Thomas Aquinas

Above the Apostle set out examples of the holy fathers of old, who did many great things because of faith; here he sets out examples of those who suffered many things because of faith. And concerning this he does two things. First he shows how they suffered because of faith; second he shows how the promises made to them were delayed, and why, at and all these, by testimony. Concerning the first he does two things, for first he sets out the evils inflicted upon them by others; second, the evils undertaken by their own will, at they went about in melotes. Now the evils inflicted upon them by others were of two kinds, for some were in life, but some were in death. And he sets out these two, at they were stoned. But in life the evils were inflicted upon them in three ways: some as to bodily affliction, some as to mockery, some as to confinement.

As to the first he says but others, etc., as if to say: it has thus been said that certain ones received many good things because of faith, either in the removal of evil, or in the accomplishing of temporal good, in which the Old Testament is figured, which conferred temporal goods. But others suffered many things because of faith, of whom some were stretched upon the rack, as is said in 1 Maccabees 2:1, and 2 Maccabees 6:10 concerning the boys hung at the necks of their mothers, and 7:1 concerning the seven brothers. In these saints the New Testament was first figured. Hence he says not accepting redemption, that is, deliverance. For he who is subjected to punishment is in a certain way a slave of the punishment. And therefore to be freed from punishment is called redemption. Psalm 77:42: on the day when he redeemed them from the hand of him that troubled them. But why they were not freed, he shows: namely, that this was not because God did not have providence over them, but so that they might find eternal life, which is better than deliverance from any present punishment, or any resurrection to the present life; and therefore he says that they might find a better resurrection. Job 19:25: on the last day I shall rise from the earth. Isaiah 26:19: your dead shall live, my slain shall rise again. Or he says better, because from this very fact, that they suffered greater things for Christ, they will receive a greater reward. For as it is said in 1 Corinthians 15:41: star differs from star in brightness, so shall be the resurrection of the dead. For those who were greater in merit will be greater in reward. And therefore the apostles are preferred to the martyrs, and the martyrs to all others. For those greater in merit are greater in reward. But the merits of the martyrs are foremost. John 15:13: greater love than this no one has, etc. Yet not every martyr is greater than every confessor, but some martyr can be greater than some confessor; and conversely, some confessor greater than some martyr, though not universally. For one can be compared to another either as to the kind of work, or as to the degree of charity. But no act, considered in itself, is as meritorious as that by which someone dies for Christ, because he gives that which he holds most dear, namely his own life. Matthew 5:10: blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice's sake. But if the root of all merit is considered, which is charity, 1 Corinthians 13:2, then a work proceeding from greater charity is more meritorious. And thus a simple confessor can be of greater merit before God. But the Apostle speaks with respect to the kind of work, saying that they might find a better, that is, a greater and more glorious, resurrection. Hence the word better imports a comparison of the state of the present life to the future resurrection, or a comparison of the glory of the resurrection of one who rises again to the glory of another.

Then when he says others mockeries, he sets out the evils inflicted upon them in life as to the mockery done in words, saying that others experienced mockeries, as is clear concerning Samson, Tobit and Job, and Isaiah. Isaiah 50:6: I have not turned away my face from them that rebuked me, and spat upon me. Jeremiah also says, 20:8: the word of the Lord is made to me a reproach and a derision. But as to deeds, he says that they experienced blows, as is clear concerning Micaiah, of whom it is said in 3 Kings, last chapter, that Zedekiah struck him on the cheek. In all these things the sufferings of the New Testament were foreshown. 1 Corinthians 4:9: we are made a spectacle to the world, and to angels, and to men. Then when he says moreover, chains too, he sets out the evils inflicted upon the saints as to confinement. Hence he says moreover, chains too, as with Jeremiah, of whom it is said in Jeremiah 20:2 that he was put in the stocks. Not only chains, but also prisons, as in Jeremiah 37:14 and 38:6, and Micaiah, 3 Kings, last chapter.

Consequently he shows the evils inflicted as to death when he says they were stoned. Which kind of death was then common among all the Jews. Matthew 23:37: Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets, and stone those who are sent to you. Thus Naboth was stoned, 3 Kings 21:13, and Jeremiah, of whom it is read that the Jews stoned him in Egypt with stones which he had hidden under the brick wall of the house of Pharaoh himself. And although Epiphanius says that he was dragged, nevertheless it is commonly held that he was stoned. Zechariah also, the son of Jehoiada, was stoned, as is read in 2 Paralipomenon 24:21. The second kind of death, unusual and cruel, he sets out when he says they were cut asunder. He says this because of Isaiah, whom Manasseh had cut asunder with a wooden saw. And he speaks in the plural, although there was only one, according to the custom of Scripture, for the reason stated above. The third kind, when he says they were tempted, namely, to consent. He says this because of Mattathias and his sons, 1 Maccabees 2:15, and because of Eleazar, 2 Maccabees 6:43, and because of the story of the seven brothers, 2 Maccabees 7. And at last they killed them: Lamentations 4:9: it was better for them that were slain by the sword than for them that died by hunger. But especially Uriah was killed by David, 2 Kings 11:15, and Josiah, 4 Kings 23:29.

Then when he says they went about in melotes, he sets out the evils voluntarily undertaken. And these are reduced to three: to outward dress, to the condition of the person, at destitute, and to the place of dwelling, at in deserts. As to dress, then, he says they went about in melotes, and in the skins of goats. A melote is a garment made from the hair of camels, as some say; or better, that the badger has a shaggy hide, from which a garment is made, which is called a melote. The skin of a goat, besides being shaggy, is also cheap. And these things are said of Elijah, 4 Kings 1:8, that he was a hairy man, and girt about the loins with a leather belt. And concerning such garments Augustine says, in the book On the Sermon of the Lord, that there can be an evil intention in such a garment, if someone uses it for vainglory, but a good one, if for contempt of the world and the mortification of the flesh. But especially those who profess the state of penance ought to show the signs of their profession. And therefore it is lawful for them to use such garments, though not for display, and thus the prophets used them. But as to the condition of the person he says destitute, because they lacked riches, in which they prefigured the state of perfection of the New Testament, of which it is said, Matthew 19:21: if you wish to be perfect, go and sell all that you possess. And this was especially so of Elijah, who was fed by ravens, and by a widow woman. 3 Kings 17:6. Psalm 87:16: I am poor and in labors. The same, 69:6: I am needy and poor. Likewise in distress, as is clear of Elijah, who fled from the face of Jezebel, and of David, who fled from the face of Absalom. Likewise afflicted with bodily labor, as with Elijah, who, weary, slept under a juniper tree, 3 Kings 19:4. And he adds, of whom the world was not worthy. As Dionysius says in his letter to John the Evangelist, the wicked sometimes, through the things they do, show signs of their own damnation; hence he says that by the fact that the wicked separated the blessed John from themselves, God showed that they were unworthy of his company. And therefore the Apostle says that the world was not worthy of them, as if to say: because worldly men were not worthy of the company of the just. John 15:19: I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Then when he says in deserts, he shows this as to place, because they did not have their own dwelling, but wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens, and in caves of the earth, which are places suited to contemplation and penance. Now that is called a den which is made by art, but a cave, which is from nature or from some accident, as from the erosion of waters. These things are clear concerning David, 1 Kings 22:1 and 23:14 ff., and concerning Elijah, 3 Kings 19:9.

Then when he says and all these, he shows that the promises were delayed for them. And lest it be thought that this was because of a defect of merit, therefore, secondly, he assigns the reason for that delay, at God for us. He says, therefore, that all these, by the testimony of faith, were found approved, that is, through faith they have testimony that they are approved, that is, approved by God, 2 Corinthians 10:18: for it is not he who commends himself that is approved, but he whom God commends. Wisdom 3:6: as gold in the furnace he has proved them. And yet they did not receive the promise, namely of glory, or the promised life, until Christ. Psalm 88:39: you have put off Christ. For they received temporal things, but not spiritual ones. Above, in the same place: they died not having received the promises.

Then when he says God for us, he shows the reason for the delay, from which some have taken a cause, or occasion of error, who say that no one will enter Paradise until the last consummation, which will be through the final resurrection. But this is against the Apostle, 2 Corinthians 5:1: we know that if our earthly house of this habitation be dissolved, that we have a building from God, a house not made by hands, but eternal in the heavens. This consummation, then, of which the Apostle speaks, can be referred to the essential reward, namely to beatitude, which is had through Christ, Micah 2:13: he has gone up opening the way before them — a beatitude which the saints of the Old Testament did not have. Or it can be referred to the robe of the body, which will not be given universally until after the universal resurrection, although perhaps some already have it by special privilege. They are not, therefore, consummated without us, but are perfected with a twofold robe, so that, as the Glossa says, in the common joy of all, the joy of each may become greater. Hence in this God has provided for us. And therefore he says God foreseeing something better for us. Psalm 132:1: behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity. For a man rejoices more when many rejoice with him. The Glossa: if these kept the faith, who waited so long, much more should we keep it, who receive it at once. Luke 23:43: today you shall be with me in Paradise.