Matthew 18:11–14

NU omits verse 11.

Verse 12. If a man have a hundred sheep. This is to shew the goodness and mercy of God towards sinners. By the one sheep, some understand all mankind, and by the ninety-nine, the angels in heaven. Witham.—Jesus Christ manifests his tender regard and solicitude for us poor weak creatures, by becoming himself the Son of man, thus abandoning in some measure the angels who are in heaven. He is come down upon earth to save by his death what was lost, imitating thus, with regard to men, the conduct themselves observe with regard to their sheep. V.—In the Greek, it is dubious whether the shepherd leaves the ninety-nine in the mountains, or, whether he himself goeth into the mountains in quest of the lost sheep.

Verse 14. Even so it is not. Here some may perhaps object, that since the Almighty does not wish any of his little ones to perish, he must consequently wish all to be saved, and therefore that all will be saved. Now this is not the case: the will of the Almighty is therefore sometimes frustrated in its effects, which is contrary to Scripture. To this objection, Saint John Damascene replies, that in God we must distinguish two distinct wills; the one antecedent, the other consequent. A person wills a thing antecedently, when he wills it merely as considered in itself. For instance, a prince wishes his subjects to live, in as much as they are all his subjects. But a person wills a thing consequently, when he will a thing in consideration of some particular circumstance. Thus, though the king wishes all his subject to live, he nevertheless wills that some should die, if they turn traitors, or disorganize the peace of society. In the same manner, the Almighty wishes none of his little ones to perish, in as much as they are all his creatures, made to his own image, and destined for the kingdom of glory; though it is equally certain that he wills the eternal punishment of many who have turned away from his service, and followed iniquity. If we observe this distinction, it is easy to see what our Saviour meant, when he said that it was not the will of his Father that any of these little ones should perish. Saint John Dam.