Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew
Ninety homilies expounding the First Gospel — literal exegesis, moral application, social critique
Tradition: Antiochene Christianity / Literal-historical exegesis
The Golden Mouth on the First Gospel — every passage a moral demand, every parable a call to share wealth and serve the poor
The ninety Homilies on Matthew are the most complete patristic commentary on any Gospel and the fullest expression of Chrysostom's Antiochene exegetical method. Each homily typically has two parts: a careful literal-historical exposition of the text (attending to grammar, context, audience, and historical setting), followed by an extended moral application that brings the text to bear on the daily life of Chrysostom's congregation. The moral sections are often fiery: Chrysostom attacks greed, luxury, the exploitation of the poor, the neglect of slaves, the vanity of the theatre, and the indifference of the comfortable. The collection became the standard Eastern commentary on Matthew for over a millennium.
Author
Editions cited
- Homilies on the Gospel of Saint Matthew (NPNF, 1st series, Vol. 10, 1888)
- Jean Chrysostome: Homélies sur Matthieu (Sources Chrétiennes, multiple volumes)
- The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. Matthew (Library of Fathers, Oxford, 1843–51)
School Embodiments
These homilies are the definitive patristic commentary on Matthew and shaped Eastern Christian preaching and exegesis for a millennium.
"This is the rule of the most perfect Christianity: to seek what is for the benefit of all." (Homily 25)
Chrysostom's Matthean homilies are read in Orthodox monasteries and form the backdrop to the Divine Liturgy attributed to him.
"The Church is not a place of gold and silver; it is an assembly of angels." (Homily 50, on the parable of the talents)
Chrysostom's insistence that wealth must be shared and that Christ is present in the poor anticipates liberation theology by sixteen centuries.
"Not to share our own wealth with the poor is theft from the poor and deprivation of their means of life." (Homily 49, on the rich and Lazarus)
The Antiochene method on display here — literal, grammatical, historical exegesis before moral application — is the ancestor of all later literal-historical biblical interpretation.
"Attend carefully to the text; do not simply pass over it." (Homily 1, methodological preface)
Chrysostom's Matthean commentary has been continuously read in the Catholic catena tradition and in Thomistic exegesis.
"What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" (Homily 56, on Matthew 16:26)
Internal Tensions
Chrysostom's anti-Jewish polemics — scattered through the Matthean homilies — are in tension with his commitment to literal-historical exegesis, which should in principle lead to understanding the text's Jewish context. His moral demands on the wealthy are absolute and uncompromising, raising questions about economic realism.
I. Time
Chrysostom reads Matthew as a first-century historical narrative: the events are concrete, dated, situated in time and place. The eschatological horizon — the Last Judgment — gives time its moral urgency.
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II. Space
The spatial world is concrete and urban: Antioch, Constantinople, the marketplace, the homes of the rich and poor. Matthew's Palestine is read with historical specificity.
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III. Matter
Material wealth is the central moral problem of the homilies: how is it used? Matter is good (bread, wine, alms are the media of charity and worship) but becomes evil when hoarded.
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IV. Observer
The observer is an embodied moral agent in community — above all, a listener in church. Chrysostom addresses his congregation directly, assuming that hearing Scripture should lead to action. Agency is both: human freedom is genuine, grace is necessary.
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V. Energy
Not treated technically. The moral energy of the homilies is directed at practical charity: "Give your bread to the hungry" is the homiletic equivalent of an energy-transfer principle.
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VI. Information
Scripture is the definitive informational deposit; Chrysostom's entire career is its preservation and proclamation. The homilies are themselves an act of informational conservation: making the text accessible to a fourth-century congregation.
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How Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew resolves each dilemma
48 resolved positions across 4 dimensions, including 3 distinctive where the majority of schools go the other way · 9 unaligned.
Each dimension is sorted so minority positions come first. Mainstream positions are folded into an expandable list.
Time · 9 dilemmas · 3 distinctive
Persistence, the future, and the direction of becoming.