Chapter LXIII.—Of the Little Children on Whom He Laid His Hands; Of the Rich Man
to Whom He Said, “Sell All that Thou Hast;” Of the Vineyard in Which the Labourers Were
Hired at Different Hours; And of the Question as to the Absence of Any Discrepancy Between
Matthew and the Other Two Evangelists on These Subjects.
123. Matthew proceeds thus: “Then were there brought unto Him little children, that
He should put His hands on them, and pray; and the disciples rebuked them;” and so on,
down to where we read, “For many are called, but few are chosen.”1116 Mark has followed
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the same order here as Matthew.1117 But Matthew is the only one who introduces the section
relating to the labourers who were hired for the vineyard. Luke, on the other hand, first
mentions what He said to those who were asking each other who should be the greatest,
and next subjoins at once the passage concerning the man whom they had seen casting out
devils, although he did not follow Him; then he parts company with the other two at the
point where he tells us how He stedfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem;1118 and after the
interposition of a number of subjects,1119 he joins them again in giving the story of the rich
man, to whom the word is addressed, “Sell all that thou hast,”1120 which individual’s case
is related here by the other two evangelists, but still in the succession which is followed by
all the narratives alike. For in the passage referred to in Luke, that writer does not fail to
bring in the story of the little children, just as the other two do immediately before the
mention of the rich man. With regard, then, to the accounts which are given us of this rich
person, who asks what good thing he should do in order to obtain eternal life, there may
appear to be some discrepancy between them, because the words were, according to Matthew,
“Why askest thou me about the good?” while according to the others they were, “Why callest
thou me good?” The sentence, “Why askest thou me about the good?” may then be referred
more particularly to what was expressed by the man when he put the question, “What good
thing shall I do?” For there we have both the name “good” applied to Christ, and the question
put. 1121 But the address “Good Master” does not of itself convey the question. Accordingly,
the best method of disposing of it is to understand both these sentences to have been uttered,
“Why callest thou me good?” and, “Why askest thou me about the good?”
1116 Matt. xix. 13-xx. 16.
1117 Mark x. 13–31.
1118 Luke ix. 46–51.
1119 [Compare note on § 120.—R.]
1120 Luke xviii. 18–30.
1121 The Latin version is followed here. In Matt. xix. 17, where the English version gives, “Why callest thou
me good?” the Vulgate has, Quid me interrogas de bono? [The Revised Version text agrees with the Vulgate (in
Matthew), following the most ancient Greek mss. But the same authorities read “Master” instead of “good
Master,” differing from the Vulgate. Augustin accepts the latter reading.—R.]
Of the Little Children on Whom He Laid His Hands; Of the Rich Man to Whom He Said, ‘Sell All that Thou Hast;’ Of the Vineyard in Which the Labourers Were Hired at Different Hours; And of the Question as to the Absence of Any Discrepancy Between Matthew and the Other Two Evangelists on These Subjects.
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Of the Little Children on Whom He Laid His Hands; Of the Rich Man to Whom…