since they were our sins which delivered
up Christ to sinners. His charity is busily employed to the end. Let us adore
this last use which he makes of his liberty, to admonish his disciples, and
to wake them from their heaviness and slumber. 46. Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me. Happy he, who, through zeal for God’s justice,
or through charity toward his neighbour, goes forth to meet the cross, and
even death itself! but so as not to do any thing
contrary either to the command of God, or to other duties which regard our
neighbour, or to what prudence and humility require of us as to ourselves. Jesus
Christ takes notice of all the steps of his enemies, to make it evident that
nothing is done contrary to his will, that they do only what he permits, and
that they seize him because he is willing they should. Sect. VI. The Kiss Of Judas. Malchus’s Ear Cut Off. The Flight Of The Disciples. 47. And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. Terrible change! from
one of the leaders of Christ’s flock, to a leader of wolves and robbers! He who trembles not at the sight of so unaccountable a
fall, little knows how far the blindness and wickedness of man’s heart can
proceed. Let us fear, in proportion to the holiness of our state and condition.
The higher the station is from whence we fall, the less hope is there of any recovery.
48. Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; hold him fast. 49. And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, Master; and kissed him. The conduct of Judas is the picture of
that of hypocrites. Let us adore the God and Restorer of peace, betrayed by a
false token thereof. The world is full of this kind of civilities and
insidious compliments, which tend only to deliver us up to it and to destroy
us. It behoves every one who loves his own salvation to stand on his guard. A
man must have a heart as full of the meekness and peace of charity as that of
Christ was, not to refuse a kiss of peace to so perfidious an enemy, and so
unnatural a traitor. How will this condemn those who cannot bear the
presence, or even the sincere civilities of a repenting enemy! 50. And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him. As is the heart, such is the tongue mild,
charitable, and ready to anticipate even a traitor, and that at a time when the
most moderate are apt to lose all patience. The last word which Christ uses
in order to make Judas recollect him self, serves only to harden him the more.
But it may often be very serviceable to us, either to remind us of the duties
of our calling, or to repulse the temptations which would carry us at a
distance from them. The captivity of Jesus Christ is the effect, the
punishment, and the remedy of the ill use which we make of our liberty; and
the consolation of those who lose their own, whether justly or unjustly. 51. And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest, and smote off his ear. Human presumption puts men upon human
endeavours, and produces a blind, indiscreet, and irregular zeal. Christian humility
makes them have recourse to the divine power, and inspires nothing but
prudence, meekness, and charity. An engagement of word or honour may for a
while keep a man to his duty; but grace alone can make him persevere in it to
the end. 52. Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Jesus Christ will not be served in the
same manner with secular friends, nor be defended with an arm of flesh. Private
persons have no right to repel any violence supported by public authority,
no, not even for the sake of religion. The cause of a Christian is the cause
of God; suffering belongs to one, and vengeance to the other. Were there nothing
to be suffered from men, there could be no martyrs in the world. 53. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? The first article of our faith is to
believe in “One God the Father Almighty.” Whoever is thoroughly rooted and
established in this truth, enjoys a perfect repose
in the midst of the most powerful enemies. Our wants and distresses cannot be
hid from the wisdom of God, nor disregarded by the goodness of such a Father,
nor irremediable to him who is almighty. 54. But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? Jesus Christ died not through weakness,
but through obedience, zeal, and charity. Whenever God does not deliver us from
our evils and afflictions, it is because they are comprehended within the
unchangeable designs of his wisdom, goodness, and omnipotence, declared in
the Scriptures; and then it is our glory to be subservient to them, our
perfection to submit to them, and our eternal advantage never to decline them.
Christ has the Scripture always before his eyes, as containing the plan of
God’s designs, both as to himself and us, Let us imitate him herein; for in
them is the inexhaustible fountain of Christian hope and consolation. 55. In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. How adorable are this tranquillity and
meekness! and how worthy to be imitated by every
Christian on the like occasion! The captivity of holy persons is never idle
and inactive; their charity is always free, and always intent on the benefit
of their neighbour. Nothing but a total inability can hinder a pastor from
discharging his ministry. If captive, he draws from captivity itself an
occasion to open the eyes of his most furious and blind persecutors, by
reflections suited to their condition. 56. But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled. Jesus, exactly faithful in fulfilling the
Scriptures, presents the light of them to his enemies, as well as to his
disciples, in order to dispel their darkness. The word of God has always infallibly
its effect. All the steps of our blessed Saviour are steps of obedience. The
cowardice of the disciples convinces them, at last, that Christ knows better
what is in man than man himself. Lord, I cannot adhere to thee but by thy assistance;
forsake me not therefore, I beseech thee, that so I may
not forsake thee. Sect. VII. Jesus Led To Caiaphas, Condemned, And Abused. 57. And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. Let us adore Jesus Christ, humbled in his
three offices or qualities of High Priest, Prophet, and King, by appearing before
those who possessed these qualities among the Jews. Would to God that this sort of humiliation were not often renewed in
succeeding ages, when his truth is condemned or deserted by those who ought
to teach or defend it! Let us honour the priesthood and the magistracy, even
in those who abuse it; and let us conscientiously submit ourselves thereto. 58. But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest’s palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end. How weak are the endeavours of nature when
left to itself! We cannot distrust it too much, nor
adhere too close to Christ. When a man is weak, and can only follow Christ
afar off, he must avoid all dangerous occasions, and the company of such persons
who will but increase his weakness. He who does that out of curiosity, or
some human motive, which he ought to do for the sake of God, will find
therein a snare and an occasion of falling, instead of his own justification.
59. Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; Had they sought true witness in order to
clear him, his whole life abounded with it. This
proceeding of the council of the Jews is too exact a representation of what
the envious continually put in practice against the best of men. They first
resolve to ruin them, and then seek the proper means of effecting
it, how unjust soever it be. They suppose or
declare them criminal; and after that, use their utmost endeavour to discover
and fix some crime upon them. 60. But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses. 61. And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. It is the constant practice of the envious
and unjust, to change the words of those whom they do not love, and so make
them the heads of their accusation. It is easy, by means of a few small
alterations, to render the most holy truths, and the most innocent persons
odious to the world. Sacred humanity of Jesus, thou art truly the temple of
God, built up by the mystery of thy incarnation, destroyed on the cross, and
rebuilt by thy glorious resurrection! Nay, thou art more, since thou art the
victim of this adorable temple, and since it is the destruction of this
temple which makes the sacrifice of thy religion the glory of God and the
salvation of men. 62. And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou no thing? what is it which these witness against thee? Jesus, as being the truth itself, deigns
to be humbled by false witnesses. There is a time to defend the truth by
apologies, and a time to suffer for it in an humble
silence. It was necessary for mankind that there should be a victim to merit for
them the grace to receive the truth; and also an example of patience, to
encourage them to endure calumnies. To this end, Christ came into the world;
to this end, he suffers him self to be accused without so much as opening his
mouth in his own justification. 63. Bat Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. The silence of the eternal Word confounds
the pride of the sons of Adam, who are always eager to justify themselves. A
calumny which destroys itself needs no refutation. The abusing the name of
God, considered as the ever-living truth, and employing it against the truth
itself, is a crime not at all scrupled by those who are most obliged to
honour it, when once the spirit of calumny has taken possession of their
hearts. 64. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Men ought to reverence the name and
authority of God, even in his most unworthy ministers, and not to give
offence to the weak, nor afford matter of new accusations, by unnecessarily
disputing concerning the abuse of authority. Christ had no disposition to be
silent upon a truth for which he designed to die and which was to make so
many martyrs after his example. How odious soever
any truth is become through the power and envy of its enemies, we are obliged
to declare for it, when an account of it is publicly demanded of us. 65. Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. Let us adore Jesus Christ, treated as a
blasphemer, who is the glory of his Father. His patience under the most
unjust and outrageous accusations is a very great lesson for his disciples. See
here a false zeal, a mask of religion, and a passionate and seditious way of
proceeding, tending only to in cense and stir up others, all which are common
to those who would oppress truth by cabal and without proof. By crying out
heresy, blasphemy, and faction, though contrary to all appearance, men fail
not to stir up those in power, to gain the simple, to give some shadow of
authority to the ill-disposed, to cast devout but ignorant people into
diffidence and scruples, and thereby to advance the mystery of iniquity, which
is the mystery of all ages. 66. What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death. The Author of life, and Life eternal
itself, is then judged worthy of death; and can we complain after this of the
injustice of human judgments as to ourselves? All the forms of justice are
violated in order to oppress this innocent person; the judge becomes a party
and accuser, and proceeds to the verdict without examining whether all the
prophecies concerning the Messias, and the miracles
which he wrought with out number and without example, did not justify him. Examination
and proof are the ruin of calumnies, and of the authors
of them; and therefore they take care to keep off from those two things. 67. Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands. See here those affronts and indignities
which the world thinks it has a right never to pardon, and which the Son of God
endures with a divine meekness. Let us cast at the feet of Christ, so
unworthily treated by his creatures, that false honour, that quick sense of
affronts, that unreasonable niceness which cavils at every trifle, exaggerates
every thing, and pardons nothing; and above all, that diabolical
inflexibility in the resentment of injuries. The more Christ is abased on our
account, the more ought we to adore him. That which he suffers in his face,
condemns those who idolize their own, and that criminal care which they take
to render themselves agreeable to others thereby. 68. Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee? Jesus Christ, foretold and promised to the
Jews under the quality of a Prophet, is humbled by them as a prophet, and in
respect of his divine knowledge. Strange corruption of the mind of man, so
fond of prophecy and predictions, so ready to give ear to false prophets on
their own word; and yet so very backward to believe the prophecies of the
true Prophet, though confirmed by so many miracles; and so eager and zealous
in persecuting him. Sect. VIII. St. Peter’s Denial And
Repentance. 69. Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. 70. But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. A man thinks himself able to suffer death
for the sake of God, who cannot withstand even a servant’s voice. Every one
carries within himself that concupiscence which tempts him to renounce Christ.
It is absolutely necessary to keep it always in subjection as a servant, to
hinder it from becoming a master. What darkness otherwise will it not cause
in the understanding? What forgetfulness of favours, duties, and promises in
the memory? What weakness, confusion, and infidelity in the will? Support us,
Lord, with thy own hand; for there is nothing on which we can depend but thy
grace. 71. And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. 72. And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. When we have once forgotten God, and are
left by him to ourselves, to be tempted and to be overcome are almost one and
the same thing. One temptation unresisted, seldom
fails of being succeeded by another, a second and greater infidelity is the
punishment of the first, and very often the occasion of a third. Peter joins
perjury to infidelity. Let the example of an apostle make us tremble. 73. And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech betrayeth thee. 74. Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. How far does the weakness of man proceed?
We could not have an instance of it in the Prince of pastors; but he chose to
give it us in the person of one of the prime apostles, to oblige all to bear
with the infirmities of the greatest sinners. Deplorable progress of
infidelity and blindness in an apostle in so short a time, occasioned only by
his fear of some mean servants, and in reference to a Master whom he had acknowledged
to be truly God. He might possibly have proceeded even as far as Judas, had
God left him any longer to himself. 75. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him. Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly. A small matter makes us fall, when God
does not support us; a small matter raises us again, when his grace makes use
of it. The internal grace of conversion is generally affixed to something
external. This eminent minister of Christ teaches others by his example that,
in order to a true conversion, it is necessary to forsake the occasions of
sin, to weep and lament for it before God and man, and to remember and meditate
upon the words of Jesus Christ. Lord, how suddenly does thy grace change the
heart, when it undertakes to do it! Change mine, I beseech thee, and draw
from it the tears of a sincere repentance!
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