The Great Commentary of Cornelius a Lapide: S. Luke
Chapter 8
Ver. 1. — And the twelve (apostles) were with Him , i.e. they accompanied Jesus as He went through the cities and villages preaching.
Ver. 2. — And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils . These women followed Christ (1.) out of gratitude, because He had healed their diseases, and cast out the devils which possessed them. (2.) For safety, lest if they were away from their physician, their former ills might again overtake them. (3.) From pious motives, that from His companionship and preaching they might advance in holiness.
Mary . In Hebrew, Mary signifies a “ bitter sea ” of repentance. Bede.
Called Magdalene. As we have before explained, from the castle or fort near Bethsaida and Capernaum. S. Augustin infers that she was a married woman (Horn. 33), and therefore calls her not a harlot but an adulteress. But according to S. Jerome, the author of the commentary on S. Mark calls her a widow, which is much the same thing ; so also Jansenius, Luke and others. That she was an inhabitant of Judaea, and like Lazarus and Martha lived at Bethany, is clear from S. John xii. 1. Adricomius, in his description of the Holy Land, tells us that the Magdalene’s home was situated on the shore of the sea of Galilee, and towards the north-east looks out on an extensive plain, and that it was called Magdala from the battlements and towers, wherewith it was fortified. Hence Jerome asserts that she was rightly called Magdalene, that is to say, “ turreted ” because of her zeal and love. Josephus makes mention of this castle, and tells us that Agrippa fruitlessly sent an expedition against it.
In the Hebrew then Magdalene signifies (1.) turreted, or tower-bearing , from the root migdol, a tower; for she was tall of stature, and of a yet loftier mind. “Thy neck is like the tower of David,” Cant iv. 4. (2.) Or “ magnificent ” (Origen), or “ magnified,” according to Pagninus, because, says Origen, she followed Jesus, ministered unto Him, and beheld the mystery of His Passion. For the root gadal, means, “ to be great and magnificent,” and the Magdalene was greatly exalted by Christ. (3.) Pagninus says that Magdalene means, “remarkable for the standard,” “bearing or raising the standard,” from the root deghol, which, when the letters ghimel and daleth are transposed, signifies a standard. For the Magdalene raised the standard of penitence and love, and of the contemplative life. Like as we read, “ His banner over me was love,” Cant ii. 4. (4). Or otherwise, as the same writer remarks, the name means, “ brought up, nourished,” i.e. led by the teaching of Christ to a holy and a virtuous life. For the Hebrew gadal means the same thing as to nourish and bring up.
Out of whom went seven devils , i.e. seven capital sins, pride, avarice, gluttony, luxury, anger, envy, and careless living. Bede, Theophylact and S. Gregory. For in a literal sense we are to understand that she had been possessed by devils or evil spirits, as I have before said, and that they had gone out of her, or (S. Mark xvi. 9) been cast out. So teach S. Ambrose, Euthymius, Jansenius, and others.
We may conclude, therefore, that the Magdalene, because of her wickedness and sins, had been possessed by seven devils, and that with other demoniacs she had been made whole by Christ ; that on her repentance she had obtained pardon and forgiveness, and, no longer under the power of Satan, but filled with the spirit of God, she devoted her whole after life to the service of Christ. John of Rochester and others.
Seven devils , either seven in actual number, or “seven” in the sense of many, or all ; for, as I have often pointed out, “ seven ” is the sign of multitude or totality.
Ver. 3. — And Joanna, the wife of Chuza , Herod’s steward (manager or treasurer, according to the Arabic version) and Susanna , and many others which ministered unto Him of their substance. For they were rich, and grateful to their deliverer, and therefore sought to further His preaching, and to spread the faith.
So SS. Plautilla, Priscilla, and many other rich and noble matrons ministered unto SS. Peter, Paul, Clement, and other Roman Pontiffs, and other orders of the clergy.
And Susanna, an illustrious woman who, healed by Christ, had become His disciple. Her name in the Hebrew signifies “a lily.” On account of the sweet radiance of a heavenly life (Interlinear Gloss), and the golden fervour of her inward affection. Bede.
Ver. 15. — Which in an honest and good heart , having heard the word, keep it. The Council of Basle observes that for the right hearing of the word of God there is required,
1. A place fitted to receive it, i.e. an honest and good heart
2. A proper disposition, to “ keep ” the word when heard ; and
3. That best return, fruit brought forth with patience.
A heart is honest and good, says Lyranus, because of the faith which illumines it, and good (optimum) in a higher sense because of grace working in it ; or, as others hold, it is “ bonum ” because disciplined and exercised in virtue, and “ optimum” because of inward peace and consolation. Again, it is “ bonum ” because purified from sin, and “ optimum” because conformed to the will of God (Albertus Magnus) ; or “ bonum ” in discerning the truth, and “ optimum ” in its desire of that which is right (Bonaventura) ; or, according to S. Augustin on Ps. vii., “ bonum ” on account of the love it bears its neighbour and itself, “ optimum ” on account of its exceeding love for God.
Hence we may take the Greek, καλῇ καὶ ἀγαθῇ, to mean the same as the Vulgate “bono et optimo,” for the copula καὶ, or “ et,” signifies gradation and increase. They, therefore, who keep the word of God in an honest and good heart bring forth fruit in proportion : good fruit if the heart is good, better if the heart is better, and the best fruit if the heart is perfect, i.e. thirty fold, sixty fold, or one hundred fold. S. Matt. xiii. 8. And it does not follow of necessity , as Toletus holds, that these words apply to different persons, for the heart of a believer may grow in grace, until at last it is “ optimum,” perfect in sight of God.
With patience, ἐν ὑπομονῇ, i.e. in the endurance of labour, disappointment , and sorrow in the plowing, seeding, and harrowing of the soul, and in the long expectation of harvest.
Ver. 26. — And they arrived at (sailed over to) the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee .
Gadarenes . Gergesenes (S. Matt.), or as it is written in some MSS., Gerasenes. Some think that one and the same place is here signified, but Adricomius shows that Gadara, and Gerasa or Gergesa were two distinct cities, but that the surrounding country was named indifferently after either.
The Vulgate translates “ the country of the Gerasenes,” because this was the best known name.
Ver. 27. — And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and wore no clothes , neither abode in any house , but in the tombs.
“A man.” S. Matt. says there were two. But as this one was the fiercer, and possessed by a legion, S. Luke and S. Mark mention him alone.