We continue with the patristic interpretation of Chapter 13, as the Holy Fathers proceed to reveal the spiritual mysteries contained within the parable of the wheat and the tares.
Blessed Jerome of Stridon says that the Lord dismissed the crowds precisely so that He might remain alone with the apostles: “Jesus dismissed the multitude and returned to the house so that His disciples might approach Him and learn in secret what the people neither deserved nor were able to hear.”
Venerable Anthony the Great speaks about the meaning hidden behind the words “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” He says that they signify both the severity of the torments and also the futile repentance of eternity, when the sinner no longer has any opportunity to change anything. These are his words: “What does weeping signify if not the severity of terrible torments? And gnashing of teeth signifies nothing other than belated repentance for sins committed. For only then shall we begin to reproach ourselves and, with gnashing of teeth, condemn ourselves, when there will no longer remain either time for repentance or hope of deliverance.”
Saint Gregory Palamas, in his interpretation, explains a very important spiritual law, namely that the purpose of our entire ascetical struggle is to become like God through the fulfillment of the commandments, insofar as this lies within our power: “Why did He not say concerning the righteous, ‘in the Kingdom of God,’ but rather ‘in the Kingdom of their Father’? It was in order to show that man must first become a son of God and worthy to call God Father, and only then may he justly become an heir of His Kingdom. In what way does a man become a son of God? By becoming like God through his deeds. Therefore the Lord also says, replying to the Jews who claimed to be children of Abraham: ‘If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham.’ And when they answered: ‘We have one Father—God,’ He said to them: ‘If God were your Father, you would love Me; for I proceeded forth and came from God… You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you wish to do’ (Jn. 8:39–44).” Thus we see that it is not “all good people,” as contemporary ideology often proclaims, who enter the Kingdom, but rather those who freely choose through their lives to become like the Lord—those for whom the Lord Jesus Christ is the measure and the ideal.
Before us now stands the parable of the pearl and the treasure hidden in the field:
“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
Saint Gregory the Dialogist explains yet another spiritual law, an important rule for our personal spiritual life: “Here it is important that the treasure, once found, is hidden for safekeeping. For the man who does not conceal from human praise his zealous striving towards heaven does not sufficiently guard it from evil spirits. For in this life we are as travellers journeying towards our homeland. And the evil demons are like robbers hiding along our road. Therefore, he who openly displays treasure while upon the road desires to be robbed. Yet I do not say this so that our neighbours should never see our good works, for it is written: ‘Let them see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven’ (Matt. 5:16); rather, I mean that we should not seek outward praise for what we do. Let the deed itself be visible, but let its intention remain hidden from men, so that we may provide an example to our neighbour not only through the good work itself, but also through the intention by which we seek to please God alone, which should always remain concealed. Thus the treasure signifies the heavenly desire, while the field in which the treasure is hidden is the teaching concerning heavenly aspiration.”
Saint Hilary of Poitiers draws attention to another detail that, personally, had escaped my notice all these years: “It should be said that the treasure was found and then hidden again, although the man who found it could have secretly carried it away instead of hiding it anew. And had he taken it away, there would have been no need to buy the field. Here both the object itself and the meaning of the saying must be explained. The treasure was hidden because the field had to be purchased. For by the treasure in the field, as we have said, we understand Christ in the flesh, who may be found freely. For the preaching of the Gospel is unrestricted, yet the possibility of making use of and possessing this treasure cannot be free of cost, because heavenly riches are not possessed without the expenditure of earthly things.” Thus we see that everyone may come to know Christ; nevertheless, sacrifice and ascetical struggle are required on our part if we are to remain with Christ—a conscious and active ecclesial life.
For this reason Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov also writes the following: “If we desire to acquire love for God, let us love the Gospel commandments; let us sell our passions and desires. At the price of self-denial let us purchase the field—our heart—which cannot truly be ours unless we buy it. Let us cultivate it through the commandments, and within it we shall discover the hidden heavenly treasure, that is, love.”
Blessed Jerome of Stridon writes that the pearl of great price is in fact the Lord Himself: “‘Which when a man had found, he hid’—this was not written in the sense that the man acted out of envy, but rather out of fear, wishing to preserve and guard lest he lose from his heart the One whom he had chosen above his former riches… The pearl of great price, however, is one alone: it is the knowledge of the Saviour, the sacred mystery of His Passion, and the mystery of His Resurrection. When the merchant—the man resembling the Apostle Paul—finds it, he begins to despise all the mysteries of the Old Testament law and the prophets, the former warnings and ordinances… as refuse and rubbish, in order that he may gain Christ (Phil. 3:8). Yet this does not mean that the acquisition of this pearl serves to diminish the worth of the former pearls, but rather that in comparison with the pearl of great price every other pearl is of far lesser value.” From these words we see that the essence and purpose of our life is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Not how much we have fasted, prayed, or read spiritual books, but God Himself—life with Him. We say this because it often happens that at some point we forget it; we forget that our ascetical struggle is a means, but not the ultimate goal.
Saint Gregory the Dialogist, in his interpretation of this passage of the Gospel, writes about something that we can still observe today—namely, that people who do not know God are sincerely astonished when they encounter monks, as well as truly ecclesial people living in the world. They marvel because they do not know what we know and what we experience through life with God. Here is how he writes concerning this matter: “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is likened to a merchant seeking beautiful pearls. And when he found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had. For the man who has perfectly come to know, insofar as this is possible, the sweetness of the heavenly life gladly abandons everything he once loved upon the earth. In comparison with this life, all else loses its value; a man leaves behind his possessions, expends all that he has gathered, his spirit is inflamed with heavenly things, nothing earthly delights him anymore, and all the things that once pleased him among earthly objects now repel him, for within his mind there shines only the radiance of the pearl of great price. Concerning the love of such a man it is truly written by Solomon: ‘Love is strong as death’ (Song of Songs 8:6), for just as death visibly deprives the body of life, so the love of eternal life slays the love for bodily things. Whomever this love fully possesses, it renders almost insensible to earthly and outward desires.” From these words it becomes clear to us that only when a man comes into contact with grace through life in the Church does he understand what he possesses; he realizes that all the things in which those who are without God rejoice cannot even be compared with the treasure found within the Church.
Saint Hilary of Poitiers also describes the character of the believing man who finds God in the following manner: “Here there is mention of a merchant who had long dwelt within the Law, who through long and laborious effort came to know the pearl and abandoned what he had attained under the burden of the Law. For he had traded for a long time and suddenly discovered the pearl he desired, whose value surpasses the worth of all his previous labour.” Venerable Isidore of Pelusium further adds that the pearl may also be understood as the people of the Lord who renounced pagan idols and sought after the Lord.
Blessed Theophylact brings the patristic interpretation to completion in the following way: “Many believe that the pearls signify the thoughts of various philosophers. Yet only one is truly precious, for there is only one Truth, and that is Christ. It is said that a pearl is formed within a shell whose ends are opened. When lightning enters the shell, it closes again, and thus from the light of the lightning and a drop of dew the pearl is conceived. Hence comes its brilliance. In the same manner Christ was conceived within the womb of the Virgin, from the heavenly lightning, the Holy Spirit. And just as a man who possesses pearls often turns over his treasure in his hands, knowing what great wealth he possesses while others do not know it, so too the preaching of Christ remains hidden among unnoticed and humble people. We must sell all that we have in order to acquire that pearl.”
Adapted for the contemporary reader based on the interpretations of the Holy Fathers by: Stanoje Stanković
