Cheesefare Friday

(Verse 18, 19,.) And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah, joy and gladness, and great solemnities: only love ye truth and peace. LXX: And the word of the Lord Almighty came to me, saying: Thus says the Lord Almighty. The fast of the fourth, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah, joy and gladness, and good festivals (for this is the Hebrew word Tobim (), meaning good), and be happy, and love truth and peace. To the question that Sarasar and Rogommelech asked through messengers, whether they should fast and mourn in the fifth month and the seventh month, as it is written in the Septuagint, or whether they should end the fast and put away mourning after the completion of the temple, with many things being set forth in the midst of what they would do and what they would hope for, the Lord responded through the person of the prophet: the fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth month, and the fast of the seventh month, and the fast of the tenth month (for the month is understood) shall be turned into joy and gladness for the house of Judah and Jerusalem on the appointed feasts. God alone seeks the truth and peace. In this place, many of our people have said many different things, and there is disagreement among them. Some, professing obscurity, have passed over the deepest pit in their commentaries: thinking it better to say nothing at all than to say too little. Therefore, we are compelled to turn to the Hebrews and seek the truth of knowledge from the source rather than from the streams: especially since there is no prophecy about Christ, where they often twist and conceal the truth with lies; but rather the order of history is woven from what comes before and what follows. On the seventeenth day of the month of July, which is called Julius in Latin, it is believed to commemorate the moment when Moses came down from Mount Sinai and threw down and broke the tablets of the Law (Exodus 32), and when the walls of the city were first breached, according to Jeremiah (Jeremiah 52). In the fifth month, which is called Augustus in Latin, when a rebellion arose among the people because of the spies of the Holy Land, they were commanded not to ascend the mountain; but for forty years they wandered in the wilderness, with the exception of Caleb and Joshua, until they all perished (Numbers 14). In this month, both by Nabuchodonosor (Jer. LII), and many centuries later by Titus and Vespasian, the temple in Jerusalem was burned and destroyed, the city of Bether was captured, to which many thousands of Jews had fled, the temple was plowed in disgrace by the Roman governor Turannius Rufus. In the seventh month, which is called October among us, as we have said above, Godolias was killed, and the tribes of Judah and the remains of Jerusalem were scattered (IV Reg. 25). We read Jeremiah (Chapters XXXIX and XLI). In the tenth month, which is called January among us, because it is the door of the year and the beginning, Ezekiel, being in captivity, heard that the temple was destroyed in the fifth month, which we fully know from the same prophet. Therefore, this is all that is said: The days of mourning and fasting that you have had until now for sorrow, you shall know that I planned to do good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah, to turn them into joy and gladness and festive occasions, if only you love truth and peace. According to interpretation, because then we fast when the bridegroom is taken away from us (Luke 5), and we do not deserve to have his presence when the Lord returns to us and decides to bless us, all sorrow will turn into joy; and the previous hunger for the word of God, the presence of his teachings, and the satisfaction of heavenly bread, will be weighed.

Therefore, when we come to the feast, we must not treat it as the shadows and pictures that Israel had, for they are fulfilled. Nor should we come to it as we would any ordinary secular feast. Oh, no! Let us go quickly to the Lord, who is himself the feast. We must not look at the feast as a time to delight the appetite and overindulge but as a display of virtue. The feasts of the heathen are made up of laziness and greed. They think idleness is the mark of a feast, and when they feast they do the despicable acts of death and hell. Our feasts, on the other hand, are scenes of virtuous activities and the practice of temperance. The prophetic word says it very clearly, "The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months shall become feasts of joy and gladness for the house of Judah."

(Verse 21, 22.) Thus says the Lord of hosts: How long will the people come and dwell in many cities, and the inhabitants go from one to another, saying: Let us go and entreat the face of the Lord, and let us seek the Lord of hosts. I myself will also go, and many peoples and strong nations will come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the face of the Lord. LXX: Thus says the Lord almighty: Yet many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will come; and those who dwell in cities will gather in one city, saying: Let us go to entreat the face of the Lord, and let us seek the presence of the Lord almighty. I will also go, and many peoples and numerous nations will come to seek the face of the Almighty Lord in Jerusalem, and to supplicate the face of the Lord. The fast of the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months will be changed into the best festivities, to the extent that the cities of Judah, which were previously deserted, will be celebrated with abundant inhabitants. And one city shall go to another, and they shall encourage one another and say: Because for seventy years the ways of Zion had been desolate, since there was no one to go to the feast, all its gates were deserted, and its priests were lamenting. Now that peace has been restored, let us go to Jerusalem, where it is commanded by law that we offer sacrifices, and let our every male appear before the Lord three times a year (Exod. XXIII). And one city will say to another: Let us go and supplicate the face of the Lord, and let us seek the Almighty Lord. The other city will reply: I will also go. At that time, many peoples and innumerable and powerful nations will come to offer sacrifices to the Lord of Hosts in Jerusalem, and to supplicate His face. For the Lord is near to those who do not test Him, and He reveals His face to those who are not unbelieving. Whoever sees the Son, sees the Father as well; and the Son is the image of the invisible God, not because the Son is visible and the Father invisible, but because when the Son is mentioned, the Father is felt. For the Father does not exist without the Son. Therefore, He Himself speaks in the Gospel: Father, I have manifested Your name to men. What we have said about Jerusalem and Zerubbabel, or after Zerubbabel, is more accurately and fully applied to Christ and Jerusalem, which is understood as the Church: and then concerning the whole world and peoples and nations coming together to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord. Also during the time of persecution, as we have mentioned before, the teachers and priests of the Church boldly promise to the captives and believers that the parishes will be rebuilt and peace will be restored, and the face of the Lord is to be sought in the Churches. We pass by in order to dwell in the more obscure things.

The whole life of a good Christian is a holy longing to make progress.

(Verse 23) Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days, when ten men from all the languages of the nations take hold of the garment of a Jewish man, saying, 'We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.' LXX: Thus says the Lord Almighty: In those days, if ten men from all the languages of the nations take hold of the fringe of a Jewish man, saying, 'We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.' Certain Jews say that these things were completed under Zerubbabel, and after Zerubbabel. Others differ, expecting Christ to come in the future. But we understand more correctly and truly in the coming of the Lord and Savior, when He was born of the Virgin Mary. Finally, it is written: 'How long will the peoples come?' (Zech. VIII, 20) When it is said, 'How long,' it does not signify the present time in which Zerubbabel and Joshua were, but the future, when many peoples and strong nations will come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the face of the Lord. At that time, therefore, and in those days, ten men from all the languages of the nations will take hold of the edge of a man who is a Jew, saying: We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you. And in Isaiah we read: Seven women will take hold of one man, saying: We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothing, only let your name be called upon us: take away our disgrace (Isaiah 4:1). Therefore, the seven women who are called there, that is, the Churches, whose number is also mentioned in the apostle Paul: for he writes to seven Churches, to the Romans, to the Corinthians, to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the Philippians, to the Colossians, to the Thessalonians. And in the Apocalypse of John, in the midst of the seven candlesticks (Apoc. I), that is, of the Churches, of the Ephesians, of the Smyrnians, of the Pergamenes, of the Thyatirians, of the Sardisians, of the Philadelphians, of the Laodiceans with variety (or truth), the Lord enters girded with the purest gold. Now in the prophet Zechariah, ten are mentioned, whom the Lord also inquired about, that if He found them in Sodom and Gomorrah, He would deliver them from destruction. For the letter Iota , from which the Savior's name begins, signifies not only the number ten among the Greeks, but also among the Hebrews. And by this mystical discourse it is shown that all those who are considered by the name of Christian, whom the Lord Himself says have left seven thousand in the time of the persecution of Jezebel and the flight of Elijah, who have not bent their knees before Baal (III Kings XIX), and who have come to the measure of a perfect man from all languages and nations, will grasp the fringe of the Jewish man, that is, of the Lord and Savior, about whom it is also said in the Psalms: 'Judah, my king' (Ps. LIX, 9). And: Judas, your brothers will praise you. And again: A ruler will not fail from Judah, and a leader from his loins, until the one to whom it belongs comes, and he will be the hope of the nations (Gen. XLIX, 8, 10): For he will be the offspring of Jesse, and the one who rises to rule the nations, in him the nations will hope (Isai. XI, 10). And when they take hold of him, they will desire to follow in his footsteps; for God is with him. Indeed, from all languages and nations, whoever believes will take hold of the Jewish man, the apostles who are from the Jews and they will say: Let us go with you, for we have heard through the prophets, and we have known by the voice of all the Scriptures, that the Son of God, Christ, is God and Lord with you. When the most manifest prophecy is fulfilled, and the coming of Christ and his apostles is preached, and the faith of all nations, we do not seek anything more. But what we said about the number seven thousand belonging to the name of Christians, calculate in Greek έπτα χίλια και Χριστιανους, and you will find the same number and sum, that is, one thousand nine hundred and forty-one. But also the parable of the ten virgins in the Gospel (Matt. XXV), which we interpret in the senses of the flesh and the spirit, if they have prepared oil of good works for their lamps, and have doubled the number five, so that they may be holy (according to the Apostle) in body and spirit, refer to the sacrament of this number. He will also receive in the future ten cities, the best governed by those who have the most excellent control of their senses (Luke 16).

God will make the return of the remainder so conspicuous that many people who are from different nations and have shared that calamity will perceive God's care for the people. They will lay hold of any one of them and use him as a guide for a return to Jerusalem, since everyone is sufficiently stirred up to that end from the clear realization that God is with them on the basis of the incredible deeds done for them. The phrase "ten men," note, here too refers not to number but has the meaning of many.

(Verses 7, 8.) Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the land of the East, and from the land of the setting sun. And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in justice. Likewise in the Septuagint. Others say that these things were fulfilled by the Jews after the rebuilding of the temple and the city walls by Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, and the restoration of the Jewish state by the Maccabees and various princes who ruled over Judea until King Herod. Others, in talking about the completion of the world under Christ, whom they vainly wait for, mention things that are yet to be fulfilled. But we, on the other hand, say that even at that time, that is, after Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, it was partially completed and already foreshadowed in types and images when the people were brought back from captivity, dwelt in Jerusalem, and were called the people of God, and again the Lord was called their God: not in deceit and injustice, but in truth and righteousness. And now, most fully under the Lord and Savior in the Church, that is, in the true Jerusalem, the promise is being fulfilled, especially because it is said: Behold, I will save my people from the land of the East and from the land of the West, of whom the Lord also spoke in the Gospel: Many shall come from the East and the West, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven (Matt. VIII, 11). And long before, the Psalmist had promised, saying: The Lord, the God of gods, has spoken and called the earth. From the rising of the sun to its setting, from Zion, the perfection of beauty, he comes. For from Zion shall come the one who delivers and turns away iniquities from Jacob, when, from the east and the west, incense is offered to the name of the Lord in every place, and a pure sacrifice, not of the victims of the old Testament, but of the sanctity of the gospel purity, of which incense and elsewhere we read: Let my prayer be directed as incense in your sight. And the following speech explains what this offering is: The lifting up of my hands is the evening sacrifice. For after the shoot from the stem of Jesse has blossomed forth, who was to rule the nations, in Him the nations were to hope (Rom. XV), and from the East and the West, as well the first people as the last have believed in the Lord, and there was made one flock: then all the nations were called to joy, and stirred up to gladness, as the Prophet says: Rejoice, O nations, with His people (Ps. XXI, 28). According to what is written elsewhere: All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before him. And what follows: In truth and righteousness, this signifies that the shadow of the old Law departs and the truth of the Gospel comes, not in the righteousness of the Jews, but in Christian righteousness: for the Lord himself is truth and righteousness, of whom we read: Truth will spring up from the earth, and righteousness will look down from heaven (Psalm 85:11). And in the fourteenth Psalm, righteousness and truth are mentioned together: He who walks without blemish and practices righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart.

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. [Zechariah 8:8] Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

(Verse 9) Thus says the Lord of hosts: Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing through the mouth of the prophets the decrees that were made when the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid for the rebuilding of the temple. For there are seventy years for the Lord of hosts, the Almighty, and in like manner the rest were translated. When the temple was built under Zerubbabel and Jesus (for in the fourth year of King Darius, on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is called Chislev, these things are said, when the temple had already been constructed), the same prophets Haggai and Zechariah, who had encouraged the leaders and the people to build it, now encourage them to conform their faith to what had been promised in the past and what is promised for the future, and to strengthen their hands, fearing neither the attack of the Medes nor the plots of the surrounding nations. And let them be comforted by the words of the prophets from the day the foundation of the temple was laid until the day it was completed, and let them hear what follows. Briefly, we explain the history of whatever is said about Jerusalem and the temple, referring it spiritually to the Church, in which hands are strengthened through good works, and houses are founded when the foundations of faith are laid, and a temple is built when the multitude of believers is strengthened, and thus lives so as to deserve to be the temple of God.

(Verse 10.) Indeed, before those days there was no wages for humans, nor wages for animals, nor peace to the one entering and leaving because of the affliction. And I will send forth all people against their neighbors. They have all been reported to the future time, but better to the past, as it is in Hebrew, and the truth of the exposition will approve. Before the house of the Lord was founded, and the temple of the Lord was built, all your labor was in vain. And both men and animals in agriculture, in trade, and in various works, were frustrated in their empty efforts: outside there were adversaries, at home sedition disturbed the peace, and everywhere there was injustice due to the frequency of wars and domestic plots, while brother did not show faith to brother, and every kinship was hostile. Understanding this meaning, the prophet Haggai says: And now set your hearts from this day and beyond: before the stone was placed upon the stone in the temple of the Lord. When you approached a heap of twenty measures, there were ten; and you entered the winepress to press out fifty jugs, and there were twenty. I struck you with blight, mildew, and hail in all the work of your hands, and there was no one among you who returned to me, says the Lord (Hag. 2:16-17): which we can also understand in the Church and in each of the believers. Indeed, before the house of God is laid as a foundation within us, and we are built up as a temple to God, and we hear from the Apostle; You are the temple of God: and the Holy Spirit dwells within you (II Cor. VI, 16), whatever good work we seemed to have, either rational, who are called humans, or simple, who are called beasts (for you will save humans and beasts, Lord (Ps. XXXV, 7)), it has no reward from God, and there are battles and conflicts within us, and everywhere there is tribulation without the peace of Christ, which he left with the apostles as he went to the Father (John XIV), and the Lord's saying is fulfilled in us: The enemies of a man are those of his own house (Micah VII, 6). For every brother supplants with supplanting; and every friend walks deceitfully, and a man mocks his brother, and does not speak the truth, their tongue has learned to speak lies. (Jeremiah IX, 4). But if we turn to Christ, and become his temple, immediately we will hear the Apostle proclaiming: Each one will receive their own reward according to their work. (I Corinthians III, 8).

(Verse 11, 12): But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the Lord of hosts. For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. LXX: And now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the Almighty Lord; but I will show peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of my people to possess all these things. Before the foundations of the house of God were laid and the temple was built, there was no merchandise of men, nor merchandise of livestock, nor was there peace for those entering and leaving, and all people were in hostile disagreement with one another. But now, because the foundations of the house of the Lord are already laid and the temple is built, I will not do as I did before to those who have returned from the captivity of Babylon; but there will be peace and joy everywhere, and the abundance of the former times will compensate for the drought and famine. For the vine shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall be filled with the produce of the harvest; the presses shall overflow with wine, and the land shall be adorned with bountiful crops. With abundant rain and nightly dew, all shall sprout and grow. I will fulfill all that I have spoken and the remnants of my people shall possess. For the foundations of the house of the Lord have been laid, and the temple has been built. These same words were spoken by the prophet Haggai at the same time, who said: 'I struck you with scorching wind, mildew, and hail, destroying all the work of your hands, after the foundations of the temple were laid. Set it in your hearts from this day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month: from the day the foundations of the temple were laid, set it upon your hearts.' Is the seed already in the bud: and has the vineyard, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree not yet blossomed? From this day forward, I will bless you, and I will shake the heavens and the earth again (Haggai 2:18-19). Let us also say, following another explanation of the Church. Before anyone receives the faith of Christ, and the foundations of the Holy Spirit are laid in them, no one can hear, there is recompense for your work. Whether they are Jewish, or heretic, or pagan: whatever good works they do, if they do not do them in the name of Christ, they will not receive the reward of their good works. We see the virgins of the heretics, the strictness of the philosophers, the variety of observances among the Jews in regard to food; and yet, according to Haggai, we say that they eat, but are not satisfied; they drink, but are not intoxicated; they cover themselves, but are not warmed; and whoever gathers wages, puts them in a bag with holes (Haggai I). But after they have received the faith of Christ, both those who were sinners outside the Church and those within, and have been handed over to the captivity of this world and burned by Babylonian fire, and have heard the Lord preaching: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me; to preach the Gospel to the poor He has sent me, to proclaim release to captives, and sight to the blind, to heal the broken-hearted" (Isaiah LXI, 2), and when in them is fulfilled what is said through Amos: "I will turn again the captivity of my people Israel, and they shall build the desolate cities, and I will plant them" (Amos IX, 14), then in those days righteousness and a multitude of peace shall arise (Psalm LXXI). The vine will produce its fruit, as it says in the Gospel: I am the vine, you are the branches. Every branch that remains in me, the Father cleanses, so that it may bear greater fruit (John 15:8). And when its branches, that is, the shoots and tendrils, have been cleansed, and with budding eyes begin to promise the hope of future fruit, then the flowering vines will give off their fragrance (Song of Solomon 2:13). At that time, the sun of righteousness will color the hanging clusters of grapes, as mentioned in the winepress psalms of the eighteenth and eighty-third, which are inscribed for the winepresses. The feet of the Lord, who ascends from Bosor, will crush them, in order to create the wine that gladdens the heart of man. The earth will also yield its produce, not dry and rocky and full of thorns; but good earth that gives a hundredfold and sixtyfold and thirtyfold fruit (Matt. 13): so that those who sow in tears may reap in joy (Psalm 126). And the heavens will also give their dew, of which it is written in Psalm 18: The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims the work of his hands. About these heavens, it is said in the song of Deuteronomy: Rejoice, O heavens, with him (Deut. 32:43), that is, with the Lord and Savior, whom he foreknew and predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son (Rom. 8), who speaks with Moses: May my teaching come down like rain, my words fall like dew (Deut. 32:2). For those who were dead in sins will rise again, and those who lay in their graves will be raised up, those tombs that are full of the bones of the dead, and those who reside on the earth will rejoice. And the following statement explains the reason for their joy: For health is theirs from the dew of the rose that is from you. And all these things, namely peace and the fruit of the vineyards and the abundance of the lands, which thrive from the dew of the heavens, will be possessed by the remnants of my people, of whom Isaiah speaks: Unless the Lord of hosts had left us a seed, we would have been like Sodom and Gomorrah (Isaiah 1:9). For the elect's sake, the remains were saved by grace: not by works; otherwise grace would not be grace.

(Verse 13 and following) And it shall be, as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you and you shall be a blessing. Do not fear, let your hands be strong. For thus says the Lord of hosts: Just as I purposed to afflict you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, says the Lord, and I did not relent, so now I have purposed in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear. LXX: And it shall be, as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, and you shall be a blessing. Fear not, let your hands be strong.' For thus says the LORD of hosts, 'As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the LORD of hosts, so again have I purposed in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; fear not. These things after the building of the temple promise to be in the future, that just as they were in all nations for a curse and for a hissing and for an example, the house of Judah and the house of Israel (namely, the two and ten tribes), so when they have been saved and returned to Judaea, they may be a blessing for all. Do not, he says, fear the rebellious adversaries: trust that what the Lord promises through me is true: strengthen your hands: fulfill the works that you have begun. For the cause of comfort, there is a promise of the Lord. For thus says the Almighty Lord, to whom nothing is impossible, who can fulfill what He promises: just as I have devised to afflict you and deliver you into captivity because your fathers provoked me to anger and I did not show mercy. And the Septuagint translated it as 'I did not repent', which is written in Hebrew as 'Ulo Naamathi'. But I did not show mercy in order to correct you with captivity and instruct you with all kinds of torments and afflictions. So now, at this present time, I have devised to do good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah. And it is to be noted that when he is angry, his curse is upon the nations of the house of Judah and the house of Israel, that is, all twelve tribes that were handed over to captivity. But when he plans to do good, he does not do so for Judah and Israel, that is, the two and ten tribes, namely Jerusalem and Samaria, Oollae and Oolibae; but leaving Israel in captivity, he does good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah: and he concludes by saying: Do not fear or be confident, in the sense that we have explained above. However, the Church and each individual believer can be understood in this way: that during times of persecution, they were a curse and an example to all the surrounding nations because they offended their Lord. And afterwards, they were a blessing when peace was restored. And all of this happened because the Lord, who was once angry, then had mercy on Jerusalem and on the Jews who confessed the faith of the Lord. Moreover, each of the believers who are expelled from the Church due to their sins and handed over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh (I Cor. V), so that they may learn not to blaspheme (I Tim. I), when they have repented, they shall return to their former state and shall see the peace of God and possess the glory of their confession. The heretics falsely accuse God, saying that he is either cruel or changeable, if he either does not repent or does repent, because it is written: \"I have not shown mercy or had pity\". For if he repents, they say he is changeable; if he does not repent, they assert he is cruel. However, God regretted that he had anointed Saul as king (1 Samuel 15). And concerning the Ninevites, to whom he had proclaimed through the prophet: \"Yet three days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown\" (Jonah 3:4), it is said that he himself changed his mind when they repented, not due to a fault of his unwise mind, but due to the variation of their actions, whether good or evil. For if they have done wrong, He threatens; if they have repented of their former sins, He shows mercy. God, who is always the same and cannot be changed, does not change; but when they have turned from evil to good works, He changes His own decree. He also speaks in Genesis: The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah has multiplied, and their sins are very great. Therefore I will go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me, and if not, I will know. What he said is this: If they remain in anger, punishment will not be lacking for sinners; if they cease from insanity, they will become most worthy of my knowledge. But the Lord knows those who are His (2 Tim. 2:19). And the Apostle writes to the Galatians: But then, not knowing God (Gal. 4:8). And since God knows all things, and nothing can escape Him, neither past nor present nor future, He says in the Gospel that the wicked do not know Him: Depart from me, workers of iniquity, I do not know you (Luke 13:27). Therefore let us understand both the knowledge, and the repentance, and the anger, and the indignation, and all the affections of God, not with the fault of human speech, but with the sense of divine majesty.

This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. [Zechariah 8:16] Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

(Verse 16, 17) These are the words you shall do: Speak truth, each one with his neighbor. Give judgment of truth and peace in your gates. And let none of you think evil in your hearts against his neighbor. And love not a false oath. For all these are the things that I hate, says the Lord. LXX: These are the words you shall do: Speak truth, each one with his neighbor. Give judgment of peace and justice in your gates. And let none of you think evil against his neighbor in your hearts. And love not a false oath. For I hate all these things, says the Almighty Lord. I have promised that I will not abandon the remnants of the captive people and I will not act as I did in the past days. Just as I had planned to afflict them when their fathers provoked me to anger and I showed no mercy, now I have turned my thoughts to doing good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah. Therefore, in order to fulfill my purpose and not make my promises void, do these things that I command: Speak the truth with your neighbors. Let us embrace, as our nearest kin, the entire human race, for we are all descended from a single parent. Otherwise, whoever is the next closest relative should be considered, and one must lie to strangers and foreigners. The Apostle speaks of the same thing: 'Putting away lying, speak ye the truth every man with his neighbour' (Ephesians IV, 25). 'Judge ye the truth and the judgment of peace in your gates.' In judgment let truth and justice come first, and then mercy follows. For this is the judgment of peace, that the judge has the intention to reconcile the discordant, according to that Gospel: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God (Matthew 5:9). And what follows 'In your gates' is in agreement with that prophetic passage: They hate him who reproves in the gate, and they abhor him who speaks the truth (Amos 5:10). And in another place: They shall not be put to shame when they speak with their enemies in the gate (Psalm 129:6). David also judged in the gates, when Absalom, promising the truth of judgment, laid snares for his father (2 Samuel 19). And it is asked why among the Jews in the city gates there was a place for judgment. So that farmers would not be forced to enter the cities and incur any expense, judges would reside in the city gates in order to hear both urban and rural people entering and leaving the city, and once the matter was finished, each person would immediately return to their own homes. And the evil, he says, do not contemplate against your friends in your hearts: Raah (), which all voice consonant κακίαν, that is, malice, can be understood in two ways, both as affliction and as evil. Regarding affliction: If there is wickedness in a city that the Lord has not made (Amos III, 6). And: Each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew VI, 34). Concerning evil, God speaks through the prophet Jonah: The outcry of their wickedness has come to me (Jonah I, 2). And in the Apostle, we read: They were filled with all unrighteousness and wickedness (Romans I, 29). Therefore, in both ways, one who is holy does not afflict his friend nor does he think of bringing harm upon him in his heart. And he said, 'Do not love a false oath: according to the commandment of the Lord in the Gospel: 'But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool...' (Matt. V, 34). For whoever does not swear, will never be able to perjure. Let the one who swears, hear what is written: 'You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain' (Exod. XX, 7). These are all the things that I hate,' says the Lord, according to the words of Malachi: 'And you have done all the things that I hate' (Mal. II, 13; sec. LXX). In the precepts pertaining to life, which are clear, we should not seek allegory, lest, in accordance with the Comic, we seek a knot in a reed.

For indeed there is nothing equal to this virtue. Would you learn the power of this virtue? "Though Moses and Samuel stood before me," says God, "my soul would not regard them." Nevertheless those whom Moses and Samuel were not able to snatch away from God's wrath, this precept when observed was able to snatch away. Hence it is that he continually exhorts those to whom he had spoken of these things, saying, "Let none of you revengefully imagine evil against your brother in his heart," and "Let none of you think of his neighbor's malice." It is not said merely, forego wrath; but do not retain it in your mind; do not think of it; part with all your resentment; do away with the sore. For you suppose that you are paying him back the injury; but you are first tormenting yourself, and setting up your rage as an executioner within you in every part, and tearing up your own bowels. For what can be more wretched than a person perpetually angry? And just as maniacs never enjoy tranquility, so also one who is resentful and retains an enemy will never have the enjoyment of any peace. Incessantly raging, [such a person] daily increases the tempest of his thoughts, calling to mind his words and his acts, and detesting the very name of one who has aggrieved him. If you but mention his enemy, he becomes furious at once, and sustains great inward anguish; and should he only by chance get a bare glimpse of him, he fears and trembles, as if encountering the worst evils.

[Burnt offerings] he accordingly did away with, so that the new law of our Lord Jesus Christ might be without restraining yoke and without manmade offering. Again he says to them, "Did I command your fathers when they came out of the land of Egypt to offer me burnt offerings and sacrifices? Rather I did command them this: Let none of you cherish evil in his heart against his neighbor, and do not love a false oath." We ought therefore to understand, if we are not senseless, the kindly intention of our Father, for he speaks to us, desiring us not to err like them but to seek how to make our offering to him. To us he accordingly speaks thus: "A contrite heart is a sacrifice to the Lord; an odor of sweetness to the Lord is a heart which glorifies its maker." We ought, therefore, to watch carefully after our salvation, brothers, lest the evil one, sneaking in among us deceitfully, push us away from our life.

And when they were approaching Jerusalem, and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, and said to them: Go into the village opposite you. Bethany is a small village or town on the slope of the Mount of Olives, about fifteen stades from Jerusalem, as the evangelist John manifests, where Lazarus was raised from the dead, whose tomb is now demonstrated there with a constructed church. Bethany, moreover, is called the house of obedience. And suitably the Lord, about to come to Jerusalem and redeem the world with his blood, first elevated Bethany by the dignity of his presence, and there he was anointed with mystical chrism by a devout woman, because undoubtedly, before his passion, teaching many, he made for himself a house of obedience where he would dwell through the Spirit of grace, and being delighted by their pious action, he himself was anointed as if with a fragrant ointment. Hence this city is said to be situated on the Mount of Olives, to designate that the Church by the grace of its founder is to be saved, who refreshes us with the anointing of spiritual charisms and the eternal light of knowledge and piety. From whence elsewhere, when he said: A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, he immediately added: Neither do they light a lamp and put it under a bushel (Matt. V). Because the same Mount of Olives, that is, the highest distributor of spiritual graces, who elevates his city to be prominent, also anoints it with the oil of gladness so it can shine, lest it fail. And because he did not want the light to be placed under a bushel, he sent the disciples into the village opposite them, that is, he sent teachers who would penetrate unlearned and barbarous places of the whole world, like the walls of a village set opposite, by evangelizing. And rightly two are sent, either for the knowledge of truth and purity of action, or for the sacrament of twin love, namely of God and neighbor, to be preached throughout the whole world.

(in Marc. 3, 41) Bethany is a little village or town by the side of mount Olivet, where Lazarus was raised from the dead.

(ubi sup.) Bethany again means the house of obedience, because by teaching many before His Passion, he made for Himself a house of obedience; and it is said to be placed on the mount of Olives, because He cherishes His Church with the unction of spiritual gifts, and with the light of piety and knowledge.

(Cat. in Marc. Oxon.) Not indeed that He was compelled by necessity to ride on a colt from the mount of Olives to Jerusalem, for He had gone over Judæa and all Galilee on foot, but this action of His is typical. It goes on: And many spread their garments in the way: that is, under the feet of the colt; and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way. This, however, was rather done to honour Him, and as a Sacrament, than of necessity. It goes on: And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. 2For the multitude, until it was corrupted, knew what was its duty, for which reason each honoured Jesus according to his own strength. Wherefore they praised Him, and took up the hymns of the Levites, saying, Hosanna, which according to some is the same as save me, but according to others means a hymn. I however suppose the former to be more probable, for there is in the 117th Psalm, (Ps. 118:25) Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord, which in the Hebrew is Hosanna.

(Cat. in Marc. Oxon.) Thus then they give glory to God, saying, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. They also bless the kingdom of Christ, saying, Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, which cometh.

(Cat. in Marc. Oxon.) Wherefore also the prophets so often call Christ by the name of David, on account of the descent according to the flesh of Christ from David.

(Cat. in Marc. Oxon.) And further, they give glory to God, when they add Hosanna in the highest, that is, praise and glory be to the God of all, Who is in the highest.

The disciples of Christ are called two by two, and sent two by two, since charity implies more than one, as it is written, Woe to him that is alone. (Eccl. 4:10) Two persons lead the Israelites out of Egypt: two bring down the bunch of grapes from the Holy Land, that men in authority might ever join together activity and knowledge, and bring forward two commandments from the Two Tables, and be washed from two fountains, and carry the ark of the Lord on two poles, and know the Lord between the two Cherubim, and sing to Him with both mind and spirit.

Jesus often came to Jerusalem at other times as well, but never with such glory as now. Before, on account of the envy of the Jews, He concealed Himself, but now, since the time of suffering determined by Him Himself had come, He goes openly, so that they, if they wished, might understand His glory and through the fulfillment of the prophecies upon Him might come to know the truth. And if they did not wish to understand, then so that this circumstance might serve toward their greater condemnation, as those who did not believe even after such glorious miracles. For see how many signs there are here! The Lord told the disciples that they would find a young donkey; He said that they would be hindered, and then, when the disciples would say that the Lord requires it, they would be permitted to take it. For it is no small thing that the apostles were allowed to lead away the colt; this could not have been, had the power of God not been acting upon its owners, moving them to release the colt; they were poor, working people. And one must know that the Lord did not do this without purpose, for before He had not required a colt, but on foot He traversed Galilee and Judea many times, but through this He was showing that He would gain mastery over the gentile nations, who were unsubmissive and untaught, like young donkeys: they were bound by their sins "in the street," that is, in this life, "at the gate," that is, outside the Church. But the disciples loosed them through baptism and faith, and they bore the Lord upon their shoulders, and the apostles placed upon them their garments, that is, all the true rules of virtue. Before, the gentiles, being naked, were unseemly and committed lawless deeds, but from the time they were brought to Christ by the apostles, they learned to walk with propriety, and therefore Christ was borne by them. And who were the owners of the colt who hindered the apostles from taking it? Without doubt, the demons. However, the apostles were stronger than they.

That thus, if they were willing, they might recognise His glory, and by the prophecies, which were fulfilled concerning Him, know that He is very God; and that if they would not, they might receive a greater judgment, for not having believed so many wonderful miracles. Describing therefore this illustrious entrance, the Evangelist says, And when they came nigh unto Jerusalem, and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples.

(in Luc. 9, 6) Or else, they found it bound before the door, because whosoever is not in Christ is without, in the way; but he who is in Christ, is not without. He has added in the way, or in a place where two ways meet, where there is no certain possession for any man, nor stall, nor food, nor stable; miserable is his service, whose rights are unfixed; for he who has not the one Master, has many. Strangers bind him that they may possess him, Christ looses him in order to keep him, for He knows that gifts are stronger ties than bonds.

"His disciples did not understand this at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that this had been written of him and had been done to him," that is, when he had manifested the power of his resurrection.… In short, mentally comparing with the contents of Scripture what was accomplished both prior to and in the course of our Lord's passion, they found this also in Scripture, that it was in accordance with the utterance of the prophets that he sat on an ass's colt.

And going, they found the colt tied outside the gate at the crossroads, and they untied it. The colt is rightly found outside the gate at the crossroads. The gate, indeed, is He who says: I am the gate for the sheep. Through me, if anyone enters he will be saved, and he will go in and out and find pasture. This colt, that is, the people of the nations, lacked these pastures of life, as they still stood tied outside this gate at the crossroads. And rightly at the crossroads, because they did not hold a certain single path of life and faith, but followed many uncertain and erring paths of heresies.

(ubi sup.) Or else, fitly did the colt stand in a place where two ways meet, because the Gentile people did not hold on in any certain road of life and faith, but followed in its error many doubtful paths of various sects.

And the prophecy, "He shall be the expectation of the nations," signified that there would be some of all nations who should look for Him to come again. And this indeed you can see for yourselves, and be convinced of by fact. For of all races of men there are some who look for Him who was crucified in Judaea, and after whose crucifixion the land was straightway surrendered to you as spoil of war. And the prophecy, "binding His foal to the vine, and washing His robe in the blood of the grape," was a significant symbol of the things that were to happen to Christ, and of what He was to do. For the foal of an ass stood bound to a vine at the entrance of a village, and He ordered His acquaintances to bring it to Him then; and when it was brought, He mounted and sat upon it, and entered Jerusalem, where was the vast temple of the Jews which was afterwards destroyed by you. And after this He was crucified, that the rest of the prophecy might be fulfilled.

But they found the colt tied by the door without, because the Gentile people were bound by the chain of their sins before the door of faith, that is, without the Church.

Or, in a place where two roads meet, that is, in the freedom of will, hesitating between life and death.

Or else, in a place where two roads meet, that is, in this life, but it was loosed by the disciples, through faith and baptism.

(de Con. Ev. ii. 66) Matthew says, an ass and a colt, the rest however do not mention the ass. Where then both may be the case, there is no disagreement, though one Evangelist mentions one thing, and a second mentions another; how much less should a question be raised, when one mentions one, and another mentions that same one and another. It goes on: And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt? And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded, and they let them take it, that is, the colt.

And some of those standing there said to them, "What are you doing untying the colt?" In the Gospel of Luke, it is written thus: "So those who were sent went and found it just as He had told them, a colt standing there. As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, 'What are you untying the colt for?' " And quite appropriately. For it had many owners, since it was not given to one doctrine and superstition, but miserably carried off into various and diverse errors at the whim of unclean spirits, proceeding to mute idols as led. Hence, by a certain customary usage of Scripture, it is said to be common, which is unclean. Just as the voice from heaven says to Peter, "What God has cleansed, you must not call common" (Acts 10). Because he who is holy belongs to God alone and is shared with no one. But he who is a sinner and unclean belongs to many. For many demons possess him, and thus he is called common.

(ubi sup.) Or else, the masters of error, who resisted the teachers, when they came to save the Gentiles; but after that the power of the faith of the Lord appeared to believers, the faithful people were freed from the cavils of the adversaries, and were brought to the Lord, whom they bore in their hearts.

But some said, What do ye? as if they would say, Who can remit sins?

But they would not have allowed this, if the Divine power had not been upon them, to compel them, especially, as they were country people and farmers, and yet allowed them to take away the colt.

Or else, those who prevent them are the devils, who were weaker than the Apostles.

The master of humility is Christ who humbled himself and became obedient even to death, even the death of the cross. Thus he does not lose his divinity when he teaches us humility.… What great thing was it to the king of the ages to become the king of humanity? For Christ was not the king of Israel so that he might exact a tax or equip an army with weaponry and visibly vanquish an enemy. He was the king of Israel in that he rules minds, in that he gives counsel for eternity, in that he leads into the kingdom of heaven for those who believe, hope, and love. It is a condescension, not an advancement for one who is the Son of God, equal to the Father, the Word through whom all things were made, to become king of Israel. It is an indication of pity, not an increase in power.

They said to them as Jesus had commanded, and they let them go, and they brought the colt to Jesus. Those who had opposed untying the colt quieted upon hearing the name of the Lord. Because the masters of errors, who resisted the teachers of the gentiles coming to salvation, defended their darkness until, with miracles attesting, the power of the true owner and Lord shone forth. But after the power of the Lord's faith appeared, with the complaints of the adversaries giving way, the assembly of believers was freely brought to God, whom they carried in their hearts.

And they put their garments on it, and He sat on it. The garments of the apostles can be understood as the doctrine of virtues, the explanation of Scriptures, or certainly the varieties of ecclesiastical doctrines, by which those hearts of men, formerly bare and cold, are covered so they may be made worthy of Christ as the rider.

But by the garments of the Apostles, which they put upon it, we may understand the teaching of virtues, or the interpretation of the Scriptures, or the various doctrines of the Church, by which they clothe the hearts of men, once naked and cold and fit them to become the seats of Christ.

Or else, they put upon it their garments, that is, they bring to them the first robe of immortality by the Sacrament of Baptism. And Jesus sat upon it, that is, began to reign in them, so that sin should not reign in their wanton flesh, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

As long as the common people remain uncorrupted, they recognize what is beneficial. This is why they now pay honor to Jesus, each according to his ability. But what did they say as they glorified Him? They borrowed their song from David, and the word "Hosanna," according to some, means "salvation," while according to others it means "a song." But the first opinion is better, for in the one hundred and seventeenth psalm it says: "O Lord, save us," which in Hebrew is written "Hosanna." They called Christ's Kingdom the "Kingdom of David," first because Christ descended from the seed of David, and second because David means "strong of hand." And who else is so strong of hand as the Lord, whose hands have accomplished such wondrous works? But let us also spread our garments, that is, our flesh, for the flesh is the garment of the soul, and let us submit it to the Lord. Let us pave the path of our life by cutting branches from the trees, that is, by imitating the lives of the saints. For the saints are like trees from which one who imitates their virtues cuts branches. But let our deeds, both those that precede and those that follow, be to the glory of God. For some showed a good beginning in their earlier life, yet their subsequent life was not the same and did not serve to the glory of God.

It goes on: And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him.

The colt, however, was not necessary to Him, but He sent for it to show that He would transfer Himself to the Gentiles.

But many spread their garments on the way. When the Lord was borne on a donkey, many spread their garments on the way, because the holy martyrs, stripping themselves of their own fleshly clothing, prepare the way for the simpler servants of God with their blood, so that, with an unhindered step of mind, they may proceed to the walls of the heavenly city where Jesus leads. Likewise, our Savior tends towards Jerusalem sitting on a donkey when he, ruling the soul of each believer, that is, his beast of burden, leads to the inner vision of peace. He also sits on the beast when he universally presides over the holy Church and inflames it with a desire for heavenly peace. But many spread their garments on the way, for they subjugate their bodies through abstinence to prepare the way to the mind, or they present good examples to those who follow.

But others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road. And those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting: Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. They cut branches or twigs from the trees, who in the teaching of truth extract words and sentences of the Fathers from their eloquence, and submit these on the way of God to the mind of a coming listener with humble preaching. But those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting: Hosanna. Indeed, the Jewish people went ahead, the Gentiles followed. And because all the chosen, whether they could have been in Judea or those who now exist in the Church, believed and believe in the Mediator of God and men, those who go ahead and those who follow shouted Hosanna. Hosanna is said in Latin as save us. From Him, both the former sought salvation, and the present seek. They confess the blessed one who comes in the name of the Lord, because there is one hope, one faith of the preceding and following peoples. For just as they were healed by witnessing His passion and resurrection, so we are saved by His past passion and by His resurrection enduring through the ages. For whom our ancestors from the Jewish people believed and loved to come, this one we believe has come and love, and we are kindled with desire for Him, so that we may behold Him face to face.

(ubi sup.) Or else, many strew their garments in the way, because the holy martyrs put off from themselves the garment of their own flesh, and prepare a way for the more simple servants of God with their own blood. Many also strew their garments in the way, because they tame their bodies with abstinence, that they may prepare a way for God to the mount, or may give good examples to those who follow them. And they cut down branches from the trees, who in the teaching of the truth cull the sentences of the Fathers from their words, and by their lowly preaching scatter them in the path of God, when He comes into the soul of the hearer.

And others cut boughs … and strewed them in the way. They cut branches from the fruitbearing trees with which the Mount of Olives was planted, and spread them in the way; so as to make the crooked ways straight, and the rough ways smooth, that Christ the conqueror of sin might walk straightly and safely into the hearts of the faithful.… And when they had done all that was to be done by their hands, they offered also the tribute of their voices; and going before and following after they cry, not in a brief and wordless confession, but with all their might: "Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord."

Instead of our garments, let us spread our hearts before him.

Again, many spread their garments in the way, under the feet of the foal of the ass. What are feet, but those who carry, and the least esteemed, whom the Apostle has set to judge? (v. 1 Cor. 6:4.) And these too, though they are not the back on which the Lord sat, yet are instructed by John with the soldiers.

For the righteous shall flourish as a palm tree, straitened in their roots, but spreading out wide with flowers and fruits; for they are a good odour unto Christ, and strew the way of the commandments of God with their good report.

Let us also strew the way of our life with branches which we cut from the trees, that is, imitate the saints, for these are holy trees, from which, he who imitates their virtues cuts down branches.

"Hosanna," however, is a word of supplicating, as some say who know the Hebrew language, more declaring a feeling than signifying something. Just as in the Latin language there are words which we call interjections, as when in sorrow we say, Heu! Or when we are delighted, we say, Vah! Or when we are amazed, we say, "Oh, what a great thing!" For then oh signifies nothing except the feeling of one who is amazed.

(ubi sup.) But Hosanna is a Hebrew word, made out of two, one imperfect the other perfect. For save, or preserve, is in their language, hosy; but anna is a supplicatory interjection, as in Latin heu is an exclamation of grief.

(ubi sup.) And because all the elect, whether those who were able to become such in Judæa, or those who now are such in the Church, believed and now believe on the Mediator between God and man, both those who go before and those who follow cried out Hosanna.

The boys in the Gospel raised aloft their branches as the Savior entered Jerusalem. They kept on crying: "Hosanna." … They borrowed these versicles from Psalm 117. Hosanna, moreover, is the Hebrew for "O Lord, grant salvation!"

They cry out Hosanna, that is save us, that men might be saved by Him who was blessed, and was a conqueror and came in the name of the Lord, that is, of His Father, since the Father is so called because of the Son, and the Son, because of the Father.

Or Hosanna, that is, save in the highest as well as in the lowest, that is, that the just be built on the ruin of Angels, and also that both those on the earth and those under the earth should be saved. In a mystical sense, also, the Lord approaches Jerusalem, which is 'the vision of peace,' in which happiness remains fixed and unmoved, being, as the Apostle says, the mother of all believers. (Gal. 4:26)

Those who went before are the prophets, and those who followed are the Apostles.

But both those of our deeds which go before and those which follow after must be done to the glory of God; for some in their past life make a good beginning, but their following life does not correspond with their former, neither does it end to the glory of God.

Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David. Hosanna in the highest. And he entered Jerusalem into the temple, etc. We read in the Gospel of John that the crowds, having been fed with five loaves and two fishes, wanted to seize Jesus and make him king; but to prevent this from happening, he fled to the mountain and prayed. Now, however, as he comes to Jerusalem to suffer, he does not avoid those who make him king, who lead him to the royal city with a glorious procession and hymns worthy of the Son of God and king; he does not suppress the voices of those who proclaim the restoration of the kingdom of patriarch David in him and the recovery of the blessings of old. Why, then, does he now willingly embrace what he avoided before by fleeing, and not refuse to accept the kingdom, which while still living in the world he did not wish to receive, but now, about to depart from the world through the passion of the cross, he does not refuse to accept, unless it is to openly teach that he is a king not of a temporal and earthly, but of an eternal empire in heaven? To which kingdom indeed he would arrive through the contempt of death, the glory of resurrection, and the triumph of ascension. Hence it is that after the resurrection, appearing to the disciples, he said: All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me, and other things of the same place. It should certainly be noted how great a consonance there is between the crowd praising the Lord and the voice of the archangel Gabriel announcing to the virgin mother, who said: He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever (Luke I). Now, the Lord took the seat or kingdom of David to call the people, to whom David once provided the reins of the temporal kingdom as well as examples of justice, and whom they were accustomed to inspire with the modulations of spiritual hymns to faith and love for their Creator, to the heavenly and immortal kingdom by means of words, gifts, deeds, and promises worthy of such a mediator between God and men, and to lead them to the very vision of God the Father. In this it is joined: Hosanna in the highest, that is, salvation. This clearly shows that the coming of Christ is not only the salvation of men but of the whole world; uniting the earthly with the heavenly, so that every knee shall bow to him, of those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. It should certainly be noted that the word Hosanna, a Hebrew word, is composed of two parts, corrupted and intact. For save or save us is said by them Osi, while anna is an interjection of one who is beseeching. Just as among the Latins there is an interjection for one who is in pain, "heu," and an interjection for one who is marveling, "papae." Finally, in the hundred and seventeenth psalm, where the seventy interpreters translated "O Lord, save me," in Hebrew it is written: Anna Adonai, osi anna. This our interpreter Jerome, elucidating more diligently, translated thus: I beseech you, O Lord, save I beseech. For it signifies the same thing, "O Lord," through the interjection of beseeching, as "I beseech you, O Lord," through the very word of supplication. Hosanna thus signifies "save, I beseech," with the vowel letter i, which terminates the first word when it is perfectly said osi, being consumed by the force of the vowel letter a, with which the following word begins anna. Which the metrical poets call synaloepha in scanning verses, although when scanning they leap over the written letter; however, in this word Hosanna, the letter i is neither even written, but with the sense of the speakers preserved, is utterly extinguished.

(ubi sup.) Now we read in the Gospel of John that He fled into a mountain, lest they should make him their king. Now, however, when He comes to Jerusalem to suffer, He does not shun those who call Him king, that He might openly teach them that He was King over an empire not temporal and earthly, but everlasting in the heavens, and that the path to this kingdom was through contempt of death. Observe also the agreement of the multitude with the saying of Gabriel, The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David; (Luke 1:32) that is, that He Himself may call by word and deed to a heavenly kingdom the nation to which David once furnished the government of a temporal rule.

But they called the kingdom of Christ, that of David, both because Christ was descended from the seed of David, and because David means a man of a strong hand. For whose hand is stronger than the Lord's, by which so many and so great miracles were wrought.

And he entered Jerusalem into the temple. Having entered the city, he first went to the temple, showing us the form of religion which we should follow. So that when by chance we enter a village or town or any other place where there is a house dedicated to the worship of God, we first go to this; and, after we have commended ourselves to the Lord through the duty of prayers, we then withdraw to attend to the temporal business for which we came. However, as the time of the Passion approached, the Lord wished to draw near to the place of the Passion and remain there, where at the appointed and predetermined time he could be found by those through whom the Passion was to be accomplished. Through this, he also intimated to all those hearing that he would face death not unwillingly, as the profane thought, but of his own will. When the hour was approaching, he boldly went to the place where he had foretold far in advance through himself and his prophets that he would suffer. It should be noted that this entry of his into Jerusalem occurred five days before Passover, during which he decided to fulfill the mystery of his most holy Passion. For John narrates that six days before Passover, he came to Bethany, where a supper was made for him, and many reclining at the table, Mary, the sister of Lazarus, anointed him with mystical ointment; and the next day, sitting on a donkey, with a large crowd meeting him with palms, he came to Jerusalem. Here, not only the harmony in things but also in the times of the Old and New Testaments, the shadow and the truth, the law and the Gospel, must not be passed over in silence. For it is written in the law, with the Lord speaking to Moses and Aaron: "This month shall be for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Speak to the whole congregation of Israel, and say to them: On the tenth day of this month, every man shall take a lamb according to their ancestral houses, a lamb for each household." And shortly after: "And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight" (Exodus 12). Therefore, on the tenth day of the first month, the lamb to be sacrificed at Passover was commanded to be brought into the house, because also on the tenth day of the same month, that is, five days before Passover, the Lord was to enter the city in which he would suffer. And just as the lamb chosen from the whole flock awaited the certain day of its sacrifice, so also the Lord, as the whole council of elders and leaders conspired against him, steadfastly awaited the hour in which he would offer himself as a sacrifice to God and a victim in the odor of sweetness for the salvation of the world. The lamb was sacrificed on the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight, and the Lord, at the same hour, eating the lamb with his disciples, where he completed the decrees of the legal Passover, immediately went out with them to the place of prayer, where, being captured and bound by the Jews, he began at once the mysteries of his blessed suffering.

And having looked around at everything, since it was already evening, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. He did not do this just once; but for all five days after he had gone up to Jerusalem until the time of the Passion, he was accustomed to do this very thing: that during the day he would teach in the temple, but at night he would go out and spend the night on the Mount of Olives, as we read in Luke. For by teaching the unbelievers, he diligently fulfilled the duty of correction. However, by staying among the faithful, he graciously exhibited the kindness of his favor to them. It is well noted that, after looking around at everything, he went out to Bethany. Indeed, the internal judge examines the hearts of all, and when he does not find a place to rest his head among those who oppose and resist the truth, he withdraws to the faithful and rejoices in making a dwelling with the Father in those who obey the word. For Bethany is called the house of obedience. This also must be understood, that the Lord was of such great poverty, and so did not flatter anyone, that he found no host, no lodging in that greatest city, but stayed in the small country place with Lazarus and his sisters. For their village is Bethany.

(ubi sup.) As the time of His Passion approached, the Lord wished to approach to the place of His Passion, in order to intimate that He underwent death of His own accord: wherefore it is said, And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple. And by His going to the temple on first entering the city, He shows us beforehand a form of religion, which we are to follow, that if by chance we enter a place, where there is a house of prayer, we should first turn aside to it. We should also understand from this, that such was the poverty of the Lord, and so far was He from flattering man, that in so large a city, He found no one to be His host, no abiding place, but lived in a small country place with Lazarus and his sisters; for Bethany is a hamlet of the Jews. Wherefore there follows: And when he had looked round about upon all things, (that is, to see whether any one would take Him in,) and now the eventide was come, he went out into Bethany with the twelve. Nor did He do this once only, but during all the five days, from the time that He came to Jerusalem, to the day of His Passion, He used always to do the same thing; during the day He taught in the temple, but at night, He went out and dwelt in the mount of Olives.

(ubi sup.) Farther, He looks round about upon the hearts of all, and when in those who opposed the truth, He found no place to lay His head, He retires to the faithful, and takes up His abode with those who obey Him. For Bethany means the house of obedience.

Likewise, Mark 11: Having looked around at all things, He went out to Bethany: Gloss: "to see if anyone would receive Him as a guest; for He was of such great poverty and flattered no one, so that in so great a city He could find no lodging"; but it is certain that if He had wished to hire lodging, He would have found a place to hire: therefore He was looking around as a poor man and beggar.

He went in the morning to the Jews, and visits us in the eventide of the world.

Jesus entered the temple and soon went out of it again, showing by this that He was already leaving it to desolation and plunder. He departs to Bethany, which means "house of obedience," for, leaving the disobedient and hard-hearted, He now goes with His disciples to those obedient to Him.

Wishing to show His disciples that if He chose He could in a moment exterminate those who were about to crucify Him. In a mystical sense, however, the Lord entered into the temple, but came out of it again, to show that He left it desolate, and open to the spoiler.