THEOSISJerome of Stridon
It is my belief that the subsequent thoughts are influenced by what has been previously expressed. We have noted that the apathy and negligence of spiritual leaders lead to the decline of the church, causing its structure to crumble and its sanctity to leak. He continues to address these same leaders, and it appears that he is pointing out their failures: they remain silent instead of fulfilling their roles as teachers, as bishops and elders in the church. They neglect their duty to labor in the Word and doctrine, a task entrusted to Titus and Timothy, who are urged not to overlook the grace they have received through the laying on of hands.
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In this responsibility, they are meant to act with healing intent and aspire to the highest respect that should be accorded to those who labor in teaching (1 Tim. 4:14). Yet, on the contrary, he reproaches those who, while speaking in the church and instructing the congregation, promote that which merely pleases the ears of the listeners. This kind of teaching fosters sin and incites the loud enthusiasm of the audience. When you hear soothing words in the church that promise happiness and the kingdom of heaven to everyone, doesn’t it seem to you that those who indulge in such messages consume their daily bread joyfully, perhaps even adding wine to their merriment? This raises the question of whether those who teach are seeking wealth, bread, and material goods through their flattering assurances, or if they partake in the spiritual sustenance of the church—the bread of those who mourn, not those who rejoice (for blessed are those who weep, for they shall laugh, Luke 6:21)—with a sense of delight and festivity.
Furthermore, the term ‘money’ or “all obey silver” can be understood in two contexts: either the teachers themselves, having grown affluent through their appealing messages, dominate the congregation; or, viewed through the lens of Scripture, where silver symbolizes the pure words of the Lord, indicating that empty rhetoric is easily received by an uninformed audience (Psalm 11:7). If we consider those who possess the bridegroom, who are thus precluded from mourning and fasting, they dine merrily; from such gaiety, Isaac was named, and they prepare wine for the jubilant. Therefore, every holy individual who fulfills the role of a church teacher in accordance with Christ's commandments experiences joy and laughter in their spiritual endeavors, and prepares vessels of wine in celebration. The ‘silver’ to which all are subject encompasses the five, two, and one talents given to the steward of the Gospel, along with the ten minas entrusted to the servants for their use (Matthew 25).