Thomas Aquinas Commentary Matthew 12:38-45

"Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, Teacher, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet: for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, a greater than Solomon is here. But the unclean spirit, when he is gone out of the man, passeth through waterless places, seeking rest, and findeth it not. Then he saith, I will return into my house whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man becometh worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this evil generation." — Matthew 12:38-45 (ASV)

Above, the Lord refuted those disparaging His miracles and doctrine; here He rebukes those tempting Him. And here the Evangelist does two things:

1. Their tempting request is related.
2. Their reproof, where it is said, Who answering said to them.

It is said, therefore, Then they answered; this is after they had seen many miracles and after they had heard many words of wisdom, so that it was fulfilled in Him what was said: He speaketh with one that is asleep, who uttereth wisdom to a fool .

Master, we would see a sign from you. They say, Master, to tempt Him; Who speak peace with their mouths, but evils are in their hearts (Psalms 27:3). We would see a sign from you. Had they not seen many signs? Indeed. But a different Evangelist relates this as follows, saying, We would see a sign from heaven (Luke 11:16), as it is read that Samuel made thunder (1 Samuel 12) and Elijah made fire to come down from heaven (2 Kings 1).

It is typical for the Jews to require a sign, as it is stated, The Jews require signs (1 Corinthians 1:22). But although He had given earthly signs, they were not believing; even if He gave heavenly signs, they would not believe. If I have spoken to you earthly things, and you believe not: how will you believe, if I shall speak to you heavenly things? (John 3:12).

Who answering said to them, etc. Consequently, He repulses them. He does two things: first, He refuses their request; and second, He shows the unworthiness of the request, where it is said, The men of Nineveh, etc. First, He explains what they were requesting, and second, He refuses it.

It is said, therefore, Who answering said to them: An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign. He calls them evil because they were plotters. A man is said to be evil because he harms his neighbor. Therefore, they were an evil generation and wicked children. Their generation is called adulterous, as it is said, But draw near here, you sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer, and of the harlot (Isaiah 57:3).

In this manner, therefore, this generation subject to iniquity seeks a sign: and a sign shall not be given it, but the sign of Jonah the prophet. Ask you a sign of the Lord your God, either unto the depth of hell, or unto the height above, etc. (Isaiah 7:11). Therefore, they were seeking a sign from the heavens, but they were not worthy to see it. For He gave this sign to His Apostles, who saw Him ascending into heaven and who saw His glory on the mountain. But a sign will not be given to these men, except a sign in hell, in regard to His soul, and from the earth, in regard to His body. Hence, a sign shall not be given it, but the sign of Jonah the prophet.

Hence, Christ’s death was signified, and God’s charity is shown, as the Apostle says, Because when still we were sinners according to the time, Christ died for us, etc. (Romans 5:8–9). Likewise, His power to bring back to life is shown, as it is stated in 1 Corinthians 15. And these are signs of what things ought to be in us. By Christ’s death is signified to us that we ought to die to sin; and, assuredly, by His Resurrection is signified that we ought to rise from sin.

For as Jonah was in the whale’s belly three days and three nights, really, in fact, so shall the Son of man be in the heart of the earth. And in this passage, the error of Manichaeus is refuted, who said that He did not truly die. And He says, in the heart of the earth, because just as man’s heart is deeply within him, so Christ was deeply within the earth. Or, in the heart of the earth, that is to say, in the heart of earthly men and His disciples, who were despairing of Him, as it is stated, But we hoped that it was he that should have redeemed Israel (Luke 24:21). Three days and three nights.

But here there is a literal question. It seems this was false, because He expired at the ninth hour, and He was buried in the evening, but He rose in the morning of the third day.

Augustine says that some men wish to affirm that the time is to be computed from the time when He was placed upon the Cross. Hence, they call that the first night, the darkness which then occurred; the second was Friday night, and the third was Saturday night. But, according to Augustine, this explanation is not valid. Nevertheless, we could permit this explanation if the Lord were in the tomb during all Sunday.

For this reason, it ought to be explained otherwise: that a natural day is taken for a day and night, for the space of twenty-four hours. But, as Augustine says, in Scripture a part is sometimes taken for the whole. Accordingly, therefore, it ought to be said that by the figure of synecdoche Christ was three days and three nights in the tomb, because part of Friday is taken for the whole day and also for the preceding night. Of course, there is no doubt about the second day; the third night, in fact, is taken for the subsequent night and day.

Nevertheless, if we consider according to the reality, the time was two nights and one full day, to signify that His single death and Resurrection destroyed our double death. In us there was punishment and guilt, but in Him there was only punishment; therefore, etc.

The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation. Here He describes their unworthiness. Did He not do many miracles? Did He not raise Lazarus and do many other signs? Why, therefore, is it said, A sign shall not be given it, but the sign of Jonah the prophet?

I reply: The kind of sign for which they were asking would not be given. Or a sign for their benefit shall not be given, for He knew that they would not return, because they were hardened. But He performed signs on account of the faithful and elect, of whom, afterwards, there were many.

The men of Nineveh, etc. This passage shows their unworthiness. And first, the Gentiles are preferred before them; and second, the reason is related, where it is said, And when an unclean spirit is gone out of a man, etc. Take note: someone is good either because he does not sin, or because he repents. Therefore, He first places those who have repented before them, namely, the Gentiles; and second, He places those who have not sinned, where it is said, The queen of the south, etc.

The Lord had compared His Resurrection to Jonah; for that reason, they might believe that what happened to the Ninevites, who were delivered, might happen to them; but these men were not only not delivered, they were dispersed.

Hence, the men of Nineveh shall rise. By these words, an error of the Jews is eliminated: that the resurrection will take place before the Judgment, and that, in the intervening time, Jerusalem will be rebuilt. And they cite, in favor of their opinion, that which is said, The Lord of hosts shall make in this mountain a feast of fat things (Isaiah 25:6). Others say that the just and the martyrs will rise before the others for a thousand years, and they cite, in favor of their opinion, that which is said, I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand (Revelation 20:1–2); and it continues, He laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, who is called the devil, and bound him for a thousand years that he should no more seduce the nations (Revelation 20:3).

He excludes both opinions when He says, those who are good and, simultaneously, those who are not good, shall rise in judgment with this generation; and shall condemn, by comparison, not by authority, because they will rise among the condemned. This is Jerusalem, I have set her in the midst of the nations, and the countries round about her. And she has despised my judgments, so as to be more wicked than the Gentiles; and my commandments, more than the countries that are round about her (Ezekiel 5:5–6).

And in respect to what shall they condemn? Because they did penance; but these men did not want to do penance. The Lord began His preaching by preaching penance; John did likewise, and they did not listen. There is none that does penance for his sin (Jeremiah 8:6). Moreover, those men did penance upon a single preaching of Jonah; Jesus, on the other hand, preached to the Jews many times, and nevertheless, they were not converted. If I had not done among them the works that no other man has done, they would not have sin (John 15:24). Likewise, the Ninevites were converted upon the preaching of one prophet; but these men had not merely a prophet, but the Son of God. Hence, it is stated, God, who, at various times and in diverse manners, spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, last of all, in these days, has spoken to us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the world (Hebrews 1:1–2). And He continues, And behold a greater than Jonah here, as it is stated in Hebrews 3:3: For this man was counted worthy of greater glory than Moses. Therefore, the Ninevites are set before them, because they did penance.

The queen of the south shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it, namely, in regard to the wisdom that they did not wish to receive. Concerning this woman, it is stated in 1 Kings 10:24, that she came to hear the wisdom of Solomon. By this woman, the Church is signified, on account of the faithful: The queen stood on your right hand, in gilded clothing; surrounded with variety, etc. (Psalms 44:10). The Church is called a queen because it ought to rule itself: The king, that sits on the throne of judgment, scatters away all evil with his look, etc. (Proverbs 20:8). And the Church is said to be of the south, by reason of the Holy Spirit: Arise, O north wind, and come, O south wind, blow through my garden, etc. (Song of Solomon 4:16).

This queen will rise in judgment with this generation. Observe that it is not said that she did not sin, but that she was not rebellious. Why? Because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, as it is stated in 1 Kings 10:24. And ‘it is not necessary for you to come from the ends of the earth, because He is here.’ Hence, Behold a greater than Solomon here, because Solomon was a temporal king and a sinner, but this King is innocent and eternal: His power is an everlasting power that shall not be taken away: and his kingdom eternal that shall not be destroyed (Daniel 7:14).

And when an unclean spirit is gone out of a man, etc. He showed above that the Gentiles were greater than the Jews; here He wishes to confirm this by an example. And so, first, He presents the example; and second, He applies it, where it is said, So shall it be also to this wicked generation. He presents the example of an unclean spirit.

You should note that an example is sometimes taken from a past event or sometimes from a parable. And when it is taken from a past event, it is fitting that every single thing be explained separately so that both meanings require their own exposition, such as the example of Jonah presented here. Sometimes, an example is taken from a parable, as when it is said, The kingdom of heaven is like, etc.

In this case, it is not necessary to relate what is in the kingdom of heaven. We can, therefore, say, according to Jerome, that it is a likeness and a parable; and so there is one meaning. Or, it is an example taken from a past event, according to Augustine; and so there is a twofold meaning. An unclean spirit goes out from a man in two ways, because sometimes he tortures a man bodily or sometimes spiritually. Hence, it should be seen how a man is filled with the unclean spirit; how he is filled bodily and how spiritually; and third, how this pertains to the point at hand. Therefore, four things are mentioned:

1. The liberation from the unclean spirit is mentioned.
2. The repeated troubling.
3. The gravity.
4. The occasion of the second troubling.

He says, therefore, If an unclean spirit is gone out of a man. Everything that is mixed with a more base thing is said to be impure; but everything that is mixed with a purer thing is said to be more pure. For example, if silver is joined to lead, it becomes more base.

In this manner, a created spirit, if it adheres to something lower, is said to be impure. And this kind of spirit sometimes goes out of a man whom it troubles bodily, sometimes from a man whom it troubles spiritually, as, for instance, in Baptism.

Next, the repeated troubling and the occasion are mentioned. And first, it is mentioned on the part of the demon; second, it is mentioned on the part of those who are troubled.

On the part of the demon, first, his troubling is mentioned in regard to untroubled men; second, his troubling is mentioned in regard to the one troubled. For this is the manner of a demon, that it cannot rest unless it harms, because it loved sin from the beginning.

Hence, when it is expelled from someone, it seeks where it may trouble. Hence, He says, He walks through dry places seeking rest, and finds none. Hence, sometimes he does not find rest.

He does find rest, however, in certain men, as it is said, He sleeps under the shadow, in the covert of the reed, and in moist places (Job 40:16). The moist places are the hearts given to pleasures; the dry places are those who despise pleasures, who shun prosperity. And it is said concerning this, Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost (Ezekiel 37:11). He says, He walks, and he searches for any man he may deceive. Hence, by the fact that it is said, He walks, he shows his watchfulness: Be sober and watch: because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). Seeking rest, and finds none, except in moist places. So it was concerning the Jews, because going out from the Jews he went to the Gentiles, who were dry by lacking the moisture of divine grace; but he did not find rest, because he was driven out, since they received the word of God.

Then he says: I will return into my house from where I came out. From these words you can gather that if the devil is sometimes expelled by a man, because the man did penance, nevertheless, he does not completely depart from him; just as it is written of Christ (Luke 4:13) that the devil departed from him for a time. Therefore, this ought to be understood, so that men might be always watchful lest he return. And this is what He says, I will return, etc. And coming he finds it empty.

Here is related the occasion on the part of him who is afflicted a second time. If we wish to apply this to the Jews, it is clear that when the devil was expelled from the Gentiles he returned to the Jews. Hence, a triple occasion is related. The first, namely, is idleness; hence, it is said, Empty; Idleness has taught much evil . For that reason, Jerome says, “Always do some good, so that the devil find you employed.” Hence, Empty means idle; The enemies have seen her, and have mocked at her sabbaths (Lamentations 1:7). Swept, because what is swept is only cleaned of the loose dirt. Hence, to sweep is the same as to clean lightly, and, for this reason, sweeping is imperfect cleaning. Likewise, garnished, and this means superficially adorned.

Perfect cleansing ought to be made with fire, as it is stated in the Law, that a vessel ought to be cleansed with fire. Likewise, that which is garnished has some beauty from itself, and only some from the garnishing, about which it is said in Psalms 143:12: Their daughters are decked out, adorned round about after the similitude of a temple, etc. But those who want to be secure ought to have interior beauty: All the glory of the king’s daughter is within in golden borders, clothed round about with varieties (Psalms 44:14). But when garnishing is made only in exterior things, one is not abandoned by the demons. It was thus in regard to the Jews, because they were observing the Sabbaths, in which they were resting more from good deeds than from evil deeds. Likewise, they were placing their whole concern in the smallest points of the Law.

Then he goes, and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself. Here is related the second, and worse, troubling, and it is shown to be more grave: first, in regard to its number; second, in regard to its duration; and third, in regard to its effect. It is more grave, in regard to its number, because he takes with him seven others. According to Chrysostom, it is meant literally, because when someone falls, and he does not take heed, then something worse happens to him: Behold you are made whole: sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to you (John 5:14).

According to Augustine, the passage, he takes seven others, can be explained in two ways. For, sometimes a penitent does penance, but is negligent, and then becomes more inclined to sin: Wherefore God delivered them up to a reprobate sense (Romans 1:28). And by the fact that He says, seven, the entirety of all vices is signified. It is explained otherwise by Augustine as follows: Some men sin by a particular sin, and, in the state of penance, they add hypocrisy to their other sins. And just as there are seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, so there are seven hypocrisies. Hence, first there were simple vices, then there were added the false images of the virtues, which are the contraries of the vices, which are worse: and they are said to be seven, either on account of the universality of the vices, or on account of the Sabbath.

And those who sin in this manner become more persevering in evil. Hence, He says, And they enter in and dwell there, because they do not wish to recede from thence: This people in Jerusalem is turned away with a stubborn revolting, they have laid hold on lying, and have refused to return (Jeremiah 8:5). And if it is explained as pertaining to the Jews, it is evident that an evil spirit dwells in them and does not wish to leave them. And the last state of that man is made worse than the first. And here the heaviness of their sins is set forth in regard to the effect. Literally, a man is punished more who is more heavily laden with sins. Hence, It had been better not to have known the way of justice than, after having known it, to turn back (2 Peter 2:21). Likewise, in regard to the Jews, they committed worse sins by blaspheming Christ than by worshipping idols. For that reason, He continues, So shall it be also to this wicked generation.