---
title: "Catena Aurea: The Four Gospels"
author: "Thomas Aquinas"
translator: "John Henry Newman (ed.)"
languages: [en]
shelf: "Commentaries"
section: 172 of 394
url: https://scriptura.si/works/thomas-aquinas-catena-aurea-the-four-gospels/172/
cite: "Thomas Aquinas, tr. John Henry Newman (ed.), Catena Aurea: The Four Gospels, section 172. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/thomas-aquinas-catena-aurea-the-four-gospels/172/"
---

# Catena Aurea: The Four Gospels

*Thomas Aquinas, tr. John Henry Newman (ed.)*

The four Gospels read through chains of quotations from the Church Fathers.

## 172. Mark 6 · 1 of 4

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/thomas-aquinas-catena-aurea-the-four-gospels/172/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/thomas-aquinas-catena-aurea-the-four-gospels/172/#p-N

[¶0] Ver. 1. And He went out from thence, and came into His own country; and His disciples follow Him.2. And when the sabbath day was come, He began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?3. Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us?" And they were offended at Him.4. But Jesus said unto them, "A prophet is not without honour but in his own country, and among his own kind, and in his own house."5. And He could there do no mighty work, save that He laid His hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.6. And He marvelled because of their unbelief.

[¶1] Theophylact: After the miracles which have been related, the Lord returns into His own country, not that He was ignorant that they would despise Him, but that they might have no reason to say, If Thou hadst come, we had believed Thee. Wherefore it is said, "And He went out from thence, and came into His own country."

[¶2] Bede, in Marc., 2, 23: He means by His country, Nazareth, in which He was brought up. But how great the blindness of the Nazarenes! they despise Him, Who by His words and deeds they might know to be the Christ, solely on account of His kindred.

[¶3] It goes on: "And when the sabbath day was come, He began to teach in the synagogue; and many hearing Him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?"

[¶4] By wisdom is meant His doctrine, by powers, the cures and miracles which He did. It goes on: Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?"

[¶5] Augustine, de Con. Evan., ii, 42: Matthew indeed says that He was called the son of a carpenter; nor are we to wonder, since both might have been said, for they believed Him to be a carpenter, because He was the son of a carpenter.

[¶6] Pseudo-Jerome: Jesus is called the son of a workman, of that one, however, whose work was the morning and the sun, that is, the first and second Church, as a figure of which the woman and the damsel are healed.

[¶7] Bede: For although human things are not to be compared with divine, still the type is complete, because the Father of Christ works by fire and spirit. It goes on: "The brother of James, and Joses, of Jude, and of Simon. And are not his sisters here with us?"

[¶8] They bear witness that His brothers and sisters were with Him, who nevertheless are not to be taken for the sons of Joseph or of Mary, as heretics say, but rather, as is usual in Scripture, we must understand them to be His relations, as Abraham and Lot are called brothers, though Lot was brother’s son to Abraham.

[¶9] "And they were offended at Him." The stumbling and the error of the Jews is our salvation, and the condemnation of heretics. For so much did they despise the Lord Jesus Christ, as to call Him a carpenter, and son of a carpenter. It goes on: "And Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country."

[¶10] Even Moses bears witness that the Lord is called a Prophet in the Scripture, for predicting His future Incarnation to the sons of Israel, he says, "A Prophet shall the Lord raise up unto you of your brethren." [[Acts 7:37]] But not only He Himself, Who is Lord of prophets, but also Elias, Jeremiah, and the remaining lesser prophets, were worse received in their own country than in strange cities, for it is almost natural for men to envy their fellow-townsmen; for they do not consider the present works of the man, but they remember the weakness of Him infancy.

[¶11] Pseudo-Jerome: Oftentimes also the origin of a man brings him contempt, as it is written, "Who is the son of Jesse?" [[1Sam 25:10]] for the Lord "hath respect unto the lowly; as to the proud, He beholdeth them afar off."Theophylact: Or again, if the prophet has noble relations, his countrymen hate them, and on that account do not honour the prophet.

[¶12] There follows, "And He could there do no mighty work, etc." What, however, is here expressed by He could not, we must take to mean, He did not choose, because it was not that He was weak, but that they were faithless; He does not therefore work any miracles there, for He spared them, lest they should be worthy of greater blame, if they believed not, even with miracles before their eyes.

[¶13] Or else, for the working of miracles, not only the power of the Worker is necessary, but the faith of the recipient, which was wanting in this case: therefore Jesus did not choose to work any signs there. There follows: "And He marvelled at their unbelief."

[¶14] Bede: Not as if He Who knows all things before they are done, wonders at what He did not expect or look forward to, but knowing the hidden things of the heart, and wishing to intimate to men that it was wonderful, He openly shews that He wonders. And indeed the blindness of the Jews is wonderful, for they neither believed what their prophets said of Christ, nor would in their own persons believe on Christ, Who was born amongst them. Mystically again; Christ is despised in His own house and country, that is, amongst the people of the Jews, and therefore He worked few miracles there, lest they should become altogether inexcusable. But He performs greater miracles every day amongst the Gentiles, not so much in the healing of their bodies, as in the salvation of their souls.

[¶15] Ver. 6. ----- And He went round about the villages, teaching.7. And He called unto Him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;8. And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse:9. But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats.10. And He said unto them, "In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place.11. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city."12. And they went out, and preached that men should repent.13. And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.

[¶16] Theophylact: The Lord not only preached in the cities, but also in villages, that we may learn not to despise little things, nor always to seek for great cities, but to sow the word of the Lord in abandoned and lowly villages.

[¶17] Wherefore it is said, "And He went round about the villages, teaching."

[¶18] Bede, in Marc., 2, 24: Now our kind and merciful Lord and Master did not grudge His servants and their disciples His own virtues, and as He Himself had healed every sickness and every infirmity, so also He gave the same power to His disciples.

[¶19] Wherefore it goes on: "And He called unto Him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits."

[¶20] Great is the difference between giving and receiving. Whatsoever He does, is done in His own power, as Lord; if they do any thing, they confess their own weakness and the power of the Lord, saying in the name of Jesus, "Arise, and walk."

[¶21] Theophylact: Again He sends the Apostles two and two that they might become more active; for, as says the Preacher, "Two are better than one." [[Ecc 4:9]] But if He had sent more than two, there would not have been a sufficient number to allow of their being sent to many villages.

[¶22] Greg., Hom. in Evan., 17: Further, the Lord sent the disciples to preach, two and two, because there are two precepts of charity, namely, the love of God, and of our neighbour; and charity cannot be between less than two; by this therefore He implies to us, that he who has not charity towards his neighbour, ought in no way to take upon himself the office of preaching.

[¶23] There follows: "And He commanded them, that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse: but be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats."

[¶24] Bede: For such should be the preacher’s trust in God, that, though he takes no thought for supplying his own wants in this present world, yet he should feel most certain that these will not be left unsatisfied, lest whilst his mind is taken up with temporal things, he should provide less of eternal things to others.

[¶25] Pseudo-Chrysostom:, Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.: The Lord also gives them this command, that they might shew by their mode of life, how far removed they were from the desire of riches.

[¶26] Theophylact: Instructing them also by this means not to be fond of receiving gifts, in order too that those, who saw them proclaim poverty, might be reconciled to it, when they saw that the Apostles themselves possessed nothing.

[¶27] Augustine, de Con. Evan., 2, 30: Or else; according to Matthew, the Lord immediately subjoined, "The workman is worthy of his meat," [[Mat 10:19]] which sufficiently proves why He forbade their carrying or possessing such things; not because they were not necessary, but because He sent them in such a way as to shew, that they were due to them from the faithful, to whom they preached the Gospel.

[¶28] From this it is evident that the Lord did not mean by this precept that the Evangelists ought to live only on the gifts of those to whom they preach the Gospel, else the Apostle transgressed this precept when he procured his livelihood by the labour of his own hands, but He meant that He had given them a power, in virtue of which, they might be assured these things were due to them.

[¶29] It is also often asked, how it comes that Matthew and Luke have related that the Lord commanded His disciples not to carry even a staff, whilst Mark says, "And He commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only." Which question is solved, by supposing that the word ’staff’ has a meaning in Mark, who says that it ought to be carried, different from that which it bears in Matthew and Luke, who affirm the contrary. For in a concise way one might say, Take none of the necessaries of life with you, nay, not a staff, save a staff only; so that the saying, nay not a staff, may mean, nay not the smallest thing; but that which is added, "save a staff only," may mean that, through the power received by them from the Lord, of which a rod is the ensign, nothing, even of those things which they do not carry, will be wanting to them.

[¶30] The Lord, therefore, said both, but because one Evangelist has not given both, men suppose, that he who has said that the staff, in one sense, should be taken, is contrary to him who again has declared, that, in another sense, it should be left behind: now however that a reason has been given, let no one think so.

[¶31] So also when Matthew declares that shoes are not to be worn on the journey, he forbids anxiety about them, for the reason why men are anxious about carrying them, is that they may not be without them. This is also to be understood of the two coats, that no man should be troubled about having only that with which he is clad from anxiety lest he should need another, when he could always obtain one from the power given by the Lord.

[¶32] In like manner Mark, by saying that they are to be shod with sandals or soles, warns us that this mode of protecting the feet has a mystical signification, that the foot should neither be covered above nor be naked on the ground, that is, that the Gospel should neither be hid, nor rest upon earthly comforts; and in that He forbids their possessing or taking with them, or more expressly their wearing, two coats, He bids them walk simply, not with duplicity. But whosoever thinks that the Lord could not in the same discourse say some things figuratively, others in a literal sense, let him look into His other discourses, and he shall see, how rash and ignorant is his judgment.

[¶33] Bede: Again, by the two tunics He seems to me to mean two sets of clothes; not that in places like Scythia, covered with the ice and snow, a man should be content with only one garment, but by coat, I think a suit of clothing is implied, that being clad with one, we should not keep another through anxiety as to what may happen.

[¶34] Pseudo-Chrysostom: Or else, Matthew and Luke neither allow shoes nor staff, which is meant to point out the highest perfection. But Mark bids them take a staff and be shod with sandals, which is spoken by permission. [see [1Co 7:7]]

[¶35] Bede: Again, allegorically; under the figure of a scrip is pointed out the burdens of this world, by bread is meant temporal delights, by money in the purse, the hiding of wisdom; because he who receives the office of a doctor, should neither be weighed down by the burden of worldly affairs, nor be made soft by carnal desires, nor hide the talent of the word committed to him under the case of an inactive body. It goes on, "And He said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place."

[¶36] Where He gives a general precept of constancy, that they should look to what is due to the tie of hospitality, adding, that it is inconsistent with the preaching of the kingdom of heaven to run about from house to house.

[¶37] Theophylact: That is, lest they should be accused of gluttony in passing from one to another. It goes on, "And whoever shall not receive you, etc." This the Lord commanded them, that they might shew that they had walked a long way for their sakes, and to no purpose. Or, because they received nothing from them, not even dust, which they shake off, that it might be a testimony against them, that is, by way of convicting them.

[¶38] Pseudo-Chrysostom: Or else, that it might be a witness of the toil of the way, which they sustained for them; or as if the dust of the sins of the preachers was turned against themselves.

[¶39] It goes on: "And they went and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them."

[¶40] Mark alone mentions their anointing with oil. James however, in his canonical Epistle, says a thing similar. For oil both refreshes our labours, and gives us light and joy; but again, oil signifies the mercy of the unction of God, the healing of infirmity, and the enlightening of the heart, the whole of which is worked by prayer.

[¶41] Theophylact: It also means, the grace of the Holy Ghost, by which we are eased from our labours, and receive light and spiritual joy.

[¶42] Bede: Where it is evident from the Apostles themselves, that it is an ancient custom of the holy Church that persons possessed or afflicted with any disease whatever, should be anointed with oil consecrated by priestly blessing.

[¶43] Ver. 14. And king Herod heard of Him; (for His name was spread abroad:) and he said, "That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him."15. Others said, "That it is Elias." And others said, "That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets."16. But when Herod heard thereof, he said, "It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead."

[¶44] Gloss: After the preaching of the disciples of Christ, and the working of miracles, the Evangelist fitly subjoins an account of the report, which arose amongst the people. Wherefore he says, "And king Herod heard of Him."