February 22 – First Sunday of Lent

51:1-4 Prayer for Divine Mercy and Forgiveness

EMULATING GOD’S MERCY.

CHRYSOSTOM: Beloved, let us praise her, through whom we have been saved. Let us love her; let us prefer her to wealth. Let us have a merciful soul apart from wealth. Nothing is more characteristic of a Christian than mercy. There is nothing that unbelievers and all people are so amazed at as when we are merciful. For we ourselves are often in need of this mercy and say to God, “Have mercy on us according to the greatness of your mercy.” Let us begin first ourselves; yet we do not begin first. For he has already shown his mercy that he has toward us. But, beloved, let us follow second. For if people have mercy on one who was merciful, even if he has committed countless sins, God is much more merciful. ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 32.3.

“LORD, HAVE MERCY” IS AN AUTHENTIC PRAYER.

DESERT FATHERS: Some monks called Euchites, or “men of prayer,” once came to Abba Lucius in the ninth region of Alexandria. And the old man asked them, “What work do you do with your hands?” And they said, “We do not work with our hands. We obey St. Paul’s command and pray without ceasing.” The old man said to them, “Do you not eat?” They said, “Yes, we eat.” And the old man said to them, “When you are eating, who prays for you?” Again, he asked them, “Do you not sleep?” They said, “We sleep.” And the old man said, “Who prays for you while you are asleep?” They would not answer him. And he said to them, “Forgive me, brothers, but you do not practice what you say. I will show you how I pray without ceasing though I work with my hands. With God’s help, I sit and collect a few palm leaves, and interweave them and say, ‘Have mercy on me, O God, according to your great mercy: and according to the multitude of your mercies do away with my iniquity.’” And he said to them, “Is that prayer, or is it not?” They said, “It is prayer.” SAYINGS OF THE FATHERS 12.9.

GOD FORGIVES CONTRITE AND PENITENT SINNERS.

FULGENTIUS OF RUSPE: Finally, holy David successfully gained divine mercy because, having been converted by the humility of a contrite heart, he condemned the evil he had done by acknowledging it and did not put off punishment by doing penance for the lust of the evil deed he had fallen into; because, if he had not punished the cause of the guilt in which he was held, without a doubt he would have been punished. Having been converted to penance, he acknowledged his crime, fearing lest he would have to acknowledge the penalty by being condemned. By doing penance, he punished himself by acknowledging what he wanted to be overlooked by the Lord in himself. Finally, since he said, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” Immediately following this he added, “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.” He acknowledged his sin, not that by sinning he might increase it the more, but that by repenting, he might wash it away; and so the domination of sin, which blameworthy enjoyment had brought in, true conversion removed. And because David, converted with all his heart, groaned, he was immediately saved and thus in him was fulfilled what is commanded through the prophet: “If you are converted and groan, you will be saved.” ON THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS 1.12.3.

A GREAT SIN NEEDS GREAT MERCY.

JEROME: Psalm 50 [51] shows the complete repentance of a sinner when David, who had gone into Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite and was rebuked by the prophet Nathan, said, “I have sinned.” Immediately he deserved to hear “The Lord has removed your sin from you.” For he, who had added homicide to adultery and was moved to tears, said, “God, have compassion on me according to your great pity, and according to the multitude of your mercies take away my iniquity.” Since a great sin needed great mercy, he added, “Wash me completely from my iniquity, and my offense is always before me. I have sinned against you only”—for a king did not fear anyone else—“and I have done evil in your sight so that you will be justified in your speaking and you overcome when you judge.” “For God has included all things under sin so that he may be merciful to all.” He made so much progress that he who a little earlier had been a penitent sinner became a master and was able to say, “I will teach the unjust your ways, and sinners will be converted to you.” Since confession and beauty are before God, the one who confesses his sins and says, “My wounds have been destroyed and become putrefied,” changes the foulness of his wounds into a healthy state. But “he who hides his sins will not prosper.” LETTER 122.3.

KNOWLEDGE OF SIN IS AN ANTIDOTE TO VAINGLORY.

PACHOMIUS: As the holy old man Pachomius was journeying to his own monastery and had come near the desert called Amnon, legions of demons rose both on his right hand and on his left, some following him and others running in front of him, saying, “Behold the blessed man of God.” They were doing this, wishing to sow vainglory in him. But he knew their cunning, and the more they shouted, the more he cried out to God, confessing his sins. And undoing the demons’ cunning, he spoke out to them, saying, “O wicked ones! You cannot carry me away with you into vainglory, for I know my failures, for which I ought to weep constantly over eternal punishment. I have therefore no need of your false speech and guileful deceit, for your work is the destruction of the soul. And I am not carried away by your praises, for I know the cunning of your unholy minds.” And although holy Pachomius said these things to them, they did not stop their shamelessness; they followed alongside the blessed man until he drew near his monastery. PARALIPOMENA 8.14.

SAVE HUMAN NATURE BUT REMEDY THE FLAW OF SIN.

AUGUSTINE: As we were singing of the Lord, we asked him to turn his face away from our sins and to blot out all our misdeeds. But you can also take note, brothers, of what we heard in the same psalm: “Since I myself acknowledge my misdeed, and my sin is always before me.” Now somewhere else he says to God, “Do not turn your face away from me,” while here we have just said to him, “Turn your face away from my sins.” So since man and sinner are one person, the man says, “Do not turn your face away from me,” while the sinner says, “Turn your face away from my sins.” So what it amounts to is: “Do not turn your face away from what you have done; turn your face away from what I have done. Let your eye,” he says, “distinguish between them, or else the nature may perish because of the flaw. You have done something, I too have done something. What you have done is called nature; what I have done is called a flaw. May the flaw be remedied and thus the nature preserved.” SERMON 19.1.

SINS OF WHICH WE ARE UNAWARE.

CASSIODORUS: “Who can understand his sins? Cleanse me from my hidden faults, O Lord.” See, the door of the third section opens, in which the prophet implores that all his sins would be washed away until the eloquence of his mouth would be rendered acceptable in the sight of the Lord. But because transgressions occur by means of human errors in three manners—thought, word and deed—he attests that that immense sea of sins, condensed in brevity, originates from two sources. The “hidden” sin is that which is called “original,” in which we are conceived, born and sin by a secret will, such as when we covet our neighbor’s property, when we desire to take vengeance on our enemies, when we want to be exalted above others, when we seek after tastier foods, and do things similar to these things. They sprout up and quietly seize us in such a way that they seem to be hidden to many until the deed is done. But if these things should be rendered visible to someone—as Solomon warns, “Do not go after your evil desires”—we nonetheless ought to notice that there are many sins which we altogether do not know, of which we are able to understand neither their origins nor their manners of snatching us away. One must understand the phrase “Who understands all his sins?” from this perspective, because when he will go on to say in Psalm 51, “My sin is always before me” and elsewhere, “I have made my sin known to you,” how can it not be understood that whenever he sins he is compelled to confess? But if you add the word “all,” then this objection is shown to be obviated. EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 18.13.

SIN IS AN OFFENSE AGAINST GOD.

AMBROSE: “I [the prodigal son] have sinned,” he says, “against heaven and before you.” He confesses what is clearly a sin to death, that you may not think that any one doing penance is rightly shut out from pardon. For one who has sinned against heaven has sinned either against the kingdom of heaven or against his own soul, which is a sin to death, and against God, to whom alone is said: “Against you only have I sinned and done evil before you.” CONCERNING REPENTANCE 2.3.17.

51:5-9 Acknowledgment of Original Sin

HUMAN BEINGS ARE SINFUL FROM CONCEPTION.

AUGUSTINE: So it is because of this quite unique innocence that the psalm says, “Against you alone have I sinned and done what is evil in your presence, that you may be justified in your words and may overcome when you are judged,” because he could find not a hint of evil in you [Jesus Christ]. Why could he find it in you, though, O human race? Because it goes on to say, “For I myself was conceived in iniquity, and in sins did my mother conceive me.” It is David saying this. Inquire how David was born; you will discover that it was of a lawful wife, not of adultery. So in terms of what sort of propagation does he say “I was conceived in iniquity”? It can only be that there is here a kind of propagation or transmission of death, which every person contracts who is born of the union of man and woman. SERMON 170.4.

EVEN INFANTS NEED A SACRIFICE FOR THEIR SIN.

ORIGEN: Celsus has not explained how error accompanies the “becoming,” or product of generation; nor has he expressed himself with sufficient clearness to enable us to compare his ideas with ours and to pass judgment on them. But the prophets, who have given some wise suggestions on the subject of things produced by generation, tell us that a sacrifice for sin was offered even for newborn infants, as not being free from sin. They say, “I was shaped in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me”; also, “They are estranged from the womb”; which is followed by the singular expression, “They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.” AGAINST CELSUS 7.50.

EVEN A DAY-OLD INFANT IS SINFUL.

JEROME: But we, according to the epistle of James, “all stumble in many things,” and “no one is pure from sin, no not if his life is but a day long.” For who will boast “that he has a clean heart? or who will be sure that he is pure from sin?” And we are held guilty after the likeness of Adam’s transgression. Hence David says, “Behold, I was shaped in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” And the blessed Job, “Even if I were righteous, my mouth will speak wickedness; even if I were perfect, I will be found guilty. If I wash myself with soap and make my hands ever so clean, yet you will plunge me in the ditch, and even my own clothes will abhor me.” AGAINST JOVINIANUS 2.2.

NO ONE IS WITHOUT SIN.

JEROME: I need not go through the lives of the saints or call attention to the moles and blemishes that mark the fairest skins. Many of our writers, it is true, unwisely take this course; however, a few sentences of Scripture will dispose alike of the heretics and the philosophers. What does Paul say? “For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all”; and in another place, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” The preacher also who is the mouthpiece of the divine Wisdom freely protests and says, “There is not a just person on earth, that does good and sins not,” and again, “When your people sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin,” and “who can say, I have made my heart clean?” and “none is clean from stain, not even if his life on earth has been but for one day.” David insists on the same thing when he says, “Behold, I was shaped in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me”; and in another psalm, “in your sight shall no man living be justified.” This last passage they try to explain away from motives of reverence, arguing that the meaning is that no human being is perfect in comparison with God. Yet the Scripture does not say, “in comparison with you no one living shall be justified” but “in your sight no one living shall be justified.” And when it says “in your sight” it means that those who seem holy to people are by no means holy to God in his fuller knowledge. For “man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” But if in the sight of God who sees all things and to whom the secrets of the heart lie open no one is just; then these heretics, instead of adding to human dignity, clearly take away from God’s power. I might bring together many other passages of Scripture of the same import; but were I to do so, I should exceed the limits not of a letter but of a volume. LETTER 133.2.

CLOTHED IN WHITE ROBES.

AMBROSE: After this white robes were given to you as a sign that you were putting off the covering of sins and putting on the chaste veil of innocence, of which the prophet said, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed; wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.” For one who is baptized is seen to be purified according to the law and according to the gospel: according to the law, because Moses sprinkled the blood of the lamb with a bunch of hyssop; according to the gospel, because Christ’s garments were white as snow, when in the Gospel he showed forth the glory of his resurrection. One, then, whose guilt is forgiven is made whiter than snow. Thus God said through Isaiah: “Though your sins are as scarlet, I will make them white as snow.” ON THE MYSTERIES 7.34.

CONTRITION LEADS TO FORGIVENESS.

AUGUSTINE: So all past sins are forgiven people on conversion; but for the rest of this life there are certain grave and deadly sins, from which one can be released only by the most vehement and distressing humbling of the heart and contrition of spirit and the pain of repentance. These are forgiven through the keys of the church. If you start judging yourself, you see, if you start being displeased with yourself, God will come along to show you mercy. If you are willing to punish yourself, he will spare you. In fact, all who repent and do penance well are punishing themselves. They have to be severe with themselves, so that God may be lenient with them. As David says, “Turn your face away from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.” But on what terms? He says in the same psalm, “Since I acknowledge my iniquity, and my sin is always before me.” So if you acknowledge it, God overlooks it. SERMON 278.12.

IT IS GODLY TO HATE SIN.

AUGUSTINE: God does not listen to sinners. When he was beating his breast, he was punishing his sins; when he was punishing his sins, he was associating himself with God as judge. God, you see, hates sins; if you too hate them, you are beginning to join God, so that you can say to him, “Turn your face away from my sins.” Turn your face away—but from what? From my sins. “Do not turn your face away from me.” What’s the meaning of “your face from my sins”? Don’t see them, don’t look at them; overlook them instead, so that you can pardon me. SERMON 136A.2.

51:10-14 The Stain of Sin Can Be Removed by God Alone

THE HOLY SPIRIT’S ROLE IN REGENERATION.

HIPPOLYTUS: This is the Spirit who at the beginning “moved on the face of the waters”; by whom the world moves; by whom creation consists and all things have life; who also worked mightily in the prophets and descended in flight on Christ. This is the Spirit who was given to the apostles in the form of fiery tongues. This is the Spirit who David sought when he said, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Of this Spirit Gabriel also spoke to the Virgin, “The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you.” By this Spirit Peter spoke that blessed word, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” By this Spirit the rock of the church was established. This is the Spirit, the Comforter, who is sent because of you, that he may show you to be the Son of God. ON THE THEOPHANY 9.

THE ENTIRE BODY NEEDS CLEANSING.

GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS: In addition to what has already been said, those who cleanse the head, which is the seat of knowledge, would do well to hold fast to Christ as their head. It is from him that the entire body is joined together and reconciled. And to cast aside our sin which arises and to seek to surpass the better part. It is also good that they should cleanse the shoulder so that it will be able to bear the cross of Christ, which is not borne easily by everyone. It is also good to consecrate the hands and the feet—the hands so that they may be lifted up in every holy place and grasp the teachings of Christ lest the Lord be angered at any time and to believe the Word by living it as when it was given into the hand of the prophet; the feet so that they will not be quick to shed blood or rush into evil but that they may be ready to hurry to the gospel and to their high calling and to receive Christ, who washes and purifies them. If anyone is clean in his stomach, which is able to hold and digest the food of the Word, he should not make a god of nourishment and meat that perishes; rather he should especially reduce its size so that he may receive the Word of the Lord in its very midst and to grieve deeply over the failing of Israel. I also find the heart and the inward parts worthy of honor. David convinced me of this when he asked that a clean heart be created within him and a right spirit be consecrated in his innermost being—by this I think he clearly means his mind and its emotions or thoughts. ON HOLY BAPTISM, ORATION 40.39.

SIN IS A DIFFICULT STAIN TO REMOVE.

CHRYSOSTOM: It would be better to be defiled with unclean mud than with sins. A person who is defiled with mud can wash it off in a short time and become like one who had never fallen into that mire at all. But one who has fallen into the deep pit of sin has contracted a defilement that is not cleansed by water but needs a long period of time, strict repentance, tears and lamentations and more wailing—and that more fervent than we show at the loss of one of our dearest friends. For this defilement attaches to us from without, wherefore we also quickly put it away, but the other is generated from within, where it is more difficult to wash it off and to cleanse ourselves from it. “For from the heart” (it is said) “proceed evil thoughts, fornications, adulteries, thefts, false witnesses.” Thus, the prophet also said, “Create in me a clean heart, O God.” And another prophet said, “Wash your heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem.” (You see that it is both our [work] and God’s.) And again, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 12.7.

MADE GOOD BY GOD’S GRACE.

AUGUSTINE: We are then truly free when God ordered our lives, that is, formed and created us not as individuals—this he has already done—but also as good people, which he is now doing by his grace, that we may indeed be new creatures in Christ Jesus. Accordingly, the prayer “Create in me a clean heart, O God.” This does not mean, as far as the natural human heart is concerned, that God has not already created this. ENCHIRIDION 9.31.

THE GUEST ROOM OF THE HEART.

BEDE: Let us call to mind that he promised that [Jesus] would send the grace of the Spirit to his disciples, and he did send it. And let us take care with all watchfulness, lest by our seductive thoughts we grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom we have been sealed for the day of redemption. For so it is written, “The Holy Spirit will flee the pretense of discipline, and will remove himself from thoughts that are without understanding.” When the psalmist was burning with the desire to receive this Spirit, he providently sought first [to have] the guest chamber of a clean heart in which he could receive him, and so at length [he] sought the entry of so great a guest. “Create a clean heart in me, O God,” he said, “renew an upright spirit in my inmost parts.” He entreated that first a clean heart be created in him and then that an upright spirit be renewed in his inmost parts, because he knew that an upright spirit could have no place in a defiled heart. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPELS 2.11.

ALL GOOD IS A GIFT OF THE SPIRIT.

BEDE: It is only by participation in the divine goodness that a rational creature is recognized as being capable of becoming good. Hence the Lord also bears witness by a benevolent promise that “your Father from heaven will give his good Spirit to those who ask him.” This is to point out that those who of themselves are evil can become good through receiving the gift of the Spirit. He pledged that his good Spirit would be given by the Father to those asking for him, because whether we desire to secure faith, hope and charity, or any other heavenly goods at all, they are not bestowed on us in any other way than by the gift of the Holy Spirit. So it is that the same Spirit, in Isaiah, is named the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and fortitude, the Spirit of knowledge and piety, the Spirit of the fear of the Lord; and in another place, the Spirit of love and peace [and] the Spirit of grace and prayers. Undoubtedly whatever good we truly have, whatever we do well, this we receive from the lavishness of the same Spirit. When a prophet who understood this was seeking purity of heart, saying, “Create a pure heart in me, O Lord,” he immediately added, “Renew a steadfast spirit within me.” If the steadfast Spirit of the Lord does not fill our innermost being, we have no pure heart where he may abide. When in his eager longing for an advance in good for his work he had said, “Lord, I have had recourse to you, teach me to do your will,” he at once showed in what way he had to secure this when he went on, “Let your good Spirit lead me into the right way.” HOMILIES ON THE GOSPELS 2.14.

TITLES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

BASIL THE GREAT: We shall now examine what kinds of ideas about the Spirit we hold in common, as well as those that we have gathered from the Scriptures or received from the unwritten tradition of the Fathers. First of all, who can listen to the Spirit’s titles and not be lifted up in his soul? Whose thoughts would not be raised to contemplate the supreme nature? He is called the Spirit of God, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, right Spirit, willing Spirit. His first and most proper title is Holy Spirit, a name most especially appropriate to everything that is incorporeal, purely immaterial and indivisible. ON THE HOLY SPIRIT 9.22.

THE FORGIVING GAZE OF GOD.

CASSIDORUS: As for the fact that he says, “And he has looked upon,” he indicates the grace of the one who shows mercy. We say that they see that we look upon those to whom we declare that something has also been offered. And consider that he did not say that the sins were seen, but rather the sons of men were. For when God looks at their sins, he punishes them; when he looks at a person, he absolves them, just as he will say in Psalm 51, “Turn your face from my sins,” and elsewhere, “Do not turn your face away from me.” Thus, we must understand and retain this salutary distinction. EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 32.13.

CHRIST AND THE DEVIL CANNOT COEXIST IN THE HUMAN HEART.

JEROME: “The one who says, I know him, and does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word, in him the love of God has been truly perfected. By this we know that we are in him; he who says that he abides in him ought himself also to walk as he walked.” My reason for telling you, little children, that everyone who is born of God does not sin, is that you should not sin and that you should know that as long as you do not sin you abide in the birth that God has given you. Truly, they who abide in that birth cannot sin. “For what does light have in common with darkness? Or Christ with Belial?” As day is distinct from night, so righteousness and unrighteousness, sin and good works, Christ and Antichrist cannot blend. If we give Christ a lodging place in our hearts, we banish the devil therefrom. If we sin and the devil enters through the gate of sin, Christ will immediately withdraw. Hence David after sinning says, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation,” that is, the joy that he had lost by sinning. AGAINST JOVINIANUS 2.2.

RESTORED THROUGH REPENTANCE.

CALLISTUS OF ROME: People are in error who think that the priests of the Lord, after a lapse, although they may have exhibited true repentance, are not capable of ministering to the Lord and engaging their honorable offices, even though they may lead a good life thereafter and perform their priesthood correctly. Individuals who hold this opinion are not only in error but also seem to argue and act in opposition to the power of the keys committed to the church, of which it is said, “Whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” In short, this opinion either is not the Lord’s or it is true. Be that as it may, we believe without hesitation that both the priests of the Lord and other believers may return to their place of honor after a proper satisfaction for their error, as the Lord testifies through his prophet: “Shall he who falls not also rise again? and shall he who turns away not return?” In another passage the Lord says, “I desire not the death of the sinner, but that he may turn and live.” The prophet David, on his repentance, said, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with your free Spirit.” And he indeed, after his repentance, taught others also and offered sacrifice to God, giving thereby an example to the teachers of the holy church, that if they have fallen and thereafter have exhibited a right repentance to God, they may do both things in like manner. For he taught when he said, “I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will be converted to you.” And he offered sacrifice for himself when he said, “The sacrifice for God is a broken spirit.” For the prophet, seeing his own transgressions purged by repentance, had no doubt as to healing those of others by preaching and by making offering to God. Thus the shedding of tears moves the mind’s feeling (passionem). And when the satisfaction is made good, the mind is turned aside from anger. For how does that person think that mercy will be shown to himself, who does not forgive his neighbor? If offences abound, then, let mercy also abound; for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plentiful redemption. EPISTLE 2.6.

LESSONS FROM APOSTOLIC EXAMPLE.

AUGUSTINE: So then Rome, the head of the nations, has these two lights of the nations lit by the one who enlightens every person who comes into this world—one light in which God has exalted the most abject lowliness, the other in which he cured the wickedness that deserved to be condemned. With the former let us learn not to be proud, with the latter not to despair. How simply these great examples have been set before us, and how salutary they are! Let us always commemorate them and in praising them glorify that true light. So none of us should get a swollen head about having a high position in the world; Peter was a fisherman. None of us, reflecting on our own iniquity, should run away from God’s mercy; Paul was a persecutor. The former says, “The Lord has become the refuge of the poor”; the latter says, “Let me teach the wicked your ways, and the godless will be converted to you.” SERMON 381.1.

51:15-19 True Worship That Pleases God Follows Absolution and Forgiveness

THE SACRIFICE OF A CONTRITE HEART.

AUGUSTINE: At the time David spoke in this way: “Since if you had wanted a sacrifice I would certainly have given one; in burnt offerings you will not delight.” [However,] those sacrifices that were still offered to God are no longer offered now. He was prophesying, therefore, when he said this: he was rejecting current customs and foreseeing future ones. “In burnt offerings,” he says, “you will not delight. When you [the congregation] stop delighting in burnt offerings, will you be left without any sacrifice? Certainly not.” “A sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit: a contrite and humbled heart God does not despise.” Therefore you do have something to offer. Don’t look around the flock, don’t fit out ships and travel to far distant regions to bring back incense. Look in your own heart for what may be acceptable to God. The heart has to be crushed. Why be afraid it will be destroyed if you crush it? There you have the answer: “Create a clean heart in me, O God.” For a clean heart to be created, let the unclean heart be crushed. SERMON 19.3.

CAREFUL FOR SALVATION.

EPISTLE OF BARNABAS: To us, therefore, David says, “A sacrifice to God is a broken heart”; “an aroma pleasing to the Lord is a heart that glorifies its Maker.” So, brothers, we ought to give very careful attention to our salvation, lest the evil one should cause some error to slip into our midst and thereby hurl us away from our life. EPISTLE OF BARNABAS 2.10.

THERE IS NO VENGEANCE IN A CONTRITE HEART.

CHRYSOSTOM: Other things too must be added to humbleness of mind if it is such as the blessed David knew, when he said, “A broken and a contrite heart God will not despise.” For that which is broken does not rise up, does not strike, but is ready to be ill-treated and itself does not rise up. Such is contrition of heart: though it is insulted, though it is enticed by evil, it is quiet and is not eager for vengeance. ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 9.8.

HUMILITY IS LOVELY TO GOD.

CHRYSOSTOM: But how shall a person find grace with God? How else, except by lowliness of mind? For “God,” James says, “resists the proud but gives grace to the humble”; and “the sacrifice of God is a broken spirit, and a heart that is brought low God will not despise.” For if humility is so lovely to human beings, it is much more so with God. Thus both the Gentiles found grace and the Jews did not fall from grace in any other way, “for they were not subject to the righteousness of God.” The lowly person of whom I am speaking is pleasing and delightful to all people, and dwells in continual peace and has in him no ground for contentions. For even if you insult him, even if you abuse him, whatever you say, he will be silent and will bear it meekly; he will have so great a peace toward all people that one cannot even describe it. Yes, and with God also. For the commandments of God are to be at peace with human beings: and thus our whole life is made prosperous, through peace one with another. HOMILIES ON 1 CORINTHIANS 1.4.

AN APPROPRIATE ANGER TOWARD ONESELF.

AUGUSTINE: So this lad had already crushed his heart in a region afflicted with famine; I mean, he had returned to his heart to pound his heart; he had previously left his heart in pride; he had now returned to his heart in anger. He was angry with himself, ready to punish not himself but his wrongdoing; he had returned, ready to earn his father’s right response. He spoke in anger, according to the text, “Be angry, and do not sin.” Re-pentance, you see, always means being angry with yourself, seeing that because you are angry, you punish yourself. That is the source of all those gestures in penitents who are truly repentant, truly sorry; the source of tearing the hair, of wrapping oneself in sackcloth, of beating the breast. Surely these are all indications of being savage with oneself, being angry with oneself. What the hand does outwardly, the conscience does inwardly; it lashes itself in its thoughts, it beats itself, indeed, to speak more truly, it slays itself. It is by slaying itself, you see, that it offers itself “a sacrifice to God, a crushed spirit; a contrite and humbled heart God does not reject.” Just so, then, this lad by pounding, humbling, beating his heart, slew his heart. SERMON 112A.5.

SORROW OVER SINS IS A MEASURE OF REPENTANCE.

AUGUSTINE: No matter how great our crimes, forgiveness of them should never be despised in the holy church for those who truly repent, each according to the measure of his sin. And, in the act of repentance, where a crime has been committed of such gravity as also to cut off the sinner from the body of Christ, we should not consider the amount of time as much as the degree of sorrow. For “a contrite and humbled heart God will not despise.” ENCHIRIDION 17.65.

A CONTRITE HEART AND THE SACRIFICE OF PRAISE.

GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS: I have not yet alluded to the true and first wisdom, for which our wonderful husbandman and shepherd is conspicuous. The first wisdom is a life worthy of praise, in which a person keeps himself pure for God or is purified for him who is all-pure and all-luminous. God demands of us, as his only sacrifice, purification—that is, a contrite heart, the sacrifice of praise, a new creation in Christ, the new man, and the like, as the Scripture loves to call it. ON HIS FATHER’S SILENCE, ORATION 16.2.

5:12 Death Spread to All People

From One Man to All Humanity.

ORIGEN: Perhaps someone will object that the woman sinned before the man and even that the serpent sinned before her . . . and elsewhere the apostle says: “Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived.” . . . How is it then that sin seems to have come in through one man rather than through one woman? . . . Here the apostle sticks to the order of nature, and thus when he speaks about sin, because of which death has passed to all men, he attributes the line of human descent, which has succumbed to this death because of sin, not to the woman but to the man. For the descent is not reckoned from the woman but from the man, as the apostle says elsewhere: “For man was not made from woman but woman from man.” In this context the word world is to be understood either as the place in which people live or as the earthly and corporeal life in which death has its location. It is to this world, that is, to this earthly life, that the saints say that they are crucified and dead. The death which entered through sin is without doubt that death of which the prophet speaks when he says: “The soul which sins shall surely die.” One might rightly say that our bodily death is a shadow of this death. For whenever a soul dies, the body is obliged to follow suit, like a shadow. Now if someone objects that the Savior did not sin, nor did his soul die because of sin, yet nevertheless his body suffered death, we would answer that the Savior, although he did not himself sin, nevertheless by the assumption of human flesh is said to have become sin. As a result, although he owed his death to nothing else, nor was he bound to anything outside himself, yet for our salvation he voluntarily took on this shadow as part of his incarnation. As he himself said: “I have power to lay my soul down, and I have power to take it again.” . . . The apostle stated most categorically that the death of sin has passed to all men because all have sinned. . . . Therefore even if you say that Abel was righteous, still he cannot be excused, for all have sinned, including him. Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans.

Death Spread.

EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA: Since the apostle said: “By man death entered into the world,” it was surely essential that the victory over death should be achieved by man as well, and the body of death be shown to be the body of life, and the reign of sin that before ruled in the mortal body be destroyed so that it should no longer serve sin but righteousness. Proof of the Gospel 7.1.

How Can God Call Me Back Except He Find Me in Adam?

AMBROSE: Although through one man’s sin death has passed to all men, him whom we do not refuse to acknowledge as the father of the human race we cannot refuse to acknowledge as also the author of death. . . . In Adam I fell, in Adam I was cast out of paradise, in Adam I died. How shall God call me back, except he find me in Adam? For just as in Adam I am guilty of sin and owe a debt to death, so in Christ I am justified. On the Death of His Brother Satyrus 2.6.

Whether Through Woman or Man.

AMBROSIASTER: Paul said that all have sinned in Adam even though in fact it was Eve who sinned because he was not referring to the particular but to the universal. For it is clear that all have sinned in Adam as though in a lump. For, being corrupted by sin himself, all those whom he fathered were born under sin. For that reason we are all sinners, because we all descend from him. He lost God’s blessing because he transgressed and was made unworthy to eat of the tree of life. For that reason he had to die. Death is the separation of body and soul. There is another death as well, called the second death, which takes place in Gehenna. We do not suffer this death as a result of Adam’s sin, but his fall makes it possible for us to get it by our own sins. Good men were protected from this, as they were only in hell, but they were still not free, because they could not ascend to heaven. They were still bound by the sentence meted out in Adam, the seal of which was broken by the death of Christ. The sentence passed on Adam was that the human body would decompose on earth, but the soul would be bound by the chains of hell until it was released. Commentary on Paul’s Epistles.

Chrysostom: Paul inquires as to how death came into the world and why it prevailed. It came in and prevailed through the sin of one man and continued because all have sinned. Thus once Adam fell, even those who had not eaten of the tree became mortal because of him. Homilies on Romans 10.

Sin Passed to All.

[PSEUDO-]CONSTANTIUS: If sin entered the world through one human being—Eve—those who say that there was sin in the world before the devil deceived Eve are mad. The Holy Letter of St. Paul to the Romans.

The Death of the Soul.

[PSEUDO-]CONSTANTIUS: “All men sinned” means that they followed the example of Adam. The apostle is here referring to the death of the soul, which is the death Adam suffered when he transgressed, just as the prophet says: “The soul which sins shall surely die.” This sin passed to all men, who transgressed the natural law. The Holy Letter of St. Paul to the Romans.

Even Children.

AUGUSTINE: Everyone, even little children, have broken God’s covenant, not indeed in virtue of any personal action but in virtue of mankind’s common origin in that single ancestor in whom all have sinned. The City of God 16.27.

Born with Death.

AUGUSTINE: When a man is born, he is already born with death, because he contracts sin from Adam. Tractates on the Gospel of John 49.12.2.

Augustine: If the souls of all men are derived from that one which was breathed into the first man . . . either the soul of Christ was not derived from that one, since he had no sin of any kind . . . or, if his soul was derived from that first one, he purified it in taking it for himself, so that he might be born of the virgin and might come to us without any trace of sin, either committed or transmitted. Letter 164.

Infants Set Free from Sin’s Guilt by Baptism.

AUGUSTINE: As infants cannot help being descended from Adam, so they cannot help being touched by the same sin, unless they are set free from its guilt by the baptism of Christ. Letter 157.

Original Sin.

AUGUSTINE: These words clearly teach that original sin is common to all men, regardless of the personal sins of each one. Against Julian 6.20.63.

Augustine: All men for whom Christ died died in the sin of the first Adam, and all who are baptized into Christ die to sin. Against Julian 6.7.21.

Whether There Are Exceptions.

PELAGIUS: Just as through Adam sin came at a time when it did not yet exist, so through Christ righteousness was recovered at a time when it survived in almost nobody. And just as through Adam’s sin death came in, so through Christ’s righteousness life was regained. As long as people sin as Adam sinned they die. Death did not pass on to Abraham and Isaac, of whom the Lord says: “They all live to him.” But here Paul says that all are dead because in a multitude of sinners no exception is made for a few righteous. . . . Or perhaps we should understand that death passed on to all who lived in a human and not in a heavenly manner. Pelagius’s Commentary on Romans.

All Incur Penalty.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Death entered into the first man, and into the beginnings of our race, because of sin, and very soon it had corrupted the entire race. In addition to this, the serpent who invented sin, after he had conquered Adam because of the latter’s unfaithfulness, opened up a way for himself to enter the mind of man: “They are corrupt . . . there is none that does good.” Therefore, having turned away from the face of the most holy God, and because the mind of man willingly inclined towards evil from its adolescence, we lived an absurd life, and death the conqueror devoured us accordingly. . . . For since we have all copied Adam’s transgression and thus have all sinned, we have incurred a penalty equal to his. Yet the world was not without hope, for in the end sin was destroyed, Satan was defeated and death itself was abolished. Explanation of the Letter to the Romans.

No One Is Sinless Born.

PRUDENTIUS: Such was the soul’s first state. Created pure through sordid union with the flesh it fell into iniquity; stained by Adam’s sin, it tainted all the race from him derived, and infant souls inherit at their birth the first man’s sin; no one is sinless born. The Divinity of Christ, Lines 909-15.

Each One Sentenced.

THEODORET OF CYR: St. Paul says that when Adam sinned he became mortal because of it and passed both on to his descendants. Thus death came to all men, in that all sinned. But each person receives the sentence of death not because of the sin of his first ancestor but because of his own sin. Interpretation of the Letter to the Romans.

All Inherit His Nature.

GENNADIUS OF CONSTANTINOPLE: Everyone in the following of Adam has died, because they have all inherited their nature from him. But some have died because they themselves have sinned, while others have died only because of Adam’s condemnation—for example, children. Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church.

All Have Sinned in Imitation.

OECUMENIUS: So that no one can accuse God of injustice, in that we all die because of the fall of Adam, Paul adds: “and so all have sinned.” Adam is the origin and the cause of the fact that we have all sinned in imitation of him. Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church.

5:13 Sin Preceded the Law

Before Which Law Was Sin Given?

ORIGEN: We have already said on many occasions that in this epistle Paul mentions many different laws, though most often he is discussing the natural law, which also seems to be the case here. For until the natural law comes, sin is indeed dead. Thus it is that at a particular age, when a person begins to be capable of rational thought and to distinguish between right and wrong, good and evil, then sin, which before that time is considered to be dead inside him, is said to revive, because now he has a law inside him which forbids and a reason which shows him what not to do. Why does Paul say that sin was “in the world” and not that sin was “in men”? The world includes cattle and other animals, not to mention trees and other things like that, but obviously sin does not dwell in them! It seems to me that here the apostle is referring to those men who are capable of reasoning and are subject to natural laws. Those people who have not yet reached the age of reason are not included in this context. Another argument against those who think that this [verse] refers to the law of Moses is that in that case, the devil and his angels would be absolved, because where there is no law, sin would not be imputed. And how, before the law of Moses, would the serpent have been condemned or death have entered the world by the devil’s scheming? Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans.

In What Sense Was Sin Before the Law?

AMBROSIASTER: Before the law was given, men thought that they could sin with impunity before God but not before other men. For the natural law, of which they were well aware, had not completely lost its force, so that they knew not to do to others what they did not want to suffer themselves. For sin was certainly not unknown among men at that time. How is it then that sin was not imputed, when there was no law? Was it all right to sin, if the law was absent? There had always been a natural law, and it was not unknown, but at that time it was thought to be the only law, and it did not make men guilty before God. For it was not then known that God would judge the human race, and for that reason sin was not imputed, almost as if it did not exist in God’s sight and that God did not care about it. But when the law was given through Moses, it became clear that God did care about human affairs and that in the future wrongdoers would not escape without punishment, as they had done up to then. Commentary on Paul’s Epistles.

Before the Law of Moses, Not of Nature.

DIODORE: Sin was in the world before the law of Moses came, and it was counted, though not according to that law. Rather it was counted according to the law of nature, by which we have learned to distinguish good and evil. This was the law of which Paul spoke above. Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church.

Law Did Not Stop Sin but Made It More Discernible.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: The coming of the law did not remove sin. On the contrary, even though the law was observed and kept by men, sin continued to increase and the law could do nothing to stop it. . . . So far was the law from being the cure for sin that Paul even says that there would not have been sin at all had there been no law! By “law” Paul means the discernment which comes by both the natural law and the law of Moses. For without this discernment, nobody would be able to call sin by its name, since there would be no way of knowing the difference between good and evil. Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church.

Sin Not Counted Where There Is No Law.

AUGUSTINE: Paul said this in opposition to those who thought that sin could be taken away through the law. He says that sins were made apparent by the law, not abolished. He says not that there was no sin but only that it was not counted. Once the law was given, sin was not taken away, but it began to be counted. Augustine on Romans 27-28.

The Natural Law.

[PSEUDO-]CONSTANTIUS: “Before the law” refers to the law of Moses, inferring that sin is not counted where there is no law. This time, however, Paul means the natural law, because of which Cain transgressed and after him those who transgressed the natural law. The Holy Letter of St. Paul to the Romans.

Not Counted Temporarily.

PELAGIUS: The law came to punish sin. Before it came, sinners enjoyed at least the length of this present life with less restraint. Sin indeed existed before the law, but it was not counted as sin because natural knowledge had been almost wiped out. How did death reign, if sin was not counted? You have to understand here that it was not counted “for the time being.” Pelagius’s Commentary on Romans.

Sin Strengthened by Law.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: The law of Moses was the power constraining the weakness of sinners. It proved to be not the answer to sin but rather a provocation to wrath. For it was necessary for transgressors to undergo the punishments prescribed by the law, and wherever there was transgression, there was also sin. So if sin brought death in its wake, it may undoubtedly be said that death, having been born of sin, was strengthened by this very thing. But when sin was taken away death was also weakened, and it disappeared along with its parent. Therefore there was death in the world until the coming of the law. For as long as the law was valid, the crime of transgression could be laid against those who had fallen, but once the law was removed, the accusation of transgression disappeared as well. Therefore when the guilt ceased, death also came to an end. Explanation of the Letter to the Romans.

Before the Law Came to an End.

THEODORET OF CYR: Paul is not, as some think, accusing those who lived before the law but rather everyone together. When he says “before the law” he does not mean before the law began but before the law came to an end, because as long as the law was in control, sin retained its force. Interpretation of the Letter to the Romans.

Sin Counted Under the Law of Nature.

OECUMENIUS: When Paul uses the word sin here he is thinking primarily of the transgression of the law of Moses and its commandments, e.g., circumcision, sabbath observance, the food laws, etc. Nevertheless, sin in general already existed in human nature, and it was counted. By this I mean things like murder, robbery, child abuse and so on. . . . For there was a law of nature which covered things like that. Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church.

5:14 Death Reigned from Adam to Moses

Death as Robber.

IRENAEUS: But the law given by Moses . . . really took away death’s kingdom, showing that death was not a king but a robber, and it revealed death as a murderer. Against Heresies 3.18.7.

Adam the Type of the Son.

IRENAEUS: Paul called Adam “the type of the one who was to come” because the Word, the maker of all things, had formed beforehand for himself the future dispensation of the human race, in union with the Son of God. God predestined that the first man should be of an animal nature with this in view, that he might be saved in the spiritual nature. For since the Word had preexistence as a saving being, it was necessary that what might be saved should also be called into existence, in order that the being who saves should not exist in vain. Against Heresies 3.22.3.

The Usurper Reigned.

ORIGEN: It seems to me that Paul’s description of death and its power may be compared to the entry of a tyrant who wants to usurp the authority of the legitimate ruler and after seizing the entrance to the kingdom by the treachery of the gatekeeper then tries to get public opinion on his side. To a great extent he succeeds in this and can therefore claim that the kingdom belongs to him. It was during the rule of this tyrant that Moses, a leader chosen by the legitimate ruler, was sent to the occupied peoples in order to revoke the laws of the civil administration and teach them to follow the laws of the true king. . . . This leader did all he could to deliver at least some people from the control of sin and death, and in the end he managed to form a nation composed of those who chose to associate with him. At the command of the king, he instituted sacrifices which were to be offered with a certain solemnity, as was only fitting, and by which their sins would be forgiven. And so at last a part of the human race began to be set free from the rule of sin and death. . . . Many manuscripts read that death reigned over even those whose sin was not like that of Adam. If this reading is correct, then it may be said that it refers to that death which has kept souls in hell, and we would understand that even the saints have passed away because of this law of death, even though they were not subject to the law of sin. Therefore it may be said that Christ descended into hell not only in order to show that he could not be held by death but also that he might liberate those who found themselves there not because of the sin of transgression but merely because of their mortal condition. . . . What did Paul mean when he said that Adam was a type of the one who was to come? Was he speaking of some future man who had not yet come when he was writing, or was he thinking about Christ, who would have been in the future from Adam’s point of view but was already in the past when Paul was writing? I do not know how Adam can be regarded as a type of Christ, unless it is by contrast. . . . I think it is better to say that Paul understood Adam as a type of Christ’s second coming. Thus just as death has taken control of this age because of the one Adam, and the entire human race has been subjected to mortality, so in the coming age life will reign through Christ, and the entire human race will be blessed with immortality. Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans.

Adam’s Eating Not Copied.

CYRIL OF JERUSALEM: Paul’s meaning is that, although Moses was a righteous and admirable man, the death sentence promulgated upon Adam reached him as well, and also those who came after, even though neither he nor they copied the sin of Adam in disobediently eating of the tree. The Catechetical Lectures 15.31.

Greek and Latin Manuscript Differences.

AMBROSIASTER: Although sin was not imputed before the law of Moses was given, death nevertheless reigned in the supremacy of its own seizure of power, knowing those who were bound to it. Therefore death reigned in the security of its dominion both over those who for a time escaped punishment and over those who suffered punishment for their evil deeds. Death claimed everyone as its own, because whoever sins is the servant of sin. Imagining they would get away with it, people sinned all the more and were more prone to wrongdoing because the world abetted it as if it were legal. Because of all this Satan rejoiced, knowing that he was secure in his possession of man, who because of Adam’s sin had been abandoned by God. Thus it was that death reigned. Some Greek manuscripts say that death reigned even in those who had not sinned in the way that Adam had. If this is true, it is because Satan’s jealousy was such that death, that is, dissolution, held sway over even those who did not sin. . . . Here there is a textual difference between the Latin version and some of the Greek manuscripts. The Latin says that death reigned over those whose sins were like the sin of Adam, but some Greek manuscripts say that death reigned even over those whose sins were not like Adam’s. Which of the two readings is the correct one? What has happened is that somebody who could not win his argument altered the words of the text in order to make them say what he wanted them to say, so that not argument but textual authority would determine the issue. However, it is known that there were Latin-speakers who translated ancient Greek manuscripts which preserved an uncorrupted version from earlier times. But once these problems were raised by heretics and schismatics who were upsetting the harmony of the church, many things were altered so that the biblical text might conform to what people wanted. Thus even the Greeks have different readings in their manuscripts. I consider the correct reading to be the one which reason, history and authority all retain. For the reading of the modern Latin manuscripts is also found in Tertullian, Victorinus and Cyprian. Thus it was in Judea that the destruction of the kingdom of death began, since God was made known in Judea. But now death is being destroyed daily in every nation, since many who once were sons of the devil have become sons of God. Therefore, death did not reign in everyone but only in those who sinned in the same way that Adam had sinned. Adam was the type of the one who was to come, because even then God had secretly decided to redeem Adam’s sin through the one Christ, as it says in John’s Apocalypse: “The Lamb of God which was slain before the foundation of the world.” Commentary on Paul’s Epistles.

The Fall Applies to All.

ACACius OF CAESAREA: Paul said this in order to contradict those who thought that the Genesis story of the fall applied to nobody but Adam himself. For here he says that all have sinned, even if not exactly in the same way as Adam, and that the Genesis account applies to all men. Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church.

In What Sense Was Adam the Type of Christ?

DIODORE: Adam was a type of Christ not with respect to his sin or his righteousness—in this respect the two men were opposites—but with respect to the effects of what he did. For just as Adam’s sin spread to all men, so Christ’s life also spread to all men. Adam was also a type of Christ in another respect. For just as he was the head of Eve, in that he was her husband, so also Christ, being its bridegroom, is the head of the church. Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church.

Falling from and Returning to Paradise.

JEROME: In the transgression of Adam we have all through sin been cast out of paradise. The apostle teaches that even in us who were to come later Adam had fallen. In Christ therefore, in the heavenly Adam, we believe that we who through the sin of the first Adam have fallen from paradise now through the righteousness of the second Adam are to return to paradise. Homilies on the Psalms 66.

Crux of the Typology.

CHRYSOSTOM: Adam is a type of Christ in that just as those who descended from him inherited death, even though they had not eaten of the fruit of the tree. So also those who are descended from Christ inherit his righteousness, even though they did not produce it themselves. Homilies on Romans 10.

Death the Punishment for All Sin.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Death came to all men not because they committed the same sin as Adam but because they sinned. . . . Death is not just the punishment for one particular sin; it is the punishment for every sin. Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church.

A Type in Reverse.

AUGUSTINE: This can be understood in two ways: either “in the likeness of Adam’s transgression, death reigned,” or (as surely it must be read) “death reigned over even those who did not sin in the likeness of Adam’s transgression but sinned before the law was given.” Thus those who received the law may be understood to have sinned in the likeness of Adam’s transgression, because Adam also sinned after having received a law to obey. . . . Adam is the type of the one who was to come but in reverse, for as death came through Adam, so life came through our Lord. Augustine on Romans 29.

Christ’s Good Greater Than Adam’s Harm.

AUGUSTINE: Adam is the type of Christ but in reverse, because the good done by Christ to the regenerated is greater than the harm done by Adam to his descendants. Letter 157.

We Sin Like Adam, Even If in a Different Way.

[PSEUDO-]CONSTANTIUS: Paul wants to show that, although death reigned over everyone before the coming of Christ, it was not able to reign without sin. It reigns over even children, who are not bound by the commandment as Adam was. Paul shows that they sin by their natural condition, because of the weakness of the flesh which was not able to keep the law of God. They did not sin in the likeness of the transgression of Adam, because they sinned against the natural law and not against the commandment as Adam did. How can they be said to be bound when they did not sin in the way Adam did, unless this is meant to show that they were unable to keep the law because of the weakness of their flesh? For it is shown that death reigned over even children, who did not sin as Adam did but did other evil things. They are like Adam in that they sinned, even if they did so in a different way. Adam was the type of the one who was to come, viz., Christ. For just as Adam was the first to transgress the commandment of God and thereby to give an example to everyone who wanted to follow suit, so also Christ, by fulfilling the will of God, is an example to those who wish to imitate him. The Holy Letter of St. Paul to the Romans.

Theodoret of Cyr: Death reigned over even those who did not sin in the likeness of Adam’s sin. For even if they did not break the same commandment, they did other things which were wrong. Interpretation of the Letter to the Romans.

Alternative Readings.

PELAGIUS: This may mean that as long as there was no one who distinguished between the righteous and the unrighteous, death imagined that it was Lord over all. Or else it may mean that death reigned not only over those who, like Adam, broke a commandment—like the sons of Noah who were ordered not to eat the life in the blood or the sons of Abraham, on whom circumcision was imposed—but over those who, lacking the commandment, showed contempt for the law of nature. Adam was a type of Christ either because he was made by God without sexual intercourse, just as Christ was born of a virgin by the aid of the Holy Spirit, or he was an antithetical type, that is, as Adam was the source of sin so Christ is the source of righteousness. Pelagius’s Commentary on Romans.

5:15 God’s Grace Abounded for Many

The Typology Circumscribed.

ORIGEN: It makes no difference that Paul said [in verse 12] that sin spread to all, whereas here he says that the grace and gift of God have abounded for many. In Paul’s usage, all and many are almost synonymous. . . . Yet Paul refrains from saying that all will benefit from the free grace of God, because if men had the assurance that they would be saved, they would not fear God and turn away from evil. [In this verse] Paul starts to explain how Adam may be regarded as a type of Christ. Any close similarity between them is obviously absurd, which is why he insists that “the free gift is not like the trespass.” . . . The judgment on Adam was that through his one sin condemnation came to all men. But in sharp contrast to this, through Christ justification is given to all for the many sins in which the entire human race is bound up. Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans.

“Many” and “All” Distinguished.

DIODORE: At first sight it may seem that this verse contradicts what Paul said [in verse 12] above, for there he spoke of death having come to all humanity, whereas here he says only that many have died. In fact there is no contradiction, because death, although it came upon all because we have all sinned, came only to test and to try everyone. Death does not destroy all sinners automatically but only those who persist in their sins. By saying that “many died” Paul shows merely that many turned out to be unrepentant in their sins. Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church.

The Gift Unlike the Trespass.

AMBROSIASTER: Paul said that Adam was a type of Christ, but in order to assure us that they were not alike in substance, he says that the gift is not like the trespass. The only similarity between them is that just as one man sinned, so one man put things right. If by the trespass of one man many have died by imitating his transgression, how much more has the grace of God and his gift abounded in those who flee to him for refuge! For there are more who have received grace than who have died because of Adam’s trespass. From this it is clear that Paul was not talking about ordinary death, which is common to us all, since everybody dies but not everybody receives grace. Death does not reign in everyone. It only reigns in those who have died because of the sin of Adam, who have sinned by a transgression like his. Paul is talking only about these when he says that although many have died because of Adam’s sin, many more have received grace. . . . For both to those who sinned in a way similar to Adam and to those who did not sin in that way but who were nevertheless confined to hell because of God’s judgment on Adam’s sin, the grace of God has abounded by the descent of the Savior to hell, granting pardon to all and leading them up to heaven in triumph. Commentary on Paul’s Epistles.

Whether One Man Should Be Punished for What Another Does.

CHRYSOSTOM: What Paul is saying here seems to be something like this. If sin, and the sin of a single man moreover, had such a big effect, how is it that grace, and that the grace of God—not of the Father only but also of the Son—would not have an even greater effect? That one man should be punished on account of another does not seem reasonable, but that one man should be saved on account of another is both more suitable and more reasonable. So if it is true that the former happened, much more should the latter have happened as well! Homilies on Romans 10.

The Gift Excels.

AUGUSTINE: The gift excels in two ways: first, because grace abounds much more in that it bestows eternal life even though death reigns in the temporal sphere because of the death of Adam, and second, because by the condemnation of one sin the death of many came about through Adam, whereas by the forgiveness of many sins through our Lord Jesus Christ grace has been given for eternal life. Augustine on Romans 29.

A Common and Natural Death.

[PSEUDO-]CONSTANTIUS: Here Paul clearly teaches that he is not speaking generally of everyone when he says: “Many died through one man’s trespass,” because it is not just sinners but the righteous too who die a common and natural death. The Holy Letter of St. Paul to the Romans.

Misreading the Analogy.

PELAGIUS: The gift is not like the trespass, because one must not give equal value to the type as to the original. Righteousness had more power to bring to life than sin had to put to death. Adam killed only himself and his descendants, whereas Christ freed both those who were then in the body and also succeeding generations. Those who oppose the idea of the transmission of sin try to attack it as follows: “If Adam’s sin harmed even those who were not sinners, then Christ’s righteousness must help even those who are not believers. For Paul says that people are saved through Christ in the same way or to an even greater degree than they had previously perished through Adam.” Secondly, they say: “If baptism washes away that ancient sin, those who are born of two baptized parents should not have that sin, for they could not have passed on to their children what they did not possess themselves. Besides, if the soul does not exist by transmission, but only the flesh, then only the flesh carries the transmission of sin and it alone deserves punishment.” Declaring it to be unjust that a soul which is born today, not from the lump of Adam, bears so ancient a sin belonging to another, these people say that on no account should it be accepted that God, who forgives a man his own sins, imputes to him the sins of someone else. Pelagius’s Commentary on Romans.

One Man.

THEODORET OF CYR: Paul calls Jesus a man in this passage in order to underline the parallel with Adam, for just as death came through one man, so the cure for death came through one man as well. Interpretation of the Letter to the Romans.

Why the Obedience Is Greater Than the Disobedience.

OECUMENIUS: Christ’s obedience was greater than Adam’s disobedience in the following sense. Death, which originated with the sin of Adam, had our cooperation in the sins which we all committed, and so it was able to gain control over us. For if men had remained free of all wrongdoing, death would not have been in control. But the grace of Christ has come to us all without our cooperation and shows that the grace of the resurrection is such that not only believers, who glory in their faith, will be resurrected, but also unbelievers, both Jews and Greeks. Something which works in us against our will is therefore obviously greater than something which works in us with our cooperation. Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church.

5:16 God’s Gift Brings Justification

Christ Transformed Many Sins into Righteousness.

DIODORE: Paul wants to say that it was because of Adam’s sin, although it was only one, that God condemned many, on account of the fact that they copied Adam. But the grace of the Lord was measured not according to that one sin but according to the many sins which all had committed. Thus Christ transformed many sins into righteousness. Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church.

Ambrosiaster: There is an obvious difference between the fact that those who have sinned in imitation of Adam’s transgression have been condemned and the fact that the grace of God in Christ has justified men not from one trespass but from many sins, giving them forgiveness of sins. Commentary on Paul’s Epistles.

The Greater Good of the Free Gift.

CHRYSOSTOM: The free gift is much greater than the judgment. . . . For it was not just Adam’s sin which was done away with by the free gift but all other sins as well. And it was not just that sin was done away with—justification was given, too. So Christ did not merely do the same amount of good that Adam did of harm, but far more and greater good. Homilies on Romans 10.

The One Great Difference Between Gift and Trespass.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: There is one great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gift in Christ. Adam’s sin brought punishment on all those who came after him, and so they died. But the free gift is different. For not only did it take effect in the case of those who came afterward; it also took away the sins of those who had gone before. It is therefore much greater, because where sin harmed those who came after, grace rescued not only those who came after but those who had transgressed before as well. Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church.

Augustine: This is the difference: in Adam one sin was condemned, but by the Lord many sins have been forgiven. Augustine on Romans 29.

The Effect of the Gift.

PELAGIUS: The effect of the gift is greater than that of the sin. From the sin of one righteous man came the judgment of death. Adam never came across all the righteousness which he destroyed, but Christ discharged the sins of many by his grace. Adam was only the model for sin, but Christ both forgave sins freely and gave an example of righteousness. Pelagius’s Commentary on Romans.

5:17 Abundant Grace Reigns

Where Death Reigned, Abundant Grace Reigns.

ORIGEN: Not only will death cease to reign in those who receive the abundance of grace, but two additional benefits will be given to them. First, Christ will reign in them by his life, and second, they will reign along with Christ. . . . It must be noted that Paul speaks of the abundance of grace, because it is not possible for someone who has received only one grace, i.e., who has pleased God in only one thing, to enter the kingdom of heaven. . . . Grace is multiplied and abounds if our conversation is always seasoned with salt and our work is done with the grace of humility and simplicity, and if all that we do is done to the glory of God. Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans.

How Much More Will Grace Reign.

AMBROSIASTER: Paul says that death reigned, not that it is now reigning. Those who understand the limits of the law—what the future judgment of God will be—have been delivered from its control. Death reigned, because without the revelation of the law there was no fear of God on earth. But the higher meaning is that, since death reigned from Adam to Moses over those who sinned according to the transgression of Adam, how much more will grace reign by the abundance of God’s gift of life through the one Jesus Christ. For if death reigned, why should grace not reign even more, since it has justified far more people than the number over whom death reigned? Commentary on Paul’s Epistles.

No Trace of Death.

CHRYSOSTOM: Paul speaks of an abundance of grace to show that what we have received is not just a medicine sufficient to heal the wound of sin, but also health and beauty and honor, and glory and dignity far transcending our natural state. Each of these in itself would have been enough to do away with death, but when they are all put together in one there is not a trace of death left, nor can any shadow of it be seen, so entirely has it been done away with. Homilies on Romans 10.

Grace Received in Part, Awaiting Fullness.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Paul shows just how superior grace is to sin, because while death, which came into the world by the sin of Adam, held full sway, the enjoyment of the gift of grace through Christ has been given to us, through which we shall be raised from the dead and in righteousness cease to sin. But we have not yet received it fully; it does not yet hold full sway. We are still waiting for the life to come, even though we now enjoy it in part. Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church.

Augustine: “Much more will those reign” pertains to eternal life; “those who receive the abundance of grace” pertains to the forgiveness of many sins. Augustine on Romans 29.

Pelagius: Righteousness is given through baptism and is not gained by merit. Pelagius’s Commentary on Romans.

5:18 Christ’s Righteousness Leads to Acquittal

One Man’s Trespass.

ACACius OF CAESAREA: Paul does not mean by this that because one man sinned everybody else had to pay the price for it even though they had not committed the sin, for that would be unjust. Rather he says that from its beginning in Adam humanity derived both its existence and its sinfulness. Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church.

Obedience Overcame Disobedience.

DIODORE: What was Adam’s sin? Disobedience. What was Christ’s righteousness? Obedience, by which he obeyed the Father in his incarnation and in his suffering for mankind, as the apostle says: “Being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” Thus obedience overcame disobedience and the worse was condemned by the better. Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church.

No Universal Acquittal.

AMBROSIASTER: Some people think that because the condemnation was universal, the acquittal will also be universal. But this is not so, because not everyone believes. Commentary on Paul’s Epistles.

Augustine: Here Paul returns to his original argument, interrupted [from verse 12]. Augustine on Romans 29.

No Rebirth Without Spiritual Grace.

AUGUSTINE: No one is born without the intervention of carnal concupiscence, which is inherited from the first man, who is Adam, and no one is reborn without the intervention of spiritual grace, which is given by the second man, who is Christ. Letter 187.31.

Augustine: God wants all those to whom grace comes through the righteousness of the One unto justification of life to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Against Julian 4.8.42.

Whether All Are Punished When Not All Are Justified.

[PSEUDO-]CONSTANTIUS: How is it possible for God to condemn all men by the sin of the one Adam when not all men are justified by the righteousness of Christ? But when Paul says “all” he is not speaking generally but means only a large number of each kind. In other words, everyone who is justified is justified in Christ, just as everyone who is condemned is condemned in Adam, and nobody beyond that will be punished. The Holy Letter of St. Paul to the Romans.

Pelagius: Death reigned, but so also grace reigned through justification. Pelagius’s Commentary on Romans.

Contracting the Disease of Sin.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: What has Adam’s guilt got to do with us? Why are we held responsible for his sin when we were not even born when he committed it? Did not God say: “The parents will not die for the children, nor the children for the parents, but the soul which has sinned, it shall die.” How then shall we defend this doctrine? The soul, I say, which has sinned, it shall die. We have become sinners because of Adam’s disobedience in the following manner. . . . After he fell into sin and surrendered to corruption, impure lusts invaded the nature of his flesh, and at the same time the evil law of our members was born. For our nature contracted the disease of sin because of the disobedience of one man, that is, Adam, and thus many became sinners. This was not because they sinned along with Adam, because they did not then exist, but because they had the same nature as Adam, which fell under the law of sin. Thus, just as human nature acquired the weakness of corruption in Adam because of disobedience, and evil desires invaded it, so the same nature was later set free by Christ, who was obedient to God the Father and did not commit sin. Explanation of the Letter to the Romans.

5:19 Righteousness Through Christ’s Obedience

Why Many, Not All.

ORIGEN: Why does Paul say that many were made sinners and not that all were when it is clear that all have sinned, as he has just said himself? It is one thing to sin and another to be a sinner. A sinner is someone who, as a result of much sinning, has got into the habit and, I would dare say, the enjoyment of it. In the same way, a righteous person is not someone who has done one or two acts of righteousness but rather someone who has become accustomed to acting righteously and has righteousness in him by habit. Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans.

Ambrosiaster: Many sinned by following Adam, but not all. Likewise, many are justified by faith in Christ, but not all. Commentary on Paul’s Epistles.

The Benefits of Mortality.

CHRYSOSTOM: How does it follow that from Adam’s disobedience someone else would become a sinner? For surely, if this were so, such a sinner would not deserve punishment, since his sins would not be his own fault. What then does the word sinners mean here? To me it seems to mean liable to punishment and condemned to death. Why was this done? Paul does not say, because it was not necessary to his argument. . . . But if you want to know what I think, I would say this: Far from being harmed or condemned, if we think straight, we shall see that we have benefited by becoming mortal, first because it is not an immortal body in which we sin, and second because we have countless reasons for living a religious life. For to be moderate, temperate, subdued and separated from wickedness is what death, by its presence and the fact that we expect it to come, persuades us to do. But following on these or even before these, mortality has brought many other blessings besides. For it has made possible the crown of martyrdom. . . . In fact, neither death nor the devil himself can do anything to harm us. Immortality is waiting for us, and after being chastened for a little while we shall enjoy the blessings to come without fear. This present life is a kind of school, where we are under instruction by means of disease, suffering, temptations and poverty, as well as other apparent evils, in order to be made fit to receive the blessings of the world to come. Homilies on Romans 10.

Righteousness Is for Many, Resurrection for All.

SEVERIAN: Notice that when Paul talks about sin and righteousness he uses the word many, for not everyone sinned before the coming of the law, nor has everyone who has received grace been justified—for “many are called, but few are chosen.” But when he talks about the death and resurrection of the body, he uses the word all. Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church.

Augustine: This is the figure of the future Adam. Augustine on Romans 29.

By One Man’s Obedience.

[PSEUDO-]CONSTANTIUS: In this Adam was a type of Christ, because just as by his disobedience death entered the world, so life and resurrection came by the obedience of Christ. The Holy Letter of St. Paul to the Romans.

Pelagius: Just as by the example of Adam’s disobedience many sinned, so many are also justified by Christ’s obedience. Great therefore is the crime of disobedience, which kills so many. Pelagius’s Commentary on Romans.

Whether Some Did Not Sin.

THEODORET OF CYR: Note that Paul says “many” and “not all,” for we find some among the ancients who did not sin, e.g., Abel, Enoch, Melchizedek, the patriarchs and those who succeeded in keeping the law. On the other hand, after the coming of grace, there were many who continued to embrace an unrighteous and wicked life. Interpretation of the Letter to the Romans.

4:1 Jesus Led into the Wilderness

Readiness to Face Temptations.

CHRYSOSTOM: The text says “then.” Then when? This was after the descent of the Spirit, after the voice that was borne from above had said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Led by whom? This is marvelous. All of this was led by the Holy Spirit. For it says Jesus was “led up by the Spirit.” All this was for our instruction. The Lord does whatever is necessary for our salvation by both acting and being acted upon. He submitted himself to being led up there to wrestle against the devil. Now we should not be troubled if, after our baptism, we too have to endure great temptations. We should not treat this as if unexpected but continue to endure all things nobly, as though it were happening in the natural course of things. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 13.1.

Adam’s Temptation Reversed.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: For since Adam met with luxury in paradise and, through deception, deteriorated to what is worse, it was necessary that [the Spirit] lead Christ into the wilderness in order to enfeeble the devil’s force by someone greater in strength. So he fasted for forty nights and days. Fragment 17.

Led by the Spirit.

ANONYMOUS: With the words the Evangelist added, “to be tempted by the devil,” he shows that Jesus was led by the Spirit, but not as a subordinate on the command of a superior and not as a superior on the encouragement of a subordinate. He is referring not only to one who is led or drawn under another’s power but also to one who acquiesces in someone’s reasonable insistence. Jesus was led to the devil to be tempted. Note that the devil goes out to people to tempt them, and it is not people who go to the devil in order to be tempted by him. And since the devil could not go against Christ, it was Christ who went against the devil. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 5.

The Devil Defeated by the Same Flesh He Had Made Miserable.

HILARY: The journey into the desert, the forty-day fast, the hunger after the fast, the temptation by Satan and the Lord’s response—all these are full of the effects of the great heavenly counsel. The fact he was led into the desert signifies the freedom of the Holy Spirit to offer his man to the devil and to permit the occasion of temptation and conquest, which the tempter would not have had unless he had been given it. There was in the devil therefore suspicious fear but no knowledge of the true identity of the One suspected. The devil was moved by the forty-day fast. He had knowledge of the poured-out waters of the abyss in just as many days and of the exploration of the promised land, in the Mosaic law written by God. He also knew that this number of years was fulfilled when the people remained in the desert with the life and condition as it were of angels. Apprehensive of that time therefore in tempting him whom he considered to be a man, he acted rashly. He had enticed Adam and by deceiving him led him to death. But it was fitting, because of his wickedness and evil deed, that he be defeated by that same humanity in whose death and misfortunes he gloried. It was the devil who envied God’s gifts to humanity before the temptation of Adam, who was now unable to understand God’s being present in a human being. The Lord was therefore tempted immediately after being baptized. His temptation indicates how sinister are the devil’s attempts especially against those who have been sanctified, for he eagerly desires victory over the saints. Jesus did not hunger for human food but for human salvation. It was after forty days and not during forty days that he hungered. Moses and Elijah were not hungry during the same period of fasting. Therefore, when the Lord hungered, the work of abstinence did not creep up on him. His strength was not depleted by his forty days of fasting. He did not abandon his nature as a man. The devil was not to be defeated by God but by the flesh, which he surely would not have dared to tempt, except in those things which he recognized were proper human needs because of the pangs of hunger. On Matthew 3.1-2.

4:2 Jesus Fasts for Forty Days and Nights

Forty Days, Then Hunger.

ORIGEN: For the number “forty days” is composed of four groups of ten. This may be akin to the four aspects of physical reality, because the sensible world is formed out of four elements. Or it may be because a human being is formed in forty days in the womb. And so that he might not, by fasting any longer than this, give anyone the notion that he had not taken on flesh in truth, he afterward was hungry, sharing all that we have “except for sin” and participating in our condition through his own suffering. Fragment 61.

Elijah Fasted Forty Days.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: When Christ “hungered,” as it is written, then the devil made his move to tempt him; for he was not wholly amazed at the fact of his fasting for forty days, since he knew that Elijah had fasted for the same length of time. For this reason he took courage to attack him, thinking him to be a person of this kind, and not God. Fragment 18.

Jesus’ Hunger Was Voluntary.

ANONYMOUS: He therefore fasted for forty days, and he did this for two reasons. First, that he might give us an example of fasting to ward off temptations. Second, that he might set the measure of forty days for our fasting. He hungered, furthermore, so that by not overdoing his fasting God might be manifestly understood and he might dash the devil’s hope in temptation and thwart his victory. After the devil beheld him fasting for forty days, he gave up hope. It was when he realized that Christ was hungry that hope was restored. He approached him as he hungered outwardly but found that inwardly he was never hungry. And while he tempted the hungry Christ, he was conquered by the Christ who was not hungry. To be hungry and not to eat is proper of human patience, but not to be hungry is proper of a divine nature. Therefore he who was not hungry for forty days and then became hungry demonstrates that his hunger was voluntary and not necessary. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 5.

Lenten Fasting Anticipated.

PETER CHRYSOLOGUS: So you see, my friends, the fact that we fast during Lent is not of human invention. The authority is divine and mystical and not taken for granted. Nor is it based on an earthly custom but on heavenly secrets. Lent [Quadragesima] contains the four-sided teaching of four decades of faith, because perfection is always four-sided. The number forty [quadragesimus] and the number ten [denarius], which hold sacraments both in heaven and on earth because a square is not free to open, are used to explain the undertaking of the Lord’s fast. Sermons 11.4.

4:3 The First Temptation

The Devil’s Interrogation.

CHROMATIUS: The devil provokes that he might tempt him, and the Lord follows up that he might win. The battle over this temptation is thus engaged, as the devil says to the Lord, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” Unaware of the mystery of the divine dispensation, he frames as a question what he does not know. With the voice of a doubter, he interrogates Christ and says, “If you are the Son of God . . . ” Now let us see why he inquires when he doubts and why he questions when he does not know. He heard that it had been announced by the angel to the Virgin that she would give birth to the Son of God. He saw the magi, who had left behind the error of their limited knowledge, in humble adoration of the Child that was born. He saw, after the baptism, the Holy Spirit descending like a dove. He also heard the Father’s voice from heaven saying, “This is my Son.” He heard John with a loud voice proclaiming, “This is he who takes away the sin of the world.” Disturbed by so much testimony therefore and now troubled by this voice, this is what he feared most of all: that after he had filled the world with sins, he heard there would now come someone to take away the sins of the world. He was frightened indeed by all these utterances, but he did not yet fully believe that the Son of God whom he had heard, whom he now beheld as a man in the flesh, would take away the sins of the world. In a terrible state of fear he seeks to find out whether these things he had heard were true. He sees the Lord fasting “forty days and nights,” but he was loath to believe that this was the Son of God. He recalled that both Moses and Elijah also fasted for forty days. And so he asked to be given some sign that this was truly the Son of God. He therefore said, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” Tractate on Matthew 14.2.

The First Point of Attack.

CHRYSOSTOM: What does the devil first say? “If you are Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” The focus is not upon hunger but divine Sonship. Thinking to cheat him with supposed compliments, the devil suggested, “If you are Son of God,” remaining silent about his hunger in order that he not seem to allege that he indeed was hungry and not upbraiding him for it. For unaware of the greatness of the economy which was unfolding, he supposed hunger to be a reproach to him. So flattering him smoothly, he makes mention of his dignity only. How then did Christ respond to this? In order to put down the devil’s pride and signify that there was nothing shameful in Jesus’ hunger nor unbecoming to his wisdom, he brings forward precisely the point that the devil had passed over in silence to flatter him. Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone.” In this way the devil begins his temptation with the necessity of the belly. Mark well the craft of that wicked demon. Note at what precise point he begins his struggling and how well he remembers what he does best. For it was by this same means that he cast out the first man and then encompassed him with thousands of other evils. Now by the same means here he again weaves his deceit: the temptation to indulge the belly. So too even now one may hear many foolish people say their bad words by thousands because of the belly. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 13.3.

Command These Stones to Become Loaves.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Wanting to draw Christ into the passion of vainglory, Satan did not say to him “eat” but “work a miracle.” This he did, not so that Christ would be helped, but, as I said, in order to draw him to a pretentious act. But Christ, knowing this, did not obey him. Later he would not comply with the Pharisees when they wanted to see a sign from him. For they did not approach him with an undoubting heart, as to God, but were tempting him as a man. Let this therefore be an unfailing rule for the saints, not to show off before unbelievers upon any pretext of utility. Fragment 32.

4:4 Living by the Word, Not by Bread Alone

The Lesson of the Manna.

ORIGEN: This saying is quoted by our Savior, and it makes clear to a person with understanding that before the manna came, which was our heavenly food, we must have been in a bad way and close to starving, having spent up all our fat for food. For thus it is written: “And you shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and then fed you with manna, which you had not known, nor had your fathers known, in order that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone.” The manna itself is a word. This is made clear from the reply Moses made to the question of the children of Israel, when they said to one another, “What is that?” What then did Moses say? “This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat. This is the word which the Lord has commanded.” After this the devil goes on to another defeat. Fragment 63.

Feeding on the Word.

MAXIMUS OF TURIN: The Savior put down the devil’s stratagem with a clever response. He does not do what the devil says, lest he seem to declare the glory of his power at his adversary’s will, nor does he answer that it cannot be done, since he could not deny what he had often already done. Therefore he neither gives in to the devil’s petition nor rejects his inquiry. He reserves for himself the manifestation of his power and counters his adversary’s stratagem with eloquence. He therefore says to him, “Not by bread alone shall man live, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God”—that is, not by earthly bread or by material food, whereby you deceived Adam the first man, but by the word of God, which contains the food of heavenly life. The Word of God is Christ the Lord, as the Evangelist says: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.” So, whoever feeds on the word of Christ does not require earthly food, nor can one who feeds on the bread of the Savior desire the food of the world. The Lord has his own bread; indeed, the bread is the Savior himself, as he taught when he said, “I am the bread who came down from heaven.” About this bread the prophet says, “And bread strengthens the human heart.” Sermons 51.2.

Not by Bread Alone.

THEODORE OF HERACLEA: The first Adam sinned by eating. Christ prevailed by self-control. He thus teaches that there is no need for us to stay far away from God, even if we are famishing. This is also a pledge of our future state, which Christ in fact inaugurated, that in the future human beings will live even without food. Fragment 22.

Feeding on God’s Word.

JEROME: The testimony was taken from Deuteronomy. The Lord responded in this way, for it was his purpose to overcome the devil with humility and not with power. At the same time, it should be noted that unless the Lord had begun to fast, the devil would not have had an occasion, in accordance with the passage: “My son, as you embark upon the service of God, prepare your soul for temptation.” But the Savior’s very response indicates that it was as man that he was tempted: “Not by bread alone shall man live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” So if anyone does not feed upon God’s Word, that one will not live. Commentary on Matthew 1.4.4.

Do Nothing for Show.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: If as God Jesus overcame the devil, it was no great accomplishment for him to defeat the apostate angel whom he himself had made. Nor is this victory to be ascribed to his humanity alone. But by long-suffering, he prevailed over him as man, teaching us that it is not through miracles but by long-suffering and patient endurance that we must prevail over the devil and that we should do nothing merely for show or for notoriety’s sake. Fragment 20.

4:5-6 The Second Temptation

The Pinnacle of the Temple.

HILARY: The devil works at temptation by leading the Lord from the highest to the lowest things to reduce him to humiliation. He set him on the pinnacle of the temple, as if towering over the laws and the prophets. He knew indeed that the angels would be prompt to minister to the Son of God, lest he dash his foot against a stone. He could trample underfoot the serpent and the adder and tread on the lion and the dragon. Concerning those lower things which were taken for granted, the devil kept silent, but by mentioning the higher things, he wanted in some way to elicit obedience from the tempted One, hoping to hear an echo of his own glory in a vote of confidence from the Lord of majesty. On Matthew 3.4.

If You Are the Son of God.

CHRYSOSTOM: What can the reason be that with each temptation the devil adds, “If you are the Son of God”? He is acting just like he did in the case of Adam, when he disparaged God by saying, “In the day you eat, your eyes will be opened.” So he does in this case, intending thereby to signify that our first parents had been beguiled and outsmarted and had received no benefit. So even in the temptation of Jesus he insinuates the same thing, saying, “In vain God has called you Son and has beguiled you by his gift. For, if this is not so, give us some clear proof that you are from that power.” And, because Christ had reasoned with him from Scripture, he does the same, bringing in the testimony of the prophet. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 13.4.

How the Devil Misinterpreted Scripture.

JEROME: “Throw yourself down.” It is the devil’s voice by which he desires that everyone should fall down. “Throw yourself,” he says. He is able to persuade, but he cannot cast down. “He will give his angels charge concerning you; and upon their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” This we read in the ninetieth psalm. Clearly the prophecy here is not about Christ but about a holy man. The devil therefore is a poor interpreter of the Scriptures. Certainly, if he really knew what was written about the Savior, he should have also said what follows in the same psalm against him: “You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.” Concerning the help of the angels, he speaks as though to a feeble man. Concerning his being trampled underfoot, he is silent like an artful dodger. Jesus said to him, “It is written further, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ” The false arrows from the devil’s own scriptures he breaks with the true shield of the Scripture. And it should be noted that he cited the necessary testimony from Deuteronomy that he might show the sacraments of the second law. Commentary on Matthew 1.4.5-7.

4:7 Not Tempting the Lord

Temptation Overcome by Forbearance.

CHRYSOSTOM: What does Christ then do? He is neither indignant nor provoked but with extreme gentleness reasons with him again from the Scriptures, saying, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God,” teaching us that we must overcome the devil not by miracles but by forbearance and long-suffering and that we should do nothing at all for display and vainglory. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 13.4.

Led That We Might Not Follow.

ANONYMOUS: “Then the devil took him into the holy city.” When you hear the words “led by the devil,” do not think of the devil’s power, that he was able to lead Christ. Rather, wonder at the patience of Christ when he allowed himself to be led by the devil. Therefore, in following, the Lord did not show weakness but patience; in leading, the devil did not show strength but pride, because not understanding the willingness of Christ, it was as though he were leading an unwilling person. He was led that we might not follow the devil’s will. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 5.

4:8 The Third Temptation

The Economy of God Expressed Even in Temptation.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: The statement that the devil “led him away” has to be understood with reference to God’s plan, since Christ, who had foretold and sought that he should do this, had prearranged for the clear defeat of the one who should try in vain to tempt him. For in the case of Job too it says that “the devil said to the Lord.” But who is so simpleminded as to suppose that the devil discusses things with God? But what he had intended, God allowed him to do, in order to demonstrate Job’s indomitability. So too in the present instance, to the devil is applied whatever purpose God had wished to happen in providentially arranging all things. But as to the phrase “he showed him,” it is clear that he did not show him this in substance and reality, since it is impossible to find a mountain so high that from it someone who wishes can see the whole world. Rather it was through an imaginary image, in keeping with the demon’s usual custom, the clear identifying mark of which is the attempt to delude people of sound understanding by representing to them things that are not there as though they were there and things that have not happened as though they had happened. Fragment 22.

4:9 Fall Down and Worship Me

The Inconsistency in the Demonic Promise.

ANONYMOUS: Consider how every promise of the devil is intrinsically irrational and untrue. Certainly he could not give everything to one person unless he took everything away from everybody. If he took everything away from everybody, he would be adored by no one. Remember that the devil is not adored either out of love or out of fear but because he promises and makes deals for riches. So how could the devil take everything away from everyone and give it to one person, in order to be despised by all and worshiped by one? Nor can we say that anyone could keep his own when the devil has charge of everything. There is no case in which one person is in a situation where he is subject to no one else. This has not happened, nor can it happen. Why? First, because God will not grant the devil such absolute power. Second, because of the devil himself, for in what do his joy and glory and power consist except in pride, envy, wrath, vain ambition and the like? When these things come into play, a kingdom cannot stand in unity. It would be necessary to divide up such a kingdom into many kingdoms. But when these things do not come into play, the devil is not reverenced, nor does he reign. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 5.

The Three Temptations.

GREGORY THE GREAT: If we look at the progression of his temptation, we see how great the struggle was that set us free from temptation. Our ancient enemy rose up against the first human being, our ancestor, in three temptations. He tempted him by gluttony, by vain ambition and by avarice. And he overcame [Adam] when tempted, because he subjugated him through consent. He tempted him by gluttony when he showed him the forbidden food of the tree and told him, “Taste it.” He tempted him by vain ambition when he said, “You will be like gods.” He tempted him by adding avarice when he said, “knowing good and evil.” Avarice is concerned not only with money but also with high position. We rightly call it avarice when we seek high position beyond measure. If grasping at honor was not related to avarice, Paul would not have said of God’s only begotten Son, “He did not think that being equal to God was something to be grasped.” The devil drew our ancestor to pride by stirring him up to an avaricious desire for high position. But the means by which he overcame the first man were the same ones that caused him to yield when he tempted the second Adam. He tempted him by gluttony when he said, “Tell these stones to become bread.” He tempted him by vain ambition when he said, “If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down.” He tempted him by an avaricious desire for high position when “he showed him all the kingdoms of the world, saying, ‘I will give you all these if you will fall down and worship me.’ ” But the devil is overcome by the second man in the same way as he boasted of overcoming the first man. He exits our heart at the same juncture where he first made his earliest inroads. But there is something else we have to consider in this temptation of the Lord, dearly beloved. When the Lord was tempted by the devil, he answered him with the commands of sacred Scripture. By the Word that he was, he could have easily plunged his tempter into the abyss. But he did not reveal the power of his might, but he only brought forth the precepts of Scripture. This was to give us an example of his patience, so that as often as we suffer something from vicious persons we should be aroused to teach rather than to exact revenge. Consider how great God’s patience is, how great our impatience. When we are provoked by some injury or threatened harm, or moved to rage, we seek revenge as far as possible. When we are unable to obtain it, we make our threats. But the Lord endured the devil’s opposition, and he answered him with nothing except words of meekness. He put up with one he could have punished, so that this might all the more redound to his praise. He overcame his enemy not by destroying him but by suffering him for a while. Forty Gospel Homilies 16.2-3.

4:10 Serving Only God

The Attempt to Corrupt by Ambition.

HILARY: But now for the third time, the full ambition of diabolical power is at work. The Lord was taken to a very high mountain. All the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them would be his, he was promised, if only he would fall down and worship. His answer broke through all the devil’s suspicions. The devil had enticed Adam with food and led him from the glory of paradise to the place of sin—to the region of the forbidden tree. And he had corrupted him with ambition for a divine name by promising a future similar to that of the gods. In this same way all the power of the world is arrayed against the Lord. The possession of all this is offered to the devil’s very Creator, so that in line with the order of the ancient deceit, he whom the devil did not entice with food nor move from place, he would now corrupt by ambition. But the Lord’s response put the matter on a higher plane. He said, “Begone, Satan! For it is written, ‘The Lord your God shall you worship, and him only shall you serve.’ ” The devil had to live with the outcome of such great recklessness. His crimes were being discovered. He realized that the Lord his God must be adored in the man. By this effective response, the Lord gave us a decisive example. With human power having been disdained and with worldly ambition being held of little account, we also should remember that our Lord and God alone must be adored, especially when the devil’s honor has become the common business of every age. After this flight of the devil, therefore, the angels ministered to Christ. With the devil overcome by the man, his head now being crushed, we now can see better the ministering service of the angels and the unfailing courtesies of the heavenly powers toward us. On Matthew 3.5.

The Limits of the Devil’s Power to Tempt.

ANONYMOUS: He put an end to the devil’s tempting when he said, “Get behind me, Satan!” The devil could progress no further with his temptation. But we can rightly understand and reasonably ascertain that he withdrew not as though in obedience to the command. Rather it was the divinity of Christ or the Holy Spirit in Christ who drove away the devil. This gives us great consolation, for the devil cannot tempt God’s people as long as he wishes. He can tempt them only so long as Christ or the Holy Spirit who is in them allows him to. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 5.

The Devil’s Offer Reversed.

JEROME: “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Begone, Satan! For it is written: the Lord your God shall you worship, and him only shall you serve.’ ” Satan and the apostle Peter are not condemned by the same judgment, as many may think. For to Peter it was said, “Get behind me, Satan,” that is, follow me, you who are contrary to my will. But the devil heard the words “Begone, Satan”; And it was not said to him “Get behind me,” as if it were a matter of simple subjection. Rather it is an instruction: “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.” This is the opposite of the devil’s earlier words to the Savior: “If you will fall down and worship me.” Now he hears that it is he who should worship his Lord and God. Otherwise, “Go into the everlasting fire that has been prepared for you and your angels.” Commentary on Matthew 1.4.10-11.

Matthew 4:1-11

The Lord Made Sport of the Devil.

CHROMATIUS: David also prefigures this rejection of temptation when he speaks of the Lord, saying, “And the scourge did not approach his tabernacle.” No sin of diabolical scourge could come close to the body of the Lord. Therefore the Lord withstood temptations from the enemy that he might restore victory to humankind. He thereby made sport of the devil, according to what David also proclaimed: “That Leviathan, whom you made to sport in it.” And again: “He will bring low the false accuser.” And also: “You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces on the water.” In the book of Job the Lord declared that this Leviathan would be made sport of and caught in this temptation, saying, “You will draw out Leviathan with a fishhook.” Tractate on Matthew 14.5.

4:11 The Angels Minister to Jesus

The Permission to Tempt.

ANONYMOUS: He did not say, “The angels descended and ministered to him,” so he might show that the angels were always on earth to minister to him. Rather at the Lord’s behest they withdrew from him so that the devil might have room to work against Christ. If the devil were to see angels around him, he might not approach him. In this same way the devil comes invisibly to tempt the faithful. There are two permanent angels with each one of us—a good angel and a bad one. As long as the good angel is with us, the bad angel can never lead us into temptation. According to God’s dispensation, however, the good angel may draw back somewhat. Well, he does not exactly draw back but hides himself, making himself invisible to the devil. For unless the good angel wishes to be recognized, he is not seen by the devil. He therefore withdraws, that he might give the devil an open space in which to tempt, and then he waits for the temptation to transpire. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 5.