ACC ~ Matthew 20 v21

THESE TWO SONS

HILARY OF POITIERS: The literal sense of this is that the mother begged the Lord for the sake of her two sons. But the spiritual sense is deeper and full of symbolic significance: Think of the analogy as that between the disciples of John the Baptist and the apostles. Both [groups] suffered. Both [groups] were to die. They were the two sons of Israel who were struggling against the Pharisees. After John had suffered and died, some of his disciples came to inquire of the Lord. The supplication is that both [groups] of these callings might be equally treated in the kingdom, since both [groups] believed in the gospel of Christ. [1] ON MATTHEW 20.11. [2]

[1] Why Hilary of Poitiers here interprets the two sons as analogous to the two dispensations of the Baptist and the Lord is a mystery, but it well illustrates the tendency in patristic exegesis to look for some analogy, even if feeble, when numbers of any sort emerge in the sacred text.

[2] SC 258:114-16.