Thomas Aquinas, on Heb 13:20

“And may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great pastor of the sheep, our Lord Jesus Christ, in the blood of the everlasting testament,”

“Then (v. 20) the Apostle prays for them. First, he prays; secondly, he excuses himself by asking something of them (v. 22). In regard to the first he describes the One Whom he seeks, saying the God of peace. For God's proper effect is to make peace, because 'he is not a God of dissension but of peace' (1 Cor. 14:33) and 'have peace: and the God of peace and love shall be with you' (2 Cor. 13:11). For peace is nothing more than unity of affections, which God alone can make one, because hearts are united by charity, which is from God alone. For God knows how to gather and unite, because God is love, which is the bond of perfection. Hence, 'he makes men of one manner to dwell in a house' (Ps. 67:7). For man made peace between himself and God through the ministry of Christ. Hence, he says, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep. But sometimes Christ is said to have been raised up by the Father's power: 'If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus Christ from the dead' (Rom. 8:11); and sometimes He is said to have raised Himself: 'I have slept and taken my rest: and I have risen up' (Ps. 3:6). But these statements are not contrary, because He rose by God's power, which is one in the Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Therefore, he brought him again from the dead, i.e., from the tomb, which is the place of the dead: 'As Christ rose from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also shall walk in the newness of life' (Rom. 6:4). But Christ is called the great shepherd of the sheep, i.e., of the faithful and the humble: 'I am the good shepherd, and I know mine, and mine know me' (Jn. 10:14); for the sheep are they who obey God: 'And my sheep hear my voice' (Jn. 10:27). But he calls him the great shepherd, because all others are His vicars, for He feeds His own sheep, but the others feed Christ's sheep: 'Feed my sheep' (Jn. 21:17); 'When the prince of pastors shall appear, you shall receive a never fading crown of glory' (1 Pt 5:4). He brought Him out by the blood of the eternal covenant, i.e., in virtue of the blood of Christ by Whom is confirmed the New Covenant, in which eternal things are promised, but not in the Old. For Christ calls His blood the blood of the New Covenant; but the Apostle says, of the everlasting covenant. Therefore, both are mentioned in the words of the consecration of the Blood. But Christ by His passion merited the glory of His resurrection for Himself and for us; hence, he says, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus... by the blood of the eternal covenant: 'He humbled himself, being made obedient unto death' (Phil 2:8); 'By the blood of your testament you have sent forth your prisoners out of the pit, wherein is no water' (Zech 9:11).”

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.