Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament

³ Peradventure some of you may say, “And how can a bad man speak what is good, when it is written, in the words of the Lord Himself, 'A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil things. You hypocrites, how can you being evil speak good things?'” In the one place He says, “How can you being evil speak good things?” in the other He says, “What they say, do, but do ye not after their works.

For they say, and do not.” If “they say and do not,” they are evil; if they are evil, they cannot “speak good things;” how then are we to do what we hear from them, when we cannot hear from them what is good? Now take heed, Holy and Beloved, how this question may be solved. Whatever an evil man brings forth from himself, is evil; whatever an evil man brings forth out of his own heart, is evil; for there is the evil treasure. But whatever a good man brings forth out of his heart, is good; for there is the good treasure.

Whence then did those evil men bring forth good things? “Because they sat in Moses' seat.” Had He not first said, “They sit in Moses' seat;” He would never have enjoined that evil men should be heard. For what they brought forth out of the evil treasure of their own heart, was one thing; another what they gave utterance to out of the seat of Moses, the criers so to say of the judge. What the crier says, will never be attributed to him if he speak in the presence of the judge.

What the crier says in his own house is one thing, what the crier says as hearing it from the judge is another. For whether he will or no, the crier must proclaim the sentence of punishment even of his own friend. And so whether he will or no, must he proclaim the sentence of the acquittal even of his own enemy. Suppose him to speak from his heart; he acquits his friend, and punishes his enemy. Suppose him to speak from the judge's chair; he punishes his friend, and acquits his enemy.

So with the Scribes; suppose them to speak out of their own heart; you will hear, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die.” Suppose them to speak from Moses' seat; you will hear, “You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness. Honour your father and mother; you shall love your neighbour as yourself.” Do then this which the official seat proclaims by the mouth of the Scribes; not that which their heart utters.

For so embracing both judgments of the Lord, you will not be obedient in the one, and guilty of disobedience in the other; but wilt understand that both agree together, and wilt regard both that as true, “that a good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things;” and that other also, that those Scribes did not speak good things out of the evil treasure of their heart, but that they were able to speak good things out of the treasure of Moses' seat.