15. They have shut.) In saying that they shut their owne eyes, which S. Paul also repeateth Act. 28. he teacheth us the true understanding of al other places, where it might seeme by the bare words that God is the very author and worker of this induration, & blindnes, and of other sinnes: Iren. apud. Euseb. li. 5. c. 19.
Calv. l. 2. Instit. c. 4.God is not the authour of evil.* which was an old condemned blasphemie, & is now the Heresie of Calvin: whereas our Saviour here teacheth us, that they shut their owne eyes, and are the cause of their owne sinne and damnation, God not doing, but permitting it, and suffering them to fall further because of their former sinnes, as S. Paul declareth of the reprobate Gentiles. Ro. 1.
25. Oversowed.) First by Christ and his Apostles was planted the truth, and falshood came afterward, and was oversowed by the enemy the Divel, and not by Christ, who is not the authour of evil. Tertul, de præscript.
29. Lest perhaps.) The good must tolerate the evil, when it is so strong that it can not be redressed without danger and disturbance of the whole Church; and commit the matter to Gods judgement in the later day. Otherwise where il men (be they Heretikes or other malefactours) may be punished or suppressed without disturbance and hazard of the good, they may and ought by publike authority either Spiritual or temporal to be chastised or executed.
30. Suffer both to grow.) The good and bad (we see here) are mingled together in the Church. Good and evil in the Church.Which maketh against certaine Heretikes and Schismatikes, which severed themselves of old from the rest of the whole world, under pretence that themselves only were pure, and al others, both Priests and People sinners: and against some Heretikes of this time also, which say that evil men are not of, or in the Church.
32. The least of al seeds.) The Church of Christ had a smal beginning, but afterward became the most glorious and known Common-welth in earth: the greatest powers and the most wise of the world putting themselves into the same.
55. Carpenters Sonne.) Hereupon Julian the Apostata and his flatterer Libanius tooke their scoffe against our Saviour, saying (at his going against the Persians) to the Christians, what doth the Carpenters sonne now? and threatening that after his returne, the Carpenters Sonne should not be able to save them from his furie. Whereunto a godly man answered, by the Spirit of Prophecie, He whom Julian calleth the Carpenters Sonne, is making a wodden coffin for him against his death. And indeed not long after, there came newes, that in that bataile he died miserably. Sozo. li. 6 c. 2. Theodo. lib. 3 ch. 18. The very like scoffe use Heretikes that cal the body of Christ in the B. Sacrament, bakers bread. It seemeth indeed to the senses to be so, as Christ seemed to be Josephs natural Sonne, but faith telleth us the contrarie, as wel in the one, as in the other.
Chap. XIV.
AT that time Mar. 6, 12.
Lu. 9, 7. 3, 19.* Herod the Tetrarch heard the fame of Jesus: 2and said to his servants: This is John the Baptist: he is risen from the dead, & therefore vertues worke in him. 3For Herod apprehended John and bound him, & put him into prison ″ because of Herodias, his brother Philips.✝ brothers’ wife. 4For John said unto him: It is not lawful for thee to have her. 5And willing to put him to death, he feared the People: because they esteemed him as a Prophet. 6But on Herods birth-day, the daughter of Herodias danced before them: and pleased Herod. 7Whereupon he promised with
