Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 18:10-14

"See that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven. [For the Son of man came to save that which was lost.] How think ye? if any man have a hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and go unto the mountains, and seek that which goeth astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth over it more than over the ninety and nine which have not gone astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish." — Matthew 18:10-14 (ASV)

St. Jerome: The Lord had said, using the examples of a hand, foot, and eye, that all family and relationships that could be a stumbling block must be cut off. He therefore softens the harshness of this declaration with the following command, saying, “Take heed that you despise not one of these little ones.” That is, as much as you can, avoid despising them; but after securing your own salvation, seek also to heal them. But if you see that they hold to their sins, it is better that you be saved than that you perish along with many others.

St. John Chrysostom: Alternatively, just as avoiding evil has a great reward, so does honoring the good. Previously, He had commanded them to cut off friendships with those who caused others to stumble; here, He teaches them to show honor and service to the saints.

Glossa Ordinaria: Alternatively, because such great evils come from believers being caused to stumble, He says, “Take heed that you despise not one of these little ones.”¹

Origen of Alexandria: The “little ones” are those who are newly born in Christ, or those who remain without spiritual progress, as if they were newborns. But Christ judged it unnecessary to command us not to despise the more perfect believers, focusing instead on the little ones, as He had said before, “If any man shall offend one of these little ones.” One might perhaps say that a “little one” here means a perfect Christian, according to what He says elsewhere: “Whoever is least among you, he shall be great” (Luke 9:48).

St. John Chrysostom: Or, it is because the perfect are considered by many to be “little ones”—that is, poor and contemptible.

Origen of Alexandria: But this interpretation does not seem to agree with what was said, “If anyone causes one of these little ones to stumble,” for the perfect man is not caused to stumble, nor does he perish. But he who thinks this is the true interpretation says that the mind of a righteous man is changeable and is sometimes offended, though not easily.

Glossa Ordinaria: Therefore, they are not to be despised, because they are so dear to God that angels are assigned to be their guardians: “For I say to you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven.”²

Origen of Alexandria: Some maintain that an angel is given as an attendant minister from the time the infant is born in Christ in the laver of regeneration. For, they say, it is incredible that a holy angel would watch over those who are unbelieving and in error; rather, in his time of unbelief and sin, a person is under the angels of Satan.

Others maintain that those who are foreknown by God have a guardian angel immediately from their very birth.

St. Jerome: What a high dignity for souls, that each one from its birth has an angel appointed to watch over it!

St. John Chrysostom: Here He is speaking not of just any angels, but of the higher ranks. For when He says, “Behold the face of my Father,” He shows that their presence before God is free and open, and their honor is great.

St. Gregory the Great: But Dionysius says that it is from the ranks of the lesser angels that they are sent to perform this ministry, either visibly or invisibly, because those higher ranks are not employed in an outward ministry.³

And therefore the angels always behold the face of the Father, and yet they come to us. For by a spiritual presence they come out to us, and yet by internal contemplation they remain where they came from. They do not come away from the divine vision in such a way that it hinders the joys of their inward contemplation.⁴

St. Hilary of Poitiers: The angels offer daily to God the prayers of those who are to be saved by Christ. It is therefore dangerous to despise someone whose desires and requests are carried to the eternal and invisible God by the service and ministry of angels.

St. Augustine of Hippo: They are called “our angels” who are indeed the angels of God. They are God's because they have not forsaken Him; they are ours because they have begun to have us as their fellow citizens. As they now behold God, so shall we also behold Him face to face, a vision of which John speaks: “We shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).⁵

For by “the face of God” we are to understand the manifestation of Himself, not a physical limb or feature of the body, such as we call by that name.

St. John Chrysostom: He gives yet another reason, weightier than the last, why the little ones are not to be despised: “For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.”

Remigius of Auxerre: This is as much as to say, “Do not despise little ones, for I also condescended to become a man for the sake of mankind.” By “that which was lost,” understand the human race; for all the elements have kept their place, but humanity was lost because it has broken from its ordained place.

St. John Chrysostom: And to this reasoning He adds a parable, in which He presents the Father as seeking the salvation of humanity, saying, “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep...”

St. Gregory the Great: This refers to the Creator of humanity Himself; for one hundred is a perfect number, and He had a hundred sheep when He created the substance of angels and men.⁶

St. Hilary of Poitiers: But by the one sheep, we are to understand one man, and within this one man, the whole human race is included. The one who seeks man is Christ, and the ninety-nine are the host of heavenly glory that He left behind.

St. Gregory the Great: The Evangelist says they were left “on the mountains,” to signify that the sheep that were not lost remained on high.

The Venerable Bede: The Lord found the sheep when He restored humanity, and there is more joy in heaven over that one found sheep than over the ninety-nine, because the restoration of humanity is a greater reason for thanksgiving to God than the creation of the angels. The angels are wonderfully made, but humanity is more wonderfully restored.⁷

Rabanus Maurus: Note that nine needs only one to become ten, and ninety-nine needs the same to become a hundred. Thus, groups that need only one to be complete may be larger or smaller, but the invariable unit, when added, makes the rest perfect. And so that the number of sheep might be made perfect in heaven, lost humanity was sought on earth.

St. Jerome: Others think that by the ninety-nine sheep, we are to understand the number of the righteous, and by the one sheep, the sinners, according to what is said in another place: “I am not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Matthew 9:13).

St. Gregory the Great: We must consider why the Lord declares that He has more joy over converted sinners than over the righteous who stand firm. It is because the latter are often lazy and slow to practice greater good works, being very secure in themselves because they have not committed any heavier sins. On the other hand, those who remember their wicked deeds often glow with a greater passion in their love for God through the remorse of their sorrow. When they think of how they have strayed from Him, they replace their former losses with subsequent gains.

Thus, a general in battle loves the soldier who, after fleeing, turns back and courageously presses the enemy more than the one who never turned his back but never performed any valiant deed. Yet there are some righteous people over whom there is such great joy that no penitent can be preferred before them. These are the ones who, though not conscious of any sins themselves, nevertheless reject lawful things and humble themselves in all matters. How great is the joy when a righteous person mourns and humbles himself, if there is joy when an unrighteous person condemns himself for what he has done wrong?

The Venerable Bede:ⁱ

Alternatively, the ninety-nine sheep He left on the mountains signify the proud, who are still lacking one unit for perfection. When He has found the sinner, therefore, He rejoices over him—that is, He causes His own to rejoice over him—rather than over the falsely righteous.

St. Jerome: What follows, “Even so it is not the will...” refers back to what was said before: “Take heed that you despise not one of these little ones.” In this way, He shows that this parable was presented to reinforce that same teaching. Also, in saying, “It is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish,” He shows that whenever one of these little ones perishes, it does not perish by the Father's will.

1. ap. Anselm
2. ap. Anselm
3. Hom. in Ev., 34, 12
4. Mor., ii, 3
5. City of God, book xxii, ch. 29
6. Hom. in Ev., xxxiv, 3
7. ap. Anselm