ACC ~ Matthew 11 v25

REVEALED TO THE GENTILES

ORIGEN: Jesus praises and glorifies the Father, who had foreseen the entire trajectory of the Word first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. Our Lord here gives thanks to his Father, the Lord of heaven and earth, for his mission in becoming incarnate in the form of a servant. He speaks about the Father’s good pleasure now to hide this mystery about himself from Israel, which might be expected to be wise, and to reveal it to the Gentiles, who were until now without understanding. It is thereby demonstrated that God did not forget to fulfill his purpose, nor did Christ’s coming fail in its appointed end. These things indeed have happened, God knowing them beforehand and having commanded beforehand the repentance of grace. The justice of God’s good pleasure is here passed over in silence, but elsewhere it is clearly displayed. God’s good will is not irrational. People do not fail to attain knowledge and wisdom about it for any reason other than their own deficiencies. FRAGMENT 239. [1]

[1] GCS 41.1:112; cf. Origen Fragments from Commentaries on the Gospel of Matthew 301, Apollinaris Fragment 66, in MKGK 19.

LORD OF HEAVEN AND EARTH

AUGUSTINE: Jesus says, “My Father, Lord of heaven and earth,” Father of him through whom all things were made. Surely all creation is embraced by these two nouns heaven and earth. Therefore the first book of God’s Scripture says, “In the beginning God made heaven and earth.” [1] And “my help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” [2] By the name of heaven is understood whatever is in heaven, and by the name of earth is understood whatever is on earth. Thus, by mentioning these two parts of creation no aspect of creation is overlooked, since the created object is either here or there. Moreover, when the Son speaks to his Father his confession, Jesus admonishes us that confession is owed to God not for our sins alone. For very often when it is heard in the Scriptures, “You shall confess to the Lord,” many who hear this beat their breasts in remorse. They do not recall that the term confession means anything else except their accustomed use when they show repentance, confessing their sins and awaiting their just deserts from God, not because they deserve to suffer but because God deems it worthy to act mercifully. But if there were not confession in the act of praise, Jesus would not say, “I confess to you, Father,” since he had no sin to confess. It is said in another book of the Scripture: “You shall confess to the Lord” and say in your confession that “all the works of the Lord are very good.” This is certainly a confession of praise and not of fault. SERMON 68.2. [3]

[1] Gen 1:1.

[2] Ps 121:2 (120:2 LXX).

[3] MA 1:356-57; WSA 3 3:222-23.

I THANK YOU, FATHER

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: He employs the phrase “I confess you” in accordance with human custom. Instead of saying “I acknowledge you,” he brings in the phrase “I glorify you.” [1] For it is customary in the divinely inspired Scripture for the word confession to be taken in some such a sense. It is written, “Let the people give thanks,” Lord, “to your great name, because it is formidable and holy.” [2] And again, “I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart.” [3]

But those who are perverted in mind say, “Look here, if he renders thanks to the Father, how then is he not less than the Father?” To this objection one who knows how to guard the doctrines of truth might say, “My good man, what prevents the consubstantial Son from accepting and praising his own Father, who through him saves what is under heaven? If you believe because of this confession that he is in a lesser position than the Father, look also at what comes next. Jesus acknowledges and calls his Father Lord of heaven and earth. For he confesses him as ‘Lord of heaven and earth’ and at the same time he calls upon him as ‘Father.’ But the Son of God who is ruler of all is in every way with him the Lord and Master of all, not as one worse or differing in substance, but as God from God. He is crowned with equal renown, having substantially with him equality in everything whatsoever.” FRAGMENT 145. [4]

[1] Cyril indicates that exomologeisthai is here used not in its normal sense of “to confess, admit, acknowledge” but in the sense of “to glorify.”

[2] Ps 99:3 (98:3 LXX).

[3] Ps 9:1; 111:1 (9:1; 110:1 LXX).

[4] MKGK 199.

GRACE REVEALED TO THOSE SIMPLE AT EVIL

THEODORE OF HERACLEA: Jesus called the Jews wise, either because they were entrusted with the oracles of God or because they were evildoers and wise at doing evil, but he called the apostles children. He called the scribes and Pharisees wise, though they did not really possess wisdom but only what appeared to be wisdom because of their cleverness with words. He called the fishermen, who were unskilled in evil, children. In this way, the grace of God was clearly manifested as Jesus made himself known to simple men. … And even if it was Christ himself who, for the most part, did these things, nevertheless, by giving thanks for them as things done by the Father, he shows that they share a common will and gives thanks for God’s love for us in the things by which we have received benefit. FRAGMENT 80. [1]

[1] MKGK 78-79.

REVEALED TO BABES

EPIPHANIUS THE LATIN: And he revealed these things to children. To which children? Not those who are children in age but to those who are children in respect to sin and wickedness. To them Jesus revealed how to seek the blessings of paradise and the things to come in the kingdom of heaven, because thus it was well pleasing before God that “they should come from the east and the west and that they should lie down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but that the sons of this worldly kingdom should be cast into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” [1] INTERPRETATION OF THE GOSPELS 26. [2]

[1] Mt 8:11-12.

[2] PL Supp 3:865.

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