John Chrysostom — Commentary on Scripture

Mark 9:1-8

(Hom. in Matt. 65) Luke in saying, After eight days, does not contradict this; for he reckoned in both the day on which Christ had spoken what goes before, and the day on which he took them up. And the reason that he took them up after six days, was that they might be filled with a more eager desire during the space of these days, and with a watchful and anxious mind attend to what they saw. (Hom. in Matt. 56) He brings Moses and Elias before them; first, indeed, because the multitudes said that Christ was Elias, and one of the Prophets, He shows Himself to the Apostles with them, that they might see the difference between the Lord, and His servants. And again because the Jews accused Christ of transgressing the law, and thought Him a blasphemer, as if He arrogated to Himself the glory of His Father, He brought before them those who shone conspicuous in both ways; for Moses gave the Law, and Elias was zealous for the glory of God; for which reason neither would have stood near Him, if He had been opposed to God and to His law. And that they might know that He holds the power of life…

(Hom. in Matt. 65) Luke in saying, After eight days, does not contradict this; for he reckoned in both the day on which Christ had spoken what goes before, and the day on which he took them up. And the reason that he took them up after six days, was that they might be filled with a more eager desire during the space of these days, and with a watchful and anxious mind attend to what they saw.

(Hom. in Matt. 56) He brings Moses and Elias before them; first, indeed, because the multitudes said that Christ was Elias, and one of the Prophets, He shows Himself to the Apostles with them, that they might see the difference between the Lord, and His servants. And again because the Jews accused Christ of transgressing the law, and thought Him a blasphemer, as if He arrogated to Himself the glory of His Father, He brought before them those who shone conspicuous in both ways; for Moses gave the Law, and Elias was zealous for the glory of God; for which reason neither would have stood near Him, if He had been opposed to God and to His law. And that they might know that He holds the power of life and of death, He brings before them both Moses who was dead, and Elias who had not yet suffered death. Furthermore He signified by this that the doctrine of the Prophets was the schoolmaster to the doctrine of Christ. He also signified the junction of the New and Old Testament, and that the Apostles shall be joined in the resurrection with the Prophets, and both together shall go forth to meet their common King. It goes on, And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

CHRYSOSTOM.f Again, Peter neither comprehended that the Lord worked His transfiguration for the showing forth of His true glory, nor that He did this in order to teach men, nor that it was impossible for them to leave the multitude and dwell in the mountain. It goes on, For they were sore afraid. But this fear of theirs was one by which they were raised from their usual state of mind to one higher, and they recognised that those who appeared to them were Moses and Elias. The soul also was drawn on to a state of heavenly feeling, as though carried away from human sense by the heavenly vision.

(Hom. in Matt. 56) The voice proceeded from a cloud in which God is wont to appear, that they might believe that the voice was sent forth from God. But in that He says, This is my beloved Son, He declares that the will of the Father and the Son is one, and that, save in that He is the Son, He is in all things One with Him who begot Him.

Or else, white garments are the writings of Evangelists and Apostles, the like to which no interpreter can frame.

(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274) Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Mark 9:2

He disclosed, it is said, a glimpse of the Godhead. He manifested to them the God who was dwelling among them.

EUTROPIUS, AND THE VANITY OF RICHES, HOMILY 2

Mark 9:3

How did he shine? Tell me. Exceedingly. And how do you express this? He shone as the sun. As the sun, you say? Yes. Why the sun? Because I do not know any other luminary more brilliant. And he was white, you say, as snow? Why as snow? Because I do not know any other substance which is whiter. But he did not strictly speaking shine merely as the sun shines daily. This is proved by what follows: the disciples fell to the ground. If he had shone as the sun daily shines, the disciples would not have fallen, for they saw the sun every day, and did not fall. But inasmuch as he shone more brilliantly than the sun or snow, they, being unable to bear the splendor, fell to the earth.

EUTROPIUS, AND THE VANITY OF RICHES, HOMILY 2.10-11

Mark 9:4

For both the one and the other had courageously withstood a tyrant: one the Egyptian, the other Ahab; and this on behalf of a people who were both ungrateful and disobedient.… And both were simple unlearned men. One was slow of speech and weak of voice. The other a rough countryman. And both were men who had despised the riches of this world. For Moses possessed nothing. And Elijah had nothing but his sheepskin.

GOSPEL OF ST MATTHEW, HOMILY 56

Mark 9:9

So He bound them to silence. Furthermore he spoke of his passion as though it were the reason why he asked them to be silent. Note that he did not tell them that they must never tell this to anyone. Instead they should not tell it until he had risen from the dead. In this respect he was silent as to what was painful, and spoke only of what was joyful.

GOSPEL OF ST MATTHEW, HOMILY 57

Mark 9:9-13

(Hom in Matt. 56) Where He not only orders them to be silent, but mentioning His Passion, He implies the cause why they were to be silent.

(non occ.) The design of the disciples in asking this question seems to me to be this. We indeed have seen Elias with Thee, and have seen Thee before seeing Elias, but the Scribes say that Elias cometh first; we therefore believe that they have lied.

(Hom. in Matt. 57) But what Christ answered to this, is seen by what follows, And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; in which He shows that Elias will come before His second advent. For the Scriptures declare two advents of Christ, namely, one which has taken place, and another which is to come; but the Lord asserts that Elias is the forerunner of the second advent.

(ubi sup.) Now as the Lord asserted that Elias was to be the forerunner of the second advent, so consequently He asserted that John was the forerunner of the first; wherefore He subjoins, But I say unto you, that Elias is indeed come.

(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274) Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Mark 9:12

Note the extreme accuracy of [the prophetic] expression. He does not say “He will restore the heart of the son to the father,” but “of the father to the son.”

GOSPEL OF ST MATTHEW, HOMILY 57.1

Mark 9:12

“Then”—when? When he was confessed to be the Christ, the Son of God. Again on the mountain, when he had shown them the marvelous vision, and the prophets had been discoursing of his glory, he reminded them of his passion.

GOSPEL OF ST MATTHEW, HOMILY 57.2

Mark 9:13

Christ called John Elijah, not because he was Elijah, but because he was fulfilling the ministry of that prophet.

GOSPEL OF ST MATTHEW, HOMILY 57.1

Mark 9:14-29

(ubi sup.) The Scriptures declare that this man was weak in faith, for Christ says, O faithless generation: and He adds, If thou canst believe. But although his want of faith was the cause of their not casting out the devil, he nevertheless accuses the disciples; wherefore it is added, And I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; but they could not. Now observe his folly; in praying to Jesus in the midst of the crowd, he accuses the disciples, wherefore the Lord before the multitude so much the more accuses him, and not only aims the accusation at himself, but also extends it to all the Jews; for it is probable that many of those present had been offended, and had held wrong thoughts concerning His disciples. Wherefore there follows, He answereth them and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? By which He showed both that He desired death, and that it was a burden to Him to converse with them. (ubi sup.) But this the Lord permitted for the sake of the father of the boy, that when he saw the devil vexing his child, he…

(ubi sup.) The Scriptures declare that this man was weak in faith, for Christ says, O faithless generation: and He adds, If thou canst believe. But although his want of faith was the cause of their not casting out the devil, he nevertheless accuses the disciples; wherefore it is added, And I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; but they could not. Now observe his folly; in praying to Jesus in the midst of the crowd, he accuses the disciples, wherefore the Lord before the multitude so much the more accuses him, and not only aims the accusation at himself, but also extends it to all the Jews; for it is probable that many of those present had been offended, and had held wrong thoughts concerning His disciples. Wherefore there follows, He answereth them and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? By which He showed both that He desired death, and that it was a burden to Him to converse with them.

(ubi sup.) But this the Lord permitted for the sake of the father of the boy, that when he saw the devil vexing his child, he might be brought on to believe that the miracle was to be wrought.

(Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc. sed v. Chrys. ubi sup.) His meaning is; such a plenitude of virtue is there in Me, that not only can I do this, but I will make others to have that power; where fore if thou canst believe as thou oughtest to do, thou shalt be able to cure not only him, but many more. In this way then, He endeavoured to bring back to the faith, the man who as yet speaks unfaithfully. There follows, And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. But if he had already believed, saying, I believe, how is it that he adds, help thou mine unbelief? We must say then that faith is manifold, that one sort of faith is elementary, another perfect; but this man, being but a beginner in believing, prayed the Saviour to add to his virtue what was wanting.

(ubi sup.) They feared that perchance they had lost the grace conferred upon them; for they had already received power over unclean spirits. It goes on: And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting.

(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274) Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Mark 9:22

The Scripture indicates that this man was extremely weak in faith, as is evident at four points: from Christ’s saying that “All things are possible to him that believes;” from the saying of the man himself as he approached, “Help me in my unbelief;” from Christ’s commanding the devil to “enter no more into him;” and from the man’s saying again to Christ, “If you can.”

THE GOSPEL OF ST MATTHEW, HOMILY 57.3

Mark 9:32

If ignorant, how could they be sorrowful? Because they were not altogether ignorant. They knew that he was soon to die, for they had continually been told about it. But just what this death might mean, they did not grasp clearly, nor that there would be a speedy recognition of it, from which innumerable blessings would flow. They did not see that there would be a resurrection. This is why they grieved.

THE GOSPEL OF ST MATTHEW, HOMILY 58

Mark 9:32

It is remarkable how, when Peter had been rebuked, and Moses and Elijah had discoursed, and had seen the glory of what was coming, and the Father had uttered a voice from above, and so many miracles had been done, and the resurrection was right at the door (for he said, he should by no means abide any long time in death, but should be raised the third day), even after all that they did not fathom what was happening. Rather they were troubled, and not merely troubled, but exceedingly mournful. Now this arose from their being ignorant as yet of the force of his sayings.

THE GOSPEL OF ST MATTHEW, HOMILY 58.1

Mark 9:35

If you are in love with precedence and the highest honor, pursue the things in last place, pursue being the least valued of all, pursue being the lowliest of all, pursue being the smallest of all, pursue placing yourselves behind others.

THE GOSPEL OF ST MATTHEW, HOMILY 58

Mark 9:36-37

(Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc. Sed v. Chrys. Hom. in Matt. 58) By the very sight, persuading them to humility and simplicity; for this little one was pure from envy and vain glory, and from a desire of superiority. But He does not only say, If ye become such, ye shall receive a great reward, but also, if ye will honour others, who are such for my sake. Wherefore there follows: And when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me.

(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274) Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Mark 9:43

(Hom. in Matt. 59) He says not this of our limbs, but of our intimate friends, whom as being necessary to us we look upon as our limbs; for nothing is so hurtful as mischievous society.

(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274) Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Mark 9:48

This is no trivial subject of inquiry that we propose, but rather it concerns things most urgent, and about which many inquire: namely, whether hell fire has any end. For that it has no end Christ indeed declared when he said, “Their fire shall not be quenched, and their worm shall not die.” Yes, I know a chill comes over you on hearing these things. But what am I to do? For this is God’s own command…. Ordained as we have been to the ministry of the word, we must cause our hearers discomfort when it is necessary for them to hear. We do this not arbitrarily but under command.

Mark 9:48

Christ has killed and buried your former transgressions, like worms. How then is it that you have bred others? For sins that harm the soul are more deadly than worms which harm the body. And they make a more offensive stench. Yet we do not even perceive their rankness, and so we sense no urgency to purge them out. So the drunkard fails to recognize how disgusting stale wine is, while one who is sober perceives the difference easily. So with sins: one who lives soberly sees easily the mire and the stain, but one who gives himself up to wickedness, like one made drowsy with drunkenness, does not even realize that he is ill. This is the worst aspect of evil, that it does not allow those who fall into it even to see the seriousness of their own diseased state, but as they lie in the mire, they think they are enjoying perfumes. So they do not have the slightest inclination to free themselves. And when full of worms they act like those who pride themselves in precious stones, exulting in them. For this reason they not only have no will to kill them, but they even nourish them, and multiply…

Christ has killed and buried your former transgressions, like worms. How then is it that you have bred others? For sins that harm the soul are more deadly than worms which harm the body. And they make a more offensive stench. Yet we do not even perceive their rankness, and so we sense no urgency to purge them out. So the drunkard fails to recognize how disgusting stale wine is, while one who is sober perceives the difference easily. So with sins: one who lives soberly sees easily the mire and the stain, but one who gives himself up to wickedness, like one made drowsy with drunkenness, does not even realize that he is ill. This is the worst aspect of evil, that it does not allow those who fall into it even to see the seriousness of their own diseased state, but as they lie in the mire, they think they are enjoying perfumes. So they do not have the slightest inclination to free themselves. And when full of worms they act like those who pride themselves in precious stones, exulting in them. For this reason they not only have no will to kill them, but they even nourish them, and multiply them in themselves, until they send them on to the worms of the age to come.

THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS, HOMILY 40

Mark 10:1-12

(Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc. et v. Chrys. Hom. 62) For being asked, whether it is lawful, he does not immediately reply, it is not lawful, lest they should raise an outcry, but He first wished them to answer Him as to the sentence of the law, that they by their answer might furnish Him with what it was right to say. Wherefore it goes on, And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? And afterwards, And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. They put forward indeed this that Moses had said either on account of the question of our Saviour, or wishing to excite against Him a multitude of men. For divorce was an indifferent thing among the Jews, and all practised it, as though it were permitted by the law. (ubi sup.) If however he had wished one wife to be put away and another to be brought in, He would have created several women. Nor did God only join one woman to one man, but He also bade a man quit his parents and cleave to his wife. Wherefore it goes on: And he said, (that is, God said by Adam,) For this cause shall a man leav…

(Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc. et v. Chrys. Hom. 62) For being asked, whether it is lawful, he does not immediately reply, it is not lawful, lest they should raise an outcry, but He first wished them to answer Him as to the sentence of the law, that they by their answer might furnish Him with what it was right to say. Wherefore it goes on, And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? And afterwards, And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. They put forward indeed this that Moses had said either on account of the question of our Saviour, or wishing to excite against Him a multitude of men. For divorce was an indifferent thing among the Jews, and all practised it, as though it were permitted by the law.

(ubi sup.) If however he had wished one wife to be put away and another to be brought in, He would have created several women. Nor did God only join one woman to one man, but He also bade a man quit his parents and cleave to his wife. Wherefore it goes on: And he said, (that is, God said by Adam,) For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife. From the very mode of speech, showing the impossibility of severing marriage, because He said, He shall cleave.

(ubi sup.) Being framed out of one root, they will join into one body. It goes on: So then they are no more twain, but one flesh.

(ubi sup.) After this, bringing forward an awful argument, He said not, do not divide, but He concluded, What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

(non occ.) But if two persons, whom God has joined together, are not to be separated; much more is it wrong to separate from Christ, the Church, which God has joined to Him.

(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274) Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Mark 10:13-16

(ubi sup.) But the disciples, out of regard for the dignity of Christ, forbade those who brought them. And this is what is added: And his disciples rebuked those who brought them. But our Saviour, in order to teach His disciples to be modest in their ideas, and to tread under foot worldly pride, takes the children to Him, and assigns to them the kingdom of God: wherefore it goes on: And he said unto them, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not.

(ubi sup.) For indeed the mind of a child is pure from all passions, for which reason, we ought by free choice to do those works, which children have by nature.

(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274) Catena Aurea by Aquinas