Spiritual Kinship and the Gospel
Christ. According to Matthew 19:28-29, the apostles judge by virtue, reproving evil. And 'now' is the enjoyment of manyfold things according to fellowship, not according to possession; just as the Savior set forth all the things of the brothers for those fighting for the sake of the gospel—thus many houses, and brothers and sisters, and mothers and children, and farms—as an existence for those leaving their own, because love has filled all with kinship and all need.
And Luke also added concerning a woman; and this is according to Paul commanding to honor 'elders' as mothers, and 'younger women' as sisters in all purity. For just as he gives non-brothers as brothers, and non-parents as parents, and non-children as children, so also he gives a non-wife as a wife in another way, namely, manifesting kinship through fullness, not fleshly.
Therefore, to leave behind according to the flesh is a good thing because of the spiritual life, just as Moses said long ago concerning the tribe of Levi: 'He who says to father and mother, I have not seen you, and to his sons, he has kept your words and your covenant and has preserved them. They shall declare your judgments to Jacob and your law to Israel; they shall offer an incense in your anger for all time upon your altar' (Deuteronomy 33:6-8). For there, because of the divine zeal of the race, there is apostasy, and here it is the same; for he does not accept the separation as if God were a stranger, but as if it were not an opportunity to spend time on these things for the one about to be raised up in the ministry of the gospel.
So, therefore, not even the separation from wife and marriage is to be counted as something evil to be praised, but so that even this is not an obstacle to the minister; and the preference of spiritual things altogether shows that the fleshly things are not foreign, unlike the Manichaeans who invalidate the creation of God. And it is no difference to say 'for my sake' or 'for the sake of the gospel' as Mark, or 'for the sake of the kingdom of God' as Luke. For the very name of Christ is the power of the gospel and of the kingdom, and the gospel is hung upon the name of Christ, and the kingdom of God is granted through his name.
Greek
Χριστόν. 100 Mt 19, 28®29 Κρινοῦσιν οἱ ἀπόστολοι τῇ ἀρετῇ τὴν κακίαν ἐλέγχοντες. ἔστι δὲ «νῦν » ἡ τῶν πολλαπλασίων ἀπόλαυσις κατὰ τὴν κοινωνίαν, οὐ κατὰ τὴν κτῆσιν· ὥσπερ δὲ προτέθεικεν ὁ σωτὴρ τὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἅπαντα τοῖς ὑπὲρ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου στρατευομένοις οὕτως καὶ οἰκίας πολλὰς καὶ ἀδελφοὺς καὶ ἀδελφὰς καὶ μητέρας καὶ τέκνα καὶ ἀγροὺς ὕπαρξιν τοῖς τὰ ἴδια καταλείπουσιν, ὅτι ἡ ἀγάπη πᾶσαν ἐπλήρωσεν οἰκειότητα καὶ πᾶσαν χρείαν. προστέθεικεν δὲ ὁ Λουκᾶς καὶ περὶ γυναικός· τοῦτο δὲ κατὰ τὸν Παῦλον κελεύοντα τιμᾶν «πρεσβυτέρας » μὲν «ὡς μητέρας, νεωτέρας δὲ ὡς ἀδελφὰς ἐν πάσῃ ἁγνείᾳ ». ὥσπερ γὰρ ἀδελφοὺς δίδωσι τοὺς οὐκ ἀδελφοὺς καὶ γονεῖς τοὺς οὐ γονεῖς, τέκνα τὰ οὐ τέκνα, οὕτως καὶ γυναῖκα τὴν οὐ γυναῖκα ἑτέρῳ τρόπῳ δηλαδὴ τὰς οἰκειότητας ἐκ πληρῶν, οὐ σωματικῶς. ἀπολείπειν δὲ οὖν κατὰ σάρκα γένος ἀγαθόν ἐστι διὰ τὴν πνευματικὴν ζωήν, καθὰ καὶ πάλαι περὶ τῆς Λευὶ φυλῆς ἔλεγεν Μωυσῆς· «ὁ λέγων τῷ πατρὶ καὶ τῇ μητρὶ οὐχ ἑόρακά σε, καὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς αὐτοῦ, ἐφύλαξεν τὰ λόγιά σου καὶ τὴν διαθήκην σου δι ετήρησεν. δηλώσουσιν τὰ δικαιώματά σου τῷ Ἰακὼβ καὶ τὸν νόμον σου τῷ Ἰσραήλ· ἐπιθήσουσι θυμίαμα ἐν ὀργῇ σου διὰ παντὸς ἐπὶ τὸ θυσι αστήριόν σου »· ἐκεῖ τε γὰρ διὰ τὴν θείαν σπουδὴν τοῦ γένους ἀπόστασις καὶ ἐνταῦθα τὸ ἴσον· οὐδὲ γὰρ ὡς ἀλλοτρίων ὄντων θεοῦ τὸν χωρισμὸν ἀποδέχεται, ἀλλ' ὡς οὐ σχολὴν οὖσαν περὶ ταῦτα διατρίβειν τὸν ἀνακεῖσθαι μέλλοντα τῇ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου λειτουργίᾳ. οὕτως τοίνυν οὐδὲ τὸν ἀπὸ γυναικὸς καὶ γάμου χωρισμὸν ὡς ἀπό τινος πονηροῦ νομιστέον ἐπαινεῖσθαι, ἀλλ' ὥστε μηδὲ τοῦτο ἐμπόδιον εἶναι τῷ λειτουργῷ καὶ καθάπαξ ἡ τῶν πνευματικῶν προτίμησις οὐκ ἀλλότρια δείκνυσι τὰ σαρκικὰ ὡς ἐπιχειροῦσιν οἱ Μανιχαῖοι τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ κτίσιν ἀθετοῦντες. ἀδιάφορον δὲ τὸ λέγειν ἕνεκεν τοῦ ἐμοῦ ὀνόματος ἢ «ἕνεκεν τοῦ εὐαγγελίου » ὡς ὁ Μᾶρκος ἢ «ἕνεκεν τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ θεοῦ » ὡς ὁ Λουκᾶς. τό τε γὰρ ὄνομα τοῦ Χριστοῦ δύναμίς ἐστι τοῦ εὐαγγελίου καὶ τῆς βασιλείας, τό τε εὐαγγέλιον εἰς ὄνομα ἀνήρτηται τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ διὰ τοῦ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ χαρίζεται.
About this text
Apollinaris of Laodicea on Matthew (catena fragments).
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG (Khazarzar) (Greek)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.