Part II (Pars Prima Secundae) Part 166 (1/2)

Obj. 3: Further, the first of the legal sacraments seems to have been circ.u.mcision. But circ.u.mcision preceded the Law, as appears from Gen.

17. In like manner the priesthood preceded the Law; for it is written (Gen. 14:18) that ”Melchisedech ... was the priest of the most high G.o.d.” Therefore the sacramental ceremonies preceded the Law.

Obj. 4: Further, the distinction of clean from unclean animals belongs to the ceremonies of observances, as stated above (Q. 100, 2, A. 6, ad 1). But this distinction preceded the Law; for it is written (Gen. 7:2, 3): ”Of all clean beasts take seven and seven ... but of the beasts that are unclean, two and two.” Therefore the legal ceremonies preceded the Law.

_On the contrary,_ It is written (Deut. 6:1): ”These are the precepts and ceremonies ... which the Lord your G.o.d commanded that I should teach you.” But they would not have needed to be taught about these things, if the aforesaid ceremonies had been already in existence.

Therefore the legal ceremonies did not precede the Law.

_I answer that,_ As is clear from what has been said (Q. 101, A. 2; Q. 102, A. 2), the legal ceremonies were ordained for a double purpose; the wors.h.i.+p of G.o.d, and the foreshadowing of Christ. Now whoever wors.h.i.+ps G.o.d must needs wors.h.i.+p Him by means of certain fixed things pertaining to external wors.h.i.+p. But the fixing of the divine wors.h.i.+p belongs to the ceremonies; just as the determining of our relations with our neighbor is a matter determined by the judicial precepts, as stated above (Q. 99, A. 4). Consequently, as among men in general there were certain judicial precepts, not indeed established by Divine authority, but ordained by human reason; so also there were some ceremonies fixed, not by the authority of any law, but according to the will and devotion of those that wors.h.i.+p G.o.d. Since, however, even before the Law some of the leading men were gifted with the spirit of prophecy, it is to be believed that a heavenly instinct, like a private law, prompted them to wors.h.i.+p G.o.d in a certain definite way, which would be both in keeping with the interior wors.h.i.+p, and a suitable token of Christ's mysteries, which were foreshadowed also by other things that they did, according to 1 Cor. 10:11: ”All ... things happened to them in figure.” Therefore there were some ceremonies before the Law, but they were not legal ceremonies, because they were not as yet established by legislation.

Reply Obj. 1: The patriarchs offered up these oblations, sacrifices and holocausts previously to the Law, out of a certain devotion of their own will, according as it seemed proper to them to offer up in honor of G.o.d those things which they had received from Him, and thus to testify that they wors.h.i.+pped G.o.d Who is the beginning and end of all.

Reply Obj. 2: They also established certain sacred things, because they thought that the honor due to G.o.d demanded that certain places should be set apart from others for the purpose of divine wors.h.i.+p.

Reply Obj. 3: The sacrament of circ.u.mcision was established by command of G.o.d before the Law. Hence it cannot be called a sacrament of the Law as though it were an inst.i.tution of the Law, but only as an observance included in the Law. Hence Our Lord said (John 7:20) that circ.u.mcision was ”not of Moses, but of his fathers.” Again, among those who wors.h.i.+pped G.o.d, the priesthood was in existence before the Law by human appointment, for the Law allotted the priestly dignity to the firstborn.

Reply Obj. 4: The distinction of clean from unclean animals was in vogue before the Law, not with regard to eating them, since it is written (Gen. 9:3): ”Everything that moveth and liveth shall be meat for you”: but only as to the offering of sacrifices because they used only certain animals for that purpose. If, however, they did make any distinction in regard to eating; it was not that it was considered illegal to eat such animals, since this was not forbidden by any law, but from dislike or custom: thus even now we see that certain foods are looked upon with disgust in some countries, while people partake of them in others.

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SECOND ARTICLE [I-II, Q. 103, Art. 2]

Whether, at the Time of the Law, the Ceremonies of the Old Law Had Any Power of Justification?

Objection 1: It would seem that the ceremonies of the Old Law had the power of justification at the time of the Law. Because expiation from sin and consecration pertains to justification. But it is written (Ex. 39:21) that the priests and their apparel were consecrated by the sprinkling of blood and the anointing of oil; and (Lev. 16:16) that, by sprinkling the blood of the calf, the priest expiated ”the sanctuary from the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and from their transgressions and ... their sins.” Therefore the ceremonies of the Old Law had the power of justification.

Obj. 2: Further, that by which man pleases G.o.d pertains to justification, according to Ps. 10:8: ”The Lord is just and hath loved justice.” But some pleased G.o.d by means of ceremonies, according to Lev. 10:19: ”How could I ... please the Lord in the ceremonies, having a sorrowful heart?” Therefore the ceremonies of the Old Law had the power of justification.

Obj. 3: Further, things relating to the divine wors.h.i.+p regard the soul rather than the body, according to Ps. 18:8: ”The Law of the Lord is unspotted, converting souls.” But the leper was cleansed by means of the ceremonies of the Old Law, as stated in Lev. 14. Much more therefore could the ceremonies of the Old Law cleanse the soul by justifying it.

_On the contrary,_ The Apostle says (Gal. 2) [*The first words of the quotation are from 3:21: St. Thomas probably quoting from memory, subst.i.tuted them for 2:21, which runs thus: 'If justice be by the Law, then Christ died in vain.']: ”If there had been a law given which could justify [Vulg.: 'give life'], Christ died in vain,” i.e.

without cause. But this is inadmissible. Therefore the ceremonies of the Old Law did not confer justice.

_I answer that,_ As stated above (Q. 102, A. 5, ad 4), a twofold uncleanness was distinguished in the Old Law. One was spiritual and is the uncleanness of sin. The other was corporal, which rendered a man unfit for divine wors.h.i.+p; thus a leper, or anyone that touched carrion, was said to be unclean: and thus uncleanness was nothing but a kind of irregularity. From this uncleanness, then, the ceremonies of the Old Law had the power to cleanse: because they were ordered by the Law to be employed as remedies for the removal of the aforesaid uncleannesses which were contracted in consequence of the prescription of the Law. Hence the Apostle says (Heb. 9:13) that ”the blood of goats and of oxen, and the ashes of a heifer, being sprinkled, sanctify such as are defiled, to the cleansing of the flesh.” And just as this uncleanness which was washed away by such like ceremonies, affected the flesh rather than the soul, so also the ceremonies themselves are called by the Apostle shortly before (Heb.

9:10) justices of the flesh: ”justices of the flesh,” says he, ”being laid on them until the time of correction.”

On the other hand, they had no power of cleansing from uncleanness of the soul, i.e. from the uncleanness of sin. The reason of this was that at no time could there be expiation from sin, except through Christ, ”Who taketh away the sins [Vulg.: 'sin'] of the world” (John 1:29). And since the mystery of Christ's Incarnation and Pa.s.sion had not yet really taken place, those ceremonies of the Old Law could not really contain in themselves a power flowing from Christ already incarnate and crucified, such as the sacraments of the New Law contain. Consequently they could not cleanse from sin: thus the Apostle says (Heb. 10:4) that ”it is impossible that with the blood of oxen and goats sin should be taken away”; and for this reason he calls them (Gal. 4:9) ”weak and needy elements”: weak indeed, because they cannot take away sin; but this weakness results from their being needy, i.e. from the fact that they do not contain grace within themselves.

However, it was possible at the time of the Law, for the minds of the faithful, to be united by faith to Christ incarnate and crucified; so that they were justified by faith in Christ: of which faith the observance of these ceremonies was a sort of profession, inasmuch as they foreshadowed Christ. Hence in the Old Law certain sacrifices were offered up for sins, not as though the sacrifices themselves washed sins away, but because they were professions of faith which cleansed from sin. In fact, the Law itself implies this in the terms employed: for it is written (Lev. 4:26; 5:16) that in offering the sacrifice for sin ”the priest shall pray for him ... and it shall be forgiven him,” as though the sin were forgiven, not in virtue of the sacrifices, but through the faith and devotion of those who offered them. It must be observed, however, that the very fact that the ceremonies of the Old Law washed away uncleanness of the body, was a figure of that expiation from sins which was effected by Christ.

It is therefore evident that under the state of the Old Law the ceremonies had no power of justification.

Reply Obj. 1: That sanctification of priests and their sons, and of their apparel or of anything else belonging to them, by sprinkling them with blood, had no other effect but to appoint them to the divine wors.h.i.+p, and to remove impediments from them, ”to the cleansing of the flesh,” as the Apostle states (Heb. 9:13) in token of that sanctification whereby ”Jesus” sanctified ”the people by His own blood” (Heb. 13:12). Moreover, the expiation must be understood as referring to the removal of these bodily uncleannesses, not to the forgiveness of sin. Hence even the sanctuary which could not be the subject of sin is stated to be expiated.

Reply Obj. 2: The priests pleased G.o.d in the ceremonies by their obedience and devotion, and by their faith in the reality foreshadowed; not by reason of the things considered in themselves.

Reply Obj. 3: Those ceremonies which were prescribed in the cleansing of a leper, were not ordained for the purpose of taking away the defilement of leprosy. This is clear from the fact that these ceremonies were not applied to a man until he was already healed: hence it is written (Lev. 14:3, 4) that the priest, ”going out of the camp, when he shall find that the leprosy is cleansed, shall command him that is to be purified to offer,” etc.; whence it is evident that the priest was appointed the judge of leprosy, not before, but after cleansing. But these ceremonies were employed for the purpose of taking away the uncleanness of irregularity. They do say, however, that if a priest were to err in his judgment, the leper would be cleansed miraculously by the power of G.o.d, but not in virtue of the sacrifice. Thus also it was by miracle that the thigh of the adulterous woman rotted, when she had drunk the water ”on which” the priest had ”heaped curses,” as stated in Num. 5:19-27.

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THIRD ARTICLE [I-II, Q. 103, Art. 3]

Whether the Ceremonies of the Old Law Ceased at the Coming of Christ?