Thomas Aquinas Commentary Matthew 18:1-11

"In that hour came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And he called to him a little child, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me: But whoso shall cause one of these little ones that believe on me to stumble, it is profitable for him that a great millstone should be hanged about his neck, and [that] he should be sunk in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world because of occasions of stumbling! for it must needs be that the occasions come; but woe to that man through whom the occasion cometh! And if thy hand or thy foot causeth thee to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from thee: it is good for thee to enter into life maimed or halt, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the eternal fire. And if thine eye causeth thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is good for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire. 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.]" — Matthew 18:1-11 (ASV)

Above, the Lord showed the glory to come in His transfiguration; here He deals with the route for attaining that glory.

This is divided into two parts: first, He teaches what one must do to attain it; and second, certain men inordinately seeking excellence in glory are rebuked, which begins in chapter 20.

Regarding the first point, He first teaches how to attain it by the common way; and second, He teaches how to attain it by the way of perfection, which begins in chapter 19.

Since one attains glory through humility, He therefore proceeds in three ways:

1. First, He shows the manner of practicing humility.
2. Second, He forbids giving scandal, where it is said, But he that shall scandalize one of these little ones, etc.
3. Third, He teaches that what has caused scandal should be discarded, where it is said, And if your hand, or your foot, scandalize you, cut it off, and cast it from you.

Regarding the first point, a question of the disciples is related; second, Christ’s reply is related. An occasion for the question is taken from the fact that He told Peter to go to the sea and pay the stater which he found in the fish for Himself and for Peter; therefore, He seemed to have preferred him to the others.

And because they were still weak, they consequently felt some jealousy and movement of envy. But notice that when He brought the three alone into the mountain they were not so stirred, as they are here when He prefers just one of them.

Therefore, they were asking, Who, do you think, is the greater in the kingdom of heaven? Although, one does not attain this through greatness, but through the spirit of humility: In humility, let each esteem others better than themselves, etc. (Philippians 2:3). In this request, this is to be imitated: that they should not be desirous of earthly things, but of heavenly things: While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, etc. (2 Corinthians 4:18).

But what is this? Is not excellence in the kingdom of heaven to be sought? It should be said that to have eminence in the kingdom of heaven is twofold. Either it is sought in such a way that we consider ourselves worthy—and this is pride and contrary to the Apostle saying, In humility, let each esteem others better than themselves, etc. (Philippians 2:3).

But to desire greater grace, so that there will be more glory for us, is not evil, as it is said: Be zealous for the better gifts (1 Corinthians 12:31). Similarly, the Apostles knew that in glory there are diverse mansions, just as one star differs from another in brightness. For that reason, they were seeking eminence, because they believed that one thing is greater than another in glory, in opposition to certain heretics who affirmed the contrary.

Afterwards, Christ’s response is related; and he relates Christ’s action and words. Therefore, he says, And calling to him a little child.

Who this child is, is explained in three ways:

1. Chrysostom explains him to truly be a child, because he was free from passions and would provide an example of humility, as it is said below: Suffer the little children to come to me (Matthew 19:14). And it is said that this was blessed Martial.
2. It is explained otherwise: that Christ, considering Himself to be a child, stood in their midst saying, Unless you are converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. As it is written, I am in the midst of you, as he that serveth (Luke 22:27).
3. It is explained in a third way: that by the child, the Holy Spirit is understood, because He is the Spirit of humility: I will put my spirit in the midst of you (Ezekiel 36:27).

Likewise, the Lord’s words should be noted. First, He mentions the necessity of becoming as children; and second, He mentions its efficacy. He says, Amen I say to you, unless you are converted—that is, by becoming free from this vainglory (Turn ye to me, etc. Zechariah 1:3)—and become as this little child—not in age, but in simplicity (Do not become children in sense, but in malice be children, 1 Corinthians 14:20).

The qualities of children are many. They do not desire great things: Not minding high things (Romans 12:16). They are free from concupiscence: Whosoever shall look on a woman to lust after her, hath already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:28). And children do not have this kind of concupiscence. Likewise, they do not hold grudges.

Therefore, Unless you become as this little child—that is, unless you become imitators of the qualities of children—you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. For no one except the humble will enter heaven: Glory shall uphold the humble of spirit (Proverbs 29:23).

Or, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven means entering into the Gospel teaching, as it was said above: The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and shall be given to a nation yielding the fruits thereof (Matthew 21:43). Entrance into the Gospel teaching is through faith.

Therefore, unless you become—and if you will not have believed—as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven (He that believeth not shall be condemned,Mark 16:16). Glory shall uphold the humble of spirit (Proverbs 29:23).

And he that shall receive one such little child, that is, whoever is an imitator of childlike innocence, he is greater, because the more humble he is, the higher he will be, because He that humbleth himself shall be exalted (Luke 18:14).

But there can be a question: for it seems that this is not true, because perfection consists in charity; therefore, where there is greater charity, there is greater perfection.

It should be said that humility necessarily accompanies charity. You can see this if you consider anyone who is humble.

For just as in pride there are two things—an inordinate affection and an inordinate opinion of oneself—so the contrary is true in humility, because it does not care about its own superiority. Similarly, it does not consider itself worthy.

This necessarily leads to charity. Every man desires an excellence that he loves. Therefore, the more humility a man has, the more he loves God; and the more he despises his own excellence, the less he attributes to himself. And so, the more charity a man has, the more humility he has.

And he that shall receive one such little child in my name, receiveth me. Because they are children, they are worthy to that extent, and so they must not be scandalized; therefore, And he that shall scandalize, etc. And first, He shows that they should not be scandalized on account of the punishment; and second, they should not be scandalized on account of Divine Providence. The second part is where it is said, See that you despise not one of these little ones.

First, He says that scandal must not be given to little ones; and second, He says that scandal must not be avoided negligently, where it is said, And if your hand, etc.

And first, He relates the punishment in particular; and second, He relates the punishment in general, where it is said, Woe to the world because of scandals, etc. It should be noted that there is a twofold punishment, namely, the pain of loss and the pain of sense. He mentions both, he that shall receive one such little child, not for his sake but for My sake, receiveth me. He continues, But he that shall scandalize one of these little ones, etc.

If there is this kind of person, it is evident that there are elders. And how can an elder be scandalized? For the perfect are not scandalized. Chrysostom says that to scandalize is the same thing as to inflict an injury, and this can be inflicted upon the perfect and the imperfect. Origen says that some men have become little, others are in the process of becoming little: those who have become little are those who have attained perfection, and these cannot be scandalized; those who are in the process of becoming little, because they are imperfect, can be scandalized, as they are men who have recently converted. Jerome says that even though they are not scandalized, nevertheless, someone can scandalize them, because scandal is active and passive.

The Lord seems to be referring to all the Apostles, but He is especially referring to Judas, as it is said below: All you shall be scandalized, etc. (Matthew 26:31).

And what is this punishment? It would be better for him that a millstone should be hanged about his neck. Again, as Jerome says, the Lord is speaking according to the manner of the inhabitants of Palestine, who did not have mills powered by water, but, instead, had mills powered by horses. Therefore, a millstone (mola asinaria) is so called which a horse or an ass (asinus) can draw. And that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea. And this punishment was inflicted upon those who committed theft: because a millstone of this same type was hung about his neck, and he was cast into the sea; this was also done to blessed Clement, even though he was not a thief, etc.

Therefore, one who scandalizes a little one deserves an eternal punishment. Therefore, it is better to undergo any kind of temporal punishment in the present life than to undergo eternal punishment: It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31); It is better for me to fall into your hands without doing it, than to sin in the sight of the Lord (Daniel 13:23).

This passage can be explained mystically in another way, in three interpretations:

1. In one interpretation, the millstone is understood as the blindness of the Gentiles, because the animals that are employed to draw this millstone are blind (in Judges 16 it is written that they pulled out the eyes of Samson and made him grind). Therefore, it would have been better for the Jews never to have seen Christ and to have been cast into the depths of the sea, meaning into the depths of infidelity. As it is said: For it had been better for them not to have known the way of justice than, after they have known it, to turn back (2 Peter 2:21).
2. In another interpretation, the millstone is understood as the active life. It happens that someone passes on to the contemplative life, and when he is there, he makes contemplation a stumbling block because it does not agree with him. Therefore, it is better for him that a millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea, that is, into the depths of temporal affairs.
3. Augustine expresses himself thus: It would be better—that is, it is fitting, and it is a fitting punishment for him—that a millstone (that is, the desire for worldly things, because he who scandalizes is overly desirous) should be hanged about his neck (that is, in his affections), and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea (namely, of inordinate desires).

Woe to the world because of scandals. After presenting the punishment in particular, here it is presented in general. And He does three things:

1. First, He foretells the punishment in general.
2. Second, He adds the necessity of the punishment.
3. Third, He removes all excuses, because for those who scandalize, it is better that a millstone be hung about their neck, etc.

Woe to the world because of scandals. By 'the world,' the lovers of the world are understood, because the more someone is attached to the world, the more he suffers scandal. Therefore, the Lord says: In me you may have peace, in the world you shall have distress (John 16:33). Woe to the world and to lovers of the world.

For it is necessary that scandals come. Certain heretics maintained that there was an absolute necessity that sins would occur, and this necessity could be drawn from divine foreknowledge and from the nature of the stars. But this is false, because sin would then be imputed to God, Who is the Author of nature.

Chrysostom says that it is necessary that it so happen, in that the necessity of Divine Providence is a conditional necessity. Therefore, it is necessary that if God foresees this man is going to sin, he will sin, but it does not follow that he will necessarily sin.

Origen says that necessity presupposes the malice of the demons and the weakness of men. Therefore, it is necessary that scandals come, because it is necessary that the devil deceive men, and man give in to him; thus, based on the supposition of the devil’s malice and men’s weakness, this necessity occurs.

Others explain this passage as follows: it is necessary, that is, it is useful because by scandals men are proved: For there must be also heresies: that they also, who are approved may be made manifest among you (1 Corinthians 11:19). Or, according to Haymo, He is speaking about the scandal of the Cross: We preach Christ crucified: unto the Jews indeed a stumblingblock, and unto the Gentiles foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:23).

But it is objected: If it is necessary that scandals come, are those who scandalize therefore free from sin, since it is thus necessary that scandals come? I do not say that this is necessary by an absolute necessity, because He says, woe to that man by whom the scandal comes.

Therefore, although demons instigate scandals, nevertheless, it is counted to them for punishment: Neither yield ye your members as instruments of iniquity unto sin (Romans 6:13). This is particularly said of Judas, who betrayed Him.

You say, woe to that man by whom the scandal comes; therefore, scandal must not be given to little ones. And although it should not be given, nevertheless, they should not be negligent in avoiding scandal. Indeed, a man can avoid scandal by doing something useful in regard to his actions, knowledge, or support.

Therefore, he presents this point under the likeness of the members of the body: And if your hand, or your foot, scandalize you, cut it off, and cast it from you. Nevertheless, you should not conclude that the members of the body should be cut off, but by the members are understood one’s friends and neighbors.

For fellow men are necessary for a man’s work, support, and instruction. The hand is the member that directs the performance of our duties; the foot is the one that supports. Hence: I was an eye to the blind, and a foot to the lame (Job 19:15).

Therefore, if your hand (that is, he who directs your work), or your foot (that is, he who supports you), scandalize you (that is, is an occasion of sin to you), cut it off, and cast it from you. And He gives the reason: It is better for you, etc., because it is better to suffer any temporal evil than to deserve eternal punishment.

Similarly, someone is needed for teaching you; therefore, he is an eye to you. Hence, And if your eye scandalize you, pluck it out. And He gives the reason: It is better for you, etc.

Or the parable can refer to the whole Church, because the eyes are the prelates, the hands are the deacons, and the feet are the laymen. Therefore, it is better that a prelate be deposed, or a deacon cut off, than that the Church be scandalized.

Or the eye stands for contemplation, the hand stands for activity, and the foot stands for advancement. Therefore, if you see that this contemplation, activity, or promotion is an occasion of sin for you, cut it off, and cast it from you.

See that you despise not one of these little ones. Above, He had taught to avoid scandal on account of the punishment; here, however, He teaches to avoid it from the consideration of Divine Providence. Concerning this, He does two things: first, He proposes the consideration; and second, He gives the reason, where it is said, For I say to you, etc.

So I have said that He that shall scandalize one of these little ones, it would be better for him that a millstone should be hanged about his neck, etc. See that you despise not: for littleness quickly fosters contempt. Behold I have made thee a little one among the nations, despicable among men (Jeremiah 49:15).

But it is asked of which little ones He speaks here. It should be said that it is of the little ones who are little in the estimation of men, but are great before God: these are the friends of God; He that despiseth you despiseth me (Luke 10:16).

But, against this, it is objected, that such individuals are not scandalized, nor perish, and, nevertheless, it is stated below in this chapter that the Son of man has come to save that which was lost.

It should be said, and this is how Origen solves this objection, that by little ones are understood the humble, who are perfect; and such men are not scandalized, and, nevertheless, they sometimes perish. Or, although not all will be scandalized, some will be scandalized. According to Jerome, it is understood of the little ones in Christ, as, for instance, of those recently converted to Christ. And then it connects with the preceding part.

Thus it was said that the part that causes scandal is to be cut off, and then the little ones, the weak, and the sinners, although they are not to be scandalized, nevertheless, should not be despised. I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. Here the reason from Divine Providence is assigned: first, regarding the ministry of the angels; second, regarding Christ’s ministry, where it is said, For the Son of man has come to save that which was lost.

So it was said that you should not despise the little ones, because those for whom God cares are not to be despised. I say to you, that their angels.

Why are they 'theirs'? It is because they have been assigned to be their guardians. As Jerome says, an angel was assigned to every man for his safekeeping: He hath given his angels charge over thee; to keep thee in all thy ways (Psalms 91:11); They are all ministering spirits, sent to minister for them who shall receive the inheritance of salvation (Hebrews 1:14).

These angels have a duty to bring down and announce divine things to us. Similarly, they convey and present our prayers to God: The smoke of the incense of the prayers of the saints ascended up before God from the hand of the angel (Revelation 8:4).

Therefore, if the Lord so bountifully provides for them, because He wants them to be served by angels, they are not to be despised. In Sirach 35 it is said concerning a widow that her tears ascend from her cheek all the way to heaven.

Or, their angels means they are their fellow citizens, because the fellowship of angels and men is one; therefore, they are fellow citizens of the heavenly city. Therefore, their dignity is so great that they always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.

And, in this, four things can be pointed out:

1. First, the continuity of their vision is indicated, because they always see God’s face. Someone might say that they are sometimes sent on works of ministry, for which reason they do not always see God’s face, and so He says always.
2. Second, the sublimity of their vision is indicated. We ourselves see some of the highest things, but in some obscurity and through creatures, as it is stated in Romans 1:20: The invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made. But the angels see from a sort of height; therefore, He says, In heaven.
3. Third, their clear vision is indicated: We see now through a glass in a dark manner: but then face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12). It should not be said that God has a bodily face, but the clear vision of Him is called His face. For when someone is seen in a mirror, he is not seen with open vision; but when one looks at his face, then he is openly seen. Thus, God is seen in a mirror when He is seen through creatures; but when He is seen in Himself, and through Himself, then there will be face-to-face vision.
4. Lastly, Chrysostom says that what one might call a superior joy is indicated, because these are perfect men. If the angels are their ministers, their denoted joy is in a certain respect greater than the joy of the angels, for they see that God is assisting them. Therefore, not only is the vision of God a gift, but possession of Him is also a gift: But I follow after, if I may by any means apprehend (Philippians 3:12).

But why does He say, My Father who is in heaven? It is to exclude the error of those who were asserting that their Angels means the demons. Therefore, they were saying that the angels are in heaven, the demons are in a middle region, and for that reason, they are intermediaries and our assistants.

Therefore, to exclude this, He says, They always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. Similarly, another reason for His saying this is to foster our desire, because if they see, we ourselves will also see God’s face, for we ought to hope for this.

But lest it seem a small thing that the angels have been appointed to the guardianship of men, He also proves the above statement through Christ’s ministry.

And first, He proves this; and second, He presents a likeness. Therefore, He says that the little ones should not be despised, because The Son of man has come to save that which was lost. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). He shall save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).