January 18 – Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

OVERVIEW: The fortieth psalm follows the thirty-ninth as an answer to a prayer (ARNOBIUS THE YOUNGER). David functions as a type (THEODORET) of the new people in Christ (PSEUDO-ATHANASIUS). The pit is evil, and the rock is Christ (EVAGRIUS, CASSIODORUS). He is the One who has come to save us (AMBROSE). We sing the song of those renewed (EVAGRIUS), a song of God’s favor (THEODORET), not to manipulate God but to praise him (AUGUSTINE). Righteousness is granted by him as a gift of grace to the one who believes (AUGUSTINE, CASSIODORUS). Great are the wonders of divine providence (THEODORET). Christ offered himself as a voluntary sacrifice (HILARY OF POITIERS). He came in fulfillment of Old Testament types (CASSIODORUS). The book prophesying Christ refers to the Psalms (ARNOBIUS THE YOUNGER) or the law and the prophets (PSEUDO-ATHANASIUS), which is the entire Scripture (DIDYMUS). Our sacrifice is prefigured in him. He is the true sacrifice (THEODORET), offered according to his own will and the Father’s (JEROME) for our sake (AMBROSE). The message of grace (CHRYSOSTOM) has been declared, and the church throughout the world responds in worship (THEODORET). We must maintain a true and bold witness in the world (AUGUSTINE) of righteousness imputed by grace (AMBROSE). The great congregation includes those who have believed from Israel, past and present (PSEUDO-ATHANASIUS). In Christ, mercy and truth meet (CASSIODORUS), and we are guided by love and fear (AUGUSTINE). We are not yet perfect (THEODORET). We have nothing of our own (AUGUSTINE) but are totally dependant on Christ (JOHN CASSIAN). We are totally in his care (AUGUSTINE).

Superscription: A Psalm of David

AN ANSWER TO PRAYER. ARNOBIUS THE YOUNGER: The speaker in the previous psalm said, “What is my expectation? Is it not the Lord?” Now, in this psalm, he says, Patiently, I awaited the Lord and he attended to me. He who said, “Hear my prayer,” now says, “He heard my prayer.” What have you prayed? I prayed that you may lead my thinking from the pit of misery and mud of desire, which is called clay, and set my feet on the rock so that I not be moved beyond by blowing winds, that is, from unclean spirits giving aid. He directs my steps; then he will give my mouth a new song. He sings not reckoning himself, or to Pharaoh, for there is no deliverance without God, but he sings a hymn to God, in whom we will have strength, and he himself will reduce our enemies to nothing. _{COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 40}

DAVID, A TYPE. THEODORET OF CYR: Some people applied this psalm to blessed Jeremiah, others to the remarkable Daniel, since the one and the other were thrown into a pit and the psalm’s opening mentions a pit; they were led to that interpretation by attending to the one verse. Some, [by contrast], claimed the psalm fits the situation of the captives dwelling in Babylon. For my part, however, I believe it was written to address the events affecting David as a type and refers to the whole human race, who receive the hope of resurrection from our God and Savior. Now, it is the divinely inspirited Paul who guides us to this understanding, quoting individual verses in the epistle to the Hebrews. _{COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 40.1}

A NEW PEOPLE. PSEUDO-ATHANASIUS: He sings this psalm in the person of the new people, who waited for the Lord and were lifted up from the deep pit of sin, which like mud fouls those who are held in it. And he raised their feet onto a rock—Christ—and put into their mouth a new hymn—of the gospel of God who worked many miracles without number. He inclined to me and heard my cry. _{EXPOSITION ON PSALMS 40}

THE PIT AND THE ROCK. EVAGRIUS OF PONTUS: The pit of misery is evil and ignorance. . . . The rock is faith in Christ. “And he directs my steps” by actions and true teachings. _{NOTES ON THE PSALMS 39[40].3}

OUR SPIRITUAL ROCK. CASSIODORUS: Just as the mud of a lake stinks and is heavy, so also the sins of people are like mud, causing people to shudder because of their smell and causing them to drown because of their weight. When we walk in the commandments of the Lord Christ, he sets our feet upon the Rock. _{EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 40.3}

CHRIST, THE SAVIOR. AMBROSE: Christ has heard the prayer of his own servants and has brought us out from the pit of misery and from the mire of dregs. We were drowning there; our whole flesh was clinging to the mire, trapped in the whirlpool of our sins. Our soul was powerless to save itself; fallen and ruined as it was by the multiplicity and dreadfulness of our offenses. Thanks be to the Lord Jesus, God’s only Son, who came down from heaven to forgive us our sins. He came to save us from the pit and slime of this world, from the mud and mire of this earth, from this body doomed to death. In his own flesh he has restored our soul and steadied our tottering footsteps. Strengthened by God’s Word and absolved through the cross of our Lord’s body, we walk no longer in the shame and disfigurement of vice but in the forgiveness of sin. Rooted and built in Christ, David declares that the Lord has set his feet on a rock. As the apostle says, “They drank of the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.” May that rock, which follows those who thirst, confirm the weak and unsteady; may that water never be lacking to those who long for it; and may that firm foundation never be wanting to those in danger of falling. _{COMMENTARY ON TWELVE PSALMS 40.2}

RIGHTEOUS BY FAITH. AUGUSTINE: Who are these righteous people? Believers, clearly, because it is the one who lives by faith who is just. _{EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 40.6}

THE ETERNAL SAVIOR. CASSIODORUS: Among other things, the Lord’s name is eternal Savior. The one who puts his trust in the Lord’s name is the one who believes that he must be saved by the Lord’s grace rather than by his own merits. _{EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 40.5}

FULFILLMENT OF THE TYPE. CASSIODORUS: This verse embraces the mysteries of the Old and New Testaments, for it says that at a later time God no longer accepted the sacrifices and offerings which were earlier being performed to honor him through the sacrifice of cattle which fed the priests. It is certainly true that he considered it fitting to accept these kinds of offerings, since there seemed to be a certain prefiguration of the body of Christ through them. But once the Messiah himself, the Lord Christ, who had been foretold, arrived and offered himself for us all as the compassionate Victim, it was unnecessary that such a preliminary figure as the Old Testament sacrifices still endure, now that the truth had reached fulfillment. . . .The body which was previously promised through the images of the sacrifices . . . was now fulfilled by his coming. _{Explanation of the Psalms 40.7}

IN THE PSALMS. ARNOBIUS THE YOUNGER: That is, it is written about me in the beginning of the Psalter: “Blessed is the man,” so I may do your will. _{COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 40}

THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS. PSEUDO-ATHANASIUS: Here the psalmist introduces the person of Christ, who says, By the will of the Father he came and completed the things that are written concerning him in the law and the prophets. And he declared his righteousness in a great church, which is in all peoples and is more excellent than that of the law. _{EXPOSITION ON PSALMS 40}

ALL SCRIPTURE. DIDYMUS THE BLIND: He calls the “roll of the book” every divinely inspired Scripture, both the legal and the prophetic. In these Scriptures things are written concerning the memory of the Savior among us. The psalmist calls it a roll because everything is summed up into one. _{FRAGMENTS ON THE PSALMS 40.8}

OUR SACRIFICE PREFIGURED IN CHRIST. THEODORET OF CYR: The apostolic exhortation sings a similar note to this, “I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, the worship according to reason.” In place of the rites of the Law, the Lord required us to consecrate our limbs. Now, seeing your grace, he says, I offered myself to you in the words “Here I am.” This statement, of course, blessed Paul applies to Christ the Lord, and rightly so: he is our nature’s first fruits, and it is fitting for him in the first place to speak for us and in himself to prefigure in type what is appropriate in our case. _{COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 40.5}

CHRIST’S WILL AND THE FATHER’S. JEROME: Let the Jews perceive that they have not prevailed against me, but that it is your will that I suffer. Besides, I desired to suffer; that is why I say in my human nature: “To do your will, O my God, is my delight.” It was your will and mine that I suffer; not their plottings and power did it, but you and I desired it. You, in truth, struck your Shepherd, and the sheep have been scattered. . . . That I suffer was your will and mine also. What you desired, I also desired. _{HOMILY ON PSALM 108[109]}

FOR OUR SAKE. AMBROSE: Because there is one will, there is one substance, there is inseparable majesty and the power of the Trinity. But there is another voice, that of the flesh; and yet, it too consents to God’s will. . . . Christ accepted death and crucifixion so as to crucify the flesh. For my sake he took on himself the combat, so that he might conquer me. Though Christ’s flesh was strong and not liable to sin, he nevertheless took on my sins. He took on my weaknesses and infirmities, though he himself was without infirmity. . . . He who is all pure took on our flesh to make it all pure. He, the immortal one, took on our flesh to make us immortal. _{COMMENTARY ON TWELVE PSALMS 40.1819}

THE MESSAGE OF GRACE. CHRYSOSTOM: What does he mean when he says, “I have declared your justice”? He did not simply say, “I have given,” but “I have declared.” What does this mean? That he has justified our race not by right actions, not by toils, not by barter and exchange but by grace alone. Paul, too, made this clear when he said, “But now the justice of God has been made manifest independently of the Law.” But the justice of God comes through faith in Jesus Christ and not through any labor and suffering. _{DISCOURSES AGAINST JUDAIZING CHRISTIANS 7.3.2}

THE CHURCH’S RESPONSE. THEODORET OF CYR: Blessed David promises to preach God’s righteousness, the truth of inspired composition, the admirable salvation and immeasurable mercy in a great assembly gathered by divine grace throughout the whole world. And redeemed nature itself promises to give this response to its salvation by flocking to church, moving its lips in hymn singing, proclaiming God’s righteous judgment, recounting his ineffable care and giving a glimpse of the truth of the inspired promises. _{COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 40.7}

A BOLD AND TRUE WITNESS. AUGUSTINE: This is said to warn us that we must not out of fear restrain our lips from proclaiming what we have believed. There are Christians who live among ill-disposed pagans, among people who are sophisticated in an unwholesome way, squalid, unfaithful people without good sense, mockers. These Christians nonetheless have faith in their hearts, but once they begin to find themselves hounded for being Christians they are afraid to confess with their lips the faith they have in their hearts, and they restrain their lips from giving expression to what they know, what they have within. The Lord rebukes them: “If anyone is embarrassed about me in the presence of men and women, I will be embarrassed about that person in my Father’s presence”; that is to say, “I will not recognize anyone who has been ashamed of confessing me before other people; I will not confess that person before my Father.” The lips must proclaim what is in the heart: this is an injunction against fear. But the heart must have in it what the lips say: this is an injunction against insincerity. Sometimes you are afraid and dare not say what you know to be true, what you believe; but at other times you are tempted to be insincere and say something that is not in your heart. Your lips and your heart must be in agreement. If you seek peace from God, be reconciled with yourself; let there be no harmful conflict between your mouth and your heart. _{EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 40.16}

IMPUTED JUSTICE. AMBROSE: A person can speak of his own justice without arrogance, . . . if he has faith in God and believes that on account of his faith he will be reckoned as just . . . It was for this reason that Christ came, to establish faith and to grant us forgiveness of sin. _{COMMENTARY ON TWELVE PSALMS 40.25}

ISRAEL INCLUDED. PSEUDO-ATHANASIUS: [At this point in the psalm] he introduces the persons of those who believed from Israel; for he confesses to God that he did not remove his mercy from it but then and now saved and supported them. _{EXPOSITION ON PSALMS 40.3}

OVERVIEW: The letter is addressed not only to those who are already cleansed from their sins (AMBROSIASTER) but also to those still looking toward the fuller reception of sanctifying grace (ORIGEN). Its instruction is not limited to the Corinthians but is applicable to all Christians everywhere (CHRYSOSTOM). Grace comes from the Father through the Son (AMBROSIASTER, THEODORET OF CYR). Paul first establishes his apostolic authority (AMBROSIASTER), as distinguished from those whose presumed calling is explained by human motives (THEODORET OF CYR). To be called as an apostle by the will of God is to have all pride disarmed, since it comes wholly on God’s initiative (CHRYSOSTOM). Paul identifies his companion Sosthenes as a brother who had suffered persecution in Corinth along with Paul (THEODORET OF CYR, PELAGIUS)

AN APOSTLE. AMBROSIASTER: Paul begins this epistle differently, because his subject matter is different. He writes that he is an apostle by the will of God, alluding to those false apostles who had not been sent by Christ and whose teaching was not true. There were many sects which had emerged and which preached Christ according to their own whims. They broke up churches, and some of their driedup branches are still with us today. For this reason, Paul sets out everything which is opposed to the heresies and asserts that he is a true preacher because he has been sent by Christ, according to God’s will. _{COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES}

CALLED BY GOD’S WILL. CHRYSOSTOM: From the very beginning Paul casts down the Corinthians’ pride, in that he speaks of himself as “called.” “For what I have learned,” says Paul, “I did not discover myself, but it was while I was persecuting the church that I was called. It was God who willed that you too should be saved in this way.” We have done nothing good by ourselves, but by God’s will we have been saved. We were called because it seemed good to him, not because we were worthy. _{HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 1.1}

OUR BROTHER. PELAGIUS: By calling Sosthenes his brother, Paul is both demonstrating his own humility and pointing out that Sosthenes is a fellow worker in the gospel. _{COMMENTARY ON THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 1}

NOT CALLED BY MAN. THEODORET OF CYR: Paul is saying in effect: “You Corinthians have been called by men, but I have been called by God.” I think that Sosthenes was a Corinthian. He is mentioned in Acts [18:17], where Luke says that in the time of Gallio the Greeks arrested him and beat him. _{COMMENTARY ON THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 165}

1:2a To the Church at Corinth

SANCTIFIED IN CHRIST. ORIGEN: Why did Paul write “to those called to be saints” as well as to those who are already “sanctified” and in the church? Surely this means that the letter is addressed not only to those who are already cleansed from their sins but also to those who still await cleansing, though they are among those whom God has called. _{COMMENTARY ON 1 CORINTHIANS 1.1.7}

1:2b Those Called to Be Saints

THE CHURCH AS A WHOLE. AMBROSIASTER: Paul writes to the church as a whole, because at that time leaders had not yet been appointed for individual churches. He censures them for many things, but in spite of that he still says that they have been sanctified. However, they later began to behave badly, so that although the whole church was sanctified in Christ, some members of it had been deflected from the truth by the wicked teaching of the false apostles. The Corinthians were called to be saints, which means that they could not deviate from the narrow path of sanctification. Paul linked them, as Gentiles, with the true Jews, because salvation is of the Jews, so that wherever there are Gentiles who call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and wherever there are true Jews, both are united in him. But the false apostles, who preached the name of Christ in accordance with the wisdom of this world, criticized the law and the prophets. Like Marcion and Mani, they maintained that Christ was not really crucified but that it merely appeared that he had been. Neither did they believe in the resurrection of the body. _{COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES}

THE LETTER WRITTEN TO THE SAINTS. PELAGIUS: Paul is writing to those who have preserved their sanctity, not to those who have lost it. The former he honors with his letter; the latter he admonishes with his authority. _{COMMENTARY ON THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 1}

1:2c All Who Call on the Lord Jesus Christ

THE ONE ASSEMBLY ALL OVER THE WORLD. CHRYSOSTOM: The church ought to be united because it belongs to God. It does not exist only in Corinth, but all over the world, and it is one, for the church’s name (ekklēsia) means “assembly.” It is not a name of separation, but a name of unity and concord. _{HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 1.1}

TO HEAL DIVISIONS. THEODORET OF CYR: Everything Paul mentions here is meant to be a remedy for the disease of schism. They are meant to heal division and display the church’s unity. _{COMMENTARY ON THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 165}

GRACE FROM THE FATHER. AMBROSIASTER: Paul teaches that Christ should be invoked in prayer but all grace comes from the Father. The two are one in their divinity, but primacy belongs to the authority of the Father. _{COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES}

GRACE AND PEACE. CHRYSOSTOM: If our peace comes from God’s grace, why are you so proud, since you are saved by grace? How can anyone find grace with God, except through humility? _{HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 1.3}

FATHER AND SON ARE ONE. THEODORET OF CYR: Paul says that Christ is their benefactor as well as the Father, demonstrating that the two are one. _{COMMENTARY ON THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 166}

Overview: John the Evangelist spends more time on this portion of the Gospel narrative than does any other Evangelist. This second appearance of Jesus to John the Baptist is recorded by the Evangelist in order to establish that Jesus was not baptized because of his own sin but to take away the sin of the world (Chrysostom). Now that the Lamb, the spotless sacrifice whose way John was preparing, had arrived, John’s work was finished (Cyril of Alexandria). The lamb, as opposed to a ram, sheep or any other kind of animal spoken of in the Old Testament sacrificial system, was an animal in its prime that was offered in the perpetual holocausts offered on behalf of the people (Origen). It was the lamb spoken of in Isaiah (Eusebius) who slays the lion of sin and death (Bede). It brings to mind the ram caught in the thicket of thorns that was sacrificed in place of Isaac, complete with a crown of thorns (Augustine). He is the paschal lamb prefigured in the leading of his people out of the bondage of Egypt through the shedding of his own blood (Melito), also prefigured in Abel’s acceptable sacrifice of the first lamb in Genesis (Ambrose) and the lamb that takes the place of the scapegoat (Romanus). We see, then, how the Evangelist moves swiftly from the sublime and divinely exalted prologue to the humility of the suffering lamb who defeats sin with the gift of immortality (Theodore). John introduces the bride to the bridegroom as Christ is betrothed to his church through John’s baptism in keeping with the custom of the Old Testament concerning betrothals (Ephrem). The crowds came primarily to be baptized by John but in the process also hear his preaching about the one greater than he (Chrysostom). Indeed, John’s baptism did not endure past his own ministry, and Jesus’ submission to it was a servant’s example for fellow servants. John’s testimony speaks of the descent of the Spirit onto Jesus as a dove, although we should not think that Christ lacked the Spirit when it descended on him, since he had already received it in the womb (Augustine). It resided differently in Christ than in the disciples (Gregory the Great). Theodore believes that only John was granted this vision, just as the prophets of old, but that no one else saw the descent of the Spirit (Theodore). Perhaps others also saw the Spirit’s descent, however, although they did not understand it or believe what they saw, as was also often the case with Jesus’ miracles. The purpose of the Spirit’s descent was to make Christ known (Chrysostom). The Holy Spirit appears as a dove because, just as a dove moans, so the Spirit groans in our hearts and causes us to groan as we seek its help under the burden of sin. Using the imagery of the ark, the dove symbolizes the peace and unity that the Spirit brings to the church, as opposed to the ravens who tear the church apart. We should not spiritualize or make the Spirit’s appearance only symbolic, since the Spirit’s appearance here, enfleshed in the body of a dove, was as real as our Lord’s incarnation (Augustine). John the Baptist testifies that he did not know Jesus, which is supported by the fact that he was isolated in the wilderness and could not have collaborated with Jesus. In the wilderness, John had a prophetic vision of what later came to fruition in the descent of the Spirit on Jesus (Theodore). John must have known Jesus somewhat, however, since he recognizes Jesus before he baptizes him, even though the unbelieving Jews did not (Chrysostom). He gains a fuller understanding, once the dove rests upon Jesus, that authority to baptize would rest in Christ alone. While the text does not explicitly say who sent John, ultimately both the Father and the Son sent him (Augustine). The one who sent him told him that the Spirit would remain on the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit, which had departed from humankind at the fall, is now restored through Christ in whose perfect nature the Spirit can abide (Cyril of Alexandria) as it descends on the true Noah, the author of the second birth (Cyril of Jerusalem). John testifies that this is no adopted son (Cyril of Alexandria) who will baptize with the Holy Spirit, but rather the Son of God himself (Augustine).

The Complementary Narratives of John and Matthew. Chrysostom: The Evangelists distributed the periods among themselves. Matthew, having cut short his notice of the time before John the Baptist was bound, hurries to that which follows, while the Evangelist John not only does not cut short this period but dwells on it the most. Matthew, after the return of Jesus from the wilderness, says nothing about the intervening period as John does. He says nothing about what the Jews send and said. He skips over all of this and passes immediately to John’s imprisonment. “For,” he says, “Jesus having heard” that John was betrayed, “withdrew from there.” But John does not [say this]. He is silent about the journey into the wilderness described by Matthew. Instead, he relates what followed the descent from the mountain, and after having gone through many circumstances, he then adds, “For John was not yet cast into prison.” _{Homilies on the Gospel of John 17.1}

The Second Appearance Dispels Any Misunderstanding. Chrysostom: Why does Jesus come to him now? Why does he come not merely once, but this second time also? Matthew says that his coming was necessary because of baptism since Jesus adds that he did this “to fulfill all righteousness.” But John says that he came again after his baptism when he says, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it rested upon him.” Why then did he come to John, since he did not come casually but went expressly to him? . . . Since John had baptized him with many [others], he came so that no one might think that he had hurried to John for the same reason as the rest, that is, to confess his sins and wash in the river for repentance. He comes, in other words, to give John an opportunity of setting this opinion right again. For by saying, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,” he removes the whole suspicion. For it is obvious that one pure enough to be able to wash away the sins of others does not come to confess sins but to give an opportunity to that marvelous herald to impress what he had said more definitely on those who had heard his former words. _{Homilies on the Gospel of John 17.1}

John’s Preparatory Task. Cyril of Alexandria: No longer does John need to “prepare the way,” since the one for whom the preparation was being made is right there before his eyes. . . . But now he who of old was dimly pictured, the very Lamb, the spotless Sacrifice, is led to the slaughter for all, that he might drive away the sin of the world, that he might overturn the destroyer of the earth, that dying for all he might annihilate death, that he might undo the curse that is upon us. . . . For one Lamb died for all, saving the whole flock on earth to God the Father, one for all, that he might subject all to God. _{Commentary on the Gospel of John 2.1}

Why a Lamb? Origen: There are five animals that are offered on the altar, three being land animals and two winged. It seems worthwhile to me to ask why the Savior is said to be a “lamb” by John and none of the rest. But also, in the case of the land animals, since three types of animal are offered according to each species, why did he name the lamb from the species of sheep? Now these are the five animals: a young bull, a sheep, a goat, a turtledove, a pigeon. And the three types of sheep are a ram, the ewe and the lamb. . . . It is the lamb, however, that we find offered in the perpetual sacrifices . . . What other perpetual sacrifice can be spiritual to a spiritual being than the Word in his prime, the Word symbolically called “lamb”? . . . But if we examine the declaration about Jesus, who is pointed out by John in the words “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,” from the standpoint of the plan of salvation when the Son of God bodily lived among the human race, we will assume that the lamb is none other than his humanity. For he “was led as a sheep to the slaughter and was dumb as a lamb before its shearer,” saying, “I was an innocent lamb being led to be sacrificed.” This is why in the Apocalypse, too, a little lamb is seen “standing as though slain.” This lamb, indeed, which was slain according to certain secret reasons, has become the expiation of the whole world. According to the Father’s love for humanity, he also submitted to slaughter on behalf of the world, purchasing us with his own blood from him who bought us when we had sold ourselves into sin. He, however, who led this lamb to the sacrifice was God in man, the great high priest, who reveals this through the saying, “No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again.” _{Commentary on the Gospel of John 6.26465, 268, 270, 27375}

Setting the Seal on the Predictions. Eusebius of Caesarea: The sacrifice was the Christ of God, foretold in ancient times as coming to human beings, to be sacrificed like a sheep for the whole human race. As Isaiah the prophet says of him: “As a sheep he was led to slaughter, and as a lamb before her shearers he did not open his mouth.” And he adds, “He bears our sins and is pained for us; yet we accounted him to be in trouble, and in suffering, and our sins, and he was made sick on account of our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. . . . And the Lord has given him up for our iniquities. . . . For he himself did not sin, nor was guile found in his mouth.” Jeremiah, another Hebrew prophet, speaks similarly in the person of Christ: “I was led as a lamb to the slaughter.” John the Baptist sets the seal on their predictions at the appearance of our Savior. For beholding him, and pointing him out to those present as the one foretold by the prophets, he cried, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” _{Proof of the Gospels 1.10.1517}

The Lamb Slays the Lion. Bede: [Jesus] gave his blood as the price for our salvation, and by undergoing death for a time he condemned the sovereignty of death forever. The Lamb that was innocent was killed. But by a wonderful and longedfor display [of his power] he efficaciously weakened the strength of the lion that had killed him. The Lamb that took away the sins of the world brought to naught the lion that had brought sins into the world. It was the Lamb that restored us by the offering of his flesh and blood, so that we would not perish. _{Homilies on the Gospels 2.7}

Christ Both Lamb and Ram. Augustine: It was Christ that was represented by a ram, Christ by a lamb, Christ by a calf, Christ by a goat—everything was Christ. He was represented by the ram because it leads the flock. It was found in the thorns when our father Abraham was ordered to spare his son but not to depart without offering any sacrifice. Isaac was Christ, and the ram was Christ. Isaac carried the wood for sacrificing himself; Christ was burdened with his own cross. The ram was substituted for Isaac; but not of course Christ for Christ. But Christ was in both Isaac and the ram. The ram was caught by its horns in the thorn bush; ask the Jews what they crowned the Lord with that time. He is the lamb: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.” _{Sermon 19.3}

The Paschal Lamb Who Leads Israel Out of Bondage. Melito of Sardis: The Scripture of the exodus of the Hebrews has been read, and the words of the mystery have been declared; how the sheep was sacrificed, and how the people was saved, and how Pharaoh was flogged by the mystery. Therefore, wellbeloved, understand, how the mystery of the Pascha is both new and old, eternal and provisional, perishable and imperishable, mortal and immortal. . . . The sheep is perishable, but the Lord, not broken as a lamb but raised up as God, is imperishable. For though led to the slaughter like a sheep, he was no sheep. Though speechless as a lamb, neither yet was he a lamb. For there was once a type, but now the reality has appeared. For instead of the lamb there was a son, and instead of the sheep a man; in the man was Christ encompassing all things. . . . For he was born a son, and led as a lamb, and slaughtered as a sheep, and buried as a man, and rose from the dead as God, being God by his nature and a man. He is all things. . . . He is son, in that he is begotten. He is sheep, in that he suffers. He is human, in that he is buried. He is God, in that he is raised up. This is Jesus the Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. _{On Pascha 12, 410}

Abel’s Sacrifice Prefigures Christ’s. Ambrose: Abel knew how to divide when he offered a sacrifice from “the firstlings of his flock,” teaching that the gifts of the earth, which had degenerated in the sinner, will not please God. But those in which the grace of the divine mystery shone forth will please him. And so he prophesied that we were to be redeemed from fault through the passion of the Lord, of whom it is written: “Here is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Thus, too, he made an offering from the firstlings, that he might signify the firstborn. Therefore, he shows that God’s true sacrifice would be us, of whom the prophet says, “Bring to the Lord the offspring of rams.” And worthily is he confirmed by the judgment of God. _{On the Sacrament of the Incarnation of Our Lord 1.4}

The Lamb Replaces the Scapegoat. Romanus Melodus: Now the garment of mourning is rent; we have put on the white robe Which the spirit has woven for us from the lamb’s fleece of our Lamb and our God; Sin is taken away, and immortality is given us, our restoration is clear. The Forerunner has proclaimed it. . . . O, the message of the Baptist, and the mystery in it! He calls the shepherd lamb, and not only a lamb, but one to free from mistakes. He showed the lawless that the goat which they sent into the desert was ineffective. “Lo,” he said, “the lamb; there is no longer need of the goat; Put your hands on Him, All of you who confess your sins, For He has come to take them away, those of the people, and of the whole world. For lo, the One whom the Father has sent to us is the One who carries away evil, Who appeared and illumined all things.” _{Kontakion on the Epiphany 6.1213}

John Moves from Divine Prologue to Suffering Lamb. Theodore of Mopsuestia: As appears from the narrative of the Evangelist, John the Baptist said his previous words as if the Lord had come already and walked among crowds who still ignored him. Now, since he is coming to be baptized, he is described with the words “this is the Lamb of God.” Let us consider how Scripture likes to place words in the appropriate context of facts. By saying in this passage, “This is the one who takes away the sin of the world,” he did not say “the only begotten Son,” or the “Son of God” or “the one who is close to the father’s bosom,” which appear in what he said above. Although now it would have seemed right to express the greatness of his nature, in order to confirm the promise of the things he was going to give. But this is not what he said. Instead, he called him “lamb,” and with this name he signifies his passion. In fact, he was called lamb and sheep to signify his death when he washed away sin. Since the sin reigned in our mortality, and death was gaining strength in us because of sin, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior came and remitted all these things to us. And after destroying death through his death, he also destroyed the sin rooted in our nature because of mortality. Through his promise he made us immortal, and he will render us so in reality when he defeats sin with the gift of immortality. _{Commentary on John 1.1.29}

Betrothal Through Baptism. Ephrem the Syrian: Eliezar sought Rebekah as a bride at a well of water. Jacob sought Rachel at a well of water, as Moses did so with Zipporah. Thus, all of these were types of the Lord, who sought his church as a bride by the baptism at the Jordan River. And just as Eliezar made Rebekah known to his master when he came to meet her in the field, so also John made our Savior known at the Jordan: “See, the Lamb of God, for he takes away the sin of the world.” _{Commentary on Tatian’s Diatessaron 3.17}

Why Jesus Was Baptized. Chrysostom: Jesus then did not need baptism, nor did that washing have any other object than to prepare for all others a way to faith in Christ. For [the Baptist] did not say, “that I might cleanse those who are baptized” or “that I might deliver them from their sins” but “that he should be made known to Israel.” And why, tell me, could he not have preached without baptism and still brought the multitudes to him? But this would not have made it any easier. For they would not have all run together like they did, if the preaching had been without baptism. They would not by the comparison have learned his superiority. The multitude came together not to hear his words, but for what? They came to be “baptized, confessing their sins.” But when they came, they were taught the matters pertaining to Christ and the difference of his baptism. Yet even this baptism of John was of greater dignity than the Jewish one, and therefore all ran to it; yet even so it was imperfect. _{Homilies on the Gospel of John 17.2}

John’s Baptism Did Not Endure. Augustine: John received the ministry of baptism so that by the water of repentance he might prepare the way for the Lord, not being himself the Lord. But where the Lord was known, it was superfluous to prepare for him the way, for to those who knew him he himself became the way. Therefore the baptism of John did not last long, but [it lasted long enough] to show our Lord’s humility. . . . And did the Lord need to be baptized? I instantly reply to any one who asks this question: Was it needful for the Lord to be born? Was it needful for the Lord to be crucified? Was it needful for the Lord to die? Was it needful for the Lord to be buried? If he undertook for us so great a humiliation, might he not also receive baptism? . . . When the Lord was baptized with the baptism of John, the baptism of John ceased. John was then cast into prison. Afterwards we do not find that anyone is baptized with that baptism. . . . But if John had baptized the Lord alone, some would have thought that the baptism of John was more holy than that of Christ, as if Christ alone had been found worthy to be baptized with the baptism of John, but the human race with that of Christ. . . . And thus the baptism of the servant would appear greater than the baptism of the Lord. Others were also baptized with the baptism of John, [however,] so that the baptism of John might not appear better than the baptism of Christ. But the Lord also was baptized so that, through the Lord receiving the baptism of the servant, other servants might not disdain to receive the baptism of the Lord. This then is why John was sent. _{Tractates on the Gospel of John 4.1214}

Not the First Time Christ Received the Spirit. Augustine: Christ was certainly not then anointed with the Holy Spirit when the Spirit as a dove descended upon him at his baptism. For here he condescends to prefigure his body, that is, his church, in which preeminently the baptized receive the Holy Spirit. . . . For it would be most absurd to believe that he received the Holy Spirit when he was near thirty years of age. For that was the age at which he was baptized by John. But although he came to baptism without any sin at all, he did not come without the Holy Spirit. For it was written of his servant and forerunner John himself, “He shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.” If [John], though generated by his father, still received the Holy Spirit when formed in the womb, what must be understood and believed of the man Christ whose flesh had not a carnal but spiritual conception? _{On the Trinity 15.26.46}

Spirit Remains in Christ Differently than in Disciples. Gregory the Great: It is written in the Gospel that the one on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining on, this is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. For the Spirit descends on all the faithful. But he only remains on the mediator—and does so in a special way. For he has never left the Son’s human nature even as he proceeds from his divine nature. . . . But when the voice of truth tells the disciples that this same Spirit, “will dwell with you and shall be in you,” how is this abiding of the Spirit declared by the voice of God supposed to be a peculiar sign of the mediator? . . . This will appear if we distinguish between the different gifts of the Spirit. There are some gifts which are necessary for attaining life and there are others through which holiness of life becomes evident for the good of others. Gentleness, humility, faith, hope and charity are all gifts that come from the Spirit and are gifts a person needs in order to attain life. . . . In the case of these gifts . . . the Holy Spirit always remains. . . . But with respect to those which have for their object, not our own salvation, but that of others, he does not always abide. . . . Instead, sometimes he withdraws and ceases to exhibit them so that people should be more humble in the possession of his gifts. . . . But the Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, always had all the gifts of the Spirit without interruption. _{Morals on the Book of Job 2.56.9092}

John Has a Prophetic Vision. Theodore of Mopsuestia: Here it is evident that the Spirit descending like a dove on the baptized Lord was not seen by all those present, but by John only in a sort of spiritual vision. Similarly, the prophets amid many people were used to seeing those things that were invisible to all the others. It would have been useless to say that John testified and said, “I saw the Spirit,” if all those present had been participants in that vision as well. _{Commentary on John 1.1.32}

Why Didn’t the Appearance of the Spirit Curb Their Unbelief? Chrysostom: The Father sent forth his voice proclaiming the Son, the Holy Spirit came upon him as well, focusing the voice upon the head of Christ . . . in order that no one present might think that what was said of Christ was said of John. . . . But some one might ask: How was it that the Jews did not believe, if they saw the Spirit? Such sights, however, require the mental vision rather than the bodily. If those who saw Christ working miracles were so drunk with malice that they denied what their own eyes had seen, how could the appearance of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove overcome their unbelief? Some say, however, that the sight was not visible to all, but only to John and those more disposed toward devotion. But even if the descent of the Spirit, as a dove, was visible to the outward eye, it does not follow that because all saw it, all understood it. _{Homilies on the Gospel of John 17.3}

Christ Did Not Lack the Holy Spirit. Chrysostom: To prevent any, however, from thinking that Christ really lacked the Holy Spirit in the way that we do, [the Baptist] corrects this notion also by informing us that the descent of the Holy Spirit took place only for the purpose of making Christ known. _{Homilies on the Gospel of John 17.2}

The Holy Spirit Enfleshed as a Dove. Augustine: We do not attribute only to Christ the possession of a real body and say that the Holy Spirit assumed a false appearance to people’s eyes. For the Holy Spirit could no more, in consistency with his nature, deceive people than could the Son of God. The almighty God, who made every creature out of nothing, could as easily form a real body of a dove, without the instrumentality of other doves, as he made a real body in the womb of the Virgin without the seed of the male. _{Christian Combat 22.24}

The Spirit Moans in Us like a Dove. Augustine: Because we love you in Christ, love us in return in Christ; and let our love for one another [voice its] moaning to God, for moaning is itself a characteristic of the dove. If, then, moaning is characteristic of a dove, as we all know, but doves moan in love, hear what the apostle says, and do not wonder that the Holy Spirit wished to be shown in the form of a dove. He says, “For we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with unspeakable groanings.” Well now, my brothers, are we to say that the Spirit groans when he has perfect and eternal happiness with the Father and the Son? For the Holy Spirit is God, as the Son of God is God and the Father God. . . . Therefore the Holy Spirit does not moan in himself with himself in that Trinity, in that beatitude, in that eternity of his substance; but he moans in us because he makes us moan. . . . One who knows that he lives in the midst of affliction in this mortal life and that he is exiled from the Lord,. . . moans well. It is the Spirit that has taught him to moan. He learned it from the dove. _{Tractates on the Gospel of John 6.1.223}

The Spirit of Peace in the Church. Augustine: The Holy Spirit was made to appear visibly in two ways: as a dove, on our Lord at his baptism, and as a flame upon his disciples when they were gathered together. . . . The former shape denoted simplicity, the latter fervency. . . . The dove intimates that those who are sanctified by the Spirit should have no guile; the fire indicates that in that simplicity there should not be coldness. Nor let it disturb you that the tongues are divided, for tongues are diverse; therefore the appearance was that of cloven tongues. . . . Do not fear division; recognize unity in the dove. . . . It was appropriate then that the Holy Spirit should be manifested in this way descending on our Lord so that every one who had the Spirit might know that he ought to be simple as a dove and be in sincere peace with his brothers and sisters. The kisses of doves represent this peace. . . . Ravens kiss, but they also tear; but the nature of doves is innocent of tearing. . . . Ravens feed on the dead, but the dove eats nothing but the fruits of the earth. Its food is innocent. . . . That is why on this occasion the most holy Trinity appeared, the Father in the voice that said, “You are my beloved Son” and the Holy Spirit in the likeness of the dove. In that Trinity . . . the apostles were sent [to baptize], that is, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. . . . What then could more appropriately represent the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of unity, than the dove? As he said himself to his reconciled church, “My dove is one.” What could better express humility than the simplicity and moaning of a dove? _{Tractates on the Gospel of John 6.35, 10}

Why John Lived in the Wilderness. Theodore of Mopsuestia: He revealed why he lived in the wilderness. This certainly happened through a special providence of God, in order that he might not have any relationship with the Messiah. And John certainly would have had such a relationship if he had lived in town, since they were of the same age and they were related. The suspicion would have easily arisen that he had testified those words because of that previous relationship and because of their friendship and the fact that they were related. In order to remove this suspicion, John was segregated from adolescence onward and grew up in the wilderness. Therefore, with good reason he said, “I myself did not know him.” I had no familiarity or friendship with him, but I was sent to baptize with water for him so that I might reveal him whom I did not know. He clearly showed that he baptized so that all the Jews who came because of the baptism might have an occasion to hear his doctrine and to see him to whom he testified. _{Commentary on John 1.1.33}

John’s Prophetic Vision Comes to Fruition. Theodore of Mopsuestia: He who sent me so that I might reveal before everybody that he had come—and therefore he gave me the power to baptize with water—predicted to me that the Spirit would descend on him. These words were said to the Baptist while he was in the wilderness, and immediately he who indeed did [preach and baptize] came. As the Lord then came to John, he immediately received the vision so that he might recognize the Lord. This is why he preached so publicly about his greatness. When he, while administering the baptism, saw in a spiritual vision the Spirit descending, as had been predicted to him, then he was sure that he was seeing the expected result of the prophecy. _{Commentary on John 1.1.33}

Who Sent John, and How Well Did John Know Jesus? Augustine: Who then sent John? If we say the Father, we speak truly. If we say the Son, we speak truly. But to speak more plainly, we say both the Father and the Son sent him. . . . How, then, didn’t he know him by whom he is sent? . . . If, then, the Son sent you with the Father, how did you not know who sent you? The one who sent you said, “Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending as a dove and abiding on him, the same is he that baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” Did John hear this so that he might know him whom he had not known, or so that he might more fully know him whom he had already known? If he had been entirely ignorant of him, he would not have said what he did to him when he came to the river to be baptized. . . . This would have implied that he didn’t know him, but that when the dove descended, he learned to know him. . . . It is made plain to us therefore that John after a manner knew and after a manner did not initially know the Lord. _{Tractates on the Gospel of John 5.12}

John Did Know Jesus, but Not for That Long. Chrysostom: How then, if he did not know him before the descent of the Spirit, and if he then for the first time recognized him—how then did he forbid him before baptism, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?” Actually, this proved that he knew him very well. Yet he did not know him before, or at least for that long—and with good cause, for the amazing things that took place when he was a child, such as the visit of the magi, had happened long before when John himself was very young. And since a lot of time had elapsed in the interval, Jesus was naturally unknown to all. For had he been known, John would not have said, “I come baptizing so that he should be made known to Israel.” _{Homilies on the Gospel of John 17.2}

John Learns More about Jesus after the Appearance of the Dove. Augustine: But did he know Christ, or did he not know him? If he did not know him, then why, when Christ came to the river, did he say, “I need to be baptized by you”? In other words, he’s saying: I know who you are. If, then, he already knew him, assuredly he knew him when he saw the dove descending. It is evident that the dove did not descend upon the Lord until after he went up out of the water of baptism. . . . But if this is not the first time he recognizes him, because he already knew, then why did he say, “I didn’t know him”? _{Tractates on the Gospel of John 4.15}

Jesus Reserves the Power of Baptism to Himself. Augustine: It was not that he did not know him to be the Son of God, or did not know him to be the Lord, or did not know him to be the Christ, or did not, also, in fact, know that he himself would baptize with water and the Holy Spirit; for he knew this too. But that he would baptize in this way, namely, that he would keep for himself the power and would transfer it to no one of his ministers, this is what he learned in the dove. For through this power, which Christ kept for himself alone and transmitted to none of his ministers, although he deigned to baptize through his ministers, through this abides the unity of the Church which is signified in the dove, about which it is said, “One is my dove, the only one her mother has.” _{Tractates on the Gospel of John 6.6}

Christ Receives the Spirit So We Can Receive the Spirit. Cyril of Alexandria: The divine Scripture testifies that human beings were made in the image and likeness of God who is over all. . . For the Spirit at once began to put life into what he had formed and to impress his own divine image on it there . . . Subsequently, however, the likeness to God was defaced through the inroad of sin and the impress was no longer bright as it was. It had grown fainter and darkened because of sin. And when sin became so great . . . that human nature was stripped of its ancient grace, the Spirit departed altogether. Then this creature endowed with reason fell into the most extreme kind of foolishness, ignorant even of its Creator. But then the maker of all, after enduring a lengthy amount of time, finally pities the corrupted world. Because he is good, he hurried to gather together his runaway flock upon earth in order to bring it to those who dwell above. He agreed to transform human nature anew to its pristine image through the Spirit. For in no other way was it possible for the divine impress to again shine forth in men and women as it once had. Let us now look at this plan and how he implanted in us the inviolate grace. Let us see how the Spirit again took root in humanity and in what way nature was reformed into its prior condition. . . . Since the first Adam did not preserve the grace given him by God, God the Father intended to send us from heaven the second Adam. For he sends in our likeness his own Son who is by nature without variableness or change, and who in no way knew any sins. He did this so that even as through the disobedience of the first Adam we became subject to divine wrath, so through the obedience of the Second Adam, we might both escape the curse, and its evils might come to nothing. But when the Word of God became man, he received the Spirit from the Father as one of us. He did not receive anything for himself individually since he himself was the Giver of the Spirit. And so, he who knew no sin might, by receiving it as man, preserve it for our nature, and might again inroot in us the grace which had left us. This is the reason I think it was that the holy Baptist profitably added, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven, and it rested upon him.” For it had fled from us because of sin, but he who knew no sin became as one of us so that the Spirit might be accustomed to abide in us, having no occasion of departure or withdrawal in him. Therefore through himself he receives the Spirit for us, and renews to our nature, the ancient good. _{Commentary on the Gospel of John 2.1}

The Holy Spirit and the Dove of Noah. Cyril of Jerusalem: This Holy Spirit came down when the Lord was baptized so that the dignity of him who was baptized might not be hidden. . . . The heavens too were opened because of the dignity of him who descended. For see, he says, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and lighting upon him. The Spirit descended voluntarily. For it was appropriate, as some have interpreted, that the primacy and firstfruits of the Holy Spirit promised to the baptized should be conferred upon the humanity of the Savior first since the Spirit is the giver of such grace. But perhaps he came down in the form of a dove, as some say, to exhibit a figure of that dove who is pure and innocent and undefiled—who also helps the prayers of the children she has begotten and who brings forgiveness of sins. It was emblematically foretold that Christ should be made known in this way in the appearance of his eyes. For in the Song of Songs she cries concerning the Bridegroom, and says, “Your eyes are as doves by the rivers of water.” The dove of Noah, according to some, was in part a figure of this dove. In the time of Noah, salvation came to them by means of wood and water along with the beginning of a whole new generation. And, the dove returned to him towards evening with an olive branch. Just as this happened, they say, so the Holy Spirit also descended upon the true Noah, the author of the second birth, who draws together into one the wills of all nations. The various dispositions of the animals in the ark were in fact a figure of him too—him at whose coming the spiritual wolves feed with the lambs, in whose church the calf, and the lion, and the ox, feed in the same pasture, as we behold to this day the rulers of the world guided and taught by churchmen. The spiritual dove therefore, as some interpret, came down at the season of his baptism so that he might show that it is he who by the wood of the cross saves those who believe, he who when evening comes grants salvation through his death. _{Catechetical Lectures 17.910}

John Understood and Testified to Jesus’ Divinity. Cyril of Alexandria: A confident witness is one who not only sees but actually speaks about what he has seen. [John] surely was not ignorant of what was written, “Tell what your eyes have seen.” “I saw” then, he says, the sign, and I understood what was signified by it. I bear witness “that this is the Son of God,” who was proclaimed by the law through Moses and heralded by the voice of the holy prophets. The blessed Evangelist seems to me again to say with supreme confidence, “This is the Son of God,” that is, the one and only one who is by nature the unique heir of the Father to whom we too, sons by adoption, are conformed and through whom we are called by grace to the dignity of sonship. _{Commentary on the Gospel of John 2.1}

It Is the Only Son Who Baptizes. Augustine: “John testified . . . that he was the Son of God.” Therefore, it was necessary that he [Jesus] baptize, who was the only Son of God, not an adopted [son]. The adopted sons are the ministers of the only Son. The only Son has power, the adopted sons have the ministry. _{Tractates on the Gospel of John 7.4}