Mateus 9
Chromatius of Aquileia · Comentário Patrístico (catena)
Mateus 9:1
On seeing him, the Gerasenes entreated the Lord to depart from their district. Such people are also to be found among us. Out of faithlessness they compel the Lord and Savior of the world to depart from the district of their hearts. According to Scripture, "The Holy Spirit will not enter a perverse soul or dwell in a body enslaved to sin." — TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 43.7.3
Mateus 9:9
The Lord, about to give salvation to all sinners believing in him, willingly chose Matthew the former publican. The gift of his esteem for Matthew stands as an example for our salvation. Every sinner must be chosen by God and can receive the grace of eternal salvation if one is not without a religious mind and a devout heart. So Matthew was chosen willingly by God. And though he is immersed in worldly affairs, because of his sincere religious devotion he is judged worthy to be called forth by the Lord ("Follow me"), who by virtue of his divine nature knows the hidden recesses of the heart. From what follows, we know that Matthew was accepted by the Lord not by reason of his status but of his faith and devotion. As soon as the Lord says to him, "Follow me," he does not linger or delay, but thereupon "he arose and followed him." — TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 45.1
Mateus 9:11
According to the allegorical or mystical account, Matthew's house is his mind, which Christ entered through Matthew's faith in his grace. He is viewed as having truly "sat at table" there, for this same Matthew deserved to be the writer of this Gospel. Describing the Lord's deeds and power, he presented a heavenly feast not only to the Lord and his disciples but also to all believers who, coming as publicans and sinners to the knowledge of Christ, deserved being included in so great a feast. In effect, Matthew's house can be viewed as a church comprising publicans and sinners. He presents to all the leaders there the feast of his faith and preaching, with the Lord and his disciples seated at table. — TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 45.5
Mateus 9:25-26
In the flute players and bustling onlookers who laughed to scorn the Lord who said, "The girl is asleep, not dead," we see an example of the synagogue rulers and the onlookers of Jewish people who, when they heard that the hope of eternal life had been promised by the Son of God to the Gentiles, held up to ridicule and contempt this great grace of the Lord. Not unjustly did the Lord order them to be sent outside. He showed that incredulous and unbelieving people of this kind are to be excluded from the promise of eternal life or from God's kingdom by him who is the Author of life and the Lord of the heavenly kingdom. — TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 47.7
Mateus 9:25-26
In the synagogue ruler we perceive a figure of the prophets or apostles, especially Peter, by whom the calling of the Gentiles was first heard; that is, the girl represented all those holy people who pleased God, not through the works of the law but through the righteousness of faith.…Moreover, for us to understand that the entire mystery of our salvation is prefigured in this girl; after she was raised from the dead, as Luke reports, the Lord directs her to eat something. Evidently the order of our faith and salvation is here shown. For when each believer among us is freed in baptism from perpetual death and comes back to life upon acceptance of the gift of the Holy Spirit, it is necessary that the person also be directed to eat that heavenly bread about which the Lord says, "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." — TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 47.6-7.24
Mateus 9:27
According to one allegorical interpretation, these two blind men symbolize the two kingdoms into which the Jews were divided (after Solomon's death, between Rehoboam and Jeroboam). According to another interpretation, we might consider the people of the Jews and the people of the Gentiles as being prefigured in these two blind men. But this would not be appropriate. For would it be possible for the people of the Gentiles, before being enlightened, to declare Christ to be the Son of David, for they had not heard of the law or the prophets? For that reason, more properly it is understood concerning these two blind men that they did know from the law and the prophets that Christ is the Son of David. Both were blind, therefore, through their own unfaithfulness, for they were not yet able to see the true light, the only Son of God who was foretold in the law and the prophets. Bereft of the light of faith and covered by the veil of the law, they were being held in the gloom of blindness, according to the blessed apostle who says, "To this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their minds; but when one turns to the Lord the veil is removed." And again: "For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away." Therefore sight was restored to these blind men as soon as they expressed their faith in the Son of God. This shows that whoever from these two peoples should believe that the Son of God came to save humankind would receive knowledge of the true light as soon as the blindness of error is removed. — TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 48.2