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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 VIII. Sect. I. The Leper. 1. WHEN he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. A preacher or pastor ought never to
decline from the perfection of his state; and yet he must often stoop, by way
of condescension, to the weak and feeble; he must go to them, if they cannot
come to him; and he must descend to their wants, their troubles, and their
infirmities. It is the means to gain them to God, to engage them to follow
him, and to draw them after him by the sweet savour of the word. 2. And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. This leper is an emblem of the corruption
of man by sin, and of his restitution by repentance. A sinner truly penitent,
seeks God with a respectful faith, approaches him in the spirit of adoration,
humbles himself under his almighty hand, and acknowledges the greatness of
his fall, and the vileness of sin, by an extreme humiliation of heart. His
prayer is humble, plain, and full of confidence in God, who can do all
things, and of dependence upon his will, which owes him nothing. It is
peculiar to God alone, that he need only will what he intends to perform. His
power is his will; it is because he wills it, that thereby he effects all,
both in nature and in grace. These two truths are the fountain of Christian
humility, the foundation of continual prayer, and the pledge of the mercy of
God, to those whose hearts he has been pleased to instruct and penetrate with
them. 3. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. This action of Jesus Christ is a
representation of that in visible hand, which makes itself
felt by the most insensible hearts; of that internal word, which makes itself
heard by the most deaf; and of that supreme will, which makes itself obeyed
by the most rebellious. There are two sorts of grace: the one, which does not
work a conversion, but which prepares the heart for it, by working faith,
desires &c; trust, prayer; and which causes the leper to say, “Lord, if
thou wilt, thou canst make me clean!” the other, which does really work the
con version itself, by surmounting all the resistance of the sinner, and
inspiring him with a good, strong, full, and perfect will, which entirely
heals concupiscence, the very thing in which a bad will does consist. Say to
me this word of salvation, “Be thou clean,” sovereign Physician, who dependest not on time for the cure of the maladies of my
heart! We ought to be so far from despising the greatest sinners, that it is
our duty to apply to them, but still as Christ did, not permitting ourselves
to be infected by them. Let us admire the efficacy of prayer; and let us put
more trust and confidence in it for the future. 4. And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. Observe here the conduct of a good
director (of the conscience:) (1.) Not to suffer the
good which God is pleased to do by his ministry to be divulged, but to shun
the reputation of good works. (2.) To be unconcerned
for his own interest, and zealous for that of God. (3.) To prevent all
occasion of scandal and jealousy. Priests ought not to treat sinners as cured
of the leprosy of sin, until they are assured of it by sufficient proofs; as
the priests of the law could not accept the offering of a leper, nor allow
him to partake of the sacrifice, until they had received convincing tokens of
his cleanness. Sect. II. The Centurion. 5. And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, 6. And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. God very often grants more than is
desired. The eloquence of prayer consists in representing our wants to God in
a plain manner. The centurion is the pattern of a true Christian master’s charity
toward his servants, who retains those who are the most incapable of doing
him any more ser vice, and is to them instead of a father. The inability to
do good without the grace of Christ, is the palsy of
the soul. Whence comes it to pass, that men are not near so much concerned at
this spiritual palsy, as at that of the body, and that they complain of it so
little? Is it not because their faith is small, and the business of salvation
so little at their heart? 7. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The word and promise of Christ is the
great consolation of a sinner. There is no person in the world but what has
need that Jesus Christ should come and heal him, either of his mortal wounds,
or of his weakness and infirmities. From the time that he has made us
sensible of our diseases, and given us the grace to lay them before him in
prayer, let us confidently believe, that he says to us, “I will come and heal
you;” and let us faithfully and humbly say to him, without ceasing, “Come,
Lord Jesus.” 8. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. See here the pattern of a lively faith,
and a profound humility, which ought always to accompany the prayer of a
sinner. Jesus Christ, by his will alone, can heal the palsy of ours. The
first degree of humility is to acknowledge the necessity of grace, and our
own inability. The second, to confess the freeness of this grace, and our own
unworthiness. Nothing more retards our cure than our presumption. 9. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh: and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. This is to make a true Christian use of
authority, by it to raise our minds to the contemplation of that of God. Let
us look upon ours as a small emanation of his; and let us ac knowledge, that
it is nothing in comparison of his almightiness. Carnal men are apt to
idolize either the authority of others, out of flattery or interest, or their
own through pride or conceit; but a Christian takes occasion from hence to
humble himself, to adhere to God, and to hope for every thing from him. 10. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. We sometimes see laymen and military
persons, on whom God seems to have bestowed fewer favours than on others,
have notwithstanding greater faith than they. Humility is, at the same time,
both the mother and the daughter of faith. Jesus admires the works of his
Father, to whom he refers all, and chiefly the operation of his grace in the
soul, to induce us to admire them also, and to give glory to God for all.
There are two things which are the subject of Christ’s wonder: the first, how
few find the way to heaven by reason of its perfection, (
Matt. vii. 14;) the second, how incomprehensible the election of those
is, on whom God confers the free gift of faith. There is nothing greater,
nothing more worthy of the attention of a Christian than faith, and the works
of it in the saints. 11. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven: Oftentimes he who
seems to be lost, enters into the same place with him who led a pious life.
We must fear and hope to the end. Christ proclaims and foretells the
conversion of remote nations, to the end that we may ask it of God. To pray
often for the advancement of his kingdom, and for the propagation of the
faith, is one of the duties of a true Christian. All the elect are the
children of promise, and are admitted into fellowship with the patriarchs,
and into their rights and privileges; because it is to them that the promises
were made. Let us imitate Abraham in his faith, Isaac in his obedience even
unto death, and Jacob in his hope and expectation of good things to come,
amidst all the evils of this life, if we desire to reign with them. 12. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer dark ness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. How many Christians suffer the graces, the
kingdom, and the salvation, which they had as it were in their hands, to be
lost; while Pagans and Idolaters obtain salvation! An eternity of darkness,
tears, and pains, for one moment of sinful pleasure. What blindness is it to
expose ourselves thereto! 13. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour. The faith given by God is the fountain and
measure of his other gifts. To beg the increase of it,
is to beg many other graces, and to preserve those which we have already. The
faith to which Jesus grants all which it desires, is
not a naked and barren faith, but one which produces trust, humility, and
prayer. Sect. III. Peter’s Mother-In-Law. The
Possessed And Sick Cured. 14. And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick of a fever. As the miracle of the leper represents the
corruption of nature by original sin, and the restitution of it by Christian
grace; as that of the paralytic expresses our inability to do good, and to
resist evil, without actual grace; so this third miracle denotes the
concupiscence which still remains, and which, like a fever, is the cause of
many frailties and infirmities. Behold them, Lord, in me, with the same eyes
of mercy which thou wast pleased to cast upon this
woman! 15. And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them. Christ, in touching the hand of this
woman, shows plainly the quickening virtue of his flesh, united to the
divinity in unity of person. This flesh, so often received (spiritually) in
the communion, what ought it not to work in our hearts! When God touches the
heart with his grace, he destroys the heat of concupiscence therein. We must,
after the example of this woman, be so faithful, as to consecrate and return
to God the whole use of his gifts and graces. It is by works that a man
proves himself to be cured of his evil habits. The humility and charity which
are shown by serving Christ in the poor, are some of
the surest marks of a true conversion. 16. When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: My God, make the sinner thoroughly
sensible that he falls into the power of the devil when he refuses to have
thee for his Lord and Master. The possessed with devils are not to be seen
without horror; but what is this possession, if com pared to that of the
soul, and beheld with the eyes of faith? How terrible to the devil is the
word of Jesus Christ! Let us with faith and confidence
employ it against his temptations. Let us bless God for having left
this word to his church to be the scourge of the devil. It is Christian
prudence, by constant reading, to fill our heart therewith, to the end that
the devil may always meet there with this safeguard and defence. That which
the word of God, in the mouth of Christ performs in a moment, it performs by
degrees in the sinner who feeds upon it. Oh the goodness of Christ, not to
reject any sick person! Oh wonderful power, to heal them all! Let none
therefore despair under the sight and sense of their miseries. 17. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esais the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses. We see here the immense charity of the
good Shepherd. To bear the infirmities and frailties of our brethren, is to imitate him. We cannot indeed cure
sicknesses; but we can assist, relieve, serve, visit, and comfort the sick.
We take upon us their infirmities, when we compassionate them by charity. Christ
fulfils the prophecies in all respects, and is himself the completion and
truth of them, as being the Lamb and Victim of God which bears and takes away
the sins of the world. He alone is the universal Physician for all the
diseases of body and soul. I do not ask, Lord, to be exempt from the former,
because thou makest them remedies for the
distempers of the latter; these are they which call upon thee, which wait for
thee, and which are incurable to all beside. Sect. IV. Christ Is To Be Followed In His
State Of Poverty. 18. Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side. A man ought (frequently) to withdraw
himself from the world, though his piety be ever so
much proof against temptation. A pastor, how necessary soever
he may be to his people, ought to retire from them for a while, when he finds
the crowd and noise of the world prejudicial to his soul. 19. And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. The presumptuous person fancies himself
capable of every thing. As to ordinary duties, the call of the gospel is
sufficient; as to designs of perfection, we must wait until God calls us. To
anticipate the call of God, is to prevent his grace; and miserable is he who
pretends to walk without it. It is not sufficient that the desires be good;
they must also be regular. 20. And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nest; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. It is very just and reasonable, to worship
Christ even under this destitution of all the conveniencies
of life; to undergo the want of some of them, thereby to honour and imitate
him, and to beg of him the spirit and the grace to do it. What poor man is
not comforted, when he casts his eyes upon this adorable pattern! What rich
man is not confounded, when he sees himself so unlike, and at such a distance
from it! What shame must those nice and delicate persons hence receive, who
are always ill at ease, and who exhaust their wit in daily inventing some new
gratifications! Let us adore the Son of God, debased so low as to take upon
him human nature in the incarnation, and in some manner more destitute of the
conveniences of life than the very beasts themselves. Who ever designs to
follow Christ, in order to make his fortune in the world, does not seek him,
but the world and its fortune. A man must disengage himself from every thing,
if he would truly serve God, by following Jesus Christ in the sacred
ministry, or otherwise. 21. And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. The voice of God must be obeyed without
delay. The children of Adam are always in extremes: either they will
anticipate God, like this scribe, (v. 19,) or they will not follow him
immediately, like this disciple. The mean between both, is to wait until he
speaks; and not to defer following him one moment when he has spoken. Men
never want pious pretences, when they have neither resolution enough to enter
into the way which God points out, nor humility enough to acknowledge their
own weakness. 22. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead. How difficult is it to forsake the world!
Always some secular tie retains those whom God calls to retirement. All human
respects, all regard to the duties of civil life, must be laid aside, when
our salvation is in question. All other care may be supplied by some other
person; the care of saving our soul, is our own
personal affair. A man is dead when he lives not according to faith, which is
the life of the soul. He who is called to follow
Christ in the way of perfection, ought to fear the world, and the
conversation of worldly people, as much as we generally fear the apparition
of a dead man, or the infection of a burying-place. Sect. V. The Tempest Appeased. 23. And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. This ship in the midst of the sea, is an emblem of the church in the midst of the world.
Jesus is there with his disciples: this is our comfort. Whoever has this
truth present to his mind, looks upon every thing
which happens in the church with other eyes than those of the world. 24. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. We ought to expect to meet with tempests
in the church, and to see it covered with waves. Let us not be scandalized at
it, but let us arm ourselves with faith and patience. Every one has likewise
his storms and tempests. When our faith grows dull and heavy, then Christ is
asleep in us. He is asleep in respect of us, when he leaves us some time to
ourselves, and makes us know the want of him by permitting us to fall either
under temptation, or inward troubles, or outward persecution of carnal men,
or into coldness, difficulties, and disgust in the service of God. 25. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. The advantage of temptation is to make us
know our weak ness, so as to oblige us to have recourse to God, and to unite
ourselves to Jesus Christ. We approach him by faith, we are united to him by
charity, and we awake him by prayer. All good perishes, or at least decays in
us without Christ. There is not so much as one
moment, wherein we are not in danger of perishing without our Saviour’s grace.
How proper is this short prayer for us, and how
familiar should it be to us, because our Saviour’s grace is necessary every
moment! It comprehends all the power of our Lord’s grace, the abundance of
our Saviour’s merits, and the depth of the sinner’s miseries. 26. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. Faith is courageous, incredulity fearful.
A person truly faithful retains his confidence in the most violent
temptations. One word alone of God, restores a
perfect calm to souls troubled by temptation. Prayer, though imperfect, is
very often heard: (1.) That our imperfections may not hinder us from praying
to God. (2.) That we may be persuaded that our merits do not make our prayers
effectual. (3.) That we may offer them up with great humility. (4.) That we
may unite ourselves to Christ in praying together with him. This defect of
faith in Christ’s disciples consisted in their not having that idea of his
power which they ought. Let us fear the same defect, and let us learn of how
much use it is, in order to pray well, to have such a notion of grace as is
suitable to the omnipotence of that God whom we adore. Great tempest, great
calm; God proportions the comfort to the affliction. 27. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him! Insensible creatures hear the Creator’s voice,
and obey it; man alone is deaf and disobedient thereto. God, who makes
himself obeyed by them, can he have less command over our heart, when he
resolves to subject it to himself? This is the consolation of those who
suffer, that he can make himself obeyed in a moment, and restore peace to
souls, and to the church. Let us only awake our faith, and pray. Sect. VI. The Devils Cast Out The Swine
Drowned. 28. And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. That which passes in these two possessed
persons, is a lively representation of the fury of the devil possessing a sinner’s
soul, of the misery of the sinner whom he possesses, and of the evils which
sin causes in the world. A guilty conscience is a real tomb, wherein a
possessed person lodges, and where stench and darkness reign. Happy that
person, whom the approach of Jesus Christ causes to come out and meet him! 29. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? The first motions of conversion do but
trouble and torment the sinner. Men shut their eyes against the light, they
thrust back the hand of Christ, they say it is not yet time,
they are incensed against the truths of faith, and against those who set them
before their eyes and show Jesus Christ unto them. There is no communication
between the Spirit of God and the spirit of the world; we must renounce
either the one or the other. 30. And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding. See here another representation of
sinners, of those chiefly who are subject to impurity by habit, or by
frequent relapses. They are still farther off from salvation than other
sinners, are to be found in greater numbers, and are more addicted to please
their appetite. Make them know, Lord, the shamefulness of their condition,
and what it is to have changed thy image into that of a swine. 31. So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. The sinner thinks he has injustice done
him, when he is restrained from hurting his neighbour. He will not see the
end of his sins. He imitates the devil, and does what lies in his power to be
at no loss as to wickedness, by never leaving one sin but for another. Since
the devil can do nothing but by God’s permission, and as the executioner of
his justice, it is this adorable justice which he ought to fear, and more yet
sin, without which justice is inactive. 32. And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of’s .vine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. 33. And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils. God hears not the devil and certain
sinners, but only so far as he hears his own
justice. Here is an emblem of the final impenitence into which the habitually
impure more commonly fall than other sinners. Christ permits the devils to do
that in the swine which he did not permit them to do in the possessed, on
purpose to show us what rage they would exercise upon us if God left them at
liberty. How many are the divine favours and benefits, which we do not
consider, and which we know only in general! God looks upon temporal riches
as of little or no value. He suffers them to be lost, sometimes to disengage
us from them out of mercy, sometimes out of justice, to punish us for having
acquired or preserved them either by covetousness or injustice. 34. And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts. The wicked choose rather to lose Jesus
Christ, than their temporal goods and the objects of their lusts. Blind and
ungrateful wretches, who cannot discern the time and the grace of this
visitation of the Lord! There are but too many, whom the fear of some loss,
disgrace, or reproach, blinds and intimidates so far as to make them ashamed
of Christ, his gospel, his truth, and his servants. Continue with us, Lord! for thou art all things to us, and art alone sufficient
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