Aug., Doctr. Christ., iii, 12: In all such things we blame not the use of the things, but the lust of those that use them. For whoever uses the good things in his reach more sparingly than are the habits of those with whom he lives, is either temperate or superstitious. Whoever again uses them in a measure exceeding the practice of the good among whom he lives, either has some [Source note: margin note: aliquid] meaning therein, or else is dissolute.
Chrysostom: Having described his habits of life from his dwelling-place, his dress, and the concourse of men to hear him, He now brings in that he is also a prophet, "But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet."
Greg, Hom. in Ev., vi. 5: The office of a prophet is to foretel things to come, not to shew them present. John therefore is more than a prophet, because Him whom he had foretold by going before Him, the same he shewed as present by pointing Him out.
Jerome: In this he is also greater than the other prophets, that to his prophetic privilege is added the reward of the Baptist that he should baptize his Lord.
Chrysostom: Then he shews in what respect He is greater, saying, "This is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my angel before thy face."
Jerome: To add to this great worthiness of John, He brings a passage from Malachias, in which he is spoken of as an Angel. [[Mal 3:1]] We must suppose that John is here called an Angel, not as partaking the Angelic nature, but from the dignity of his office as a forerunner of the Lord.
Gregory: For the Greek word Angel, is in Latin Nuntius, ’a messenger.’ He therefore who came to bear a heavenly message is rightly called an Angel, that he may preserve in his title the dignity which he performs in his office.
Chrysostom: He shews wherein it is that John is greater than the Prophets, namely, in that he is nigh unto Christ, as he says, "I send before thy face," that is, near Thee, as those that walk next to the king’s chariot are more illustrious than others, so likewise is John because of his nearness to Christ.Pseudo-Chrysostom: Also the other Prophets were sent to announce Christ’s coming, but John to prepare His way, as it follows, "who shall make ready thy way before thee;"
Gloss. interlin.: That is, shall open the hearts of Thy hearers by preaching repentance and baptizing.
Jerome: Mystically; The desert is that which is deserted of the Holy Spirit, where there is no habitation of God; in the reed is signified a man who in outward show lives a pious life, but lacks all real fruit within himself, fair outside, within hollow, moved with every breath of wind, that is, with every impulse of unclean spirits, having no firmness to remain still, devoid of the marrow of the soul; by the garment wherewith his body is clothed is his mind shewn, that it is lost in luxury and self-indulgence. The kings are the fallen angels; they are they who are powerful in this life, and the lords of this world. Thus, "They that are clothed in soft raiment are in kings’ houses;" that is, those whose bodies are enervated and destroyed by luxury, it is clear are possessed by demons.
Gregory: Also John was not "clothed in soft raiment," that is, he did not encourage sinners in their sinful life by speaking smooth things, but rebuked them with sharpness and rigour, saying, "Generation of vipers, etc." [[Mat 3:7]]
Ver. 11. "Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."
Chrysostom: Having first delivered the Prophet’s testimony in praise of John, He rested not there, but added His own decision respecting him, saying, "Among them that are born of women there has not arisen a greater than John the Baptist."
Rabanus: As much as to say; What need to recount one by one the praises of John the Baptist; "I say verily unto you, Among them that are born of women, etc." He says women, not virgins. If the same word, mulier, which denotes a married person, is any where in the Gospels applied to Mary, it should be known that the translator has there used ’ mulier’ for ’femina;" as in that, "Woman, behold thy son!" [[Joh 19:26]]
Jerome: He is then set before all those that are born in wedlock, and not before Him who was born of the Virgin and the Holy Spirit; yet these words, "there has not arisen a greater than John the Baptist," do not imply that John is to be set above the Prophets and Patriarchs and all others, but only makes him equal to the rest; for it does not follow that because others are not greater than him, that therefore he is greater than others.
Pseudo-Chrysostom: But seeing that righteousness has so great deepness that none can be perfect therein but God only, I suppose that all the saints tried by the keenness of the divine judgment, rank in a fixed order, some lower, some before other. Whence we understand that He that hath none greater than Himself, is greater than all.
Chrysostom: That the abundance of this praise might not beget a wrong inclination in the Jews to set John above Christ, he corrects this, saying, "He that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Aug., Cont. Adv. Leg. et Proph., ii, 5: The heretic [Source note: margin note: Manichee or Marcionite] argues from this verse to prove that since John did not belong to the kingdom of heaven, therefore much less did the other Prophets of that people, than whom John is greater. But these words of the Lord may be understood in two ways. Either the kingdom of heaven is something which we have not yet received, that, namely, of which He speaks, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom," [[Mat 25:34]] because they in it are Angels, therefore the least among them is greater than a righteous man who has a corruptible body. Or if we must understand the kingdom of heaven of the Church, whose children are all the righteous men from the beginning of the world until now, then the Lord speaks this of Himself, who was after John in the time of His birth, but greater in respect of His divine nature and supreme power. According then to the first interpretation it will be pointed, "He who is least in the kingdom of heaven, is greater than he;" according to the second, "He who is less than he, is in the kingdom of heaven greater than he."
Chrysostom: The kingdom of heaven, that is, in the spiritual world, and all relating thereto. But some say that Christ spoke this of the Apostles.
Jerome: We understand it simply, that every saint who is already with the Lord is greater than he who yet stands in the battle; for it is one thing to have gained the crown of victory, another to be yet fighting in the field.
Ver. 12. "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.13. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.14. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.15. He that hath ears to ear, let him hear."
Gloss., non occ.: That what He had last said should not lead any to suppose that John was an alien from the kingdom of heaven, He corrects this by adding, "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force."
Greg., Hom in Ev., xx. 14: By the kingdom of heaven is meant the heavenly throne, wither when sinners defiled with any evil deed return in penitence, and amend themselves, they enter as sinners into the place of another, and take by violence the kingdom of heaven.
Jerome: Because John the Baptist was the first who preached repentance to the people, saying, "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand;" rightly therefore from that day forth it may be said, that "the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." For great indeed is the violence, when we who are born of earth, seek an abode in heaven, and obtain by excellence what we have not by nature.
Hilary: Otherwise; The Lord bade His Apostles go "to the lost sheep of Israel," but all their preaching conveyed profit to the publicans and sinners. Therefore "the kingdom suffers violence, and the violent take it by force," for the glory of Israel, due to the Fathers, foretold by the Prophets, offered by Christ, is entered and held by force by the might of the Gentiles.
Chrysostom: Or; All who come thereto with haste take by force the kingdom of God through the faith of Christ; whence He says, "from the days of John until now," and thus He brings them in haste to His faith, and at the same time adds support to those things which had been spoken by John. For if all things were fulfilled until John, then is Jesus He that should come; wherefore He adds, "All the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John."
Jerome: Not that He cuts off all Prophets after John; for we read in the Acts of the Apostles that Agabus prophesied, and also four virgins daughters of Philip; but He means that the Law and the Prophets whom we have written, whatever they have prophesied, they have prophesied of the Lord. That He says, "Prophesied until John," shews that this was now the time of Christ’s coming; and that whom they had foretold should come, Him John shewed to be already come.
Chrysostom: Then He adds another token of him, saying, "And if ye will receive it, this is Elias who was to come." The Lord speaks in Malachias, "I will send you Elias the Tishbite;" [[Mal 4:5]] and of the same again, "Behold, I send my messenger before thy face."
Jerome: John then is said to be Elias, not according to the foolish philosophers, and certain heretics who bring forward their metempsychosis, or passing of the soul from one body to another; but because (as it is in another passage of the Gospel) he came in the spirit and power of Elias, and had the same grace and measure of the Holy Spirit. But in austerity of life, and fortitude of spirit, Elias and John were alike; they both dwelt in the desert, both were girded with a girdle of skins; because he reproved Ahab and Jezebel for their wickedness, Elias was compelled to fly; because he condemned the unlawful union of Herod and Herodias, John is beheaded.
Chrysostom: "If ye will receive it," shewing their freedom, and requiring of them a willing mind. John the Baptist is Elias, and Elias is John, because both were forerunners of Christ.
Jerome: That He says, "This is Elias," is figurative, and needs to be explained, as what follows, shews; "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."
Remigius: As much as to say, whoso has ears of the heart to hear, that is, to understand, let him understand; for He did not say that John was Elias in person, but in the Spirit.
Ver. 16. "But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,17. And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.18. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.19. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of Publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children."
Hilary: The whole of this speech is a reproach of unbelief, and arises out of the foregoing complaint; that the stiff-necked people had not learned by two different modes of teaching.
Chrysostom: Whence He puts this question, shewing that nothing had been omitted that ought to be done for their salvation, saying, "To whom shall I liken this generation?
Gloss., ap Anselm: By "this generation" He means the Jews together with Himself and John. As though He had said; John is thus great; but ye would believe neither him nor Me, and therefore to whom shall I liken you?
Remigius: And straightway He answers Himself, saying, "It is like unto children sitting in the market-place, crying unto their fellows, and saying, We have played music to you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned, and ye have not lamented."
Hilary: By the "children" are meant the Prophets, who preached as children in singleness of meaning, and in the midst of the synagogue, that is "in the market-place", reprove them, that when they played to those to whom they had devoted the service of their body, they had not obeyed their words, as the movement of the dancers are regulated by the measures of the music. For the Prophets invited them to make confession by song to God, as it is contained in the song of Moses, of Isaiah, or of David.
Jerome: They say therefore, "We have played music to you, and ye have not danced;" i. e. We have called on you to work good works to our songs, and ye would not. We have lamented and called you to repentance, and this ye would not, rejecting both preaching, as well of exhortation to virtue, as of repentance for sin.
Remigius: What is that He says, "To their fellows?" Were the unbelieving Jews then fellows of the Prophets? He speaks thus only because they were sprung of one stock.
Jerome: The children are they of whom Isaiah speaks, "Behold I, and the children whom the Lord has given me." [[Isa 8:18]] These children then sit in the market-place, where are many things for sale, and say,
Chrysostom: "We have played music to you, and ye have not danced;" that is, I have shewed you an unrestricted life, and ye are not convinced; "We have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented;" that is, John lived a hard life, and ye heeded him not. Yet does not he speak one thing, and I another, but both speak the same thing, because both have one and the same object. "For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a demon. The Son of man came etc."
Aug., Const. Faust., xvi, 31: I would that the Manichaens would tell me what Christ ate and drank, who here speaks of Himself as eating and drinking in comparison of John, who did neither. Not indeed that John drank nothing at all, but that he drank neither wine nor strong drink -- but water only. Not that he dispensed altogether with food, but that he ate only locusts and wild honey. Whence then is it said of him that he came neither eating nor drinking, except that he used not that food which the Jews used? Unless therefore the Lord had used this food, He would not have been said to have been, in comparison of John, "eating and drinking." It would be strange that he who ate locusts and honey, should be said to come "neither eating nor drinking," and that he who ate only bread and herbs, should be said to come eating and drinking.
Chrysostom: He says therefore, "Jesus came," as much as to say, I and John came opposite ways, to do the same thing; as two hunters chasing the same animal from opposite sides, so that it might fall into, the hands of one of them. But all mankind admire fasting and severity of life; and for this reason it was ordained from his infancy that John should be so brought up, that the things that he should say should receive credit. The Lord also walked in this way when He fasted forty days;- but He had other means of teaching men to have confidence in Him; for it was a much greater thing that John who had walked in this way should bear witness to Him, than that He Himself should walk in that way.
Again, John had nothing to shew besides his life, and his righteousness; whereas Christ had also the witness of His miracles. Leaving therefore to John the representation of fasting, He Himself walked in a contrary way, entering to the table of the publicans, and eating and drinking with them.