Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 17

Remigius of Auxerre: In this Transfiguration experienced on the mountain, the Lord fulfilled the promise He had made to His disciples within six days, that they would see His glory; as it is written, "And after six days he took Peter, and James, and John his brother."

St. Jerome: A question is raised as to how He could have taken them after six days when Luke says eight. The answer is easy: one account counted only the days in between, while the other also added the first and last days.

St. John Chrysostom: He does not take them up immediately after making the promise, but six days later, so that the other disciples would not be affected by any human passion, such as jealousy, or so that during these days, the disciples who were to be taken up might be kindled with a more eager desire.

Rabanus Maurus: It was fitting that He showed His glory after six days, because the resurrection is to come after six ages.^{i 1}

Origen of Alexandria: Or, it is because this entire visible world was made in six days; so one who is above all the things of this world can ascend the high mountain and there see the glory of the Word of God.

St. John Chrysostom: He took these three because He held them in higher regard than the others. But notice how Matthew does not hide that others were preferred over him; John does the same when he records the high praise given to Peter. For the company of the Apostles was free from jealousy and vainglory.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: In the three who were thus taken up with Him, the election of people from the three lines of Shem, Ham, and Japheth is symbolized.

Rabanus Maurus: Or, He took only three disciples with Him because many are called, but few are chosen. Or, it is because those who now hold the faith of the Holy Trinity with an uncorrupted mind will then rejoice in the everlasting sight of it. ²

Remigius of Auxerre: When the Lord was about to show His disciples the glory of His radiance, He led them up a high mountain apart. In this, He teaches that all who seek to contemplate God must not grovel in base pleasures but, through a love for things above, should always be raising themselves toward what is heavenly. He also shows His disciples that they should not look for the glory of divine radiance in the abyss of this present world, but in the kingdom of heavenly blessedness. He leads them apart because the saints are separated from the wicked by their whole soul and the devotion of their faith, and they will be utterly separated in the future; or, because many are called, but few are chosen.

It follows, "And he was transfigured before them."

St. Jerome: He was seen by the Apostles as He will be at the time of the Judgment. Let no one suppose that He lost His former form and features, or laid aside His bodily reality to take on a spiritual or ethereal body. The Evangelist shows how His transfiguration was accomplished, saying, "And his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment became white as snow." The fact that His face is said to shine and His clothing is described as becoming white does not take away His substance but confers glory.

In truth, the Lord was transformed into that glory in which He will hereafter come in His Kingdom. The transformation enhanced His radiance but did not destroy His face, even though the body was spiritual. Therefore, His clothing was also changed and became so white that, as another Evangelist expresses it, no fuller on earth could whiten it. But all of this is a property of matter and is subject to touch; it is not of a spirit or something ethereal, an illusion for the sight seen only as a phantom.

Remigius of Auxerre: If, then, the face of the Lord shone like the sun, and the saints will shine like the sun, is the radiance of the Lord and the radiance of His servants to be equal? By no means. But since nothing is known to be brighter than the sun, it is expressed this way to give some illustration of the future resurrection: the radiance of the Lord's face, and the radiance of the righteous, will be like the sun.

Origen of Alexandria: Mystically, when anyone has passed the six days as we have described, he beholds Jesus transfigured before the eyes of his heart. For the Word of God has various forms, appearing to each person as He knows it will be beneficial for them, and He shows Himself to no one in a way that is beyond their capacity. This is why the Evangelist does not simply say, "He was transfigured," but "before them."

For in the Gospels, Jesus is merely understood by those who do not ascend the high mountain of wisdom through uplifting works and words. But to those who do ascend in this way, He is no longer known according to the flesh but is understood to be God the Word. Jesus is transfigured before these, then, and not before those who live sunk in worldly affairs. But these, before whom He is transfigured, have been made sons of God, and He is shown to them as the Sun of Righteousness. His clothing is made white as the light; that is, the words and sayings of the Gospels with which Jesus is clothed, according to what was spoken of Him by the Apostles.

Glossa Ordinaria: Or, the clothing of Christ represents the saints, of whom Isaiah says, "With all these you shall clothe yourself as with a garment" (Isaiah 49:18). They are compared to snow because they will be white with virtues, and all the heat of their vices will be put far away from them. ³

It follows, "And there appeared to them Moses and Elijah talking with them."

St. John Chrysostom: There are many reasons why these two should appear. The first is this: because the crowds said He was Elijah, or Jeremiah, or one of the prophets, He brings the chief of the prophets with Him here, so that from this, at least, the difference between the servants and their Lord might be seen.

Another reason is this: because the Jews were always charging Jesus with being a transgressor of the Law and a blasphemer who was usurping the glory of the Father. To prove Himself guiltless of both charges, He brings forward those who were eminent in both respects: Moses, who gave the Law, and Elijah, who was zealous for the glory of God.

Another reason is so that they might learn that He has the power of life and death, which He showed by bringing forth Moses, who was dead, and Elijah, who had not yet experienced death. A further reason, which the Evangelist also reveals, is that He might show the glory of His cross and thus soothe Peter and the other disciples, who were afraid of His death. For they talked, as another Evangelist declares, of "His decease which He should accomplish at Jerusalem."

Therefore, He brings forward those who had exposed themselves to death for God's pleasure and for the people who believed, for both had willingly stood before tyrants: Moses before Pharaoh, and Elijah before Ahab. Lastly, He also brings them forward so that the disciples should emulate their virtues and be meek like Moses and zealous like Elijah.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: Also, the fact that only Moses and Elijah, out of the whole number of the saints, stood with Christ means that Christ, in His kingdom, stands between the Law and the Prophets, for He will judge Israel in the presence of the very ones by whom He was preached to them.

Origen of Alexandria: However, if anyone discerns a spiritual sense in the Law that agrees with the teaching of Jesus, and finds in the Prophets the hidden wisdom of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:7), he beholds Moses and Elijah in the same glory with Jesus.

St. Jerome: It should also be remembered that when the Scribes and Pharisees asked for signs from heaven, He would not give any. But now, to increase the Apostles' faith, He gives a sign: Elijah descends from heaven, to where he had gone up, and Moses arises from the grave, just as Ahaz is told by Isaiah to ask for a sign in the heaven above, or in the depth beneath (Isaiah 7:10).

St. John Chrysostom: Upon this follows what the fervent Peter said. Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here." Because he had heard that He must go to Jerusalem, he still feared for Christ; but after his rebuke, he dares not say again, "Be propitious to thyself, Lord," but suggests the same thing covertly in another way. For seeing great quiet and solitude in this place, he thought it would be a suitable place to make their dwelling, saying, "If you will, let us make here three tabernacles." He wanted to remain there forever, and so he proposed the tabernacles. For he concluded that if he did this, Christ would not go to Jerusalem; and if He did not go to Jerusalem, He would not die, for he knew that the Scribes were lying in wait for Him there.

Remigius of Auxerre: Alternatively, at this sight of the Lord's majesty and His two servants, Peter was so delighted that, forgetting everything else in the world, he wanted to remain here forever. But if Peter was so filled with admiration then, what rapture will it be to behold the King in His own beauty and to join the choir of the Angels and all the saints? In that Peter says, "Lord, if you will," he shows the submission of a dutiful and obedient servant.

St. Jerome: Yet you are wrong, Peter, and as another Evangelist saysⁱ, you do not know what you are saying. Do not think of three tabernacles when there is only one tabernacle of the Gospel, in which both the Law and the Prophets are to be contained. But if you will have three tabernacles, do not set the servants as equal to their Lord. Instead, make three tabernacles—or rather, make one for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, so that They, whose divinity is one, may have but one tabernacle in your heart.

Remigius of Auxerre: He was also wrong in desiring that the kingdom of the elect should be established on earth, when the Lord had promised to give it in heaven. He was also wrong in forgetting that he and his companions were mortal, and in desiring to reach eternal happiness without tasting death.

Rabanus Maurus: He was also wrong in supposing that tabernacles were needed for life in heaven, where houses are not needed, as it is written in the Apocalypse: "I saw no temple in it" (Revelation 21:22).

St. Jerome: While they were thinking only of an earthly tabernacle of branches or tents, they were overshadowed by the covering of a bright cloud. While he was still speaking, a bright cloud came and overshadowed them.

St. John Chrysostom: When the Lord threatens, He shows a dark cloud, as on Sinaiⁱ; but here, where He did not seek to terrify but to teach, a bright cloud appeared.

Origen of Alexandria: The bright cloud overshadowing the saints is the Power of the Father, or perhaps the Holy Spirit. I might also venture to call the Savior that bright cloud which overshadows the Gospel, the Law, and the Prophets, as those who can behold His light in all these three understand.

St. Jerome: Because Peter had asked unwisely, he did not deserve an answer. Instead, the Father answers for the Son, so that the Lord's word might be fulfilled: He who sent me bears witness of me.

St. John Chrysostom: Neither Moses nor Elijah speaks; instead, the Father, who is greater than all, sends a voice from the cloud so that the disciples would believe this voice was from God. For God has ordinarily shown Himself in a cloud, as it is written, Clouds and darkness are round about Him; and this is what is meant by, Behold, a voice out of the cloud.

St. Jerome: The voice of the Father is heard from heaven, giving testimony to the Son, teaching Peter the truth, correcting his error, and through Peter, teaching the other disciples as well. This is why He continues, This is my beloved Son. Make the tabernacle for Him; obey Him. This is the Son, while they are only servants. And like you, they also ought to prepare a tabernacle for the Lord in the innermost parts of their hearts.

St. John Chrysostom: Therefore, do not be afraid, Peter. For if God is mighty, it is clear that the Son is also mighty. Therefore, if He is loved, you should not be afraid, for no one forsakes Him whom He loves; nor do you love Him as much as the Father does. He does not love Him merely because He begot Him, but because He is of one will with Himself, as it follows, In whom I am well pleased. This means He is the one in whom the Father rests and whom He accepts, for the Son carefully performs all things of the Father, and His will is one with the Father's. So if it is His will to be crucified, do not speak against it.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: This is the Son, this is the Beloved, this is the Accepted One. He is the one who is to be heard, as the voice from the cloud signifies, saying, Hear ye Him. For He is a fitting teacher of how to do the things He has done, having given the weight of His own example to the loss of the world, the joy of the cross, the death of the body, and after that, the glory of the heavenly kingdom.

Remigius of Auxerre: He says, therefore, Hear Him, as if to say, "Let the shadow of the Law and the types of the Prophets pass away, and you must follow the one shining light of the Gospel." Or, He says, Hear ye Him, to show that it was He whom Moses had foretold: The Lord your God shall raise up a Prophet unto you of your brethren like unto me, Him shall ye hear (Deuteronomy 18:18).

Thus, the Lord had witnesses on all sides: the voice of the Father from heaven, Elijah from Paradise, Moses from Hades, and the Apostles from among humanity. This was so that at the name of Jesus every thing should bow the knee—of things in heaven, things on earth, and things beneath.

Origen of Alexandria: The voice from the cloud speaks either to Moses and Elijah, who desired to see the Son of God and to hear Him, or it is for the instruction of the Apostles.

Glossa Ordinaria: It should be observed that the mystery of the second regeneration—that is, the one that will occur in the resurrection when the flesh is raised again—corresponds well with the mystery of the first regeneration in baptism, when the soul is raised again. For in the baptism of Christ, the working of the whole Trinity is shown: the Son was there incarnate, the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove, and the Father was made known by the voice. Likewise, in the transfiguration, which is the sacrament of the second regeneration, the whole Trinity appeared: the Father in the voice, the Son in the man, and the Holy Spirit in the cloud.¹

The question is raised as to how the Holy Spirit was shown there in the dove and here in the cloud. It is because His manner is to mark His gifts with specific outward forms. The gift of baptism is innocence, which is signified by the bird of purity. But since in the resurrection He is to give splendor and refreshment, the cloud therefore signifies both the refreshment and the brightness of the rising bodies.

It follows, And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces, and feared greatly.

St. Jerome: Their reason for terror is threefold: because they knew they had done wrong; because the bright cloud had covered them; or because they had heard the voice of God the Father speaking. For human frailty cannot endure to look upon such great glory, and so it falls to the earth, trembling in both soul and body. And the higher anyone has aimed, the lower his fall will be if he is ignorant of his own limits.

Remigius of Auxerre: The fact that the holy Apostles fell on their faces was a proof of their sanctity, for the saints are always described as falling on their faces, while the wicked are described as falling backward.ⁱ

St. John Chrysostom: But when such a voice came from heaven before, at Christ's baptism, none of the multitude present suffered anything of this kind. How is it, then, that the disciples on the mountain fell prostrate? It is because, in truth, their anxiety was great, the height and loneliness of the place were significant, and the transfiguration itself was attended with terrors—the clear light and the spreading cloud. All these things worked together to terrify them.

St. Jerome: And since they were lying down and could not raise themselves, He approaches and touches them gently, so that by His touch their fear might be banished and their weakened limbs might regain strength. And Jesus came and touched them. He then added His word to His touch, saying to them, Arise, and do not be afraid. He first banishes their fear so that He may afterward impart teaching.

It follows, And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. This was done for a good reason. For if Moses and Elijah had remained with the Lord, it might have seemed uncertain to whom, in particular, the Father's witness was given. They see Jesus standing alone after the cloud was removed and Moses and Elijah had disappeared, because after the shadow of the Law and the Prophets has departed, both are found in the Gospel.

It follows, And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, ‘Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.’ He commanded this because He would not be preached among the people yet, lest the marvel of the event seem incredible, and lest the cross, following such great glory, should cause offense.

Remigius of Auxerre: Or, it was because if His majesty were published among the people, they might hinder the plan of His passion by resisting the chief priests, and thus the redemption of the human race would be impeded.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: He commanded silence regarding what they had seen for this reason: so that when they were filled with the Holy Spirit, they would then become witnesses of these spiritual deeds.

St. Jerome: It was a tradition of the Pharisees, following the Prophet Malachi, that Elijah would come before the coming of the Savior to bring back the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to the fathers, and restore all things to their original state. The disciples then considered that this transformation they had seen on the mountain was His coming in glory. Therefore, they asked Him, "How then do the Scribes say that Elijah must first come?" It was as if they were saying, "If you have already come in glory, how is it that your forerunner has not yet appeared?" And they said this chiefly because they saw that Elijah had departed again.

St. John Chrysostom: The disciples did not know about the coming of Elijah from the Scriptures; rather, the Scribes made it known to them. This report was common among the uninformed multitude, as was the report concerning Christ. Yet the Scribes did not explain the comings of Christ and of Elijah as they should have. For the Scriptures speak of two comings of Christ: the one that has already taken place, and the one that is yet to come. But the Scribes, blinding the people, spoke to them only of His second coming, saying, "If this is the Christ, then Elijah should have come before Him." Christ resolves the difficulty this way, answering, Elijah truly will come and restore all things. But I say to you that Elijah has come already. ¹

Do not think there is a contradiction in His speech when He first says that Elijah will come, and then that he has come. For when He says that Elijah will come and restore all things, He is speaking of Elijah himself, in his own person. He indeed will restore all things by correcting the unbelief of the Jews who will be found at that time. This is what is meant by turning the hearts of the fathers to the children—that is, the hearts of the Jews to the Apostles.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, He will restore all things means He will restore those whom the persecution of Antichrist will have overthrown, just as He Himself, by His death, would restore those whom He was to save. ²

St. John Chrysostom: But if so much good will arise from the presence of Elijah, why did He not send him at that time? We would answer that it is because they then considered Christ to be Elijah, and yet did not believe in Him. But in the future, they will believe Elijah, because when he comes after such great expectation to announce Jesus, they will more readily receive what he teaches. But when He says that Elijah has come already, He calls John the Baptist "Elijah" because of the similarity in their ministry; for just as Elijah will be the forerunner of His second coming, so John was the forerunner of His first. And He calls John "Elijah" to show that His first coming was in agreement with the Old Testament and with prophecy.

St. Jerome: He, then, who at the Savior's second coming will come in the reality of his own body, came now in John in power and spirit.

It follows, they knew him not, but did unto him whatsoever they would; that is, they despised and beheaded him.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: Just as he announced the Lord's coming, he was also to foreshadow His passion by the example of his own suffering and injustice. From this it follows, So also shall the Son of Man suffer of them.

St. John Chrysostom: He takes the opportunity of John's passion to refer to His own, thus giving them much comfort.

St. Jerome: It is asked how, seeing that Herod and Herodias were the ones who killed John, it can be said that Jesus was also crucified by them, when we read that He was put to death by the Scribes and Pharisees. It must be answered briefly: the party of the Pharisees consented to the death of John, and in the Lord's crucifixion, Herod added his approval when, after mocking and treating Him with contempt, he sent Him back to Pilate to be crucified.

Rabanus Maurus: From the mention of His own passion, which the Lord had often foretold to them, and from that of His forerunner, which they saw was already accomplished, the disciples perceived that John was being presented to them under the name of Elijah. From this it follows, Then the disciples understood that he spake to them of John the Baptist.

Origen of Alexandria: When He says of John, Elijah has come already, this is not to be understood as referring to the soul of Elijah, so that we do not fall into the doctrine of reincarnation, which is foreign to the truth of Church doctrine. Instead, as the Angel had foretold, he came in the spirit and power of Elijah.

Origen of Alexandria: Peter, eager for such a desirable life and preferring his own benefit over that of many, had said, “It is good for us to be here.” But since charity does not seek its own, Jesus did not do what seemed good to Peter. Instead, He descended to the multitude, as it were, from the high mountain of His divinity, so that He might be of use to those who could not ascend because of the weakness of their souls.

This is why it is said, And when he was come to the multitude; for if He had not gone to the multitude with His chosen disciples, the man about whom it is added would not have come near to Him: There came to him a man kneeling down, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son.

Consider here that sometimes those who are themselves the sufferers believe and plead for their own healing; sometimes others plead for them, as he who kneels before Him praying for his son; and sometimes the Savior heals on His own, unasked by anyone.

First, let us see what the following means: For he is lunatic, and sore vexed. Let the physicians say what they will, for they do not think it is an unclean spirit but some bodily disorder. They say that the humors in the head are governed in their motions in sympathy with the phases of the moon, whose light is of a humid nature. But we who believe the Gospel say that it is an unclean spirit that causes such disorders in people.

The spirit observes the moon's changes so that it may deceive people into believing that the moon is the cause of their sufferings, and so prove God's creation to be evil. In the same way, other demons lie in wait for people, following the times and courses of the stars, so that they may speak wickedness in high places, calling some stars malignant and others benign—whereas no star was made by God to produce evil.

Regarding what is added, For ofttimes he falls into the fire, and oft into the water,

St. John Chrysostom: it should be noted that if man were not fortified here by Providence, he would have perished long ago. For the demon who cast him into the fire and into the water would have killed him outright if God had not restrained him.

St. Jerome: In saying, And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him, he subtly accuses the Apostles. Yet the impossibility of a cure is sometimes the result not of a lack of power in those who undertake it, but of a lack of faith in those who are to be healed.

St. John Chrysostom: Notice also the father's folly, in that he appeals to Jesus against His disciples in front of the multitude. But Jesus clears them from shame, attributing their failure to the patient himself, for many things show that he was weak in faith.

However, Jesus addresses His rebuke not to the man individually, so that He might not trouble him, but to the Jews in general. For it is likely that many of those present had improper thoughts concerning the disciples, and therefore it follows, Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you?

His question, How long shall I be with you? shows that death was desired by Him, and that He longed for His departure.

Remigius of Auxerre: It should also be known that the Lord had borne the Jews' stubbornness not just now, but for a long time, which is why He says, How long shall I suffer you? It is as if He were saying, “I have now endured your iniquities for a long while, and you are unworthy of My presence.”

Origen of Alexandria: Alternatively, because the disciples could not heal him, being weak in faith, He said to them, O faithless generation, adding perverse to show that their perverseness had introduced an evil beyond their nature. But I suppose that because of the perverseness of the whole human race, oppressed as it were with its evil nature, He said, How long shall I be with you?

St. Jerome: We must not think that He was overcome by weariness of them, or that the meek and gentle One broke out into words of wrath. Rather, He is like a physician who, seeing a sick man acting against his instructions, would say, “How long must I visit your room? How long must I waste my skill, while I prescribe one thing, and you do another?”

That He is angry with the sin and not the man, and that in the person of this one man He convicts the Jews of unbelief, is clear from what He adds: Bring him to me.

St. John Chrysostom: After He had vindicated His disciples, He leads the boy's father to a cheering hope, encouraging him to believe that he will be delivered from this evil. And so that the father might be led to believe the coming miracle, he saw that the demon was disturbed even when the child was only called.

St. Jerome: He rebuked him—that is, not the sufferer, but the demon.

Remigius of Auxerre: In this act, He left an example for preachers to attack sins but to assist people.

St. Jerome: Alternatively, His rebuke was to the child, because he had been seized by the demon for his sins.

Rabanus Maurus: Figuratively, the lunatic is one who is hurried into new vices every hour. At one moment he is cast into the fire, with which the hearts of adulterers burnⁱ; at another, he is cast into the waters of pleasure or lust, which still do not have the strength to quench love.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, the fire relates to anger, which aims upward, while water relates to the lusts of the flesh.¹

Origen of Alexandria: Concerning the changeableness of the sinner, it is said, The fool changes as the moon (Ecclesiasticus 27:12). We may sometimes see an impulse toward good works come over such people, when suddenly, as by a seizure of a spirit, they are laid hold of by their passions and fall from that good state in which they were thought to stand.

Perhaps his father represents the Angel who was assigned the care of this lunatic, praying to the Physician of souls to set his son free. The son could not be delivered from his suffering by the simple word of Christ's disciples because, as a deaf person, he cannot receive their instruction. Therefore, he needs Christ's word so that from then on he might not act without reason.

St. John Chrysostom: The disciples had received from the Lord the power over unclean spirits. When they could not heal the demoniac brought to them, they seem to have had misgivings that they might have forfeited the grace once given to them, which is why they asked their question. They ask it privately, not out of shame, but because of the profound matter they were asking about.

Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief.”

St. Hilary of Poitiers: The Apostles had believed, yet their faith was imperfect. While the Lord remained on the mountain and they stayed below with the multitude, their faith had become stagnant.

St. John Chrysostom: From this it is plain that the disciples' faith had grown weak—yet not all of them, for those pillars were there: Peter, James, and John.

St. Jerome: This is what the Lord says in another place: “Whatever you ask in my name, believing, you will receive” (Matthew 21:22; John 16:23). Therefore, when we do not receive, it is not the weakness of the One who gives, but the fault of those who ask.

St. John Chrysostom: It should be known that just as the faith of the one who draws near to receive often provides the miraculous power, so also the power of those who work the miracle is often sufficient, even without the faith of those who seek to receive it.

For example, Cornelius and his household, by their faith, attracted the grace of the Holy Spirit to themselves (Acts 10:4). In contrast, the dead man who was cast into the tomb was revived solely by the power of the holy body (2 Kings 13:21).

It happened that the disciples were weak in faith at that time, for they were still in an imperfect state before the cross. This is why He tells them here that faith is the means for miracles: “Truly I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here,’ and it will move.”

St. Jerome: Some think that the faith compared to a grain of mustard seed is a little faith, whereas the Apostle says, “If I have such faith that I could remove mountains” (1 Corinthians 13:2). The faith that is compared to a grain of mustard seed is therefore a great faith.

St. Gregory the Great: The mustard seed, unless it is crushed, does not release its qualities. So if persecution befalls a holy man, immediately what had seemed weak and contemptible in him is roused into the heat and fervor of virtue. ¹

Origen of Alexandria: Alternatively, all faith is compared to a grain of mustard seed because faith is viewed with contempt by men and appears to be something poor and insignificant. But when a seed of this kind lands on a good heart as its soil, it becomes a great tree.

The affliction of this lunatic is so great—and Christ is so strong to heal him in the midst of all his evils—that He compares it to a mountain, which cannot be cast out except by the complete faith of the one who desires to heal afflictions of this kind.

St. John Chrysostom: So He not only promises the removal of mountains but goes beyond it, saying, “And nothing will be impossible for you.”

Rabanus Maurus: For faith gives our minds such a capacity for heavenly gifts that whatever we will, we can easily obtain from a faithful Master.

St. John Chrysostom: If you ask, “Where did the Apostles remove mountains?” I answer that they did greater things, bringing many dead to life. It is also told of some saints who came after the Apostles that they have, in urgent necessity, removed mountains.ⁱ

But if mountains were not removed in the Apostles' time, this was not because they could not, but because they would not, as there was no pressing need. The Lord did not say that they would do this, but that they would have the power to do it.

Yet it is likely that they did do this, but it is not recorded, for indeed not all the miracles they performed are written down.

St. Jerome: Alternatively, the “mountain” does not refer to that which we see with our physical eyes, but signifies that spirit which was removed by the Lord from the lunatic—the one who is said by the Prophet to be the corrupter of the whole earth.

Glossa Ordinaria: The meaning, then, is this: “You will say to this mountain”—that is, to the proud devil—“‘Move from here’”—that is, from the possessed body into the sea, meaning into the depths of hell—“‘and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you’”—that is, no sickness will be incurable. ²

St. Augustine of Hippo: Alternatively, so that the disciples are not lifted up with pride in working their miracles, they are warned by the humility of their faith—symbolized by the grain of mustard seed—to be careful to remove all earthly pride, which is signified by the “mountain” in this passage.

Rabanus Maurus: While He teaches the Apostles how the demon ought to be cast out, He instructs everyone in the regulation of life. He does this so that we may all know that the heavier afflictions—whether from unclean spirits or the temptations of men—can be removed by fasting and prayer, and that the Lord's wrath may also be appeased by this remedy alone. This is why He adds, “However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

St. John Chrysostom: He says this not about lunatics in particular, but about the entire class of demons. For fasting endows a person with great wisdom, makes him like an angel from heaven, and beats down the unseen powers of evil. But prayer is needed as something even more important.

One who prays and fasts as he ought needs little else; he is not covetous but is ready to give alms. For he who fasts is light and active, prays with vigilance, quenches his evil desires, makes God favorable, and humbles his proud self.

The one who prays while fasting has two wings, lighter than the winds themselves. He is not heavy and wandering in his prayers (as is the case with many), but his zeal is like the warmth of fire, and his constancy is like the firmness of the earth. Such a person is most able to contend with demons, for there is nothing more powerful than a man who prays properly.

But if your health is too weak for strict fasting, it is not too weak for prayer. If you cannot fast, you can still abstain from indulgences. This is no small thing and is not very different from fasting.

Origen of Alexandria: If, then, we are ever required to heal those who are suffering from anything of this sort, we should not command them, nor ask them questions, nor even speak as though the unclean spirit could hear us. Instead, we should drive away the evil spirits by our fasting and our prayers.

Glossa Ordinaria: Alternatively, this class of demons—that is, the variety of carnal pleasures—is not overcome unless the spirit is strengthened by prayer and the flesh is weakened by fasting. ³

Remigius of Auxerre: Alternatively, fasting is understood here generally as abstinence not only from food but from all carnal allurements and sinful passions. Similarly, prayer is to be understood in general as consisting of pious and good acts, about which the Apostle speaks: “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).