Matthew § 63

(ap. Anselm.) The sea near to which Jesus came signifies the turbid swellings of this world; it is the sea of Galilee when men pass from virtue to vice.

(Verse 29, 30.) And when Jesus had passed on from there, he came near the Sea of Galilee; and going up on the mountain, he sat there. And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the mute, the blind, the lame, the weak, and many others. And they threw them down at his feet. In the place where the Latin interpreter translated, 'weak' is written in Greek as 'κυλλοὺς', which is not a general term for weakness, but the name for a specific infirmity: just as someone is called lame when they limp with one foot, so 'κυλλὸς' is used to describe someone who has a weak hand. We do not have the property of this word. Therefore, the evangelist explained the healings of the others in the following passages, but he was silent about these. For what follows?

Having healed the daughter of this Chananæan, the Lord returns into Judæa, as it follows, And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee.

He goes up into the mountain, that as a bird He may entice the tender nestlings to fly.

"And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into the mountain, and sat down there. And great multitudes came unto Him, having with them those that were lame, blind, maimed, dumb; and cast them at His feet; and He healed them, insomuch that the multitudes wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see, and they glorified the God of Israel."

Now He goes about Himself, now sits awaiting the diseased, and hath the lame brought up unto the mountain. And no longer do they touch so much as His garment, but advance a higher step, being cast at His feet: and they showed their faith doubly, first, by going up into the mountain though lame, then by wanting nothing else but to be cast at His feet only.

And great was the marvel and strange, to see them that were carried walking, the blind needing not any to lead them by the hand. Yea, both the multitude of the healed, and the facility of their cure amazed them.

Seest thou, how the woman indeed He healed with so much delay, but these immediately? not because these are better than she is, but because she is more faithful than they. Therefore, while in her case He defers and delays, to manifest her constancy; on these He bestows the gift immediately, stopping the mouths of the unbelieving Jews, and cutting away from them every plea. For the greater favors one hath received, so much the more is he liable to punishment, if he be insensible, and the very honor make him no better.

Mystically; Having in the daughter of this Chauanæan prefigured the salvation of the Gentiles, He came into Judæa; because, when the fulness of the Gentiles shall have entered in, then shall all Israel be saved. (Rom. 11:25.)

Thus raising his hearers to meditate on heavenly things. He sat down there to show that rest is not to be sought but in heavenly things. And as He sits on the mountain, that is, in the heavenly height, there come unto Him multitudes of the faithful, drawing near to Him with devoted mind, and bringing to Him the dumb, and the blind, & c. and cast them down at Jesus' feet; because they that confess their sins are brought to be healed by Him alone. These He so heals, that the multitudes marvel and magnify the God of Israel; because the faithful when they see those that have been spiritually sick richly endued with all manner of works of virtuousness, sing praise to God.

This sea is called by various names; the sea of Galilee, because of its neighbourhood to Galilee; the sea of Tiberias, from the town of Tiberias. And going up into a mountain, he sat down there.

He does not visit Judea frequently, as He does Galilee, because the unbelief of the Judeans was so great. For the Galileans had more faith than they.

Above, the evangelical doctrine was confirmed through the liberation of the Gentiles from the power of demons by the power of Christ; now he confirms it through the liberation from spiritual infirmities, by the fact that he healed many. And he does three things. First, the place is set forth; second, the offering; third, the liberation. The second is at and great multitudes came to him etc.; the third is at and he healed them. First the place is described in general, because when he had passed, namely from the region of the Gentiles, he came near the sea, which was in Judea, which is sometimes called Genesareth, sometimes the Sea of Galilee. By his returning to the Jews, it is signified that the remnants of Israel will be saved; Rom. 11:5: so then, at this present time also, there is a remnant saved according to the election of grace. Then the place is described in particular, saying and going up into a mountain, he sat. By the mountain is signified the height of the word; Ps. 35:7: thy justice is as the mountains of God. But Jesus did not stand, but sat, because unless he had descended, we would not have known him, according to Ps. 143:5: Lord, bow down thy heavens and descend. Likewise, by the mountain is signified the height of glory, as is found in Gen. 19:17: save thyself on the mountain etc., to signify that true rest is there, not here; Heb. 13:14: for we have not here a lasting city, but we seek one that is to come, i.e., we await the one to come.

(ord.) The dumb are they that do not praise God; the blind, they who do not understand the paths of life; the deaf, they that obey not; the lame, they that walk not firmly through the difficult ways of good works; the maimed, they that are crippled in their good works.

Again Jesus went up on the mountain where he sat down. Not only people who were healthy but also those suffering from various disorders went up on the mountain where Jesus was sitting. Think of this mountain to which Jesus went up and sat as the church. It has been set up through the word of God over the rest of the world, and all sorts of people come to it. To this assembly have come not only the disciples, as if they were leaving behind the multitudes, as they did in the case of the Beatitudes. Rather, there are great crowds here, many of whom are deaf or suffer from many afflictions. Look at the crowds who come to this mountain where the Son of God sits. Some of them have become deaf to the things that have been promised. Others have become blind in soul, not looking toward the true light. Others are lame and not able to walk according to reason. Others are maimed and unable to work profitably. Each of these who are suffering in soul from such things go up along with the multitudes into the mountain where Jesus sits.Some who do not draw near to the feet of Jesus are not healed. But those who are brought by the multitude and cast at his feet are being healed. Even those who come only to the edges, just the extremities of the body of Christ, who feel themselves unworthy to obtain such things, are being healed. So now you come into the congregation of what is more commonly called the church. See the catechumens? They are, as it were, cast in the far side or back of those who are the extreme end of the body, as if they were coming merely to the feet of the body of Jesus—the church. They are coming to it with their own deafness and blindness and lameness and crookedness. In time they will be cured according to the Word. Observing this you would not be wrong in saying that these people have gone up with the multitudes into the church, up to the mountain where Jesus sits, and have been cast at his feet and are being healed. And so the multitudes are astonished at beholding the transformations that are taking place. They behold those who are being converted from such great evils to that which is so much better.

Behold their faith, how they even ascend a mountain although they are lame and blind. And they do not move sluggishly but throw themselves at the feet of Jesus as if believing that He is more than a man and then, indeed, they obtain healing. So you also, O reader, must ascend the mountain of the commandments where the Lord is seated. And though you are blind and unable to see the good for yourself; and though lame, seeing the good but unable to go towards it; and though deaf and dumb, unable to hear another exhorting you and unable to exhort another; and though maimed, that is, unable to stretch out your hand to give alms; and though diseased in any other way, if you fall at Jesus' feet and touch the foot prints of His life, you will be healed.

There follows the offering: and great multitudes came to him etc. And first, this is set forth with regard to the multitude of the crowds; second, with regard to the offering of the sick; third, with regard to the manner. Concerning the first: then great multitudes came to him; Ps. 85:9: all the nations thou hast made shall come and adore before thee, O Lord. And they did not come empty, because they had with them the dumb, the blind, the lame etc. And in this it is signified that those who are converted to the Lord ought to offer others to the Lord: and this is what it says, having with them the dumb, the blind, the lame, and the feeble. 'Feeble' in Latin signifies a defect of strength, but in Greek it designates one who has a weak hand: for just as the lame is one who is injured in the feet, so the feeble is one who has a withered hand. By these are signified the diverse kinds of spiritual diseases. By the dumb are signified those who cannot praise God, of whom Isa. 56:10 says: dumb dogs not able to bark. The lame are those who never walk firmly toward the good, but quickly turn to evil; 3 Kings 18:21: how long do you halt between two sides? If the Lord be God, follow him. By the blind are signified the unfaithful, who are deprived of the light of faith; Isa. 59:9: we have groped in the darkness. By the feeble, who have a withered hand, are signified those who have a weak heart; Ps. 21:16: my strength is dried up like a potsherd. And many others. In this they showed great faith, because not only their own, but others. Likewise they show their devotion by the manner: for sometimes they asked him to lay his hand upon them, as above in chapter 9; sometimes to touch his fringe, as above in the same, namely chapters 9 and 14. But now it sufficed to place them at his feet. And by this we are mystically given to understand that sinners whom we convert, we ought not to subject to ourselves, according to what is found in 1 Cor. 4:1: let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ, and the dispensers of the mysteries of God. There follows the account of the healing. And first, the healing is set forth; second, the admiration; third, the effect. He says therefore and he healed them; Ps. 106:20: he sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. And elsewhere, Ps. 102:3: who forgiveth all thy iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases.

They had not yet thoroughly understood the Lord's dignity as God but supposed him to be a mere man. For this reason they offered up glory to the God of Israel.

Remember that the context is the plea of the Canaanite woman. Remember that the Lord's silence with her had proceeded from a consideration of the gradual timing of revelation and not from any problem of her volition. So when he said, "O woman, great is your faith," she is now certain of being saved. Indeed, he also comes to the whole Gentile community, when those who accordingly believe will at once be freed like the girl from any power of the unclean spirits. And faith in the deed therefore follows. What follows immediately after the Gentile people are prefigured in the daughter of the Canaanite woman? Those afflicted with different kinds of diseases are offered by the crowd to the Lord on the mountain. That is, the faithless and the sick are instructed by the believers to fall down and adore. They are made well again, and all the functions of mind and body are being restored for hearing, contemplating, praising and following the Lord.

(Verse 31.) And he healed them, so that the crowds marveled, seeing the mute speaking, the lame walking, the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel. Concerning the mute, he remained silent, for he had nothing to say in opposition. This is accomplished with one word. Now let us consider the fact that the healed daughter of the Canaanite woman returned to Judea, and to the Sea of Galilee, and went up to the mountain; and like a bird calling its young to fly, she beckoned them, and there she sat, and the crowds gathered around her, bringing with them various afflictions; and after he healed them, he gave them food; and when this work was completed, he got into a boat, and came to the region of Magadan. And ascending the mountain, he sat there: and the crowds approached him. Notice that the mute, the lame, and the blind are led to the mountain, so that they may be healed by the Lord.

What the Latin translator calls 'debiles' (maimed), is in the Greek χυλλοὺς which is not a general term for a maimed person, but a peculiar species, as he that is lame in one foot is called 'claudus,' so he that is crippled in one hand is called χυλλός.

He said nothing concerning the maimed, because there was no one word which was the opposite of thisa.

This sea is called by various names; the sea at Galilee, because of its neighbourhood to Galilee; the sea of Tiberias, from the town of Tiberias."And going up into a mountain, he sat down there."

And there follows the admiration: so that the multitudes marveled seeing the dumb etc. Here the effect is set forth. This had been foretold in Isa. 35:5: then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped etc.; and in Ps. 138:3: wonderful are thy works. But it is asked: why does he make no mention of the feeble? Because there was no opposite act to which it could correspond. But observe that some, having seen the miracles, blasphemed, as is found above in chapter 14, but these gave praise; hence they glorified the God of Israel.