Thomas Aquinas Commentary Matthew 22:34-46

"But the Pharisees, when they heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, gathered themselves together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, trying him: Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law? And he said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second like [unto it] is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments the whole law hangeth, and the prophets. Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, What think ye of the Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, [The son] of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Till I put thine enemies underneath thy feet? If David then calleth him Lord, how is he his son? And no one was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions." — Matthew 22:34-46 (ASV)

Previously, the Lord answered the question concerning the payment of tribute and the question about the resurrection. Here, however, He answers a question about the comparison of the divine commandments. Matthew does two things:

1. He describes the wickedness of those asking.
2. He relates the question, where it is said, Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

He describes their wickedness in regard to three things:

1. In regard to their shamelessness.
2. In regard to their deliberate malice.
3. In regard to their trickery.

He describes their wickedness in regard to their shamelessness, when it is said, Hearing that he had silenced. He had just refuted the disciples of the Pharisees and the Sadducees; therefore, from this, they had enough reason to believe Him and to be ashamed.

Therefore, Chrysostom says, “Envy and anger nourish and cause shamelessness.” But these men do not give up on account of this; rather, they still question Him. Most impudent dogs, they never had enough (Isaiah 56:11). And it is indicated that, although they heard this, nevertheless, they were not silent.

One man keeps silence spontaneously, and this is prudence. Likewise, another man keeps silence because silence is imposed upon him, and this belongs to the impudent. There is one that holds his peace, because he knows not what to say: and there is another that holds his peace, knowing the proper time ; A time to keep silence, and a time to speak (Ecclesiastes 3:7).

Likewise, their deliberate malice is mentioned, namely, so that they might better convict Him, they are gathered together at the same time: The princes met together, against the Lord (Psalms 2:2). They came together. It can be said that the Pharisees and the Sadducees came together, because even though they were different sects, they were united in tempting the Lord. Or, the Pharisees came together against the Lord.

Likewise, their trickery is indicated, because when they had been gathered together in a crowd, they did not want all to question Him, but only one of them. This was so that if he were defeated, the others would not be ashamed, and if he were to triumph, they would all glory in him. And one of them, a teacher of the law, asked him, tempting him, for he did not have the intention of learning: They have opened their mouths upon me, and reproaching me they have struck me on the cheek (Job 16:11).

Here an objection can be made concerning the literal meaning: namely, that Mark says that He said, You are not far from the kingdom of God (Mark 12:34). And so, how is it said here that he was tempting Him?

Augustine solves this objection, saying that he came initially with the intention of tempting, but when Christ had satisfied him, he consented to Him. And, in this way, that he tempted Him should be referred to the beginning of the conversation; that he was not far from the kingdom of God should be referred to the end. And so it is not surprising if the Lord’s words changed his motivation.

It should be known, however, that some men tempt from the fact that they are unsure, because, according to what the Wise Man says, He that is hasty to give credit, is light of heart . This man, when he had heard many things about Christ, wanted to see if such things were true; and this temptation was not bad. Hence, he says, Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

Nevertheless, this question seemed to be slanderous and presumptuous, because all of God's commandments are great: The commandment is a lamp, and the law a light (Proverbs 6:23). Moreover, he asked vaguely, since all are great, so that if He were to answer concerning one, he would object about another. Similarly, his question was presumptuous, because one should not ask about a great commandment who has not fulfilled the least: Why does your heart elevate you, and why do you stare with your eyes, as if they were thinking great things? (Job 15:12).

And it could have been that there was a controversy among them about this question, for some were saying that salvation was in some external acts; hence, This people honors me with their lips: but their heart is far from me (Isaiah 29:13). But the Lord answers that it is only in the internal acts. Hence, His answer follows, Jesus said to him: You shall love the Lord your God, etc.

And He not only answers the proposed question, but He also teaches the truth.

1. He teaches which commandment is the first.
2. He teaches that the second commandment is similar to it.
3. He gives the reason.

The second part is where it is said, And the second is like to this, etc. The third part is where it is said, On these two commandments depends the whole law and the prophets. He says, therefore, You shall love the Lord your God, etc. This passage is written in Deuteronomy 6:5.

Likewise, the Lord said through Moses: What does the Lord your God require of you, but that you fear the Lord your God? (Deuteronomy 10:12). Therefore, the Lord commands two things: namely, fear and love.

And why does the Lord not answer concerning fear, as He does concerning love? It should be said that certain men fear God, who fear to suffer from Him, such as those who fear the punishment of hell, or who fear to lose something that they have from God. This is servile fear, because one loves that for which one fears punishment. There are others who fear God Himself for His own sake, who fear to offend Him; and such fear is from love, and one fears because one loves.

Therefore, the beginning of fear is love: God is charity: and he that abides in charity abides in God, and God in him (1 John 4:16). And, therefore, He says, You shall love the Lord; He does not say, ‘You shall fear,’ because He is primarily lovable, as He is the first end, and everything else is loved on account of the end. Therefore, he who loves God as his end, loves Him with his whole heart: Be converted to me with all your heart (Joel 2:12). And, however much you try, you will not be able to encompass Him, because God is greater than the whole heart.

But what does it mean when He says, With your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind? Chrysostom explains these words as follows: ‘Because in love there are two things: one, which is the origin of love, and a second, which is the effect and consequence of love. The origin of love is twofold. For love can arise from passion and from the judgment of reason: it arises from passion when a man does not know how to live without that which he loves; it arises from reason, in that he loves as reason dictates.’ He says, therefore, that a man loves with his whole heart who loves physically; a man loves with his whole soul who loves from the judgment of reason.

And we should love God in both ways: physically, so that our heart is physically inclined towards God; hence, in Psalm 83:3, it is said: My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God. The second thing is the consequence of love, because that which I love, I willingly see, I willingly think of it, and I willingly do what pleases it: He who loves me, will keep my word (John 14:23); and I refer everything to it: How lovely are your tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! my soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord (Psalms 83:2).

And we can add what Mark adds, And with your whole strength (Mark 12:33), because he who loves God commits himself to Him and expends his strength upon Him. Similarly, Augustine distinguishes between the heart, the soul, and the mind, according to the three things that proceed from them. From the heart, thoughts come forth, as it is stated above in chapter 15; from the soul, life proceeds; and from the mind, knowledge and understanding proceed. Hence, in that He says, With your whole heart, it is meant that we should direct all our thoughts to Him; in that He says, with your whole soul, it is meant that we should direct our whole lives to Him; in that He says, with your whole mind, it is meant that all our knowledge should be referred to Him, that is to say, taking our knowledge captive to His service: Bringing into captivity every understanding unto the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).

A commentary by a certain master explains that the soul is God’s image according to its powers: its memory, understanding, and will. So, what is said, With your heart, refers to the understanding; what is said, with your soul, refers to the will; and what is said, with your mind, refers to the memory, such that one lives entirely for God.

Origen explains the passage thus: You shall love the Lord your God with your whole soul, so that you should be prepared to lay down your life for Him if it is necessary: I will lay down my life for you (John 13:37). But there is a difference between the mind and the heart. For the mind (mens) is so-called from measuring (metiendo); the heart is taken for simplicity of understanding. The mind, however, is taken from its relationship to speaking, because by words, the understanding or a thought is measured. Hence, He means to say that in our speaking and in our meditations we should love God totally.

Having asserted this, He adds, This is the greatest and the first commandment. It is the greatest in its extension, for it is this commandment in which all the commandments are contained, because in this commandment the love of neighbor is contained, according to what is said: He who loves God also loves his brother (1 John 4:21). For that reason, it is the greatest. Likewise, it is first in origin, and greatest in importance and extension. It is not the first in Scripture, because in Scripture the first commandment was, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one (Deuteronomy 6:4). And why? It is because every inclination of an appetitive power is directed towards love. For that reason, we have the commandment that we worship God in love: Love therefore is the fulfilling of the law (Romans 13:10); Being rooted and founded in charity (Ephesians 3:17).

Secondly, He relates the second commandment: And the second is like to this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. He wished to indicate that in the commandments there is an order. And what is the reason for this? It is evident that the commandments pertain to acts of the virtues. Now the virtues have an order, because one depends upon another, and so, just as the virtues have an order, so also do the commandments have an order.

But why does He say that it is similar to the first? It is because when a person is loved, since humanity is made in God's likeness, God is loved in that person. For that reason, it is similar to the first commandment, because it pertains to the love of God.

But what does He understand by the name of neighbor, when He says, You shall love your neighbor? This point is sufficiently expressed in the parable, where it is asked, Which, in your opinion, was his neighbor? (Luke 10:36), and it is answered, He that showed mercy to him. Hence, he who should show mercy to us, or we ourselves to others, is included under the name of neighbor. But there is no rational creature to whom we should not show pity, and vice versa; and, for that reason, men and angels are included under the name of neighbor.

And what He says, as yourself, is not understood to mean as much as oneself, because this would be contrary to the order of charity; but as yourself, meaning for the same reason why you love yourself, or in the same manner that you love yourself. For the same reason, namely, that you should not love yourself on account of yourself, but on account of God, and also, in this way, you should love your neighbor: Do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Likewise, by the very fact that you love yourself, you love yourself in him for whom you want something good for yourself; and such is good, because it is in accord with oneself and God's law, and this is the good of justice. So also, you should desire the good of justice for your neighbor; hence, you should love him either because he is just, or because he is becoming just.

Likewise, you should love him in the same manner as yourself, because when I say, ‘I love this thing,’ I am saying ‘I want its good.’ Hence, the act of love refers to two things: either it refers to that which is good, or to a good which I want for it. Thus, I love this thing because I want it to be good for me. Hence, a man loves temporal goods because he knows that they are good for himself; but some men love a thing because it is good in itself. In this manner, you should love yourself, and also your neighbor.

Afterwards, He gives the reason why these two are the greatest commandments: On these two commandments depends the whole law and the prophets. The whole doctrine of the Law and the prophets depends on these commandments. In morals, the end is what principles are in speculative science: for science proceeds from principles to conclusions, and so all science is judged by its principles, just as in all practical matters, all depends on the end. The end of the commandment is charity (1 Timothy 1:5); therefore, all the others depend on these two, and this is Augustine's explanation.

Origen explains this as follows: ‘On these, meaning on the observance of these, depends the understanding of the Law and of the prophets, because those who observe these things merit the understanding of the Law and the prophets.’ You that fear the Lord, love him, and your hearts shall be enlightened ; By your commandments I have had understanding: therefore have I hated every way of iniquity (Psalms 118:104).

And the Pharisees being gathered together, Jesus asked them. After He had responded to them, He wished to question them in turn. The Evangelist does two things:

1. A question is related.
2. Its effect is related, where it is said, No man was able to answer him a word.

Concerning the first point, He does three things:

1. He proposes a question.
2. The answer is related.
3. He objects against the answer.

He says, therefore: And the Pharisees being gathered together, Jesus asked them. Now they had been gathered together to tempt Him; hence, He proposes the question, What do you think of Christ? Whose son is he?

This question was very difficult, and it was appropriate. It was very difficult, because it is found in Isaiah 53:8: Who shall declare his generation? It was also appropriate, because they held the opinion that He was only a man and did not believe that He was God; for then they would not have tempted Him, because it is written: You shall not tempt the Lord your God (Deuteronomy 6:16). Therefore, to show that He is God, He says, What do you think of Christ? Whose son is he?

The response follows: They say to him: David’s. For there was a twofold generation of Christ: one according to His flesh, and another according to His divinity, according to which He is the Son of God the Father, concerning which it is said, You are my son, this day have I begotten you (Psalms 2:7). Hence, they reply concerning His generation according to the flesh when they say, David’s. I will raise up to David a just branch (Jeremiah 23:5). And: Who was made to him of the seed of David, according to the flesh (Romans 1:3). And their answer was inadequate, because they did not know Him well enough.

Then He objects so that they might gather that there is another generation: How then does David in spirit call him Lord, saying: The Lord said to my Lord: Sit on my right hand? (Psalms 109:1). It is stated in the Law that a father is greater than a son. A son is not, therefore, the lord of his father. Hence, either Christ is not the son of David, or there is something greater in Him than in David, since David calls Him Lord. But perhaps they might say that David was deceived, an objection He eliminates because David is saying this in spirit; hence, The men of God spoke, inspired by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1:21).

Now we can see three things in the passage from the Psalms. Firstly, we see His preeminence over the saints, His equality to the Father, and His dominion over the rebellious.

We see His preeminence over the saints when He says: The Lord said to my Lord. The Lord, namely, the Father, to my Lord, namely, to the Son. For the Son Himself has dominion over all the saints, for no saint is illuminated except by the true light. He, however, is the true light: The life was the light of men (John 1:4). Therefore, if He Himself is the light, by participation in which all the saints receive light, He has preeminence over all the saints as to that light. And so it is said, With you is the principality in the day of your strength: in the brightness of the saints, etc. (Psalms 109:3). Hence, He is the source of the brightness of the saints.

Likewise, His equality with the Father is mentioned when it is said, Sit on my right hand. This does not mean there are seats occupying a place, but it is said metaphorically, because the honorable place is to sit at the right side. To say is to utter a word. What else does it mean when the Lord said, Sit on my right hand, except that ‘By begetting Me, the Word, He gave Me power, equality, and authority?’ It can also be explained regarding temporal things, meaning in the greater temporal goods, but that is not to the point. For the Lord is always seen on the right side, as, for example, in Mark 16:5: They saw a young man sitting on the right side. And Stephen saw Jesus standing on the right hand of God.

And what will happen to His enemies? They will all be made subject to Him. Hence, it is added, Until I make your enemies your footstool. These enemies are either those completely lacking the faith, or those who do not wish to obey and be subject to Him. Hence, He makes these men your footstool. For a footstool is something that is placed under a man’s feet; now, that which is under a man is completely subject to him, whereas that which is in his hand is not necessarily subject to him. Some men are made to be a footstool as a punishment, others are made to be a footstool for their salvation: it is a punishment for those who do not wish to do His will, but it is for the salvation of those who do His will.

But the Arians object: ‘Therefore, He is not equal to the Father.’ I say that two things are found in Scripture: both that He is subject to the Father, and that He is equal to the Father. For he must reign, until he has put all his enemies under his feet (1 Corinthians 15:25). Likewise, Christ will subject all things to Himself: Who will reform the body of our lowness, made like to the body of his glory (Philippians 3:21). Hence, He says this to show His unity of power; therefore, everything that the Father can do, the Son can also do.

But what does it mean when He says, until I make your enemies your footstool? These words seem to imply that after He has made His enemies subject, He will no longer sit on His right hand. It should be said that until sometimes implies a determined time, other times it implies an unlimited time. Here, it certainly implies an unlimited time.

But someone might say: ‘Do not many men rebel against Christ?’ Indeed, it is true that many rebel, and therefore, there could have been a doubt regarding the time when many were rebelling against Christ. For that reason, Christ willed to express this.

If David then calls him Lord, how is he his son? Therefore, the Son is also the Lord, because He is the son of David according to the flesh, since He derived His lineage from him, and He is the Lord according to His divinity.

And no man was able to answer him a word. Here, the effect is related, and it is twofold, because Christ was the answerer (respondens) and the questioner (opponens). Because He was questioning, no man was able to answer: If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one for a thousand (Job 9:3). Likewise, because in answering He had silenced them, for that reason, it continues, Neither dared any man from that day forth ask him any more questions. Therefore, you can see that these men were not asking questions so that He might teach them, but so that they might tempt Him: Ask your father, and he will declare to you (Deuteronomy 32:7).