Part IV (Tertia Pars) Part 75 (2/2)
On the contrary is the authority of the Gospel.
_I answer that,_ Christ wished to be transfigured in order to show men His glory, and to arouse men to a desire of it, as stated above (A. 1). Now men are brought to the glory of eternal beat.i.tude by Christ--not only those who lived after Him, but also those who preceded Him; therefore, when He was approaching His Pa.s.sion, both ”the mult.i.tude that followed” and that ”which went before, cried saying: 'Hosanna,'” as related Matt. 21:9, beseeching Him, as it were, to save them. Consequently it was fitting that witnesses should be present from among those who preceded Him--namely, Moses and Elias--and from those who followed after Him--namely, Peter, James, and John--that ”in the mouth of two or three witnesses” this word might stand.
Reply Obj. 1: By His transfiguration Christ manifested to His disciples the glory of His body, which belongs to men only. It was therefore fitting that He should choose men and not angels as witnesses.
Reply Obj. 2: This gloss is said to be taken from a book ent.i.tled _On the Marvels of Holy Scripture._ It is not an authentic work, but is wrongly ascribed to St. Augustine; consequently we need not stand by it. For Jerome says on Matt. 17:3: ”Observe that when the Scribes and Pharisees asked for a sign from heaven, He refused to give one; whereas here in order to increase the apostles' faith, He gives a sign from heaven, Elias coming down thence, whither he had ascended, and Moses arising from the nether world.” This is not to be understood as though the soul of Moses was reunited to his body, but that his soul appeared through some a.s.sumed body, just as the angels do. But Elias appeared in his own body, not that he was brought down from the empyrean heaven, but from some place on high whither he was taken up in the fiery chariot.
Reply Obj. 3: As Chrysostom says on Matt. 17:3: ”Moses and Elias are brought forward for many reasons.” And, first of all, ”because the mult.i.tude said He was Elias or Jeremias or one of the prophets, He brings the leaders of the prophets with Him; that hereby at least they might see the difference between the servants and their Lord.”
Another reason was ” ... that Moses gave the Law ... while Elias ... was jealous for the glory of G.o.d.” Therefore by appearing together with Christ, they show how falsely the Jews ”accused Him of transgressing the Law, and of blasphemously appropriating to Himself the glory of G.o.d.” A third reason was ”to show that He has power of death and life, and that He is the judge of the dead and the living; by bringing with Him Moses who had died, and Elias who still lived.”
A fourth reason was because, as Luke says (9:31), ”they spoke” with Him ”of His decease that He should accomplish in Jerusalem,” i.e. of His Pa.s.sion and death. Therefore, ”in order to strengthen the hearts of His disciples with a view to this,” He sets before them those who had exposed themselves to death for G.o.d's sake: since Moses braved death in opposing Pharaoh, and Elias in opposing Achab. A fifth reason was that ”He wished His disciples to imitate the meekness of Moses and the zeal of Elias.” Hilary adds a sixth reason--namely, in order to signify that He had been foretold by the Law, which Moses gave them, and by the prophets, of whom Elias was the princ.i.p.al.
Reply Obj. 4: Lofty mysteries should not be immediately explained to everyone, but should be handed down through superiors to others in their proper turn. Consequently, as Chrysostom says (on Matt. 17:3), ”He took these three as being superior to the rest.” For ”Peter excelled in the love” he bore to Christ and in the power bestowed on him; John in the privilege of Christ's love for him on account of his virginity, and, again, on account of his being privileged to be an Evangelist; James on account of the privilege of martyrdom.
Nevertheless He did not wish them to tell others what they had seen before His Resurrection; ”lest,” as Jerome says on Matt. 17:19, ”such a wonderful thing should seem incredible to them; and lest, after hearing of so great glory, they should be scandalized at the Cross”
that followed; or, again, ”lest [the Cross] should be entirely hindered by the people” [*Bede, Hom. xviii; cf. Catena Aurea]; and ”in order that they might then be witnesses of spiritual things when they should be filled with the Holy Ghost” [*Hilary, in Matth. xvii].
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FOURTH ARTICLE [III, Q. 45, Art. 4]
Whether the Testimony of the Father's Voice, Saying, ”This Is My Beloved Son,” Was Fittingly Added?
Objection 1: It would seem that the testimony of the Father's voice, saying, ”This is My beloved Son,” was not fittingly added; for, as it is written (Job 33:14), ”G.o.d speaketh once, and repeateth not the selfsame thing the second time.” But the Father's voice had testified to this at the time of (Christ's) baptism. Therefore it was not fitting that He should bear witness to it a second time.
Obj. 2: Further, at the baptism the Holy Ghost appeared under the form of a dove at the same time as the Father's voice was heard. But this did not happen at the transfiguration. Therefore it seems that the testimony of the Father was made in an unfitting manner.
Obj. 3: Further, Christ began to teach after His baptism.
Nevertheless, the Father's voice did not then command men to hear him. Therefore neither should it have so commanded at the transfiguration.
Obj. 4: Further, things should not be said to those who cannot bear them, according to John 16:12: ”I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” But the disciples could not bear the Father's voice; for it is written (Matt. 17:6) that ”the disciples hearing, fell upon their face, and were very much afraid.” Therefore the Father's voice should not have been addressed to them.
On the contrary is the authority of the Gospel.
_I answer that,_ The adoption of the sons of G.o.d is through a certain conformity of image to the natural Son of G.o.d. Now this takes place in two ways: first, by the grace of the wayfarer, which is imperfect conformity; secondly, by glory, which is perfect conformity, according to 1 John 3:2: ”We are now the sons of G.o.d, and it hath not yet appeared what we shall be: we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like to Him, because we shall see Him as He is.” Since, therefore, it is in baptism that we acquire grace, while the clarity of the glory to come was foreshadowed in the transfiguration, therefore both in His baptism and in His transfiguration the natural sons.h.i.+p of Christ was fittingly made known by the testimony of the Father: because He alone with the Son and Holy Ghost is perfectly conscious of that perfect generation.
Reply Obj. 1: The words quoted are to be understood of G.o.d's eternal speaking, by which G.o.d the Father uttered the only-begotten and co-eternal Word. Nevertheless, it can be said that G.o.d uttered the same thing twice in a bodily voice, yet not for the same purpose, but in order to show the divers modes in which men can be partakers of the likeness of the eternal Sons.h.i.+p.
Reply Obj. 2: Just as in the Baptism, where the mystery of the first regeneration was proclaimed, the operation of the whole Trinity was made manifest, because the Son Incarnate was there, the Holy Ghost appeared under the form of a dove, and the Father made Himself known in the voice; so also in the transfiguration, which is the mystery of the second regeneration, the whole Trinity appears--the Father in the voice, the Son in the man, the Holy Ghost in the bright cloud; for just as in baptism He confers innocence, signified by the simplicity of the dove, so in the resurrection will He give His elect the clarity of glory and refreshment from all sorts of evil, which are signified by the bright cloud.
Reply Obj. 3: Christ came to give grace actually, and to promise glory by His words. Therefore it was fitting at the time of His transfiguration, and not at the time of His baptism, that men should be commanded to hear Him.
Reply Obj. 4: It was fitting that the disciples should be afraid and fall down on hearing the voice of the Father, to show that the glory which was then being revealed surpa.s.ses in excellence the sense and faculty of all mortal beings; according to Ex. 33:20: ”Man shall not see Me and live.” This is what Jerome says on Matt. 17:6: ”Such is human frailty that it cannot bear to gaze on such great glory.” But men are healed of this frailty by Christ when He brings them into glory. And this is signified by what He says to them: ”Arise, and fear not.”
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QUESTION 46
THE Pa.s.sION OF CHRIST (In Twelve Articles)
In proper sequence we have now to consider all that relates to Christ's leaving the world. In the first place, His Pa.s.sion; secondly, His death; thirdly, His burial; and, fourthly, His descent into h.e.l.l.
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