Excerpts adapted from the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture series. Passages attributed to “Anonymous” are from unnamed Christian writers from the patristic era (2nd–8th century), preserved in a reliably ancient source.
Reading 1 (Acts 10:34-43)
OVERVIEW: That God is no respecter of persons does not mean that all prayers are answered as we would like (AMBROSE). Nonetheless, God in an abundance of mercy calls even sinners, and so there is no surprise that he pours out greater blessings on those who strive to live justly and to know the truth. God answers our ultimate desires for this truth, even when our passion for it, like Saul’s, leads us astray (CHRYSOSTOM). By coming to a full and complete comprehension of the truth of God in Christ, Cornelius, in living as a God-fearer, stands as testimony to the truth of the Old Covenant (IRENAEUS), and God’s invitation through Peter to the Gentiles only affirms the Jews’ position of primacy in the order of salvation (CHRYSOSTOM). But this reconciliation of peace between God and creation in the Spirit is for all, and Christ prefigured our access to it in his humble submission to baptism at the hands of John (BEDE), a baptism that shows forth the unity of the Trinity (GREGORY OF NYSSA, BASIL) and teaches us the truth of who God is and who we are in Christ (BASIL). Our access to this salvation comes through his sin-and-death-destroying incarnation, crucifixion, death and resurrection in which our souls participate through a faith in Christ, the anointed One (GREGORY OF NYSSA), a faith that is called forth by the various proofs that he gave to the apostles (THEODORET, SEVERUS) and to which all the prophets bear witness (DIDYMUS).
10:34 No Partiality
GOD ANSWERS OUR PRAYERS FREELY. AMBROSE: Even if God is merciful, were he always granting the prayers of all he would seem no longer to act freely, but, as it were, like someone under compulsion. Then, since all ask, if he were to hear all, no one would die. How many things do you not ask for daily? Must God’s design be destroyed because of you? When you know that a petition cannot always be granted, why do you grieve that sometimes your petition is not obtained? ON HIS BROTHER SATYRUS 1.65. 3
THOSE WHO CHOOSE THE WAY OF VIRTUE. CHRYSOSTOM: “God [you remember] is no respecter of person.” Rather, if he finds even one person in such a multitude doing what pleases him, far from scorning him he regales him with his particular providence and shows the greater care for him the more closely he has chosen the way of virtue at a time when there are others who are bent on evil. HOMILIES ON GENESIS 22.18. 4
10:35 Anyone Who Does What Is Right
GOD DOES NOT OVERLOOK THE RIGHTEOUS. CHRYSOSTOM: What then? Was he “a respecter of persons” beforetime? God forbid! For beforetime likewise it was just the same: “anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” As when Paul says, “When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires,” and “who fears him and does what is right,” he assumes both doctrine and manner of life “is acceptable to him.” For, if he did not overlook the magi, nor the Ethiopian, nor the thief nor the harlot, much more shall he not overlook those who do what is right. “What say you then to this, that there are reasonable and civilized people, and yet they are not willing to believe?” There you yourself have named the cause: they do not want to believe. But besides the reasonable person that he speaks of here, is not this sort of person the one “that works righteousness,” that is, the one who in all points is virtuous and irreproachable when he has the fear of God as he ought to have it? But whether a person is such, God only knows. See how this man was acceptable. See how, as soon as he heard, he was persuaded. “And now,” you say, “if an angel were to come, anyone, no matter who he may be, would believe.” But the signs of today are much greater than these here, and many still do not believe. HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 23. 6
GOD REWARDS THE PASSIONATE HEART. CHRYSOSTOM: That is, God calls and attracts him to the truth. Can you see Paul? He was more vehement than any one in warring and persecuting. Yet because he led an irreproachable life and did these things not through human passion, he was both received and reached a mark beyond all. HOMILIES ON 1 CORINTHIANS 8.4. 7
CORNELIUS FEARED GOD. IRENAEUS: He thus clearly indicates, that he whom Cornelius had previously feared as God, of whom he had heard through the law and the prophets, for whose sake also he used to give alms, is, in truth, God. The knowledge of the Son was, however, lacking to him. AGAINST HERESIES 3.12.7. 8
10:36 The Word Sent to Israel: Peace
THE JEWS NOT CAST OFF. CHRYSOSTOM: That [the Jews] may not seem to be in the condition of persons cast off he adds, “You know the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace by Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all).” He says this for the sake of the Jews, that he may persuade them also. This is why he forces Cornelius to speak. He says that he “is Lord of all.” But observe at the very outset, “The word,” he says, “which he sent to Israel”; he gives them the preeminence. Then [Peter] adduces these Gentiles themselves as witnesses, “You know,” says he, “the word which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism which John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.” He does not mean, You know Jesus, for they did not know him, but he speaks of the things done by him. HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 23. 9
ALL MAY RECEIVE FORGIVENESS OF SINS. BEDE: He says, “It is clear that God is no respecter of persons, for he sent his only begotten Son, who is the Lord and creator of all, to make peace with the human race. In his name, as the prophets bore witness, not only the Jews, but all who believe, may receive forgiveness of sins.” COMMENTARY ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 10.36. 10
10:38 God Anointed Jesus of Nazareth
PROOF FROM THE GOOD THAT HE DID. CHRYSOSTOM: First he discourses of Jesus’ being Lord and in exceeding elevated terms, seeing he had to deal with a soul more than commonly elevated and that took all in with ardor. Then he proves how he was Lord of all, from the things that he achieved “throughout all Judea.” For, he says, you know “the word that was proclaimed throughout all Judea,” and, what is the wonderful part of it, “beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John preached: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.” He does not mean, You know Jesus, for they did not know him, but he speaks of the things done by him. HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 23. 11
ANOINTED WITH THE SPIRIT AND WITH POWER. BEDE: Another text says, “Inasmuch as God anointed him.” John preached Jesus inasmuch as God anointed him with the Holy Spirit at the time when he said, “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit”; and again, “I saw the Spirit descending as a dove upon him.” Jesus was anointed “not with oil but with the gift of grace, which is signified by the visible oil with which the church anoints those who are baptized. Yet, Christ was not anointed with the Holy Spirit at the time when it descended as a dove upon him at his baptism, for at that time he condescended to prefigure his body, that is, his church, in which the baptized principally receive the Holy Spirit. Rather, he must be understood to have been anointed with a mystical and invisible anointing when the Word of God was made flesh, that is, when human nature, without any preceding merits from good works, was joined to God the Word in the womb of the Virgin, so as to become one person with him. Because of this we confess that he was born of the Holy Spirit and of the Virgin Mary.” COMMENTARY ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 10.38A. 15
THE HOLY SPIRIT SHARES IN HIS KINGSHIP. GREGORY OF NYSSA: But the Son, having all things which are the Father’s, is himself proclaimed a king by holy Scripture. Now the divine Scripture says that the Holy Spirit is the unction of the Only Begotten, interpreting the dignity of the Spirit by a transference of the terms commonly used in this world. For as, in ancient days, in those who were advanced to kingship, the token of this dignity was the unction that was applied to them, and when this took place there was thenceforth a change from private and humble estate to the superiority of rule, and he who was deemed worthy of this grace received after his anointing another name, being called, instead of an ordinary man, the Anointed of the Lord. For this reason, that the dignity of the Holy Spirit might be more clearly shown to humankind, he was called by the Scripture “the sign of the kingdom” and “Unction,” whereby we are taught that the Holy Spirit shares in the glory and kingdom of the only begotten Son of God. For as in Israel it was not permitted to enter upon the kingdom without the unction being previously given, so the word, by a transference of the terms in use among ourselves, indicates the equality of power, showing that not even the kingdom of the Son is received without the dignity of the Holy Spirit. And for this reason he is properly called Christ, since this name gives the proof of his inseparable and indivisible conjunction with the Holy Spirit. If, then, the only-begotten God is the Anointed, and the Holy Spirit is his Unction, and the appellation of Anointed points to the kingly authority, and the anointing is the token of his kingship, then the Holy Spirit shares also in his dignity. If, therefore, they say that the attribute of Godhead signifies dignity and the Holy Spirit is shown to share in this last quality, it follows that he who partakes in the dignity will also partake in the name that represents it. ON THE HOLY TRINITY. 16
BAPTIZED IN THE NAME OF THE TRINITY. BASIL THE GREAT: Do not be misled because the apostle frequently omits the names of the Father and the Holy Spirit when he speaks of baptism. Do not imagine because of this that the invocation of their names has been omitted. St. Paul says, “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” and . . . “all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death.” To address Christ in this way is a complete profession of faith, because it clearly reveals that God anoints the Son (the anointed One) with the unction of the Spirit. We can learn this from Peter’s words in Acts, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit,” or from Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me,” or from the Psalms, “Therefore God, your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.” But the Scripture also speaks of baptism in the context of the Spirit alone, for example, “For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body.” There are other passages that agree with this: “You shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit,” and “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” No one would claim that on the basis of these passages the invocation of the Spirit’s name alone makes baptism complete and perfect. ON THE SPIRIT 12.28. 25
SANCTIFIED BY THE SPIRIT. PSEUDO-BASIL: He is Christ [Anointed] because of the Spirit and the anointing that is in the Spirit. Therefore, the anointing of the Lord is not of something foreign to the divinity, nor is the name Christ nor those called Christian after him. For, in truth, someone would lament if the name of our salvation both had its source in a creature and were derived from a creature and if we had our adoption through a slave. A creature does not make a creature holy, but all creation is made holy by the sole holy one who says concerning himself, “I sanctify myself.” But through the Spirit he sanctifies. . . . The Spirit, of course, is not a creature but the mark of the sanctity of God and the fountain of holiness for all. In the holiness of the Spirit were we called, as the apostle teaches. This renews us and shows us once again to be the images of God, and through the bath of rebirth and renewal of the Holy Spirit we are made adopted sons [children] of God. AGAINST EUNOMIUS 5. 29
10:40 Raised on the Third Day
BY DEATH HE CONQUERED THE DEATH OF HUMANITY. GREGORY OF NYSSA: Therefore, since it was necessary that the good Shepherd lay down his life on behalf of the sheep, so that through his own death he might destroy death, the captain of our salvation, by bringing death to pass, becomes a composite in his human nature, both as a priest and a lamb in the ability to receive a share of suffering. For since death is nothing but the dissolution of both soul and body, the one who united himself to both, I mean to both soul and to body, is separated from neither—“incapable of repentance,” as the apostle says, “are the graces of God.” So having distributed himself to both body and soul, on the one hand he opens paradise to the thief through his soul, and through his body he establishes the work of destruction. Now this is death’s obliteration, that the destruction annihilated in the life-giving nature is made impotent, and this, which happens in regard to these [body and soul] becomes a shared benefit and grace of our nature. In this way, he who is in both, through his resurrection fits together all that was separate, he who, according to his power, gives his body to the heart of the earth, as it has been written, while he puts his soul away from himself, saying, on the one hand, to his father, “Into your hands I hand over my spirit,” and on the other, to the thief, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” . . . So in this way he comes both to be in death and not to be mastered by death. . . . The proof . . . is the operation that worked incorruption with regard to the body and a passing over into paradise with regard to the soul. . . . He demonstrates this who says that “God raised him from the dead.” For not as Lazarus or anyone else of those who have returned to life by the power of another is he brought back to life—so clear is it how the resurrection of the Lord is to be conceived. Rather the Only Begotten himself raises up the person who was mixed together with himself, having both separated the soul from the body and having reunited both, and in this way a common salvation of human nature is effected. AGAINST APOLLINARIS. 37
10:41 Those Who Were Chosen
PROOF OF THE RESURRECTION. THEODORET OF CYR: For since eating is proper to them that live this present life, of necessity the Lord by means of eating and drinking proved the resurrection of the flesh to those who did not acknowledge it to be real. This same course he pursued in the case of Lazarus and of Jairus’s daughter. For when he had raised up the latter he ordered that something should be given her to eat, and he made Lazarus sit with him at the table and so showed the reality of the rising again. DIALOGUE 2. 40
BELIEVING IN CHRIST IS EATING WITH CHRIST. SEVERUS OF ANTIOCH: Now, certainly, he shared a new food, one not in accord with the prior order in which he had eaten and drunk with them before the resurrection. For at that time, having been made similar to us in everything except for sin, he ate and drank just as we do. Moreover, clothing himself in the flesh, he willingly sought the benefit of nourishment, and so he willingly assimilated himself to the experience of hunger. After the resurrection he did not need to eat or drink anymore, but only as one believed in by and as one giving evidence to his intimate disciples. Another reason [he ate and drank was that] those who later on were to believe in the true nature of the body—that body that suffered voluntarily and arose in a divine way (totally driving away the idea of an accursed apparition and phantasm)—needed these actions. After the resurrection, he named food and drink for himself together with his disciples, not according to his previous practice but something new. CATENA ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 10.42. 41
10:43 All the Prophets Bear Witness
THE PROPHETS BEAR WITNESS TO FORGIVENESS IN CHRIST. DIDYMUS THE BLIND: If one repents from the evil things he has done and believes in the name of the Lord, he receives absolution from the sins that he has sincerely recognized. All the prophets, whose teaching is brought to the people of the Jews, have spoken according to their trust and faith in their Father. Therefore it will be universally admitted that all the prophets testify that the absolution from sin is given to those who believe in the Lord. CATENA ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 10.43. 42
Psalm (118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23)
OVERVIEW: God admonishes and commands us to confess our sins to him because of his goodness (AUGUSTINE).
One who longs for eternal life considers lengthening of life a burden (GREGORY OF NYSSA). Christ, who admonishes us not to fear, himself did not fear death when captured in the garden (ATHANASIUS). Persecutions should not be feared because God is more capable of protecting us than Satan is of assaulting us (CYPRIAN). In the face of temptation and evil thoughts, God will aid the person who weeps in the face of God’s goodness (ASCETIC MONKS OF EGYPT). Pastors can serve effectively only if they follow Christ’s example of self-denial and of humble station (JEROME). God will ultimately destroy all human dominion and authority (AUGUSTINE). God will watch over us and strengthen us whenever we are oppressed (PACHOMIUS). Strength in the face of all adversity comes from God and from our love for him (AUGUSTINE).
Anthropomorphic descriptions of God are not to be understood literally but are expressions of the unity that exists in the godhead (AMBROSE). Only the righteous can properly celebrate Easter and proclaim God’s marvelous deeds (ATHANASIUS). Eternal life and the resurrection are declared in both Testaments and cannot be denied as they are by many non-Christians (AUGUSTINE). God chastises and educates his people so that they may be delivered from death, and examples provide the most effective lesson. God allows us to experience hardship and suffering so that he may teach us his statutes and judgments (CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA). Certain biblical passages offer power and encouragement in the face of temptation. God chastens his people in this life so that they do not suffer the eternal torments of hell (SYNCLETICA).
118:1 God Is Good
CONFESS TO THE LORD BECAUSE HE IS GOOD. AUGUSTINE: We have been admonished to confess to the Lord, and indeed commanded to do so by the Spirit of God. And we have been told the reason for confessing to the Lord: “since he is good.” It is said very briefly; it can be thought about very deeply. “Confess to the Lord,” he says. And as though we asked him “Why?” the answer comes, “since he is good.” What more can you ask for, if you ask for anything, than the good? Such is the power of the good, that the good is what is sought even by the bad. SERMON 29.1. 1
118:16-18 The Right Hand of the Lord
THE LORD HAS DONE MIGHTY THINGS. AMBROSE: And there are some who suppose that God is fashioned after a bodily manner, when they read of his hand or finger, and they do not observe that these things are written not because of any fashion of a body, since in the godhead there are neither members nor parts, but they are expressions of the oneness of the godhead, that we may believe that it is impossible for either the Son or the Holy Spirit to be separated from God the Father; since the fullness of the godhead dwells as it were bodily in the substance of the Trinity. For this reason, then, is the Son also called the right hand of the Father, as we read: “The right hand of the Lord has done mighty things, the right hand of the Lord has exalted me.” ON THE HOLY SPIRIT 2.7.69. 21
GOD IS NOT ASHAMED TO BE THE GOD OF THE RIGHTEOUS. ATHANASIUS: Thus it is that sinners, and all those who are aliens from the catholic church, heretics and schismatics, since they are excluded from glorifying [God] with the saints, cannot properly even continue to be observers of the feasts. But the righteous person, although he appears dying to the world, uses boldness of speech, saying, “I shall not die but live and narrate all your marvelous deeds.” For even God is not ashamed to be called the God of those who truly mortify their members that are on the earth but live in Christ; for he is the God of the living, not of the dead. And he by his living Word quickens all people and gives him to be food and life to the saints; as the Lord declares, “I am the bread of life.” FESTAL LETTERS 7.4. 24
THE RIGHTEOUS WILL LIVE FOREVER. AUGUSTINE: I am disposed, after careful examination, to doubt whether the expression so often used by the Lord, “the kingdom of heaven,” can be found in these books [Old Testament]. It is said, indeed, “Love wisdom, that you may reign forever.” And if eternal life had not been clearly made known in the Old Testament, the Lord would not have said, as he did even to the unbelieving Jews, “Search the Scriptures, for in them you think that you have eternal life, and they are they that testify of me.” And to the same effect are the words of the psalmist: “I shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord.” And again: “Enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death.” Again, we read, “The souls of the righteous are in the hand of the Lord, and pain shall not touch them”; and immediately following, “They are in peace; and if they have suffered torture from people, their hope is full of immortality; and after a few troubles, they shall enjoy many rewards.” Again, in another place: “The righteous shall live forever, and their reward is with the Lord, and their concern with the Highest; therefore shall they receive from the hand of the Lord a kingdom of glory and a crown of beauty.” These and many similar declarations of eternal life, in more or less explicit terms, are found in these writings. Even the resurrection of the body is spoken of by the prophets. The Pharisees, accordingly, were fierce opponents of the Sadducees, who disbelieved the resurrection. This we learn not only from the canonical Acts of the Apostles, which the Manichaeans reject, because it tells of the advent of the Paraclete promised by the Lord, but also from the Gospel, when the Sadducees question the Lord about the woman who married seven brothers, one dying after the other, whose wife she would be in heaven. As regards, then, eternal life and the resurrection of the dead, numerous testimonies are to be found in these Scriptures. But I do not find there the expression “the kingdom of heaven.” This expression belongs properly to the revelation of the New Testament, because in the resurrection our earthly bodies shall, by that change that Paul fully describes, become spiritual bodies, and so heavenly, that thus we may possess the kingdom of heaven. And this expression was reserved for him whose advent as king to govern and priest to sanctify his believing people was ushered in by all the symbolism of the old covenant, in its genealogies, its typical acts and words, its sacrifices and ceremonies and feasts and in all its prophetic utterances and events and figures. He came full of grace and truth, in his grace helping us to obey the precepts and in his truth securing the accomplishment of the promises. He came not to destroy the law but to fulfill it. AGAINST FAUSTUS, A MANICHAEAN 19.31. 32
CHASTENED, BUT NOT FORSAKEN BY GOD. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: Consider the carefulness and the wisdom and the power of this Educator [Christ]: “He shall not judge according to appearance or reprove according to gossip, but he shall render judgment with humility and shall reprove the sinners of the earth.” And through the lips of David, he says, “The Lord chastising has chastised me, but he has not delivered me over to death.” Indeed, the very act of being chastised, and being educated by the Lord as a child, means deliverance from death. Again, he says through the same psalmist: “You shall rule them with a rod of iron.” Similarly, the apostle exclaimed when he was aroused by the Corinthians: “What is your wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and in the spirit of meekness?” By another psalmist, the Lord says again: “The Lord will send forth the rod of power out of Zion.” But if in holy Scripture Christ is the true Sun and the true Day, no hour is appointed for Christians, by whom God should be adored frequently and always, so that we who are in Christ, that is, in the true Sun and in the true Day, should be insistent throughout the whole day in our petitions and should pray. When, by the law of nature, the revolving night, recurring in its alternating cycle, follows the day, there can be no harm from the darkness for those who pray, because to the sons of light even in the night there is day. For when is he without light who has light in his heart? Or when does he not have sun and day, to whom Christ is Sun and Day? CHRIST THE EDUCATOR 1.7.61. 37
THE LORD WILL EDUCATE YOU. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: “When we are judged by the Lord,” says the apostle, “it is for our education, so that we may not be condemned along with the world.” Earlier the prophet said, “The Lord has given me a stern lesson but not handed me over to death.” Scripture says, “It is to teach you his righteousness that he taught you a lesson, tested you and exposed you to hunger and thirst in a desolate land, for you to know in your heart all his statutes and judgments that I am laying on you today. The Lord your God will educate you just as a human will educate his son.” Scripture again emphasizes the lesson taught by a good example: “It is a great education when a malefactor sees a criminal punished,” for “the fear of the Lord breeds wisdom.” STROMATEIS 1.27.172. 42
GOD’S WORDS ARE WORDS OF POWER AND ENCOURAGEMENT. SYNCLETICA: Rejoice because God has visited you. Keep saying the famous text: “The Lord has chastened and corrected me, but he has not given me over to death.” . . . A messenger from Satan is given to you to be a thorn in your flesh. Lift up your heart, for you see that you have received a gift like that of St. Paul. If you suffer from fever and cold, remember the text of Scripture, “We went through fire and water,” and then, “you brought us out to a place of rest.” . . . Threefold suffering like this will make you perfect. He also said, “You set me at liberty when I was in trouble.” Thus, let us test our souls by this kind of self-discipline, for we have our enemy before our eyes. SAYINGS OF THE FATHERS 7.16. 46
SUFFERING STRENGTHENS US. SYNCLETICA: When the devil does not use the goads of poverty to tempt, he uses wealth for the purpose. When he cannot win by scorn and mockery, he tries praise and flattery. If he cannot win by providing health, he tries illness; if he cannot win by comfort, he tries to ruin the soul by vexations that lead a person to act against the monastic vow. He inflicts severe sicknesses on people whom he wants to tempt, and so makes them weak and thereby shakes the love that they feel toward God. But although the body is shattered and running high temperatures and thirsting unbearably—yet you who endure all this are a sinner, and remember the punishments of the next world, and the everlasting fire and the torments of the judgment. So you will not fail in the sufferings of this present time; indeed you should rejoice because God has visited you. Keep saying the famous text: “The Lord has chastened and corrected me, but he has not given me over to death.” Iron is cleaned of rust by fire. If you are righteous and suffer, you grow to a yet higher sanctity. Gold is tested by fire. A messenger from Satan is given to you to be a thorn in your flesh. Lift up your heart, for you see that you have received a gift like that of Paul. If you suffer from fever and cold, remember the text of Scripture, “We went through fire and water”—and then “you brought us out into a place of rest.” If you have endured the suffering, you may expect the place of rest, provided you are following what is good. Cry aloud the prophet’s words, “I am poor and destitute and in misery”—for the threefold suffering shall make you perfect. SAYINGS OF THE FATHERS 7.16. 48
118:22-23 The Cornerstone
THE CHURCH OF CHRIST. TERTULLIAN: Thus we find from this passage also, that Christ possessed a body of flesh, such as was able to endure the cross. “When, therefore, he came and preached peace to them that were near and to them which were afar off,” we both obtained “access to the Father,” being “now no more strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God” (even of him from whom, as we have shown above, we were aliens and placed far off), “built on the foundation of the apostles”—[the apostle added] “and the prophets”; these words, however, the heretic erased, forgetting that the Lord had set in his church not only apostles but prophets also. He feared, no doubt, that our building was to stand in Christ on the foundation of the ancient prophets, since the apostle himself never fails to build us up everywhere with [the words of] the prophets. For whence did he learn to call Christ “the chief cornerstone” but from the figure given him in the psalm: “The stone that the builders rejected is become the head [stone] of the corner”? AGAINST MARCION 5.17. 20
THE STONE AT CHRIST’S TOMB AND CHRIST THE CORNERSTONE. EPHREM THE SYRIAN: “A stone was placed at the entrance to the tomb.” Thus, one stone [was placed] against another stone, so that [this] stone might be keeping guard over “the stone that the builders rejected.” This [stone], lifted “up by” [human] hands, had to keep guard over that which was “detached, without [human] hands”; this [stone], on which “the angel was sitting,” [had to keep guard] over that which “Jacob had placed under his head”; this [stone] with its seal [had to keep guard] over that which, through its seal, watches over the faithful. Thus did the gate of life go forth from the gate of death. “For this is the gate of our Lord, through which the just enter.” When it was closed, it delivered those closed in. Through its death the dead lived. Through its voice the silent cried out. Through its resurrection, there was an earthquake. Its emergence forth from the tomb introduced the Gentiles into the church. COMMENTARY ON TATIAN’S DIATESSARON 21.21. 28
THOSE WHO REJECT CHRIST, THE CORNERSTONE, WILL BE CRUSHED BY HIM. APHRAHAT: But I must proceed to my former statement that Christ is called the stone in the prophets. For in ancient times David said concerning him, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the head of the building.” And how did the builders reject this stone that is Christ? How else than that they so rejected him before Pilate and said, “This man shall not be king over us.” And again in that parable that our Lord spoke that a certain nobleman went to receive kingly power and to return and rule over them; and they sent after him envoys saying, “This man shall not be king over us.” By these things they rejected the stone that is Christ. And how did it become the head of the building? How else than that it was set up over the building of the Gentiles and on it is reared up all their building. And who are the builders? Who but the priests and Pharisees who did not build a sure building but were overthrowing everything that he was building, as is written in Ezekiel the prophet: “He was building a wall of partition, but they were shaking it, that it might fall.” And again it is written, “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land, that I might not destroy it, but I did not find one.” And furthermore Isaiah also prophesied beforehand with regard to this stone. For he said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a chosen stone in the precious corner, the heart of the wall of the foundation.’” And he said again there, “Every one who believes on it shall not fear. And whosoever falls on that stone shall be broken, and every one on whom it shall fall, it will crush.” For the people of the house of Israel fell on him, and he became their destruction forever. And again “it shall fall on the image and crush it.” And the Gentiles believed on it and do not fear. DEMONSTRATIONS 1.6. 36
TWO PEOPLE JOINED TOGETHER IN THE LORD. AUGUSTINE: So there were sheep from among the Jews, and many sheep. But not the only ones. The Lord had others from among the Gentiles. These two peoples coming as it were from different directions are also represented by two walls. The church of the Jews comes from the circumcision; the church of the Gentiles comes from the uncircumcision. Coming from different directions, they are joined together in the Lord. That is why the Lord is called the cornerstone. Thus the psalm says, “The stone that the builders rejected, this very one has become the head of the corner.” And the apostle says, “Christ Jesus being himself the chief cornerstone.” Where there is a corner, two walls connect; two walls do not meet in a corner unless they come from different directions; if they only come from one direction, they do not make a corner. So then, the two goats are the two peoples, so are the two sheepfolds, so are the two walls, so are the two blind men who sat by the road, so are the two boats into which the fish were hauled. There are many places in Scripture where the two peoples are to be understood—but they are one thing in Jacob. SERMON 4.18. 40
CHRIST UNITES JEWS AND GENTILES IN GRACE. AUGUSTINE: A symbolic statement: “The stone that the builders rejected, this has become the head of the corner.” If we understand “stone” in the proper sense, what stone did the builders reject, and it became the head of the corner? If we take “corner” in the proper sense, of what corner did this stone become the head? If we admit it is said symbolically, and you take it symbolically, the cornerstone is Christ, head of the corner, head of the church. Why is the corner the church? Because he called the Jews from this side, the Gentiles from that; and like two walls coming from different directions and coming together in him, he tied them together by the grace of his peace. “For he is our peace, who made of both one.” SERMON 89.4. 43
THE STONE THAT THE BUILDERS REJECTED. TERTULLIAN: For Jesus tells them [the disciples] that “the Son of man must suffer many things and be rejected,” before his coming, at which his kingdom will be really revealed. In this statement he shows that it was his own kingdom that his answer to them had contemplated and that was now awaiting his own sufferings and rejection. But having to be rejected and afterwards to be acknowledged and taken up and glorified, he borrowed the very word rejected from the passage where, under the figure of a stone, his twofold manifestation was celebrated by David—the first in rejection, the second in honor. “The stone,” he says, “that the builders rejected is become the headstone of the corner. This is the Lord’s doing.” Now it would be idle, if we believed that God had predicted the humiliation, or even the glory, of any Christ at all, that he could have designed his prophecy for any but him whom he had foretold under the figure of a stone and a rock and a mountain. AGAINST MARCION 4.35. 46
THE BUILDING OF MOSES AND THE BUILDING OF THE GOSPEL. EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA: [Christ] ordained that the former law should stand till he came, and he was revealed as the originator of the second law of the new covenant preached to all nations, as being responsible for the law and influence of the two religions, I mean Judaism and Christianity. And it is wonderful that divine prophecy should accord: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone, choice, a cornerstone; precious, and he that believes on him shall not be ashamed.” Who could be the cornerstone but he, the living and precious stone who supports by his teaching two buildings and makes them one? For he set up the Mosaic building, which was to last till his day, and then fitted on to one side of it our building of the gospel. Hence he [Christ] is called the cornerstone. And it is said in the Psalms: “The stone that the builders refused, the same is become the head of the corner. This is of the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes.” This oracle too indubitably indicates the Jewish conspiracy against the subject of the prophecy, how he has been set at naught by the builders of the old wall, meaning the scribes and Pharisees, the high priests and all the rulers of the Jews. And it prophesied that though he should be despised and cast out he would become the head of the corner, regarding him as the originator of a new covenant, according to the preceding proofs. PROOF OF THE GOSPEL 1.7. 48
CHRIST IS THE TRUE SUN AND THE TRUE DAY. CYPRIAN: Likewise at the setting of the sun and at the end of the day necessarily there must again be prayer. For since Christ is the true Sun and the true Day, as the sun and the day of the world recede, when we pray and petition that the light come on us again, we pray for the coming of Christ to provide us with the grace of eternal light. Moreover, the Holy Spirit in the Psalms declares that Christ is called the Day. He says, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is wonderful in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us exalt and rejoice therein.” Malachi the prophet also testifies that he is called the Sun when he says, “But to you who fear my name, the Sun of justice shall arise with healing in his wings.” But if in holy Scripture Christ is the true Sun and the true Day, no hour is appointed for Christians, by whom God should be adored frequently and always, so that we who are in Christ, that is, in the true Sun and in the true Day, should be insistent throughout the whole day in our petitions and should pray. When, by the law of nature, the revolving night, recurring in its alternating cycle, follows the day, there can be no harm from the darkness for those who pray, because to the sons of light even in the night there is day. For when is he without light who has light in his heart? Or when does he not have sun and day, to whom Christ is Sun and Day? THE LORD’S PRAYER 35. 51
Reading 2 (Colossians 3:1-4)
OVERVIEW: Paul’s purpose now is to describe the new life incumbent on those who have been baptized. We are to live under Christ and for Christ as the one focus of our striving, manifesting this new life by our attention to heavenly things and to the practical work of love (CHRYSOSTOM, SEVERIAN). We share in the resurrection of Christ (ISAAC OF NINEVEH). In what follows we see how glorious is the Christian life compared with the wretchedness of the life under the law (ORIGEN, THEODORET). The new life about to be described is the life of the baptized (CYRIL OF JERUSALEM), who contemplate heavenly things in order to rise to that place where Christ is, seated at the right hand of the Father (AMBROSIASTER). Paul reminds us that the new life in Christ is always a matter of new perceptions, of seeing through earthly things to heavenly things (ORIGEN, BASIL, ATHANASIUS, AMBROSE, APHRAHAT, BABAI). In the new life in Christ, the creation is restored and reason is back in control of the human mind (GREGORY OF NYSSA). Renewal in Christ happens in the inner person, such that, while the struggle with sin always continues, progress in virtue is possible (AUGUSTINE), looking toward full responsiveness to grace (GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS, GREGORY OF NYSSA).
3:1 Seek the Things That Are Above
STRIVE FOR PERFECTION. ORIGEN: But he who keeps the commandments not in perfect love, but in dread of future torment and in fear of punishments is indeed also himself a son of Abraham; he too receives gifts, that is, the reward of his work . . . nevertheless he is inferior to that person who is perfected not in slavish fear, but in the freedom of love. . . . “Leaving the word of the first principles of Christ,” he is borne to perfection. “Seeking the things that are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God, not the things that are on the earth,” he “looks not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.” In the divine Scriptures he does not follow “the letter which kills” but “the spirit which quickens.” From those things he will doubtless be one who does not receive “the spirit of bondage again in fear, but the spirit of adoption, whereby they cry, Abba, Father.” HOMILIES ON GENESIS 7.4. 5
LIVE ON THE HEIGHTS. CHRYSOSTOM: See the wisdom of our teacher and to what a height he immediately raises those who listen to him. He cut a path through the midst of all the angels, archangels, thrones, dominations, principalities, virtues, all those invisible powers, the cherubim and seraphim and set the thoughts of the faithful right before the very throne of the King. By his teaching he has persuaded those who walk the earth to sever the bonds of the body, to take flight and to stand in spirit by the side of him who is the Lord of all. BAPTISMAL INSTRUCTIONS 7.20. 6
LOOK AT HEAVENLY THINGS. APHRAHAT: Let us think upon the things that are above, on the heavenly things, and meditate on them, where Christ has been lifted up and exalted. But let us forsake the world which is not ours, that we may arrive at the place to which we have been invited. Let us raise up our eyes on high, that we may see the splendor which shall be revealed. SELECT DEMONSTRATIONS 6.1. 7
ISAAC OF NINEVEH: What is the resurrection of the soul, of which the Apostle speaks, saying, “If ye be raised with Christ”? When the Apostle said, “God Who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined into our hearts” the resurrection, he showed this resurrection to be the exodus from the old state which in the likeness of Sheol incarcerates a man so that the light of the Gospel will not shine mystically upon him. This is a breath of life through hope in the resurrection, and by it the dawning of divine wisdom shines in his heart, so that a man should become new, having nothing of the old man. . . . Then the image of Christ is formed in us through the Spirit of wisdom and revelation of the knowledge of Him. ASCETICAL HOMILIES 37. 9
INWARD RENEWAL. AUGUSTINE: Because the inner man, too, if he is certainly renewed from day to day, is surely old before he is renewed. For that is done inwardly, which the same apostle says: “Put off the old man and put on the new man.” And he offers an explanation of this in the words that follow: “Wherefore putting away lying, speak the truth.” But where is lying put away, except inwardly, in order that he may dwell in the holy mountain of God who speaks the truth in his heart. . . . And the words of the apostle are in keeping with this mystery [i.e., of inner resurrection]: “But if you have risen with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God; mind the things that are above.” ON THE TRINITY 4.3.6. 13
3:2 Set Your Mind on Things That Are Above
THE BAPTISMAL CHARGE. CHRYSOSTOM: It was not idly or without purpose that I anticipated the event and instructed your loving assembly in all these matters, but I did so that you might be carried on by the wings of hope and enjoy the pleasure before you enjoyed the actual benefit. I did it, too, that you might adopt a purpose worthy of the rite, and as blessed Paul has exhorted, you might “mind the things that are above” and change your thoughts from earth to heaven, from visible things to those that are unseen. And we see the objects of bodily sight more clearly with the eyes of the spirit. BAPTISMAL INSTRUCTIONS 2.28. 14
PUT REASON IN CHARGE. GREGORY OF NYSSA: So . . . if reason instead assumes sway over such emotions, each of them is transmuted to a form of virtue. For anger produces courage, terror caution, fear obedience, hatred aversion from vice, the power of love the desire for what is truly beautiful. High spirit in our character raises our thought above the passions and keeps it from bondage to what is base. Indeed, even the great apostle praises such a form of mental elevation when he bids us constantly to “think those things that are above.” So we find that every such motion, when elevated by loftiness of mind, is conformed to the beauty of the divine image. ON THE MAKING OF MAN 18.5. 15
A MATTER OF FOCUS. BABAI: You should realize that you are walking on the edge of a sharp sword, that you are standing on the edge of a precipice with a ravine on either side. Do not let your thoughts be upset by things here on earth, but keep your mind’s gaze on “Jerusalem which is above.” “Think of what is above, and not of what is on earth.” Ensure that you let go of everything which belongs to this world. LETTER TO CYRIACUS 55. 17
3:3 Your Life Is Hid with Christ in God
A SOBERING REMINDER. CHRYSOSTOM: This is to prepare the way for drawing them off from pleasure and ease . . . so that, now, you do not appear. See how Paul has transferred them into heaven itself. For, as I said, he is always bent on showing that they have the very same things that Christ has. Through all his epistles the tenor is this, to show that in all things they are partakers with him. Therefore, he uses the terms head and body and does everything to convey this to them. HOMILIES ON COLOSSIANS 7. 18
SEVERIAN OF GABALA: Our life is hidden until the blessing of eternal life shall be revealed to all, when the glory of Christ shall appear in his second coming. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH. 19
BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH. AMBROSE: We should be aware of the fact, therefore, that where God has planted the tree of life he has also planted a tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the midst of paradise. It is understood that he planted it in the middle. Therefore, in the middle of paradise there was both a tree of life and a cause for death. Keep in mind that man did not create life. By carrying out and observing the precepts of God it was possible for man to find life. This was the life mentioned by the apostle: “Your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Man, therefore, was, figuratively speaking, either in the shadow of life—because our life on earth is but a shadow—or man had life, as it were, in pledge, for he had been breathed on by God. PARADISE 29. 20
AMBROSE: For this is the meaning of flight: to know your goal, to unburden oneself of the world, to unburden oneself of the body. . . . This is the meaning of flight from here—to die to the elements of this world, to hide one’s life in God, to turn aside from corruptions, not to defile oneself with the objects of desire and to be ignorant of the things of this world. FLIGHT FROM THE WORLD 7.38. 21
TO BE HIDDEN IS TO LOVE TRULY. AUGUSTINE: For when God will be all in all, then nothing will be lacking to their desire. Such an end does not have an end. There no one dies, where no one comes unless he should die to this world, not by the death of all in which the body is abandoned by the soul but by the death of the elect in which, even when one still remains in mortal flesh, the heart is set on high. About this kind of death the apostle said, “For you are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Perhaps about this it was said, “Strong as death is love.” For by this love it comes to pass that, dwelling in this still corruptible body, we die to this world and our life is hidden with Christ in God, nay rather, love itself is our death to the world and our life with God. TRACTATES ON JOHN 65.1. 24
3:4 You Will Appear with Him
SOLID ENCOURAGEMENT. AUGUSTINE: But what did he go on to say? “When Christ appears, your life, then you also will appear with him in glory.” So now is the time for groaning, then it will be for rejoicing; now for desiring, then for embracing. What we desire now is not present; but let us not falter in desire; let long, continuous desire be our daily exercise, because the one who made the promise doesn’t cheat us. SERMONS 350A.4. 25
Gospel (John 20:1-9)
OVERVIEW: Our Lord was delivered from the womb of the tomb early on the first day of the week on what is now known as the Lord’s day (AUGUSTINE, CHRYSOSTOM), a day of victory and triumph over death (HESYCHIUS). The exact time of when the resurrection occurred is not given (DIONYSIUS), although “early dawn” and “late night” would seem to indicate around the same time, albeit from different starting points (THEODORE, CYRIL). The text says “it was dark,” which is also an apt description of Mary’s faith when she first came to the tomb, ignorant of Jesus’ resurrection (GREGORY THE GREAT). The women, who demonstrate more faith than the disciples, perhaps send Mary to the tomb on their behalf (ROMANUS). Mary comes looking for consolation (CHRYSOSTOM) and may have also been accompanied later by the other women, although these women are not included in John’s account (AUGUSTINE). John records that Mary is the first witness, showing his high regard for her and for women (CHRYSOSTOM) as he captures the ardor of her faith (AUGUSTINE, CYRIL). He tells us that Mary reported what she had witnessed only to the chief apostles, who believed, while Luke records the initial skepticism of the other disciples (EUSEBIUS). The Gospel next records how Peter and John came to the tomb in broad daylight so that no one could suspect them of having stolen the body of Jesus, as the chief priests had alleged (EUSEBIUS). We too should hurry to the tomb as they did (GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS).
The disciples looked in the tomb, noting the neatness of the folded linens, which would not have been the case had someone stolen the body (CHRYSOSTOM, EUSEBIUS). When John looked into the tomb, it is said that he believed. It is unclear from the text what it is John believed, however. Did he simply believe Mary’s words, that is, that they had taken the body away (AUGUSTINE)? Or, did John infer from the neatly folded linen cloths and the prophecies he knew, that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead (CYRIL)?
20:1 Early on the First Day of the Week
THE LORD’S DAY. AUGUSTINE: The first of the week is what Christian practice now calls the Lord’s day, because of the resurrection of the Lord. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 120.6. 2
THE WOMB AND THE TOMB. CHRYSOSTOM: How can I recount for you these hidden realities or proclaim what goes beyond any word or concept? How can I lay open before you the mystery of the Lord’s resurrection, the saving sign of his cross and of his three days’ death? For each and every event that happened to our Savior is an outward sign of the mystery of our redemption. Just as Christ was born from his mother’s inviolate virginal womb, so too he rose again from the closed tomb. As he, the only-begotten Son of God was made the firstborn of his mother, so, by his resurrection, he became the firstborn from the dead. His birth did not break the seal of his mother’s virginal integrity. Nor did his rising from the dead break the seals on the sepulcher. And so, just as I cannot fully express his birth in words, neither can I wholly encompass his going forth from the tomb. HOMILY ON HOLY SATURDAY 10. 3
THE WOMB OF THE EARTH GIVES BIRTH. HESYCHIUS OF JERUSALEM: Hidden first in a womb of flesh, he sanctified human birth by his own birth. Hidden afterward in the womb of the earth, he gave life to the dead by his resurrection. Suffering, pain and sighs have now fled away. For who has known the mind of God, or who has been his counselor if not the Word made flesh who was nailed to the cross, who rose from the dead and who was taken up into heaven? This day brings a message of joy: it is the day of the Lord’s resurrection when, with himself, he raised up the race of Adam. Born for the sake of human beings, he rose from the dead with them. On this day paradise is opened by the risen one, Adam is restored to life and Eve is consoled. On this day the divine call is heard, the kingdom is prepared, we are saved and Christ is adored. On this day, when he had trampled death under foot, made the tyrant a prisoner and despoiled the underworld, Christ ascended into heaven as a king in victory, as a ruler in glory, as an invincible charioteer. He said to the Father, “Here am I, O God, with the children you have given me.” And he heard the Father’s reply, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” To him be glory, now and for ever, through endless ages. Amen. EASTER HOMILY 5-6. 5
NO EXACT TIME RECORDED OF WHEN JESUS AROSE. DIONYSIUS OF ALEXANDRIA: No very exact account seems to be offered in the Scriptures of the hour at which Jesus rose. For the Evangelists have given different descriptions of the parties who came to the sepulcher one after another, and all have declared that they found the Lord risen already. It was “in the end of the sabbath,” as Matthew has said. It was “early, when it was yet dark,” as John writes. It was “very early in the morning,” as Luke puts it. And it was “very early in the morning, at the rising of the sun,” as Mark tells us. And so, no one has shown us clearly the exact time when he rose. It is admitted, however, that those who came to the sepulcher in the end of the sabbath found him no longer lying in it, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week. And let us not suppose that the Evangelists disagree or contradict each other. But even though there may seem to be some small difficulty as to the subject of our inquiry, if they all agree that the light of the world, our Lord, rose on that one night, while they differ with respect to the hour, we may well seek with wise and faithful mind to harmonize their statements. FRAGMENT 5.1. 7
IN HEBRAIC THOUGHT, DAY BEGINS WITH NIGHT. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: It seems to those who dissent that here also the words of the Evangelists do not agree with one another. On the contrary, it seems to me that on the basis of their accounts their words are perfectly consistent. . . . Indeed, John says, “Early . . . while it was dark.” The word early is not referred here to the morning. In fact, he does not say while it was “still” dark, which should have been said with regard to morning. But he wrote, “while it was dark,” that is, on the next day when the night began, by designating with the term early the entire day so that he might say the day after the sabbath. The holy Scripture usually defines both day and night with the word day, because the sun, after its course throughout the night and the day, makes the beginning of the next day by returning to its place in the west. And this is confirmed by Moses, who says, “And there was evening and there was morning, the first day,” which he also says about the second and third days, and all the rest. . . . John says, “Early on the first day of the week,” indicating the next day, that is, “on the first day of the week, when it was dark,” in order to signify that when the night began, the women came, in order to perform the proper honor according to customs. COMMENTARY ON JOHN 7.20.1. 9
THE EVANGELISTS AGREE IT WAS THE DEAD OF NIGHT. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: No one, I suppose, will imagine that the inspired writers disagree or that they fix the time of the resurrection differently. But anyone who chooses to investigate the meaning of the indications they give of the time will find that their accounts add up. For early dawn and late night fix the same point of time, that is, the very dead of night, so to say. There is, therefore, no discrepancy between them. For the one, taking as his starting point the end of night, and the other the beginning, both reach the middle watch and meet at the same point, that is, as I just now said, the dead of night. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 12. 10
DARKENED FAITH. GREGORY THE GREAT: Mary Magdalene came to the sepulcher when it was still dark. We note the hour historically, but we who seek understanding must find what is mystically intended. Mary was looking for the creator of all things in the tomb whom she had seen physically dead in the sepulcher. Because she did not find any trace of him, she believed that he had been stolen away. Truly it was still dark when she came to the sepulcher. FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 22. 11
MARY GOES TO THE TOMB ON BEHALF OF THE WOMEN. ROMANUS MELODUS:
To the Sun before sun who had then sunk in the tomb
The young women bearing incense hastened toward the dawn,
As though seeking day, and saying to one another,
“O friends, come let us anoint with spices
The body, life-bringing and buried,
The flesh which resurrects the fallen Adam which lies here in the tomb.
Let us go, let us hasten like the Magi,
And let us kneel down and bring with us
The spices as gifts—not to Him in swaddling clothes
But to Him wrapped in a shroud;
And let us weep and cry out: ‘O Master, arise,
Thou who dost offer resurrection to the fallen.’”
When the holy women were saying these things to each other,
They considered another idea, which is full of wisdom,
And they said to one another: “Women, why are we self-deceived?
For surely the Lord is not in the tomb!
Up until now, would it have held in subjection
One who controls the breath of living beings?
Would He still be a buried corpse? . . .
Let Mary leave and go see the tomb
And let us act in conformity with what she says,
For most certainly, as He foretold, the Immortal One has arisen,
He who offers resurrection to the fallen.”
The wise women, having made arrangements according to this plan,
No doubt sent forward Mary Magdalene
To the tomb, as the Theologian says.
It was dark, but love lighted the way for her;
And so she saw the great stone rolled away
From the entrance of the tomb.
KONTAKION ON THE RESURRECTION 29.1-3. 14
MARY COMES LOOKING FOR CONSOLATION. CHRYSOSTOM: For he arose while both stone and seals lay over him. But because it was necessary that others should be fully satisfied, the tomb was opened after the resurrection and what had happened was confirmed. This then was what startled Mary. For being entirely full of loving affection toward her Master, when the sabbath was past, she could not bear to rest but came very early in the morning, desiring to find some consolation from the place. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 85.4. 15
ALL THE WOMEN WERE WITH MARY. AUGUSTINE: It was in the early morning of the first day of the week that the women came to the sepulcher, as all the Evangelists are at one in attesting. By that time, all that is recorded by Matthew alone had already taken place, that is to say, in regard to the quaking of the earth, and the rolling away of the stone and the terror of the guards who were so frightened that they lay there like dead men. Then, as John informs us, Mary Magdalene came. She was unquestionably more ardent in her love than these other women who had ministered to the Lord. And so, it was not unreasonable in John to only mention her, leaving the other women unnamed who, however, were with her, as we gather from the reports given by other Evangelists. HARMONY OF THE GOSPELS 3.24.69. 16
20:2 Mary’s Report
WOMEN FAVORED IN MARY AS FIRST WITNESS. CHRYSOSTOM: Do you see how she did not yet know anything clearly concerning the resurrection? Instead, she thought the body had been removed, which is what she simply tells to the disciples. And the Evangelist has not deprived the woman of such praise, nor did he think it shameful that they should have learned these things first from her who had passed the night in watching. This shows how his love of the truth is on display everywhere. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 85.4. 17
“THEY HAVE TAKEN MY LORD.” AUGUSTINE: Some of the Greek codices have, “They have taken my Lord,” which may likely enough have been said by someone with a stronger than ordinary affection of love than simply that of a relationship of a handmaid. However, we have not found it in the several codices to which we have had access. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 120.6. 19
MARY’S ARDOR OF FAITH. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: This excellent and pious woman would never have endured remaining at home and leaving the sepulcher [after the burial] if she had not had respect for sabbath law and the penalty that was incurred by those who transgressed it. This fear curbed her excessive zeal, allowing ancient custom to prevail, and to withdraw her thoughts from the object of her most earnest longings for awhile. But when the sabbath was already past and the dawn of the next day was appearing, she hurried back to the spot. And then, when she saw the stone rolled away from the mouth of the tomb, well-grounded suspicions seized her mind and, calling to mind the ceaseless hatred of the Jews, she thought that Jesus had been carried away. And so she accuses them of this crime in addition to their other misdeeds. While she was thus engaged and mulling over the possibilities in her mind, the woman returned to the men who loved the Lord, anxious to obtain the cooperation of the most intimate of his disciples in her quest. And so deep-rooted and impregnable was her faith that she thought no less of Christ because of his death on the cross but even when he was dead called him Lord, as she had always done, thereby showing a truly God-loving spirit. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 12. 20
MARY’S SECRET AND THE DISCIPLES’ EXAMINATION. EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA: Question: How is it that in John the disciples hearing Mary, and then coming to the sepulcher, believed. But in Luke it is said that “their words appeared in their sight as an idle tale and they did not believe?
Answer: Mary, in John, told what she had seen to the chief apostles Peter and John alone, as declaring some secret. And they again, unknown to the other disciples, ran to the sepulcher, saw and believed. And there was nothing strange in the chief apostles having seen and believed while the rest to whom the women reported, not having received with their own eyes, did not believe them. Indeed, when the Savior appeared to the assembled disciples themselves, according to John, those who saw him rejoiced. But Thomas, since he was not with them and did not see, was not persuaded. But if he disbelieved the apostles, one would scarcely blame the rest because, not having as yet beheld him, they disbelieved the women. The Scripture shows much examination and carefulness on the part of the disciples, not readily assenting to their words but at first suspending judgment until they recognized the truth fully and clearly. TO MARINUS, SUPPLEMENT 3. 21
DID THE DISCIPLES BELIEVE MARY? EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA: The passage may have another meaning. It may be said that the women reporting the Savior’s resurrection from the message of the two men who appeared to them, according to Luke, were not believed by the Eleven, among whom were even Peter and John, who themselves had not believed. But Mary saying, according to John, “They have taken my Lord away from the tomb,” was not believed by the two disciples on this very point, that is, that the Savior had been taken away, until they came to the place and found it actually so. TO MARINUS, SUPPLEMENT 3. 22
20:3-4 Peter and John’s Race to the Tomb
PETER AND JOHN COME IN BROAD DAYLIGHT. EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA: Peter and John seem to come to the sepulcher in broad daylight (an opportune time). By not coming during the night and in darkness, no one can suspect them of what the chief priests falsely accused them, that is, that they came by night and stole him. Therefore the men did not come by night or while it was still dark but while it was broad daylight. But if the Gospel says that the disciples were gathered together for fear of the Jews, someone may object, “How then did those who were shut up visit the sepulcher in broad daylight?” We respond that it was natural that those who were living in the city in the midst of the Jews would be closed in, gathered together in one house. But those who came to the tomb, since they were outside the city, were far from fear of the Jews since they were going to a place deserted and empty of people. But perhaps it may also be the case that Peter and John, being above the fear of the other disciples, ventured more boldly to go out from the house while the others were too scared. In other matters it was recorded that they were considered worthy of more honor than the other apostles. TO MARINUS, SUPPLEMENT 2. 23
ALONG WITH PETER AND JOHN. GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS:
Be a Peter or a John;
Hasten to the sepulcher,
Running together,
Running against one another,
Vying in the noble race.
And even if you are beaten in speed,
Win the victory of showing who wants it more—
Not just looking into the tomb, but going in.
ON HOLY EASTER, ORATION 45.24. 24
20:5-7 Detail of the Linens and Tomb
NEATNESS OF LINENS PROVES NO THEFT. CHRYSOSTOM: When [Mary] came and said these things, the apostles heard them and drew near to the sepulcher with great eagerness. They see the linen clothes lying there, which was a sign of the resurrection. For if they had removed the body, they would not have stripped it first, nor, if any had stolen it, would they have taken the trouble to remove the napkin and roll it up and lay it in a place by itself apart from the linens. They would have taken the body as it was. Therefore, John tells us by anticipation that it was buried with much myrrh, which glues linen to the body not less firmly than lead. He tells us this so that when you hear that the napkin lay apart from the linens, you may not endure those who say that he was stolen. For a thief would not have been so foolish as to expend so much effort on a trifling detail. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 85.4. 25
PROOF NO THEFT OCCURRED. EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA: The cloths lying within seem to me at once to furnish also a proof that the body had not been taken away by people, as Mary supposed. For no one taking away the body would leave the linens, nor would the thief ever have stayed until he had undone the linens and so be caught. And at the same time they establish the resurrection of the body from the dead. For God, who transforms the bodies of our humiliation so as to be conformed to the body of Christ’s glory, changed the body as an organ of the power that dwelt in it, changing it into something more divine. But he left the linen cloths as superfluous and foreign to the nature of the body. TO MARINUS, SUPPLEMENT 2. 27
20:8-9 What Did John Believe?
JOHN BELIEVED MARY’S REPORT. AUGUSTINE: Here some, by not giving due attention, suppose that John believed that Jesus had risen again. But there is no indication of this from the words that follow. For what does he mean by immediately adding, “For as yet they knew not the Scripture, that he must rise again from the dead”? He could not then have believed that Jesus had risen again when he did not know that he had to rise again. What then did he see? What was it that he believed? It was nothing else but this, that is, that he saw the sepulcher empty and believed what the woman had said, that is, that Jesus had been taken away from the tomb. “For as yet they knew not the Scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.” In the same way also, when they heard of it from the Lord himself—although uttered in the plainest of terms—yet from their custom of hearing him speaking by parables they did not understand and believed that he meant something else. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 120.9. 29
PETER AND JOHN TESTIFY TO THE RESURRECTION. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: When these men (I mean Peter and John, the writer of this book, for he gives himself the name of the other disciple) heard this news from the woman’s mouth, they ran with all the speed they could and hurried to the sepulcher. They saw the marvel with their own eyes, being in themselves competent to testify to the event, for they were two in number as the Law enjoined. As yet they did not meet Christ risen from the dead, but they infer his resurrection from the bundle of linen clothes, and from that time on they believed that he had burst the bonds of death, as holy Scripture had long ago proclaimed that he would do. When, therefore, they looked at the issues of events in the light of the prophecies that turned out true, their faith was from that time forward rooted on a firm foundation. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 12. 31
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