A COMMENTARY 



UPON 



THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO S. LUKE, 

BY 

S. CYRIL, 

PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA. 

NOW FIRST TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH 

FROM AN ANCIENT SYRIAC VERSION 

BY 

R. PAYNE SMITH, M.A., 

SUBLIBRARIAN OF THE BODLEIAN LIBRARY. 



PART I. 



OXFORD : 

AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS. 
M.DCCt .LIX. 





P R E F A C E. 



WHEN I undertook the task of preparing for the 
press the Syriac Version of S. Cyril s Commentary 
upon the Gospel of S. Luke, discovered among the 
manuscripts lately obtained from Egypt, and depo 
sited in the British Museum, I was aware that my 
labours would be of little practical benefit, unless I 
also made it accessible to theologians generally by 
means of an English translation. In the performance 
of this duty, my chief assistance has been derived 
from the Nova Bibliotheca Patrum of Cardinal Mai, 
published in 1844-58 at Rome: for so miserably 
defective is even the best Syriac Lexicon, that it has 
repeatedly happened that I have only been able to 
arrive with something like certainty at the meaning 
of a passage, by waiting until I found in some ex 
tract in Mai the equivalent in Greek of the word or 
phrase in question. Wherever this help has failed, 
I have carefully examined the use of words in other 
Semitic dialects, or in the numerous Syriac works 
which during the last few years have issued from the 
press, and in which I had been in the habit of noting 
the occurrence of all new and unusual terms. To 

A 2 



iv PREFACE. 

have discussed these difficulties in notes, would have 
been only to crowd my pages with matter not gene 
rally interesting, and for which, I trust, I shall here 
after have a more fitting opportunity. I think, how 
ever, that I can safely say, that in no case have I 
come to a conclusion except upon reasonable grounds, 
and that, after due allowance made for possible errors, 
my translation will be found to convey a correct and 
adequate representation of the original work. 

Of the value of the Commentary, I shall probably 
not be considered an impartial judge: still my con 
viction is, that it can scarcely fail of being regarded as 
an important addition to our means of forming an 
accurate judgment of what was the real teaching of 
one of the most famous schools of thought in the early 
Church. It has not indeed gained entire acceptance ; 
its philosophy was too deep, its creed too mysterious, 
its longings too fervently fixed upon the supernatural, 
for the practical mind of the West readily to assent to 
doctrines which mock rather than exercise the powers 
of even the subtlest reason. And while the names of 
its doctors have become household words with us, and 
we owe to their labours the establishment of the doc 
trine of the Trinity in Unity in its main outlines as 
we hold it at present, still the student of Church His 
tory is aware, that in many minor, though still im 
portant particulars, the teaching of the Alexandrine 
school was in excess of what we at present hold. The 
Athanasian Creed does not embody the actual tenets 
of Athanasius, nor of the other great masters of Alex 
andria, except in the form in which they were modi 
fied and altered by the influence of rival schools: and 



PREFACE. v 

in like manner S. Cyril, the inheritor at once of Atha 
nasius throne, and of his views, often uses arguments 
which the Monophysites could fairly claim as giving 
a colour to their belief, that after the union of the 
two natures in Christ it was no longer lawful to dis 
tinguish their separate limits. 

It was the Nestorian controversy which called out 
the argumentative powers and the fiery zeal of S. Cyril ; 
and it is certainly true that in that controversy lie 
used Nestorius unfairly, taxing him with deduc 
tions, which, however logically they might seem to 
follow from his opponent s teaching, yet Nestorius 
himself expressly denied : hut it is not true that the 
controversy led him into statements of doctrine beyond 
what his predecessors in the see of Alexandria had 
taught. For constantly what he opposed to his 
rival s views was the very doctrine of S. Athanasius ; 
and the passage which he quotes in his treatise De 
recta Fide, ad Imperatrices, from that father s treatise 
on the Incarnation of Christ, is never exceeded in 
any of his own dogmatic statements. Its words are 
as follow: 6/J.o\oyoviJ.ev, Kal elvai avrov vtov TOV Oeou 
KOI Oeov Kara Tn/ev/xa, vtov avOpwirov Kara crapKa ov Svo 

(f)U(Tt9 TOV Va VIOV, /X/CtJ/ TTpO(TKVVr]Tr]V KO.I 

Kvvt]TOv aXXa /atai/ (pvcrtv TOV Oeov \oyov 
Kcii Trpoa-KvvovfjLevqv /xera rrjs arapKO? avrov /mia 

This was S. Athanasius doctrine, this also was S. 
Cyril s ; and it is only a falsification of the facts of 
history to endeavour to bring the Alexandrine school 
into verbal accordance with the decrees of the general 
council of Chalcedon. The doctrine which prevailed 
there was that of the rival school of Antioch, which 
had always firmly stood by the literal interpretation of 



vi PREFACE. 

the plain letter of Scripture ; a sound, judicious, com 
mon-sense school, which had never depth enough to 
have fought the battle of the Arian heresy with the 
profoundness of conviction which gave such undying- 
energy to the great chiefs of Alexandria ; but which 
nevertheless had under Providence its due place in 
the Church, and corrected the tendency of Athanasius 
and Cyril to a too immoderate love of the super 
natural and mysterious. 

That S. Cyril however felt that there was no insu 
perable barrier between the two schools is shown by 
his reconciliation with John of Antioch, and their 
signing common articles of faith. For essentially 
both Cyril and John of Antioch held the mean be 
tween the extremes of Nestorius and Eutyches ; only 
Cyril s leaning was towards Eutyches, John s towards 
Nestorius. And when subsequently the council of 
Chalcedon, A. D. 451, modified, happily and wisely, 
the decrees of the previous general council of Ephesus, 
A. D. 431, and adopted as their standard of faith the 
teaching of the Antiochian school as embodied in the 
famous Epistola Flaviana of Leo, Pope of Rome, they 
acknowledged this substantial agreement between 
Antioch and Alexandria, between themselves and 
the council of Ephesus, by their declaration that 
Aew errre TO. rov KvpiXXov, that what Leo wrote was 
the same that Cyril taught. And that in the main 
they were right this present Commentary will shew ; 
for S. Cyril s doctrine in it is essentially moderate. 
There are indeed passages in which he apparently 
confounds the limits of the two natures in Christ, but 
many more in which he gives to each its proper at 
tributes, and bears witness to the existence of both 



PREFACE. vii 

the godhead and the manhood in the one person of 
our Lord, inseparable, yet unconfused. 

But when Mai would go further, and deny that 
the Monophysites had any ground for claiming S. 
Cyril s authority in their favour, his uncritical turn 
of mind at once betrays him: for he rests chiefly 
upon the treatise De Incarnatione Domini, Nov. Bib. 
Pat. ii. 32-74, ascribed by him to S. Cyril upon the 
testimony of a MS. in the Vatican. But indepen 
dently of other internal evidence that this piece was 
written subsequently to the council of Chalcedon, it 
is absolutely impossible that Cyril could ever have 
adopted the very keystone and centre of Nestorius 
teaching, the doctrine I mean of a o-wdfata (pp. 59, 
71), a mere juxtaposition, or mechanical conjunction 
of the two natures in Christ, in opposition to a real 



union 



In the West, under the guiding minds of Augustine 
and Ambrose, the council of Chalcedon met at once 
with ready acceptance ; but not so in the East. It 
was there that the controversy had been really waged 
against Arius, and the reaction from his teaching led 
many of the fathers into overstrained arguments 
which ended in* heresies, ejected one after another 
from the Church. As in the process of fermentation 
there is a thick scum upon the surface while the 
work of purification is going on below, so each ex 
traneous element, after mingling for a time with the 
great mass of Christian truth, was at length rejected 
with an ease or difficulty proportioned to the intense- 
ness of its admixture with sounder doctrines. And 
thus the general orthodoxy and invaluable services of 
the Alexandrine school caused whatever there was of 



viii PREFACE. 

exaggeration in their views long and violently to 
resist this purifying process in those parts of the 
world which had been the nearest witnesses of their 
struggles in defence of the doctrine of the consub- 
stantial nature of the Son. Up to the time also of 
the council ofChalcedon the language of the Fathers 
had been vague and confused : and the expression of 
S. John i. 14, that " the Word was made flesh ;" as 
it had led the Arians to affirm that the Logos was a 
created being, so it had led orthodox Fathers to speak 
as if Christ s human body was " very God." And 
thus the Monophysites could count up a long array 
of all the great names in the Church, Ignatius, Poly- 
carp, Clemens of Rome, Irenseus, Melito of Sardes, 
Felix and Julius of Rome, the Gregories, Athanasius, 
Basil, and many more, who had confounded in Christ 
the human with the divine. With such authorities 
on their side the conflict was long and dubious, and 
in Justinian s time they seemed likely to gain the 
ascendancy : for the Pope then was the mere crea 
ture of simony, and consequently there was nothing 
to balance the tendencies of the Eastern Church. 
Accordingly in A. D. 533 Justinian, though nominally 
opposed to their tenets, decreed that " one of the 
holy and consubstantial Trinity was crucified :" and 
twenty years after, the fifth general council of Con 
stantinople authoritatively ratified the same doctrine. 
But in the subsequent weak reign of Justin, the Pa 
triarch of Constantinople, John the Jurist, thwarted by 
the Monophysite monks whom Theodora had planted 
in the capital, took such vigorous measures against the 
leaders of the party, that their principles have since 
exercised no appreciable influence in the Church. 



PREFACE. ix 

As the Mo nophy sites had only pushed to excess 
the tendencies of the Alexandrine school and it 
must be remembered that they are by no means to 
be confounded with the Eutychians, according to the 
fashion of Church histories in general, whereas really 
they anathematized them the above sketch may 
place the reader in a position to judge of the state 
ments of S. Cyril regarding this doctrine, a doctrine 
after all of metaphysical rather than of practical im 
portance. But, as a general rule, he will find the 
Commentary written in a tone of moderation, as 
might be expected in homilies addressed by a teacher 
to his own people, far from the baleful -atmosphere of 
controversy, and in a place where his views were in 
full and hereditary possession of the teacher s chair. 
There is too a practical tone throughout, and while 
in his interpretation of the Old Testament he follows 
the usual tendencies of the fathers to see nothing 
there but types and allegories, in the New he chiefly 
follows the obvious meaning, and considers each 
parable or narrative or discourse as a whole, the 
key of which he generally finds in the occasion which 
gave rise to it. He even warns us against pushing 
the minutia? of parables into too prominent a posi 
tion, by means of which the machinery to enforce 
a moral lesson becomes the medium for convey 
ing some cabbalistic mystery : as when, instead of in 
ferring the certainty of our having to give an account 
of the use of our worldly means from the parable of 
Dives and Lazarus, commentators use it to unveil the 
secrets of the future world ; or discover the two sa 
craments in the pence given by the Samaritan to the 
host at the inn. 

b 



x PREFACE. 

Like many other patristic Commentaries, it was 
delivered in a course of short Sermons, preached ex 
temporaneously : for so we may conclude, not only 
from the opening sentences of Sermon III, and the 
reiteration of favourite texts, but also from their 
evidently being quoted from memory. Repeatedly 
S. Cyril s reading agrees neither with the Septuagint 
nor with any other Greek version of the Old Testa 
ment, though occasionally he (apparently) purposely 
follows Theodotion. In the New Testament he was 
evidently most familiar with S. Matthew s Gospel, 
and not only does he make his ordinary quotations 
from it, but even introduces its readings into the 
Commentary, after correctly giving S. Luke s text 
at the head of the Sermon. And as increased at 
tention is now being paid to the collection of 
the various readings of Holy Scripture contained in 
the works of the fathers, the caution may not be out 
of place, that certainly in S. Cyril, and probably in 
the patristic writings generally, no importance is to 
be attached to the substitution of the words and 
phrases of one Gospel for those of another. 

In the headings however placed before each Ser 
mon, we have a most valuable addition to our mate 
rials for biblical criticism : for evidently they give us 
the received Alexandrine text as it was read in the 
beginning of the fifth century ; and that S. Cyril was 
fully aware of the importance of correctness on this 
head is evident from his constant allusions to the 
readings of the other Gospels. Its value however 
will best appear by a comparison between it and the 
chief extant authorities, and I have therefore collated 
it in the margin, 1. with the readings of the great 



PREFACE. xi 

Vatican MS. published posthumously by Cardinal 
Mai, and which I have marked as B. ; 2. with the 
seventh edition of Tischendorf, now in process of 
publication, T.; 3. with Griesbach, G.; and, 4". with 
the textus receptus, 9. I have not however consi 
dered it necessary to notice unimportant transposi 
tions in the order of words, and where Griesbach is 
equally in favour of two readings, I have usually 
omitted his name ; as also I have done with the Sy- 
riac, represented by S., in the few cases in which it 
corresponds as much with the one as with the other 
Greek reading. It will be noticed that in all cases 
I have represented the Syriac by its equivalent in 
Greek, which rule I have also followed wherever it 
has appeared expedient to give in the margin the 
original word ; often however of course the Greek is 
actually taken from the remains in Mai. 

The most cursory glance at the margin will shew 
that the high expectation naturally formed of the 
probable value of so ancient a text is fully carried out 
in fact. Its readings are almost always supported by 
one or other of the chief authorities, far more so than 
those of B. itself. And even where it seems to stand 
alone, an examination of the readings in Tischendorf 
will almost universally shew that tljere is a strong 
array of evidence in its support among the most 
valued MSS., while it contains nothing which mo 
dern criticism has definitely condemned. One obser 
vation is however necessary, namely, that the Syriac 
language indulges in a fuller use of pronouns even 
than our own; and though I have noticed in the 
margin their addition wherever they might possibly 

b2 



xii PREFACE. 

exist in the Greek, yet, like those in italics in our own 
version, they are really not to be regarded as varise 
lectiones, but only as the necessary result of the idiom 
of the language. 

It may however be asked, whether the Syriac trans 
lator may be depended upon in his rendering of the 
original Greek text. To this I can answer unhesi 
tatingly in the affirmative : wherever the Greek is 
extant in Mai s collection, the exactness with which 
it is reproduced in the Syriac without the slightest 
alteration of tense and number, and with the most 
curious expedients for rendering those compound 
words in which Greek delights, is marvellous. Wher 
ever also Mai has misunderstood a passage, or wrongly 
punctuated a sentence, it is as a usual rule correctly 
given in the Syriac, and though occasionally it has 
erred, as in rendering (T X oa/o?, in Jer. viii. 8, by "cord," 
whereas it really means "pen," still such instances are 
extremely rare. 

At the same time the translator has been guilty of 
one fault, which I am the more anxious to mention, 
as otherwise it might be laid to my own charge, 
namely, that he has taken no care to render each quo 
tation always in the same words. The most glaring 
instance of this occurs in Is. i. 23, where no less than 
three different renderings are given of " Thy princes 
" are disobedient" one only of which is the exact equi 
valent of the Greek aveiOovn, though none deviate 
far from it ; while the Peschito gives a fourth word, 
the equivalent of the Hebrew " rebellious." Similarly 
the words crwr^/ous eTri<paveias in Amos v. 22, have 
greatly puzzled the Syriac translator, who renders 



PREFACE. xiii 

them sometimes by " your appearances for salvation," 
sometimes " the salvation of your appearances," the 
language not admitting of a literal rendering on ac 
count of its scanty use of adjectives. And though the 
same Greek text naturally suggested to the translator 
the same Syriac rendering, still he has not troubled 
himself about maintaining verbal identity in the 
various places in which the same text occurs. For 
my own part, originally I made an entry of each text 
upon translating it, for the puqwse of retaining as 
much verbal accuracy as possible ; but when I found 
these variations in the Syriac, I gave up the attempt, 
and following the same plan as my predecessor, have 
contented myself with carefully rendering each text 
as it occurred, without comparing it with previous 
translations, and I think it will be found that neither 
of us have gone far astray from the exact sense of the 
original. 

I need scarcely mention after the above, that the 
Syriac translator does not take his quotations from 
the Peschito. Of course in the Old Testament this 
was impossible, as that version represents, not the 
Septuagint, but the Hebrew. For the same rea 
son, the use of our own version was equally an im 
possibility to myself, since, as is well known, the 
Greek differs too considerably from the Masoretic 
text, of which ours is a translation, for one to be 
at all the equivalent of the other. I am by no 
means however prepared to join in the general con 
demnation of the Septuagint, stamped as it is by the 
approval of our Lord and His apostles ; and though 
parts of it are done far less efficiently than the rest, 



xiv PREFACE. 

yet whoever neglects it throws away one of the most 
important means for attaining to a knowledge of the 
original Scriptures ; and I know of no more difficult 
question than the adjudication between the vocalising 
and arrangement of the Hebrew text as represented 
by the Septuagint, and that which gives us the sub 
sequent tradition of the Jewish schools. Not that 
there is the slightest room for doubting the authenti 
city and genuineness in all substantial points of the 
Scriptures of the Old Testament ; for the question 
affects only the vowels and the division of words ; and 
the vowels in Semitic languages are not so important 
as in those of the Indo-Germanic family. To the 
present day no Jewish author ever expresses them in 
writing, though they have so far adopted modern 
customs as no longer to string their consonants to 
gether in one unbroken line. Necessarily, however, 
under such circumstances reading in ancient times was 
a matter of no slight difficulty, and hence the dignity 
of the profession of the scribe, and the wonder of the 
Jews at our Lord and His apostles possessing the 
requisite knowledge. The Septuagint therefore pos 
sesses especial value, as being both the first attempt 
at fixing the meaning of the uncertain elements in 
the Hebrew language, and as dating prior to the 
establishment of Christianity: and though Jewish 
tradition subsequently grew more exact, and elimi 
nated many mistakes into which the authors of the 
Septuagint had fallen, still the fact that these subse 
quent labours of the Jewish schools first found their 
expression in the version of Aquila, who had deserted 
Christianity, and published his translation as a rival 



PREFACE. xv 

to the Septuagint, and certainly with no kindly in 
tention towards the religion which he had abandoned, 
may well make us hesitate before we so unceremoni 
ously decry a version, the mistakes of which can be 
ascribed to nothing worse than simple inefficiency. 
That from such hands and under such auspices the 
Masoretic text is so trustworthy, and so free from any 
real ground of suspicion, entirely as regards its con 
sonants, and to a great extent as regards its vowels, is 
the result, under God s Providence, of the extreme 
reverence of the Jews for the letter of those ordi 
nances which had been entrusted to their keeping, 
since the Christian Church was by no means aware 
of the importance of an exact inquiry into the true 
meaning of the earlier Scriptures, and contented 
itself with receiving what the Jews provided for its 
use ; even Jerome himself scarcely giving us more 
than what his Jewish masters taught him, and Ori- 
gen s knowledge of Hebrew being about as much as 
could be expected from the time it took him to 
acquire it. 

In the New Testament the case was different : for 
of course it was just possible there to have used the 
words of our authorized Version. But so to have 
done would have brought me into constant opposition 
to my text ; for I had not the Greek before me, but 
a Syriac rendering of it, punctuated to an extreme 
degree of nicety, and fixing the meaning to one defi 
nite sense. It seemed therefore my only honest course 
to reproduce as exactly as I could the version of the 
Syriac translator. Whether I should myself in all 
cases have given the same meaning to the original 



xvi PREFACE. 

Greek is an entirely distinct thing ; for the duty of 
a translator is not to give his own views, but those 
of his author. Still, as the memory naturally sug 
gested the language of the authorized Version, it will 
no doubt be found to have exercised no little in 
fluence upon the words which I have used. 

But it seemed to me expedient for another reason 
to reproduce as exactly as possible the renderings of 
the Syriac translation. For the perfecting of the 
English translation of the Inspired Word is one of 
the noblest tasks which the mind of man can under 
take : and though there may be evils attendant upon 
interfering with our present noble Saxon Version, 
still none can be so great as its being regarded by 
a gradually increasing proportion of the community 
as deficient in correctness. To commission however 
any body of scholars, however competent, to under 
take a completely new version, or at present even a 
general revision of what we have, would be, in my 
opinion, at least premature. The controversy ought 
to be carried on in a region distinct from the book 
which we use in our worship and devotion : and such 
at present is the case, the attempts at improvement 
being made by individuals, and not by any consti 
tuted authority. When, however, there has been 
gained a sufficient mass of results generally received, 
the time will have come for the proper steps to be 
taken for admitting them into the authorized version. 
And possibly in the New Testament the labours of 
so many scholars and commentators may in a few 
years bring matters to such a pass as may justify the 
proper authorities in undertaking its revision : but in 



PREFACE. xvii 

the Old Testament the case is very different, and a 
lengthened period of far more profound study of He 
brew literature than at present prevails, carried on 
by many different minds, is required before anything 
more could be done than to bring the translation in 
a few unimportant particulars nearer to the Maso- 
retic text. 

In the present translation, therefore, I have used 
the utmost exactness in rendering all quotations from 
Holy Scripture, in the hope that it might not be 
without its value to shew in what way the New Tes 
tament was understood and rendered by so compe 
tent and ancient an authority as the Syriac translator 
of this present work. 

It remains now only to mention the relation in 
which the Syriac Version of the Commentary stands 
to the Greek remains collected by Mai, and of which 
I have given a translation wherever the MS. of the 
Syriac was unfortunately defective. 

As early then as the year 1838 Mai had shewn the 
great value of this Commentary by the extracts pub 
lished in the tenth volume of his Auctores Classici : 
and from that time he laboured assiduously in making 
his collection as complete as possible, until at length 
in the 2nd vol. of his Bib. Pat. Nova, the fragments 
gathered by him from twelve different Catenae, toge 
ther with a Latin translation, occupy more than 300 
quarto pages. 

But the critical acumen of Mai was by no means 
commensurate with his industry. With the usual 
fault of collectors, the smallest amount of external 






xviii PREFACE. 

evidence was sufficient to override the strongest in 
ternal improbability : nor apparently did his reading 
extend much beyond those Manuscripts, among 
which he laboured with such splendid results. At 
all events, though Cyril was an anthor whom he 
greatly valued, not only does he ascribe to the Com 
mentary a vast mass of matter really taken from 
Cyril s other works, but even numerous extracts from 
Theophylact, Gregory Nazianzen, and other writers, 
whose style and method of interpretation are entirely 
opposed to the whole tenor of Cyril s mind. 

Although it scarcely belonged to my undertaking 
to sift these extracts, yet, as it might have thrown a 
suspicion upon the genuineness of the Syriac Version 
to find it unceremoniously rejecting nearly a third 
of what Mai had gathered, I have in most cases in 
dicated the work or author to whom the rejected 
passages belong. A few still remain unaccounted 
for; but as the principle of Niketas, the compiler 
of the chief Catena upon S. Luke, confessedly was 
to gather from all Cyril s works whatever might il 
lustrate the Evangelist s meaning, and as in so do 
ing he often weaves two, or even three distinct ex 
tracts into one connected narrative, it is no wonder 
if it was more easy to gather such passages than to 
restore the disjecta membra to their original position. 
Several extracts also which escaped me at the time 
have since met my eye, of which the only one of 
importance is the remarkable explanation of the two 
birds at the cleansing of the leper, conf. Com. on 
Luke v. 14, and which is taken from a letter of Cyril 
to Acacius, 



PREFACE. xix 

But the value of the Commentary does not arise 
simply from the uncertainty attaching to what Mai 
has gathered, but also from the superior form in 
which it gives what really is Cyril s own. As a ge 
neral rule, the Catenists give conclusions without pre 
misses, striking statements separated from the context 
which defines their meaning, results as true generally 
which are only true particularly, or which at least are 
greatly modified by the occasion which led to them. 
As it is moreover the manner of the Catenists often 
to introduce extracts by a summary of what precedes 
them, or where their length precluded their admis 
sion to give an abstract of them in briefer words, it 
often happens that a passage really Cyril s is followed 
in Mai by an abstract of itself taken from some 
smaller Catena : and thus an amount of confusion 
and repetition is occasioned which contrasts unfa 
vourably with the simplicity of arrangement and 
easiness of comprehension which prevail throughout 
the Commentary itself. 

Nevertheless Mai probably took the best course in 
confining himself to the simple collection of mate 
rials : and at all events his works are carefully edited, 
punctuated intelligibly, and translated with very con 
siderable correctness. No one, in using his very vo 
luminous works, however much he may be inclined 
to regret his want of critical ability, will accuse him 
of an inefficient treatment of the materials before 
him. The very reverse is the case with the other 
Catena which I have used, and which was edited by 
Dr. Cramer. 

In itself it is of considerable intrinsic value, but is 



xx PREFACE. 

entirely untranslateable, except by one who will take 
the trouble of restoring the text, and entirely altering 
Dr. Cramer s punctuation. 

In conclusion, I have to return my thanks to the 
Delegates of the University Press for undertaking 
both the publication of the Syriac Version of S. Cyril s 
Commentary, and also of the present English trans 
lation. 



Oxford, Jan. 1859. 



COMMENTARY OF S.CYRIL, 

PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA, 



TPON 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 



CHAP. I. 

Who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers v>r. 2. 
of the Word. 

IN saying that the Apostles were eyewitnesses of the substan- From Mai 

tial and living Word, the Evangelist agrees with John, who says, 

that "the Word was made flesh, and tabernacled in us, and John i. 14. 

" His glory was seen, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the "^ 

" Father." For the Word became capable of being seen by 

reason of the flesh, which is visible and tangible and solid : 

whereas in Himself He is invisible. And John again in his 

Epistle says, " That which was from the beginning, That i Joh 

" which we have heard, That which we have seen with our 

" eyes, and our hands have handled around the Word of 

" Life, and the Life became manifest." Hearest thou not that 

he speaks of the Life as capable of being handled? This he 

does that thou mayest understand that the Son became man, 

and was visible in respect of the flesh, but invisible as regards 

His divinity.* 

a There can be little doubt that on v. 32. is from the tenth Book 
this passage does not belong to the against Julian, Op. VI. 331.; the 
Commentary, but as I have hitherto following on v. 37. is the thirteenth 
been unable to find it in S. Cyril s chapter against the Anthropomor- 
Collected Works, I have thought it phites, VI. 380. ; and the third ex- 
best to retain it. Mai s next extract tract on v. 42. is the Commentary 

B 



COMMENTARY UPON 



v. 51. He hath shewed strength with His arm : He hath scattered 
the proud in the imagination of their heart. 

The arm enigmatically signifies the Wqrd that was born of 
her : and by the proud, Mary means the wicked demons who 
with their prince fell through pride: arid the Greek sages, 
who refused to receive the folly, as it seemed, of what was 
preached : and the Jews who would not believe, and were scat 
tered for their unworthy imaginations about the Word of God. 
And by the mighty she means the Scribes and Pharisees, who 
sought the chief seats. It is nearer the sense, however, to 
refer it to the wicked demons : for these, when openly claim 
ing mastery over the world, the Lord by His coming scattered, 



upon Issachar s name, signifying 
" a reward," in the Glaphyra, I. 227. 
(Ed. Aub.) All these I have omitted. 
The remaining extracts, forming a 
continuous Commentary upon the 
hymns of the blessed Virgin and 
Zacharias, I have retained, since it 
is scarcely probable that S.Cyril en 
tirely passed them over; and, though 
the homilies, as proved by the Sy- 
riac, commenced with the first verse 
of chap, ii., yet possibly he may 
have prefaced them by an Exposi 
tion of these hymns. Cramer s 
Catena, nevertheless, contains por 
tions of several of these extracts 
anonymously. The proof from the 
Syriac that the homilies began with 
the second chapter is decisive. Of 
the nine MSS. in which more or 
less of this Commentary is preserved, 
eight constantly mention the num 
ber of the homily, which they quote 
either in part or entire : in one of 
these, N. 12, 154., a MS. probably 
of the eighth century, a series of 
extracts occurs occupying forty 
pages, beginning with the first 
and ending with the hundred 
and eighteenth homily ; and the 
numbering of this Codex is 
identical with that of the rest, 
wherever two or more of them 
contain the same passage. The 



Syriac numbering apparently is also 
identical with that of the Greek. 
For in my earliest authority, Cod. 
12, 158, transcribed, as the Copyist 
states, in the year of our Lord 588., 
the numbering of the quotations 
from S. Cyril is still identical with 
that of the other Codices. This MS. 
contains a translation of two trea 
tises of Severus of Antioch against 
Julian, and is probably at least a 
century anterior to the Syriac ver 
sion of S. Cyril ; so that its agree 
ment with it, both in this and more 
material points, is of considerable 
importance. Evidently S. Cyril s 
Commentary upon the beginning of 
the Gospel was much more brief 
than it became subsequently : for 
whereas the twenty-first homily car 
ries us down to the end of the fifth 
chapter, those that follow average 
ten homilies each. In like manner 
the concluding chapters of St. Luke 
were passed over by him very ra 
pidly. Finally, as the Syriac, from 
time to time, does not recognise 
some of the passages collected by 
Mai from the Catenae, it is worth 
notice, that of his four first extracts, 
not less than three have been dis 
covered in the published works of 
S.Cyril, in complete as Aubert s edi 
tion is. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 3 

and transferred those whom they had made captive unto His 
own dominion. For these things all came to pass according to 
her prophecy, that 

He hath put down, rulers from their thrones, and exalted v. 52. 
the humble. 

Great used to be the haughtiness of these demons whom He 
scattered, and of the devil, and of the Greek sages, as I said, 
and of the Pharisees and Scribes. But He put them down, and 
exalted those who had humbled themselves under their mighty 
hand, - having given them authority to tread upon serpents Luke x. 19. 
" and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy :" and 
made the plots against us of these haughty-minded beings of 
none effect. The Jews, moreover, once gloried in their empire, 
but were stripped of it for their unbelief; whereas the Gentiles, 
who were obscure and of no note, were for their faith s sake 
exalted. 

He hath filled the hungry unth good things, and the rich He V. 53. 
hath sent empty away. 

By the hungry, she means the human race : for, excepting 
the Jews only, they were pining with famine. The Jews, 
however, were enriched by the giving of the law, and by the 
teaching of the holy prophets. For "to them belonged the Rom. ix. 4 . 
" giving of the law, the adoption of sons, the worship, the pro- 
" mises." But they became wanton with high feeding, and 
too elate at their dignity ; and having refused to draw near 
humbly to the Incarnate One, they were sent empty away, 
carrying nothing with them, neither faith nor knowledge, nor 
the hope of blessings. For verily they became both outcasts 
from the earthly Jerusalem, and aliens from the glorious life 
that is to be revealed, because they received not the Prince of 
Life, but even crucified the Lord of Glory, and abandoned the 
fountain of living water, and set at nought the bread that 
came down from heaven. And for this reason there came upon 
them a famine severer than any other, and a thirst more bitter 
than every thirst : for it was not a famine of the material 
bread, nor a thirst of water, " but a famine of hearing the Amos viii. 
" Word of the Lord." But the heathen, who were hungering f 

B 2 



4 COMMENTARY UPON 

and athirst, and with their soul wasted away with misery, were 
filled with spiritual blessings, because they received the Lord. 
For the privileges of the Jews passed over unto them. 

v - 54 He hath taken hold of Israel His child to remember mercy. 

He hath taken hold of Israel, not of the Israel according 
to the flesh, and who prides himself on the bare name, but of 
him who is so after the Spirit, and according to the true 
meaning of the appellation ; even such as look unto God, and 
believe in Him, and obtain through the Son the adoption of 
sons, according to the Word that was spoken, and the promise 
made to the prophets and patriarchs of old. It has, however, 
a true application also to the carnal Israel ; for many thou 
sands and ten thousands of them believed. " But He has re- 
" membered His mercy as He promised to Abraham :" and 

Gen. xxii. has accomplished what He spake unto him, that " in thy seed 
" shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed." For this pro 
mise was now in the act of fulfilment by the impending birth 
of our common Saviour Christ, Who is that seed of Abraham, 

Heb. ii. ,6. in Whom the Gentiles are blessed. For He took on Him the 
" seed of Abraham," according to the Apostle s words : and so 
fulfilled the promise made unto the fathers. 

v - 6 9- He hath raised up a horn of salvation for us. b 

The word horn is used not only for power, but also for 
royalty. But Christ, Who is the Saviour that hath risen for 
us from the family and race of David, is both : for He is the 
King of kings, and the invincible power of the Father. 

To perform mercy. 

Christ is mercy and justice : for we have obtained mercy 
through Him, and been justified, having washed away the 
stains of wickedness through faith that is in Him. 

The oath which He swore to our father Abraham. 

derias C r " But let n ne accustom himself to swear from hearing that 
God sware unto Abraham. For just as anger, when spoken of 

b Referred by Corderius to Victor. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 5 

God, is not anger, nor implies passion, but signifies power ex 
ercised in punishment, or some similar motion ; so neither is an 
oath an act of swearing. For God does not swear, but indicates 
the certainty of the event, that that which He says will ne 
cessarily come to pass. For God s oath is His own word, fully 
persuading those that hear, and giving each one the conviction 
that what He has promised and said will certainly come to 
pass. 

And thou, child, shah be called Prophet of the Highest. V. 76. 

Observe, I pray, this also, that Christ is the Highest, Whose From Mai. 
forerunner John was both in his birth, and in his preaching. 
What remains, then, for those to say, who lessen His divinity? 
And why will they not understand, that when Zacharias said, 
" And thou shalt be called Prophet of the Highest," he meant 
thereby " of God," of Whom also were the rest of the pro 
phets. 

To give light to them that sit in darkness, and the shadow v. 79. 
of death. 

For those under the law, and dwelling in Judea, the Baptist 
was, as it were, a lamp, preceding Christ : and God so spake 
before of him ; " I have prepared a lamp for My Christ." And p * cxxxii. 
the law also typified him in the lamp, which in the first taber 
nacle it commanded should be ever kept alight. But the Jews, 
after being for a short time pleased with him, flocking to his 
baptism, and admiring his mode of life, quickly made him 
sleep in death, doing their best to quench the ever-burning 
lamp. For this reason the Saviour also spake concerning him ; 
" He was a burning and shining lamp, and ye were willing a Jolm v - 35 
" little to rejoice for a season in his light." 

c " He means the Arians, who face to his translation of the Theo- 

said the Son was indeed God, but phania, a Syriac version of which 

* nevertheless inferior to the Fa- was discovered among the Nitrian 
ther : as Eusebius, who was an MSS. His translation is, however, 

* Arian writer, especially in his in- inaccurate to the last degree; and 
terpretation of the ;8th Psalm." the treatise in question leaves no 

Mai. This charge against Euse- doubt that Euaebius was the pre- 
bius, the late Professor Lee has cursor of Arian doctrines, 
endeavoured to disprove in the pre- 



fi COMMENTARY UPON ST. LUKE. 

79. To guide our feet into the way of peace. 

For the world, indeed, was wandering in error, serving the 
creation in the place of the Creator, and was darkened over 
by the blackness of ignorance, and a night, as it were, that 
had fallen upon the minds of all, permitted them not to see 
Him, Who both by nature and truly is God. But the Lord of 
all rose for the Israelites, like a light and a sun. 



CHAP. II. 



" From S. CyriFs Commentary upon the Gospel of From the 
" St. Luke, Sermon the First: MS.i2,i 5 4. 



And it came to pass in those days, 8fc. Luke ii. i. 

(CHRIST therefore was born in Bethlehem at the time when 
Augustus Caesar gave orders that the first enrolment should be 
made. But what necessity was there, some one may perhaps 
say, for the very wise Evangelist to make special mention of 
this ? Yes, I answer : it was both useful and necessary for him 
to mark the period when our Saviour was born : for it was said 
by the voice of the Patriarch : " The head shall not depart Gen. xlix. 
" from Judah, nor a governor from his thighs until He come, 
" for Whom it is laid up : and He is the expectation of the 
" Gentiles." That we therefore might learn that the Israelites 
had then no king of the tribe of David, and that their own na 
tive governors had failed, with good reason he makes mention 
of the decrees of Ca>sar, as now having beneath his sceptre 
Judaia as well as the rest of the nations : for it was as their 
ruler that he commanded the census to be made. 

Because he was of the house and lineage of David. v. 4 . 

The book of the sacred Gospels referring the genealogy to From Mai. 
Joseph, who was descended from David s house, has proved 
through him that the Virgin also was of the same tribe as 
David, inasmuch as the Divine law commanded that marriages 
should be confined to those of the same tribe : and the inter 
preter of the heavenly doctrines, the great apostle Paul, clearly 
declares the truth, bearing witness that the Lord arose out of Heb. vii. 
Juda. The natures, however, which combined unto this real I4> 
union were different, but from the two together is one God 



8 COMMENTARY UPON 

the Son, d without the diversity of the natures being destroyed 
by the union. For a union of two natures was made, and 
therefore we confess One Christ, One Son, One Lord. And it 
is with reference to this notion of a union without confusion 
that we proclaim the holy Virgin to be the mother of God, be 
cause God the Word was made flesh and became man, and by 
the act of conception united to Himself the temple that He re 
ceived from her. For we perceive that two natures, by an in 
separable union, met together in Him without confusion, and 
indivisibly. For the flesh is flesh, and not deity, even though 
it became the flesh of God : and in like manner also the Word 
is God, and not flesh, though for the dispensation s sake He 
made the flesh His own. But although the natures which con 
curred in forming the union are both different and unequal to 
one another, yet He Who is formed from them both is only 
One : nor may we separate the One Lord Jesus Christ into 
man severally and God severally, but we affirm that Christ 
Jesus is One and the Same, acknowledging the distinction of 
the natures, and preserving them free from confusion with one 
another. 

V 5- With Mary, his betrothed wife, being great with child. 

The sacred Evangelist says that Mary was betrothed to 
Joseph, to shew that the conception had taken place upon her 
betrothal solely, and that the birth of the Emanuel was mira 
culous, and not in accordance with the laws of nature. For 
the holy Virgin did not bear from the immission of man s seed. 
And what was the reason of this ? Christ, Who is the first-fruits 
of all, the second Adam according to the Scriptures, was born 
of the Spirit, that he might transmit the grace (of the spiritual 
birth) to us also : for we too were intended, no longer to bear 
the name of sons of men, but of God rather, having obtained 
the new birth of the Spirit in Christ first, that he might be 
Col. i. 15. " foremost among all," as the most wise Paul declares. 

And the occasion of the census most opportunely caused the 
holy Virgin to go to Bethlehem, that we might see another 

d Geo? KOI vl6i, God the Son ; as tion in these phrases is constantly 

Qeos Kal rraTTjp is used by S. Cyril retained, while in those of a later 

for God the Father. In the more date the tendency is to omit it. 
ancient Syriac MSS. the conjunc- 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 9 

prophecy fulfilled. For it is written, as we have already men 
tioned, "And thou Bethlehem, house of Ephratah, art very Mich. v. 2. 
small to be among the thousands of Judah : from thee shall 
come forth for Me to be Ruler in Israel I" 

But in answer to those who argue that, if He were brought 
forth in the flesh, the Virgin was corrupted : and if she were 
not corrupted, that He was brought forth only in appear 
ance, we say; the prophet declares, "the Lord, the God ofEzek. xiiv. 
Israel, hath entered in and gone out, and the gate remaineth 2 
closed." If, moreover, the Word was made flesh without 
sexual intercourse, being conceived altogether without seed, 
then was He born without injury to her virginity. 

And she brought forth her firstborn Son. Ver. 7. 

In what sense then her firstborn? By firstborn she here 
means, not the first among several brethren, but one who was 
both her first and only son : for some such sense as this exists 
among the significations of " firstborn." For sometimes also 
the Scripture calls that the first which is the only one ; as " I ! xiiv. 6. 
am God, the First, and with Me there is no other." To shew 
then that the Virgin did not bring forth a mere man, there is 
added the word firstUorn ; for as she continued to be a virgin, 
she had no other son but Him Who is of the Father : concerning 
Whom God the Father also proclaims by the voice of David, 
And I will set Him Firstborn high among the kings of theP.lxxxix. 
earth." Of Him also the all-wise Paul makes mention, saying, 2 
u But when He brought the First-begotten into the world, HeHeb. i. 6. 
saith, And let all the angels of God worship Him." How 
then did He enter into the world ? For He is separate from it, 
not so much in respect of place as of nature ; for it is in nature 
that He differs from the inhabitants of the world: but He 
entered into it by being made man, and becoming a portion of 
iTjby the incarnation. For though He is the Only-begotten 
as regards His divinity, yet as having become our brother, 
He has also the name of Firstborn ; that, being made the first- 
fruits as it were- of the adoption of men, He might make us 
;iU<> the sons of God. 

Consider therefore that He is called the Firstborn in respect 
of the economy: for with respect to His divinity He is the 

c 



10 COMMENTARY UPON 

Only-begotten. Again, He is the Only-begotten in respect of 
His being the Word of the Father, having no brethren by 
nature, nor being co-ordinate with any other being : for the 
Son of God, consubstantial with the Father, is One and Alone : 
but He becomes the Firstborn by descending to tha, level of 
created things. When therefore He is called the Only-be 
gotten, He is so with no cause assigned by reason of which He 
Johni. 18. is the Only-begotten, being " the Only-begotten God e into the 
bosom of the Father :" but when the divine Scriptures call Him 
Firstborn, they immediately also add of whom He is the first 
born, and assign the cause of His bearing this title : for they 
Rom. viii. say, " Firstborn among many brethren :" and " Firstborn from 
Col i 1 8 ^ e ^ad : " ^ ie one > ecau se He was made like unto us in all 
things except sin ; and the other, because He first raised up 
His own flesh unto incorruption. Moreover, He has ever been 
the Only-begotten by nature, as being the Sole begotten 
of the Father, God of God, and Sole of Sole, having shone 
forth God of God, and Light of Light : but He is the Firstborn 
for our sakes, that by His being called the Firstborn of things 
created, whatever resembles Him may be saved through Him : 
for if He must of necessity be the Firstborn, assuredly those 
must also continue to exist of whom He is the Firstborn. But 
if, as Eunomius f argues, He is called God s Firstborn, as born 
the first of many ; and He is also the Virgin s Firstborn ; then 
as regards her also, He must be the first as preceding another 
child : but if He is called Mary s Firstborn, as her only child, 
and not as preceding others, then is He also God s Firstborn, 
not as the first of many, but as the Only One born. 

Moreover if the first are confessedly the cause of the second, 
but God and the Son of God are first, then is the Son the cause 
of those who have the name of sons, inasmuch as it is through 
Him that they have obtained the appellation. He therefore 
who is the cause of the second sons may justly be called the 

e Mai translates contrary to the degree and kind, whence his follow- 

Greek " Unigenitus Dei." S. Cy- ers were called di/d/Aoiot. He flou- 

ril s reading ecdy, agrees as usual rished about A. D. 360, and was a 

with the Vatican MS., and is also disciple of Aetius. St. Athanasius 

supported by many of the fathers, often refers to him in his treatise 

and by the Oriental versions. against the Arians. For a fuller 

f Eunomius taught, that the Fa- account of him, cf. Newman s Ari- 

ther and Son are unequal, both in ans, c. iv. sect. 4. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 11 

Firstborn, not as being the first of them, but as the first 

cause of their receiving the title of sonship. And just as 

the Father being called the first "for I, He saith, am the Is. xli. 4 . 

first, and I am after these things" assuredly will not compel 

us to regard Him as similar in nature to those that are after 

Him ; so also though the Son be called the first of creation, or 

the Firstborn before all creation, it by no means follows that 

He is one of the things made : but just as the Father said " I 

am the first," to shew that He is the origin of all things, in the 

same sense the Son also is called the first of creation. "For John i. 3 

all things were made by Him/ 11 and He is the beginning of all 

created things, as being the Creator and Maker of the worlds. 

And she laid him in the manger. Ver. 7. 

He found man reduced to the level of the beasts : therefore 
is He placed like fodder in a manger, that we, having left off 
our bestial life, might mount up to that degree of intelligence 
which befits man s nature ; and whereas we were brutish in 
soul, by now approaching the manner, even His own table, we 
find no longer fodder, but the bread from heaven, which is 
the body of life. 

* For a very full and accurate TrpwrdroKo?, the reader may consult 
discussion of the sense in which S. Cyril s eighth Paschal Homily, 
our Lord is both p.ovoy(vr)t and 



C 2 



SERMON II. 



om. iSov, 
cum B. 
56a Qeo 
sol. 



KU.I KflfJLWOV 

curn B. 



From the SERMON OF S. CYRIL, ARCHBISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA, FROM THE 

Syriac, 

MS. 1 2, 165. COMMENTARY UPON THE GOSPEL OF LUKE ; UPON THE 

BIRTH OF OUR SAVIOUR IN THE FLESH. 

c. ii. ^8-18. And there were shepherds in that country, ivatching and 
keeping guard by night over their flock : and the angel of 
the Lord came unto them, and the glory of God shone upon 
them, and they luere sore afraid. And the angel said unto 
them, Fear not : for lo ! I brine/ unto you good tidings of 
great joy, which shall be to all the people : that there is 
born unto you to-day in the city of David a Saviour, Who 
is Christ the Lord. And this is your sign ; ye shall find 
a babe wrapped in swaddling-clothes, and laid in a 
manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multi 
tude of the heavenly hosts, praising God and saying, Glory 
to God in the highest, and on earth peace, and among men 
good will. And it came to pass that when the angels had 
gone from them unto heaven, the shepherds said unto one 
another, Let us go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing 
ivhich hath come to pass, ivhich the Lord hath made known 
unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary and 
Joseph, and the babe laid in the manger. And when 
they had seen, they made known the word that was spoken 
unto them concerning the child. And all that heard won 
dered at what was told them by the shepherds. 

LET me begin my discourse to you with that which is 

Ps. xcv. i. written in the book of Psalms, " Come let us praise the 

Lord, and sing unto God our Saviour :" for He is the Head of 

our feast-day, and therefore let us tell His noble doings, and 



ovpavtvv, 

sol. 



COMMENTARY ITON ST. U T KK. 1 

the manner of that beautifully contrived dispensation, by 
means of which He has saved the world, and having placed on 
each one of us the yoke of His kingdom, is justly the object of 
our admiration. The blessed David therefore says in the 
Psalms, "All ye people clap your hands ;" and again adds p s . xKH. 
thereto, "Sing with understanding, God hath set a king over I<7 
all the heathen." For this holy mystery was wrought with 
a wisdom most befitting Christ, if it be true, as true most cer 
tainly it is, that the Lord, though He is God, appeared unto 
us, and though He is in the form of God the Father, and pos 
sesses an incomparable and universal preeminence, took the 
likeness of a slave. But even so He was God and Lord ; for 
He did not cease to be that which He had been. 

The company of the holy prophets had before proclaimed 
both His birth in the flesh, and His assumption of our likeness 
as about in due time to come to pass : and inasmuch as this 
hope had now reached its fulfilment, the rational powers of 
heaven bring the glad tidings of His manifestation and appear 
ance in this world, to shepherds first of all at Bethlehem, who 
were thus the earliest to receive the knowledge of the mystery. 
And the type answers to the truth : for Christ reveals Himself 
to the spiritual shepherds, that they may preach Him to the 
rest, just as the shepherds also then were taught His mystery 
by the holy angels, and ran to bear the glad tidings to their 
fellows. Angels therefore are the first to preach Him, and 
declare His glory as God born in the flesh in a wonderful 
manner of a woman. 

But perchance some one may object to this; "that He Who 
was now born was still a child, and wrapped in swaddling- 
clothes, and laid in a manger : how then did the powers above 
praise Him as God ?" Against such our argument stands firm. 
Understand, man, the depth of the mystery ! God was in 
visible form like unto us : the Lord of all in the likeness of a 
slave, albeit the glory of lordship is inseparable from Him. 
Understand that the Only-begotten was made flesh ; that He 
endured to be born of a woman for our sakes, to put away the 
curse pronounced upon the first woman : for to her it was said, 
"In pains shalt thou bring forth children:" for it was asGen. Ui.i6. 
bringing forth unto death, that they endured the sting of 



14 COMMENTARY UPON 

death 11 . But because a woman has brought forth in the flesh 
the Immanuel, Who is Life, the power of the curse is loosed, 
and along with death have ceased also the pains that earthly 
mothers had to endure in bringing forth. 

Wouldst thou learn also another reason of the matter? 
Rom.viii.s. Remember what the very wise Paul has written of Him. " For 
as to the powerlessness of the law, wherein it was weak through 
the flesh, God having sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, 
and because of sin, has condemned 1 the sin in His flesh, that 
the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who 
walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit k ." 
What then is the meaning of his saying that the Son was sent 
" in the likeness of sinful flesh I" It is this. The law of sin lies 
hidden in our fleshly members, together with the shameful 
stirring of the natural lusts : but when the Word of God be 
came flesh, that is man, and assumed our likeness, His flesh 
was holy and perfectly pure ; so that He was indeed in the 
likeness of our flesh, but not according to its standard. For 
He was entirely free from the stains and emotions natural to 
our bodies 1 , and from that inclination which leads us to what is 
not lawful. 

When therefore thou seest the child wrapped in swaddling- 
clothes, stay not thy thought solely upon His birth in the flesh, 
but mount up to the contemplation of His godlike glory: 
elevate thy mind aloft : ascend to heaven : so wilt thou behold 

h Mai more correctly perhaps with great force in his treatise De 

reads rrjs dvias wrpov. Incarnat. Dom. c. xi., wherein he 

1 The Peschito has also this read- shews, that our Lord took the flesh 

ing, though manifestly wrong. holy and perfectly pure, " to con- 

k The passage which follows oc- " vict sin of injustice, and to de- 



curs also in MS. 12, 154, with no 
varies lectiones : as does also the 
subsequent explanation of Is. viii. 3. 
1 The Syriac translator has here 
misinterpreted S. Cyril, who does 
not say that our Lord was free from 
the emotions natural to bodies, but 



/cat 



TTS 



a fj.f) Offjus, that is, from 
that corruption of our nature which 
suggests sin to us, and inclines us 
to seek it. (James i. 14.) S. Cyril s 
main argument here is used by him 



stroy the power of death. For as 
long as sin sentenced only the 
guilty to death, no interference 
with it was possible, seeing that 
it had justice on its side. But 
when it subjected to the same 
punishment Him Who was inno- 
cent, and guiltless, and worthy of 
crowns of honour and hymns of 
praise, being convicted of injust 
ice, it was by necessary conse 
quence stripped of its power." 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 15 

Him in the highest exaltation, possessed of transcendent glory ; 
thou wilt see Him " set upon a throne high and lifted up;" Is. vi. i. 
thou wilt hear the Seraphim extolling Him in hymns, and 
saying that heaven and earth are full of His glory. Yea! 
even upon earth this has come to pass : for the glory of God 
shone upon the shepherds, and there was a multitude of the 
heavenly armies telling Christ s glory. And this it was which was 
proclaimed of old hy the voice of Moses, " Eejoice, ye heavens, 
with Him, and let all the sons m of God worship Him." ForDeut. 
very many holy prophets had been born from time to time, but 30 
never had any one of them been glorified by the voice of . 
angels : for they were men, and according to the same measure 
as ourselves, the true servants of God, and bearers of His 
words. But not so was Christ : for lie is God and Lord, and 
the Sender of the holy prophets, and, as the Psalmist says, 
" Who in the clouds shall be compared unto the Lord, and who PS. ixxxi 
shall be likened unto the Lord among the sons of God ?" For 
the appellation of sonship is bestowed by Him as of grace upon 
us who lie under the yoke, and are by nature slaves : but 
Christ is the true Son n , that is, He is the Son of God the 
Father by nature, even when He had become flesh : for He 
continued, as I have said, to be that which He had ever been, 
though He took upon Him that which He had not been. 

And that what I say is true, the prophet Isaiah again as 
sures us, saying, " Behold the virgin shall conceive and bearls. vii. 14 
" a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel ; butter 
" and honey shall He eat : before He knoweth or chooseth 
" the evil, He shall prefer the good : for before the Child dis- 
" tinguisheth good or evil, He is not obedient to evil in that 
" He chooseth the good." And yet how is it not plain to all, 
that a new-born babe, as yet unable, from its youth and ten 
derness, to understand anything, is unequal to the task of distin 
guishing between good and evil ? For he knows absolutely no 
thing. But in our Saviour Christ it was a great and extraordinary 
miracle : for He ate while yet a babe both butter and honey. 
And because He was God, ineffably made flesh, He knew only 

m This reading is supported by St. Paul, Heb. i. 6. 
several MSS., two Scholia, and S. n Mai reads 17 d\r)d(ia, the re- 
Augustine ; but is rejected by ality. 



16 COMMENTARY UPON 

the good, and was exempt from that depravity which belongs 
to man. And this too is an attribute of the supreme Substance; 
for that which is good by nature, firmly and unchangeably, 
Luke xviii. belongs specially to It, and It only ; " for there is none good, 
" but one God," as the Saviour has Himself said. 

Wouldst thou see another virtue of the Child ? Wouldst thou 
see that He is by nature God, Who in the flesh was of woman ? 
Is. viii. 3. Learn what the prophet Isaiah says of Him : " And I drew 
" near unto the prophetess, and she conceived, and bare a 
" male; and the Lord said unto me, Call His name, Quick 
" take captive, and spoil hastily. For before the Child shall 
" know to call father or mother, He shall take the strength of 
" Damascus." For contemporaneously with the birth of Christ 
the power of the devil was spoiled. For in Damascus he had 
been the object of religious service, and had had there very 
many worshippers ; but when the holy Virgin brought forth, 
the power of his tyranny was broken ; for the heathen were 
won unto the knowledge of the truth ; and their firstfruits and 
leaders were the Magi, who came from the East to Jerusalem ; 
whose teacher was the heaven, and their schoolmaster a star. 

Look not therefore upon Him Who was laid in the manger 
as a babe merely, but in our poverty see Him Who as God is 
rich, and in the measure of our humanity Him Who excels the 
inhabitants of heaven, and Who therefore is glorified even by 
the holy angels. And how noble was the hymn, " Glory to 
" God in the highest, and on earth peace, and among men 
"good will \ } For the angels and archangels, thrones and 
lordships, and high above them the Seraphim, preserving their 
settled order, are at peace with God : for never in any way 
do they transgress His good pleasure, but are firmly established 

D The Fathers constantly refer His birth the heavenly and super- 

i name, Maher-shalal-hash-baz, natural infant, while yet in svvad- 

to our Lord, and explain it of the dling bands and on His mother s 

overthrow of Satan. Another in- bosom, because of His human na- 

jtance of S. Cyril s use of it will be ture, stripped forthwith Satan of 

found in his i 7 th Paschal Homily, as his goods by His ineffable might as 

The prophetess is the holy God : for the Magi came from the 

gin : and the name given tolhe East to worship Him, &c. [In the 

hUd suiteth not man, but God : above I correct f *i 

for, With He, call His name, Spoil and 7ro P/ ^ (W 

(juickly : hastily plunder. For at 






T1TK GOSPEL OF ST. LURK. 



17 



in righteousness and holiness. But we,wretched beings, by having 
set up our own lusts in opposition to the will of our Lord, had put 
ourselves into the position of enemies unto Him. But by Christ 
this has been done away: for He is our peace; for He has Eph. ii. 14. 
united us by Himself unto God the Father, having taken away 
from the middle the cause of the enmity, even sin, and so jus 
tifies us by faith, and makes us holy and without blame, and 
calls near unto Him those who were afar off: and besides this, 
He has created the two people into one new man, so making 
peace, and reconciling both in one body to the Father. For it Eph. i. 10. 
pleased God the Father to form into one new whole all things 
in Him, and to bind together things below and things above, 
and to make those in heaven and those on earth into one flock. 
Christ therefore has been made for us both Peace and Good 
will ; by Whom and with Whom to God the Father be glory 
and honour and might with the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever, 
Amen. p 



P Several passages referred by Mai 
to this homily are not found in the 
Syriac, as was to be expected, the 
Catenists having made use not only 
of the Commentary, but also of 
S. Cyril s other works, especially 
the Julian books, besides the possi 
bility of interpolations, and passages 
erroneously ascribed to him. The 
first omitted extract from B. is to 
shew that the shepherds typified 
the pastors of the Church, as also 
Christ the chief shepherd, Who 
came to seek the lost Hock : while 
Bethlehem, the house of bread, His 
birthplace, is the Church, " where 
" daily the mystical bread of life is 
" sacrificed." The second passage 
(from what MS. is uncertain) gives 
a physical interpretation of the but 
ter which the Emmanuel ate, un 
worthy of Cyril, and at variance 
with the spiritual interpretation of 
the prophecy given above. Thirdly, 
there are a series of extracts from I . 
taken chiefly from the Commentary 
on Isaiah. Conf. Vol. II. 134. 200. 
(Ed. Aub.) And, lastly, an extract 



from B., to the effect that probably 
it was an archangel who brought 
the message, accompanied by his 
usual attendants. The first passage 
is remarkable, both as speaking of 
a daily communion, and for its ap 
plication of the word iepovpyflrai to 
the " mystical bread of life." The 
Fathers generally use this word in 
the same manner as St. Paul, Rom. 
xv. 1 6., for the discharge of any re 
ligious duty, and in this sense it 
will be found to occur more than 
once in the course of the Commen 
tary. Other examples may be seen 
in Suicer s Thesaurus under Itpovp- 
y((i> t and the only instance he gives 
of its application to the Lord s sup 
per is from Zonaras, a writer of the 
twelfth century. It occurs, however, 
in Philostorgii Hist. Eccl. ix. 4., and 
is there referred by Valerius to the 
Lord s supper, but this interpreta 
tion is far from certain. For the 
historian is speaking of the heretic 
Eunomius, who, he says, retired to 
a small estate situated on the sea 
shore near Chalcedon, oi^e Itpnvp- 



18 COMMENTARY UPON 



c.ii.ai-4, SERMON IILi 

From VERY numerous indeed is the assembly, and earnest the 

hearer : for we see the Church full : but the teacher is but 
poor. He nevertheless Who giveth to man a mouth and tongue, 
will further supply us with good ideas. 1 " For He somewhere 

Ps. Ixxxi. says Himself, " Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it." Since 
therefore ye have all come together eagerly on the occasion of 
this joyous festival 5 of our Lord, let us with cheerful torches 
brightly celebrate the feast, and apply ourselves to the consi 
deration of what was divinely fulfilled, as it were, this day, 
gathering for ourselves from every quarter whatsoever may 
confirm us in foith and piety. 

But recently we saw the Immanuel lying as a babe in the 
manger, and wrapped in human fashion in swaddling bands, 
but extolled as God in hymns by the host of the holy angels. 
For they proclaimed to the shepherds His birth, God the Fa 
ther having granted to the inhabitants of heaven as a special 
privilege to be the first to preach Him. And to-day too we 
have seen Him obedient to the laws of Moses, or rather we 
have seen Him Who as God is the Legislator, subject to His 

yias f ov TTJS KV&KOV /uereo-n; ov is, that this extract is incorrectly 
pev ovv fs oa-ov evfftia) \povov fj-^aTo. referred to S. Cyril. 
This Valesius translates by " ne sa- 1 The original Greek of both the 
" era quidem mysteria unquam ce- third and fourth Sermons has been 
" lebravit;" but it rather means, that preserved in the Imperial Library 
" he entirely abstained from all the at Paris; and that of the fourth 
" duties of his sacred office." In sup- only at Trinity College, Cambridge, 
port of his rendering Valesius quotes The former has been printed by 
from Eusebius Life of Constantine, Aubert in his collected edition of 
Lib. IV. 45. ffva-iats dvaipots ical pv- S. Cyril s Works, Vol. V. part ii. 
n-TiKms itpovpyiais TO ddov IXdffKov- p. 385., where the two Sermons are 
TO, where, however, as Wernsdorf incorporated into one. 
shews, by a comparison with other r ^op^o-ei nd\iv folv evvoias 
passages of Eusebius, that historian, dya6d s . From this it appears that 
L his usual rhetorical style, thus these homilies were delivered ex- 
described the prayers for the safety temporaneously, which accounts for 
the Emperor, and the Church a certain amount of repetition in 
htant which, as in our service, them, especially of favorite texts, 
preceded the celebration of the Eu- The feast of circumcision, 
charist. 1 he probability, therefore, 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 19 

own decrees. And the reason of this the most wise Paul 
teaches us, saying, " When we were babes we were enslaved Gal. iv. 3. 
" under the elements of the world ; but when the fulness of 
" the time came, God sent forth His Son, born 1 of a woman, 
" born under the law, to redeem them that were under the 
" law." Christ therefore ransomed from the curse of the law 
those who being subject to it, had been unable to keep its 
enactments. And in what way did He ransom them ? By ful 
filling it. And to put it in another way : in order that He 
might expiate the guilt of Adam s transgression, He showed 
Himself obedient and submissive in every respect to God the 
Father in our stead: for it is written, "That as through the Rom. v. 19. 
" disobedience of the One man, the many were made sinners, 
" so also through the obedience of the One, the many shall be 
" made just." He yielded therefore His neck to the law in 
company with us, because the plan of salvation so required : 
for it became Him to fulfil all righteousness. u For having as 
sumed the form of a slave, as being now enrolled by reason of 
His human nature among those subject to the yoke, lie once 
even paid the half shekel to the collectors of the tribute, al 
though by nature free, and as the Son not liable to pay the tax. 

* Mai has the received reading " (oiKoi/o/xt a) which He had under- 
yevofifvov. I have not noticed the " taken for our sakes. And we 
many verbal discrepancies between " shall find Him, moreover, even in 
him and Aubert, as the Catenists " the payment of the half shekel 
naturally had to make many slight " marked out as a Saviour and Re- 
alterations in forming their extracts deemer (? read Avrpo>ri)i/ for Xu- 
into a connected discourse. The " TTJV.) For the half shekel was a 
v. 1. yfvv^vov, though received by " coin stamped with the royal 
some of the Fathers, is unsupported " image : and it was paid according 
by MS. authority. to the law for two persons. Be- 

u This passage, as far as " the " hold therefore again Christ repre- 

" plan of salvation," Mai for the " sented in the half shekel. For 

present omits, but afterwards gives " being the image of the Father, 

it in so different a form, and with " the impress of His substance, the 

such additions, that I think it bet- " coin that came from heaven, He 

ter to append a separate translation. " offered Himself as the ransom for 

" Again He paid the half shekel to " the two people, the Jews, I mean, 

" the collectors of the tribute, al- " and the Gentiles." This fanciful 

" though not bound to pay, as be- style of interpretation seldom ap- 

" ing in very truth the Son : but pears in the Syriac, and is equally 

" He paid as being made under the rejected in the present case by An- 

" law. For He must verily act fully bert s MS. 
" according to the dispensation 



20 COMMENTARY UPON 

When therefore thou seest Him keeping the law, be not of 
fended, nor place the free-born among the slaves, but reflect 
rather upon the profoundness of the plan of salvation. 

v Upon the arrival, therefore, of the eighth day, on which it 
was customary for the circumcision in the flesh to be performed 
according to the enactment of the law, He receives His Name, 
even Jesus, which by interpretation signifies, the Salvation of 
the people. For so had God the Father willed that His Son. 
should be named, when born in the flesh of a woman. For 
then especially was He made the salvation of the people, and 
not of one only, but of many, or rather of every nation, and of 
the whole world. He received His name, therefore, on the 
same occasion on which He was circumcised. 

But come, and let us again search and see, what is the 
riddle, and to what mysteries the occurrence directs us. The 
blessed Paul has said, " Circumcision is nothing, and uncir- 
" curncision is nothing. " To this it is probable that some may 
object, Did the God of all then command by the all-wise Moses 
a thing of no account to be observed, with a punishment de 
creed against those that transgressed it ? Yes, I say : for a& 
far as regards the nature of the thing, of that, I mean, which 
is done in the flesh, it is absolutely nothing, but it is pregnant 
with the graceful type of a mystery, or rather contains the hid 
den manifestation of the truth. For on the eighth x day Christ 
arose from the dead, and gave us the spiritual circumcision, 
For He commanded the holy Apostles: " Having gone, make 
Mat. u. (( ^ G c jj sc ip] es O f a || na ti ons? baptizing them into the Name of 
" the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." And 
we affirm that the spiritual circumcision takes place chiefly in 

v This passage exists among the ness by means of the resurrection 

Syriac fragments, and is important from the dead of our Lord Jesus 

in so far establishing the accuracy Christ on the first day of the week. 

of Aubert s text, as it agrees with it For the first day of the week, while 

in omitting an interpolation of the remaining the first of all the days, 

Catenist, found in Mai. is, nevertheless, in its relation to 

So Justin Martyr s Dial, with the whole circle of the week, called 

Trypho. (p. 201. ed. F. Sylburgii, the eighth, and yet continues to be 

leidelb. 1793.) " The ordinance of the first." So again, p. 288. " The 

circumcision, which commanded in- ark, in which were eight persons, 

fants to be circumcised on the eighth symbolizes by that number tbe 

day only, was a type of the true cir- eighth day, on which Christ arose 

cumcision from error and wicked- from the dead." 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 21 



the season of holy baptism, when also Christ makes us par 
takers of the Holy Ghost. And of this again, that Jesus of Aub. &px<- 
old, who was captain after Moses, was a type. For he first jjjjj^ 
of all led the children of Israel across the Jordan : and then Aub. om. 
having halted them, immediately circumcised them with knives " f 
of stone. So when we have crossed the Jordan, Christ cir 
cumcises us with the power of the Holy Ghost, not purifying 
the flesh, but rather cutting off the defilement that is in our 
souls. 

On the eighth day, therefore, Christ is circumcised, and 
receives, as I said, His Name : for then, even then, were we 
saved by I limy and through Him, " in Whom, it saith, ye were col. ii. n. 
" circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands in the From Mai. 
" putting off of the fleshly body, with Christ s circumcision, 
" having been buried together with Him in baptism, wherein 
" also ye were raised with Him." His death, therefore, was 
for our sakes. as were also His resurrection and -His circum- 
ci>i<n. For lie died, that we who have died together with Him 
in His dying unto sin, may no longer live unto sin : for which 
reason it is said, "If we have died together with Him, we shall 
" also live together with Him." And He is said to have died 
unto sin, not because He had sinned, " for lie did no sin, nei- iPet. 11.22. 
" ther was guile found in His mouth," but because of our sin. 
Like as therefore we died together with Him when He died, 
so shall we also rise together with Him. 

Again, when the Son was present among us, though by nature 
God and the Lord of all, He does not on that account despise 
our measure, but along with us is subject to the same law, al 
though as God He was Himself the legislator. Like the Jews, 
He is circumcised when eight days old, to prove His descent 
from their stock, that they may not deny Him. For Christ 
was expected of the seed of David, and offered them the proof 
of His relationship. But if even when He was circumcised they 
said, "As for This man, we know not whence He is;" there John ix. 29. 



T The next two or three paragraphs Aubert s MS. in reducing two Ser- 

are not found in Aubert, but as they mons into one, made large omis- 

are in Mai s same MS. E, which Bions to avoid the too great length, 

contains most of the foregoing, and I have received them into the text, 
as it is possible that the Copyist of 



og COMMENTARY UPON 



would have been a show of reason in their denial, had He not 
been circumcised in the flesh, and kept the law. 

But after His circumcision, the rite was done away by the 
introduction of that which had been signified by it, even bap 
tism : for which reason we are no longer circumcised. For 
circumcision seems to me to have effected three several ends : 
in the first place, it separated the posterity of Abraham by a 
sort of sign and seal, and distinguished them from all other 
nations. In the second, it prefigured in itself the grace and 
efficacy of Divine baptism ; for as in old time he that was 
circumcised, was reckoned among the people of God by that 
seal, so also he that is baptized, having formed in himself 
Christ the seal, is enrolled into God s adopted family. And, 
thirdly, it is the symbol of the faithful when established in 
grace, who cut away and mortify the tumultuous risings of 
carnal pleasures and passions by the sharp surgery of faith, 
and by ascetic labours ; not cutting the body, but purifying 
the heart, and being circumcised in the spirit, and not in the 
Rom. ii. 29. letter : whose praise, as the divine Paul testifies, needs not the 
sentence of any human tribunal, but depends upon the decree 
from above. 2 

After His circumcision, she next waits for the time of her 
purification : and when the days were fulfilled, and the fortieth 
was the full time, God the Word, Who sitteth by the Father s 
side, is carried up to Jerusalem, and brought into the Father s 
presence in human nature like unto us, and by the shadow of 
the law is numbered among the firstborn. For even before the 
Incarnation the firstborn were holy, and consecrated to God, 
From Aub. being sacrificed to Him according to the law. a ! how great 
Kom.xi.33. and wonderful is the plan of salvation ! " the depth of the 
" riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God !" He 
Who is in the bosom of the Father, the Son Who shares 
His throne, and is coeternal with Him : by Whom all things 
are divinely brought into existence, submitted nevertheless to 
the measure of human nature, and even offered a sacrifice to 
His own Father, although adored by all, and glorified with 

Mai s next extract is from the a Aubert beging again here ffhe 
1 5th book of the De Ador. Spir. passage is also in the Aurea Catena, 
l - 553 a is omitted. upon Luke ii. 24. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 23 

Him. And what did He offer? As the firstborn and a male a 
pair of turtles, or two young doves, according to what the law 
prescribed. But what does the turtle signify ? And what too 
the other, the dove ? Come, then, and let us examine this. 
The one, then, is the most noisy of the birds of the field : but 
the other is a mild and gentle creature. And such did the 
Saviour of all become towards us, shewing the most perfect 
gentleness, and like a turtle moreover soothing the world, and 
filling His own vineyard, even us who believe in Him, with the 
sweet sound of His voice. For it is written in the Song of 
Songs, "The voice of the turtle has been heard in our land." Cant.ii. 12. 
For Christ has spoken to us the divine message of the Gospel, 
which is for the salvation of the whole world. 

Turtles, therefore, and doves were offered, when He pre 
sented Himself unto the Lord, and there might one see simul 
taneously meeting together the truth and the types. And 
Christ offered Himself for a savour of a sweet smell, that He 
might offer us by and in Himself unto God the Father, and so 
do away with His enmity towards us by reason of Adam s 
transgression, and bring to nought sin that had tyrannized 
over us all. For we are they who long ago were crying, 
" Look upon me, and pity me." b 

b A passage follows in Mai, either of the immaculate conception of the 

from E. or H., going over ground blessed Virgin Mary: for it testifies 

already traversed, and probably only that all women, except the Virgin, 

a summary gathered from S. Cyril, (at liXXaiyvvaiKfs,) conceived in sin, 

It is valuable, nevertheless, as shew- (eV 
ing how little idea the ancients had 



COMMENTARY UPON 



c. 11.25-35. 



Is. Hi. 7. 



SERMON IV. 



c THE prophet Isaiah says, " Beautiful are the feet of 
" them that bring good tidings of good :" and what could 
there be so sweet to learn as that God has saved the world by 
the mediation of the Son, in that He was made like unto us ? 

i Tim. ii. 5. For it is written, "that there is one God, and one Mediator of 
" God and men, the Man Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself a 
" ransom for us." For of His own accord He descended to our 
poverty, that He might make us rich by our gaining what is 
His. Behold Him therefore as one in our estate presented 
unto the Father, and obedient to the shadows of the law, offer 
ing sacrifice moreover according to what was customary, true 
though it be that these things were done by the instrumentality 
of His mother according to the flesh. Was He then unrecog 
nised by all at Jerusalem, and known to none dwelling there ? 
How could this be the case ? For God the Father had before 
proclaimed by the holy prophets, that in due season the Son 
would be manifested to save them that were lost, and to give 
light to them that were in darkness. By one too of the holy 

i. ixli. i. prophets He said, " My righteousness approacheth quickly, 
" and My mercy to be revealed, and My salvation shall burn 
" as a torch." But the mercy and righteousness is Christ : for 
through Him have we obtained mercy and righteousness, hav 
ing washed away our filthy vileness by faith that is in Him. 
And that which a torch going before them is to those in night 
and darkness, this has Christ become for those who are in 
mental gloom and darkness, implanting in them the divine 
light. For this reason also the blessed prophets prayed to be 

Ps. Ixxxv. made partakers of His great grace, saying, " Shew us Thy 
" mercy, Lord, and grant us Thy salvation." 



T. aylwv. 
Aub. OT 



c The text is now taken from the 
Tr. Coll. MS. B. Q. 7. apparently of 
the 1 2th century. It is a volume of 
sermons, and among them has one 
with the following superscription : 



is rov diVmop 



pp.rjvfias TOV Kara \ov<av tvayye- 
\iov Ke evXo-f 

I owe my transcript to a friend, 
himself engaged in collecting and 
editing the Greek remains of this 
Father. 



Ka CK 



. i. 25. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 25 

hrist d therefore was carried into the temple, being yet a 
little child at the breast : and the blessed Symeon being en 
dowed with the grace of prophecy, takes Him in his arms, and 
filled with the highest joy, blessed God, and said ; " Lord, 
" now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace according to 
" Thy Word, for mine eyes have seen Thy Salvation, Which 
" Thon hast prepared before the face of all the nations, the 
" Gentiles light for revelation, and a glory of Thy people 
" Israel." For the mystery of Christ had been prepared even 
before the very foundation of the world, but was manifested in 
the last ages of time, and became a light for those who in dark 
ness and error had fallen under the devil s hand. These were 
they " who serve the creation instead of the Creator/ wor- Rom 
shipping moreover the dragon, the author of evil, and the im- fx 
pure throng of devils, to whom they attach the honour due unto 
Ood : yet were they called by God the Father to the acknow 
ledgment of the Son Who is the true light. Of them in sooth 
He said by the voice of Isaiah, " I will make signs unto them, Zech. x. s 
" and receive them, because I will ransom them, and they shall 
" be multiplied, as they were many : and I will sow them 
" among the nations, and they who are afar off shall reinem- 
" ber Me." For very many were they that were astray, but 
were called through Christ : and again they are many as thcv 

d Mai, whose extracts begin again impossible to say which MS. con- 
at this clause, has admitted at the tains this interpolation, as the let- 
end of the first sentence an interpo- ters put by Mai at the commence- 
lation so curious, that I append it : ment of each extract merely mean 
. . . and offered what is appointed that those MSS. severally contain 
in the law, a pair of turtles and more or less of what follows. Im- 
two young pigeons, the type of mediately afterwards he has another 
temperance and gentleness, as passage, the false philosophy and 
well as also of each kind of life, bad Greek of which confirm its re- 
marriage, namely, and celibacy, jection by the two trustworthy 
of both of which He is the Law- MSS. It is to the effect, that Sy- 
giver. For you may say that the meon was to be set free from tho 
" active and more spiritual, who leaping-ground of life : for life is a 
have taken upon themselves the ransom and prison, (XvTpa KOI 6> 
single life, are the pigeons : but O-^T^PLOV.) Upon the offering of 
that those who occupy themselves the turtle doves, the reader may 
with a family and other domestic compare S. Cyril s explanation in 
- cares are the turtle doves." As the De Ador. Spir. Ed. Aub. I. 531. 
in the unworthy interpretation of which agrees with the present Com- 
the butter, referred to in the note mentary. 
at the end of the 2nd Sermon, it is 



26 COMMENTARY UPON 

were before ; for they have been received and ransomed, hav 
ing obtained as the token of peace from God the Father, the 
adoption into His family and the grace that is by faith in 
Jesus Christ. And the divine disciples were sown widely 
among the nations : and what is the consequence ? Those 
who in disposition were far from God, have been made near. 

Eph. ii. 13. To whom also the divine Paul sends an epistle, saying, " Now 
" ye who some time were afar off have been made near in the 
" blood of Christ." And having been brought near, they make 
Christ their glorying : for again, God the Father has said of 

Zech.x. 12. them, "And I will strengthen them in the Lord their God, and 
" in His Name shall they glory, saith the Lord." This also the 
blessed Psalmist teaches, speaking as it were unto Christ the 

PR. ixxxix. Saviour of all, and saying, " Lord, they shall walk in the light 
" of Thy countenance, and in Thy Name shall they exult all 
" the day, and in Thy righteousness shall they be exalted : for 
" Thou art the glorying of their strength." And we shall find 

Jer. xvi.ip. a l so the prophet Jeremiah calling out unto God, "Lord, my 
" strength and my help, and my refuge in the day of my evils, 
" to Thee shall the heathen come from the end of the earth, 
" and say, Our fathers took unto themselves false idols, in 
" which there is no help." 

Christ therefore became the Gentiles light for revelation : 
but also for the glory of Israel. For even granting that some 
of them proved insolent, and disobedient, and with minds 
void of understanding, yet is there a remnant saved, and ad 
mitted unto glory through Christ. Arid the firstfruits of these 
were the divine disciples, the brightness of whose renown light 
ens the whole world. 

And in another sense Christ is the glory of Israel, for He 

Rom. ix. 5. came of them according to the flesh, though He be " God over 
" all, and blessed for evermore, Amen." 

And Symeon blesseth also the holy Virgin as the handmaid 
of the divine counsel, and the instrument of the birth that sub 
mitted not itself to the laws of human nature. For being a 
virgin she brought forth, and that not by man, but by the 
power of the Holy Ghost having come upon her. 

Also in the And what does the prophet Symeon say of Christ ? " Be- 

M&ia,i54. " hold This child is set for the fall and rising again of many in 
" Israel, and for a sign that shall be spoken against." For the 






THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 27 

Immanuel is set by God the Father for the foundations of Sion, 
" being a stone elect, chief of the corner, and honourable. 1 i Pet. ii. 6. 
Those then that trusted in Him were not ashamed : but 
those who were unbelieving and ignorant, and unable to per 
ceive the mystery regarding Him, fell, and were broken in 
pieces. For God the Father again has somewhere said, " Be- Is. xxviii. 
" hold I lay in Sion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence, L uke xx 
" and He that believeth on It shall not be ashamed; but on 18. 
" whomsoever It shall fall, It will winnow him." But the pro 
phet bade the Israelites be secure, saying, " Sanctify the Lord Is. viii. 13. 
" Himself, and He shall be thy fear : and if thou trust upon 
" Him, He shall be thy sanctification, nor shall ye strike 
" against Him as on a stone of stumbling, and a rock of of- 
" fence." Because however Israel did not sanctify the Emmanuel 
Who is Lord and God, nor was willing to trust in Him, having 
stumbled as upon a stone because of unbelief, it was broken in 
pieces and fell. But many rose again, those, namely, who 
embraced faith in Him. For they changed 6 from a legal to a 
spiritual service : from having in them a slavish spirit, they 
were enriched with That Spirit Which maketh free, even the 
Holy Ghost : they were made partakers of the divine nature : 2 Pet. i. 4. 
they were counted worthy of the adoption of sons : and live in 
hope of gaining the city that is above, even the citizenship, to 
wit, the kingdom of heaven. 

And by the sign that is spoken against, he means the precious Also in the 
Cross, for as theTnost wise Paul writes, " to the Jews it is a stum- ^12,154. 
" blingblock, and foolishness to the heathen." And again, "To iCor. i. 23. 
" them that are perishing it is foolishness : but to us who are iCor. i. 18. 
" being saved, it is the power of God unto salvation." The sign 
therefore is spoken against, if to those that perish it seem to 
be folly ; while to those who acknowledge its power it is salva 
tion and life. 

And Symeon further f said to the holy Virgin, " Yea, a 
" sword shall go through thy own soul also," meaning by the 
sword the pain which she suffered for Christ, in seeing Him 

e Aubert s reading here, jzfrf^u- its compounds, occur in S. Cyril 

Tcvdrja-av, for /ifTf^oirr/o-ai/, is wor- constantly in the sense of /3aiVo>. 
thy of notice. It is possibly, never- f The Tr. MS. has rrpos TOVS TOL- 

theless, only the correction of some OVTOVS, but the Syriac 

scribe, not aware that $otrdco, and which I have adopted. 



COMMENTARY UPON 



Whom she brought forth crucified; and not knowing at all 
that He would be more mighty than death, and rise again 
from the grave. Nor mayest thou wonder that the Virgin 
knew this not, when we shall find even the holy Apostles 
themselves with little faith thereupon : for verily the blessed 
Thomas, had he not thrust his hands into His side after the 
resurrection, and felt also the prints of the nails, would have 
disbelieved the other disciples telling him, that Christ was 
risen, and had shewed Himself unto them. 

The very wise Evangelist therefore for our benefit teaches us 
all things whatsoever the Son, when He was made flesh, and 
consented to bear our poverty, endured for our sakes and in 
our behalf, that so we may glorify Him as our Redeemer, as 
our Lord, as our Saviour, and our God : gby Whom and with 
Whom to God the Father and the Holy Ghost be the glory 
and the power for ever and ever, Amen. h 



The doxology is taken from 
Aubert, and is identically the same 
with that which concludes every 
homily in the Syriac. 

h Mai does not contain the above 
explanation of the sword that was 
to pierce the holy Virgin, but in its 
place has the following adaptation 
of it : " But to speak more briefly, 
" we affirm that the sword here sig- 
" nifies the temptation like a knife, 
" or even the passion itself brought 
" upon the Immanuel by the mad- 
" ness of the Jews. And so the just 
" Symeon seems to understand, and 
" even to say. For the holy Virgin 
" was all but killed by a sword in 
" seeing Him That was born of her 
" in the flesh crucified. Such also 
" was that said by Zechariah (xiii. 
" 7.): Awake, O sword, against My 
" Shepherd, that is, forthwith let 



" the saving passion be enacted, 
" and let the time of the shewing 
" forth of good things come." To 
this Mai appends the following 
note : " In codice B. f. 31. post 
" crapKa additur, KCU a^iyvooixra 
" e t ye KOI Bavarov Kparrja-fi Qavara)- 
" Gets : quam particulam de B. Vir- 
" ginis dubitatione circa futuram 
filii sui resurrectionem cum nee 
ceteri codices in Cyrillo habeant, 
nee pietas Christiana admittat, 
baud immerito preetermisirnus : 
quamquam eadem legitur sub fi- 
nem predictse homilia? in hypa- 
pantem," &c. The danger of such 
a method of treating MS. authority 
is shewn by the additional authority 
of the Tr. Cod., which completely 
agrees with Aubert, some slight 
verbal differences excepted. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 



SERMON V. 

And the Child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, being filled c. 11.40-52. 

From Mai 
and Cramer. 



with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him. And * rom Mai 



again ; But Jesus increased in stature and wisdom and 
grace with God and men. 

TO say that the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, 
being filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him, 
must be taken as referring to His human nature. And examine, 
I pray you, closely the profoundness of the dispensation : the 
Word endures to be born in human fashion, although in His 
divine nature He has no beginning nor is subject to time : He 
Who as God is all perfect, submits to bodily growth : the In 
corporeal has limbs that advance to the ripeness of manhood : 
He is filled with wisdom Who is Himself all wisdom. And what 
say we to this? Behold by these things Him Who was in the form 
of the Father made like unto us: the Rich in poverty : the High 
in humiliation : Him said to " receive," Whose is the fulness as 
God. So thoroughly did God the Word empty Himself ! For 
what things are written of Him as a man shew the manner of 
the emptying. For it were a thing impossible for the Word 
begotten of God the Father to admit ought like this into 
His own nature : but when He became flesh, even a man like 
unto us, then He is born according to the flesh of a woman, 
and is said also to have been subject to the things that belong 
to man s state : and though the Word as being God could have 
made His flesh spring forth at once from the womb unto the 
measure of the perfect man, yet this would have been of the 
nature of a portent : and therefore He gave the habits and 
laws of human nature power even over His own flesh. 

Be not therefore offended, considering perchance within thy- From the 
self, How can God increase? or how can He Who gives grace ^^ 151, 
to angels and to men receive fresh wisdom ? Rather reflect 
upon the great skill wherewith we are initiated into His mys 
tery. For the wise Evangelist did not introduce the Word in 
His abstract and incorporeal nature, and so say of Him that 



30 COMMENTARY UPON 

He increased in stature and wisdom and grace, but after hav 
ing shewn that He was born in the flesh of a woman, and took 
our likeness, he then assigns to Him these human attributes, 
and calls Him a child, and says that He waxed in stature, as 
His body grew little by little, in obedience to corporeal laws. 
And so He is said also to have increased in wisdom, not as re 
ceiving fresh supplies of wisdom, for God is perceived by the 
understanding to be entirely perfect in all things, and altoge 
ther incapable of being destitute of any attribute suitable to 
the Godhead : but because God the Word gradually mani 
fested His wisdom proportionably to the age which the body 
had attained. 

From Mai. The body then advances in stature, and the soul* in wisdom: 
for the divine nature is capable of increase in neither one nor 
the other ; seeing that the Word of God is all perfect. And 
with good reason he connected the increase of wisdom with 
the growth of the bodily stature, because the divine nature 
revealed its own wisdom in proportion to the measure of the 
bodily growth. 

r - 42- And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jeru 

salem according to the custom of the feast. 

After the Evangelist had said, that Jesus advanced in wis 

dom and grace with God and men, he next shews that what 

he says is true : for he carries Him to Jerusalem in company 

ith the holy Virgin, upon the summons of the feast : and 

then he says that He remained behind, and was afterwards 

Hind in the temple sitting in the midst of the doctors both 

iskmg and answering questions regarding those things, as we 

1 sure, which were spoken of old by the law : and that 

was wondered at by all for His questions and answers. 

Him advancing in wisdom and grace, by reason of 

mng known unto many as being what He was. 









THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 31 

Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing. v. 48. 

His mother certainly knew that He was not the child of 
Joseph, but she so speaks to avoid the suspicions 1 * of the Jews. 
And upon her saying, that " Thy father and I have sought 
" Thee sorrowing," the Saviour answers ; 

Did ye not know that I must be at My Father s ? v 49 

Here then first He makes more open mention of Him Who 
is truly His Father, and lays bare His own divinity : for when 
the holy Virgin said, Child, why hast Thou so done unto us ? 
then at once shewing Himself to transcend the measure of hu 
man things, and teaching her that she had been made the 
handmaid of the dispensation in giving birth to the flesh, but 
that lie by nature and in truth was God, and the Son of the 
Father That is in heaven, He says, Did ye not know that I 
must be at My Father s? mere let the Valentinians, when 
they hear that the temple was God s, and that Christ was now 
at His own, Who long before also was so described in the law, 
and represented as in shadows and types, feel shame in affirm 
ing, that neither the Maker of the world, nor the God of the 
law, nor the God of the temple, was the Father of Christ. 111 

k Cramer (ii. 26.) adds, vo^i(6v- Him considered as the Word, but 

TO>V e* Tropveias avrov ytyev^aOm. either must be understood of the 

1 The style of the short extract increase of admiration on the part 
that follows is entirely unlike Cy- of all who beheld Him, and daily 
ril s. Mai says, that the Catenae witnessed a fuller manifestation of 
ascribe it to Orjgen as well as His glory : or, as the two latter ex- 
Cyril, tracts teach, it refers to the human 

m Mai s next extract upon v. 52. nature. As I have not been able 

may serve as an instance of the to find the second extract in 

manner in which the Catenists S. Cyril s collected works, I give 

joined with the utmost neatness it entire : " And observe, that that 

passages from various works. It " which increases in any thing is 

commences with S. Cyril s Com- " different from that in which it is 

mentary on John i. 14, Op. iv. 96 : " said to increase. If therefore He 

after which there follow a few lines, " is said to increase in wisdom, it 

which may possibly be from the " was not the wisdom that in- 

Commentary on Luke : and finally, " creased, but the human nature 

we have the 28th assertion of the " that increased in it. For as the 

Thesaurus, Op. v. pt. i. 253. The " Godhead day by day unveiled and 

doctrine of these extracts is nearly " manifested Itself in Him, He ever 

identical, all affirming that our " became an object of greater admi- 

Lord s increase in wisdom and sta- " ration to those that saw Him." 
ture and grace cannot be said of 



COMMENTARY UPON 
CHAPTER III. 



SERMON VI. 
From Mai. As it is ivHttcn in the look of the words of Isaiah 

the prophet. 

THE blessed Isaiah was not ignorant of the scope of John s 
preachings, but of old, even long before the time, bearing witness 
of it, he called Christ Lord and God : but John he styled His 
minister and servant, and said that he was a lamp advancing 
before the true light, the morning star heralding the sun, 
foreshowing the coming of the day that was about to shed its 
rays upon us: and that he was a voice, not a word, forerunning 
Jesus, as the voice does the word. n 

Prepare ye the ivays of the Lord, make His paths straight. 
John, being chosen for the Apostleship, was also the last of 
the holy prophets : for which reason, as the Lord was not yet 
Fr th< come, he says, Prepare ye the way of the Lord. And what is 
Ms. I2 .i 54 . the meaning of Prepare ye the way of the Lord ?" It is put 
for, Make ready for the reception of whatever Christ may wish 
.o enact : withdraw your hearts from the shadow of the law : 
cease from the types : think no more perversely. Make the 
" paths of our God straight." For every path that leadeth 
good is straight and smooth and easy : but the other is 
crooked that leadeth down to wickedness them that walk 
F Ma,, herein For of such it is written, - Whose paths are crooked 
and the tracks of their wheels awry." Straightforwardness 
fore of the mind is as it were a straight path, having no 
ps crookedness. Such was the divine Psalmist s character, who 

JOB. xxt. J sm S s > " A crooked heart hath not cleaved unto me." And 
son of Nun, in exhorting the people, said, -Make 






THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 33 

" straight your hearts unto the God of Israel :" while John 
cries, " Make straight your ways." And this means, that the 
soul must be straight, displaying its natural intuition as it was 
created : and it was created beautiful and very straight. But 
when it turns aside, and its natural state is perverted, this is 
called vice, and the perversion of the soul. The matter there 
fore is not very difficult : for if we continue as we are made, we 
shall be virtuous. P 

But when some one, as it were, exclaims against us, saying, 
How shall we prepare the way of the Lord ? or how make His 
paths straight ? for there are many impediments in the way of 
those that will live well, Satan, who hates all that is beauti 
ful, the unholy throng of wicked spirits, the law of sin itself 
that is in our fleshly members, and which arms itself against 
the inclinations of the mind to what is good, and many other 
passions besides, that have mastery over the mind of man : 
what then shall we do, with so great difficulty pressing upon 
us ? The word of prophecy meets these objections, saying, 
" Every valley shall be filled up, and every mountain and hill Is. xl. 4 . 
" shall be brought low : and the crooked way shall become 
" straight, and the rough ways shall become smooth : and all 
" flesh shall see the salvation of God." M 

And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. V. 6. 

And all flesh did see the salvation of God, even of the Father : 
for He sent the Son to be our Saviour. And in these words 
by " fiesh," man generally is to be understood, that is, the 
whole human race. For thus all flesh shall see the salvation 
of God : no longer Israel only, but all flesh. For the gentle 
ness of the Saviour and Lord of all is not limited, nor did He 
save one nation merely, but rather embraced within His net 
the whole world, and has illuminated all who were in dark 
ness. And this is what was celebrated by the Psalmist s lyre, 
" All the nations whom Thou hast made shall come and wor- p s . ixxxvi. 
" ship before Thee, Lord." While at the same time the rem- 9- 
nant of the Israelites is saved, as the great Moses also long 
ago declared, saying, " Rejoice ye nations with His people." Deut.xxxii. 

P The style of this comment, so this extract. 

unlike Cyril s, and the extraordinary 1 The next extract is from the 

conclusion, both suggest caution in Commentary on Isaiah, Op. ii. 506, 

attributing to him the latter part of and is therefore omitted. 



34 COMMENTARY UPON 



SERMON VII. 

MS. 12, 1 54. 

C. iii. 7-9. The Baptist therefore said to the multitudes that came to be 

baptized of him, Generation of vipers, who hath ivarned 

you to flee from the coming wrath ? 

WE affirm therefore that the blessed Baptist, as being full 
of the Holy Ghost, was not ignorant of the daring acts that 
Jewish wickedness would venture against Christ. For he fore 
knew that they would both disbelieve in Him, and wagging 
their envenomed tongue, would pour forth railings and accusa 
tions against Him : accusing Him at one time of being born of 
X1 - J 5. fornication; at another, as one who wrought His miracles by 
the help of Beelzebub, prince of the devils : and again, as one 
that had a devil, and was no whit better than a Samaritan. 
Having this therefore in view, he calls even those of them who 
From Mai. repent wicked, and reproves them because, though they had the 
law speaking unto them the mystery of Christ, and the pre 
dictions of the prophets relating thereunto, they nevertheless 
had become dull of hearing, and unready for faith in Christ 
the Saviour of all. " For who hath warned you to flee from 
the coming wrath ?" Was it not the inspired Scripture, which 
tells the happiness of those who believe in Christ, but fore 
warns those who believe not, and are ignorant, that they will 
be condemned to severe and inevitable punishment ? 

Briny forth therefore fruits meet for repentance. 

Moreover, the fruit of repentance is, in the highest degree, 
faith in Christ : and next to it, the evangelic mode of life, and 
111 general terms the works of righteousness in contradis 
tinction to sin, which the penitent must bring forth as fruits 
worthy of repentance. And he has added ; Begin not to say 
within yourselves, We have Abraham for our father : for I 
11 you that God is able of these stones to raise up children 
unto Abraham." You see how most skilfully he humbles 
their foolish pride, and shews that their being born of Abra 
ham according to the flesh is useless for their profit For of 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 35 

what benefit is nobility of birth, if men practise not the like 

earnest deeds, nor imitate the virtue of their ancestors ? For 

the Saviour says unto them, <( if ye were Abraham s children, John ^ 

" ye would have done the works of Abraham/ 1 The relation- 39- 

ship which God requires is one in character and manners : so 

that it is a vain tiling to boast of holy and good parents, while 

we fall, far short of their virtue. 

But, says the* Jew, if this be so, in what way is the seed of 
Abraham still to be multiplied, and the promise made to him 
of God hold true, of which the terms are, that " He will mul- 
" tiply his seed as the stars of heaven ?" By the calling of 
the GentileSi O Jew : for it was said to Abraham himself, that 
" in Isaac shall a seed for thee be called :*" and that " I have Gen.xxi.i2. 
" set thee as a father of many nations." But the phrase " in id. xvii. 4 . 
" Isaac" means, According to promise. He is set therefore as 
a father of many nations by faith, that is to say, in Christ. 
And of these it was that God spake also by the voice of Eze- 
kiel : "And I will take away out of their flesh the heart of Ezek.xi.iQ. 
" stone, and will give them a heart of flesh, that they may 
" know Me, that I am the Lord." 

And the blessed Baptist apparently calls them stones, be- From the 
cause they as yet knew not Him Who is by nature God, but Ms!r2, r54 . 
were in error, and in their great folly worshipped the creation 
instead of the Creator : but they were called, and became the 
sons of Abraham, and acknowledged, by believing in Christ, 
Him Who is by nature God. 

But that he may benefit in a still higher degree those that 
hear him, the blessed Baptist brings forward something more : 
" But already even the axe is laid at the root of the trees." 
But by the axe in this passage he signifies the sharp wrath 
which God the Father brought upon the Jews for their wick 
edness towards Christ, and audacious violence: for the wrath From Mai 
was brought upon them like an axe. And this the prophet 
Zecharias has explained to us, saying. " The wailing of Jeru- Zech.xii.n. 
" salem shall be as the wailing of a grove of pomegranate trees 
" cut down in the plain." And Jeremiah also addressing her, Jer. xi. i*. 
said, " The Lord called thy name a beautiful olive tree, very 
" leafy to behold : at the sound of its felling, a fire was kindled 
" upon it : great was the lamentation over it : its branches 

F 2 






W COMMENTARY UPON 

" have been made unserviceable : and the Lord of hosts That 
" planted thee hath uttered evils against thee." And to this 
thou mayest add also the parable in the Gospels about the fig- 
tree. As being therefore a plant unfruitful, and no longer of 
generous kind, it was cut down by God. He does not, how 
ever, say that the axe was laid into the root, but at the root, 
that is, near the root. For the branches were cut off, but the 
plant was not dug up by its root : for the remnant of Israel 
was saved, and did not perish utterly. 



SERMONS VIII AND IX. 

And t1i e multitudes asked him. 

THE blessed Luke has introduced three classes of men 
making inquiry of John,-the multitudes, the publicans, and, 
thirdly, the soldiers : and as a skilful physician applies to each 
malady a suitable and fitting remedy, so also the Baptist gave 
to each mode of life useful and becoming counsel, bidding the 
multitudes m their course towards repentance practise mutual 
kindness: for the publicans, he stops the way to unrestrained 
tions : and very wisely tells the soldiers to oppress no one, 
but be content with their wages. 






- 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 37 

SERMON X. 

From the 

SERMON THE TENTH, FROM S CYRIL S COMMENTARY UPON LUKE, Syriac 
UPON JOHN THE BAPTIST. 

But when the people were in expectation, and all men rea- c. Hi. 
soned in their hearts concerning John, whether he were not I 5~ 1 7- 
the Christ, John answered, and said to them all, I indeed 
baptize you in water, but there cometh He Who is mightier 
than I : Whose shoe s latchet I am not worthy to unloose : 
He shall baptize you in the Holy Ghost and injire, Whose 
fan is in His hand, and He shall purge His floor, and 
gather His wheat into stores, but the chaff He ivill burn 
in unquenchable fire. 5 

IT is written, that "a just father will bring up (his children) 
" excellently." For those who are clad in the glory of the 
righteousness that is by Christ, and are acquainted with His 
sacred commands, will train up excellently and piously those 
who are their sons in the faith, giving them not the material 
bread of earth, but that which is from above, even from hea 
ven. Of which bread the admirable Psalmist also makes men 
tion, where he says, " Bread established! man s heart, and P. civ. 15. 
" wine rejoiceth man s heart." Let us therefore now also 
establish our hearts : let our faith in Christ be assured, as we 
correctly understand the meaning of those evangelic writings 
now read unto us. " For when the people, it says, were in 
" expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts of John, whe- 
" ther he were not the Christ, he answered them in the words 
" which we have just heard read." 

8 Although the preposition eV is is the simple verb " to stand." Thus 

occasionally used for the instrument v. 21. is literally ; "And it came to 

or means, yet this is only admissible " pass, when all the people stood, 

where the sense can still be traced " that Jesus also stood." And so 

back to its proper signification of the passage above is exactly; " 1 

local presence. And so here : " to " indeed make you to stand in 

" baptize," is literally in Syriac " to " water;" " He shall make you to 

" make to stand," by a metaphor " stand in the Holy Ghost," &c. 

evidently drawn from what was ac- And I have therefore in the transla- 

tually the practice of John and the tion retained " in," as most closely 

early Church : and " to he baptized" representing the Syriac. 






38 COMMENTARY UPON 

They had beheld with admiration the incomparable beauty 
of John s mode of life : the splendour of his conduct : the un 
paralleled and surpassing excellence of his piety. For so great 
and admirable was he, that even the Jewish populace began to 
conjecture whether he were not himself the Christ, Whom the 
law had described to them in shadows, and the holy prophets 
had before proclaimed. Inasmuch therefore as some ventured 
on this conjecture, lie at once cuts away their surmise, de 
clining as a servant the honours due to the Master, and trans 
ferring the glory to Him Who transcends all, even to Christ, 
For he knew that He is faithful unto those that serve Him. 
And what he acknowledges is in very deed the truth : for he- 
John iii. 2 8. tween God and man the distance is immeasurable. "Ye your- 
" selves, therefore, he says, bear me witness that I said I 
" am not the Christ, but that I am sent before Him." But 
where shall we find the holy Baptist thus speaking? In 
the Gospel of John, who has thus spoken concerning him ; 
9- " And this is the testimony of John when the scribes and Pha- 
" risees at Jerusalem sent to ask him whether he were the 
Christ, And lie confessed, and denied not, and said, that I 
" am not the Christ, but am he that is sent before Him." 
Great therefore and admirable in very deed is the forerunner, 
who was the dawning before the Saviour s meridian splendour, 
the precursor of the spiritual daylight, beautiful as the morn 
ing star, and called of God the Father a torch. 

Having therefore thus declared himself not to be the Christ, 
lie now brings forward proofs, which we must necessarily con 
sider, and by which we may learn how immeasurable the dis 
tance evidently is between God and man, between the slave 
and the Master, between the minister and Him Who is min 
istered unto, between him who goes before as a servant, and 
V ho shines forth with divine dignity. What, therefore, is 
the proof? I indeed baptize in water: after me shall come He 
Vho is mightier than I, Whose shoe s latchet I am not worthy 
:oop down and unloose." As I said, therefore, the dif- 
* incomparable, the superiority immeasurable, if, as is 
se, the blessed Baptist, being so great in virtue, declare. 
that he is not worthy even, as it were, to touch His shoes. 
his declaration is true : for if the rational powers above, 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 39 

principalities, and thrones, and lordships, and the holy Sera 
phim themselves, who stand around His godlike throne, hold 
ing the rank of ministers, unceasingly crown Him with praises 
as the Lord of all, what dweller upon earth is worthy even to 
be nigh unto God ? For though He be loving unto man, and 
gentle, and mild, yet must we, as being of slight account, and 
children of earth, confess the weakness of our nature. 

And after this, lie again brings forward a second proof, say 
ing, " I indeed baptize you in water : but He shall baptize you 
" in the Holy Ghost and in fire." And this too is of great 
importance for the proof and demonstration that Jesus is God 
and Lord. For it is the sole and peculiar property of the 
Substance That transcends all, to be able to bestow on men 
the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, and make those that draw 
near unto It partakers of the divine nature. But this exists in 
Christ, not as a thing received, nor by communication from 
another, but as His own, and as belonging to His substance : 
for " He baptizes in the Holy Ghost." The Word therefore 
That became man is, as it appears, God, and the fruit of the 
Father s substance. But to this, it may be, those will ol>ject 
who divide the one Christ into two sons, those I mean who, 
as Scripture says, are "animal, and dividers, and having not Jude 19. 
" the Spirit," that He Who baptizes in the Holy Ghost is 
the Word of God, and not lie Who is of the seed of David. 
What answer shall we make, then, to this ? Yes ! we too 
affirm, without fear of contradiction, that the Word being God 
as of His own fulness bestows the Holy Ghost on such as are 
worthy : but this He still wrought, even when He was made 
man, as being the One Son with the flesh united to Him in an 
ineffable and incomprehensible manner. For so the blessed 
Baptist, after first saying, " I am not worthy to stoop down 
"and loose the thong t of His shoes," immediately added, 

1 The Catenist in Mai has in- gint, whence Cyril s word is taken, 

serted in a parenthesis a curious Gen. xiv. 23, the right reading is 

observation, namely, that by the o-QvpwTrjp, " a thong for the ankles," 

<r$aipo>T7p i s meant " the tip of the whereas o-cpmpeor^p, from oxpcupn, 

" shoe, ending in a point, such as " a ball," is the word for the pome- 

" the barbarians wear." The word, granates, used in the adorning 

however, used by the Evangelist is of the golden candlestick. (Ex. 

ipds, simply a " thong :" and there xxv. 31.) 
can be no doubt that in the Septua- 



40 COMMENTARY UPON 

" He shall baptize you in the Holy Ghost and in fire ;" plainly 
while having feet for shoes. For no one whose mind was awake 
would say, that the Word, while still incorporeal, and not as 
yet made like unto us, had feet and shoes, but only when He 
had become a man. Inasmuch, however, as He did not then 
cease to be God, He wrought even so works worthy of the 
Godhead, by giving the Spirit unto them that believe in Him. 
For He, in one and the same person, was at the same time 
both God and also man. 

But yes, he objects, the Word wrought the works of Deity 
by means of Him Who is of the seed of David. If so then thou 
arguest, we will repeat to thee in answer the words of John ; 
John i. 30. for he somewhere said unto the Jews, " There cometh after 
me a man Who was before me, because He is before me : and 
I knew Him not, but He That sent me to baptize in water, 
He said unto me, Upon Whom thou seest the Spirit descend 
ing from heaven, and abiding upon Him, This is He That 
baptizeth in the Holy Ghost : and I saw, and bare witness, 
that This is the Son of God." Behold, therefore, while 
plainly calling Him a man, he says that He is prior to him, 
and was before him, in that He is first, evidently in His divine 
nature ; according to what was plainly said by Himself to the 
Johnviii. Jewish populace, "Verily I say unto you, before Abraham 
" was, I am." 

Next, he says as well, that the Spirit also came down from 
heaven upon Him. Do they pretend that the Holy Ghost came 
down upon the Word of God while still abstract and incor 
poreal if and represent Him Who bestows the Spirit as made 
partaker of His own Spirit ? Or rather is this their meaning, 
that having received the Spirit in His human nature, He in 
s divine nature baptizes in the Holy Ghost ? For He is 
Himself singly, and alone, and verily the Son of God the Fa 
ther, as the blessed Baptist, being taught of God, himself bare 
witness, saying, "And I saw, and bare witness that This is the 
" Son of God!" v 



In the above defence of catholic one Christ into two sons, and not 
> tnne agamst the heresies of K*. that he expressly so taught. For in 
,h y ," , """" , take " ** "" SCTen ^ quaternion he says, 

8 te 1 natUra V C ^ U f " G d the Wold CTen <*fre the 
> teaching ,s to divide the " incarnation, was Son, and God 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 4-1 

Wouldst thou have also a third proof, in addition to what Also in 
have already been given ? " His fan," he says, " is in His hand, 
" and He shall purge His floor, and gather His wheat into His 
" stores, but the chaff He shall burn with fire unquenchable." 
For he compares those upon earth to ears of corn, or rather to 
the threshingfloor and the wheat upon it : for each one of us has 
grown like an ear of corn. And our Lord once, when speaking 
to the holy Apostles, made a similar comparison of our state : 
" The harvest indeed is great : but the labourers are few : LuUe x. 2. 
" pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send forth labour- 
" ers into His harvest." We therefore, who are upon the 
earth, are called ears of corn and wheat, and the harvest. 
And this harvest belongs to God over all : for He is Lord of 
all. But behold ! says the blessed Baptist, the threshing floor 
belongs to Christ as its owner ; for as such He purges it, re 
moving and separating the chaff from the wheat. For the 
wheat is the just, whose faith is established and assured : but 



" and coexistent with the Father : 
" but in these last times assumed 
" the form of the slave. But while, 
" before He was Son, and so called ; 
" after the assumption of the flesh, 
" He cannot be called Son sepa- 
" rately, lest we should infer two 
" Sons ." The doctrine of Nesto- 
rius, as briefly sketched by the 
Council of Ephesus, was, that " He 
" Who for our sakes became man, 
" must not be called God," ov fifl 
\(yeo~dai 0fbv TOV 01 >%ui; avdpconov 
ycy(vr)p.(vov. Hence his objection 
to the title dforoxos, applied to the 
Virgin, and so valued by the fathers 
as expressing the inseparable union 
of the Divine and human natures in 
the one person of Christ. Hence 
his protest against worshipping 
Christ absolutely, 8ia TOV (popovvra 
TOV <popovp.(vov <7f/3ci>" 8ia rov Kf- 

KpVfJ.p.VOV TTpCHTKVVto) TOV (f>Uv6f*tVOV . 

ax&purTos TOV <ati/o/iVou Qtos. 
(Quat. xvi.) : and such expressions 
as, 6/joAoyof /if j/ TOV cv ai/$po)7r<i> 
(Tf/3u>[i(v TOV TTJ dtiq o~vva<fi( iq 



T<U rravTOKpaTOpi Gfai 
pevov uvdpomov. (Quat. xv. Conf. 
Hardtiin. Concil. I. 1414, 1442.) 
In drawing these subtle conclu 
sions, Nestorius (Ep. ad Cyrilliun 
Hard. Cone. I, 1281.) also made 
that distinction between the Son of 
David and God the Word, so often 
attacked by Cyril in this Commen 
tary : " God the Word, he says, 
" w*s not the Son of David ;" and 
as Cyril would fairly judge of his 
doctrine by this letter addressed to 
himself, no wonder he attributes to 
him, both here and elsewhere, a 
conclusion which follows apparent 
ly so directly from these words. In 
his seventeenth quaternion occurs 
probably Nestorius most exact 
statement, and from it equally 
S. Cyril would draw this conclu 
sion : 7rei$r)7T(p 6 vibs TOV Qcov 81- 

7T\OVS O~Tl KOTO. TOS <pl>O~flf, OVK 

iy(vvT)(r ptv r) -napBtvos TOV vlbv TOV 
6eoC, aXX rycWi}<7* TTJV dv0pa)ir6- 

TTjTd, fJTLf ffTTlV VtOS 5m TOV O~Vl>T}fJ.- 
p.fVOV VIOV. 






COMMENTARY UPON 



the chaff signifies those whose mind is weak, and their heart 
easy to be ensnared, and unsafe and timorous, and blown about 
by every wind. The wheat, then, he says, is stored up in the 
granary : is deemed worthy, that is, of safety at God s hand, 
and mercy, and protection and love : but the chaff, as useless 
matter, is consumed in the fire. 

In every way, therefore, we may perceive that the Word of 
God, even when He was man, nevertheless continued to be one 
Son. u For He performs those works that belong to Deity, 
possessing the majesty and glory of the Godhead inseparable 
from Him. If so we believe, He will crown us with His grace : 
by Whom and with Whom to God the Father be glory and 
dominion with the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever, Amen. x 



u In these words S. Cyril most 
accurately sums up the Catholic 
doctrine of the inseparable union of 
the two natures in Christ; which 
union Nestorius denied, anathema 
tizing all who said that the Emma 
nuel was very God, and teaching 
instead that the Emmanuel was 
God indwelling in our nature. Si 
quis Bum Qui est Emmanuel, 
Deum verum esse dixerit, et non 
potius nobiscum Deum; hoc est, 
inhabitasse earn qua? secundum 
nosmet est naturam, per id quod 
unitus est nostrae, quam de Maria 
Virgine suscepit ; anathema sit. 
(An. I. Hard. Con. I. 1298.) To 
which it might well be replied, that 
the Emmanuel is "God with us," 



God and man, not God in man. 
A similar doctrine is contained in 
his fifteenth quaternion, as quoted 
above. 

x The most importanif passages 
in the above homily have been pre 
served by the Catenists, but with 
the connection and course of the 
argument more than once broken. 
They ascribe, however, to S. Cyril, 
two short passages at the end (cf. 
Mai, p. 146.) not belonging to the 
Commentary; and there are some 
slight verbal differences in the in 
tervening extract. On the other 
hand, two passages, preserved by 
Thomas Aquinas, are both con 
tained in the Syriac. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 43 



SERMON XI. >mth. 

oynao 

MS. 12,165. 

THE ELEVENTH SERMON OF THE COMMENTARY UPON THE GOSPEL 

OF LUKE BY THE HOLY CYRIL, ARCHBISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA, 

UPON THE MANIFESTATION OF OUR LORD. 

And it came to pass, that tvhen all the people were baptized, C. iii. 11- 
Jems also was baptized : and as He was praying, the hea- * 
vens were opened, and the Holy Ghost descended upon Him 
in bodily form like a dove. And there was a voice from 
heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son : in Thee I am 
well pleased. And Jesus Himself was beginning to be about 
thirty years old. 

AGAIN come, that fixing our mind intently upon the Evan 
gelic Scriptures, we may behold the beauty of the truth. Come 
let us direct the penetrating and accurate eyes of the mind unto 
the mystery of Christ ; let us view with wonder the admirable 
skill of the divine economy : for so shall we see His glory. 
And thus to act is for our life : as He Himself assures us, when 
speaking unto God the Father in heaven, " These things are Johnxvii.3. 
" life eternal : to know Thee Who alone art true ; and Jesus 
" Christ, Whom Thou hast sent." How therefore was He sent? 
and what was the manner of His coming unto us ? For being 
by nature God That filleth all, how, as the blessed John the 
Evangelist said, " was He in the world," Himself being Lord ? John i. 10. 
And how was He sent by the Father, when as God He is the 
Creator and Sustainer of all things ? for all things were esta 
blished by Him. 

The wise John the P>angelist then teaches us, saying, 
" And the Word was made flesh." But perchance some one John i. 14. 
will say, What then ? Having ceased to be the Word, did 

y It is to be observed, that S. omission here of vv. 18-20. : 6 p.a- 
Cyril often omits several verses in Kapios KvptXXor rov Hpo>8ov tv rfj 
his Commentary. In one of Mai s tpp.Tjvda OVK $tttpvr\<r&r\ and pro- 
MSS. some one has written the fol- ceeds to give a reason for it. 
lowing anonymous note upon the 

O 2 



44 COMMENTARY UPON 

He change into being flesh ? Did He fall from His Majesty, 
having undergone a transformation unto something which 
previously He was not ? Not so, we say. Far from it. For 
by nature He is unchangeable and immutable. In saying, 
therefore, that the Word became flesh, the Evangelist means 
a man like unto us. For we also are often called flesh our- 
* l. 5- selves. For it is written, " And all flesh shall see the salvation 
" of God," meaning thereby that every man shall see it. While 
therefore He immutably retains that which He was, yet as 
having under this condition assumed our likeness, He is said 
to have been made flesh. 

Behold Him, therefore, as a man, enduring with us the 
things that belong to man s estate, and fulfilling all righteous 
ness, for the plan of salvation s sake. And this thou learnest 
from what the Evangelist says : " And it came to pass that 
" when all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized, 
" and prayed." Was He too then in need of holy baptism ? 
But what benefit could accrue to Him from it ? Vhe Only- 
le. vi. 3 . begotten Word of God is Holy of the Holy : so the Seraphim 
name Him in their praises : so every where the law names 
Him : and the company of the holy prophets accords with the 
writings of Moses. What is it that we gain by holy baptism ? 
Plainly the remission of our sins. But in Jesus there was 
iPet.ii.. nought of this; "for He did no sin: neither was guile found 
< in His mouth," as the Scripture saith. He was holy, harm- 
less, undefiled, separate from sins, and made higher than the 
heavens/ according to the words of the divine Paul. 

But yes ! perchance some one will say, who has been ill 
instructed in the faith, Was it then God the Word that was 
baptized? Was He in need of being made partaker of the 
Holy Ghost ? Not at all. Therefore it is that we affirm, that 
the man who was of the seed of David, and united unto Him 
by conjunction", was baptized and received the Spirit, The 

* By |Zc2x^j I imagine the it, with respect, namely, to the 

translator means Nestorius favourite < dignity of the Sonship, that God 

rd vwafaa, as he uses it for in- the Word is also called Christ, 

stance in his xvnth quaternion : AiA inasmuch as He has a perpetual 

>TO,^C. TO aftmpa rf,s viorrjTos, icat conjunction with the Christ " 
Xtorfc * 



Adyoy bofulfrm, Hard. Con. I. 1414. Conf. also 
rJipr*p ex (Tvvdfaiav TT)I> rrpos note in page 41 
Therefore is 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 45 

Indivisible therefore is divided by you into two sons : and because 

He was baptized when thirty years old, He was made holy, as 

you say, by being baptized. Was He therefore not holy until 

He arrived at His thirtieth year ? Who will assent to you, 

when thus you corrupt the right and blameless faith? For 

there is one Lord Jesus Christ," as it is written. But this we iCor.viii.6. 

affirm : that He was not separate a from Him, and by Himself 

when baptized and made partaker of the Holy Ghost : for we 

know, both that He is God, and without stain, and Holy of the 

Holy: for we confess that "of His fulness have all we re- John i. 16. 

ceived." For the Holy Spirit indeed proceedeth from God the 

Father, but belongeth also to the Son. It is even often called 

the Spirit of Christ, though proceeding from God the Father. 

And to this Paul will testify, saying, at one time, " They that Rom.viii.8. 

" are in the flesh cannot please God : but ye are not in the 

" flesh, but in the spirit, if so be the Spirit of God dwelleth 

" in you. But if any one have not the Spirit of Christ, he is 

V none of His." And again, " But because ye are sons, God Gal. iv. 6. 

41 hath sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, 

" Father, our Father." The Holy Spirit therefore proceedeth 

indeed as I said from God the Father, but His Only-begotten 

Word, as being both by nature and verily Son, and resplendent 

with the Father s dignities, ministereth It to the creation, and 

bostoweth It on those that are worthy. Yea verily He said, 

" All things that the Father hath are mine." John xvi - 

But let us retort upon those who pervert the right belief this 
question; k How can He Who received the Spirit, if lie be, 
* according to your phrase, a man, and the Son separately and 
by Himself, baptize with the Holy Ghost, and Himself give 
4 the Holy Spirit to them who are baptized? For to be able to 
impart the Spirit to men suiteth not any one whatsoever of things 
created, but, together with God s other attributes, is the distinct 
property of Almighty God alone. But He Who gave It was 
man : for the wise John said, "After me cometh a Man, Who John i. 30. 
" was before me ... He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost 
" and with fire." As therefore it is unbefitting God the Word, 

This refers to the doctrine of in His human nature, and distin- 
Nestorius, that He Who was bap- guished from God the Word, 
tized was the man Christ, regarded 



46 COMMENTARY UPON 

regarded as God the Word, to draw near unto holy baptism, 
and be made partaker of the Spirit, so in like manner it is 
altogether incredible, or rather impossible to believe that the 
ability to baptize men with the Holy Ghost, is the act of a 
mere man with nothing in Him superior to ourselves. 

How then will the mystery be true ? In that for our aid He 
assumed a kind of adaptation b . The divine Word became man, 
Phil. ii. 6. even "He Who was in the form of God the Father, and thought 
" it not robbery to be equal unto God," as most wise Paul says, 
" but took the form of a slave, being made in the likeness of 
" men, and humbling Himself to poverty." Enquire therefore 
Who He was that was first in the likeness of God the Father, 
and could be regarded as on an equality with Him, but took 
the form of a slave, and became then a man, and besides this 
made Himself poor. Was it He of the seed of David, as they 
argue, Whom they specially regard separately and by Himself 
as the other Son, distinct from the Word of God the Father ? 
If so, let them shew that He ever was on an equality with the 
Father. Let them shew how He assumed the form of a slave. 
Or what shall we say was that form of a slave ? And how did 
lie empty Himself? For what is poorer than human nature? 
He therefore Who is the exact image of God the Father, the 
likeness, and visible expression of His person, Who shines re 
splendent in equality unto Him, Who by right of nature is free, 
and the yoke of Whose kingdom is put upon all creation, He 
it is Who took the form of a slave, that is, became a man, and 
made Himself poor by consenting to endure these human 
things, sin only excepted. 

But how then, they object, was He baptized, and received 
also the Spirit ? To which we reply, that He had no need of 
holy baptism, being wholly pure and spotless, and holy of the 
holy. Nor had He need of the Holy Ghost : for the Spirit 
That proceedeth from God the Father is of Him, and equal to 
Him in substance. We must now therefore at length hear 
what is the explanation of the economy. God in his love to 
man provided for us a way of salvation and of life. For be 
lieving in the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and making this 
confession before many witnesses, we wash away all the filth 

b Economy. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 47 

of sin, and are enriched by the communication of the Holy 
Spirit, and made partakers of the divine nature, and gain the 
grace of adoption. It was necessary therefore that the Word 
of the Father, when He humbled Himself unto emptiness, and 
deigned to assume our likeness, should become for our sakes 
the pattern and way of every good work. For it follows, that 
He Who in every thing is first, must in this also set the example. 
In order therefore that we may learn both the power itself of 
holy baptism, and how much we gain by approaching so great 
a grace, He commences the work Himself; and, having been 
baptized, prays that you, my beloved, may learn that never- 
ceasing prayer is a thing most fitting for those who have once 
been counted worthy of holy baptism. 

And the Evangelist says thafc the heavens were opened, as 
having long been closed. For Christ said, "Forthwith shalUohni. 51. 
" ye see the heavens opened, and the angels of God ascending 
" and descending upon the Son of man." For both the flock 
above and that below being now made one, and one chief 
Shepherd appointed for all, the heavens were opened, and 
man upon earth brought near to the holy angels. And the 
Spirit also again came down as at a second commencement of 
our race : and upon Christ first, Who received it not so much for 
His own sake as for ours : for by Him and in Him are we en 
riched with all things. Most suitably therefore to the economy 
of grace does He endure with us the things of man s estate : 
for where otherwise shall we see Him emptied, Whose in His 
divine nature is the fulness ? How became He poor as we are, 
if He were not conformed to our poverty ? How did He empty 
Himself, if He refused to endure the measure of human 
littleness ? 

Having taken therefore Christ as our pattern, let us draw 
near to the grace of holy baptism, that so we may gain bold 
ness to pray coastantly, and lift up holy hands to God the 
Father, that He may open the heavens also unto us, and send 
down upon us too the Holy Ghost, to receive us as sons. For 
He spake unto Christ at the time of holy baptism, as though 
having by Him and in Him accepted man upon earth to the 
sonship, " This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well 
pleased." For He Who is the Son by nature and in truth, and 
the Only-begotten, when He became like unto us, is specially 



48 



COMMENTARY UPON 



declared to be the Son of God, not as receiving this for Him 
self : for He was and is, as I said, very Son : but that He 
might ratify the glory unto us. For He has been made our 
firstfruits, and firstborn, and second Adam : for which reason it 
iCor.v. 17. is said, that " in Him all things have become new :" for having 
put off the oldness that was in Adam, we have gained the new 
ness that is in Christ : by Whom and with Whom, to God the 
Father, be glory and dominion with the Holy Ghost, for ever 
and ever, Amen. c 



c As frequently is the case, the 
short extracts in Mai at the end are 
not found in the Syriac, probably 
either from being taken from S. Cy 
ril s other works, or erroneously 
ascribed to him. The first (from B.) 
contradicts the doctrine maintained 
throughout this Commentary, viz. 
that our Lord submitted to baptism 
as the pattern and type of humanity, 
and refers His baptism to His hu 
man nature, Kaff o ntyvKfv avBpw- 
Troy. But Christ s human nature 
needed no baptism, as having no 
stain of sin. The second (from E. 
and F.) is a refutation of Paul of 
Samosata, drawn from the Evange 
list s words, that " Jesus was be- 
" ginning to be about thirty years 
" old," and shewing that though 
He had a beginning as man, as God 
He had no beginning. And the 



last is a reproof addressed to those 
who justified the delay of holy bap 
tism by our Lord s example, and 
which being referred to S. Cyril by 
four MSS. (A. E. F. H.), as well as 
for its own sake, I append entire; 
Thus great and beyond expecta- 
tion is the harm that is done by 
deferring the grace that is by bap- 
tism for a long and unseasonable 

* time : chiefly because no one can 
look forward with certainty to the 
accomplishment of his plans, and 
also because, though his purpose 
arrive at its fulfilment, he is sanc- 
tified indeed, but receives only the 

* forgiveness of his past transgres- 
sions, while his talent he brings 
back to his Lord bare, having had 
no time to gain by trading any 
thing to add thereunto. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 49 



CHAPTER IV. 
SERMON XII. 

THE TWELFTH SERMON OF THE COMMENTARY UPON THE GOSPEL From the 

OF LUKE, BY S. CYRIL, UPON THE FAST OF OUR LORD MS T ~^~ 

IN THE FLESH. 

But Jesus being full of the Holy G/tost, returned from the u. iv. i, 2. 
Jordan, and continued in the Spirit in the wilderness forty "Us 5 fpr] ~ 



days, being tempted of the Devil. And he ate nothing * v TV 
during those days ; and ivlien they were accomplislied He retinent 
hungered. iWepoi^G 

THE blessed prophets, when speaking of the Only-begotten 
Word of God, of Him Who is equal unto God in glory, and 
the sharer of His throne, and radiant in perfect equality unto 
Him, lead us to the persuasion that lie was manifested as a 
Saviour and Deliverer for those upon earth, by saying, 
" Arise, O Lord, help me." He arose therefore and helped, p H . x n\ . 
having taken the form of a slave, and being made in the like- ~ r> - 
ness of men : for so did He as one of us set Himself as an 
avenger in our stead, against that murderous and rebellious 
serpent, who had brought sin upon us, and thereby had caused 
corruption and death to reign over the dwellers upon earth, that 
we by His means, and in Him, might gain the victory, whereas 
of old we were vanquished, and fallen in Adam. 

Come therefore and let us praise the Lord, and sing psalms 
unto God our Saviour : let us trample Satan under foot ; let 
us raise the shout of victory over him now he is thrown and 
fallen : let us exult over the crafty reptile, caught in an inex 
tricable snare : let us too say of him in the words of the pro 
phet Jeremiah, " How is the hammer of all the earth broken Jer. I. ?.$. 
" and beaten small ! Thou art found and hast been taken, 
" because thou stoodest against the Lord." For of old, that is 
before the time of the advent of Christ the Saviour of all, the 
universal enemy had somewhat grand and terrible notions 






50 COMMENTARY UPON 

about himself: for he boastfully exulted over the infirmity of 
the inhabitants of the earth, saying, " I will hold the world in 

is. x. 14. my hand as a nest, and as eggs that are left I will take it up : 
" and no one shall escape from me or speak against me." And 
in very truth there was no one of those upon earth who could 
rise up against his power ; but the Son rose up against him, 
and contended with him, having been made like unto us. And 
therefore, as I said, human nature, as victorious in Him, wins 
the crown. And this in old time the Son Himself proclaimed, 
where by one of the holy prophets He thus addresses Satan ; 

Jer. H. 2.5. " Behold, I am against thee, corrupting mountain, that cor- 
" ruptest the whole earth." 

Come therefore and let us see what the blessed Evangelist 
says, when Christ was now going to battle in our behalf with 
him who corrupted the whole earth. " But Jesus being full of 
" the Holy Ghost, returned from the Jordan." 7 Here behold, 
I pray, man s nature anointed with the grace of the Holy 
Ghost in Christ as the firstfruits, and crowned with the highest 
honours. For of old indeed the God of all promised, saying, 

Joel ii. 28. " it shall come to pass in those days, that I will pour out of My 
" Spirit upon all flesh." And the promise is fulfilled for us in 
Christ first. And whereas of those in old time who without 

Gen. vi. 3. restraint gave way to fleshly lust, God somewhere said, " My 
" Spirit shall not dwell in these men, because they are flesh :" 
now because all things have become new in Christ, and we 
are enriched with the regeneration that is by water and 
Spirit ; for no longer are we children of flesh and blood, but 
rather call God our Father ; therefore it is, and very justly, 
that as being now in honour, and possessing the glorious privi 
lege of adoption, we have been made partakers of the divine 
nature by the communication of the Holy Ghost. But He Who 
is the Firstborn among us, when He became so among many 
brethren, and yielded Himself to emptiness, was the first to 
receive the Spirit, although Himself the Giver of the Spirit, 
that this dignity, and the grace of fellowship with the Holy 
Ghost might reach us by His means. Something like this Paul 
also teaches us, where speaking both of Him and us, he says, 

Heb.ii. 12. " For both He that sanctifieth, and they that are sanctified, 
" are all of One : for which reason He is not ashamed to call 
" them His brethren, saying, 1 will declare Thy name to My 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 51 

c< brethren."" For as being in no degree ashamed to call us 
brethren, whose likeness He took, therefore, having transferred 
to Himself our poverty, He is sanctified with us, although Him 
self the Sanctifier of all creation ; that thou mightest not see 
Him refusing the measure of human nature, Who consented 
for the salvation and life of all to become man. 

When therefore the wise Evangelist says of Him, " But 
" Jesus being full of the Spirit returned from the .Jordan/ be 
not offended, nor err from the mark in thy inward thoughts, 
and wander from the doctrine of the truth, as to the way and 
manner in which the Word, Who is God, was sanctified: but 
rather understand the wisdom of the economy, by reason of 
which also He is the object of our admiration. For He was 
made flesh and became man, not to avoid whatever belongs to 
man s estate, and despise our poverty, but that we might l>r 
enriched with what is His, by His having been made like unto 
us in every particular, sin only excepted. He is sanctified 
therefore as man, but sanctifies as God : for being by nature 
God, He was made man. 

" He was led therefore, it says, in the Spirit in (1 tin- wilder- 
* ness forty days, being tempted of the devil/" What there 
fore is the meaning of the word led ? It signifies not so much 
that He was conducted thither, as that He dwelt and con 
tinued there. For we are ourselves also accustomed to say of 
any one who lives religiously, So and so, whoever it may be, is 
a well-conducted 6 person. And we give the title of pedagogue, 
not to signify, according to the literal interpretation, that they 
actually lead and conduct boys, but that they take care of 
them, and well and laudably train them, educating and teaching 
them to conduct themselves with propriety. 

He dwelt therefore in the wilderness in the Spirit, that is 
spiritually ; for He fasted, granting no food whatsoever to the 
necessities of the body. But to this I imagine some one may 
immediately object ; i And what harm then did it do Jesus to 
be constantly dwelling in cities ? And in what way could it 
benefit Him to choose to inhabit the wilderness ? For there is 



d Mai reads ds rfjv tprjfjiov, which c The Syriac translator explains 
would render this interpretation of his own term : the Greek is " that 
ffytTo impossible. " so and so l-eads a good life." 

H2 



52 COMMENTARY UPON 

no good tiling of which He is in want. And why too did He 
also fast ? What necessity was there for Him to labour, Who 
knows not what it is to feel the rising of any depraved desire ? 
For we adopt the practice of fasting as a very useful ex- 
i Cor. ix. pedicnt, by which to mortify pleasures,, and buffet the law of 
sin that is in our members, and extirpate those emotions 
which lead on to fleshly lust. But what need had Christ of 
fasting ? For He it is by Whom the Father slays the sin in the 
Kom. viii. flesh. And knowing this, the divine Paul wrote, " For as to 
" the powerlessness of the law, by reason of its weakness be- 
" cause of the flesh, God having sent His Son in the likeness 
" of sinful flesh, and because of sin, condemned the sin in the 
"flesh, that the righteousness of the law may be fulfilled in 
"us, who walk not in the flesh, but in the Spirit/ He 
therefore, who even in us miserable beings mortifies the 
motions of the flesh, and has abolished sin, what fasting 
1 could He need in ought that concerns Himself? He is 
holy : undefiled by nature : wholly pure, and without blemish. 
He cannot experience even the shadow of a change. Why 
therefore did He make His abode in the wilderness, and 
4 fast, and endure, being tempted ? The type has regard to us, 
my beloved : He sets before us His acts as our example, arid 
establishes a model of the better and more admirable mode of 
life practised among us, I mean, that of the holy monks. For 
whence was it possible for men on earth to know that the habit 
of dwelling in deserts was useful for them, and highly advan 
tageous for salvation? For they retire from waves and storms 
as it were ; from the utter turmoil, and vain distractions f of this 
Gen.xxxix. world, and so to speak like the blessed Joseph, they strip off and 
give back to the world all that belongs to it. And something 
like this the wise Paul too says of those who are wont so to live. 
Gal. v. 24 . But those who are Jesus Christ s have crucified the flesh with 
s affections and lusts." And he shews to those who choose 
this mode of life that abstinence is necessary, of which the fruit 
fasting and the power of endurance, and of abstaining from 
or taking but little food. For so will Satan, when he tempts. 
be overcome. 



i 

reading anoQoiTwTfs yap 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 53 

But observe this especially : that he was first baptized and 
filled with the Holy Spirit, and withdrew into the wilderness, 
and made abstinence, that is, fasting, as it were His armour ; 
and being thus equipped, when Satan drew near, and He had 
overcome him, He has so set before us Himself as our pattern. 
Thou therefore too must first put on the armour of God, and 
the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation. Thou too must 
first be clothed with power from on high, must be made, that 
i^partaker of the Holy Ghost by means of precious baptism, 
and then mayest thou undertake to lead the life well beloved 
and honourable with God : then with spiritual courage thou 
shalt take for thy habitation the deserts : then shalt thou keep 
holy fast, and mortify pleasures, and vanquish Satan when he 
tempts. In Christ therefore have we gained all things s. 

Lo ! He appears among the combatants, Who as God From Mai. 
bestows the prize : among those who wear the chaplet of vic 
tory is He Who crowns the heads of the saints. Let us behold 
therefore the skilfulness of His wrestlings ; how He overthrows 
the devirs wickedness. When forty days had been spent in 
fasting, " He afterwards hungered." But He it is Who gives 
food to the hungry, and is Himself the bread that came down 
from heaven, and gives life to the world, as being That whereby 
all things consist. But because, on the other hand, it was 
necessary that He Who refused not our poverty should with 
draw from nothing whatsoever that belongs to man s condition, 
He consented for His flesh to require its natural supplies ; and 
hence the words, " He hungered." It was not however till He 
had fasted sufficiently, and by His Godlike power had kept His 
flesh unwastcd, though abstaining from meat and drink, that 
scarcely at length He permitted it to feel its natural sen 
sations : for it says, that He hungered. And for what reason ! 
That skilfully by means of the two h , He Who is at once God 
and Man, might be recognised as such in one and the same 
person, both as superior to us in His divine nature, and in His 
human nature as our equal. 

* The MS. is imperfect, and ends forty days without His body wast- 
here abruptly. ing ; and His permitting it to feel 

h The two, viz. His fasting for hunger afterwards. 



54 COMMENTARY UPON 

Ver. 3. And the devil said unto him. 

Then the devil draweth near to tempt Him ; expecting that 
the feeling of hunger would aid him in his innate wickedness : 
for oftentimes he prevails over us by taking our infirmities to 
aid his plots and enterprizes. He thought that He would 
readily jump at the wish of seeing bread ready for His use : 
and therefore he said, " If Thou be the Son of God, bid this 
" stone become bread." He approaches Him therefore as an 
ordinary man, and as one of the saints : yet he had a suspicion, 
that possibly He might be the Christ. In what way then did he 
wish to learn this ? He considered, that to change the nature 
of any thing into that which it was not, would be the act and 
deed of a divine power : for it is God Who makes these things 
and transforms them : if therefore, says he, this be done, cer 
tainly He it is Who is looked for as the subverter of my 
power : but if He refuse to work this change, I have to do with 
a man, and cast away my fear, and am delivered from my 
danger. And therefore it was that Christ, knowing the mon 
ster s artifice, neither made the change, nor said that He was 
either unable or unwilling to make it, but rather shakes him 
off as importunate and officious, saying that " man shall not 
" live by bread alone ;" by which He means, that if God grant 
a man the power, he can subsist without eating, and live as 
Moses and Elias, who by the Word of the Lord passed forty 
days without taking food. If therefore it is possible to live 
without bread, why should I make the stone bread ? But He 
purposely does not say, I cannot, that He may not deny His 
own power : nor does He say, I can ; lest the other, knowing 
that He is God, to Whom alone such things are possible, should 
depart from Him. 

And observe, I pray, how the nature of man in Christ casts 
off the faults of Adam s gluttony : by eating we were con 
quered in Adam, by abstinence we conquered in Christ. 

By the food that springeth up from the earth our earthly 
body is supported, and seeks for its sustenance that which is 
congenerate with it: but the rational soul is nourished unto 

1 The parallelism in the original 6cii$ npos (vtgiav ddpvvfrm rfjv TTVCV- 
cannot be preserved in a transla- 
tion: ^VXT) fie 17 XoyiKr) Xo yo) TW 






THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 55 

spiritual healthiness by the Word of God. For the food that 

the earth supplies nourishes the body that is akin to it : but 

that from above and from heaven strengthens the spirit. The 

food of the soul is the Word that cometh from God, even the 

spiritual bread which strengthened man s heart, according to PS. civ. 15. 

what is sung in the Book of Psalms. And such also we affirm 

to be the nature of the food of the holy angels. 

He shelved Him all the kingdoms of the world. 

But thou malignant, and wicked, and accursed being, how 
didst thou dare to shew the Lord all the kingdoms of the 
whole creation, and say, " All these are mine ? Now therefore 
" if Thou wilt fall down and worship me, I will give them 
" Thee." How dost thou promise that which is not thine ? 
Who made thee heir of God s kingdom ? Who made thee lord 
of all under heaven ? Thou hast seized these things by fraud. 
Restore them therefore to the incarnate Son, the Lord of all. 
Hear what the prophet Isaiah says respecting thee ; " Hath it I 
" been prepared for thee also to reign ? a deep gulf, fire, and 
" brimstone, and wood laid in order ; the anger of the Lord as 
" a gulf burning with brimstone." How then dost thou, whose 
lot is the inextinguishable flame, promise to the King of all 
that which is His own ? Didst thou think to have Him as thy 
worshipper at Whom all things tremble, while the Seraphim, 
and all the angelical powers hymn His glory ? It is written, 
" Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt 
" thou serve k ." Seasonably He made mention of this com 
mandment, striking as it were his very heart. For before His 
advent, Satan had deceived all under heaven, and was himself 
everywhere worshipped : but the law of God, ejecting him 
from the dominion he had usurped by fraud, has commanded 
men to worship Him only Who by nature and in truth is God, 
and to offer service to Him alone. 



k T. Aquinas here inserts : " But " the creature instead of the Crea- 

" how is the Son adored, if, as the " tor, if we worship as God, the 

" heretics say, He is a creature ? " Son Who, according to them, is 

" What charge can be brought " a creature ?" 
" against those, who have served 



56 COMMENTARY UPON 

Ver. 9. If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down hence. 

The third temptation which the devil employs is that of 
vain-glory, saying, "Cast Thyself down hence/ as a proof of 
Thy divinity. But neither did he make Him fall by means of 
vanity, but himself in this also shot wide of the mark. For He 
answers, " It is said, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." 
For God grants not His aid to those who tempt Him, but to 
those who believe in Him : nor ought we, because He deigns 
us mercy, therefore to make a vain display. Moreover, Christ 

Mat.xii.39. never gave a sign to those who tempted Him : a for a wicked 
" generation, He saith, seeketh after a sign, and a sign shall 
" not be given it." And let Satan now when tempting hear 
the same. We therefore won the victory in Christ : and he 
who conquered in Adam went away ashamed, that we might 
have him under our feet ; for Christ as Conqueror handed on 

Lukex. 19. to us also the power to conquer, saying, "Behold I have 
granted you to tread upon serpents, and scorpions, and all 
" the power of the enemy." 

Ver. ro. For it is written, that He shall give His angels charge 

concerning Thee to guard Thee. 

But see how maliciously he endeavours by the use of the 
Scriptures to humble the glory of the Lord, as if in need of 
angelic aid ; and as though it would stumble, did not the 
angels help it. For the application of the Psalm refers not to 
Christ, nor does the Sovereign need angels. As for the pin 
nacle, it was a very lofty building, erected at the side of the 
temple. 

1 Some however wrongly refer the Psalm to the person of the 
Lord, and taking the verses together thus read ; " Because 
" Thou, Lord, art my hope, Thou has made the Most High 
" Thy refuge." They say therefore that the Lord had as His 
refuge the Most High, even the Father Who is in heaven. 
And their pretext for such a way of understanding it is, that 
Satan so took the verses, saying, " If Thou be the Son of God, 
" cast Thyself down : for it is written, that He shall give His 

1 Mai notices that this passage is Mai s Patrum Nov. Bibl. vol. iii. 
either taken from the Commentary pp. 419. 420. on Ps. xc. 9. 
on the Psalms, or vice versa. Cf. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 57 

" angels charge concerning Thee." For Satan being false and 
a deceiver, applies what is said of us to the person of Christ 
the Saviour of us all. But we do not understand it in Satan s 
fashion ; though if the Arians have so understood it, there is 
no cause for astonishment : for they follow their own father, 
" who is a liar, and the truth is not in him/ according to the John 
Saviour s words. For if the truth be as they say, and we have 44 
made Christ our help, and He has the Father for His refuge, 
then have we fled to one Who Himself has need of aid, and call 
Him our Saviour Who is saved by another. This cannot be : 
Heaven forbid. We say therefore to those who arc wont so to 
think, Ye tell us another of your errors : ye are travelling out 
of the royal and straight path : ye are falling into thorns and 
pitfalls : ye have wandered from the truth. The Son is in all 
things equal to the Father: the mark and impress of His 
substance : the Most High, as also the Father is Most High. 

Satan then made use of these verses, as though the Saviour 
were a common man. For being entirely darkness, and having 
his mind blinded, he understood not the force of what was said, 
that the psalm is spoken in the person of every just man who is 
aided by the Highest, even the God of heaven. And besides 
this, He knew not that the Word being God, was made man, 
and was Himself now being tempted in accordance with the plan 
of salvation. He therefore, as I said, supposed the words were 
spoken as of a common man, or even as of one of the holy pro 
phets. But it is monstrous for us, who accurately know the 
mystery, and believe that He is God and the Son of God, and 
that for our sakcs He became man like unto us, to imagine that 

o 

the verses were spoken of Him. To say then, " Thou hast 
" made the Most High thy refuge," befits not the person of 
the Saviour. For He is Himself the Most High : the refuge 
of all : the hope of all : the all-powerful right hand of the 
Father : and whosoever has made Him his defence, no evil 
shall approach him. For He shall command the angels, who 
are ministering spirits, to guard the just. For just as our 
fathers in the flesh, when they see the path rough and unpass- 
able, catch up their infants in their hands, lest perchance their 
tender feet should be hurt, being as yet unable to walk over 
the hard road, so also the rational powers do not permit those, 
who are as yet unable to labour, and whose understanding is 

i 



58 COMMENTARY UPON 

still childish, to toil beyond their strength, but snatch them out 
of every temptation. 

Ver. 14. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit unto Galilee. 
Having left the habitations of cities, He dwelt in deserts : 
there He fasted, being tempted of Satan ; there He gained 
victory in our behalf : there He crushed the heads of the dra- 

Ps. ix. 6. gons : there, as the blessed David says, " The swords of the 
" enemy utterly failed, and cities were destroyed/ that is, 
those who were like towers and cities. Having therefore 
mightily prevailed over Satan, and having crowned in His 
own person man s nature with the spoils won by the victory 
over him, He returned unto Galilee in the power of the Spirit, 
both exercising might and authority, and performing very many 
miracles, and occasioning great astonishment. And He wrought 
miracles, not as having received the grace of the Spirit from 
without and as a gift, like the company of the saints, but 
rather as being by nature and in truth the Son of God the 
Father, and taking whatever is His as His own proper inherit- 

John xvii. ance. For He even said unto Him, " That all that is Mine is 
" Thine, and Thine Mine, and I am glorified in them." He is 
glorified therefore by exercising as His own proper might and 
power that of the consubstantial Spirit. 

Ver. 1 6. And He came to Nazareth : and entered into the synagogue. 

Since therefore it was now necessary that He should mani 
fest Himself to the Israelites, and that the mystery of His in 
carnation should now shine forth to those who knew Him not, 
and inasmuch as He was now anointed of God the Father for 
the salvation of the world, He very wisely orders this also, 
[viz. that His fame should now spread abroad.] And this fa 
vour He grants first to the people of Nazareth, because, hu 
manly speaking, He had been brought up among them. 
Having entered, therefore, the synagogue, He takes the book 
to read : and having opened it, selected a passage in the pro 
phets, which declares the mystery concerning Him. And by 
these words He most plainly Himself tells us by the voice of 
the prophet, that He both would be made man, and come to 
save the world. For we affirm, that the Son was anointed in 
no other way than by having become according to the flesh 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 59 

such as we are, and taken our nature. For being at once God 
and man, He both gives the Spirit to the creation in His di 
vine nature, and receives it from God the Father in His human 
nature ; while it is He Who sanctifies the whole creation, both 
as having shone forth from the Holy Father, and as bestowing 
the Spirit, Which He Himself pours ra forth, both upon the 
powers above as That Which is His own, and upon those 
moreover who recognised His appearing. 

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me ; therefore He hath V. 18. 
anointed Me : He hath sent Me to preach the Gospel to 
the poor. 

He plainly shews by these words that He took upon Him 
the humiliation and submission to the emptying (of His glory), 
and both the very name of Christ and the reality for our 
sakes : for the Spirit, He says, which by nature is in Me by 
the sameness of Our substance and deity, also descended upon 
Me from without. And so also in the Jordan It came upon Me in 
the form of a dove, not because It was not in Me, but for the 
reason for which He anointed Me. And what was the reason 
for which He chose to be anointed ? It was our being desti 
tute of the Spirit by that denunciation of old, " My Spirit shall Gen. vi. 3. 
" not abide in these men, because they are flesh." 



m As the Greek Church denies 
the procession of the Spirit from 
the Son, and says that it is not 
taught by their Fathers ; and as 
S. Cyril in a previous passage, (cf. 
c. iii. v. 21.), speaks as if he held, 
that though the Spirit is the Son s, 
yet that It proceeds from the Father 
only, this passage is of great value, 
and therefore I append the original. 
To e avrov npo^fofifvov Tri/fC/za rais 
avu) dvvap.((nv eViety cos eauroC. An 
other passage to the same effect 
will be found in the treatise against 
Nestorius, vol. vi. pp. 98, 99, where 
S. Cyril thus comments on Luke x. 
19. : " The Spirit, therefore, is His 
" own, and from Him : of which a 
" plain proof is, that He can give 
" It to others also, and that not by 



measure, as the blessed Evangelist 
says. For the supreme God has 
measured out to the saints the 
grace of the Spirit, giving to one 
the word of wisdom ; to another 
the word of knowledge ; to an 
other the gift of healings : and 
this is, I think, the meaning of 
those thus endowed having the 
power by measure. But our Lord 
Jesus Christ, pouring out the 
Spirit of His own fulness, even 
as doth also the Father, gives it, 
not as by measure to those who 
are worthy to receive it." A more 
full account of the teaching of the 
Fathers upon the procession of the 
Holy Ghost, may be seen in Owen s 
Introduction to Dogmatic Theology, 
pp. 169-178. 



CO COMMENTARY UPON 

These words the incarnate Word of God speaks : for being 
very God of very God the Father, and having become for our 
sakes man without undergoing change, with us He is anointed 
with the oil of gladness, the Spirit having descended upon 
Him at the Jordan in the form of a dove. For in old time 
both kings and priests were anointed symbolically, gaining 
thereby a certain measure of sanctification : but He Who for our 
sakes became incarnate, was anointed with the spiritual oil of 
sanctification, and the actual descent of the Spirit, receiving It 
not for Himself, but for us. For inasmuch as the Spirit had 
taken its flight, and not made His abode in us because of our 
being flesh, the earth was full of grief, being deprived of the 
participation of God. 

And He proclaimed also deliverance to captives, which also 
He accomplished by having bound the strong one, Satan, who 
in tyrant fashion lorded it over our race, and having torn 
away from Him us his goods. 

As the words "He anointed Me" befit the manhood : for it 
is not the divine nature which is anointed, but that which is akin 
to us : so also the words " He sent Me" are to be referred to 
that which is human. 

Those also whose heart was of old obscured by the darkness 
of the devil, He has illuminated by rising as some Sun of 
Righteousness, and making them the children no longer of 
iThes.v.5. night and darkness, but of light and day, according to Paul s 
word. And those who were blind, for the Apostate had 
blinded their hearts, have recovered their sight, and acknow- 
s. xlii. 16. lodged the truth ; and, as Isaiah says, " Their darkness has 
" become light :" that is, the ignorant have become wise : those 
that once were in error, have known the paths of righteous 
ness. And the Father also says somewhere unto the Son Him- 
Is. xlii. 6. self, " I have given Thee for a covenant of kindred, for a light 
" of the Gentiles, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out 
" the prisoners from their bonds, and from the guard-house 
" those that sit in darkness." For the Only-begotten came 
into this world and gave a new covenant to His kindred, 
the Israelites, of whom He was sprung according to the flesh, 
even the covenant long before announced by the voice of the 
prophets. But the divine and heavenly light shone also upon 
the Gentiles: and He went and preached to the spirits in 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 61 

Hades, and shewed Himself to those who were shut up in the 
guard-house, and freed all from their bonds and violence. And 
how do not these things plainly prove that Christ is both God, 
and of God by nature ? 

And what means the sending away the broken in freedom ? 
It is the letting those go free whom Satan had broken by the 
rod of spiritual violence. And what means the preaching the 
acceptable year of the Lord ? It signifies the joyful tidings of 
His own advent, that the time of the Lord, even the Son, had 
arrived. For that was the acceptable year in which Christ was 
crucified in our behalf, because we then were made acceptable 
unto God the Father, as the fruit borne by Him. Wherefore 
He said, " When I am lifted up from the earth, I shall draw Jolmxii.32. 
" all men unto Myself." And verily He returned to life the 
third day, having trampled upon the power of death : after 
which He said to His disciples, "All power has been given Mat. xxviii. 
" Me, &c." That too is in every respect an acceptable year l 
in which, being received into His family, we were admitted 
unto Him, having washed away sin by holy baptism, and been 
made partakers of His divine nature by the communion of the 
Holy Ghost. That too is an acceptable year, in which He 
manifested His glory by ineffable miracles : for with joy have 
we accepted the season of His salvation, which also the very 
wise Paul referred to, saying, "Behold, now is the acceptable 2Cor.vi. 2. 
" time, behold now is the day of salvation :" the day, when the 
poor who erewhilc were sick by the absence of every blessing, 
having no hope and being without God in the world, such as 
were the gentiles, were made rich by faith in Him, gaining 
the divine and heavenly treasure of the Gospel message of sal 
vation ; by which they have been made partakers of the king 
dom of heaven, copartners with the saints, and heirs of bless 
ings such as neither the mind can conceive nor language tell. 
" For eye, it saith, hath not seen, and ear hath not heard, i Cor. ii. 9. 
" neither have entered into the heart of man, the things that 
" God hath prepared for them that love Him." Though it 
may also be true, that the text here speaks of the abundant 
supply of graces bestowed by Christ upon the poor in spirit. 

But by the bruised in heart, He means, those who have a 
weak and yielding mind, unable to resist the attacks of their 



62 COMMENTARY UPON 

passions, and so carried along by them, as to seem to be cap 
tives : to these He promises both healing and forgiveness. 

And to those who are blind, He gives the recovering of 
sight. For those who serve the creature instead of the Creator, 

Jer. ii. 27. " and say to the wood, Thou art my father, and to the stone, 
" Thou hast begotten me," without recognising Him Who is 
by nature and in truth God, how can they be ought else than 
blind, seeing they have a heart devoid of the light that is di 
vine and spiritual ? And on these the Father bestows the light 
of the true knowledge of God : for they are called through 
faith, and acknowledge Him, or rather are acknowledged of 
Him, and whereas they were children of night and darkness, 
they have been made children of light. For the day has shone 
upon them, and the sun of righteousness has arisen, and the 
bright morning star has dawned. 

There is no objection, however, to any one s referring all 
these declarations to the Israelites. For they were poor, and 
crushed in heart, and, so to speak, prisoners, and in darkness. 

PS. xiv. 3. F or there was not upon earth that was doing good, not even 
" one. But all had turned aside, together they had become 
" unprofitable." But Christ came, preaching to the Israelites 
before all others, the glories of His advent. And like to their 
maladies were those of the Gentiles ; but they have been re 
deemed by Him, having been enriched with His wisdom, and 
endowed with understanding, and no longer is their mind weak 
and broken, but healthy and strong, and ready to receive and 
practise every good and saving work. For in their error they 
had need of wisdom and understanding, who in their great folly 
worshipped the creature instead of the Creator, and inscribed 
stocks and stones with the name of Gods. But those who long 
ago lived in gloom and darkness, because they knew not Christ, 
now acknowledge Him as their God. 

These words having been read to the assembled people, He 
drew upon Himself the eyes of all, wondering perhaps how He 
knew letters Who had not learnt. For it was the wont of the 
Israelites to say, that the prophecies concerning Christ were 
fulfilled, either in the persons of some of" their more glorious 
kings, or, at all events, in the holy prophets. For not cor 
rectly understanding what was written of Him, they missed the 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 63 

true direction, and travelled on another path. But that they 
might not again thus misinterpret the present prophecy, He 
carefully guards against error by saying, " This day is this 
prophecy fulfilled in your ears," expressly setting Himself 
before them in these words, as the person spoken of in the 
prophecy. For it was He Who preached the kingdom of 
heaven to the heathen, who were poor, having nothing, neither 
God, nor law, nor prophets ; or rather, He preached it unto all 
who were destitute of spiritual riches : the captives He set free, 
having overthrown the apostate tyrant Satan, and Himself 
Bhed the divine and spiritual light on those whose heart was 
darkened ; for which reason He said, " I am come a light into John xii. 
" this world :" it was He Who unbound the chains of sin from 4 
those whose heart was crushed thereby : Who clearly shewed 
that there is a life to come, and denounced the just judgment. 
Finally, it was He Who preached the acceptable year of the 
Lord, even that in which the Saviour s proclamation was made : 
for by the acceptable year I think is meant His first coming ; 
and by the day of restitution the day of judgment. 



And all bare Him witness and wondered. 

For not understanding Him Who had been anointed and 
sent, and Who was the Author of works so wonderful, they 
returned to their usual ways, and talk foolishly and vainly 
concerning Him. For although they had wondered at the 
words of grace that proceeded out of His mouth, yet their 
wish was to treat them as valueless : for they said, " Is not 
" this the son of Joseph ?" But what docs this diminish from 
the glory of the Worker of the miracles? What prevents 
Him from being both to be venerated and admired, even had 
He been, as was supposed, the son of Joseph ? Seest thou not 
the miracles? Satan fallen, the herds of devils vanquished, 
multitudes set free from various kinds of maladies ? Thou 
praisest the grace that was present in His teachings ; and then 
dost thou, in Jewish fashion, think lightly of Him, because He 
accounted Joseph for His father ? O great senselessness ! True is 
it to say of them, " Lo ! a people foolish, and without under- J r. v. 21. 
" standing : they have eyes and see not, ears, and hear not." 



64 COMMENTARY UPON 

Ver. 23. Ye will altogether say unto Me this parable... 

This was a common saying among the Jews, and had its 
origin in a witticism 1 : for when physicians were themselves ill, 
men would say, Physician, heal thyself. Christ therefore, 
setting before them as it were this proverb, said unto them, Ye 
wish for many signs to be wrought by Me among you espe 
cially, in whose country I was brought up ; but I know the 
common feeling to which all men are liable : for always, some 
how or other, even the choicest things are despised when there 
is no scarcity of them, and people have them in abundance. 
And so too is the case with men : for his acquaintance will 
oftentimes refuse one with whom they are familiar, and who is 
constantly among them, even the honour which is due. He 
rebuked them therefore for asking so foolishly, " Is not this 
" the son of Joseph?" and still keeping to the object of His 
teaching, says, " Verily, verily, I say unto you, that no pro- 
" phet is acceptable in his country." 

Ver 25. There were many widows in the days of Elias. 

For since, as I have mentioned, certain of the Jews affirmed 
that the prophecies relating to Christ had been accomplished 
either in the holy prophets, or in certain of their own more 
distinguished 111 men, He for their good draws them away from 
such a supposition", by saying that Elias had been sent to a 
single widow, and that the prophet ElisaBus had healed but one 
leper, Naaman the Syrian : by these signifying the church of 
the heathen, who were about to accept Him, and be healed of 
their leprosy, by reason of Israel remaining impenitent. 

1 Cr. dcnrao-p.ov. Mai doretoyiov. " prophecies chiefly apply to Him, 

Aq. improperium. " by saying that Elias had been 

m Cr. roil/ Trap avrols pfpa<n\ev- " sent to a single widow, though 

KOTWV. Mai, Teal/ cv86a>v nap avrois f< there were many at that time in 

yeyovorav, and so Aq. " Israel -, and that the prophet Eli- 

n In Cramer s Catena, in which " sseus had healed one leper, Naa- 

this passage occurs anonymously, " man the Syrian, though there 

as is often the case with extracts " were very many of them in Israel ; 

from S. Cyril, the conclusion is as " because of all the widows she 

follows : " Convicting them of dis- " alone was found faithful, and he 

" believing and denying, that these " in like manner of all the lepers." 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 65 

Aiid all in the synagogue were filled with anger. Ver. 28. 

They then were inflamed with anger, because he had 
branded their wicked thought; and also because He had said, 
To-day is this Scripture fulfilled, namely, that " The Spirit 
" of the Lord is upon Me ;" for they considered that He 
made Himself equal to the prophets. Moreover, they cast Him 
out of their city, decreeing thereby their own condemnation, 
and confirming what the Saviour had said : for they themselves 
were banished from the city that is above, for not having 
received Christ. And that He might not convict them of im 
piety in words merely, He permitted their audacity against Him 
self to proceed even unto deeds : for their violence was unrea 
sonable, and their envy untamed. Leading Him therefore to 
the brow of the hill, they endeavoured to throw Him from the 
crags : but He went through the midst of thorn without taking 
any notice, so to say, of their attempt : not as refusing to 
suffer, for for this reason He had even come, but as awaiting 
a suitable time. For it was now the commencement of His 
preaching, and it would have been unseasonable to have suf 
fered before He had proclaimed the word of truth. For it 
depended on Him to suffer, or not to suffer ; for He is Lord of 
times as well as of things. And this is a proof, that when He 
suffered He suffered voluntarily, and that neither then could Cr. ov& 
He have suffered, had He not yielded Himself thereto. rrfr* M.orn. 

And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. Ver. ^t. 
Those whom argument cannot bring to the sure knowledge 
of Him Who by nature and in truth is God and Lord, may Mai ?<TT/, 
perhaps be won by miracles unto a docile obedience. And Cr - * <7Ta< - 
therefore usefully, or rather necessarily, He oftentimes com 
pletes His lessons by proceeding to the performance of some 
mighty work. For the inhabitants of Judaea were unready to 
believe, and slighted the words of those who called them to 
salvation, and especially the people of Capernaum had this 
character : for which reason the Saviour reproved them, 
saying, "And thou Capernaum, that art exalted unto heaven, Luke x. 15. 
" shalt be brought down unto hell." But although He knows 
them to be both disobedient, and hard of heart, nevertheless 
He visits them as a most excellent physician would those who 

K 



COMMENTARY UPON 



Js. xiv. 



Mat. x. 



were suffering under a very dangerous disease, and endeavours 
to rid them of their malady. For He says Himself, that 
" those who are in health have no need of a physician, but 
Luke v. 31. " those who are sick." He taught therefore in their syna 
gogues with great freedom of speech : for this He had foretold 

19. by the voice of Isaiah, saying, " I have not spoken in secret, 
" nor in a dark place of the earth." The holy apostles more 
over He even commanded to publish their words concerning 

27- Him with full boldness of speech, saying, " What I tell you in 
" darkness, speak ye in the light : and what ye have heard 
" (whispered) into the ear, proclaim upon the housetops." On 
the Sabbath also, when they were at leisure from labour, He 
conversed with them. They therefore wondered at the power 
of His teaching, and at the greatness of His authority : " For 
" the word, it says, was with authority ;" for He used not flat 
teries, but urged them to salvation. For the Jews indeed 
thought that Christ was nothing more than one of the saints, 
and that He had appeared among them in prophetic rank 
only : but that they might entertain a higher opinion and idea 
concerning Him, He exceeds the prophetic measure; for He 
never said, Thus saith the Lord, as of course was their custom, 
but as being the Lord of the law He spake things that surpass 
the law. 

God moreover said by Isaiah, " And I will make with them 
" an everlasting covenant, even the holy, the sure things of 
" David : behold I have given Him as a testimony among the 
" gentiles, a ruler and commander of the gentiles." For it 
was fitting that Moses, as a servant, should be the minister 
of the shadow that endureth not : but Christ, I affirm, was 
the eternal publisher of a lasting and abiding worship. And 
what is the eternal covenant ? It means the sacred prophecies 
of Christ, Who is of David s seed according to the flesh, and 
which produce in us holiness, and sureness : just as also the 
fear of God is pure, because it makes us pure : and the word 



Is. Iv. 3. 
Acts xiii. 
34- 



Cr. reads dvafiaivei for e*/3mWt, 
and proceeds thus ; " for neither 
did He ever speak these things in 
the way of argument, but as one 
enunciating law, He spake things 
that surpass the law, and with 
godlike authority rebuked the im- 



" clean spirits." Aq. agrees with 
M., but adds, "changing the letter 
" to the truth, and the figures to 
" the spiritual meaning," with which 
the conclusion of M. s next extract 
agrees. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 61 

of the Gospel is life, because it produces life : " for the words, Jolmvi.6.^. 
He says, " that I have spoken unto you are spirit and life," 
that is, spiritual and life-giving. But mark well the exactness 
of the prophecy. Isaiah, speaking as in the person of God the 
Father concerning Christ, says, " Lo, I have given Him as a 
" testimony unto the Gentiles," that is, to bear witness unto 
them, that these tilings are acceptable; that no one may 
imagine Him to be one of the holy prophets, but that all man 
kind may rather know, that He is radiant with the glory of 
lordship, for being God, He appeared unto us ; and so ho 
goes on to say, not merely that He was given for a testimony, 
but also as " a ruler and commander of the gentiles." For 
the blessed prophets, and before them even Moses, holding the 
station of servants, ever called out to their hearers, " Thus 
" saith the Lord," not as being so much commanders, as 
ministers of the divine words. But our Lord Jesus Christ 
spake words most worthy of God; and was therefore admired 
even by the Jews themselves, because His word was with 
authority, and because He taught them as one that had 
authority, and not as their scribes. For His word was not of 
the shadow of the law, but as being Himself the lawgiver, He 
changed the letter into the truth, and the types into their 
spiritual meaning. For He was a ruler, and possessed a 
ruler s authority to command. 

And Jesus rebuked him. Ver .** 

With godlike power He rebuked the unclean spirits, making 
the miracle follow immediately upon His words, that we might 
not disbelieve. We have seen the guilty Satan overcome by 
Him in the wilderness, and broken by three falls: we havr 
seen his might again shaken, and the power that was against 
us falling : we have seen ourselves rebuking the wicked spirits 
in Christ as our firstfruits. For that this also has reference to 
the ennoblement of human nature, thou mayest learn from the 
Saviour s own words. For the Jews indeed maligned His 
glory, and even said, " This man casteth not out devils except Matt. xii. 
" in Beelzebub, prince of the devils :" but He in answer, hav 
ing first said much and to the purpose, ended by declaring ; 
" But if I in the Spirit of God cast out devils, then has the 
" kingdom of God come upon you unawares." For if, says He, 

K 2 



68 COMMENTARY UPON 

I, Who have become a man like unto you, chide the un 
clean spirits with godlike power and majesty, it is your 
nature which is crowned with this great glory : for ye are 
seen both through Me and in Me to have gained the king 
dom of God. 

The evil demons therefore were cast out, and made more 
over to feel how invincible is His might ; and being unable to 
bear the conflict with Deity, they exclaimed in imperious and 
crafty terms, " Let us alone : what is there between us and 
<e Thee ?" meaning thereby, Why dost Thou not permit us to 
keep our place, whilst Thou art destroying the error of im 
piety ? But they further put on the false appearance of well- 
sounding words, and call Him the Holy One of God. For they 
supposed that by this specious kind of language they could ex 
cite the desire of vainglory, and thereby prevent His rebuking 
them, returning as it were one kindness for another. But 
though he be crafty, he will fail of his prey : for " God is not 
" mocked ;" and so the Lord stops their impure tongues, and 
commands them to depart from those possessed by them. 
And the bystanders being made witnesses of so great deeds, 
were astonished at the power of His word. For He wrought 
His miracles, offering up no prayer, to ask of any one else at 
all the power of accomplishing them, but being Himself the 
living and active Word of God the Father, by Whom all 
things exist, and in Whom all things arc, in His own person 
He crushed Satan, and closed the profane mouth of impure 
demons, 

He entered into Simon s house. 

Observe therefore how He Who endured voluntary poverty 
for our sakes, that we by His poverty might become rich, 
lodged with one of His disciples, a man poor, and living in 
obscurity, -that we might learn to seek the company of the 
humble, and not to boast ourselves over those in want and 
affliction. 

^ Jesus arrives at Simon s house, and finds his wife s mother 
sick of a fever : and He stood, and rebuked the fever, and it 
left her. Now in what is said by Matthew and Mark, that 

fs?: " the fever left hcr " thcre is no hint of an J livin g thi ng as the 
active cause of the fever: but in Luke s phrase that " He stood 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 



" over her, and rebuked the fever, and it left her, 1 I do not 

11 j J.T_ j.1, i,* u omitted just 

know whether we are not compelled to say that that which before. 
was rebuked was some living thing unable to sustain the influ 
ence of Him Who rebuked it: for it is not reasonable to rebuke 
a thing without life, and unconscious of the rebuke. Nor is it 
anything astonishing for there to exist certain powers that in 
flict harm on the human body : nor must we necessarily think 
evil of the soul of those who thus suffer for being harmed by 
these beings. For neither, when the Devil obtained authority 
-to tempt Job by bodily torments, and struck him with painful 
ulcers, was Job therefore to be found fault with, for he man 
fully contended, and nobly endured the blow. God grant, how 
ever, that it be said, if at any time we are tempted by bodily 
pains, " but touch not his soul." p The Lord then by a rebuke Job ii. 6. 
heals those who are possessed. 



P The word ^rv\r] in Greek signifies 
"the vital principle of the body :" and 
as there is no equivalent in English, 
a difficulty occasionally arises in 
translating it. Sometimes it signifies 
"sensation;" so St. Paul andSt.Jude 
call those ^VXIKOVS, sensuous, who 
live a mere animal life. Sometimes 
it means " a person s self :" so the 
rich man said to his \Jx7 or se ^ 
Self, thou hast much goods, &c. : 
and such is the meaning of its He 
brew and Syriac equivalent |^<^ . 
" that which exists by breathing ;" 
and so one s self: still even here 
there may be an allusion to man s 
animal nature, which was the sole 
part of him which the rich man 
valued. Sometimes it is used in 
opposition to the body, because the 
life is something better than the 
frame which it vivifies ; and so 
S. Cyril seems to understand it in 
this place, though doubtless it is 
rightly translated in our version, 
" But save his life." Certainly just 
above he had used it for man s 
moral state, saying, that we must 
not think evil of the soul of 
those who suffer from bodily mala 
dies. In all cases the ^t>x T } }S ra ~ 
ther the mortal than the immortal, 



and is opposed to the Tri/tC/za, al 
though even in this word, as in 
Spiritus, the original idea is taken 
from the physical act of breathing. 
Possibly, however, we often take 
the word " soul" in the A.V. in a 
sense not intended by the transla 
tors. For by the gradual change of 
language, the meaning of the term 
has been limited since their time to 
its higher signification, and a dif 
ferent sense thereby given to many 
passages of Scripture ; such, for in 
stance, as, " What is a man profited 
" if he gain the whole world, and 
" lose his own soul ?" that is, his 
life. (Mat. xvi. 26.) So "to deliver 
" their soul from death, and to 
" keep them alive in famine." (Ps. 
xxxiii. 19.) Wicklif uses soul-haver 
as equivalent to animal : " Thou 
" shalt be cursed among alle the 
" soul-hauers and beestis of the 
" erthe." (Gen. iii. 14.) From not 
attending to this gradual alteration 
in the meaning of words, curious 
misunderstandings often arise; as, 
for instance, in an emended Book of 
Common Prayer lately put forth, the 
word wealth, which signifies our 
general well-being, is expunged as 
being supposed to signify money. 



70 COMMENTARY UPON 

He laid also His hands upon the sick one by one, and freed 
them from their malady, so demonstrating that the holy flesh, 
which He had made His own, and endowed witli godlike power, 
possessed the active presence of the might of the Word : in 
tending us thereby to learn that though the Only-begotten 
Word of God became like unto us, yet even so is He none the 
less God, and able easily, even by His own flesh, to accomplish 
all things : for by it as His instrument He wrought miracles. 
Nor is there any reason for great wonder at this; but consider, 
on the contrary, how fire, when placed in a brazen vessel, com.-. 
municates to it the power of producing the effects of heat. So 
therefore the all-powerful Word of God also, having joined by 
a real union unto Himself the living and intelligent temple 
taken from the holy Virgin, endowed it with the power of ac 
tively exerting His own godlike might. To put to shame, there- 

John x. 37. fore, the Jews, He says, " If I do not the works of My Father, 
" believe Me not: but if I do, though ye believe not Me, believe 
" My works." We may, therefore, see, with the Truth Itself 
witnessing thereto, that the Only-begotten gave not His glory 

Trap^ tauTfo as to a man taken q separately and apart, by himself, and re 
garded as the woman s offspring ; but as being the One only 
Son, with the holy body united to Him, He wrought the mi 
racles, and is worshipped also by the creation as God. 

He entered, then, into Peter s house, where a woman was 

<i S. Cyril refers in these words Lord has been thus defined by the 

to the doctrine of Nestorius, who Council of Chalcedon : o^oXoyou- 

taught that in the one person of ( ^v ____ eva K al TOV avrov Xpurrbv, 

Christ the two natures existed se- vlbv, wpiov, povoyev?), S <u- 

parately, so as to energize ava pepos o-ecoi/ do-vyxvrus, arpeVrcos-, uStat- 

m turn, or rather apart from one peYeoy, dxa>pitrra>s yvupi&pevov: 

another, sometimes one nature ex- (Hard. Cone. ii. 456.): that the two 

rtmg its influence, and sometimes natures in our Lord remain distinct 

the other. In explaining, therefore, and unaltered, and not blended and 

uracle such as that before us, in confused, as the Eutychians taught, 

which the flesh of our Lord per- into some new third nature ; but, 

the proper act of Deity, Nes- on the other hand, that they are in- 

nus must have used some such separable in their action, and while 

argument as S. Cyril here brings each preserves its own proper attri- 

ionvard, and to conjecture from the butes, the two united form but one 



, 

solute use of 6 Movoyerfs, and person and substance, (ds 
other technical Nestorian terms, it UTTOV Kal ^lav wrooraow 
was a quotation. The catholic doc- 
trine respecting the nature of our 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 71 

lying stretched upon a bed, exhausted with a violent fever : 
and when He might as God have said, " Put away the disease, 
" arise," He adopted a different course of action. For, as a 
^rpof that His own flesh possessed the power of healing, as 
being the flesh of God, He touched her hand, and forthwith, 
it says, the fever left her. Let us, therefore, also receive Jesus : 
for when He has entered into us, and we have received Him 
into mind and heart, then He will quench the fever of unbe 
fitting pleasures, and raise us up, and make us strong, even in 
things spiritual, so as for us to minister unto Him, by perform 
ing those things that please Him. 

But observe again, I pray, how great is the efficacy of the 
touch of His holy flesh. For It both drives away diseases of 
various kinds, and a crowd of demons, and overthrows the 
power of the devil, and heals a very great multitude of people? 
in one moment of time. And though able to perform these 
miracles by a word and the inclination of His will, yet to teach 
us something useful for us, He also lays His hands upon tho 
sick. For it was necessary, most necessary, for us to learn, 
that the holy flesh which He had made His own was endowed 
with the activity of the power of the Word by His having 
implanted in it a godlike might. Let It then take hold of 
usj, or rather let us take hold of It by the mystical " Giving 1 
" of thanks," that It may free us also from the sicknesses of 
the soul, and from the assault and violence of demons. 

And rebukiny them, He suffered them not to speak. Ver. 41 

He would not permit the unclean demons to confess Him ; 
for it was not fitting for them to usurp the glory of the Apo 
stolic office, nor with impure tongue to talk of the mystery of 

r From St. Paul s words in i Cor. while tvKoyia has special reference 

x. 1 6., evXoyia came to be applied to the opening words, " Blessed be 

generally to the Lord s Supper, of " Thou, O Jehovah," of which the 

which use several instances, besides Greek translation is, Kvptf, evXo- 

the present, occur in this treatise, yrja-ov. In process of time, pieces of 

Like fv^apio-ria, the term is taken the consecrated bread, sent to other 

from the Jewish Grace before meat, churches as marks of communion, 

which we find our Lord always or to the sick, came to be called 

using ; only fu^aptoria expresses (v\oyiat. Cf. Suiceri Th. 
the general act of thanksgiving, 



72 COMMENTARY UPON 

Christ. Yea ! though they speak ought that is true, let no one 
put credence in them : for the light is not known by the aid of 
darkness, as the disciple of Christ teaches us, where he says, 
2Cor.vi.i5. p or w hat communion hath light with darkness? or what con- 
" sent hath Christ with Beliar?"* 8 



s BeXiap is the reading of most of the ordinary Hebrew use of " son," 
the MSS. and Fathers. The Hebrew signifies " worthless persons." Bar- 
is Belial, and signifies " worthless- bahlul says, that the word Beliar is 
ness," from fa, without, and ^, derived from j^j, dr)p, and means 
utility. Sons of Belial, therefore, Lord of the air. 
as in i Sam. ii. 12., according to 



THE GOSPKL OF ST. LUKE. 73 



CHAPTER V. 

And He saw two ships standing by the lake, but the fisher- Ver. 2. 
men were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. 



LET us admire the skilfulness of the method employed in ol 
making them a prey who were to make prey of the whole 
earth ; even the holy Apostles, who, though themselves well 
skilled in fishing, yet fell into Christ s meshes, that they also, 
letting down the drag-net of the Apostolic preachings, might 
gather unto Him the inhabitants of the whole world. For ve 
rily He somewhere said by one of the holy prophets, " Behold Jer.xvi.i6. 
" I send many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall catch 
" them as fish : and afterwards I will send many hunters, and 
" they shall hunt them as game." By the fishers He means 
the holy Apostles ; and by the hunters, those who successively 
became the rulers and teachers of the holy churches. And 
observe, I pray, that He not only preaches, but also displays 
signs, giving thereby pledges of His power, and confirming His 
words by the display of miracles : for after He had suffi 
ciently conversed with the multitudes, He returns to His usual 
mighty works, and by means of their pursuits as fishers catches 
the disciples as fish : that men may know that His will is al 
mighty, and that the creation ministers to His most godlike 
commands. 

And ivhen He ceased speaking, He said unto Simon, Launch Ver. 4 . 
out into the deep. 

As He had now taught them sufficiently, and it was fitting 
also to add some divine work to His words for the benefit of 
the spectators, He bade Simon and his companions push off a 
little from the land, and let down the net for a draught. But 
they replied, that they had been labouring the whole night, 
and had caught nothing : in the name, however, of Christ, they 
let down the net, and immediately it was full of fish ; in order 
that by a visible fact, and by a type and representation, mira 
culously enacted, they might be fully convinced that their la 
bour would not be unrewarded, nor the zeal fruitless which 



74 COMMENTARY UPON 

they displayed in spreading out the net of the Gospel teach 
ing ; for that most certainly they should catch within it the 
shoals of the heathen. But observe this, that neither Simon 
nor his companions could draw the net to land ; and therefore, 
being speechless from fright and astonishment: for their won 
der had made them mute : they beckoned, it says, to their 
partners, those, that is, who shared their labours in fishing, to 
come and help them in securing their prey. For many have 
taken part with the holy Apostles in their labours, and still do 
so, especially such as search into the meaning of what is writ 
ten in the holy Gospels ; and others besides them, even the 
pastors and teachers and rulers of the people, who are skilled 
in the doctrines of truth. For still is the net drawn, while 
r.s. ixix.i ( . Christ fills it, and summons unto conversion those in the depths 
of the sea, according to the Scripture phrase ; those, that is to 
say, who live in the surge and waves of worldly things. 

Yor. 8. And when Simon Peter saw it. 

For this reason also Peter, carried back to the memory of 

his former sins, trembles and is afraid, and as being impure 

ventures not to receive Him Who is pure : and his fear was 

laudable : for he had been taught by the law to distinguish be- 

Ez.xxii.26. tween the holy and the profane. 

Yer. 12. And behold a man full of leprosy. 

The faith, however, of him who drew near is worthy of all 
praise : for he testifies that the Emmanuel can successfully 
accomplish all things, and seeks deliverance by His godlike 
commands, although his malady was incurable : for leprosy 
will not yield to the skill of physicians. I see, however, he 
says, the unclean demons expelled by a godlike authority : I 
see others set free from many diseases : I recognise that such 
things are wrought by some divine and resistless force : I see, 
further, that He is good, and most ready to pity those who 
draw near unto Him : what therefore forbids His taking pity 
on me also ? And what is Christ s answer ? He confirms His 
faith, and produces full assurance upon this very point. For 
He accepts His petition, and confesses that He is able, and 
says, " I will : be thou cleansed." He grants him also the 
touch of His holy and all-powerful hand, and immediately the 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 75 

leprosy departed from him, and his affliction was at an end. 
And in this join with me in wondering at Christ thus exer 
cising at the same time both a divine and a bodily power. For 
it was a divine act so to will, as for all that He willed to be 
present unto Him : but to stretch out the hand was a human 
act : Christ therefore is perceived to be One* of both, if, as is *fs e a^u- 
the case, the Word was made flesh. 

And He cJtaryed him to tell no man. Ver. 14. 

Even though the leper had been silent, the very nature of 
the fact was enough to proclaim to all who knew him how 
great was His power Who had wrought the cure. But He bids 
him tell no man : and why ? That they who receive from God 
the gift of working cures may hereby learn not to look for the 
applause of those whom they have healed, nor indeed any one s 
praises whatsoever, lest they fall a prey unto pride, of all vices 
the most disgraceful. 

He purposely, however, bids the leper offer unto the 
priests the gift according to the law of Moses. For it was 
indeed "confessedly His wish to put away the shadow, and 
transform the types unto a spiritual service. As the Jews, 
however, because as yet they did not believe on Him, at 
tached themselves to the commands of Moses, supposing 
their ancient customs to be still in force, He gives leave to 
the leper to make the offering for a testimony unto them. 
And what was His object in granting this permission ? It was 
because the Jews, using ever as a pretext their respect for the 
law, and saying that the hierophant Moses was the minister of 
a commandment from on high, made it their endeavour to 
treat with contempt Christ the Saviour of us all. They even 
said plainly, " We know that God spake unto Mose* : but This johnix.sy. 
" man, we know not whence lie is." It was necessary, there 
fore, for them to be convinced by actual facts that the measure 
of Moses is inferior to the glory of Christ : " For he indeed as Heb. Hi. 5. 
" a servant was faithful over his house ; but the other as a Son 
" over His Father s house." From this very healing, then, of 
the leper, we may most plainly see that Christ is incomparably 

* That is, One person consoling extract in Aquinas, is from the 
of both natures. The passage re- Thesaurus, 
ferred to by Mai, aa preceding this 

L 2 



76 COMMENTARY UPON 

superior to the Mosaic law. For Mariam," the sister of Moses, 
was herself struck with leprosy for speaking against him : 
and at this Moses was greatly distressed ; and when he was 
unable to remove the disease from the woman, he fell down 

Num. xii. before God, saying, " God, I beseech Thee, heal her." Ob 
serve this, then, carefully : on the one hand, there was a re 
quest ; he sought by prayer to obtain mercy from above : but 
the Saviour of all spake with godlike authority, " I will : be 
" thou cleansed." The removal therefore of the leprosy was a 
testimony to the priests, and by it those who assign the chief 
rank to Moses may know that they are straying from the 
truth. For it was fitting, even highly fitting, to regard Moses 
with admiration as a minister of the law, and servant of the 

Gal. iii. 19. grace that was spoken of angels ; but far greater must be our 
admiration of the Emmanuel, and the glory we render Him as 
very Son of God the Father. 
And whoever will may see the profound and mighty mystery 

Lev. xiii. 8. of Christ written for our benefit in Leviticus. For the law of 
Moses declares the leper defiled, and gives orders for him to 
be put out of the camp as unclean: but should the malady ever 
be alleviated, it commands that he should then be capable of 
readmission. Moreover it clearly specifies the manner in which 

Lev. xiv. 2. he is to be pronounced clean, thus saying ; " This is the law of 
" the leper on whatsoever day he shall have been cleansed, 
" and shall be brought unto the priest. And the priest shall 
" go out of the camp, and the priest shall see him, and behold, 
" the touch of the leprosy is healed from the leper : and the 
" high priest shall command, and they shall take for him who 
" is cleansed two living clean birds ; and the high priest shall 
" command, and they shall kill the one into an earthen vessel 

i. e. fresh. " over living water : and he shall take the living bird, and dip 
" it into the blood of the bird that was killed over the living 
" water, and shall sprinkle it seven times over the man cleansed 
" of the leprosy, and he shall be cleansed : and he shall send 
" away the living bird into the field." The birds then are two 
in number, both without stain, that is, clean, and liable to no 
fault on the part of the law : and the one of them is slain over 

u As the Masoretic punctuation retained the spelling of the LXX. 
of this word as Miriam, is appa- Even Jerome apparently had never 
rently of very modern date, I have heard of it. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 77 

living water, but the other, being saved from slaughter, and 
further baptized in the blood of that which died, is let loose. 

This type, then, represents to us the great and adorable 
mystery of our Saviour. For the Word was from above, even 
from the Father, from heaven ; for which reason He is very 
fitly compared to a bird : for though He came down for the 
dispensation s sake to bear our likeness, and took the form of 
a slave, yet even so He was from above. Yea, He even, when 
speaking to the Jews, said so plainly, " Ye are from beneath : John \-iii. 
" I am from above. And again, " No one hath ascended 23 
" up into heaven, but the Son of man That came down from 
" heaven." As therefore I just now said, even when He be 
came flesh, that is, perfect man, lie was not earthy, not made 
of clay as we are, but heavenly and superior to things worldly 
in respect of that wherein lie is perceived to be God. \Ve may 
see, then, in the birds (offered at the cleansing of the leper), 
Christ suffering indeed in the flesh according to the Scrip- i Pet. iv. i. 
tures, but remaining also beyond the power of suffering ; and 
dying in His human nature, but living in His divine; for the 
Word is Life. Yea, too, the very wise disciple said, " that He iPet.iii.i8. 
" was put to death in the flesh, but made to live in the spirit." 
But though the Word could not possibly admit the suffering 
of death into His own nature, yet He appropriates to Himself 
that which His flesh suffered : for the living bird was baptized 
in the blood of the dead one ; and thus stained with blood, and 
all but made partaker of the passion, it was sent forth into the 
wilderness. And so did the Only-begotten Word of God return 
unto the heavens, with the flesh united unto Him. And strange 
was the sight in heaven, yea, the throng of angels marvelled 
when they saw in form like unto us the King of earth, and 
Lord of might: moreover they said, " Who is This that cometh Is. Ixiii. i. 
" from Edom ? meaning thereby the earth : the redness of 
"His garments is from Boson" * the interpretation of which 
is flesh, as being a narrowing and pressing. Then too they 

1 *lS signifies " cohibuit, ar- however deriving " flesh," there is 

cuit," and thence in Piel munivit. a confusion between it and 1U>H, 

Its derivatives "itfl, Dent. iv. 43., originally ion, flesh, which has the 

and n^Vl, Is. Ixiii. i.. signify same sound as Bosor, and only dif- 

" a fortified town." The mean- fers from iyn by having another 

ings therefore of "narrowing" and sibilant. 
" pressing" are correct. In thence 



78 COMMENTARY UPON 

Zech.xiii.6. inquired, " Are such the wounds in the middle of Thy 
"hands /" and He answered, "With these was I wounded 
" in the house of My beloved." For just as after His re 
turn to life from the dead, when shewing, with most wise pur- 

Johnxx.s;. pose, His hands unto Thomas, He bade him handle both the 
prints of the nails, and the holes bored in Ills side : so also, 
when arrived in heaven, He gave full proof to the holy angels, 
that Israel was justly cast out and fallen from being of His fa 
mily. For this reason, He shewed His garment stained with 
blood, and the wounds in His hands, and not as though He 
could not put them away ; for when He rose from the dead, 
He put off corruption, and with it all its marks and attributes : 
He retained them therefore, that the manifold wisdom of God, 
which He wrought in Christ, might now be made known by 
the Church, according to the plan of salvation, to principalities 
and powers. 

But perhaps some one will say, How can you affirm that 
Jesus Christ is one and the same Son and Lord, when there 
were two birds offered ? Does not the law very plainly 
hereby shew that there are certainly two Sons and Christs ? 
Yes, verily, men y have ere now been brought to such a pitch 
of impiety, as both to think and say, that the Word of God 
the Father is one Christ separately by Himself, and that He 
Who is of the seed of David is another. But we reply to those 
who, in their ignorance, imagine such to be the case, what the 

Eph. iv. 5. divine Paul writes, " One Lord, one faith, one baptism." If, 
therefore, they affirm that there are two Sons, necessarily 
there must be two Lords, and two faiths, and the same number 

2 Cor.xiii.3. o f baptisms : and therefore, though he has Christ speaking 
within him, as he himself affirms, yet will his teaching be 
false. But this cannot be : away with such a thought ! We 
therefore acknowledge one Lord, even the Only -begotten in 
carnate Word of God : not putting apart the manhood and the 
Godhead, but earnestly affirming that the Word of God the 
Father Himself became man while continuing to be God. 
And next, let those who hold a contrary opinion be the 

y The Nestorians, to whom this " the same Son and Lord," was 

doctrine is several times expressly afterwards formally enacted by the 

assigned by S. Cyril in this Com- Council of Chalcedon. Cf. above, 
mentary. The phrase, " one and 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 79 

speakers. 2 4 If, they say, there are two Sons, one specially of 

* the seed of David, and the other again separately the Word 

* of God the Father; must not the W r ord of God the Father be 
superior in nature to him of the seed of David ? What, then, 
shall we do in seeing the two birds, not distinct in nature from 
one another, but, on the contrary, of the same kind, and in no 
point, as regards specific difference, unlike one another. But 
they gain nothing by their argument ; for great is the distance 
between the Godhead and the manhood : and in the explana 
tion of examples, we are to understand them according to their 
fitting analogy; for they fall short of the truth, and often 
effect but a partial demonstration of the things signified by 
them. W T e say, moreover, that the law was a sort of shadow 
and type, and a painting, as it were, setting things forth before 
the view of the spectators: but in the pictorial art, the shadows 
are the foundations for the colours ; and when the bright hues T ^ 
of the colours have been laid upon them, then at length the rut 
beauty of the painting will flash forth. And in like manner, 
since it was fitting for the law of Mo>es to delineate clearly 
the mystery of Christ, it docs not manifest Him as both dying 
and at the same time living in one and the same bird, lest what 
was done should have the look of a theatrical juggle ; but it 
contained Him, as suffering slaughter in the one bird, and in 
the other displayed the same Christ as alive and set free. 

But I will endeavour to shew that my argument here does 
not go beyond the bounds of probability by means of another 
history. For were any one of our community to wish to see 
the history of Abraham depicted as in a painting, how would 
the artist represent him ? as doing every thing at once ? or as 
in turn, and variously acting in many different modes, though 
all the while the same one person ? I mean, for instance, as at 
one time sitting upon the ass with the lad accompanying him, 
and the servants following behind : then again the ass left with 
the servants, Isaac laden with the wood, and himself carrying 
in his hands the knife and the fire : then in another compart 
ment, the same Abraham in a very different attitude, with the 
lad bound upon the wood, and his right hand armed with the 

z The Monophysites, whose doctrines Eutyches subsequently pushed to 
an extreme. 



80 COMMENTARY UPON 

knife ready to strike the blow. Yet it would not be a different 
Abraham in each place, though represented in very many dif 
ferent forms in the painting, but one and the same everywhere, 
the painter s art conforming itself constantly to the require 
ments of the things to be represented. For it would be impos 
sible in one representation to see him performing all the above- 
mentioned acts. So therefore the law was a painting and type 
of things travailling with truth, and therefore even though 
there were two birds, yet was He Who was represented in 
both but One, as suffering and free from suffering, as dying 
and superior to death, and mounting up unto heaven as a sort 
of second firstfruits of human nature renewed unto incorrup- 
tion. For He has made a new pathway for us unto that which 
is above, and we in due time shall follow Him. That the one 
bird then was slain, and that the other was baptized indeed in 
its blood, while itself exempt from slaughter, typified what was 
really to happen. For Christ died in our stead, and we, who 
have been baptized into His death, He has saved by His own 
blood. 

Ver. 17. And He Himself iv as teaching, and the Pharisees were 

sitting. 

Around Him verily was a company of the envious, scribes, 
that is, and pharisees, who were spectators of His wonderful 
works, and listened as He taught : " and the power of God 

atT<*/, with " was present, it says, to heal him." Is this spoken as though 
God gave Him the ability to perform the miracles ? Did He 
borrow of another the power ? But who would venture to 
affirm this ? Rather it was He Himself, working by His own 
power, as God and Lord, and not as partaker of some divine 
grace. For men indeed often, even after being counted worthy 
of spiritual gifts, yet sometimes occasionally prove infirm, ac 
cording to the proportion known to Him Who distributes these 
divine graces. But in the case of the Saviour of us all, there 
was nought such as this ; but His power to heal him was not 
a human power, but rather one divine and irresistible : for He 
was God and the Son of God. 

From Christ alone teaches as being the (true) teacher, and the 

wisdom of the Father. For all the rest teach as receiving from 
Him. " And there was also, it says, the power of the Lord 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 81 

" upon Him to heal all ;" which means that His power to heal 
was not human, but divine and irresistible. For the rest of the 
saints at one time receive the power to work cures, and at an 
other time, not : but Jesus, as being God, and the power of 
the Father, ever healed all. 1 



And behold certain bringing on a bed a man who wa-s v< r. 18. 
paralytic. 

When, then, no small number, as it says, of scribes and pha- From 
risees, were assembled together, behold certain bringing upon c<ul - D 
a bed a man who was paralytic ; and not being able to come 
in by the door, they carried him up to the roof, to attempt a 
strange and novel b deed. For having pulled up the tiling, they 
removed the wood laid there : and still, while this was being 
done, both Jesus waited patiently, and those who were present 
kept silenCe, watching for the result, and wishing to see what 
He would say and do. Having uncovered, therefore, the roof, 
they let down the bed, and lay the paralytic in the midst. 
What then does the Lord do ? Having seen their faith. 
not that of the paralytic, but of the bearers; for it is possible 
for one to be healed by the faith of others; or, perceiving that 
the paralytic also believed, He healed him. It is possible, how 
ever, that the place into which they let down the bed of the 
paralytic through the tiles was open to the air, so that they 
would not have at all to break up the roof. But when the 
Saviour says to him, ." Man, thy sins are forgiven thee," He 
addresses this generally to mankind : for those who believe in 
Him, being healed of the diseases of the soul, will receive 
forgiveness of the sins which formerly they had committed. 
Or He may mean this ; I must heal thy soul before I heal thy 
body : for if this be not done, by obtaining strength to walk, 
them dost but sin the more : and even though thou hast not 

a This passage being evidently the difficult reading of the old MSS. 

collected out of the preceding, avrov into Travras. 
shews that the writers of the smaller b Mai has *<j/<, hut translates as 

Catena? rather gave an epitome in if the MS. had KO.IVW. Cr. reads 
their own words than an exact 



transcript of the Fathers. It changes 






82 COMMENTARY UPON 

asked for this, yet I as God see the maladies of the soul, which 
brought upon thee this disease. 

And as it was necessary, now that so large a number of 
scribes and pharisees had assembled, that some especially di 
vine miracle should be wrought for their benefit, because of 
the scorn with which they regarded Him, well does the Saviour 
provide again for them a most wonderful deed. For there was 
stretched upon a bed a paralytic, overcome with an incurable 
disease : and as the art of the physicians had proved altogether 
unavailing, he was carried by his relatives to the Physician 
Who is from above, even from heaven. And when he was in 
the presence of Him Who is able to heal, his faith was ac 
cepted : and that faith can take away sin, Christ immediately 
shews; for He proclaims to him as he lay there, " Thy sins are 
" forgiven thee." Now some one, I imagine, may say to this ; 
What he wanted was to be delivered from his disease ; and why, 
then, does Christ announce to him the forgiveness of his sin ? 
It was that thou mayest learn that God silently and noiselessly 
observes the affairs of men, and watches the course of each 

Prov. v.2i. one s life ; and so it is written, "The paths of a man are be- 
" fore the eyes of God ; and He looks at all his tracks." And 
as He is good, and willeth that all men should be saved, He 
often purifies those who are entangled in sins by inflicting sick 
ness upon their body. For so He somewhere says by the voice 

Jer. vi. 8. of Jeremiah, " Thou shalt be taught, Jerusalem, by labour 
" and the scourge." And the writer of the book of Proverbs 

Prov.iii.n. also has somewhere said, "My son, despise not thou the teach- 
" ing of the Lord, nor faint when thou art convicted by Him, 
" for whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth, and scourgeth 
" every son whom He accepteth." Well, therefore, does Christ 
announce that He will cut away the cause of the disease, and 
the very root, as it were, of the malady, even sin : for if this 
be removed, necessarily must the disease which sprung from it 
be also at the same time taken away. 



c This extract from D., which I cious, I find assigned in Cramer s 
had previously marked as suspi- Catena to Titus Bostrensis. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 83 

Ami the scribes and pharisees began to reason, saying. Ver. 21. 

He then, as was said, being endowed with a most godlike 
authority, declared the forgiveness of sins. But the declara 
tion disturbs again the ignorant and envious gang of the Pha 
risees : for they said one to another, " Who is This That 
" speaketh blasphemies ?" But thou wouldest not have said 
this of Him, Pharisee, if thou hadst known the divine 
Scriptures, and borne in mind the words of prophecy, and 
understood the adorable and mighty mystery of the incarna 
tion. But now they involve Him in a charge of blasphemy, 
determining against Him the uttermost penalty, and condemn 
ing Him to death : for the law of Moses commanded that who- Lev. xxiv. 
ever spake blasphemies against God, should suffer death. But l6 * 
no sooner have they arrived at this height of daring, than He 
shews forthwith that He is God, to convict them once more of 
intolerable impiety. " For what, saith He, reason ye in your 
" hearts ?" If thou, therefore, Pharisee, sayest, who can for 
give sins but One, God ; I will also say to thee, Who can know 
hearts, and see the thoughts hidden in the depth of the under 
standing, but God only? For He saith Himself somewhere 
by the voice of the prophets, " I am the Lord that searcheth Jcr.xvii.io. 
" hearts, and trieth reins." And David also said somewhere 
concerning both Him and us, " He Who singly formed their Ps. xxxiii. 
" hearts." He therefore Who as God knows both the hearts If 
and reins, as God also forgives sins. 

But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power. Ver. 24. 

But inasmuch as a place still remains open for disbelief, in 
saying, " Thy sins be forgiven thee :" for man sees not the 
forgiven sins with the eyes of the body, whereas the putting off 
of the disease, and the paralytic s rising up and walking 
carries with it a clear demonstration of a godlike power : He 
adds, " Rise up and carry thy bed, and go to thine house :" 
and this was -done, for he returned unto his house, delivered 
from the infirmity under which he had so long suffered. It is 
proved therefore by the very fact, that " the Son d of man has 

d In Syriac, the ordinary Ian- was upon earth, the phrase " son of 
guage of Palestine when our Lord "man," is equivalent to man simply: 

M 2 



84 COMMENTARY UPON 

" power on earth to forgive sins." But of whom says He this ? 
Is it of Himself, or also of us ? Both the one and the other are 
true. For He forgives sins as being the Incarnate God, the 
Lord of the law : and we too have received from Him this 
splendid and most admirable grace. For He hath crowned 
man s nature with this great honour also, having even said to 

Mat. xviii. the holy apostles, (t Verily I say unto you, whatsoever things 
" ye bind on earth shall be bound in heaven : and whatsoever 
" things ye loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." And 

John xx. again, " Whosesoever sins ye remit, they shall be remitted unto 
" them : and whosesoever ye bind shall be bound." And 
what is the occasion on which we find Him thus speaking unto 
them ? It was after He had trampled upon the power of death, 
and risen from the grave, when He breathed upon them, and 

John xx. said, " Receive the Holy Ghost." For having made them 
partakers of His nature, and bestowed upon them the in 
dwelling of the Holy Ghost, He also made them sharers of His 
glory, by giving them power both to remit and to bind sins. 
And as we have been commanded to perform this very act, 
how must not He much more Himself remit sins, when He 
giveth unto others authority to enable them to do so ? 

Ver. 27. And He saw a publican named Levi. 

For Levi was a publican, a man insatiable after filthy lucre, 
of unbridled covetousness, careless of justice in his eagerness 
after what was not his own ; for such was the character of the 
publicans: yet was he snatched from the very workshop of 
iniquity, and saved beyond hope, at the call of Christ the 
Saviour of us all. For He said unto him, " Follow Me : and 
" he left all and followed Him." Seest thou that most wise 

and the word etoj man signifies Adam is called [* jj.o, son of man, 
"any," "some," so that we even find in the Syriac version of i Cor. xv. 
c^.j( |oulj, literally Deus homo, 45. This sometimes leads to an am- 
as the translation of Qcos ns. In biguity in Scripture, as that noticed 
Hebrew ttflJN is seldom found, ex- in the text by S.Cyril: and again, 
cept in poetry, but men are called Luke vi. 5, where some interpret 
"sons of Adam," and Adam is even that our Saviour is Lord of the 
used simply for " any one," as in Sabbath day, whereas the sense re- 
Lev, i. 2. " Son of man" therefore quires us to understand it of man- 
signifies man absolutely, and so even kind generally. 



i 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 85 

Paul truly says, that "Christ came to save sinners?" Secst i Tim. 1.15. 
thou how the Only-begotten Word of God, having taken upon 
Him the flesh, transferred unto Himself the devil s goods? 



FROM SERMON XXL From the 

Syriac 

EXPLANATION OF WHAT FOLLOWS. MS. 12, 154. 

" Or how can a man enter the house of the strong man, and Matt. xii. 
" spoil his vessels, unless first lie have bound the strong man, 2(> 
" and then he will spoil his vessels." By the house of the 
strong man, that is of Satan, He means this country upon 
earth, and his vessels are those who are likeminded with him. 
For just as we call the saints holy vessels, so there is nothing cf. Kom. 
to prevent our giving the name of " vessels of the devil to 1X 
those who are the contrivers of all wickedness. The Only- 
begotten Word therefore of God at His incarnation entered 
into the strong man s house, even into this world, and having 
bound him, and "sunk him in fetters of darkness," as it is - 1>ci - " * 
written, spoiled his goods. 

And Lcvi verily was saved, while in us the deed suggests From Mai - 
happy hopes ; for by the very fact we are taught that repent 
ance will save. Yea, moreover, God Himself, Who is Lord of 
all, shall be our surety, where He says by the voice of the 
prophet, " Return unto Me, and be ye saved, even from the is. xlv. 22. 
" ends of the earth." 



FROM THE SAME SERMON. From the 

Syriac, as 

EXPLANATION OF WHAT FOLLOWS. 

" Which of you that has a hundred sheep, and has lost one Mat. xviii. 
" of them, will not leave the ninety -nine in the mountain, and l " 
" go and seek that which has gone astray ? And if he chance 
" to find it, verily I say unto you, that he rejoices more in 
" it, than in the ninety-nine which went not astray." For 
the multitude of rational created beings which form Christ s 
flock in heaven and on earth is innumerable, and so great as 



86 COMMENTARY UPON 

even to mount up unto a perfect number. For this is what is 
signified to us by the term " one hundred." The companies 
then of the holy angels are the ninety-nine; for, as I said, 
they are many : but the flock on earth is one, but yet useful to 
complete the number, and sought for also by Christ. Did He 
then seek it as that which was lost, or as that which had not 
yet suffered this? But it is plain that that which is lost is 
sought for. In what manner then had it been lost ? By being 
brought down into sin : by wandering from the divine will, and 
going far astray from the universal Shepherd. 

From Mai. But none of these things moved the Pharisees : on the con 
trary, they find fault with them to the disciples ; for listen, 

Ver. 30. And their scribes and pharisees murmured, saying unto 

His disciples : 

There are however some who endeavour to deprive those 
entangled in sin of the divine gentleness : for they do not 
admit of repentance, but as it were rebuke the Saviour for 
seeking His own, and gathering from every quarter that which 
was scattered : and to these we say, The pharisees set you the 
example of murmuring, when they saw Levi called, and a 
crowd of publicans gathered together, and feasting with Christ 
the Saviour of us all. And going up to the holy apostles, they 
vented their blame, saying, " Why do ye eat and drink with 
" the publicans T But they had for answer, "They that are 
""whole need not a physician. - For the Saviour of all, as 
being the physician of spirits, does not withdraw from 
those in need of Him, but as being able to cleanse them, 
purposely conversed with those not as yet purified of their 
Cr. arpo- sins. But let us see, pharisee, the overweening pride of 
thy disposition : for let us take Christ Himself, to Whom all 
things are known, as the expounder of the great blame that 
thou broughtest upon thyself by thy overbearing treatment of 
sinners. For speaking of a Pharisee who vaunted himself 
when praying, and of a certain publican who accused himself, 
Luke xviii. He said, " Verily I say unto you, that he went down justified 
14 to his house rather than that Pharisee." The publican 



e The Novatians are probably than once referred to in the course 
meant, who subsequently are more of the Commentary. 



incur. 



THPT GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 87 

therefore, who confessed his sin, is justified rather than the 
haughty Pharisee. But for what reason do the Pharisees 
blame the Saviour for eating with sinners ? Because it was 
the law to put a distinction between the holy and the profane : Lev. x. 10. 
that is, that whatever was hallowed was not to be brought into 
contact with things profane. They made the accusation 
therefore as vindicating the law forsooth : but really it was 
envy against the Lord, and readiness to find fault. But He 
shews them that He is present now, not as a judge, but as a 
physician ; and performs the proper duty of the physician s 
office, in being in the company of those in need of healing. 
But no sooner had they received an explanation of their first 
accusation, than they bring forward another, finding fault 
because His disciples did not fost, wishing to obtain hereby an 
opportunity against Himself f . 

But observe their perseverance in malice : for no sooner 
have they received an explanation of their first accusation, 
than they change from one thing to another, in the hope of 
finding an opportunity of convicting the holy disciples, and 
Jesus Himself, of disregard of the law. But they arc told in 
reply, now is the bride-chamber, the time of calling, the time 
of instruction : the children are being nursed up ; those who 
are called are being fed with milk : fasting is not yet season 
able. For yes ! say they, you feast with publicans and sinners, 
although the law commands that the pure should not hold 
intercourse with the impure : and your pretext for transgressing 
the law is your love for mankind. But why fast ye not 
according to the custom of the just, and those who wish to live 
according to the law ? But in answer to such objections one 
may say, Do you understand at all yourself, O Jew, the proper 
method of fasting ? For as the prophet Isaiah says, " On the Is. Iviii. 3. 
" days of your fasts ye find your own wills, and goad all who 
" are subject unto you. If ye fast for lawsuits and contentions, 
" and strike the lowly with fists, why fast ye for Me ? This is 

f This extract, and some sentences xxxiii. in the Bodleian, that the Ca 
in the next, apparently belong to tena upon that Evangelist is to be 
the Commentary upon St. Mark, assigned to S. Cyril, rather than to 
cf. c. ii. vv. 17, 18, and confirm Victor of Antioch; who possibly 
Cramer s opinion, upon the au- nevertheless compiled it, as in many 
thority of the Laudian Greek Codex codices it bears his name. 



88 COMMENTARY UPON 

" not the fast I have chosen, saith the Lord." And dost thou 
then, when thou thyself knowest not how to fast, blame the 
holy apostles for not fasting after thy fashion ? 

And to view it in another light, those who are made wise by 
the new covenant in Christ, fast rationally ; that is, by humbling 
themselves in the eyes of God, and imposing upon themselves 
as it were a voluntary sentence of labour and abstinence, that 
they may obtain forgiveness of their offences, or win some 
fresh spiritual gift, or even to mortify the law of sin that is in 
their fleshly members. But this mode of fasting thou art 
ignorant of, Pharisee ! For thou hast refused to receive the 
heavenly Bridegroom, Who is the planter and teacher of every 
virtue, even Christ. Moreover, the saints indeed fast that 
they may quell the passions of the body by exhausting it : but 
Christ needed not to fast for the perfecting of virtue, because, 
as being God, He was free from all passion ; nor did His com 
panions, because they received of His grace, and were made 
strong, and wrought virtue even without fasting. And even 
though He fasted for the forty days, it was not to mortify 
any passions in Himself, but to set an example for men in His 
own conduct of the law of abstinence. With good reason there 
fore He defends Himself by the words which the Evangelist 
goes on to record. 

Ver. 34. But He said unto them. Can ye make the sons of the bride- 
chamber fast, ivhile the bridegroom is ivith them? 

Observe, I pray again, the manner in which Christ shews 
that they have no share in the feast, but are altogether 
strangers to the joy felt on His account, and without part in 
the world s great festival. For the revelation of our Saviour 
to the world was nothing else than a general festival, at which 
He spiritually united to Himself the nature of man, to be as it 
were His bride : that she who had been long barren might be 
fruitful, and blessed with a numerous offspring. All therefore 
are the children of the bridechamber who are called by Him 
through the new message of the Gospel : but not the scribes 
and Pharisees, who attached themselves solely to the shadow 
of the law. But as He had once granted permission to the 
children of the bridechamber not to afflict themselves, as a 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 89 

a concession suitable to the season, inasmuch as they were 
keeping a spiritual feast, that fasting might not be entirely 
rejected by us, He adds most suitably, 

But the days will come, when also the bridegroom shall be v e r. 35. 
taken away from them ; then shall they fast in those days. 

For all things are good in their season. But what is the 
meaning of the bridegroom being taken away from them ? It 
is His being taken up into heaven. 

And lie spake also a parable unto them. Ver. 36. 

But that the institutions of Christ cannot be received by 
those who live according to the law, nor admitted into the 
hearts of such as have not as yet received the renewing by 
the Holy Ghost, the Lord shews by saying, that "a tattered 
" patch cannot be put upon a new garment, nor can old skins 
" hold new wine." For the first covenant has grown old, nor 
was it free from fault. Those therefore who adhere to it, and 
keep at heart the antiquated commandment, have no share in 
the new order of things in Christ : " For in Him all things are 2 Cor. v. 
" become new :" but their mind being decayed, they have no I7> 
concord nor point of mutual agreement with the ministers of i fpov pyoit. 
the new covenant. The God of all accordingly somewhere 
said of them by one of the holy prophets, that " a new heart EZ. xxxvi. 
" and a new spirit will I put into them." And David also 26- 
sings, " Create in me a clean heart, God, and renew a right p s . li. ro. 
" spirit within me." And we have been commanded also " to Col. iii. 9 . 
" put off the old man, and to put on the new man, renewed 
" after the image of Him that created it." And Paul also 
gives counsel, saying, " Be ye not conformed to this world, but Rom.xii.z, 
" be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds, that ye 
" may prove what is the good and acceptable, and perfect will 
" of God." Those therefore who have not as yet received the 
renewing of the spirit, are also unable to prove the good and 
acceptable, and perfect will of God. 



cjo COMMENTARY UPON 

FROM SERMON XXIL 

From the 
Syriac, is 
before. EXPLANATION OF THAT WHICH IS BELOW. 

" And no man puts new wine into old skins." The heart of 
the Jews then is an old skin, and therefore cannot hold the 
new wine : for this is the saving commandment of the Gospel, 
Ps. civ. 15. making glad the heart of man. But Christ hath filled us with 
these great blessings, by bountifully endowing us with spiritual 
gifts, and opening the pathway wide unto all virtue. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 91 



CHAPTER VI. 



Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbaths? Vor. 2. 

Yet a new covenant God promiseth us, now that " the first From Mai. 
" hath waxed old and is near to vanish away," according to the ^ eb V1 
words of the divine Paul. Yea, He even says by one of the 
holy prophets, " Behold the days come, saith the Lord, when I Jer. xxxi. 
" will perfect with the house of Israel, and with the house of 3 
" Judah, a new covenant : not according to the covenant which 
<{ I made with their fathers in the day when I took hold of 
" their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt." If 
therefore the new covenant is the second, and different from 
the first, there is every necessity for those who wish to live 
according to it, to abandon the old laws, and conform to those 
which will guide them into the newness of the gospel polity. 
But of all this we can see that the Scribes and Pharisees com 
prehended nothing : for being altogether destitute of know 
ledge of the sacred Scriptures, they had but one sole purpose, 
on every occasion to find fault with the divine and heavenly 
preaching. They lie in wait therefore for the holy apostles in 
their constant attendance upon our common Saviour Christ, 
and tell Him concerning them ; " Behold we see those who are 
" under Thy instruction acting contrary to the precepts of the 
" law : for they do what it is not lawful to do on the sabbaths : 
" for while the law enjoins men to do no work on the sabbath, 
" and to meddle with no labour whatsoever, the disciples are 
" rubbing ears of corn with their hands." But tell me, dost 
not thou thyself, when setting thy sabbath meal, break the 
bread ? Why then dost thou blame others ? But that we may 
use against thee the bulwark of the Saviour s words, listen ; 

And Jesus answered and said unto them. Have ye not even Ver. 3. 
read what David did ...? 

Now even though David thus acted contrary to what the 
law approves, yet he is rightly and justly esteemed by us as 



92 COMMENTARY UPON 

worthy of all admiration : for he was in truth a saint and pro 
phet. Since, therefore, the law of Moses expressly commands, 
Deut. i. 16. " Judge just judgment, and regard not the person in judg- 
" ment ;" how, saith He, condemn ye My disciples, while ye 
still admire as a saint and prophet the blessed David, although 
he did not keep Moses command ? 

But by the loaves (of the shewbread), there is clearly indi 
cated to us the bread that cometh down from heaven to be set 
forth upon the holy tables of the churches : and all the furni 
ture of the table, used for the performance of its mystical ser 
vice, was a plain type of the divine treasures. 11 But spiritually 
[the bread signifies] the twelve Apostles: of whom we shall 
speak in due order, when our discourse reaches the disciples 
themselves. 



From the FROM SERMON XXIII. 

Syriac, as 

before - EXPLANATION OF WHAT FOLLOWS. 



Hos. vi. 6. B U I Q d sa id } l require mercy > and not sacrifice : and the 
acknowledgment of God, and not whole burnt offerings. 

What is meant by mercy ? and what by sacrifice ? By mercy 
then is signified, Justification and grace in Christ : even that 
which is by faith. For we have been justified, not by the works 
of the law that we have done, but by His great mercy. And 
sacrifice means the law of Moses. 

Ver. 6. And He was teaching : and there was a man there whose 

right hand was withered. 

From Mai. But His teaching was ever of things too high for reason, and 
such as made plain to His hearers the pathway of salvation 

h This extract is probably a* says, on de TVTTOI Xpiorou rov ava>- 

summary of the doctrine in the De 0ev KOI e ovpavov TO, O-KCVTJ TO. if pa, 

Adorat., where in I. 459. S. Cyril dia paicpw ^Iv fjdr) TrpocnrodedeKTai 

says, o-77/imWi pfv rj rpdirc^a, TTJV Xo yeoi/. The whole extract wears the 

TTpodtcriv e^owa TU>V aprw, TTJV appearance of a summary, especially 

dvaifj,aKTov Bvo-iav, fit rjs cv\oyov- towards the end. With the next 

pe6a, TOV aprov fcrOlovrfs rov e ou- passage maybe compared De Ador. 

pavov, TotTeo-n Xpicrro i/. And speak- p. 345. aprois votivQai (papev rovs 

ing of the table, with its coverings ayiovs diroo-roXovs. 
of purple and hangings of blue, he 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 93 

opened through Him : and immediately after His teaching He 
displayed His godlike power, having first by words smoothed, 
as it were, the road to belief. For the miracle sometimes con 
verts unto faith those who had disbelieved the word. But the 
Pharisees watched Him, to see if He would heal on the sab 
bath : for such is the nature of an envious man, that he makes 
the praises of others food for his own disease, and wickedly is 
maddened by their reputation. And what once more said He 
to this, Who knoweth all things, Who searcheth the hearts, 
and understandcth whatever is therein ? "For with Him is Dan. ii. 22. 
" the light," as Scripture declares. " He spake to him that 
" had the withered hand, Stand forth into the midst." And 
why did He do this ? It might perhaps be to move the cruel 
and unpitying Pharisee to compassion : the man s malady per 
haps might shame them, and persuade them to allay the flames 
of envy. 

/ will ask you something : Is it lawful on the sabbath days Ver. 9. 
to do (jood y or to do evil f 

Most wise in very deed is this question, and a statement 
most suitable to meet their folly. For if it be lawful to do 
good on the sabbath, and nothing prevents the sick being 
pitied by God, cease thus picking up opportunities for fault 
finding against Christ, and bringing down on thy own head 
the sentence which the Father has decreed against those who 
dishonour the Son : for thou hast heard Him where He says of 
Him by the voice of David, " And I will cut off His enemies p 8 . 
" from before His face, and put to flight those that hate Him." 2 3- 
But if it be not lawful to do good on the sabbath, and the law 
forbids the saving of life, thou hast made thyself an accuser of 
the law, thou hast slandered the commandment, for which the 
ministry of Moses is regarded with admiration. No, he replies, 
the God of all did not enact the law of the sabbath for Him 
self, but for us rather, whose neck is bowed to it. Thou sayest 
well ; I assent to thy words ; therefore that which is divine is 
free from the compulsion of the law. Why, then, dost thou 
blame Christ for wishing also to shew mercy on the sabbath, 
and benefit a living soul ? And were it our wish to examine 
closely the law enacted for the sabbath, we should find it or 
dained by God for purposes of mercy. For He commanded to 



94 COMMENTARY UPON 

do no work on the sabbath, and entirely to abstain from labour, 
and even to give rest at the same time to the irrational animals. 
Deut.v. i 4 . For He said, that its purpose was, " that thy manservant may 
" rest, and thy maidservant, thy ox, and thy beast of burden, 
" and all thy cattle/ But He Who has mercy on the ox and 
other animals, how would not He pity on the sabbath day a 
man who was attacked by a severe and irremediable malady ? 

^ er - " And they were filled tvith madness. 

Is not the miracle enough to produce faith ? Thou seest Him 
working with godlike dignity, and with supreme power healing 
the sick, and travaillest thou with murder, bred of envy and 
malice ? 

Ver. 12. He went out into the mountain to pray. 

All that Christ did was for our edification, and for the be 
nefit of those who believe in Him ; and by proposing to us His 
own conduct as a sort of pattern of the spiritual mode of life, 
He would make us true worshippers. Let us see, therefore, in 
the pattern and example provided for us by Christ s acts, the 
manner in which we ought to make our supplications unto 
God. We must pray secretly and in concealment, and with no 
one seeing us : for this is the signification of Jesus going into 
the mountain alone, and praying, as it were, leisurely. And 

Mat. vi. 6. this He has Himself taught us, saying ; " But thou, when thou 
" prayest, enter into thy closet." For we ought to pray, not 

i Tim. ii. 8. seeking after glory, but " lifting up holy hands," while the 
soul, as it were, mounts aloft to the contemplation of God, 
withdrawing from all tumult, and quitting worldly anxiety. 
And this we must do not with fickleness, nor with a listless 
feebleness ; but, on the contrary, with earnestness and zeal, 
and a patience worthy of admiration : for thou hast heard that 
Jesus did not merely pray, but that He also passed the night 
in this duty. 

But possibly the enemy of the truth will not endure us when 
Anus, thus speaking : for he says, He prays and requests from the 

1 This extract, which is taken sage in page 92, [conf. note h.J, is 
from the same MSS. A. and H., assigned by Cramer s MS. to Titus 
which contained the dubious pas- of Bostra. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 95 

r Father what He hath not : how then do ye still say, that He 
is both consubstajitial and equal to Him in all things, and in 
no way whatsoever unlike Him ? " For without all coutro- Heb. 
" versy the less is blessed of the greater :" and decidedly he 
who gives is greater than lie who makes request to receive 
something. Let then those who pervert the right faith teach 
us first of all, of what they imagine the Son to be in need I 
And what did He seek to obtain as not as yet possessing it ? 
He is the true light ; He is in His own nature life, and the 
cause of life ; He is the Lord also of powers; He is wisdom and 
righteousness ; the Creator and framer of the universe ; supe 
rior to every thing that has been brought into being ; is the 
King of the universe ; the dispenser of heaven and earth ; the 
giver, with God the Father, of every blessing. And this tliou 
wilt learn by what the blessed Paul has somewhere written ; 
" Grace be to you, and peace from God our Father, and our R om . 
" Lord Jesus Christ." He is conspicuous on the throne fur 
above, and is glorified by the whole rational creation. Accord 
ingly He is by substance the heir of all the divine dignities of 
God the Father: and therefore spake He unto Him, that " all John 
" that is Mine is Thine ; and Thine Mine : and I am glorified IC 
" in them." But lie Who has every thing that belongs to God 
the Father as His very own, of what is He still in need ? But 
if, in fine, He is in need of any thing, and they affirm that this 
is true, there is nothing to prevent our saying, that there are 
certain things of which the Father Himself is in need. For if 
all that the Son has is the Father s, but there is something of 
which the Son is in need, therefore must the Father too be 
similarly circumstanced : for all that the Son hath is the Fa 
ther s. But the Father is all perfect, and is deficient of no 
good whatsoever that is suitable to Deity : therefore is the 
Son all perfect, as having all that the Father hath, and being 
His image and the impress of His substance: but in the impress 
there is displayed entirely the original form, and in the original 
form there exists entirely the impress. And thus much then as 
respects them. 

And those too who have been caught by the empty declama 
tions of Xestorius, say that it is entirely unbefitting the Son, 
considered as God by nature, to pray : and rather belongs to 



96 COMMENTARY UPON 

the man, k coupled with Him by way of connexion, to him, that 
is, of the seed of David. He it was therefore who offered up 
the prayer. What reply, then, shall we make to this ? That 
ye are utterly ignorant of the mystery of the incarnation of 
the Only-begotten. Remember the blessed Evangelist John, 

John i. 14. who says ; " And the Word was made flesh." And of this the 
all-wise Paul has given us a plain proof by saying concerning 

Heb. ii. 16. Him : " For He taketh not hold at all of the angels, but taketh 
" hold of the seed of Abraham : whence it became Him to be 
" made like unto His brethren in all things, that He might 
" become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertain- 
" ing unto God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people." 
On what account therefore does Nestorius eject from the mea 
sure of human nature Him Who, though divinely begotten as 
the Word by God the Father, yet humbled Himself unto emp 
tying, even to becoming our brother, by being made like unto 
us, and similar in all things to the inhabitants of the earth, 
sin only excepted ? For having become like unto us from His 
exceeding gentleness and love to mankind, He disdains not hu 
man things : but sets before us His conduct as a type of good 
ness unto the end, that as I said we may be earnest in follow 
ing His footsteps. 

Ver. 13. And when it was day. He called His disciples, and of them 

having chosen twelve. 

Our Lord Jesus Christ, having spent the night in prayer, 
and having conversed with His Father and God in heaven in 
a way ineffable and beyond our powers of understanding, and 
such as is known solely to Himself, even therein making 
Himself an example unto us of that which is necessary for sal 
vation ; for He taught us in what way we too may rightly and 
blamelessly offer our prayers : comes down from the moun 
tain, and appoints those who were to be the world^s teachers, 



k <Twa(j)dcvTi Kara a-vvdfaiav, 
Nestorius favourite word : upon 
his use of which Cyril observes in 
his Commonitorium to Posidonius : 
" Therefore he always avoids the 
" word union, o/wo-iy, and calls it 



instead (rvvdfaia, a connection, 
like one who is from without, 
and as God said to Jesus, As I 
was with Moses, so will I also be 
with thee." Hard. Cone. i. 1319. 






THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 97 

according to the words He spake, "Ye are the light of the Mat. v. i 4 . 
" world." And of this appointment of the holy Apostles, the 
blessed David also makes mention, addressing himself, as it 
were, to Christ: " Thou shalt make them rulers over all the Ps.xlv. 16. 
" earth ; they shall make mention of Thy name in every suc 
cessive generation." For verily, while they were in the body, 
they made mention of the glory of Christ, telling His mystery 
both in cities and villages : and now that they have been called 
to the mansions that are above, none the less do they still even 
thus converse with us about Him, by the most wise history 
which they have written concerning Him. And those, indeed, 
who were appointed priests according to the law of Moses, 
even Aaron and his company, were made beautiful to the 
senses by vestments suitable to their priestly dignity ; but the 
divine disciples, being adorned with spiritual gifts, had en 
trusted to them the ministry of the Gospel oracles. For it was 
said unto them, "Heal the sick: cast out da3mons: cleanse Mat. x . 8. 
" lepers: raise the dead." And being thus invested with Christ s 
power, they have filled the whole world with astonishment. But 
mark the extreme moderation of the Evangelist : for he does 
not simply say that the holy Apostles were appointed, but ra 
ther, by introducing the record of these chief ones each by 
name, takes care that no one should venture to enrol himself 
in the company of those that were chosen. For as Paul saith, 
"Xo man taketh this honour upon himself, but he that is Heb. v. 4 . 
" called by God." And though the holy Apostles were called 
by name to this great and splendid dignity, yet from time to 
time some men have gone to such a pitch of madness and au 
dacity, as even to name themselves Apostles of Christ, and to 
usurp an honour not granted unto them. Of these the divine 
disciples have made mention; for they say, "Such are false 2<Jor.xi.i 3 . 
" apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into angels 
" of righteousness. And no wonder : for Satan even transforms 
" himself into an angel of light. It is no great thing, there- 
" fore, if his ministers also transform themselves into angels of 
" righteousness." But we neither acknowledge nor will receive 
any one, except those only so named in the Evangelic writings, 
and him who was appointed after them, the most wise Paul : 
to whom also the Saviour Himself bore witness, saying, that 

o 



98 COMMENTARY UPON 

Actsix. 15. " he is a vessel of election for Me, to carry My name before 
" all the heathen." 

1 The law indeed pointed them out before in type, and the 
prophets also proclaimed them. As, for instance, it is written 

Lev.xxiv.5. in the Mosaic record, " And ye shall take fine flour, and make 
" it into twelve loaves : and he shall put them in two rows 
" upon the pure table before the Lord. And ye shall put upon 
" the row frankincense and salt : and they shall be for loaves, 
" set before the Lord for a memorial." For the bread that 
came down from heaven, and giveth life to the world, Who 
else can it be but Christ the Saviour of the universe ? And in 
imitation too of Him, the blessed disciples also are named 

Conf. upon loaves : for having been made partakers of Him Who nourishes 
us unto life eternal, they also nourish by their own writings 
those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. And as the 
Saviour Who is the true light called the disciples also light : 

Mat. v. 14. " for ye are the light of the world :" so also being Himself 
the bread of life, He has bestowed upon His disciples to be 
ranked as loaves." 1 And observe, I pray, the marvellous art 
of the law : " for ye shall put, it says, upon the loaves frank- 
" incense and salt." Now the frankincense is the symbol of a 
sweet odour; and the salt 11 that of understanding and good 
sense : both of which existed in the highest degree in the holy 
Apostles. For their life was one of a sweet savour, as they 

2 Cor. 11.15. also said, that "we are a sweet savour of Christ unto God:" 
and they were moreover also full of understanding, so that I 
hear the prophet David even singing of them in the Psalms : 

Ps. Ixvlil. " There is Benjamin in enhancement : the princes of Judah are 
" their leaders: the princes of Zebulon, the princes of Nephtha- 
" lim." For the blessed disciples were chosen out of almost 
every tribe of Israel, and were the bearers of light to the 

Phil. li. 16. world, " holding up the word of life." And the wonder indeed 

1 Mai s difficulty from finding of sermons. 

that this passage is quoted in two m In the original apros both 

codices as from a homily of S. Cyril, means " bread," and a " loaf:" but 

and also that occasionally direct ad- this identity of the terms cannot be 

dresses are made as to persons pre- preserved in the translation, 

sent, is cleared up by the Syriac, n Similarly on Mat. v. 13. the 

which shews that the whole com- Catenist quotes from S. Cyril, a\as 

mentary was delivered in a course KaXel TTJV 






THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 99 

is this, that the sages of the Greeks possess a splendid copious 
ness of speech, and an admirable beauty of language : but the 
disciples of our Saviour were mere artificers, and boatmen, and 
fishers, having no boast of words, no fluency of picked phrases, 
and in expression indeed were simple men, but rich in know 
ledge : yet is the literature of the Greeks, with its sonorous 
phrases, silent; while the power of the Evangelic preaching 
has possession of the world. God also makes mention of them 
by the voice of Jeremiah, saying of the enemy of all, even 
Satan ; " Woe to him, who multiplieth for himself that which Habac.ii.6. 
" is not his, and maketh his collar thick and heavy : for sud- 
" denly shall they arise that shall bite him, and thy adversa- 
" ries shall wake up, and thou shalt be their prey." For Satan 
had gathered unto him all the inhabitants of the earth, 
though they were not his, and had caused them to be his 
worshippers, making his collar heavy : but those who were to 
plunder his goods woke up : for the net of the apostolic teach 
ing caught all those that were in error, and brought back unto 
God the whole world. 



FROM SERMON XXV. 

EXPLANATION OP THE SAYING OF THE APOSTLE THAT FOLLOWS. From the 

Syriac. 

Be ye like unto me, as I also am unto Christ. iCor. xi. i. 

AND how was the wise Paul like unto Christ ? Did he Pa.xxxiii.6. 
establish the heavens, as did the Word of God ? Did he set 
the earth upon its firm foundation, and bring forth the sun 
and moon, and the stars, and light ? How therefore was ho 
like Him ? By being an imitator of that human virtue, which 
Christ shewed forth for our example. 

He stood upon level ground, and a crowd of His disciples Ver. 17. 
and a great multitude of the people. 

But observe, I pray, the manner of the election. For the From Mai. 
most wise Evangelist says that it was not done in a corner and 
secretly, but rather when many disciples were gathered toge 
ther, and a vast crowd from all the country of the Jews, and 
from the sea-coast of Tyre and Sidon. These latter were 

o 2 



100 COMMENTARY UPON 

idolaters, lame in the hollow of both knees. in part observing 
the customs of the Jews, but yet not altogether abandoning 
their idolatrous practices. The election, therefore, was held in 
the presence of all these spectators, and teachers appointed for 
all beneath the heaven : and this duty they also fulfilled, sum 
moning the Jews from their legal worship, and those who 
served demons, from Grecian? error to the acknowledgment 
of the truth. 

And when He had appointed the holy Apostles, He per 
formed very many wonderful miracles, rebuking demons, deli 
vering from incurable diseases whosoever drew near unto Him, 
and displaying His own most godlike power: that both the 
Jews, who had run together unto Him, and those from the 
country of the Greeks, might know, that Christ, by Whom 
they were honoured with the dignity of the Apostolate, was 
not some ordinary man of those in our degree, but, on the 
contrary, God, as being the Word That was made man, but 
Lukev. 17. retained, nevertheless, His own glory. For "power went 
Conf. p.8i. forth from Him, and healed all." For Christ did not borrow 
strength from some other person, but being Himself God by 
nature, even though He had become flesh, He healed them all, 
by the putting forth of power over the sick. 

If further you wish to learn the interpretation of the 
Apostles names, know that Peter is explained as meaning 
" loosing," or " knowing :" Andrew as " comely strength," or 
" answering :" James as " one who takes labour by the heel :" 
John, "the grace of the Lord:" Matthew, "given:" Philip, 
" the opening of the hands," or " the mouth of a lamp :" Bar 
tholomew, " the son suspending water :" Thomas, an " abyss," 
or " a twin :" James, the son of Alphaeus, " the supplanting 

The lyvva is the hollow of the nerally : and so S. Chrysostom, 

knee, where Jacob s sinew shrank. Horn. cxxi. T. v. p. 792., says, 

The Jews thus were lame of one speaking of those who preceded 

knee, the Sidonians of both, as Abraham, rives ^crav ; "EXAqi/fs ; 

having mingled up Judaic rites with dAX ov a-vyx^pfl. j? TT KTTLS. ov yap 

their heathenism. Conf. i Kings, dmo-Tia crvvefro-av, 8aifj.o<nv OVK 

xvni. 21. 8ov\cvo~ai>, ^oavois OVK VTrfTayrjcrav, 

P Grsecian in the Fathers is often 777 ir\avg T>V Saipovow avreo-rrjo-av 

equivalent to heathen. So " the ov Svvavrai roivvv eXX^es OW/LUZ- 

" sages of the Greeks" above means (eo-tfat. [Ed. Sav. 1612.] 
the chief writers of heathenism ge- 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 



101 



" of the passage of life :" Judas, " thanksgiving :" and Simon, 
" obedience." 4 



1 The explanation given by S. 
Cyril of the names of the Apostles 
corresponds in great measure with 
that in S.Jerome. Peter, which is the 
Greek translation of the title given to 
Simon by our Lord of \2t\2, Kipha, 
" a stone," is interpreted by Je 
rome from the Hebrew as " agno- 
scens, sive dissolvens." The first 
" knowing," may come from in 5, 
to interpret, Gen. xl. 8. : the se 
cond is from "itDG, to set free that 
which is shut up, Prov. xvii. 14. : 
whence also the passages of Scrip 
ture, read just before the conclu 
sion of the service in the Jewish 
synagogue, are called Ilaftarot, 
" dismissals," answering to the 
Latin term Missa. Andrew is also 
a Greek name, unknown to the 
Jews before the time of the Alex 
andrian conquests, and derived 
from ain]p. The first explanation, 
therefore, is correct : the second, 
" answering," from n;i?, is in Je 
rome s own words " violentum." 
His addition of " pabulo" " re- 
spondens pabulo," is an instance 
of the primary error, scarcely yet 
expelled from philology, of giving a 
meaning (other than a grammatical 
one) to terminations. It supposes 
ptas in \\v8ptas to be derived from 
(liT), to feed. The same error appears 
in S. Cyril s explanation of James; 
but in this case it is avoided by 
S. Jerome. Supplantans, from 
3 pi?, to take by the heel, is right ; 
Gen. xxv. 26. : but the deriva 
tion of /Soj, from Jn> is utterly 
wrong. John, from mrr and pn, 
is rightly interpreted : as also is 
Matthew, from fni The two next 
are as absurd, as the derivation of 
Greek terms from the Hebrew- 
might naturally be expected to be. 
Philip, the " horselover," a com 



mon name in the East, as being 
that of the great conqueror s fa 
ther, becomes C5N >5, cf. )Arr>a> 
jjj?, or Tab >S; and Bartholo 
mew, " the son of Ptolemy," is de 
rived from CTE nbn. Thomas, 
a twin from CDND, is further in 
correctly connected with CD inn, 
Ps. Ixxi. 20. In James, the son 
of Alphaeus, the Fathers have 
joined the two names together in 
their interpretation. Alphaeus, 
Heb. >s!?n, whence the form Cle- 
ophas, is possibly taken by S. Cyril 
from F|^n, which in Is. xxiv. 5. 
means " migravit :" while farjs is 
an attempt to connect atoy with 
rrn. In the edition, however, of 
S. Jerome by Vallarsius, vol. iii. 
543. the Vat. Cod. contains what 
possibly is the right reading here. 
TTTfpvio-fjios fiadrja-fu): fafjf, from 
t\b&, in Syriac of constant occur 
rence, as t2u\^> docuit t and toi\| T 
didicit ; while the derivation of 
j3adiWa>s from the Hebrew is diffi 
cult. In Jerome s own interpreta 
tion it is wonderful that he should 
have so neglected the initial gut 
tural. It is really n, but his first 
explanation is supplantator millesi- 
mus, from tfitf, his second, sup 
plantator super os, from "a bi?. 
Judah is rightly rendered " thanks 
giving" or " praise." Gen. xlix. 8. 
The other explanation, confessio, 
arises from the ambiguous meaning 
of 0/10X07770-19. So also Symeon, 
literally " hearing," has been ren 
dered by the compound uTraKor/, 
the term in the LXX for " obedi 
ence." S. Jerome, still attaching 
a meaning to the termination, ex 
plains it as " pone mcerorem," 
from pi? CDlUy, and " audi tristi- 
tiam," from pi? 






102 COMMENTARY UPON 



FROM SERMON XXVII. 
EXPLANATION OF WHAT FOLLOWS. 

Ver. 20. Blessed are ye poor : for yours is the kingdom of God. 

These are the Saviour s words, when directing His disciples 
into the newness of the Gospel life after their appointment to 
From the the apostolate. But we must see of what poor it is that He 
Syriac. speaks such great things : for in the Gospel according to Mat- 
Mat, v. 3. thew it is written, " Blessed are the poor in spirit ; for theirs 
" is the kingdom of heaven :" wishing us to understand by the 
poor in spirit the man who entertains .JLowly thoughts _of Jbim- 
self, and whose mind, so to speak, is closely reefed, and his 
heart gentle, and ready to yield, and entirely free from the 
guilt of pride. 

From Mai. Such a one is worthy of admiration, and the friend of God ; 
Is. Ixvi. i. yea, He even said by one of the holy prophets ; " Upon whom 
" will I look but upon the humble and peaceable, and that 
" trembleth at my words ?" And the prophet David also said, 
Ps. 11.17. that "a contrite and humbled heart God will not set at 
Mat. xi.29- " nought." Moreover, the Saviour Himself also says, " Learn 
" of Me, for I am meek and humble in heart." In the lessons, 
however, now set before us, He says, that the poor shall be 
blessed, without the addition of its being in spirit. But the 
Evangelists so speak, not as contradicting one another, but as 
dividing oftentimes the narrative among them : and at one time 
they recapitulate the same particulars, and at another that 
which has been omitted by one, another includes in his narra 
tive, that nothing essential for their benefit may be hidden 
From the from those who believe on Christ. It seems likely, therefore, 
Syriac. fa^ jj e j^g means by the poor, whom He pronounces blessed, 
such as care not for wealth, and are superior to covetousness, 
and despisers of base gifts, and of a disposition free from the 
love of money, and who set no value upon the ostentatious dis 
play of riches. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 103 

And so the most wise Paul manifestly guides us into the best 
doctrines, where he says, " Let your disposition be free from Heb.xiii.s. 
" the love of money, being contented with what it has :" and to 
this he has added, that " having nourishment and the means of iTim.vi. 8. 
" shelter, we will be therewith content." For it was necessary, 
absolutely necessary, for those whose business it would be to 
proclaim the saving message of the Gospel to have a mind 
careless about wealth, and r occupied solely with the desire of 
better things. The argument, however, does not affect all 
whose means are abundant, but those only whose desire is set 
upon riches : and who are these ! All to whom our Saviour s 
words apply : " Store not up for yourselves treasures upon the Mat.vi. 19. 
" earth." 

Blessed are ye that hunger now; for ye shall be filled. Ver. 21. 
In Matthew, however, again He says ; " Blessed arc they Mat. v. 6. 
" that hunger and thirst after righteousness : for they shall be 
" filled :" but here He simply says, that " those that hunger 
" shall be filled." We say, therefore, that it is a great and 
noble thing to hunger and thirst after righteousness : that is, 
habitually to take part in earnest endeavours after piety : for 
such is the meaning of righteousness : as if it were our meat 
and drink. And inasmuch as we ought to give to this passage 
also a meaning, in accordance with the foregoing explanations, 
we say again as follows: The Saviour pronounced those blessed 
who love a voluntary poverty, to enable them honourably, and 
without distraction, to practise the apostolic course of life. For 
it is in plain keeping with the having neither gold nor silver 
in their purses, nor two coats, to endure also very great hard 
ness in their way of life, and scarcely obtain food for their 
need. But this is a burdensome thing for those who are suffer 
ing poverty and persecutions, and therefore He That knoweth 
hearts, very suitably does not permit us to be dispirited be 
cause of the results of poverty : for He says, that those who 
hunger now for their piety s sake towards Him shall he filled : 
that is, they shall enjoy the intellectual and spiritual blessings 
that are in store. 



literally signifies, " being unoccupied with other 
having abundant leisure for as " things." 



104 COMMENTARY UPON 

Blessed are ye that weep now, for ye shall laugh. 
P ronounces ^em that weep blessed, and says that they 



shall laugh. But by those who weep, we say that those are 
not meant who simply shed tears from their eyes : for this is a 
thing common to all without exception, whether believers or un 
believers, if ought happen of a painful nature ; but those rather 
who shun a life of merriment and vanity, and carnal pleasures. 

From Mai. For of the one we say, that they live in enjoyment and 
laughter ; whereas believers abandoning luxury and the care 
less life of carnal pleasures, and all but weeping because of 
their abhorrence of worldly things, are, our Saviour declares, 
blessed ; and for this reason, as having commanded us to 
choose poverty, He also crowns with honours the things which 
necessarily accompany poverty: such, for instance, as the want 
of things necessary for enjoyment, and the lowness of spirits 

Ps. xxxiv. caused by privation : for it is written, that " many are the 
" privations of the just, and the Lord shall deliver them out 
" of them all." 

Ver. 22. Blessed are ye when men shall hate you. 

Already did the Lord mention persecution, even before the 
Apostles had been sent on their mission. The Gospel antici 
pated what would happen. For it was altogether to be ex 
pected that those who proclaimed the Gospel message, and 
made the Jews abandon their legal mode of worship to learn 
the Gospel way of virtuous living, while too they won over 
idolaters to the acknowledgment of the truth, would come in 
contact with many impious and unholy men. For such are 
they who, in their enmity against piety, excite wars and per 
secutions against those who preach Jesus. To prevent them, 
therefore, from falling into unreasonable distress whenever the 
time should arrive at which such events were sure to befal 
them from some quarter or other, He forewarns them for their 
benefit, that even the assault of things grievous to bear will 
bring its reward and advantage to them. For they shall re 
proach you, He says, as deceivers, and as trying to mislead : 
they shall separate you from them, even from their friendship 
and society : but let none of these things trouble you, He says : 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 



105 



for what harm will their intemperate tongue do a well-estab 
lished mind ? For the patient suffering of these things, will not 
be without fruit, He says, to those who know how to endure 8 
Jously, but is the pledge of the highest happiness. And be 
sides, He points out to them for their benefit, that nothing 
strange will happen unto them, even when suffering these 
things : but that, on the contrary, they will resemble those 
who before their time were the bearers to the Israelites of the 
words that came from God above. They were persecuted, they 
were sawn asunder, they perished slain by the sword, they en 
dured reproaches unjustly cast upon them. He would there 
fore have them also understand that they shall be partakers 
with those whose deeds they have imitated ; nor shall they fail 
in winning the prophet s crown, after having travelled by the 
same road. 



8 Literally, " to philosophize ;" 
but from the philosophers affecting 
an austere life, it came to bear the 
general meaning of " endurance." 
So Greg. Nanz. of the martyrs, KOI 

TO.VTO. KOI TOVTtoV fTC 0aVfJ.a(Tla)T(pa 

^iXocro^crafTay. So he records of 
Cyprian, -yiVrai *ai vcvicopos, iva 
<pi\oo-o(pr)arr) TO rarrfivov. So Chry- 
sost. Horn. 80. in Joan. TO 8ia prj- 



KOI fjLfyd\ov. And again Horn. 55. 
in Matth. eon *at no\iv oiKovvra 
TTJV TUV fiova^cav <pi\o<ro(j)iav ^Xco- 
o-cu. In the middle ages its mean 
ing further altered, and philosophy 
was equivalent to monkery ; so 
Luitprand, v. 9. Et ad vicinam in- 
sulam, in qua Coenobitarum multi 
tude philosophabatur, tonso ei ut 
moris est capite ad philosophandum 
transmittunt. 



tpyuv e7ri 8eiiy, yewaiov nvos 



106 COMMENTARY UPON 



c.vi* 4 ... SERMON XXIX. 

****** 

From the * * receive those things that will lead you unto life 
MS 14 551 eternal. For it is written, that " man doth not live by bread 
Mat. iv. 4. alone, but by every word that goeth forth from the mouth 
" of God." All Scripture, indeed, is inspired of God ; but 
this is especially true of the proclamations in the Gospels : for 
He Who in old time delivered unto the Israelites by the min 
istry of Moses the law that consisted in types and shadows, 
the very same having become man spake unto us, as the wise 
Heb. i. i. Paul testifies, writing; " God, Who in divers manners spake 
" in old time to the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last 
iThes.iv.9. " days spoken unto us by His Son:" and " we are taught of 
" God :" for Christ is in truth God and the Son of God. Let 
us therefore fix our careful attention upon what He says : and 
scrupulously examine the very depth of His meaning. For 
" Woe, He says, unto you rich, in that ye have received your 
" consolation." 

Very fitly is this added to His previous discourse : for having 
already shewn that poverty for God s sake is the mother of 
every blessing, and said that the hungering and weeping of 
the saints would not be without a reward, He proceeds to 
speak of the opposite class of things, and says of them, that 
they are productive of grief and condemnation. For He blames 
indeed the rich, and those who indulge immoderately in plea 
sures, and are ever in merriment, in order that He may leave 
no means untried of benefitting those who draw near unto 
Him, and chief of all the holy Apostles. For if the endurance 
of poverty for God s sake, together with hunger and tears : 
by which is meant the being exposed to pain and afflictions in 
the cause of piety : be profitable before God, and He pro 
nounce a threefold 11 blessedness on those who embrace them ; as 
a necesary consequence, those are liable to the utmost blame, 



* The principal Syriac MS. com- ing sermons are entirely lost. 
mences here, but the first leaf is in u One for poverty, one for him- 
part illegible, and the three follow- ger, and one for tears. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 107 

who have prized the vices, that are the opposites of these 
virtues. 

In order therefore that men may be won by the desire of 
the crowns of reward unto willingness to labour, and voluntary 
poverty for God s sake ; and, on the other hand, by fear of the 
threatened punishment, may flee from riches, and from living 
in luxury and merriment, that is to say, in worldly amuse 
ments, He says that the one are heirs of the kingdom of heaven, 
but that the others will be involved in the utmost misery : 
" for ye have received, He says, your consolation." 

And this truth we are permitted to behold beautifully deli 
neated in the Gospel parables like as in a painting. For we 
have heard read that there was a rich man decked in purple 
and fine linen", at whose gate Lazarus was cast, racked with 
poverty and pain ; and the rich man felt no pity for him. 
But Lazarus, it says, was carried to Abraham s bosom ; while 
he was in torments and in flame. And when ho saw Lazarus 
at rest and in happiness in Abraham s bosom, he besought Luke xvi. 
saying, " Father Abraham have mercy on me, and send Lazarus 2 ^ 
" that he may dip the tip of his finger y in water, and cool my 
" tongue ; for t am tormented in this flame." But what was 
blessed Abraham s reply ? " Son, thou hast received thy good 
" things in thy life, and Lazarus evil things ; but now he is 
" here in happiness, and thou art tormented." True therefore 
is what is here said by Christ of those who live in wealth and 
luxury and merriment, that "ye have received your conso- 
" lation :" and of those who now are full, that they shall 



x After scholars had satisfactorily ever says, that the mummies were 

decided on philological evidence that enveloped 2ii/8oi>oy PVO-O-IVTJS rfXa- 

the byssus was cotton, the micro- /zwo-i (ii. 86.), and Mr. Thompson 

scope has proved it to be linen. The (on the mummy cloth of Egypt, as 

main points of the argument were quoted in Wilkinson s Ancient E- 

that the Hebrew word shesh, sS gyptians, iii. 113.) has shewn, that 

always rendered * byssus by the the wrappers are invariably of linen, 

Septuagint, is the Arabic modern though occasionally so fine as not 

term for fine muslin : and that cot- to be distinguishable from muslin, 

ton garments are mentioned on the until the microscope revealed the 

Rosetta stone as supplied by govern- different texture of the filaments, 
ment for the use of the temples, y The Syriac makes the smallness 

being in great request, according to of the request more apparent, by 

Pliny s account (xix. 8.), by the using a term peculiar to the little 

Egyptian priests. Herodotus how- finger. 

P 2 



108 COMMENTARY UPON 

hunger, and that those who laugh now shall weep and 
lament. 

But come and let us examine the matter among ourselves. 

Lukexviii. Our Saviour in His parables has thus spoken : " Two men 
" went up unto the temple to pray ; the one a Pharisee, and 
" the other a publican. And the Pharisee forsooth prayed 
" saying, God I thank Thee that I am not as the rest of man- 
" kind, extortioners, unjust, adulterers ; or like this publican. 
" I fast twice in the week : and I pay tithes of all that I 
" possess. But the publican, He says, did not venture to lift 
u up his eyes unto heaven, but stood smiting his breast and 
u saying, God be merciful to me, a sinner. Verily I say unto 
" you, that this man went down to his house justified rather 
t( than the other." For the proud Pharisee was boasting over 
the publican, and indecently assuming the rank of a lawgiver, 
would have condemned one, on whom it was rather his duty to 
have shewn pity : but the other was the accuser of his own 
infirmity, and thereby aided in his own justification; for it is 

Is. xliii. 26. written, u Declare thou thy sins first, that thou mayest be 
"justified." Let us therefore unloose, that is, set free those 
who are suffering sicknesses from having been condemned by 
us, in order that God may also unloose us from our faults : for 
He condemneth not, but rather sheweth mercy. 

Closely neighbouring, so to speak, upon the virtues which we 
have just mentioned is compassion, of which He next makes men 
tion. For it is a most excelling thing, and very pleasing to God, 
and in the highest degree becoming to pious souls : and concern 
ing which it may suffice for us to imprint upon our mind that it 
is an attribute of the divine nature. "For be ye, He says, iner- 
" ciful, as also your heavenly Father is merciful/ But that we 
shall be recompensed with bountiful hand by God, Who giveth 
all things abundantly to them that love Him, He has given us 
full assurance by saying, that " good measure, and squeezed 
" down, and running over shall they give into your bosom :" 
adding this too, " for with what measure ye mete, it shall be 
" measured to you." There is however an apparent incom 
patibility between the two declarations : for if we are to receive 
" good measure, and squeezed down, and running over," how 
" shall we be paid back the same measure wherewith we 
" mete?" for this implies an equal recompense, and not one of 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 109 

far-surpassing abundance. What say we then ? The all wise 

Paul frees us from our difficulties, by bringing us the solution 

of the matters in question. For he says, that " he that soweth 2 Cor. ix. 6. 

" sparingly, meaning thereby, that he who distributed the 

" necessaries of life to those who are in penury and affliction 

" moderately, and so to speak, with contracted hand, and not 

" plentifully and largely/ shall also reap sparingly : and he 

" that soweth in blessings y, in blessings shall also reap." By 

which is meant, he who bountifully ***** So that if any From Mai. 

one hath not, he has not sinned by not giving it ; for a man 

is acceptable according to that which he hath, and not according 

to that which he hath not. And this the law of the very wise From the 

Moses has taught us in type : for those that were under the Svriac - 

law brought sacrifices to God according to what they severally 

possessed, and were able to afford : some for instance bullocks, 

and some rams, or sheep, or doves, or pigeons, or meal mingled 

with oil, but even he who offered this * *, because he had no 

calf to offer, though so little and to be procured so cheaply, was 

equal to the other as regards his intention. 



FROM SERMON XXIX. From the 

, , Syriac. 

EXPLANATION OF WHAT is BELOW. MS.i2,i54. 

Woe unto you rich ; For ye have received your consolation. Ver. 24. 
This too we must discuss among ourselves : For is it the 
case, that every one who is rich, and possesses abundant Avealth, 

y Or bountifully, eV fvXoyiais. e. g. Theoph ylact on Rom. xv. 29. 

In this and similar passages euAo-yia " I know that I shall come in the 

(Syr. |A^;co,) is used as the equi- " fulness of the blessing of the 

valent of the Hebrew nmn, lite- " gospel of Christ," explains bless- 

rally, a blessing, but implying a ing by almsgiving ; Aui/ao-cu cv\o- 

present ; cf. for instance Gen. xxxiii. yiav TTJV eAeq/zoo-ui/rji/ i/or/o-ai : so that 

n, where the term is applied to the the sense, he says is, I shall find 

blessings, i. e. the presents sent by you perfect in almsgiving and mu- 

Jacob to propitiate Esau : so 2 tual love. In the Western Church 

Kings v. 15, "Take a blessing of benedictio frequently means boun- 

" thy servant :" and in Prov. xi. ty, as may be seen in Du Cange, 

25. mil tfoa signifies anima mu- who explains it thus : " Benedictio- 

nifica, a liberal man. It is im- " nes, eulogise, munera : maxime ea 

portant to bear in mind this mean- " xenia quee a sacerdotibus et cleri- 

ing of ei-Xoyia, as the fathers often c is mitti solebant, ab iis benedic- 

make an unexpected use of it, " tione sua sanctificata." 



110 COMMENTARY UPON 

is determinately cut off from the expectation of God s grace ? 
Is he entirely shut out from the hope of the saints ? Has he 
neither inheritance nor part with them that are crowned ? Not 
so, we say, but rather on the contrary, that the rich man 
might have shewn mercy on Lazarus, and so have been made 
partaker of his consolation. For the Saviour pointed out a 
way of salvation to those who possess earthly wealth, saying, 
" Make unto yourselves friends of the unrighteous mammon, 
" that when ye depart this life they may receive you into 
" their tents/ 

Ver. 27. Love your enemies. 

From Mai. The blessed Paul speaks the truth where he says, that " if 
i Cor. v. t( an y one k e i n Christ, he is a new creation :" for all things 
have become new, both in Him and by Him, both covenant, 
and law, and mode of life. But look closely and see how 
thoroughly the mode of life here described becomes those holy 
teachers, who were about to proclaim the message of salvation 
to every quarter of the world : and yet from this very fact they 
must expect that their persecutors would be beyond num 
bering, and that they would plot against them in many different 
ways. If then the result had been that the disciples had be 
come indignant at these vexations, and wished for vengeance on 
those that annoyed them, they would have kept silence and 
passed them by, no longer offering them the divine message, 
nor calling them to the knowledge of the truth. It was neces- 
sary therefore to restrain the mind of the holy teachers by so 
solemn a sense of the duty of patience, as to make them bear 
with fortitude whatever might befal, even though men insulted 
them, yea and plotted against them impiously. And such was 
the conduct of Christ Himself above all others for our example : 
for while still hanging upon the precious cross, with the Jewish 
populace making Him their sport, He put up unto God the 
Luke xxiii. Father prayers in their behalf, saying, " Forgive them, for 
34 " they know not what they do." Yea, and the blessed Stephen 

too, while the stones were smiting him, knelt down, and prayed, 
Act3vii.6o. saying, " Lord, lay not this sin upon them." And the blessed 
i Cor. iv. Paul also says, " being reproached we bless, being reviled we 
I2 - " entreat." 

The exhortation of our Lord therefore was necessary for the 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. Ill 

holy apostles, and most useful for us also, to oblige us to live 
rightly and admirably : for it is full of all philosophy z . But 
our mistaken preconceived ideas, and the fierce tyranny of our 
passions, render it a thing difficult for our minds to accomplish : 
and therefore knowing that the natural a man does not admit 
of these things, regarding as folly and mere impossibilities the 
oracles of the Spirit, lie separates such from those able to 
hear, and says, " I speak unto you that hear and are prepared Ver. 27. 
" readily to perform My words." For the gloriousness of 
spiritual fortitude is displayed in temptations and labours. 
Imitate therefore in these things Christ, " Who when lie was iPet.ii. 23. 
" reviled, reviled not again, suffering He threatened not, but 
" committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously." But 
perhaps thou^wilt object, saying within thyself, Christ was 
God, but I a frail man, having but a feeble mind, and one 
unable to resist the attack of covetousness and pain. Thou 
speakest rightly : for the mind of man easily slides into wrong 
doing. Nevertheless, I say, The Lord has not left thee desti 
tute of His compassion and love : thou hast Him by thee, yea 
within thee, by the Holy Ghost : for we arc His abode, and 
He lodgeth in the souls of them that love Him. He gives thee 
strength to bear nobly whatever bcfals, and to resist manfully 
the attacks of temptations. " Be not overcome therefore by R m. xii. 
u the b evil, but overcome the evil in the good." 

To him that striketh thee on the cheek, offer also the other. Ver. 29. 

That Christ is the end of the law and the prophets, is declared Rom. x. 4. 
by the most wise Paul : for the law served as a schoolmaster to 
guide men unto His mystery. " But now that faith has come, Gal. iii. 25. 
" as the blessed Paul has again himself said, we are no longer 
" under a guide : for no longer are we children in mind, but, SMywyfo, 

P an error for 

" on the contrary, have grown up to the perlect man, to the ^aiSa^w- 
" measure of the mature age of the fulness of Christ." We do ^ . y ^ 

z On the meanir1| of philosophy, is to be overcome in the good One, 

consult the note on ver. 22. God, yet the gender in the second 

a ^VXIKOS, having a soul only, clause proves this idea to be incor- 

Cf. note on iv. 38. rect. The meaning therefore is, 

b Although the article might sug- " Overcome evil of every kind, what- 

gest, as in the Lord s prayer, that ever it be, by whatever is good." 
Satan, the evil one, is signified, who 



COMMENTARY UPON 

not therefore require milk, but rather, food of a more solid 
nature, such as Christ bestows upon us, by setting before us 
the pathway of that righteousness which surpasses the power 

Mat. v. 20. of the law. For He said Himself to the holy apostles, " Verily 
" 1 say unto you, except your righteousness be over and above, 
" more than of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye cannot enter into 
" the kingdom of heaven." This then it is necessary to discuss, 
what, namely, is meant by the " over and above" in the 
righteousness in accordance with the saving message of the 
Gospel. 

The law spoken by Moses to them of old time enacted like 
for like : and while it forbade the doing a wrong, it by no means 
commanded those who had already been injured to bear 

Ex. xx. 15. patiently, as the Gospel law requires. For it^says, "Thou 
" shalt not kill: thou shalt not steal : thou shalt not forswear 

Ex. xxi. 24. " thyself." But to this is added, "Eye for eye, hand for 
" hand, foot for foot, wound for wound, bruise for bruise." 
Such an enactment required a man not to injure others ; and 
supposing him to have sustained an injury, that his anger at the 
wrong doer must not go beyond an equal retribution. But 
the general bearing of the legal mode of life was by no means 
pleasing to God ; it was even given to those of old time as a 
schoolmaster, accustoming them by little and little to a fitting 
righteousness, and leading them on gently to the possession of 

Prov.xvi.s. the perfect good. For it is written, " To do what is just is the 
" beginning of the good way :" but finally, all perfection is in 
Christ, and His precepts. " For to him that striketh thee, He 
" saith, on the cheek, offer also the other." In this there is 
pointed out to us the pathway to the highest degree of 
patience. But He wills besides, that we pay no regard to 
riches ; so that even if a man have but one outer garment, he 
must not count it a thing unendurable to put off with it also his 
undergarment, if it so befal. But this is a virtue possible only 
for a mind entirely turned away from covetousness : for " do 
" not, He says, ask back whatever any one talj^th away that is 
" thine: but even give to every one that asketh of thee:" a 
proof indeed of love and willingness to be poor; and the 
compassionate man must necessarily also be ready to forgive, 
so as to shew friendly acts even to his enemies. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 113 

As ye wish that men should do unto you, even so do ye Ver. 31. 
unto them. 

It was probable however that the holy apostles would per 
chance think these things difficult to put into practice : He 
therefore Who knoweth all things takes the natural law of self- 
love as the arbiter of what any one would wish to obtain from 
another. Shew thyself, He says, to others such as thou 
wishest them to be towards thee. If thou wouldest have 
them harsh and unfeeling, fierce and wrathful, revengeful and 
ill-disposed, shew thyself also such : but if on the contrary 
thou wouldst have them kind and forgivin^, do not think it a 

o O 

thing intolerable to be thyself so. And in the case of those 
so disposed, the law is perchance unnecessary, because God 
writes upon our hearts the knowledge of His will : " for in j er . xxxi. 
" those days, saith the Lord, I will surely give My laws into 33- 
" their mind, and will write them on their heart/ 

Be ye therefore merciful. Ver. 36. 

Great is the glory of compassion, and so verily it is written, 
that "man is a great thing, and the merciful man an honour- Prov.xx.6. 
t( able thing." For virtue restores us to the form_pf God, and 
imprints on our souls certain characters as it were of the 
supreme nature. 

Judye not, and \je shall not be Judy ed. Ver. 37. 

He cuts away from our minds a very unmanageable passion, 
the commencement and begetter of pride. For while it is 
men s duty to examine themselves, and to order their conduct 
according to God s will, they leave this alone to busy them 
selves with the affairs of others : and if they see any in 
firm, forgetting as it seems their own frailties, they make 
it an excuse for faultfinding, and a handle for calumny. 
For they condemn them, not knowing that being equally 
afflicted with the same infirmities as those whom they censure, 
they condemn themselves. For so also the most wise Paul 
writes, " for wherein thou judgest the other, thou condemncst Rom. ii. r. 
" thyself: for thou that judgest doest the same things." And 
yet it were rather our duty to have compassion on the infirm, 
as those who have been overcome by the assaults of thejmssions, 

Q 



114 COMMENTARY UPON 

and entangled without hope of escape in the meshes of sin, 
and to pray in their behalf, and exhort them, arid rouse 
them up unto soberness, and endeavour ourselves not to fall 

James iv. into similar faults. " For he that judgeth the brother, as the 

" " disciple of Christ saith, speaketh against the law, and judgeth 

" the law." For the lawgiver and judge is One : for the 
judge of the sinning soul must be higher than that soul : but 
since thou art not so, the sinner will object to thee as judge, 
" why judgest thou thy neighbour ?" But if thou venture to 
condemn him. having no authority thereto, it is thyself rather 
that w T ill be condemned, inasmuch as the law permits thee not 
to judge others. 

Whoever therefore is guided by good sense, does not look at 
the sins of others, nor busies himself about the faults of his 
neighbour, but closely scans his own misdoings. Such was 
the blessed Psalmist, falling down before God, and saying on 

Ps. cxxx. 3. account of his own offences, " If Thou, Lord, Lord, closely 
" regardest iniquities, who can endure ?" And once again, 
putting forward the infirmity of human nature as an excuse, he 

Ts. dii. 14- supplicates for a not unreasonable pardon, saying, "Remember 
" that we are earth/ 

Ver. 39. And he spake a parable unto them. 

This parable He added as a most necessary appendage to 
what had been said. The blessed disciples were about to be 
the initiators and teachers of the world : it was necessary for 
them therefore to prove themselves possessed of every thing re 
quisite for piety : they must know the pathway of the evangelic 
mode of life, and be workmen ready for every good work, and 
able to bestow upon well-instructed hearers such correct and 
saving teaching as exactly represents the truth. This they 
must do, as having already first received their sight, and a 
mind illuminated with the divine light, lest they should be 
blind leaders of the blind. For it is not possible for men 
enveloped in the darkness of ignorance, to guide those who 
are afflicted in the same way into the knowledge of the truth : 
for should they attempt it, they will both roll into the ditch 
of licentiousness. 

Next, overthrowing the vaunting passion of boastfulncss, to 
which most men give way, that they may not emulously strive 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 115 

to surpass their teachers in honour, He added ; " The disciple 
" is not above his teacher ;" and even if some make such 
progress, as to attain to a virtue that rivals that of their 
teachers, they will range themselves no higher than their 
level, and be their imitators. And Paul shall again be our 
warrant, saying, " Be ye imitators of me, as I also am of i Cor. xi. 
" Christ." Since therefore the Teacher as yet judgeth not, 
why judgeth thou? For He came not to judge the world, but 
to shew pity. And according to the foregoing explanation, if 
I, He says, judge not, neither must you the disciple. But if 
thou art guilty of worse crimes than those for which thou 
judgest another, how canst thou keep thyself from shame when 
thou art convicted of it? And this the Lord made plain by 
another parable. 



116 COMMENTARY UPON 



From the SERMON XXXIII. 

Syriac. 

MS.] 



Ver. 4 i. " And why, saith He, beholdest thou the mote that is in thy 
" brother s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine 
" own eye?" Having previously shewn us that the judging 
others is utterly wicked and dangerous, and the cause of final 
condemnation : for " Judge not, He said, and ye shall not be 
" judged : and condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned." 
He now by conclusive arguments persuades us to avoid the 
very wish of judging others : and rather to examine our own 
hearts, and try to free them from the passions that dwell 
within them, and their frailties, by asking it of God : for He it 
is Who healeth the broken in heart, and freeth us from the 
maladies of the soul. For if thou, He says, art thyself sick 
with maladies more dangerous and severe than those of others, 
why, neglecting thy own, dost thou find fault with them, and 
whilst thou hast a beam in thine own eye, commencest a hot 
accusation against those who have a mote ? Tell me by what 



The Commentary, like similar this title I had made use of until I 

works of S. Chrysostom and others, met with the following heading to a 

was delivered in a course of Ho- sermon contained in MS. 12, 165, 

milies; these however the Syriac in the British Museum, which 

translator terms Targums, literally shews that the verb signified also 

Interpretations or Expositions ; and to " preach." 

pdrn.i 



: oa A OA cu i 



Sermon upon the death of Meletius the Great, bishop of Antioch. S. 
* Gregory, bishop of Nyssa, preached it before one hundred and fifty 
bishops at Constantinople/ This sermon is also extant in Greek. 
Upon the authority therefore of this heading I have called them 
Sermons. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 117 

boldness doest tliou this ? Deliver thyself first from thy great 
crimes, and thy rebellious passions, and then thou mayest set 
him right who is guilty of but trifling faults. 

Wouldst thou see the matter clearly and plainly, and that 
it is a very hateful thing for men to give way to this feeling ? 
Our Lord was once walking on the sabbath day among the 
cornfields, and the blessed disciples plucked some ears, and 
rubbing them in their hands, ate the grains. But some Pha 
risees drew near, and say, " Behold, Thy disciples do that 
" which is not lawful to do on sabbath days ! " And yet they 
themselves in manifold ways were guilty of disregarding the 
law altogether. For even the prophet Isaiah cried out against 
them, saying, "How has the faithful city Zion become a bar- Is. i. 21. 
" lot ! It was full of judgment ; righteousness lodged in it : 
" but now murderers. Your silver is reprobate; thy merchants 
" mix the wine with water ; thy princes arc contentious, the 
" partners of thieves, loving bribes, pursuing after recompense; 
" they judge not the orphans, and to the widow s suit they 
" have no regard. 1 Yet these very men, themselves liable to 
these most severe reproaches, accused the disciples of breaking 
the sabbath ! 

But they met with just rebuke from Christ, Who said unto 
them ; " Woe unto you, scribes and pharisces, hypocrites ! who Mat. xxiii. 
" tithe mint and cummin, and have neglected the weighty 23 
" matters of the law, judgment, and mercy, and faith." 
And again, " Ye are they who strain out a gnat, but gulp Mat. xxiii. 
" down a camel." For while their teaching was of mere 74- 
trifles, and they condemned the people under them for the 
most contemptible matters, they had the hardihood, as I said, 
to treat as of no consequence those weighty crimes. For this 
reason the Saviour called them " whitened sepulchres, which Mat. xxiii. 
" outside appear indeed to men to be beautiful, but inside 7 " 
" are full of the bones of the dead, and of all uncleanness." - 
And such is every hypocrite : and whenever they would cast 
an imputation upon others, who have yielded to infirmity in 
any particular, deservedly will they have it said to them, " First 
" cast out the beam from thine own eye, and then thou wilt 
" see to cast out the mote from thy brother s eye." 

The commandment, therefore, is indispensable for every one 



118 COMMENTARY UPON 

who would live piously : but, above all, for those who have been 
intrusted with the instruction of others. For if they are good 
and sober-minded, and enamoured of the elect life, and not 
merely acquainted with, but also practisers of virtuous arts, 
and setting in their own conduct the pattern of a holy life, 
they can with open countenance rebuke those who will not do 
the same, for not having imitated their example, nor imprinted 
their virtuous manners on themselves : but if they are careless, 
and quickly snared by pleasures to do evil, how can they blame 
others when similarly affected? Wisely, therefore, did the 

Jamesiii.i. blessed disciples write, saying; " Let there not be many teach- 
" ers among 6 you, my brethren : for ye know that we shall 
" receive greater condemnation." For as Christ, Who is the 
Distributor of the crowns, and the Punisher of those who do 

Mat, v. 19. wrong, Himself says; " He who shall do and teach, shall be 
" called great in the kingdom of heaven : but he who hath not 
" done, but hath taught, shall be called least in the kingdom 
" of heaven." 

But I can imagine some one saying, How are we to dis 
tinguish the man who has a beam in his eye, but finds fault 
with those who have a mote, and are infirm only in part ? But 
there is nothing difficult in this, He says ; for any one who will, 
may see it easily : " for it is not a good tree that brings forth 
" evil fruit : nor a good tree that brings forth good fruit : for 
u every true is known by its fruit." Each man s actual life, 
therefore, is that which decides what are his morals : for it is 
not by mere outside adornments, and fictitious virtues that the 
beauty of the truly honourable life is delineated, but by the 
deeds a man does : for they are the fruits of a mind that for 
the love of piety chooses a blameless life. It is by deeds, 
therefore, and not by outside shew, that we must see who is 
the man truly approved, and who is not so. Again, Christ 

Mat.vii.T5. somewhere says, "Beware of those who come to you in the 
" likeness d of sheep, but within are ravenous wolves." See 

c The reading " among you," is the Greek of Mai, which has ev 

an error probably of the translator, wSvp-ao-i, as have all the MSS. of 

as there is no such varia lectio, nor the N. T., and so the Syriac just 

is it in the Greek of Mai. below has " by their clothing" 

d The reading Aalc r o, " in the I^Q^^ ^c. 
likeness of," is not confirmed bv 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 119 

again, Christ commands that those who come unto us must be 
distinguished not by their clothing, but by what they really 
are. " For by its fruit, He says, the tree is known :" and just 
as it is ignorance and folly for us to expect to find the choicer 
kinds of fruits on thorns, grapes for instance, and figs ; so it is 
ridiculous for us to imagine that we can find in hypocrites and 
the profane ought that is admirable, the nobleness, I mean, of 
virtue. 

Wouldst thou see the truth of this again ? Wouldst thou see 
who the wolves are that clothe themselves in the sheep s skin ? 
Examine the writings of the holy Apostles : hear what they 
say of certain men : " For they who are such are false Apo- 2 Cor. xi. 13. 
" sties : deceitful workers, transforming themselves into angels 
" of righteousness : and no wonder, for Satan even trans- 
" forms himself into an angel of light. It is no great thing, 
" therefore, if his ministers also transform themselves into an- 
" gels of righteousness." These one may well call thorns and 
briars : in such there is no particle of sweetness, but every 
thing that is bitter and of an evil nature : for the tig grows 
not on thorns; nor will one find any thing pleasant in them, 
for grapes are not produced on briars. We must decide, then, 
the character of the teacher, not by appearances, but by the 
acts of each one s life. c 

This is also made clear by another declaration of our Lord : 
" for the good man, He says, as out of a good treasure, 
" poureth forth from the heart f good things :" but he who is 
differently disposed, and whose mind is the prey of fraud and 
wickedness, necessarily brings forth what is concealed deep 
within. For the tilings that are in the mind and heart boil 
over, and are vomited forth by the outflowing stream of speech. 
The virtuous man, therefore, speaks such things as become his 



c A few lines follow in Mai not have separated this word wilfully 

recognized by the Syriac, but pro- from it usual dependance upon 

bably taken from the Commentary " treasure," I may here observe, 

on Matth. vii. 18, as they give an once for all, that the punctuation of 

^explanation of the different bearing the Syriac is exact to the last de- 

of the interpretation of the two pas- gree of minuteness : and in this 

sages. and all similar places I have scru- 

f Lest I should be thought to pulously adhered to it. 



120 COMMENTARY UPON 

character, while he who is worthless and wicked vomits forth 
his secret impurity. 

Every thing, therefore, that is to our benefit, Christ teaches 
us, and requires His disciples to be on their guard against de 
ceit, and vigilant and careful. For this reason He shews them 
the straight way, and discloses the snares that lead down to 
wickedness, that thus escaping from offences, and being stead 
fast in mind beyond risk of sin, they may quickly reach the 
mansions that are above by Christ s blessing : by Whom and 
with Whom to God the Father & be praise and dominion with 
the Holy Ghost for ever and ever, Amen. 

Syriac, God and Father. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 



SERMON XXXIV. 

But luhy call ye Me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which C.vi. 4 6- 49 . 
I say ? Every one that cometh unto Me, and heareth My 6 *? B. 
words, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like. GTsT 
He is like a man building a house, who dug and made it 
deep, and laid a foundation upon the rock : and when 
there ivas a flood, the river beat against that house, and 
could not shake it, because it was well built. But he that 5< T\> Ka - 
hath heard and not done, is like a man who built a house * IKO * 

[j.e<.<TVat av- 

upon the earth without foundation, ayainst which the river rfa BST. 
beat, and that moment it fell, and the fall oft/tat house "//rfrV 
was great. irtrpav Gs. 

THERE is " one Lord, one faith, one baptism," for so the Eph. iv. 5. 
wise Paul writeth. For both the name of lordship, and also 
the reality, are appropriate solely to that nature Which tran 
scends all, and is supreme; even That Which is divine, and to 
be worshipped, as possessing and governing all things. For so 
Paul again somewhere says of Him; "For even, if there be iCor.viii.5. 
" Gods many and Lords many, in heaven or in earth ; yet for 
" us there is one God, the Father, from Whom is all, and we 
" by Him : and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by Whom is all, and 
" we by Him." As therefore we acknowledge God the Word 
alone, Who reigneth with God the Father, as by nature 
and verily Lord, we accordingly give this name to Him. 
" But why, He asks, call ye Me indeed Lord, but do not the 
" things which I say?" For if He possess no real authority, nor 
glory of lordship, but, on the contrary, it is conferred upon 
Him from without, and bestowed by favour, do not offer Him 
thy obedience : refuse His service : consent not to be subject 
unto Him. But if lie be verily, and in its precise meaning 
Lord, and the whole nature of things created bow beneath His 

c5 

sceptre, and as a thing set under the feet of its Lord, then pay 
what is due : accept the yoke : and as being due, offer Him 
thy obedience ; that thou maycst not hear Him blaming thec in 
words spoken by one of the holy prophets to them of old time ; 

R 



122 COMMENTARY UPON 

Mai. i. 6. " A son honoureth his father, and a servant his lord : if I then 
" am a father, where is My honour ? and if I am a lord, where 
(t is My fear ? saith the Lord Almighty " 

For come, and let us see by what takes place among us the 
blame to which we become liable by disobedience. We are 
ourselves accustomed to require of our servants 11 obedience 
mingled with fear : and when they plan rebellion, and throw 
off the yoke of servitude, we make them humble by bonds and 
tortures and the scourge. When therefore we, who are of 
earth, and by nature the brethren of those who are bowed be 
neath the yoke, cannot tolerate them when rebellious, how will 
God endure it ; He Whom principalities, thrones, and lord 
ships worship : in Whose presence the high-exalted Seraphs 
stand, readily rendering their service ? For the divine David 

Pe. ciii. 20. somewhere says of them in the Psalms ; " Bless the Lord, all 
" ye His angels, who hearken to the voice of His words. 
" Bless the Lord, all ye His hosts : His ministers, who do all 
" of them His pleasure." 

It is dangerous, therefore, and merits final condemnation, 
to be unwilling to submit to Christ the Almighty : but those 
who prize His service, shall receive the most excellent bless 
ings. For He has said by one of the holy prophets to those 
who run away from His yoke, and will not submit to be set 

Is. ixv. 13. under His authority; "Behold, they that serve Me shall eat; 
" but ye shall suffer hunger : behold, they that serve Me shall 
" drink ; but ye shall suffer thirst : behold, they that serve 

h Domestic service in old time by associations of his degraded posi- 

freemen was all but unknown, and tion. That Christianity gradually, 

therefore " servant" is equivalent to though very slowly, led to the ame- 

" slave." Hence the full force of lioration of their state, we may see 

Luke xvi. 13., xvii. 9., &c. ; and by the acknowledgment in the text 

such expressions as * sold under that the slave was by nature his 

" sin." (Rom. vii. 14.) Of their master s brother; and by S. Chry- 

treatment, S. Chrysostom (Horn. iv. sostorn s appeals in their behalf, 

in Titum) complains that masters as, for instance, If Paul was not 

generally neglected their morals, ashamed to call a slave his son, 

and thought only of their service; and his own bowels, and brother 

and that therefore " it was a diffi- and beloved, why should we be 

" cult thing for a slave to be a good ashamed ? And what say I ? 

" man :" for being left without edu- Paul s Lord was not ashamed to 

cation, and not admitted into the call our slaves His brothers, and 

society of freemen, there was no- are we ashamed thereat ? (Horn, 

thing to counteract the debasing ii. in Phil.) 






THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 123 

" Me shall exult ; but ye shall mourn : behold, they that obey 
" Me, shall be merry with joy ; but ye shall cry out for the 
" grief of your heart, and howl for contrition of your spirit." 
Thou seest that the crown of those who bear the yoke of ser 
vitude is very beautiful, worthy of being acquired, and pre 
cious : while severe and manifold condemnation is decreed 
against the rest. 

And yet again in another place thou mayest see that the 
true servant is adorned with surpassing honour, while the dis 
obedient and careless is rejected with disgrace, or rather is 
banished to the outer darkness. For they who received the 
talents, and doubled for the owner what had been given them, 

O 

were honoured by him with praises : for he said to each one 
of them, " O good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful Mat. xxv. 
" over a few things; I will set thee over many things: enter * 
" the joy of thy lord." But him who hid in the ground what 
had been given him, as not loving service and indolent, he con 
demned to severe and inevitable punishment. 

Elsewhere too He has said, " Who then is that faithful and Mat. xxiv. 
" wise servant, whom his lord shall set over his household to 45 
" give them meat at its season ? Blessed is that servant, whom 
" his lord shall come and find so doing. Verily I say unto you, 
(t that he will set him over all that he hath." 

Those therefore who keep our Saviour s will are made glo 
rious, and worthy of emulation, and adorned with praises for 
their fidelity : yea, moreover, they have a name given them, 
for He has said again of them in a certain place, " On them j. ixv. 15. 
" that serve Me, there shall be called a new name, k even That 
" Which is blessed upon earth." 

And there is yet another point which I think must be added 
to what has been already said, namely, that by being willing 

1 As servant meant slave, so the k The name of Christ, fulfilled 
" lord," 8f 0-7TOT/7S 1 , was the master in the title of Christians ; of which 
or owner of the household. Hence S. Gregory of Nyssa, (de perf. Chr. 
the well-known objection of the forma, iii. 277.) says, "The good- 
Romans to the title of Dominus, as " ness of God has granted us to 
implying the relation between mas- " share in that great and most di- 
ter and slave. Each slave had usu- " vine and chief of names, being 
ally a monthly allowance of food, " honoured with Christ s own title, 
which one of them was commis- and so called Christians." 
sioned to distribute. 



COMMENTARY UPON 

to submit to our Saviour s words and serve Him, we shall gain 
in return the honour of freedom by His decree. For He said 

John viii. to those that believe in Him, " If ye abide in My Word, ye 
" are truly My disciples, and ye shall acknowledge the truth, 
" and the truth shall make you free." We gain therefore the 

Mai Mfftv. glory of freedom by subjection : that is, by servitude under 
Him. This makes us sons and heirs of God, and fellow heirs 
with Christ : of which He again shall be thy proof, saying ; 

John viii. " that every one that doeth sin is the servant of sin : but the 
" servant abideth not in the house for ever. 1 If therefore the 
" Son make you free, ye are really free." 

The being willing therefore to serve is that which invites us 
to freedom, and the honour which is the especial prerogative of 
sons : but disobedience humbles us to a base and ignominious 
servitude, if it be true, as true certainly it is, that " every one 
" that doeth sin is the servant of sin."" 

But yes I says some one, obedience unto Christ s service is a 
most excellent thing, and highly to be appreciated ; but it is 
by no means an easy matter : for there is much that stands in 
the way, and is able to exhaust our zeal. Y"es, so say I too : for 
first of all Satan resists whatever is excellent : and the flesh, 

Gal. v. 17. in its fondness for pleasure, strives against the Spirit, " for they 
" are contrary one to the other," according to the expression 
of the wise Paul : and the law of sin that is in the members, 
savagely and very bitterly makes opposition. For I know that 
Paul, who was instructed in the law, excellently discusses these 

Rom. vii. questions. For he said, u For I rejoice in the law of God in 
" the inner man : but I see another law warring against the 
" law of the mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of 
" sin, that is in my members." And again ; " I therefore in 
" my mind serve indeed the law of God, but in my flesh the 
" law of sin." And besides this, there is a certain powerful 
inclination of the mind of man, which makes the will wander 
after pleasures : and engenders the delights of worldly lusts, 
and leads it away from the wish to labour in the cause of vir 
tue. Shall we, therefore, on this account, refuse our service ? 



1 The omission of 6 vibs pcvei els Greek text retains it. It is, how- 
TOV al&va, is probably an error of ever, omitted in one or two MSS. 
the translator, or some copyist : the of the N. T. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 125 

Is He ever seen to command ought that is impossible, and that 
cannot be done ? Does He demand of us anything that exceeds 
the limits of our nature ? And who would venture to say this ? 
For certainly He adapts to our minds whatever is commanded. 
When, therefore, thou tellest me of the difficulty of obedience, 
I tell thee also : Do those things that are great and excellent 
come of themselves? or do those who seek to win them succeed 
without toil? or, on the contrary, are they attained to by earnest 
ness and labours ? Who are the men that in the conflicts of the 
palestra are accustomed to win the crown ? Is it those who 
have entirely devoted themselves to skill in the art of wrest 
ling, and have gone through bitter toils? for " they endure all iCor.ix.35. 
" things," according to the expression of St. Paul : or, on the 
contrary, is it the indolent and luxurious, and those entirely 
unacquainted with what is suitable for athletes? Who of those 
that till the ground have their threshing-floor full of sheaves ? 
Is it such as neglect ploughing, and will not undertake the se 
vere toil of the mattock : or, on the contrary, is it tho diligent 
and industrious, and such as apply themselves to the labours 
necessary for ensuring a prolific crop ? The answer is known, 
even if no one speak it ; that it is with those who are willing 
to labour, and not with those whose wont it is to be at ease, 
that a life of happiness is to be found, and nothing wanting for 
a tranquil existence. The Psalmist also bears witness, in a pas 
sage where he makes mention of the tillers of the ground as 
an exemplification of something else, " They went out, and that Ps.cxxvi.6. 
" with tears, carrying their seed : but they shall surely come 
" with joy bringing their sheaves." Joy therefore is the fruit 
of labour. 

Moreover, the Lord Himself somewhere quickens us for the 
love of exertion in every praiseworthy pursuit, by saying, 
" Enter at the strait gate: because narrow is the gate, and Mat.vii.i3. 
" strait the way that leadeth unto life ; but broad and wide 
" is that which leadeth down those that run thereon unto de- 
" struction." Observe therefore that the end of that strait 
path leadeth unto life, while the easy descent of the broad way 
sends men to the flame and never-ending torments. 

If therefore we call Christ, the Saviour of us all, Lord, let 
us do the things which He says. For He teaches us Himself 
what the benefit is of our being willing to do that which is 



126 COMMENTARY UPON 

commanded : and what the loss of our refusing to obey : for 
He says, " Every one that heareth My words and doeth them, 
" is like a man who builds a house, and firmly places its foun- 
" dations upon the rock :" while he who does not obey, he also 
is like a man building a house, but who has taken no care for 
its stability. For he who is obedient and tractable holds a 
thoroughly firm position in every thing that is honourable and 
good, by reason of his being not so much a hearer of the law, 
as a doer of its works : he resembles therefore a house firmly 
settled, and having a foundation that cannot be shaken, so that 
even though temptations press upon him, and the savageness 
of the passions that dwell within us assail him like some winter 
torrent, or a waterflood, he will sustain no serious loss. But he 
who merely inclines his ear to what Christ saith, but stores no 
thing up in his mind, nor performs anything that is commanded, 
he, on the other hand, is like a house just ready to fall. For 
he will be led away at once into things unseemly whenever 
pleasure allures him, and leads him into the pitfalls of sin. 

The service therefore of Christ invites us, as we affirm, unto 
every blessing : and if we will blamelessly fulfil it, Christ will 
crown us with His grace ; by Whom and with Whom to God 
the Father be praise and dominion with the Holy Ghost, for 
ever and ever, Amen. m " 



m The greater part of the above in Cramer s Catena a part of it is 

homily has perished in the Greek, quoted eg dvemypcKpov, \. e. as given 

but Mai has among his fragments without the author s name, whereas 

one from his second Catena B. not Cyril had been very largely quoted 

recognized in the Syriac : its style, by name almost immediately before, 
however, differs from Cyril s; and 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 127 



SERMON XXXV. 

And when He had ended all His words in the hearing of the c. vii. i-io. 



people, He entered into Capernaum. And a certain centu- <=8^ BT. 

, . . , 7ret 5e GSs. 

nons servant who ivas dear unto him was sick, and near 
to die. And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto Htm 
elders of the Jews, beseeching Him to come and save his 
servant. And when they came unto Jesus, they besought 
Him earnestly, saying, that lie is worthy that Thou 
shouldst grant this unto him : for he lovcth our nation, 
and hath also built us himself a synagogue. And Jesus 
ivent with them. And when He was now not far distant 

from the house, the centurion sent his friends unto Him, om. vpbs 
saying unto Him, Lord, trouble not Thyself; for I am not ai 
sufficient that Thou shouldest enter under my roof: there 

fore neither thought I myself wort/iy to come unto Thee : 
but speak only with a word, and my child 11 will be healed. m0rjT BT. 
.For / also am a man set under authority, having under QQ,." 
me soldiers ; and I say to this one, Go, and he goeth : and 
to another, Come, and he cometh : and to my servant, Do 
this, and he doeth it. And when Jesus heard these things, 
He marvelled at him, and turned Himself, and said to the 
multitude that followed Him, I say unto you, that I have 
not found so great faith even in Israel. And ivhen they 
who had been sent returned unto the house, they found the add. a<r0e~ 

, -, vowraGTs. 

servant whole. om BS . 

THE wise Evangelist fillcth our minds with sacred les 
sons, and endeavours to throw abundant light upon what 
ever makes our faith assured : for this is the object of his 
tidings concerning Christ. Very appropriately therefore he 
introduces Him as at one time teaching the holy Apostles 

n A domestic servant was con- quently it is rendered " servant" in 

stantly styled irais, child. So ir: the A. V. as i Sara. ii. 15. The 

in Hebrew, " Joseph was serving term was also applied to females, as 

" boy, (in charge of the sheep pro- when Boaz bade Ruth continue 

" bably,) with the sons of Bilhah." with his " young women" during 

(Gen. xxxvii. 2.) : and very fre- the gleaning. 



COMMENTARY UPON 

things superior to the service enacted in the law, and pointing 
out to them a path new and untrodden by them of old time of 
the conversation that becometh saints: and at another, he very 
beautifully displays to us the manifestation of a godlike power, 
in order that in every way it may be known that the Only- 
begotten Word of the Father is very God even though He be- 
Heb.i. 3. came flesh, that is, man, " and produces every thing by the 
" word of his power :" as is proved unto us by the examina 
tion of what is written concerning Him. 

When then, so to speak, he had satiated the holy Apostles 
with the most perfect doctrines, and had set before them a 
banquet of evangelical commands, and had mingled the wine 
that maketh glad the heart of man, and very clearly told them 
the means by which they would become triumphant and praise 
worthy, He goes down to Capernaum. And there also He 
works a great and wonderful deed, worthy of the greatness 
of His majesty -..there a glorious theatre was moved with 
astonishment, in which angels and men were spectators. For 
Israel is rebuked, and is dull of understanding, and unready 
for faith : while the multitude of the heathen, in mind at least, 
is ready thoroughly both to understand and believe : so that 
Christ is seen by just decree rejecting His servant Israel, while 
He accepts and honours and crowns by His grace those who 
of old served the creature apart from the Creator : who were 
in gloom and darkness, and without the knowledge of God : 
and had bowed the neck of their slavish mind to the wicked 
ness of demons. 

What, then, was that which was accomplished, or what was 
the miracle? There was a pious man, distinguished for the 
excellence of his conduct, and the commander of a body of sol 
diers, who was a fellow inhabitant with the people of Caper 
naum. A faithful servant of his as it chanced fell sick, and, so 
to speak, had already reached the gates of death, and to all 
appearance was now at his last gasp. " And he was dear to 
" him," so that he was pierced with anguish. What remedy, 
then, can he find for what has happened, or what aid can he 
procure for him who is lying ill ? " He heard, it says, the 

Cr. contains several fragments and probably on this account, not 
of this exposition, but anonymously, included by Mai in his collection. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 



" things of Jesus ;" and so he sends unto Him, asking of Him 
manifestly as of God things that exceed the nature and power 
of man. For his request was, that one who was laid prostrate 
in the last stage of sickness might be delivered from the bands 
of death. And whence, then, did he know Jesus, since he was 
not as yet of the number of those who believed on Him ? for 
hitherto he had been one of the mass wandering in error. He 
heard, it says, the things concerning Him. And since certainly 
he had never heard His personal instruction, nor seen any of 
His miracles, nor had met with the writings of Moses, nor 
searched the divine Scriptures, he could only have attained 
to faith in Him from simple rumours and hearsays. But as 
being fully assured that by the mere act of His will lie could 
accomplish his request, he sends as supplicants in his behalf 
the principal men of the Jews ; and these were the elders. 

Upon their arrival they offer their request, saying, " that he 
" is worthy that Thou shouldest grant this unto him." 
marvellous act! They who slandered Christ s glory, request 
Him to work a miracle ! Those who refused to believe in Him, 
ask Him to display before men who had not yet believed 
such acts as lead on to faith ! Tell me in what character 
dost thou approach with thy request? Dost thou know and 
believe that He is able to perform things that are the preroga 
tive of God ? Art thou fully convinced that it belongs solely to 
the supreme Substance, Who is above all, to be able to make 
alive, and to deliver men from the snares of death ? If so, how 
then didst thou say when thou sawest Jesus working miracles, 
" This man casteth not out devils but by Beelzebub, Prince of Mat. xii. 
" the devils?" And when that man who had been blind from 24 
his mother s womb was wonderfully healed, and gained an un 
wonted light, thou advisedst him, saying, "Give God the glory, John ix. 24 
" we know that this man is a sinner." Dost thou then ask 
this sinner, as thou calledst Him, to perform an act of Deity ? 
Is not this madness, and sheer stupidity ? Are not those who 
hitherto had not believed far better than those who had been 
taught by the law and the prophets ? 

Wouldst thou see the fact that such is the case and such 
only ? Observe what follows ; The Saviour had now set out 
upon His way to restore the sick man : but the centurion 
sent unto Him, saying, " Lord, trouble not Thyself; but speak 




130 COMMENTARY UPON 

" with a word, and my child will be healed." Consider then, 
that these elders of the Jews begged Jesus to go to the house of 
him who requested His aid, as not being able in any other way 
to raise him up who was lying ill, except by going to his side : 
whereas the other believed that He could do it even at a dis 
tance, and effect it by the inclination of His will. He asked 
for the saving word, the loving assent, the all mighty utter 
ance ; and justly therefore did he win a sentence of surpassing 
worth : for Jesus said, " Verily I say unto you, that not even 
" in Israel have I found so great faith." The proof then and 
demonstration, follows closely and immediately from what we 
have now said. Finally, He delivered that same hour from his 
sickness him who a little before had been the prey of death : 
for He Who willed the undoing of what had happened was God. 
As I said then at the beginning of this discourse, by God s 
holy decree Israel fell from his relationship unto Him, and in 
his stead the heathen were called and admitted, as having a 
heart better prepared for that faith in Him, which justly is 
required. And of this the divine Psalmist shall again be our 

Ps. x. 17. proof, where he says concerning them; at one time, "Thou 
" hast inclined Thine ear because of the preparation of their 

Ps. xvi. 4 . " heart ;" and at another, " Many were their infirmities, and 
" afterwards they went quickly." For many indeed were the 
offences laid to their charge, to which he gently gives the 
name of infirmities: for they were wandering in error, and 
guilty of abominable crimes, not merely in one way, but in 
many : but they went quickly to the faith, that is, they were 
not slow in accepting the commands of Christ, but very readily 
embraced the faith. For that they were to be caught in 
Christ s net, He teacheth thee where He saith by one of the 

z ep b.iii.8. holy prophets, For this wait for Me, saith the Lord, until 
" the day of My rising up to bear witness, because My judg- 
" ment is for the congregations of the heathen." For when 
Christ rose from the dead, He bestowed on those that were in 
error that judgment which is for their happiness and salvation. 

Mat.xxviii. For He even commanded the holy disciples, Go make disci- 
" pies of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the 
" Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost : and 
" teaching them to observe all those things that I have com- 
t( manded you." 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 131 

By the holy decree therefore, and just sentence of our 
common Saviour Christ, the heathen were honoured; but 
Israel we see rejected from His love and affection. For what 
do we find the chief Shepherd of all saying to them by one of 
the holy prophets ? " And T have declared,, He says, that I will Zech. xi. 9. 
" not feed you, and that which is dying shall die : and that 
" which is fainting shall faint : and those that are left shall 
" devour every one the flesh of his neighbour . v And again ; 
" God hath rejected them, because they have not heard Him : llos. ix. 17. 
" and they shall be wanderers among the heathen. " And 
again by the voice of the prophet Ezechiel, " Thus saith my EZ. xii. 15. 
" Lord, the Lord; that I will drive them amon^ the heathen, xx :. 2 3- 

xxn. 15. 

" and disperse them over the whole earth." Take the actual 
result of facts for your persuasion and faith in what is here 
said. For they are vagabonds and strangers in every land and 
city, neither preserving in its purity the worship enjoined by 
the law, nor submitting to accept the gloriousness of the excel 
lency of the Gospel life : while we, who have received the 
faith are fellow-citizens with the saints, and called the sons of 
the Jerusalem that is above, in heaven, by the grace of God 
which crowneth us. And Him we affirm to be the completion of 
the law and the prophets : we confess His glory ; we admire 
Him as He worketh miracles ; by Whom and with Whom, to 
God the Father be praise and dominion with the Holy Ghost, 
for ever and ever, Amen. 



3 2 



COMMENTARY UPON 



SERMON XXXVI. 

C. vii. n. And it came to pass the day after, He was going to a city 
Gr. Nafr. called Nair, and His disciples were going with Him,...* 

****** 

From Mai But observe how He joins miracle to miracle : and in the 
andCra- f ormer instance, the healing of the centurion s servant, He 
was present by invitation : but here He draws near without 
being invited. For no one summoned Him to restore the dead 
man to life, but He comes to do so of His own accord. And 
He seems to me to have purposely made this miracle also 
follow upon the former. For there was nothing improbable in 
supposing that at some time or other some one might rise up 
and say, in opposition to the Saviour s glory, What is the 
prodigy wrought in the case of the centurion s son? For 
o. K&V ( though he was ailing, he was in no danger of death, even 
M^om et though the Evangelist has so written, shaping his narrative 
rather with a view to what was pleasant, than to what was 
true. To stop therefore the intemperate tongue of such de 
tractors, he says, that Christ met the dead young man, the 
only son of a widow. It was a pitiable calamity, able to arouse 
one s lamentation, and make one s tears gush forth ; and 
the woman follows, stupified with her misfortune, and all but 
fainting, and many with her. 

From the * * * : f or that dead man was being buried, and many 

Syriac. friends were conducting him to his tomb. But there meets him 

the Life and Resurrection, even Christ: -for He is the De- 

i A folium is here lost, and appa- Civ. Dei, 1. xxii. c. 10.) Gentiles ta- 

rently at some distant time, as the libus diis suis, sc. qui antea ho- 

ornamental writing of the title has mines fuerant, et templa sedificave- 

left its marks on the opposite side, runt, et statuerunt aras, et sacer- 

In the margin is a note, " Fit to be dotes instituerunt, et sacrificia fe- 

" read at the commemoration of the cerunt. Nos autem martyribus 

" departed." To depart was a com- nostris non templa sicut diis, sed 

mon euphemism in the ancient memorias sicut hominibus mortuis, 

church for death ; cf. Suiceri Th. quorum apud Deum vivunt spiritus, 

sub drro&jj/it a : and of the Comme- fabricamus. 
morations, St. Augustin says (De 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. L W 

stroyer of death and of corruption : He it is "in Whom we live Actaxvii. 
u and move and are :" He it is Who has restored the nature of 2l 
man to that which it originally was; and has set free our 
death-fraught flesh from the bonds of death. He had mercy 
upon the woman, and that her tears might be stopped, He 
commanded, saying, " Weep not." And immediately the cause 
of her weeping was done away : how, or by what method ? He 
touched the bier, and by the utterance of his godlike word, 
made him who was lying thereon return again to life: for 
He said, " Young man, I say unto thee, Arise ;" and immedi 
ately that which was commanded was done : the actual accom 
plishment attended upon the words, " And that dead man, it 
" says, sat up, and began to speak, and He gave him to his 
" mother." 

Observe here too, I pray you, the accuracy of the ex 
pression : for the divine Evangelist not only says, that the 
dead man sat up, but lest any one should by false arguments 
attack the miracle, saying, What wonder ! if by means of some 
* artifice or other the body was set upright ! for it is not as yet 
clearly proved to be alive, or delivered from tho bonds of 
death f for this reason he very skilfully notes down two proofs 
one after the other, sufficient to produce the conviction that he 
did in very truth arise and was restored. * For he began, he 
" says, to speak" but an inanimate body cannot speak "And 
" He gave him to his mother :" but assuredly the woman 
would not have taken her son back to her house if he had been 
dead, and had breathed his last. 

Those pei-sons therefore who were restored to life by the 
power of Christ, we take as a pledge of the hope prepared for 
us of a resurrection of the dead : and these were, this young 
man, and Lazarus of Bethany, and the daughter of the chief of 
the synagogue. And this truth the company of the holy pro 
phets proclaimed before : for the blessed Isaiah said, " The Is. xxvi. 
" dead shall arise, and those in the graves shall be restored to " 
" life : for the dew from Thee is healing to them." And by 
dew he means the life-giving operation of Christ, which is by 
the instrumentality of the Holy Ghost. And the Psalmist 
bears witness, thus speaking concerning them in words ad 
dressed to God the Saviour of us all. " When Thou turnest PS. civ. 
" away Thy face they are troubled, and return to their dust. 



134 COMMENTARY UPON 

" Thou sendost Thy Spirit, and they are created, and Thou 

" rcnewest the face of the ground." For it was by reason of 

Adam s transgression of the commandment that we, having our 

faces turned away from God, returned to our dust: for the 

Gen. iii.i 9 . sentence of God upon human nature was, " Dust thou art, and 

" unto dust thou shalt return :" but at the time of the con- 

summation of this world, the face of the earth shall be renewed : 

for God the Father by the Son in the Spirit will give life to 

all those who are laid within it. 

It is death that has brought men to old age and corruption : 
death therefore has made old, that is to say, has corrupted : 
Heb.viii. for " that which is made old, and is growing aged, is near cor- 
" ruption," as Scripture saith : but Christ renews, in that He 
is " the Life." For He Who in the beginning created, is able 
again to renew unto incorruption and life. For one may well 
affirm that it is the office of one and the same energy and 
power, to effect both the one and the other. As therefore the 
Is. xxv. 8. prophet Isaiah says, " He hath swallowed up death, having 
become mighty. 1 And again, " The Lord hath taken away all 
" weeping from every countenance. He hath taken away the 
" reproach of the people from all the earth/ By the reproach 
of the people he means sin, which disgraces and depraves 
men : and which, together with destruction, shall be slain, and 
sorrow and death shall perish, and the tears cease which are 
shed on its account 

Disbelieve not therefore the resurrection of the dead ; for long 
ago Christ wrought it among us with a Godlike majesty. And 
let no man say, that He Who raised two, for instance, or three, 
and effected thus much, is not thoroughly sufficient for the life 
also of us all. Such words, foul with utter ignorance, are 
simply ridiculous. Right rather is it for us to understand, that 
He is the Life, and the Life-giver by nature. And how can 
the Life be insufficient for making all alive ? It would be the 
same thing as to say in one s excessive folly, that the Light also 
is sufficient indeed for little things, but not for the Universe. 

He therefore arose who was descending to his grave. And 
the manner of his rising is plain to see ; "for He touched, it says, 
" the bier, and said, Young man, I say unto thee, arise." And 
yet how was not a word enough for raising him who was lying 
there? For what is there difficult to it, or past accomplish- 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 135 

merit? What is more powerful than the Word of God / Why 
then did He not effect the miracle by a word only, but also 
touched the bier? It Avas, my beloved, that thou mightest 
learn that the holy body of Christ is effectual for the salvation 
of man. For the flesh of the Almighty Word is the body of 
life, and was clothed with His might. For consider, that iron, 
when brought into contact wjth fire, produces the effects of 
fire, and fulfils jts functions ; so, because it became the flesh of 
the Word, Who gives life to allji therefore also has the power 
of giving life, and annihilates the influence of death and cor 
ruption 1 ". May our Lord Jesus Christ also touch us, that 
delivering us from evil works, even from fleshly lusts, He may 
unite us to the assemblies of the saints ; for He is the giver of 
all good, by Whom, and with Whom, to God the Father, be 
praise and dominion, with the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever, 
Amen. 

r Two passages follow in Mai, not and C. is referred also by Aquinas 

recognised by the Syriac. The first and Cramer s MS. to Cyril : " That 

from Cod. A. is as follows : " for fear fell upon all, and they glorified 

we believe that the body of Christ God, was indeed a great thing on 

makes alive, because It is both the the part of the senseless and un- 

temple and dwelling-place of the grateful people (Cr. reads Xo yw for 

living Word, and possesses all Its Xa&>) : for shortly afterwards they 

activity. It was not enough there- regard Him neither as a prophet, 

fore for Him only to command, nor as having appeared for the good 

though accustomed by a word to of the people : yea they deliver up 

accomplish whatsoever He wished, to death Him Who destroys death, 

but He laid also His hands on the not knowing that at that very time 

bier, shewing that His body also He destroyed death, when in His 

possesses the power of making own person He wrought the resur- 

alive." The second from Codd. A rection." 



136 COMMENTARY UPON 



SERMON XXXVII. 

1 vii. 17- A na thjg wor( i concerning Him went forth in all Judaea, and 
in all the region round about. And his disciples told 
John of all these things : and John called certain two of 
^ s disciples, and sent them unto Jesus, saying, Art Thou 
He that cometh, or look we for another ? When the men 
came to Him, they said, John the Baptist sent us to Thee* 
saying, Art Thou He that cometh, or look we for another ? 
But in that same hour he healed many of sicknesses and 
scourges, and of evil spirits: and unto many that ivere 
&PO. GSs. blind He gave sight. And He answered and said to 

1 

them, Go tell John ivhat things ye have seen and heard : 
^ iat ^ le Miiul see,- and the lame walk; and the lepers are 
om. tin B. cleansed ; and the deaf hear ,- the dead arise, and the 
quater P oor are preac/ied unto ; and blessed is he who is not 

BGT*. offended in Me. 

Ox the present occasion also the Word about to be ad 
dressed to you,, and the investigation of the sacred doctrines 
cannot but be most certainly for your benefit. Come then, 
that together with the holy angels we may praise the universal 
Saviour : for He is worshipped, as in heaven so also in earth ; 

Phil. ii. 10. and to Him every knee shall bow, as it is written. Be it 
therefore known to people everywhere, that the Lord is God, 
and even though He appeared in fashion like unto us, yet has 
He given us the indications of a godlike power and majesty on 
many occasions, and in a multitude of ways : by driving away 
diseases; by rebuking unclean spirits; by bestowing on the 
blind their sight; and finally, even by expelling death itself 

Rom. v. 14. f rom t h e bodies of men ; -death which cruelly and mercilessly 
had tyrannized from Adam even unto Moses, according to the 
expression of the divine Paul. That widow s son then at Nain s 

8 In the preceding sermon this way as in Sanscrit certain final let- 
place was called Nair, in the same ters are regularly changed into r, 
way as Beliar has occurred for Be- from the ease with which the voice 
lial, and as no Gr. MS. recognises rests upon that letter at the close of 
this form, it is possible that it is a a word. 
Syriac provincialism, in the same 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. J37 

arose unexpectedly and wonderfully, and the miracle remained 
unknown to no one throughout the whole of Juda?a, but was 
noised abroad as a divine sign, and admiration was upon every 
tongue. And some of his intimate friends, that is, his disci 
ples, tell it also to the blessed Baptist : and he chose out and 
selected two persons from the rest, and sends them to Jesus 
to ask Him, if it is He Who cometh, or whether they must 
wait for another. What hast thou done, O excellent Bap 
tist ! Dost thou not know Him Whom thou preachcdst, being 
thyself the precursor of this rising, as the morning star pro 
claims the coining sun ? Thou wcntcst before Him like a torch. 
Thou pointedst Him out to the holy apostles, saying very 
plainly, " Behold the Lamb of God, Who takcth away the sin John i. 29. 
" of the world !" Elsewhere also we heard Thee saying to the 
multitudes of the Jews, that " after me comctli the man who John i. 30. 
" was before me, because He is before inc. And I knew Him 
" not : but He Who sent me to baptize in water, lie said 
" unto me, On Whom thou sccst the Holy Ghost descend from 
u heaven, and remain upon Him, He it is Who baptizeth in 
" the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bore witness, that This is 
" the Son of God." How then dost thou ask, if it is He that 
comctli? For thou saidst, "I saw and bore witness, that He 
" is the Son of God." But the blessed Baptist did not fail 
to recognise the Word of God Who had become man. Do 
not imagine so. Well and very clearly was he persuaded 
that He was He that cometh ; but what He did was something 
wise and well-contrived, and tit in no slight degree to benefit 
his disciples. For they indeed, because they did not yet 
know Christ, inasmuch as His glory and all-excelling majesty 
was concealed from them, were even silently stung at His 
working miracles, and surpassing the Baptist in the greatness 
of the deeds wrought by Him. For on one occasion they 
even drew near to him, pining with envy and vexation, and with 
their heart still requiring to set free from Jewish maladies, 
and said to the blessed Baptist concerning Christ the universal 
Saviour, " Rabbi, He Who was with thee on the other side of 
" Jordan, to Whom thou bearest witness, He baptizeth, and 
" every man cometh to Him." For they did not wish any one 
else to baptize at all, and exalt himself against the honour of 
John. They learnt however from him the superiority of Christ s 



138 COMMENTARY UPON 

glory,, and the incomparable greatness of His splendour : for 
John ill. they heard him say in answer, " Ye arc yourselves my wit- 
" nesses that I said, that I am not the Christ, but that I 
** have been sent before Him. He who hath the bride is 
" the bridegroom : but the bridegroom s friend, who standeth 
" and heareth his voice, joyfully rejoiceth because of the 
" bridegroom s voice : this therefore, which is my joy, is com- 
" plete. He must grow great, but I must be made small." 
We do not however say that the blessed Baptist in any respect 
whatsoever decreased in dignity, himself of himself, during the 
time that Christ s glory was constantly receiving addition from 
those that believed on Him : but inasmuch as the blessed 
John continued in the measure of human nature : for it was 
not possible for him ever to advance to any thing beyond : but 
the incarnate Word, being in His nature God, and ineffably be 
gotten of God the Father, advancing continually to His proper 
glory, was admired of all men ; for this reason it was he said, 
" He must grow great, but 1 must be made small." For he 
who remains in exactly the same state seems to grow small, in 
comparison with one who is continually advancing. But that 
it was right that as being by nature God, He should surpass in 
might and glory human things, he explained to them saying : 

Jolmiii.ar. He Who cometh from above is above all: and he who is of 
" the earth, belongeth to the earth, and speaketh of the earth." 
Who then is He Who cometh from above, and is above all as 
being God? Plainly the only-begotten Word of the Father, 
Who was in His likeness, and on an equality with Him : but 
for the love He had unto the world, humbled Himself to our 
estate. As being such therefore, He must necessarily sur 
pass one who was of the earth : one, that is to say, num 
bered among the things of earth, and their like in nature, such 
as was the Baptist. For he was indeed praiseworthy in virtue, 
and incomparable in piety, and had attained to the perfection 
of all righteousness, and was honourable and worthy of admi- 

Mat.xi.ii. ration: for the Lord bore him witness saying, "There hath 
" not risen among the sons of women one greater than John 
" the Baptist, 1 But he was not from above ; not of the Sub 
stance, I mean, that is set above all: rather he was from 
below, a son of earth, and one of us. Therefore, to return, from 
this digression, as their heart was not free from Jewish mala- 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 139 

x dies, they tell the blessed Baptist of the Saviour s divine signs : 
and he, as thoroughly knowing Who it was That wrought the 
miracles, exulted indeed in himself, in seeing the Saviour s 
glory spread abroad : but to produce a firm and steadfast faith 
in Him, in those, who as yet were halting, nor thus far con 
vinced that He is the Christ, he puts on the appearance 
of ignorance, and so sends to Him certain to ask Him, saying, 
"Art Thou He That comcth, or do we wait for another?" 
Cometh whither perhaps some will say : for there are men 
who think that we ought to understand something of this sort : 
that as the Baptist was about before the precious cross to 
undergo death by the wickedness of Herod, and, so to speak, 
anticipate Christ s departure, and as His forerunner, pre 
cede His arrival in Hades, he asks whether He will come there 
also, to redeem those in darkness and the shadow of death, 
and entangled in inevitable bonds. But such an opinion is 
utterly to be rejected : for nowhere do we find that the Scrip 
ture inspired of God has declared that the divine Baptist 
preached beforehand to the spirits in Hades the coining of the 
Saviour. And this also we may truly say, that inasmuch as 
once for all he knew the whole effect of the dispensation in tho 
flesh of the Only-begotten, he of course knew, in addition to 
the other particulars, that He will redeem those in Hades, and 
shine forth even upon them, as " by the grace of God tasting Heb. ii. 9. 
" death for every man," that as Paul says, " He may be Lord Rom.xiv. 9 . 
" both of the dead and of the living." 

What then does he wish to understand by asking, " Art 
" Thou He that cometh, or do we wait for another?" I said 
then, that he puts on the appearance of ignorance purposely, 
not so much that he might himself learn : for as being the 
forerunner he knew the mystery : but that his disciples might 
be convinced, how great is the Saviour s superiority, and that, 
as the word of the inspired Scripture had announced before, 
He is God, and the Lord That was to come. All the rest then 
were servants, sent before a master, preceding Him Who is 
beyond all, and preparing the way of the Lord, as it is written. Is. xi. 3. 
By the holy prophets therefore the Saviour and Lord of all is 
called, " He that cometh." For the prophet David in a psalm 
declares : " Blessed be He That cometh in the Name of the P S . cxviii. 
" Lord." And what means that expression " in the Name of 2( 

T 2 



140 COMMENTARY UPON 

" the Lord?" It means in godlike glory, and lordship, and all 
transcending majesty. And this again he has signified in what 

p*.cxviii. follows: "The Lord is God, and hath shone forth upon us." 
For Moses indeed came, and appeared in his season, and by his 
instrumentality the law was spoken to the Israelites : and then 
after him Jesus the son of Nun commanded the host, and then 
in order the blessed prophets. And they were indeed Jiolj_ 
men, honourable beyond comparison, and endowed with a 
spiritual and all-excelling splendour: but no one of them 
shone forth upon the inhabitants of earth in the name of the 
Lord, in the glory that is of Godhead and dominion. But the 
only-begotten Word of God shone forth upon us as being in 
His nature and verily God and Lord. So God the Father 

Habac.ii.3. named Him by the prophet Habakuk, thus saying ; " Yet a 
" little He That cometh will come, and will not tarry/ And 
again also by another prophet the only-begotten Word of God 

Zech. ii. thus spcaketh : " Rejoice, and be glad, daughter of Zion : 
" for behold! I come, and will lodge in the midst of thce, 
" saith the Lord. And many nations shall find refuge in the 
" Lord on that day; and I will be to them a God, and they 
" shall be to Me a people/ And that this has come to pass, 
one may see by actual facts : for a multitude of nations has 
been caught in the net, and Christ is their God, and they are 
His people. 

Having therefore taken from the inspired Scripture the 
name of "He That cometh/ the divine Baptist sent certain 
of his friends to ask, " if He were He that cometh/ And 
what follows ? Inasmuch as Christ by nature and in truth is 
God, the purpose of John did not escape Him, but as well 
knowing the cause of his disciples coming, He especially 
at that particular time began accomplishing divine miracles 
many times more numerous than those which He had hitherto 
wrought. For so the wise Evangelist has told us, saying, " In 
" that same hour He healed many of sicknessess and of 
" scourges, and of evil spirits : and gave sight to many that 
" were blind." Having then been made spectators and eye 
witnesses of His greatness, and gathered into them a great 
admiration of His power and ability, they bring forward the 
question, and beg in John s name to be informed, whether He 
is He Who cometh. Here see I pray the beautiful art of the 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 141 

Saviour s management. For He does not simply say, 1 am ; 
though had He so spoken, it would have been true : but He 
rather leads them to the proof given by the works themselves, 
in order that having accepted faith in Him on good grounds, 
and being furnished with knowledge from what had been done, 
they might so return to him who sent them. " For go, He 
" says, tell John the things that ye have seen and heard." 
For ye have heard indeed, He says, that I have raised the 
dead by the all-powerful word, and by the touch of the hand : 
ye have seen also, while ye yourselves stood by, that those 
things that were spoken of old time by the holy prophets are 
accomplished : the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are 
cleansed, and the dumb hear, and the dead arise, and the 
poor are preached unto. All these things the blessed pro 
phets had before announced, as about in due time to be 
wrought by My hands. If then I bring to pass those things 
that were prophecicd long before, and ye arc yourselves spec 
tators of them, return and tell those things which ye have 
seen with your own eyes accomplished by My might and 
ability, and which at various times the blessed prophets fore 
told. And then He added necessarily to these things ; " And 
" blessed is he who is not offended in Me !" For the Jews 
indeed were offended, either as not knowing the depth of the 
mystery, or because they did not seek to know. For though 
the inspired Scripture announced beforehand, in every part of 
it, that the Word of God would humble Himself to emptiness, 
and be seen upon earth, plainly referring to when He was 
such as we arc, and would justify by faith every thing under 
heaven, yet they stumbled against Him, and struck against 
the rock of offence, and fell, and were ground to powder. l 
For though they plainly saw Him invested with ineffable dig- fj 1 
nity and surpassing glory, by means of the wondrous deeds Luke xx. 
He wrought, they threw stones at Him and said : " Why dost Jo i, n X . B 
" Thou, being a man, make thyself God ?" In answer to these 
things, Christ reproved the immeasurable infirmity of their 
intellect, and said; "If I do not the works of My Father, John x. 37 
believe Me not : but if I do, then though ye believe not Me, 
" believe My works/ Blessed therefore is he, who doth not 
stumble against Christ ; that is, who believeth in Him. 

And what the advantage is that is derived from this, and m 



33 



142 COMMENTARY UPON 

what way we are benefitted by attaining to jaith in Him, 
every one knows : nothing however forbids our enumerating a 
few particulars. For first indeed we obtain the light of the true 
knowledge of God : and next, when by the aid of holy baptism~~ 
we have washed away the stains of sin, being purified that we 
may serve Him purely, we are also made partakers . .of His 

divine nature, and gain Him to dwell within us by hayingjhg 

communion of the Holy Ghost. And we are made also sons of 
God, and win for ourselves brotherhood with Him Who by 
nature and verily is the Son. Moreover, in addition to these 
things, we are exalted to the inheritance of the saints, and 
dwell in bliss in the enjoyment of those blessings which are 
bestowed on those who love Him, and which the divine Paul 
Cor. ii. 9 . declares surpass understanding and description : " for eye hath 
" not seen, nor ear heard, and into the heart of man have "not 
" entered the things that God hath prepared for them that 
" love Him." Of those may we also be thought worthy by 
the grace and love of Him Who giveth to every one bounti 
fully all good things, even of Christ, by Whom and with Whom, 
to God the Father, be praise and dominion with the Holy 
Ghost, for ever and ever, Amen.* 

1 Mai from Cod. A. contains a and instances will subsequently be 

few lines here and there not ac- pointed out of his having thus intro- 

knowledged by the Syriac, but ap- duced single sentences into the body 

parently only intended to convey of the Commentary, though natural- 

the general sense of the passages ly such intrusions generally escape 

omitted ; though even these may discovery. The subject of this ser- 

possibly be from other works of S. mon is again treated of by S. Cyril 

Cyril, as Niketas acquaintance with in his Thesaurus, c. xi. 
them was evidently most complete, 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 143 



SERMON XXXVIII. 

And ivhen the messengers of John had departed, He began to c. vii. 24- 
speak unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out 2 
into the wilderness to see? A reed, shaken luith the wind? 
But what went ye out to see ? A man clad in soft gar- f^cm^ 
ments ? Behold they ivho wear soft clothing, are in the eV5 % Kal 

Tpv<f>rj 

abodes of kings. Bnt what went ye out to see? A Pro- BGTs. 
phet ? Tea, I say unto you : and more than a prophet : ^ ^"s 
for this is he of whom it is written, Behold I send My rnes- om. yap 
senger before Thy face, to prepare Thy way before Thee. MaY iii. i. 
Verily I say unto you, Among those born of ivomen there *w v A 7 w 
is no one greater than John : but he who is least in the \^ y(a y dp 
kingdom of God is greater than he. 



YE who thirst for the knowledge of the divine doctrines, ^ 

, . . Ia afj/ov T. 

open once again the treasure-house ot your minds: satiate your- Tr po <f>. iw. 
selves with the sacred words : or rather, give way to no feeling 
of satiety herein : for gluttony in things that tend to edification 
is a quality worth the gaining. Let us approach, then, the 
Saviour s words, not carelessly, and without due preparation, 
but with that attentiveness and vigilance which befits those 
who wouldTlearn. For so alone can those subjects for contem 
plation, which are difficult of comprehension, be rightly under 
stood. Let us, therefore, ask of Christ that light, which He 
sends down upon the mind and heart, that thus being enabled 
correctly to understand the force of what is said, we may again 
admire the beautiful skill of the management. For He had 
been asked by the disciples of John, whether He is He that 
cometh? When then^He had answered them in a suitable 
manner, and commanded them to return to him that sent them, 
He began to say unto the multitudes concerning him, " What 
" went ye out into the wilderness to see ? a reed shaken by 
" the wind ?" And what the instruction is which we gain from 
this, or what the end to which our Saviour s words have refer 
ence, how must it not be worth our while to inquire ? Let us 
examine, therefore, the meaning of what is said : let us search 



144 COMMENTARY UPON 

it as a treasure : let us spy into its secrets : and fixing our 
]Tbes.v.2i. mind upon the profundity of the mystery, let us be like careful 
moneychangers, 11 proving every thing, as Scripture says. 

There were then certain who prided themselves upon their 
performance of what was required by the law : the Scribes 
namely, and Pharisees, and others of their party ; who were 
regarded according to their professions as exact observers of 
the law, and claimed on this score, that their heads should be 
adorned with honours. This too is the reason why they neither 
accepted faith in Christ, nor paid due honour to that mode of 
life which truly is praiseworthy and blameless : even that which 
is regulated by the commands of the Gospel. The purpose, 
therefore, of Christ the Saviour of all, was to shew them that 
the honours both of the religious and moral service that are 
by the law, were of small account, and not worthy of being at 
tained to, or even perhaps absolutely nothing, and unavailing 
for edification : while the grace that is by faith in Him is the 
pledge of blessings worthy of admiration, and able to adorn 
with incomparable honour those that possess it. Many, then, 
as I said, were observers of the law, and greatly puffed up on 
this account : they even gave out that they had attained to the 
perfection of all that is praiseworthy, in the exact perform 
ance of the righteousness that consisted in shadows and types. 
In order, then, that, as I said, He might prove that those who 
believe in Him are better and superior to them, and that the 
glories of the followers of the law are evidently but small in 
comparison with the evangelic mode of life, He takes him who 
was the best of their whole class, but nevertheless was born of 
woman, I mean the blessed Baptist : arid having affirmed that 
he is a prophet, or rather above the measure of the prophets, 
and that among those born of women no one had arisen greater 
than he in righteousness, that namely, which is by the law, He 
declares, that he who is small, who falls short, that is, of his 
measure, and is inferior to him in the righteousness that is by 
the law, is greater than he : not greater, in legal righteous 
ness, but in the kingdom of God, even in faith, and the excel 
lencies which result from faith. For faith crowns those that 
receive it with glories that surpass the law. And this thou 

u For this quotation, consult the note at the commencement of Serm. 39. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 145 

learncst, and wilt thyself affirm to be the case, when thou 
meetest with the words of the blessed Paul: for having de 
clared himself to be free from blame in the righteousness that 
is by the law, he added forthwith, " But those things that were Phil. m. 7 . 
" gain unto me, those I have counted loss for Christ s sake : 
" and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ : not 
" having my own righteousness which is by the law, but the 
" righteousness that is of the faith of Jesus Christ," And the 
Israelites he even considers deserving of great blame, thus say 
ing : " For being ignorant of God s righteousness, that namely Rom. x. 3. 
" which is by Christ, and seeking to establish their own ; even 
" that which is by the law ; they have not submitted thcm- 
" selves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the com- 
" pletion of the law for righteousness unto every one that be- 
" lieveth." And again, when speaking of these things : " We, Gal. ii. 15. 
" he says, who by nature are Jews, and not sinners of the 
" Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works 
" of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, we also have be- 
" lieved in Jesus Christ, that we may be justified in Him." 
The being justified, therefore, by Christ, that is to say, by faith 
in Him, surpasses the glories of the righteousness that is by 
the law. For this reason the blessed Baptist is brought for 
ward, as one who had attained the foremost place in legal 
righteousness, and to a praise so far incomparable. And yet 
even thus he is ranked as less than one who is least : " for 
" the least, He says, is greater than he in the kingdom of 
" God." But the kingdom of God signifies^ as we affirm, the 
grace^hat js by faith, by means of which we are accounted 
worthy of every blessing, and of the possession of the rich gifts 
which come from above from God. For it frees us from all 
blame ; and makes us to be the sons of God, partakers of the 
Holy Ghost, and heirs of a heavenly inheritance. 

Having prefaced therefore thus much by way of preparation, 
and to explain the connection of the ideas, come now, and let 
us examine the actual words. As I have already said then, 
He exalts the divine Baptist to a great height, and crowns the 
Forerunner with surpassing honours purposely ; that thou 
mayest the more thoroughly admire faith ; as that which 
makes believers to have a grandeur far surpassing even that 
of men thus illustrious. He asks the Jews, then, saying, 

tr 



146 COMMENTARY UPON 

" What went yc out into the wilderness to see ? a reed shaken 
" by the wind?" Now He compares to a reed, a thing tossed 
about, and, so to speak, reeling and shaken to and fro by the 
violence of the winds, the man who lives in worldly honours and 
pleasures, and in the grandeur of temporal sovereignty. For 
there is nothing stable or firm or unshaken with such persons, 
but things change frequently in an unexpected manner, and to 
that which they did not anticipate, and their prosperity lightly 

i Pet. 1.24- passes away. For true it is, that "all flesh is grass, and all 
" the glory of man as the flower of grass : the grass withereth, 
" and the flower falleth." Did ye then, He says, go out into 
the desert to see a man like a reed ? This, however, possibly 
he is not. but of a different character ; one of those who live in 
pleasures, and are wont to be clad in beautiful garments, and 
value childish honour. And yet one does not see persons such 
as these dwelling in the desert, but at the courts of kings: and 
as for the blessed Baptist s raiment, it was of camel s hair, and 
a leathern girdle upon his loins. 

What then did yc go out to see ? Perhaps ye say, A Pro 
phet. Yea, I also say as well as you. For he is a saint and a 
prophet : nay, he even surpasses the dignity of a prophet ; for 
not only did he announce before that I am coming, but pointed 

John i. 29. Me out close at hand, saying ? " Behold the Lamb of God, 
" That beareth the sin of the world." Moreover, he was tes- 

Mai. iii. i. tilled of by the prophet s voice, "as sent before My face, to 
" prepare the way before Me/ And 1 bear him witness that 
there hath not arisen among those born of women one greater 
than he : but he that is least in the life I mean according to 
the law in the kingdom of God is greater than he. How and 
in what manner? x ln that the blessed John, together with as 

x The passage in Mai, p. 213, John was more honourable than 

from B. f. 72. agrees, as far as it the prophets, as being himself the 

goes, with the Syriac. It is pre- object of prophecy : and guards 

ceded, however, by two passages, against a misinterpretation of the 

the second of which from B. f. 71. word angel in the prediction, " Be- 

is much too rhetorical to be really " hold I send My angel before Thy 

S. Cyril s, and is given by Cramer " face/ The otber passage from 

anonymously, following one taken A. n 8. has the appearance of being 

from Titus of Bostra, whose style a summary of S. Cyril s argument 

it much more resembles. It ex- respecting John being the greatest 

plains, however, more fully what of those born of women, though it 

Cyril very shortly refers to, viz. that includes new matter in an important 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 147 

many as preceded him, was born of woman : but they who 
have received the faith, are no more called the sons of women, 
but as the wise Evangelist said, 4 are born of God. " For to John i. n. 
" all, he says, who received Him, that is, Christ, He gave 
" power to become the sons of God, even to them who believe 
" on His Name : who have been born, not of blood, nor of the 
" will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." For 
we have been born again to the adoption of the sons, " not of iPet.i. 23. 
" corruptible seed," but, as Scripture saith, " by the living and 
" abiding Word of God." Those then who are not of corrupt 
ible seed, but, on the contrary, have been born of God, are 
superior to any one born of woman. 

There is also another respect in which they surpass those 
born of women. For they have earthly fathers : but we Him 
Who is above in heaven. For we have received this also of 
Christ, Who calleth us to the adoption of sons and brotherhood 
with Him. For He has said, " Ye shall not call any one on Mat. xxiii. 
" earth father : for One is your Father, Who is in heaven. 
"But ye, all of you, are brethren." And most wise Pauls, 
gives us surety of this, writing as follows : 4 Fur because ye Gal. iv. 6. 
" are sons, God hath sent the Spirit of His Son into your 
" hearts, calling Father, our Father." For when Christ rose, 
and spoiled hell, the spirit of adoption was then given to them 
that believed on Him, and first of all to the holy disciples ; for 
" He breathed upon them, saying. Receive ye the Holy Ghost. John xx. 
" If ye remit the sins of any, they are remitted them ; and if " 
" ye retain the sins of any, they are retained." For inasmuch 
as they have become part^Hers of the divine nature, by being 
richly endowed with that lordly and all-governing Spirit ; 
therefore lie has also given them the godlike power of remit 
ting the sins of whomsoever they will, and of retaining those 

interpretation of Luke xvii. 2 1 .: to paragraph in page 148: "Even 
the effect that " the kingdom of " though, therefore, we be infe- 
" heaven signifies the gift of the " rior to them, &c." But soon 
" Holy Ghost," according to the afterwards it diverges again to ex- 
words, " The kingdom of heaven is plain more fully than the Syriac 
" within you." Soon after this quo- does, that our Lord s words that 
tation it runs into the Syriac, at the from the days of John the kingdom 
sentence with which B. 72. ends, of heaven is taken by force, would 
with some verbal differences. This not justify the conclusion, that the 
sentence will be found in my trans- saints of the old dispensation did 
lation at the commencement of the not gain admission therein. 



22. 



148 COMMENTARY UPON 

of all others. But that previously to the resurrection of Christ 
from the dead, and His ascent to heaven, there was not among 
men the spirit of adoption, the most wise Evangelist John 

John vii. makes plain where he says : " For the Spirit was not as yet : 

39 " because that Jesus was not yet glorified." And yet cer 

tainly, how can the Spirit be unequal in eternity to God the 
Father, and the Son ? And when did He not exist, Who is 
before all ? For He is equal in substance to the Father, and 
the Son. " But inasmuch as Christ, he says, was not yet glo- 
" rified," that is to say, had not yet risen from the dead, and 
ascended to heaven, the spirit of adoption did not as^yet exist 
for men. But when the Only -begotten Word of God ascended 
np into heaven, He sent down for us in His stead the Com 
forter, Who is in us by Him. And this He taught us, thus 

Johnxvi. 7. saying : " It is expedient for you that I go away : for if I go 
" not away, the Comforter will not come unto you : but when 
" I have departed, I will send Him unto you." 

Even though, therefore, we be inferior to them who have 
fulfilled the righteousness that is by the law : inferior, I mean, 
in righteousness of life, yet are we who have received faith in 
Him endowed with greater privileges. We must, however, 
bear in mind, that although the blessed Baptist was thus great 
in virtue, yet he plainly confessed that he stood in need of holy 
baptism : for he somewhere said, speaking to Christ, the Sa- 

Mat.iii. 14. viour of us all, " I have need to be baptized of Thee." But he 
would have had no need of holy baptism, nor have requested 
leave to have it granted him, had there not been in it some 
thing more and better, than the righteousness that is by the 
law. 

Christ therefore does not contend against the honours of the 
saints ; nor is it His purpose to diminish and strip of their re 
nown those holy men who had before attained to victory : but as 
I said, it rather is to prove that the Gospel mode of life is su 
perior to the legal worship, and to crown with surpassing ho 
nours the glory of faith, that we all may believe in Him. For 
so we enter by Him, and with Him, into the kingdom of hea 
ven : by Whom and with Whom to God the Father be praise 
and dominion, with the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever, Amen. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 



149 



SERMON XXXIX. 

To what therefore shall I liken the men of this generation, c. vii. 31- 
and to what are they like ? They are like to children sit- 35< 
tiny in the market-place, and calling one to another, and 
saying, We have played unto you, and ye have not danced: 
u>e have wailed unto you, and ye have not wept. For John 
the Baptist came, neither eating bread, nor drinking wine, 
and ye say, that he hath a devil. The Son of man came 
eating and drinking : and ye say, Behold a man glutton 
ous, and a wine drinker : a friend of publicans and sin- add. vdv- 
ners. And wisdom is justified of her children. To^BGTs. 

THOSE who have a sound mind examine everything, reject 
ing the false, but receiving and praising that which is without 
blame. And srfch the wise Paul also requires us to be, where 
writing he said: "7 Be ye wise money-changers; prove all iThes.v.ai. 



y Concerning this quotation, 
which very frequently is met with 
in S. Cyril, three different opinions 
have been held: i. that of Archbp. 
Usher, who contended that it be 
longed to some apocryphal Gospel, 
as that of the Hebrews : 2. that 
of Crojus, who considered that it 
was collected by the Fathers from 
Christ s parable of the Talents : 
and 3. that of Sylburgius, who re 
ferred it to St. Paul s Epistle to the 
Thessalonians, I. v. 21. That the last 
alone is true, the Syriac here goes 
far to prove, quoting it expressly 
from St. Paul, as also do S. Cyril s 
Greek remains, as his Commentary 
on Is. iii., on Job. vii. 12., &c. In 
the previous Sermon also the quo 
tation has already occurred, coupled 
with a portion of the same text, 
" prove all things/ And Tischen- 
dorf gives it as a different reading 
of the passage in Thes. from Chry- 



sostom, Theodoret, (srec. v.), Am- 
brosiaster, (sacc. iii. vel iv.), and 
Q^cumenius, (sa a c. xi.) The patris 
tic authority for this opinion is, 
however, really far greater, as it oc 
curs frequently in their works, in 
connection with the two other main 
portions of St. Paul s command. 
Thus Basil the Great (ssec. iv.), in 
his homily on the beginning of the 
book of Proverbs, says : us doKip.os 

TpaTTf&TrjS, TO fJLCV doKlfJLOV KO.6f%(l, 

tiTTo 8e navros c idovs novrjpov a0e e- 
TCII. And Athanasius, Horn, in 
Mat. xxi. 8. a>s SOKI/J-OI Tparrf^lrai 
r6 i\()v K\^o)fjL(da, (tiro navTos fi- 
8ovs novTjpov aTTf^o /zfi/ot. And simi- 
lar quotations might be multiplied 
indefinitely. On the contrary, how 
ever, Origen, in the Latin version 
of his Commentary in Johannem, 
and Jerome, Ep. ad Minerium, 
quote it as a saying of our Lord s : 
there can, however, be little doubt 



150 COMMENTARY UPON 

" things, and hold that which is good : abstain from every evil 
" kind." We therefore also, as I said, must closely examine 
with the discerning eye of the mind whatever is done, and 
search into the nature of actions, that so we may approve of 
that which is without blame, while we reject that which is 
counterfeit. But if, making no distinctions, we run the risk of 
passing an evil sentence upon things highly praiseworthy : and 
of deeming that which is evil fit for commendation and ap 
is, v. 20. plausc, the prophet s words will apply to us : " Woe unto them 
" that call evil good, and good evil : who call bitter sweet, and 
" sweet bitter : who put light for darkness, and darkness for 
" light." Such was the character of the Israelites, and espe 
cially of those whose lot it was to be their chiefs, the Scribes 
namely and Pharisees : of whom Christ said, " To what shall I 
" liken the men of this generation ? and so on." 

There was perchance a sort of game among the Jewish chil 
dren, something of this kind. A troop of youths was divided 
into two parts : who, making sport of the confusion in the 
world, and the uneven course of its affairs, and the painful 
and rapid change from one extreme to the other, played some 
of them on instruments of music : while the rest wailed. 
But neither did the mourners share the merriment of those 
who were playing music and rejoicing : nor again did those 
with the instruments of music join in the sorrow of those who 
were weeping : and finally, they reproached one another with 
their want of sympathy, so to speak, and absence of affection. 
For the one party would say, " We have played unto you, and 
" ye have not danced :" to which the others would rejoin, 
" We have wailed unto you, and ye have not wept." Christ 
declares, therefore, that both the Jewish populace, and their 
rulers, were in some such state of feeling as this ; z " For John 

that the majority of the Fathers of by the prophets, and the players by 
the fourth and fifth centuries re- the Apostles, the predictions of the 
garded it as a genuine portion of former being generally of woe and 
St. Paul s Epistle, though probably punishment, while the latter pro- 
it was not extant in many of the claimed "the grace of repentance." 
MSS., and so was occasionally As alien both to the general tenor 
quoted as a saying attributed by of the Commentary, and the close- 
tradition to our Lord. ness with which S. Cyril confines 
z A passage follows in Mai from himself to the text, it is most pro- 
B. f. 73, interpreting the mourners bably an interpolation. 









THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 151 

" came, He says, neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and 
" they say, that he hath a devil : the Son of man came eating 
" and drinking ; and they say, Behold ! a man gluttonous, and 
" a wine drinker, a friend of publicans and sinners." By what 
then wilt thou be won unto the faith, foolish Pharisee, when 
thou thus blamest all things indifferently, nor countest any 
thing worthy of thy praise ? The blessed Baptist was the fore 
runner of the Saviour, saying, l< Repent ye, for the kingdom Mat. iii. . 
" of God is at hand." For he was a man lit to win confidence, 
and able to persuade, as having even from them the testimony 
that his life was noble, and worthy of admiration. For he dwelt 
in the deserts, clad in poor and rough clothing, and scarcely 
allaying the necessities of the body with locusts and wild ho 
ney. Thou wentest out to see him as one who was holy, and 
had attained to the perfection of all virtue. And dost thou 
venture afterwards to speak ill of such a one ? of one who 
ought rather to be counted worthy of all admiration ( Dost 
thou say that he hath a devil, who by fastings is mortifying 
the law of sin that lurks in our fleshly members, and wars Rom. vii. 
against the law of our mind? What is greater than a life of ~* 
abstinence ? For the very fact of being able to rebuke wisely 
those pleasures that lead to evil, and to cast over them as a 
bridle the laboriousness of a life of abstinence, how is not this 
a great and excellent thing ! The blessed Baptist was entirely 11 
devoted to piety unto Christ ; nor was there in him the very 
slightest regard either for fleshly lusts, or for the things of this 
world. Having altogether abandoned, therefore, the vain and 
unprofitable distractions of this world, he laboured at one, and 
that a very urgent task, of blamelessly fulfilling the ministry 
entrusted to him. For he was commanded to preach, saying : 
" Prepare ye the way of the Lord." Tell me, dost thou think I*, xl. 3. 
that this man hath a devil ? one over whom the tyranny of 
Satan had no power ; who was the captive of no evil lusts ; 
who had overleapt the pitfalls of the base love of the flesh ; 
who had commanded the herds of demons to be still, and man 
fully resisted their attacks. For verily he could not have at 
tained to this glory and virtue but through Christ, Who is ex- 

a Mai, who has part of this pas- TKTTTJS T^S els Xpioroi/ ev<rc@fias t for 
sage, reads, 6S6r 771; 6 naKapws Ban- which the Syriac has oXos. 



152 COMMENTARY UPON 

altecl above Satan, who tempts and gnashes his teeth at the 
prosperity of the saints. Art thou not ashamed, then, of slan 
dering one who had attained to so great patience and endu 
rance, and had wound chaplets of manly virtue round his head ? 
Hast thou whetted thy tongue even at him, and ventured 
basely to calumniate him, by affirming that he is a madman, 
and contemptible, and not in his right mind ? 

Let us, then, see what b is on the other side, and which seems, 
as it were, to follow a different course from the Baptist s conduct. 
Christ was not in the wilderness, but rather made the city His 
habitation in company with the holy Apostles : He did not eat 
locusts and wild honey : His clothing was not of camel s hair, 
nor had He a leathern girdle upon his loins. His mode of life 
rather was such as is usual in towns, with no such hardness in 
it as that practised by the holy Baptist. Dost thou, then, 
praise Him at least ? Dost thou approve of His easiness of 
approach, and His freely mixing with others, and entire care 
lessness about His diet ? By no means. Thy censoriousness 
extended even unto Christ : for thou saidst, " Behold a man 
" gluttonous, and drinking wine ! a friend of publicans and 
" sinners ! Because thou hast occasionally seen Jesus faring 
luxuriously, does He appear to thee a drinker of wine, and a 
carouser, and gluttonous ? How canst thou prove this ? For 
when once upon a time Mary and Martha received Him at 
Bethany, and one of them was distracted with overmuch ser 
vice, Christ is seen preventing excess, and reducing us to a 
Luke x. 4 i. bare sufficiency. For He said, "Martha, Martha: thou art 
" careful, and hurried about many things : but few things are 
SicetiamB. required, or one." And such He was constantly and every 
where. 

But dost thou accuse Him because He went about with pub 
licans and sinners ? And is this the cause of thine offence ? 
But what detriment can it be imagined that Christ suffered, 
from His willingness to be with sinners ? He was not liable at 
all to be taken by their sins, being entirely beyond the reach 
John xiv. of fault. He even said, at one time : " The prince of this 
<e world cometh, and will fmd c nothing in Me?" at another, 

b ^Mai reads in the masc. rov ?- c The Syriac may either repre- 
pov os, K.T. X. " Him Who is on the sent efip^w, which is Griesbach s 
" other side, &c." reading, supported by Athanasius, 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 153 



vm. 



again: "Who of you rebuketh Me because of sin?" He John 
could in no respect therefore be contaminated by being with 46> 
sinners. 

But thou sayest, the law of Moses commanded that " we Ex. 
" should not hold converse with the wicked." Let us, how- 32 
ever, study the object of the law : let us see for what cause 
it forbade the Israelites holding intercourse with the wicked, 
and mingling with the deceivers. Now the truth most cer 
tainly is, that the law of Moses ordained these things, not so 
much that thou mightest vaunt thyself over others, and make 
the commandment a reason for boasting ; but rather, because 
thy mind is weak, and readily drawn aside into folly, and be 
cause thy heart runs willingly after evil pleasures, it would free 
thce from the wish to be with those whose life is culpable, 
lest thou shouldst become like them in mind, and foolishly be 
caught in their snare. " For evil communications corrupt good i Cor. xv. 
" manners." Thou receivcdst the commandment therefore 33> 
as_4L safeguard for thy infirmity. For if thou hadst been 
established in virtue, and thy mind steadfast in the fear of 
God, the law would not have hindered thee from holding use 
ful intercourse with those who were weak, in order that tlfey 
might become imitators of thy piety, and learn to emulate thy 
doings : that walking in the steps of thy zeal, they might ad 
vance to that which is more excellent. Conceive, therefore, no 
proud imaginings, since, even in the commandment of Moses, 
thou art accused of infirmity. Thou blamest Christ for going 
about with sinners and publicans. Is it because thou art afraid 
lest He should suffer from their contamination ? Tell me, then, 
dost thou imagine that He also shares thy frailness? Art thou 
entirely ignorant of the mysteries respecting Him ? That the 
Word being God was with us : that is, was incarnate for our 
sakes? That the Father sent Him " not to condemn the world, John Hi. 17. 
" but that the world through Him might be saved." Now it 
belongs to one who condemns, to avoid the company of such 
as are still in their sins: but it is the part of him who wishes 
to save to be with them, and admonish them, and prevail upon 
them to change from their disgraceful courses, and instead of 

Theodoret, and others, and by Cy- which also has considerable patristic 
ril himself elsewhere; or evpiVjcct, authority. 

X 



154 



COMMENTARY UPON 



the path of wickedness, to choose the way that leadeth to 
Luke v. 32. eternal life. " He came not to call the righteous, but sinners, 
Luke .31. " to repentance." And as He said Himself, " They that are 
" whole need not a Physician : but they that are sick." Why 
therefore dost thou blame Him for loving man so well, and find 
fault with His godlike gentleness? Why reproach Him for 
being kind to us, and healing our sickness ? And yet every 
body praises physicians, not when they avoid those who are 
sick, but when they are constantly with them, and by the re 
sources of their art bring them gradually back to sound health. 
And why then, since Jesus is the Physician of souls and spirits, 
dost thou blame Him for saving sinners ? He could sustain no 
pollution, even though He ate with sinners: for yon bright sun 
sheds its radiance upon, and visits every thing under heaven : 
it chances, then, that impurities also are found lying exposed to 
it : but that which pours down this radiance is not in the least 
defiled, even though it shed it on matters so abominable. d 
Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Sun of Righteousness : a wicked 
man, then, in no way whatsoever defiles Him, though close at 
His side, and eating with Him. 

And thus much, then, we have said respecting Christ the 

Saviour of us all. It is not, however, perhaps unlikely, that 

some may object, and say ; < Does not also the new and saving 

"preaching of the Gospel plainly command us to withdraw 

from the communications of impure men ? For most wise 

i Cor. v. 9. < Paul also wrote to some : " I have written unto you in the 

" epistle, that ye hold no intercourse with fornicators : If any 

" one called a brother be a fornicator, or a drunkard, or co- 

" vetous, or an extortioner, or idolater : with such a one no 

1 " not to eat." It had been fitting, therefore, for Christ to 

have been the type to us of this behaviour/ Thou hast 

missed thy measure, my beloved ! Thou wishest to vie with 



d S. Cyril uses a similar meta 
phor in his 1 5th paschal homily, to 
shew that the divine nature of our 
Lord suffered no corruption by its 
union with the human nature. (Ed. 
Aub. V. pt. 2. 205.) "The sun re- 
" tains its brightness untarnished, 
" even though it shed its rays upon 
" mud and slime : how, then, could 



the divine nature, which is incor 
ruptible, and liable to no change 
or injury, sustain harm by con 
sorting with the inferior ? Would 
it not rather overpower the infe 
rior nature, and, illuminating it 
with its own excellencies, elevate 
it to something incomparably 
better?" 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 155 

thy Master s sovereign dignity : Thou catchest at that 
which is above thy nature. Consider the infirmity of thy 
mind. Christ was God : but thou art a man, tyrannized over 
by fleshly pleasures, with a mind easily beguiled into error, 
and readily made the prey of sins. If, however, thou feelest 
confident of thy ability manfully to maintain a blameless course 
o_conduct, and also to admonish others, there is nothing to 
hinder even thee from wishing to be with the wicked and sin- 
loving. For often the admonitions of spiritually-minded 6 men 
have profited those who are in sin. If, on the contrary, thou 
thyself art scarcely saved, even when keeping far away from 
the company of the evil, maintain thy carefulness in this re 
spect. Call to thy remembrance the writer of the book of 
Proverbs, who says ; " He that walketh with the wise, shall p r0 v. xiii. 
" become wise : but he who walketh with fools, shall become 20 - 
" known." And again, " He that toucheth pitch shall bo dc- 
" filed." And again also the blessed David : " With the holy, 
" thou wilt become holy ; and with the pure, thou wilt become 
" pure : with the elect, thou wilt become elect ; and with the 
" crooked, thou wilt be made crooked." In order, then, " that Prov. vi. 5. 
" thou mayest be delivered like a roe from the nets," flee from 
wicked men ; keep apart from those who cannot be restrained 
from pollution ; and supplicate Christ to purify thy corruptions, 
or rather all thy human weaknesses. For the Word that came 
from God is God, even though He became flesh, that is, man : 
by Whom and with Whom to God the Father, be praise and 
dominion, with the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever, Amen. 

e The Grammar shews that the " ing to the soul," and therefore 

construction of j.i *^ is as I placed by St. James, c. iii. 15., half 

have taken it; for if it belonged way between the earth, which is 

to " those in sin," it would be neither good nor evil, and the devil, 

j.i^iA. otherwise its meaning, who is evil only. Here, however, it 

like that of the Greek ^v^xos, is seems used as equivalent to spi- 

generally an inferior one, " belong- ritual. 



156 COMMENTARY UPON 



SERMON XL. 

C.vii. 36- And a certain Pharisee desired Him to eat with him. 

And having entered the Pharisees house, He reclined at his 

tv r$ Ae t table. And, behold, a woman who was a sinner in the city, 

a M apAo s w j ien s ] ie j mew that He was reclining at table in the Phari- 

a/J eV T77 TT. see s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, and stood 

Kal -into behind Him at His feet, and, weeping, began to wash His 

K\alovcra S.feet with tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, 

and kissed His feet, and anointed them with ointment. When 

om. \iyuv, the Pharisee who had bidden Him saw it, he said in himself, 

If this were a prophet, He would have known who and of 

what sort the woman is who toucheth Him, that she is a 

sinner. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Simon, I 

fy-n s. have somewhat to say unto thee. And he said, Teacher, say 

udd. AeV* on ff e sa ith to him; A certain money-lender had two 

CLUTCV rv 

debtors ; the one owed five hundred denarii, the other fifty : 
om. Se BT. and whan they could not repay, he forgave them both. Which 
add Jv 7r tS, s therefore of them will love him most ? and Simon answered 

om. 5e BT. . 

and said, I suppose he that had most forgiven him. And He 
said to him, Thou hast rightly judged. And turning to the 
woman He said to Simon, Thou seest this woman. I entered 
into thine house : thou gavest no water for My feet; but she 
TT)S hath ivashed My feet with tears, and wiped them with her 
hair. Thou gavest Me no kiss, but she from the time I came in 
hath not ceased kissing My feet. My head ivith oil thou 
didst not anoint ; but she hath anointed My feet with oint 
ment. For this reason, I tell thee, her many sins are for 
given her, because she hath loved much : but he to whom 
KO.I OA. little is forgiven, loveth little. And He said unto her, Thy 
addTo-oi k s ^ ns are forgiven thee. And those who were reclining with 
Him at table began to say in themselves, Wlio is This That 
forgiveth sins also ? But He said to the woman, Thy faith 
hath made thee live : go in peace. 

Ps. xivii. i. "ALL ye people, clap your bands, and praise God with 
" the voice of thanksgiving." And what is the cause of 
the festival? It is that the Saviour hath newly constructed 
for us a way of salvation, untrodden by them of old timeA 






THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 157 



For the law, which the all-wise Moses ordained, was for 
the reproof of sin, and the condemnation of offences : but 
it justified absolutely no one. For the very wise Paul 
writes, " Whosoever rejected the law of Moses, was put Heb. x. 28. 
" to death without mercy at the mouth of two or three 
witnesses." But our Lord Jesus Christ, having removed 
the curse of the law, and proved the commandment which 
condemns to be powerless and inoperative, became our mer 
ciful High Priest, according to the words of the blessed Paul. Heb.ii. 17. 
For He justifies the wicked by faith, and sets free those held 
captive by their sins. And this He proclaimed to us by one of 
the holy prophets, saying, " In those days, and at that time, Jer. 1. 20. 
" saith the Lord, they shall seek for the sin of Israel, and 
" there shall be none : and for the sin of Judah, and thou 
" shalt not find it : for I will be merciful to those that have 
been left in the land, saith the Lord." But lo ! the fulfilment 
of the promise came to pass for us at the time of His Incar 
nation, as we arc assured by the purport of the holy Gospels. 
For he was invited by one of the Pharisees, and being kind 
and loving unto man, and "willing that all men should bciTim.ii. 4 
" saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth," He con 
sented, and granted the favour to him who requested it. And 
having entered, He reclined at table : and immediately there 
entered a woman defiled with filthy lewdness: who, like one 
scarcely roused from wine and intoxication, and made sensible 
of the guilt of her transgressions, offered supplication unto 
Christ, as able to cleanse her, and deliver her from all 
fault, and free her from her former sins, as " not remem- Heb. viii. 
" bcring iniquities." And this she did, washing His feet with r 
tears, and anointing them with ointment, and wiping them 
with her hair. Thus a woman, who beforetime had been lewd, 
and guilty of sensuality, a sin difficult to wash away, missed 
not the path of salvation ; for she fled for refuge to Him Who 
knowcth how to save, and is able to raise from the depths 
impurity. 

She then failed not in her purpose. But the foolish 1 ha- 
risce, the blessed Evangelist tells us, was offended, and said 
within himself, " If this were a prophet, He would have known 
" who and of what sort the woman is that toucheth Him, 
that she is a sinner." The Pharisee therefore was boastful, 



158 COMMENTARY UPON 

and utterly without understanding. For it was his duty ra 
ther to regulate his own life, and earnestly adorn it by all vir 
tuous pursuits ; and not to pass sentence upon the infirm, and 
condemn others. But we affirm of him, that having been 
brought up in the customs of the law, he gave too wide an 
influence to its institutions, and required the Legislator Him 
self to be subject to the commandments of Moses. For the 
law commanded the holy to keep apart from the impure : and 
God also blamed those whose lot it was to be the chiefs of the 
congregation of the Jews, for their unwillingness in this re- 
Ez. xxii. spect. For He thus spake by one of the holy prophets : " they 
" make no distinction between the holy and the profane/ But 
Christ arose for us, not to subject our state to the curses that 
are by the law, but to redeem those subject to sin by a mercy 
Gal. iii. I9 . superior to the law. For the law was instituted " because of 
-transgressions," as Scripture declares, "that every mouth 
< might be stopped, and all the world become guilty before 
" God, because by the works of the law no flesh is justified." 
For there was no one so far advanced in virtue, spiritual 
virtue I mean, as to be able to fulfil all that had been com 
manded, and that blamelessly. But the grace that is by Christ 
justifieth, because, doing away with the condemnation of the 
law, it frees us by means of faith. 

That proud and foolish Pharisee therefore did not even 
deem Jesus to have attained to the measure of a prophet : 
but He made the woman s tears an opportunity for clearly 
instructing him in the mystery. For He taught the Pha 
risee, and all who were assembled there, that the Word 
John iii. being God, " came into the world in our likeness, not to 
" condemn the world, but that the world might be saved by 
Him." He came that He might forgive the debtors much 
nd little, and shew mercy upon small and great, that there 
might be no one whatsoever who did not participate in His 
goodness. And as a pledge and plain example of His grace, 
Ic freed that unchaste woman from her many iniquities by 
saying, Thy sins are forgiven thee." Worthy indeed of God 
s a declaration such as this ! It is a word joined with supreme 
authority. For since the law condemned those that were in 
> who, I ask, was able to declare things above the law, 
xcept Him only Who ordained it ? Immediately therefore He 






THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 159 

both set the woman free, and directed the attention of that 
Pharisee, and those who were dining with him, to more ex 
cellent things : for they learned that the Word being God, 
was not as one of the prophets, but rather far beyond the 
measure of humanity, even though He became man. And 
one may say to him who invited Him, Thou was trained up, O 
Pharisee, in the sacred Scriptures ; thou knowest I suppose of 
course the commands given by most wise Moses : thou hast 
examined the words of the holy prophets : Who then is This 
That walking in a path contrary to the sacred commands 
hath delivered from guilt ? Who That hath pronounced them 
free who have boldly broken the things ordained ? Recognise 
therefore by the facts themselves One superior to the prophets 
and the law: remember that one of the holy prophets pro 
claimed these things in old time of Him, and .said, " They Mic.vii.iy. 
" shall be in wonder at our God, and shall be afraid of Thee. 
" Who is a God like unto Thee, That forgiveth the trans- 
" gressions, and passeth over the iniquities of the remnant of 
" His inheritance, nor rctaineth His anger unto the end, be- 
" cause He willeth mercy \" 

Those therefore who were at meat with the Pharisee, were 
astonished and wondered at seeing Christ the Saviour of all 
possessed of such godlike supremacy, and using expressions 
above the right of man. For they said, " Who is This That 
" forgiveth sins also?" Dost thou wish me to tell thee Who 
He is ? He Who is in the bosom of God the Father, and was 
begotten of Him by nature : by Whom every thing was 
brought into being : Who possesses supreme sovereignty, and is 
worshipped by every thing in heaven and in earth. He sub 
mitted Himself to our estate, and became our High Priest, in 
order that He might present us unto God, pure and clean, Col. i. 22. 
having put off the ill savour of sin, and having Him instead in 
us as a^weet savour. For, as most wise Paul writes, " We are 
" a sweet savour of Christ unto God." This is He Who spake 2 Cor. ii. 
by the voice of the prophet Ezechiel, "And I will be to you a j^" X xxvi. 
" God, and I will save you from all your uneleannesses." See 28, 29. 
therefore, that the actual accomplishment agreed with what 
had before been promised by the holy prophets. Acknowledge 
Him as God Him so gentle and loving unto men. Seize upon 
the way of salvation : flee from the law that killeth :" accept 



160 COMMENTARY UPON 

aCor.iii. 6. the faith which is above the law. For it is written, "That 
11 which is written killeth," even the law : " but the spirit 
" givcth life," even the spiritual purification that is in Christ. 
Satan had bound the inhabitants of earth with the cords of 
sin : Christ has loosed them ; He has made us free, has abo 
lished the tyranny of sin, has driven away the accuser of our 

Ps. cvii. 42. infirmities; and the Scripture is fulfilled, that "all iniquity 

Rom. viii. " shall stop its mouth ;" " for it is God That justifieth : Who is 
u he that condemneth ?" This the divine Psalmist also prayed 
might be accomplished, when thus addressing Christ the 

Ps. civ. 35. Saviour of all. " Let sinners perish from off the earth : and the 
" wicked, so that they may not be found." For verily we must 
not say of one clothed with the Spirit, that he curseth those 
who are infirm and sinful : for it is not fitting for the saints to 
curse any : but rather that he prays this of God. For before 
the coming of the Saviour we all were in sin : there was no one 
who acknowledged Him Who by nature and verily is God. 

Rom. iii. " There was no one doing good, no not one ; but they all had 
" turned aside together, and become reprobate." But because 

Phil. ii. 7. the Only-begotten submitted Himself to emptiness, and became 
flesh, and was made man, sinners have perished, and exist no 
longer. For the dwellers upon earth have been justified by 
faith, have washed away the pollution of sin by holy baptism, 
have been made partakers of the Holy Ghost, have sprung out 
of the hand of the enemy ; and having bidden as it were the 
hosts of devils to depart, dwell under the yoke of Christ. 

Christ s gifts therefore raise men to a hope long looked for, 
and to a most dear joy. The woman who was guilty of many 
impurities, and deserving of blame for most disgraceful deeds, 
was justified, that we also may have confidence that Christ 
certainly will have mercy upon us, when He sees us hastening 
to Him, and endeavouring to escape from the pitfalls of wick 
edness. Let us too stand before Him : let us shed the tears of 
repentance : let us anoint Him with ointment : for the tears of 
him that repenteth are a sweet savour to God. Call him to 

Joel i. 5. mind wno sa ith, "Awake, they who are drunken with wine: 
" weep and howl all they who drink wine to drunkenness." 
For Satan intoxicates the heart, and agitates the mind by 
wicked pleasure, leading men down to the pollutions of sen 
suality. But while there is time, let us awake ; and as most 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 161 

wise Paul says, " Let us not be constantly engaged in revels Rom. 
" and drunkenness, nor in chambering and wantonness; but I3> 
" rather let us work what is good : for we are not of the night, 
" nor of darkness, but children of light and of the day. Let 
" us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and clothe our- 
" selves with the works of light." Be not troubled when thou 
meditatest upon the greatness of thy former sins : but rather 
know, that still greater is the grace that justifieth the sinner, 
and absolveth the wicked. 

Faith then in Christ is found to be the pledge to us of these 
great blessings : for it is the way that leadeth unto life : that 
bids us go to the mansions that are above : that raises us to the 
inheritance of the saints : that makes us members of the king 
dom of Christ : by Whom and with Whom, to God the Father 
be praise and dominion with the Holy Ghost, for ever and 
ever, Amen. 






1G2 COMMENTARY UPON 



SERMON XL! 

c. viii. 4-8. And when a large multitude ivas (fathered together, and some 

of every city were come to Him, He spake by a parable. 

The Sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, 

o pev fw f - some fell by the way side, and, was trampled upon, and the 

yutf ST. birds of heaven devoured it. And other fell upon the rock, 

( , T ^ y - and ivhen it had sprung up, it withered away because it 

avr6 GTS*, had no moisture. And other fell among the thorns, and 

the thorns grew up with it, and choked it. And other fell 

upon the good ground, and it greiv up, and brought forth 

fruit a hundredfold. Wliile saying these things He cried 

out, He that hath ears to hear let him hear. 

THE blessed prophets have spoken to us in manifold ways 
respecting Christ the Saviour of us all. For some proclaimed 
Him as a Light that was to come : and others as One of royal 
is. xxxi. 9 . rank and greatness. For ono of them even says, " Blessed is 
" he who hath seed in Zion, and kinsmen in Jerusalem : for 
" lo ! her just king shall reign, and princes shall bear rule 
" with judgment. And That Man shall be One That hideth 
" His words." For the word of the Saviour is constantly, so 
to speak, hidden. So also the blessed Psalmist has brought 
Ps. Ixxviii. Him before us saying, " I will open My mouth in parables." 
See therefore that that which was spoken by Him in old time 
has come to pass. For a large multitude was assembled round 
Him of people from all Judaea, and He spake to them in para 
bles. But inasmuch as they were not worthy to learn the 
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, the word was wrapt for 
them in darkness : for they had killed the holy prophets, and 
being guilty of much blood of the righteous, heard themselves 
Acts vii. thus plainly addressed : " Which of the prophets have not 
Luke xiii. " y ur fatliers killed ?" And again, " Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 
34- " that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto 

" her ; how often would I have gathered thy children, as a 
" hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would 
" not. Behold your house is left unto you f ." 

"Epijfios, desolate, though re- loxenian versions, and our own tex- 
tained by both the Peshito and Phi- tus receptus, is most probably an 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 163 

But their wicked acts did not extend merely to the holy 
prophets, but even mounted up to Him Who is Lord of the 
prophets : that is Christ. For being insolent, and setting up 
against Him, so to speak, their haughty neck, they gave not 
the slightest heed to the duty of receiving faith in Him : and 
even wickedly resisted His public teaching, and rebuked those 
who wished to be constantly with Him, and thirsted for His 
instruction, impiously saying, " He hath a devil and is mad : John 
why hear ye Him?" To them therefore it was not granted to 
know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but rather unto 
us, who are more ready to embrace the faith. For He hath 
given unto us, as being perfect wisdom, the ability " to un- Pruv. i. 6. 
" derstand parables, and the dark saying, the words of the 
" wise, and their riddles." For parables we may say are the 
images not of visible objects, but rather of those cognizable by 
the intellect and spiritual. For that which it is impossible to 
see with the eyes of the body, the parable points out unto 
the eyes of the mind, beautifully shaping out the subtilty of 
things intellectual, by means of the things of sense, and which 
are as it were palpable to the touch s. Let us see therefore 
what benefit the Saviour s word weaves for us. 

The Sower, He says, went out to " sow his seed, and so 
" forth." Concerning whom then did He thus speak ? Evi 
dently concerning Himself. For He verily is the Sower of all 
that is good, and we are His husbandry : and by Him and 
from Him is the whole harvest of spiritual fruits. And this He 
taught us when saying, " Without Me ye can do nothing." John xv. 5. 

In the imaginations therefore of the mind, see, I pray, a 
husbandman walking along, and everywhere casting seed in 
the fields: of which some falls on the pathways, and some on 
the rocks ; and some on thorny places : and again some on 
good, that is, on fertile ground. That however on the path- 



interpolation from Mat. xxiii. 38, parable to those allegories in which 

and is rejected in all modern edd. the actors are rational beings, as 

In Mat. it is retained by all except that of the ten virgins, of the unjust 

Lachmann, who follows B. The A. V. steward, &c. This of the sower, the 

follows the Vulgate in the mistrans- tares, &c., they call J^Aic, <simi ~ 

lation, " sent unto thee." litudes. Here, however, the trans- 

* The Syrians confine the word lator adopts the Greek usage. 

Y 2 



164 COMMENTARY UPON 

ways was snatched away : and that on the rocks, when it had 
just sprouted, and scarcely shot up, quickly withered of 
drought : and that among thorns was choked : but that which 
fell on good ground prospered, for it bore fruit, He says, a 
hundredfold. 

Now what the aim is of the discourse, and what the pro- 
founder teaching of the parable, we shall learn from Him Who 
framed it. Before us even the blessed disciples found these 
things hard to understand, and drew near unto the Revealer 
of mysteries, supplicating Him and saying, " What is the 
" parable ?" And what was Christ s reply ? " The seed is the 
" word of God : those on the way are they who have heard, 
aKofoavres " an ^ after wards the devil cometh, and taketh away the word 
BS. from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved. 7 

And h as to the cause of the seed on the pathways being 
snatched away, we see in a moment that it is the hardness of 
the ground. A pathway always is hard and untilled, because 
it is exposed to every one s feet, nor is any seed admitted into 
it, but lies rather upon the surface, ready for any birds that 
will to snatch it away. All those therefore, whose mind is 
hard and unyielding, and so to speak, pressed together, do not 
receive the divine seed : for the divine and sacred admonition 
finds no entrance into them, nor do they accept the words that 
would produce in them the fear of God, and by means of 
which they could bring forth as fruits the glories of virtue. 
They have made themselves a beaten and trampled pathway 
for unclean demons, yea, and for Satan himself, such as never 
can bear holy fruit. Let those therefore awake, whose heart 
is sterile and unfruitful : open your mind, receive the sacred 
seed, be like productive and well-tilled soil, bring forth unto 
God the fruits that will raise you to an incorruptible life : 
guard your mind, shut the entrance against the thief, drive 
away from your hearts the flocks of birds, in order that the 
seed may abide with you ; that ye may be ground luxuriant 
in corn, and very fertile, and rich abundantly in bringing forth 
fruit. 

h This passage is contained in is rendered comparatively valueless 

Cramer ii. 66, and as generally is by the extreme carelessness and in- 

the case, his MS. agrees more close- accuracy with which it is edited, 
ly with the Syriac than Mai s, but 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 165 

And next, let us also consider those others of whom Christ 
said, "And those upon the rock are they who, when they hear, 
" receive the word with joy, and they have no root : these for 
" a while believe, and in time of temptation depart away." 
For there are verily men whose faith has not been proved, 
depending on words simply, and not applying their mind to the 
examining of the mystery : of such the piety is sapless and with 
out root. For when they enter the churches, they feel pleasure 
often in seeing so many assembled, and joyfully receive in 
struction in the mysteries from him whose business it is to 
teach, and laud him with praises : but this they do with no 
discretion or judgment, but with unpuriiied wills : and when 
they have gone out of the churches, at once they forget the 
sacred doctrines, and proceed in their customary course ; not 
having stored up within them any thing for their future benefit. 
And if the affairs of Christians go on peacefully, and no trial dis 
turb them, they even then scarcely maintain in them the faith, 
and that, so to speak, in a confused and tottering state. But Cf. 131,- 14. 
if persecution trouble them, and the enemies of the truth 
attack the churches of the Saviour, their heart loves not the 
battle, and their mind throws away the shield and flees, being 
devoid of zeal, and destitute of love towards God, and ready 
for desertion. But ye fearful and infirm, one may well say, 
whjlo_yje flee from that which would be your glory ? and 
escape_ from conflicts to which ye have been trained? For 
hereby those who wish may win for themselves the trophy of 
victory. Do ye also struggle: twine the chaplet of man 
liness, thirst for the rewards of perseverance, for the honours 
of_patiencc. 

I think too that I may rightly bring forward the following 
argument: they who glitter on lofty thrones, and govern 
earthly things, when is it they see the steadfast soldier, whose 
desire is set on victory ? Is it in times when peace smiles, and 
the din of arms is still ? Or is it rather when he goes courage 
ously against those who are marshalling for the attack ? As I 
imagine, it is the latter case that is true rather than the former. 
Therefore as the prophet Jeremiah has said, " Take up arms jerem. 
" and shields." Especially as the right hand ot God our 
Saviour is invincible in the battle, and as most wise Paul has 
saidT" He does not permit men to be tried more than they can ^ 



166 COMMENTARY UPON 

" bear, but with the trial will make also the way of egress, that 
" they may be able to endure patiently." 

But even if it possibly be our lot to suffer when contending 
in defence of piety towards Christ, then altogether and in every 
way are we worthy of envy, and glorious, and possessed of 
splendid hopes. Moreover, a praised death is incomparably 
better than an ignominious life. For so also the Saviour said to 

Lukexii. 4 . the holy apostles, " Fear not them who kill the body, but are 
" not able to kill the soul. But rather fear Him Who is able 
" to destroy both soul and body in hell." Did He therefore 
command us thus entirely to disregard these extreme dangers, 
Avhile He Himself remained aloof from similar trials ? But lo ! 
He laid down His life for us, and with His blood purchased 
the world. We are therefore not our own, but His Who 
bought and redeemed us, and to Whom we owe our lives. For 
as the divine Paul said, " For this reason Christ died and lived, 
" that He might be Lord of the dead and the living." We 
ought therefore to possess a mind incapable of being shaken, 
that especially whenever temptation arrive, we may shew our^ 
selves approved and victorious in the power of patience : and 
ready with joy to undergo conflicts, and seize the opportunity 
of suffering for piety s sake towards Christ. 

Thus much then being disposed of and explained, let us next 
consider the thorns among which the divine seed is choked. 
What again says the Saviour ? " But that which fell among the 
" thorns are they who have heard, and by cares, and wealth, 
" and pleasures of the world, go and are choked, and yield no 
" fruit/ For the Saviour scatters the seed, which having 
obtained a firm hold in the souls that have received it, and al 
ready, so to say, shot up, and just begun to be visible, is choked 
by worldly cares, and dries up, being overgrown by empty occu- 
pations, and as the prophet Jeremiah [ said, " it becomes a hand- 
" ful, that can produce no meal." In these things therefore we 
must be like skilful husbandmen : who having perseveringly 
cleansed away the thorns, and torn up by the root whatever 
is injurious, then scatter the seed in clean furrows; and there- 

PH. cxxvi. fore one can say with confidence, " that doubtless they shall 
" come with joy, bearing their sheaves." But if a man cast his 

1 One or two similar instances will subsequently be found of incorrect 
quotations probably from memory. 



ov. x. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 167 

seed in ground that is fertile in thorns, and fruitful in briars, 
and densely covered with useless stubble, he sustains a double 
loss : of his seed first, and also of his trouble. In order there 
fore that the divine seed may blossom well in us, let us first cast 
out of the mind worldly cares, and the unprofitable anxiety 
which makes us seek to be rich, " For we brought nothing into iTim.vi. 7. 
" the world, nor can we take any thing out." For what profit 
is there in possessing superfluities ? " Treasures profit not the Pro 
" wicked," as Scripture saith, " but righteousness dclivereth 
" from death. For immediately upon the possession of afflu 
ence, there run up, and, so to speak, forthwith hem us in, the 
basest wickednesses ; profligate banquets, the delights of glut 
tony, and carefully prepared sauces ; music, and drunkenness, 
and the pitfalls of wantonness ; pleasures and sensuality, and 
pride hateful to God. But as the disciple of the Saviour has said, 
" Every k thing that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, and 
" the lust of the eye, and the pride of the world; and the "" 
" world passcth away, and its lust ; but he that docth the will 
" of God abideth for ever." 

This is the good seed, and worthy of admiration : the land 
rich and well productive, that bringcth forth fruit a hundred 
fold. For men say, that the best soils do sometimes under cul 
tivation produce a hundredfold ; so that this is a mark of 
every fertile and productive spot. And of such it has been 
very justly said by one of the holy prophets at the mouth of 
God, " And all nations shall congratulate you ; because ye are Malach. ii 
" a desirable land." For when the divine word falls upon a *" 
mind pure and skilful in cleansing itself from things hurtful, it 
then fixes its root deeply, and shoots up like an ear of corn, and 
so to speak, being strong in blade, and well flowered, brings its 
fruit to perfection. 

But I think it may be useful to mention this to you, who 
wish to learn what is good. For Matthew, when relating this Matt, xiii, 
chapter to us, said that the good ground brought forth fruit in * ; 
three degrees. " For one, he says, brought forth a hundred, 

k In this quotation, which repeat- next, TOV KOO-^OV is substituted after 

edly occurs in this Commentary, f) d\aoveia for TOV @iov : and lastly, 

the latter clause of v. 16 is always by the insertion of the copula in the 

omitted, viz. OVK (O~TIV CK TOV ira- previous clause, the sense is fixed as 

rpoy, aXAci fK TOV Koo-fiov fa-Tiv : I have translated it. 



168 COMMENTARY UPON 

" and one sixty, and one thirtyfold." Observe therefore, that 
just as Christ described three degrees of loss, so similarly the 
degrees of success are equal in number. For those seeds that 
fall upon the pathway are snatched away by the birds : and 
those upon the rocks, having merely shot up, within a little 
while wither away : and those among the thorns are choked. 
But that desirable land brings forth fruit in three several 
degrees, as I said : a hundred, sixty, and thirtyfold. For as 
iCor.vii. 7. most wise Paul writes, " Each one severally of us has his own 
" gift from God, one in one manner, and another in another." 
For we do not at all find that the successes of the saints are in 
equal measure. On us however it is incumbent to emulate 
these things that are better and superior to those of meaner 
kind ; for so will Christ bountifully bestow happiness upon us : 
by Whom and with Whom, to God the Father be praise and 
dominion with the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever, Amen. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 169 



SERMON XLll. 

And there came to Him His mother, and His brethren, and C. viii 19- 
were not able to speak luith Him because of the multitude. 21 
But it was told Him, Thy mother, and Thy brethren stand 
without, wishing to see Thee. But He answered and said Add. A*- 
unto them, My mother and My brethren, are these icho QrJJ* 1 
tear the word of God and do it. 

ONCE again let the words of praise in the book of Psalms 
be quoted by us ; " What shall I render unto the Lord for all p 8 . C xvi. 
" He hath rendered unto me ?" For what can we otter Him I2 - 
that is equal to His love towards us ? Shall we choose for our 
guidance the commands of the law, and honour Him with 
sacrifices of blood ? Does He feel pleasure in the slaughter of 
bullocks and goats ? No certainly : for they are an abomination 
unto Him. For by one of His holy prophets He even plainly 
declared to those who were rendering Him the legal service, 
" I hate, I abominate your feast days : nor will I smell at your Amosv.si 
" festivals : because though ye bring Ale whole burnt offerings 
" and sacrifices, I will not accept them ; nor regard your dis- 
" plays for salvation." What therefore ought to be the spi 
ritual sacrifice which we offer Him, the wise Psalmist again 
teaches us saying, " I said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord; PS. xvi. 2. 
" because my good things Thou ncedest not." AVhen thus we 
approach Him, He will accept us : if this be the offering we 
make Him it will be dear and agreeable : this is the spiritual 
sacrifice, according as it is written, " Hath the Lord delight in i Sam. \v. 
" whole burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in our hearkening to 
" His voice? Behold! to hearken is better than sacrifices; and 
" to listen than the fat of rams." For that obedience and the 
hearkening unto God, is the cause of every blessing, the pre 
sent lesson teaches us. For some entered and told Christ re 
specting His holy mother and His brethren. And He, it says, 
answered in these words, " My mother and My brethren are 
" they who hear the word of God and do it." 

Now let not any one imagine that Christ spurned the honour 
due to His mother, or contemptuously disregarded the love owed 



170 COMMENTARY UPON 

to His brethren : for He it was Who spake the law by Moses, 

Dout.v. 16. and clearly said, " Honour thy father and thy mother, that it 
" may be well with thee." And how I pray could He have 
rejected the love due to brethren, Who even commanded us to 
love not merely our brethren, but those who stand in the rela- 

Mat. v. 44. tion to us of foes ? For He says, " Love your enemies." What 
therefore does Christ wish to teach? His object then is highly 
to exalt His love towards those who are willing to bow the neck 
to His commands : and in what way I will explain. The greatest 
honours, and the most complete affection is that which we all 
owe to our mothers and brethren. If therefore He says that 
they who hear His word and do it are His mother and brethren, 
is it not plain to every one, that He bestows on those who 
follow Him a love thorough and worthy of their acceptance ? 
For so He would make them readily embrace the desire of 
yielding themselves to His words, and of submitting their mind 
to His yoke, by means of a complete obedience. 

But that God greatly rejoices in those whose minds are, thus 
disposed, He assures us by one of the holy prophets, thus 

is. ixvi. 2. saying, "And on whom shall I look, except upon the humble 
" and meek, and that trembleth at My words V For just as 
our fathers after the flesh feel pleasure in those sons whose 
choice it is to perform the things that are good and agreeable 
to them, and who wish to accord with them in mind, so also the 
God of all loves the obedient, and deigns His mercy to him 
who thoroughly hearkens to Him. And the converse also is 
true : that he rejects him who is disobedient and untractable. 
For He also blamed the Jews who fell into this wickedness, 

Mai. i. 6. saying, "A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master : 
"if I then am a father, where is My honour? and if I am a 
" master, where is My fear ? saith the Lord Almighty." For 
either we ought to fear the Lord of all as a master, or to 
honour Him at least as a father, a thing which is far greater 

i John iv. and better than the former : for love casteth out fear. 

For that there is no obedience without reward, and on the 
other hand, no disobedience without penalty, is made plain by 
what God spake by His holy prophet to those who disregarded 

Is. ixv. 13. Him: "Behold, they who serve Me shall eat, but ye shall 
" suffer hunger : behold, they who serve Me shall drink, but 
" ye shall suffer thirst : behold, they who obey Me shall 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 171 

" rejoice, but ye shall lament : behold, they who serve Me 
" shall exult in happiness, but ye shall groan, and wail from 
" contrition of your heart." For let us see, if you will, even 
from the writings of Moses, the grief to which disobedience has 
brought us. We have been driven from a paradise of delights, 
and have also fallen under the condemnation of death ; and 
while intended for incorruption : for so God created the uni 
verse : we yet have become accursed, and subject to the yoke 
of sin. And how then have we escaped from that which betel us > 
or Who is He that aided us, when we had sunk into this great 
misery ? It was the Only-begotten Word of God, by submitting Phil. ii. s. 
Himself to our estate, and being found in fashion as a man, and 
becoming obedient unto the Father even unto death. Thus has 
the guilt of the disobedience that is by Adam been remitted : 
thus has the power of the curse ceased, and the dominion of 
death been brought to decay. And this too Paul teaches, 
saying, " For as by the disobedience of the one man, the many Kom.v. i<> 
" became sinners, so by the obedience of the One, the many 
" became righteous." For the whole nature of man became 
guilty in the person of him who was first formed ; but now it is 
wholly justified again in Christ. For He became for us the 
second commencement of our race after that primary one; and 
therefore all things in Him have become new. And Paul as 
sures of this, writing, " Therefore every man who is in Christ 2 * > v. 
" is a new creation; and the former things have passed away : 
" behold, they have become new." om. TO *< 

In order then that Christ may win us all unto obedience, He re ti n ent 
promises us surpassing honours, and deigns us the highest love, GTy - 
saying, * My mother and My brethren are those who hear the 
" word of God and do it." For who among men is so obdurate 
and ungentle, as to refuse to honour, and accord the most com 
plete love to his mother and brethren ? For the all-powerful 
law of nature, even without our will, obliges us to this. When 
therefore, bowing our neck to the Saviour s commands, we be 
come His followers, and so arc in the relation of a mother and 
brethren to Him, how does He regard us before God s judgment 
seat ? Is it not with gentleness and love ? What doubt can there 
be of this ? And what is comparable to this honour and good 
ness ? What is there worthy of being matched with a gift thus 
splendid and desirable ? For He takes us unto Him, that where 

z 2 



TO COMMENTARY UPON 

He is, there we also may be with Him. For this He even 
Johnxiv.3. deigned to promise us, saying, "I will go, and make ready a 
" place for you : and return again and take you with Me, that 
" where I am, there ye also may be with Me." 

Servitude, therefore, is a thing worth our gaining, and the 

pledge of noble honours. And this, we say, is fulfilled not by 

our merely hearing the words of God, but by our endeavouring 

to perform what is commanded. This thou learnest from what 

James i. 22. one of the holy Apostles declares : " But become doers of the 

om. gi-isol. " law 1 , and not hearers only. If any be a hearer of the law, 

" and not a doer, he is like a man regarding his natural face, 

" in a mirror. For he has regarded himself, and gone away : 

" and at once forgotten what manner of person he was. But 

" he who hath looked into the perfect law of liberty, and 

tpywv sol. " wrought : not being a forgetful hearer, but an active doer, m 

" he shall be blessed in his doing." 

Now though the argument already brought forward is suffi 
cient for the persuasion of right-thinking men, yet I will add 
for their advantage that also which is correctly said in the 
Heb. vi. 7. words of the blessed Paul : " For the land that hath drunk in 
" the rain that hath come oft upon it, and bringeth forth the root 
" serviceable for them for whose sake it is tilled, receiveth a 
" blessing from God. But if it bring forth thorns and thistles, 
" it is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing : and its end is to be 
" burnt." For like rain, the Saviour sendeth down upon the 
hearts of those who hear, the word of spiritual consolation ; 
even the sacred doctrine of salvation. If then a man be pos 
sessed of understanding, he will bring forth the fruits of an 
abundant intellectual harvest : but if he be careless and negli 
gent, he of course has no claim to the praises of virtue, and 
instead of grapes will bring forth thorns. And what his end 
will be, we learn from the words of Isaiah. For he says : 

1 The reading vopov for \6yov in quent in the Greek of the N. T., 

this and the following verse is but nowhere more so than in St. 

found in very few even of the infe- James. As, therefore, " the mam- 

rior MSS., but occurs in the ^Ethi- mon of unrighteousness" is " the 

opic and Arabic versions. unrighteous mammon," and " a 

m Owing to the paucity of adjec- ( hearer of forgetfulness," " a for- 

tives in Syriac, an attribute is ge- getful hearer ;" so a " doer of 

nerally expressed by the addition of doings" is " an active doer." 
a substantive, and this idiom is fre- 






THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 173 

" For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the man of Judah : is. v. 7. 
" a plant new and well-beloved : and I looked that it would 
" bring forth grapes, but it brought forth iniquity, and not 
" righteousness, but a cry." And that Israel was thus punished 
for its neglect of that fruitfulness which was both fitting for 
itself and well pleasing to God ; having neither obeyed His 
commands, nor consented to perform them ; we learn again 
from His words, where He says : " But now I will shew you Is. v. 5. 
" what I will do to My vineyard. I will take away its fence, 
" and it shall be wasted : and I will rend its wall, and it shall 
" be trampled under foot. And I will abandon My vineyard : 
" and it shall not be pruned, nor tilled : and thorns shall grow 
" up in it as on waste ground ; and I will command the clouds 
" to rain no rain upon it." It is plain, therefore, to every man, 
that God hath no respect for the wicked soul that bcarcth 
thorns. For it is left unprotected, and without a wall, and ex 
posed to the depredations of whoever will ; a place for thieves 
and wild animals ; and sharing in no spiritual consolation. For 
this I consider, and this only, is the meaning of there falling 
upon it no rain. When Israel suffered these things, the Psalmist 
so to speak wailed over him, and said to the God of all : 
" The vine that Thou broughtest out of Egypt, Thou castedst PS. ixxx. 
" out the nations and plantedst it." And again thus proceeds : 
" its shade covered the mountains; and its boughs were as the 
" cedars of God : it sent forth its branches to the sea, and its 
" foliage to the river." lie made too supplications for what 
they had suffered, saying ; " Why hast Thou broken down her w. 12, 13. 
" hedges, and all the wayfarers pluck her I The boar out of 
" the wood destroyed! hgr : and the ass of the desert feedeth 
" upon her." For the soul that is undefended, and deemed 
unworthy of protection from on high, becomes a pasture 
ground for evil beasts. For it is plundered by Satan and his 
angels. 

In order, therefore, that we may not fall into such severe 
tribulations, let us bow the neck of our mind to Christ the Sa 
viour of all. Let us receive the Word of God and do it : for it 
our choice be so to act, He will crown us with lofty honours ; 
for He is the distributor of the crowns ; by Whom and with 
Whom to God the Father be praise and dominion with the 
Holy Ghost, for ever and ever, Amen. 



174 COMMENTARY UPON 



SERMON XLIII. 

c. viii. a 2- But it came to pass on a certain day that He went into a 
ship with His disciples. And He said unto them, Let us 
go over to the other side of the lake : and they went. But 
as they were sailing, He fell asleep: and there came 
KOI ffwe- down a storm of wind upon the lake, and the ship was 
T&TIoToj/ filled and they were in danger. And they drew near, 
sol. and awoke Him, saying, Master, Master, we perish. 

rots ai>ffj.ots, Then He arose, and rebuked the ivinds, and the raging 
/*e- f ^ e waters, and they luere still : and there ivas a great 
sol. ca i m But He said to them) where is your faith? And 
lrpbs^\^- they were afraid, and wondered among themselves, saying, 
\ovt, sol. Who, then, is This, that He commandeth even the winds, 
KoJov i" ana wa ters, and they obey Him ? 

aura?, B. 

ONCE again draw near, that as with the Psalmisfs harp we 
Pa.xxxiv.i. may cry aloud : " I will bless the Lord at all times : and at all 
" times shall His praise be in my mouth." For He ever doeth 
wonderful things; and giveth occasions thick and closely press 
ing one upon another for His praise : and every word falls 
short of His power, and of His majesty far exalted above all. 
Prov. xxv. For true is it that " the glory of the Lord covereth over the 
" Word." But we must not on this account forget the glory 
that is His due and fitting right : but rather must hasten 
joyfully to offer such fruits as are proportionate to our power. 
For certainly there is nothing whatsoever that a man can af 
firm to be better than praise, even though it be but little that 
we can offer. Come, therefore, and let us praise Christ the 
Saviour of all : let us behold the supremacy of His might, and 
the majesty of His godlike dominion. 

For He was sailing, together with the holy Apostles, across 
the sea, or rather lake of Tiberias, and an unexpected and vio 
lent tempest arose upon the vessel ; and the waves, piled up 
high by the gusts of the winds, filled the disciples with the fear 
of death. For they were terrified not a little, although well 
acquainted with seamanship, and by no means inexperienced 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 175 

in the tumults of the waves. But inasmuch as the greatness 
of the danger made their terror now unendurable, as having 
no other hope of safety except Him only Who is the Lord 
of powers even Christ, they arouse Him, saying, Master, 
Master, save us, we perish : for the Evangelist says that He 
was asleep. n With most wise purpose, as it seems to me, was 
this also done. For some one, I imagine, may say, Why did 
He fall asleep at all ? To which we reply, that the event was 
so arranged as to be good and profitable. For that they might 
not ask aid of Him immediately when the tempest began to 
dash upon the ship, but when, so to speak, the evil was at its 
heigh th, and the terrors of death were troubling the disciples ; 
that so the might of His godlike sovereignty might be more 
manifest, in calming the raging sea, and rebuking the savage 
blasts of the wind, and changing the tempest to a calm, and 
that the event might thus become a means of improvement to 
them that were sailing with Him, He purposely fell asleep. 

But they, as I said, wake Him, saying: Save me, We 
perish. See here, I pray, smallness of faith united with faith. 
For they believe that He can save; and deliver from all evil 
those who call upon Him. For had they not so far had a firm 
faith in Him, they certainly would not have asked this of Him. 
And yet as having but little faith, they say, Save me, we 
perish. For it was not a thing possible, or that could hap- 

n Mai here inserts two passages, rally the Apostles were only eye- 

the first referring to our Lord s witnesses, and in danger, therefore, 

austerity of manners ((pi\oa-o<pia) in of not really appreciating them : it 

sleeping with only a pillow under was necessary, therefore, for them 

His head ; and the second at the to experience in their own persons 

end of the paragraph, enlarging their Master s divine power, that 

upon the economy : but as the first they might he fully impressed with 

of these is contained in Cramer en- His majesty: and thus, therefore, 

tire and the beginning of the se- He did not save them till they were 

cond, in the extracts in his Catena in the very terrors of death, 

from S. Cyril s Commentary on S. Cyril was here probably 

S. Mark, (cf. c. iv. v. 35.), we have quoting from memory : for though 

another proof that the passages not o-oxroi/ is read in some MSS., it is 

acknowledged by the Syriac are universally regarded as an interpo- 

often taken from other works of lation, and does not appear in Cy- 

this father. In the second extract ril s own text : while the pronoun 

there is a remark so worthy of Cyril " me," " Save me," has no MS. au- 

that I append it : it is to the effect, thority whatsoever, 
that in our Lord s miracles gene- 



176 COMMENTARY UPON 

pen, for them to perish when they were with Him Who is 
Almighty. 

The vessel, then, was severely tossed by the violence of the 
tempest, and the breaking of the waves : and along with the 
ship the faith of the disciples also was tossed, so to speak, by 
similar agitations. But Christ, Whose authority extends over 
all, immediately arose, and at once appeased the storm, re 
strained the blasts of wind, quieted their fear, and yet further 
proved by deeds that He is God, at Whom all created things 
tremble and quake, and to Whose nods is subject the very 
Sic etiam nature of the elements. For He rebuked the tempest : and 
cod. Gr, Matthew says that the manner of the rebuke was with godlike 
authority. For he tells us, that our Lord said to the sea : 
Markiv.39. " Peace, be thou still." What can there be more grand 
than this in majesty ? or what can equal its sublimity ? Right 
worthy of God is the word, and the might of the command 
ment, so that we too may utter the praise written in the book 
Ps. ixxxix. of Psalms : " Thou rulest the power of the sea : and stillest 
9- " the turbulence of its waves." He too has Himself said some- 

Jer. v. 12. where by one of the holy prophets : " Why fear ye not Me, 
" saith the Lord ? nor tremble at My presence ? I Who have 
" set the sand as the bound of the sea, a commandment for 
" ever, and it hath not passed it." For the sea is subject to the 
will of Him Who made all creation, and is, as it were, placed 
under the Creator s feet, varying its motions at all times ac 
cording to His good pleasure, and yielding submission to His 
lordly will. 

When, therefore, Christ had calmed the tempest, He also 
changed into confidence the faith of the holy disciples, which 
had been shaken along with the ship, no longer permitting it 
to be in doubt ; and wrought in them, so to say, a calm, 
smoothing the waves of their weak faith. For He said, 
"Where is your faith ?"P Another Evangelist, however, af- 
Mat. viii. firms of Him, that He said, " Why are ye fearful, ye of 
"little faith?" For when the fear of death unexpectedly 

P Mai adds a passage enlarging " monishing them, that their fear 

upon the idea, " and with the tempest " was caused not by the trials that 

" of the waves does away with the " befel them, but hy the weakness 

" tempest of their soul, rehuking " of their faith." 
" them, and at the same time ad- 






THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 177 

befals, it troubles sometimes even a well-established mind, and 
exposes it to the blame of littleness of faith ; and such also is 
the effect of any other trouble too great to bear upon those 
who are tried by it. For this reason there once drew near cer 
tain unto Christ, and said : " Increase our faith." For the man Luke xvii. 
who is still exposed to blame for littleness of faith falls short 5> 
of him who is perfect in faith. For just as gold is tried in the 
fire, so also is faith by temptations. But the mind of man is 
weak, and altogether in need of strength and help from above, 
in order that it may be well with him, and that he may be able 
to maintain a steadfast course, and be strong, manfully to en 
dure whatsoever befal. And this our Saviour taught us, saying ; 
" Without Me ye can do nothing." And the wise Paul also John xv. 5. 
confesses the same, where he writes; " I am able to do all Phil. iv. 13. 
" things through Christ, That strengthened! me." 

The Saviour, therefore, wrought miracles, changing by His 
all-prevailing nod the tempest into a calm, and smoothing the 
raging storm into a settled peace. But the disciples wondering 
at the divine sign, whispered one to another, saying : " Who, 
ft then, is This, that He commands even the winds and the 
"waters, and they obey Him?" Did the blessed disciples, 
then, thus say to one another, " Who is This?" from not 
knowing Him ? But how is not this utterly incredible ? For 
they knew Jesus to be God, and the Son of God. For also 
Nathaniel plainly confessed, " Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God, John i. 49 . 
" Thou art the King of Israel." Yes, and Peter too, that 
chosen one of all the Apostles, when they were in the neigh 
bourhood of Ca?sarea Philippi, and Christ put a question to 
them all, and said, " Whom do men say that the Son of man M.it.xvi.i 3. 
" is ?" and certain had answered, Some, indeed, Elias ; but 
" others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets" made a correct 
and blameless confession of faith in Him, saying, " Thou art the 
" Christ the Son of the living God." And Christ praised him 
for thus speaking, honoured him with crowns, and counted the 
disciple worthy of surpassing honours : for He said, " Blessed 
" art thou, Simon, son of Jonah : for flesh and blood hath not 
" revealed it to thee, but My Father in heaven. v And how 
could Peter, who was taught of God, not know Him Whom he 
plainly said was the Son of the living God ? It was not then 
as being ignorant of His glory, that the wise disciples say, 

A a 



178 COMMENTARY UPON 

Who is This ? but rather as wondering at the immensity of 
His power, and at the lofty and incomparable greatness of His 
sovereignty. For the wretched Jews, either as being entirely 
ignorant of the mystery of Christ, or as not deigning Him, in 
their great wickedness, any regard, rebuked Him, and threw 
stones at Him, when He called God His Father. For they 
John x. 33. ventured even to say, " Why dost Thou, being a man, make 
" Thyself God?" For they did not comprehend in their mind 
the depth of the mystery. God was in visible form like unto 
us : the Lord of all bore the likeness of a slave : He Who is 
high exalted was in lowliness : and He who surpasses all in 
tellectual comprehension, and transcends every created being, 
was in the measure of us men. And as the disciples knew this, 
they wonder at the glory of the Godhead ; and as they view It 
present in Christ, and yet see that He was like unto us^ and 
visible in the flesh, they say, " Who is This?" instead of, How 
great He is ! and of what nature ! and with how great power, 
and authority, and majesty. He commands even the waters and 
the wind, and they obey Him ! 

There is also in this much for the admiration and improve 
ment of those who hear : for creation is obedient to whatsoever 
Christ chooses to command. And what excuse can avail us, if 
we do not submit to do the same ? or can deliver from the fire 
and condemnation him who is disobedient and untractable, set 
ting up, so to speak, the neck of his haughty mind against 
Christ s commands, and whose heart it is impossible to soften ? 
It is our duty, therefore, understanding that all those things 
that have been brought into existence by God entirely agree 
with His will, ourselves to become like the rest of creation, and 
avoid disobedience as a thing that leads to perdition. Let us 
rather, then, submit to Him Who summons us to salvation, and 
to the desire of living uprightly and lawfully, that is, evange 
lically : for so Christ will fill us with the gifts that come from 
above, and from Himself: by Whom and with Whom to God 
the Father be praise and dominion, with the Holy Ghost, for 
ever and ever, Amen q . 

Q Mai from A. f. 126. appends a after His resurrection He said, 

passage containing two allegorical Peace be unto you : and the second 

interpretations, the first explaining the more ordinary one of the ship 

the lake as signifying Judsea, in being the Church, the saints the 

which a tempest rose against the rowers, &c. 
disciples, appeased by Christ, when 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 179 



SERMON XLIV. c.viii.,6. 

36. 

Fepao Tjj wj/ 

And they went to the country of the Gferasenes, which is over BTS - 
- against Galilee. And when He went out on land, there ^ aSapwa " 
met Him a certain man who had devils, and for a lona 01 ! 1- * K TS 

J TT 



, S. 

time had not luorn clothing, nor abode in a Iwuse, but in *<& 



the tombs. And when he sau> Jesus, he cried out, and fell "5!^ BS. 
down before Him, and with a loud voice said, What is 






there between me and 7 //<r, Jesus, /Son of God Most SL/Tdl !>"" 
///*// . ? / beseech Thee, Torment me not. But He had 2J s ^ a 
commanded the unclean spirit to go out of the man: for fpd^asGTs. 
from a long time it had seized him, and he ivas kept bound UH^&. 
with chains and fetters, and ivas watched : and breaking Kei 8 * s - 
his bonds, he was driven by the devil into the wilderness. 
And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name ? And lie om. \4ywv 
said, Legion : because tliat many devil* had entered into 
him. And they besought Him not to command them to go 
into the abyss. But there was there a herd of many swine 
feeding on the mountain : and the*/ besought Him to suffer POO-KO^^ 

TJ^J 

them to enter into them. And He suffered them. But when __^ VO)V 
the devils had gone out of the man, they entered into Ae GTy - 
swine. And the herd rmhed over the precipice^ into the 
lake, and ivas drowned. When then the keepers saw what 
had happened, they fled, and told it in the city and vil- a( ia. ^ nf \. 
lages. . And they went out to see what had happened, and jj 1 
came to Jesus, and found the man out of whom the devils 
had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus clothed, and sober- 
minded. And they were afraid. But they who saw it told ol I 
them in what manner the demoniac had been saved. Ka { i ; 5 

GTs. 

THE prophet Ilabakkuk foresaw the glory of the Saviour, 
and, overcome by His wonderful deeds, he offered up praises 
unto Him, saying : " O Lord, I have heard Thy hearing, and Hah. iii. 2. 
" been afraid : I have considered Thy doings, and been asto- 

r The literal translation is, " And nothing more than a periphrasis for 
" its own impulse carried the herd wp^aev, for which the Syriac 1ms 
" over the precipice ;" but this is no direct equivalent. 

A a 2 



180 COMMENTARY UPON 

" nished." For of which of the deeds wrought by our common 
Saviour Christ can any one say, that it is not worthy of all 
admiration? which of them is not great, and highly to be 
praised, and a proof of His godlike authority ? And this we 
can very clearly see in what has been here read to us from the 
evangelic Scriptures. Let us behold, then, the tyranny of the 
enemy shaken by Christ, and the earth set free from the wick 
edness of demons : let us see the heads of the serpent bruised 
by Him, and the swarm of venomous reptiles driven away over 
powered and in terror: and those who in old time had been full 
of cunning and audacity ; who had held subject to their sway 
all that lies beneath the heavens ; who had prided themselves 
upon their temples of vast cost, and on their beautifully sculp 
tured altars ; who had been honoured with sacrifices ; and 
crowned with universal praises ; fall from their former glory, 
and as though retaining sovereignty over no one single man, 
beg for a herd of swine ! A very plain proof is this of the 
unexpected misery that had befallen them, and of their being 
broken utterly. 

But no more : for I perceive that in my discourse I have 
taken a leap, as it were, from what we began with, and have 
hurried to the latter part of the lesson. Come, therefore, 
that, like a fleet and strong-limbed horse, we may as with a 
bridle, turn it back to the beginning. For the Saviour, in com 
pany with the holy disciples, had landed in the country of the 
Gerasenes ; and immediately a man met them, in whom dwelt 
many unclean spirits : and he was void of mind and under 
standing, and in no respect different from those already dead, 
and laid in the earth : or rather, perhaps, even in a more 
miserable state. For they, carefully wrapped in their grave- 
clothes, are laid in the earth, like one on his mother s bosom : 
but he, in great misery and nakedness, wandering among the 
graves of the dead, was in utter wretchedness, leading a dis 
graceful and ignominious life : and so was a proof of the cruelty 
of the demons, and a plain demonstration of their impurity. 
And besides this, it is a charge and accusation against them of 
hatred unto mankind : for they would have no man whatsoever 
upon earth sober, but wish them like one intoxicated, and 
crazed, to know nothing to their profit, but be left in igno 
rance even of Him Who is the Maker of all. For of whomso- 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 181 

ever they have possession, and have subjected to their power, 
him at once they make an example of great misery, deprived 
of every blessing, and destitute of all sobriety, and bereft more 
over entirely even of reason itself. 

But why, say some, have they possession of men ? To 
such, then, as wish to have this explained, I answer, that 
the reason of these things is very deep : for so somewhere 
God is addressed by one of His saints, " Thy judgments are Ps.xxxvi.6. 
a vast abyss." But as long as we bear this in mind, we shall 
perchance not shoot beside the mark. The God of all, then, 
purposely permits some to fall into their power, not so much 
that they may suffer, as that we may learn by their example 
in what way the demons treat us, and so may avoid the wish 
of being subject to them. For by the suffering of one, many 
are edified. 

But the Gerasene, or rather the herd of demons lying con 
cealed within him, fell down before Christ s feet, saying, " What 
" is there between me and Thee, Jesus, Son of God Most High ? 
" I beseech Thee, torment me not." Here observe, I pray, 
the mixture of fear with great audacity, and overweening 
pride : and that the words which he is forced, as it were, to 
ejaculate, are coupled with inflated haughtiness ! For it is 
a proof of the pride of the enemy, that he ventures to say, 
" What is there between me and Thee, Jesus, Son of God 
" Most High r Thou knowest, then, for certain, that He is 
the Son of God Most High : thou therefore confessest that He 
is also God, and Lord of heaven and earth, and of all things 
therein : and how, then, having usurped that which is not 
thine, or rather that which is His, and assumed to thyself a 
glory which in no possible way is thy right : for thou claim- 
edst to be worshipped : didst thou affirm that He had nothing 
to do with thee, Whom, as far as thy endeavours went, thou 
causedst to be expelled from that dignity which most fitly is 
His alone ? All men upon earth are His ; and these thou 
wickedly corruptedst, removing them far from the knowledge 
of Him Who truly is the Lord and Maker of all, and plungedst 
them into the mire of sin, making them thy worshippers : 
and afterwards dost thou say, " What is there between me and 
" Thee ?" What earthly king would endure to have those 
placed under his sceptre harrasscd by barbarians ? Or what 



182 COMMENTARY UPON 

shepherd is so unfeeling and indifferent, as when savage beasts 
attack his flocks, to take no heed of the calamity, nor endeavour 
to aid his sheep ? Confess, even though against thy will, who 
thou art, and to Whom thou speakest. Utter words such as 
befit thee : such namely as, " I pray Thee, torment me not." "For 
" He had commanded, it says, the spirit to go out of the man." 
Observe, I pray again, the incomparable majesty of Him 
Who transcends all, even of Christ. With irresistible might 
and unequalled authority He crushes Satan by simply willing 
that so it should be. He does not permit him to venture to 
give one look of opposition to His commands. Fire and flames 
unto him was Christ s will : so that it is true as the blessed 
Ps.xcvii.5. Psalmist said, that " the hills melted like wax before the face 
PS. civ. 32. " of God." And again elsewhere, " Touch the hills, and they 
" shall smoke." For he compares to the hills those high and 
boastful powers of wickedness ; which nevertheless, as though 
in contact with fire, melt like wax before the might and 
sovereignty of our Saviour. And besides this they smoke : 
now smoke is an indication of fire about to burst into a blaze ; 
and this it is the lot of the impure spirits to suffer. 

But Christ asked him, and commanded him to tell, What 
was his name. And he said, "Legion, because that many 
" devils had entered into him." Did Christ then ask because 
He did not know it, and like one of us, wished to learn it as 
something that had escaped Him ? But how is it not perfectly 
absurd for us to say or imagine any thing of the kind ? For as 
Ps. vii. 9. being God, " He knoweth all things, and searcheth the hearts 
" and reins." He asked therefore for the plan of salvation s 
sake, that we might learn that a great multitude of devils 
shared 5 the one soul of the man, engendering in him a wretched 
and impure madness. For he was their work, and they indeed 
Jer. iv. 22. are " wise to do evil/ 1 as the Scripture saith, but to do " good 

" they have no knowledge." 

Ps. cxviii. Ag therefore the Psalmist said, " let us keep the feast with 
Ps. xlvii. i. flowers*." And " Let all the people clap their hands." For 

8 As a general rule, the Syriac is a meaning of " possessed," the proper 

very exact translation of the Greek, signification being to " graze off 

to judge by the fragments in Mai : land with cattle," " depasci." 
here, however, the word Karevfipa- t Jj^j^ may perhaps mean 

TO, which he renders " divided" or " thick boughs," as evidently it is 

" shared,** has probably only the intended to represent the LXX ver- 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 



183 



let us bear in mind what was the character of our enemies ; 
and who were those princes of all beneath the heavens before 
the coming of our Saviour : bitter were they, impure, mur 
derers, and full of all immorality. But Christ setteth us free 
from the hatred of these noxious beings. Let us therefore with 
exultation and gladness in our great joy exclaim, " We will Pa. H. 
" cut asunder their cords, and cast away their yoke from us." 
For we have been set free, as I said, by the might of Christ, 
and delivered from those bitter and iniquitous beings, who in 
old time had the dominion over us. 






sion, (TvaTTj(Ta(r6f (opn}v tv TO LS TTVKO.- 
ov<riv. The Hebrew most probably 
means, " Rind ye the festival with 
thick boughs," and is rightly re 
ferred by the LXX (apparently) to 
the feast of tabernacles : the word 
" bind," which has led the inter 
preters into error, having reference 
to one of its ceremonies. The noun 
311, with the corresponding words 
in Arabic and Syriac, never means 
" a victim," but a festival : the in 
stances which Gesenius and Winer 
give to the contrary notwithstand 
ing. Of these the first is Ex. xxiii. 

I 8. ^n~^f PT, Ol>8e fJirj KOlfJLT)6f) <TT((lp 

TT)S eoprrjs fwv eW Trpcot, as the 
LXX render it, the meaning being 
not that the fat of one particular 
victim was to be carefully consumed 
before the next morning broke, but 
that of all the victims throughout 
the feast day, " the fat of the feast 
day." The other instance is exactly 
similar, Mai. ii. 3. D D^M U71Q, 
rendered by the LXX fwa-rpov eop- 
TWV : and very strong reasons in my 
judgment are required to counter 
weigh upon a point like this the 
testimony of the LXX interpreters, 
whose authority has been unfairly 
depreciated in modern times, ow 
ing to the general ignorance of 
even the elements of Hebrew criti 
cism. The Vulgate from the LXX 
gives the literal rendering : " Con- 
" stituite diem solennem in conden- 
" sis, usque ad cornu altaris :" and 



Luther the sense, " Schmiicket das 
" Fest mit Maien bis an die Hb rner 
" des Altars." And this translation 
agreeing in the main with the LXX 
and Jerome, has been retained by 
Tholuck, and defended by Stier. 
A very interesting discussion upon 
this Psalm, proving that it was com 
posed for the Festival of Taberna 
cles, may be read in Lakemaker, 
vol. i. p. 197. ed. 1799, who shews 
that victims neither were nor could 
be bound to the horns of the altar, 
but that a fence of willow wands 
was formed on one of the days of 
the feast round it. I should there 
fore prefer rendering [j^na, as 
" boughs," the word being of very 
rare occurrence. Golius however 
renders ^\jij floruit, pec. comoso 

capite talive spica : and in the only 
other place in which I have met 
with it, viz. Serm. 126, the Syriac 
translator puts it for avBos in Is. 
xi. i. If therefore we render it, ac 
cording to Golius, " let us keep the 
" festival with clusters of flowers," 
it will still have reference to the 
feast of tabernacles, which was a 
sort of rustic holyday-keeping in 
the fields, but the particular refer 
ence of the Hebrew will be lost. 
The Syriac version in the London 
Polyglott throws no light upon the 
text, being, "Bind our festivals 
" with chains, even up to the horns 
" of the altar." 



184 COMMENTARY UPON 

The herd then of impure spirits asked for a herd worthy 
of and like itself of swine ! And Christ purposely gave them 
leave, though He well knew what they would do. And I can 
imagine some one saying, Why did He grant their request? To 
which we answer, That He gave them the power, in order that 
this, like all His other conduct, might be a means of benefit to 
us, and inspire us with the hope of safety. But perhaps thou 
wilt say, How, and in what manner ? Listen therefore. They 
ask for power over swine : plainly as something which they do 
not possess. For what possible doubt can there be, that they 
would not have asked it, if it had been in their power to take 
it without hindrance? But those who have no power over 
things thus trifling and valueless, how can they injure any one 
of those whom Christ has sealed, and who place their hope on 
Him ? Comfort therefore thy heart : for perhaps thou wast ter 
rified at hearing that a crowd of wicked spirits dwelt in one 
man, and made him wander among the graves of the dead in 
shame and nakedness, and bereft of mind and understanding. 
Inasmuch as thou too art a man exposed to temptations, thou 
fearedst a misery thus bitter and unendurable, should Satan 
attack thee. Rouse therefore thy heart to confidence : do not 
suppose that any such thing can happen while Christ sur 
rounds us with protection and love. It is certain that they 
possess no power even over swine. So great is the providence 
which the Almighty Governor of our affairs deigns to bestow 
Mat. x. 29. on human things. For He even said to the holy apostles, " Are 
" not two sparrows sold for a farthing ? and not one of them 
" falleth to the ground without your Father. And even the 
" hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore, ye 
" are of more value than many sparrows." For if He bestow 
His protection upon things thus trifling and valueless, how will 
He not deem us worthy of all regard, for whose sake He Who 
by nature is God, even became man, and endured the contu 
melies of the Jews? Away therefore with fear : for God aids, 
and encircles with the armour of His good pleasure those 
whose wish it is to live for Him, and who seek to perform 
those things that are pleasing in His sight. 

And this too we may learn, from what befel the herd of 
swine, that wicked demons are cruel, and mischievous, and 
hurtful, and treacherous to those who are in their power. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 185 

This the fact clearly proves, that they hurried the swine over 
a precipice and drowned them in the waters. Christ therefore 
granted their request, that we might learn from what hap 
pened, that their disposition is ruthless and bestial, incapable 
of being softened, and solely intent on doing evil to those whom 
they can get into their power. 

If therefore there be any one among us wanton and 
swinish, filth-loving and impure, and willingly contaminated 
with the abominations of sin, such a one by God s permission 
falls into their power, and sinks into the abyss of perdition. 
But it can never happen to those who love Christ, to become 
subject unto them : nor to us, as long as we walk in His foot 
steps, and, avoiding negligence in the performance of what is 
right, desire those things which are honourable, and belong to 
that virtuous and laudable conversation, which Christ has 
marked out for us by the precepts of the Gospel : by Whom 
and with Whom, to God the Father be praise and dominion 
with the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever, Amen. 



Bb 



186 



COMMENTARY UPON 



C. viii. 40 - 
48. 

tv 5e TW 



S. (-(peii/B. 
^yei/ero 5e 
eV rw GTs. 

OVTOS BS. 

avTos GTs. 



om. KCU 

ante 

S. 



S. om. av- 
rr,s GTs. 



BST. V 

ovS. Gs. 



om. Ka 
Afyeis, TIS 
6 a^/djj.fv6s 

[AOV } S. 



BST. aTr. 
< Gs. 



yartp Gs. 



SERMON XLV. 

And when Jesus returned, the multitude received Him ; for 
they were all waiting for Him. And behold there came a 
man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue : 
and he fell down at Jesus feet, and besought Him to come 
to his house ; for he had an only daughter, about twelve 
years old, and she was dying. And as He went, the mul 
titudes thronged Him. A woman who had had an issue of 
blood twelve years, and had spent all her substance upon 
physicians j and could be healed of none, came near behind 
Him, and touched the hem of His garment: and immedi 
ately her issue of blood staunched. And Jesus said, Who 
touched Me? And when all denied; Peter and they that 
ivere luith him said, Master, the multitudes press and 
throng Thee. But Jesus said, Some one touched Me ; for 
I know that power has gone forth from Me. And when the 
woman saw that she ivas not hid from Him, she came 
trembling, and fell down before Him, and declared before 
all the people, for what cause she had touched Him, and 
that she was healed immediately. And He said unto her, 
My daughter, thy faith hath saved thee: go in peace. 



Those who are skilful in elucidating the mystery of the dis 
pensation of the Only-begotten in the flesh, and whose minds 
are illuminated with divine light, the Spirit commanded, 

Ps. xcvi. 3. saying, " Declare His praise among the Gentiles, and His 
" miracles among all nations." Did He then command them 
to declare the praise of our universal Saviour Christ among 
the multitudes of the Gentiles, to the inhabitants, that is, of the 
whole world, for no other reason than that He might be ad 
mired, or was it not that He might also be believed on by all 
men ? I verily affirm that it was both in order that He might 
be admired, and also that we might believe that the Word of 

John 1.14. God the Father is very God, even though, as John says, He 
was made flesh. For He also somewhere declares unto the 

John x. 37. Jews, "If I do not the works of Mv Father, believe Me not: 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 187 

" but if I do them, though ye believe not Me, believe the 
" works/ 

Let us then once again behold Him benefiting multitudes by 
the miracles He wrought for their good. For there was a 

O c5 

ruler and teacher of the synagogue of the Jews, called Jairus ; 
and him the Gospel narrative here announces to us. For he 
fell down before the feet of Christ our common Saviour, to ask 
for the unloosing of death, and the annulling of corruption. 
For his daughter was, so to speak, at the very gates of the 
grave. Come then, and let us ask Jairus to tell us in what 
light he regards Him to Whom he offers his request. For if 
thou drawest near regarding Him as a mere man, and like unto 
one of us ; as one, that is, Who possesses no power superior to 
ourselves, thou missest thy mark, and hast wandered from the 
right road, in asking of a man that which requires the power 
of God. The supreme nature alone is able to give life to the 
dead. It alone has immortality : and from It every thing that 
is called into being borrows its life and motion. Ask therefore 
of men the things that belong unto men, and of God the things 
that belong unto God. 

Moreover thou worshippcst Him as the Almighty God : and 
doest so, as certainly knowing and testifying that He is able to 
give thee the accomplishment of thy requests. What argument 
therefore is sufficient for thy defence, that once thou stonedst 
Christ the Saviour of all ; and with the rest didst persecute 
Him, and most foolishly and impiously say, "For a good John x. 33. 
" work we stone Thee not, but for blasphemy : because that 
" Thou being a man, makest Thyself God." 

And not only must we wonder at this, but at the following as 
well. For Lazarus indeed arose from the dead at the summons 
of Christ, Who made him come forth from the very grave, 
when he had been there four days, and corruption had already 
begun. And those indeed who were spectators of the miracle 
were astonished at the majesty of the deed. But the rulers of 
the synagogue of the Jews made the very miracle food for 
envy, and an act thus great and excellent was stored up in 
their memory as a seed whence sprung the guilt of murder. 
For when they had assembled, they took counsel one with 
another, certainly for no lawful deed, but for one rather that 

/ , . , -.-IT-I John xi. 

brought upon them their final doom. For they said, What 47< 

B b 2 



188 COMMENTARY UPON 

" do we ? for This man doeth many miracles. If we let Him 
" thus alone, the Romans will come, and take away both our 
" nation and our place." What then sayest thou to this, O 
Jairus ? Thou sawest death abolished in the case of Lazarus ; 
death which always and to every one before had been stern 
and unyielding. Thou sawest destruction lose its power, from 
which no one on earth had escaped. And how then dost thou 
imagine thou canst make Him subject unto death Who is 
supreme over death : the Overthrower of destruction, and the 
Giver of life? How can He Who delivered others from the 
snares of death, Himself be liable to suffer it, unless He wills 
so to do for the plan of salvation s sake. The text therefore 

Jer. iv. 22. concerning them is true, "that they are foolish children, and 
" unwise." 

But the fate of the damsel was not without profit to her 
father. For just as sometimes the violence of the reins brings 
the spirited steed that has bounded away from the road back 
to its proper course, so also trouble often compels the soul 
of man to yield obedience to those things which are for its 
good, arid are commanded. To this effect we find the blessed 
David also addressing God over all, concerning those men 
who, not being as yet willing to walk uprightly, were led on, 
so to speak, by the disorderly impulses of their mind to the pit 

Pe.xxxii. 9 . of destruction. " With bridle and bit Thou shalt restrain the 
" jaws of those who draw not near to Thee." For the force of 
circumstances brings men, as I said, even against their wills to 
the necessity of bowing their neck to God, as we may see indi 
rectly shewn in the Gospel parables. For Christ somewhere 
said, that when the banquet was ready, a servant was sent to 
call them to the supper, and gather those that were bidden : 
but they, employing fictitious excuses of various kinds, would 
not come. Then the Lord, it says, spake to that servant : 

Luke xiv. Go into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come 
" in that My house may be filled." What then is the meaning 
of men being invited from the hedges, and that as it were by 
force, if it be not what is here referred to ? For sometimes 
misfortunes beyond the power of endurance hedge men into 
extreme misery : and meeting, it may be, with care and assist 
ance from those who fear Christ, they are thus led on unto 
faith in Him and love : and being weaned from their former 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 189 

error received by tradition from their fathers, they accept the 
saving word of the Gospel. And such we may well affirm 
to be those who are called from the hedges. It is indeed more 
excellent and praiseworthy, when the withdrawal from former 
error to hasten to the truth is the fruit of freewill : and such 
converts gathering the confirmation of their belief from the 
sacred Scriptures, and enjoying the instruction of such as are 
skilful in initiating men into the mysteries, will advance on 
wards to a correct and blameless faith. But those others, who 
are kindled, if we may so speak, by force and the troubles they 
meet with to the acknowledgment of the truth, are not upon an 
equality with the former, but when admitted must be careful 
to maintain constancy, and flee from a fickle levity : for it is 
their duty to preserve an unwavering faith, lest they be found 
reprobate and feeble workers, deserters after the scal u , cow 
ards and traitors after taking up arms. Let them not hasten 
back to their former deeds, lest that be said of them which was 
spoken by one of the holy apostles : " For it had been better 2 Pet. ii. 
" for them not to have known the way of truth, than having 
" known it to turn back from the holy commandment that was 
" delivered unto them. The case of the true proverb has 
" befallen them : the dog that returns to his vomit, and the 
" sow that was washed to wallowing in the mire." 

Not however to make this digression too long, let us return 
to our original subject. Jairus then drew near ; but we deny 
that his coming was the fruit of freewill; rather it was the 
fear of death which made him thus act against his will : for it 
had already, so to speak, assailed his daughter ; and she was 

u S. Chrysostom also speaks of when he was required to take the 
soldiers having a seal, at the end of military oath, he refused, saying, 
Horn. iii. in Ep. ii. ad Cor. " For " Non accipio signaculum sseculi, 



" like the seal that soldiers have, so 
" He also gives the Spirit to the 
" faithful, that shouldest thou de- 
" sert, thou mayest be detected by 
" all. For the Jews indeed had 



et, si signaveris, rumpo illud, quia 
nihil valeo. Ego Christianus sum : 
non licet mihi plumbum collo por- 
tare post signum salutare Domini 
Jesu Ghristi, Quern tu ignoras " 



" circumcision as a seal, but we Du Cange Glos. By the fathers, 

" have the earnest of the Spirit," the word " seal" is generally ap- 

And in the Martyrdom of S. Maxi- plied either to baptism or ordina- 

milian, we learn that this was a tion : but it has several less frequent 

stamped piece of lead, worn pro- meanings, 
bably only by new recruits : for 



190 COMMENTARY UPON 

his only one. He set utterly at nought then the reputation of 
consistency in his wicked words and thoughts. For he who 
had ofttimes made the attempt to slay Christ, for raising the 
dead from the grave, asks of Him the unloosing of death. In 
order then that his character may be seen to be harsh and 
abominable, and that he may be convicted of being such by the 
very facts, Christ accompanied him, and yielded to his request. 
But there was also a sort of wise management in what was 
done. For had He not yielded to his request for grace, both 
himself and whosoever else suffered under the same ignorance, 
or rather, want of common sense, would have said forsooth, 
that He was not able to raise the damsel, nor drive death 
away from her, even if He had gone to the house : that being 
then without power, and unequal to the accomplishment of the 
divine miracle, He made His displeasure at Jairus a pretext 
for keeping away. To put a stop therefore to the impure and 
unbridled calumny of the Jews, and restrain the tongues of the 
numerous persons ever ready for fault-finding, He consents 
immediately, and promises to raise up her who was in danger. 
And the promises were followed by the fulfiment, in order that 
disbelief on their part might be without excuse, and that this 
miracle, like the rest, might be for their condemnation. For 
John xv. Christ also said of them, " If I had not done among them 
" the works which none other man did, they had not had sin : 
" but now they have both seen and hated both Me and My 
" Father." 

The Saviour then went to raise the damsel, and to implant 
in the dwellers upon earth the sure hope of the resurrection of 
the dead. But as He was midway on His road, another 
miracle, not unlike the former, was wonderfully wrought. For 
there was a woman afflicted with an issue of blood, the prey of 
a severe and violent malady, which refused to yield to the 
skill of physicians, and set at nought all the appliances of 
human remedies. For she could " not be healed, it says, by 
" any," even though she had unsparingly lavished all her sub 
stance upon those who promised to deliver her from her 
disease. When therefore the unhappy woman had given up 
all hope from men, and now survived only for utter misery, she 
conceived in her a wise plan. For she had recourse to the 
Physician Who is from above, from heaven, as One Who is able 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 191 

readily and without effort to effect those things that are beyond 
our power, and Whose decrees, whatever it be He would ac 
complish, nothing can oppose. 

Her faith in this was perhaps occasioned by seeing Jairus 
leading Him to his house, to prove Himself mightier than 
death, by delivering his daughter from its inevitable bonds. 
For she thought perchance within herself, that if He be 
mightier than death, and the destroyer of corruption, how 
much more can He also alleviate the malady that afflicts her, 
staunching by ineffable power the fountains of her issue of 
blood ! She draws near therefore and touches the hem of His 
garment ; but secretly and not openly : for she hoped to be 
able to escape notice, and, as it were, to steal healing from One 
Who knew not of it. But why, tell me, was the woman careful 
to escape notice t For why should she not draw near to Christ 
with more boldness than that leper, and ask for the remission 
of her incurable pain ? For he said, " Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou Luke v. 12. 
" canst make me clean." Why should not she act like those 
blind men, who when Christ passed by called out and said, 
" Have mercy upon us, Lord Jesus, the Son of David " ? What Matt. xx. 
then was it made that sick woman wish to remain hid ? It was 3- 
because the law of the all-wise Moses imputed impurity to any 
woman who was suffering from an issue of blood, and every 
where called her unclean : and whoever was unclean, might 
neither touch any thing that was holy, nor approach a holy 
man. For this reason the woman was careful to remain con 
cealed, lest as having transgressed the law, she should have to 
bear the punishment which it imposed. And when she touched, 
she was healed immediately and without delay. 

But the miracle did not remain hid; for the Saviour, though 
knowing all things, asked as if He knew it not, saying, l Who 
touched Me? And when the holy apostles with good reason 
said, " The multitudes throng Thee and press Thee V He sets 
before them what had been done, saying, " Somebody touched 
" Me : for 1 know that power has gone forth from Me." Was 

x Of this portion of the com- portant is, that it inserts here, "which 
mentary Mai has recovered but very was a very great sign of the reality 
little : this passage, however, is of His flesh, and of His trampling 
found by him in one Catena A. f. down pride; for they did not follow 
130, but with three or four slight Him at a distance, but closed Him 
additions ; of which the most im- round on all sides." 



192 COMMENTARY UPON 

it then for love of glory that the Lord did not allow this 
instance of His godlike working the miracle, I mean, that 
had happened to the woman to remain concealed ? By no 
means do we say this, but rather, that it was because He ever 
keeps in view the benefit of those who are called to grace 
through faith. The concealment then of the miracle would 
have been injurious to many, but being made known, it bene 
fited them in no slight degree ; and especially the ruler of the 
synagogue himself. For it gave security to the hope to which 
he looked forward, and made him firmly trust that Christ 
would deliver his daughter from the bonds of death. 

But it is itself a fit subject for our admiration. For that 
woman was delivered, being saved from a state of suffering 
thus bitter and incurable ; and thereby we again obtain the 
firm assurance, that the Emmanuel is very God. How and in 
what manner ? Both from the miraculous event itself, and from 
the words which with divine dignity He spake. " For, I 
" know, He said, that power has gone forth from Me." But it 
transcends our degree, or probably that even of the angels, to 
send forth any power, and that of their own nature, as some 
thing that is of themselves. Such an act is an attribute appro 
priate solely to the Nature That is above all, and supreme. 
For every created being whatsoever that is endued with 
power, whether of healing, or the like, possesses it not of 
itself, but as a thing given it by God. For to the creature all 
things are given, and wrought in it, and of itself it can do 
nothing. As God therefore He said " I knew that power has 
" gone forth from Me." 

And the woman now made confession ; and inasmuch as with 
her malady, with the disease, I mean, which had afflicted her, she 
had put off the fear, which made her wish to remain concealed, 
she proclaimed the divine miracle : and therefore was very fitly 
deemed worthy of His tranquillizing words, and received secu 
rity that she should suffer from her malady no more ; for our 
Saviour Christ said unto her, " Daughter, thy faith hath saved 
thee : go in peace." 

And this too was for the benefit of Jairus, though it was 
indeed a hard lesson. For he learns, that neither the legal 
worship, nor the shedding of blood, nor the slaying of goats 
and calves, nor the circumcision of the flesh, nor the rest of the 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 193 

sabbaths, nor ought besides of these temporary -and typical 

matters, can save the dwellers upon earth ; faith only in 

Christ can do so, by means of which even the blessed Abraham 

was justified, and called the friend of God, and counted worthy 

of especial honours. And the blessing of God has been given 

also to those, who according to the terms of the promise were 

to be his sons : even unto us. " For they are not all Israel, Rom. ix. 6. 

" who are of Israel, neither because they are the seed of Abra- 

u ham, are they all sons : but the children of the promise are 

" accounted as the seed." To us then this grace belongs : for 

we have been adopted as Abraham s sons, " being justified not 

" so much by the works of the law, as by faith in Christ ;" by Uai. ii. 16. 

Whom, and with Whom, to God the Father be praise and 

dominion with the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever, Amen>. 

y Mai adds from H. f. 30. an pendix however to vol. xiv. of the 
allegorical interpretation of the two liibliotheca vet. Patrum Gallandii, 
miracles given there under the p. 95, it is found in Origen s Corn- 
names both of Origen and Cyril, mentaries, and to him therefore it 
and in Corderius under those of should be assigned. 
Cyril and Geometra. In the ap- 



o c 



194 COMMENTARY UPON 



SERMON XLVI. 

c. viii. 49- And while He is speaking, there cometh one from tJie ruler 
of the synagogue s house, saying, Thy daughter is dead : 



om. yuTj/ceVi trouble no more the Teacher. But when Jesus heard it, 
He answered and said, Fear not : believe only, and she 
shall live. And when He came unto the house, He suffered 
no one to go in luith Him, save Peter, and James, and 
Joh n > an d the father and the mother of the maiden. And 
all wept and beivailed her. But He said, Weep not : for 
rb Kopda-iov f/ ie aamse l { s no t dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed at 
ave0. s. Him, knowing that she ivas dead. But He made them all 

o^yapa^Q. ^ Q Qu ^ an ^ ^^ ^ ^ ^ hand, and called, saying, 

OVK air4e. Maid, arise. And her spirit returned, and she arose im- 

om. ej8a- mediately : and He commanded to give her somewhat to 

idWafieai eat And her parents ivere astonished. And He commanded 

BT. them to tell no one what was done. 

COME, all ye who love the glory of the Saviour, and 
thereby weave crowns for your heads, come once again, that 
we may rejoice in Him, and as we extol Him with endless 
Is. xxv. i. praises, let us say in the words of the prophet Isaiah : " 
" Lord, my God, I will praise Thee ; and I will laud Thy 
" name ; for Thou hast wrought wonderful works, even a 
" counsel true from the beginning." What then is the counsel 
and purpose of God the Father, which was from the beginning, 
and was true ? Plainly that respecting us. For Christ fore 
knew, even before the foundations of the world, His mystery : 
but it was in the last ages of the world that He arose for the 
inhabitants of earth, that having borne the sin of the world, He 
might abolish both it and death, which is its consequence, and 
was brought upon us by its means. For so He Himself plainly 
Johnxi.25. said, " I am the resurrection and the life :" and " he that be- 
Johnv. 24. " lieveth on Me hath everlasting life, and shall not come into 
" judgment, but hath passed from death unto life." And this 
then we shall see fulfilled in actual facts. For the ruler of the 
synagogue of the Jews drew near, and embracing the Saviour s 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 195 

knees, besought Him to deliver his daughter from the bonds 
of death : for lo ! already she had been brought down unto 
this, and was in extreme danger. And the Saviour con 
sented, and set out with him, and was even hastening onward 
to the house of him who asked the favour, as well knowing 
that what was being done would profit many of those who fol 
lowed Him, and would also be for His own glory. And thus 
on the way the woman was saved, who was the victim of a 
severe and incurable malady. For she had an issue of blood, 
which no one could stanch, and which set at nought the art of 
physicians : but no sooner had she touched the hem in faith, 
than she was forthwith healed; and a miracle thus glorious 
and manifest was, so to speak, the work merely of Christ s 
journey. 

And afterwards there met them from the ruler of the syna 
gogue s house a messenger, saying : " Thy daughter is dead : 
" trouble not the Teacher." What, then, was Christ s answer, 
seeing that He possesses universal sovereignty ; that He is 
Lord of life and death ; and by the all-powerful determination 
of His will accomplishes whatsoever He desires ? He saw the 
man oppressed with the weight of sorrow, swooning, and stu 
pefied, and all but despairing of the possibility of his daughter 
being rescued from death. For misfortunes are able to disturb 
even an apparently well-constituted mind, and to estrange it 
from its settled convictions. To aid him, therefore, He gives 
him a kind and saving word, fit to sustain him in his fainting 
state, and work in him an unwavering faith, saying, " Fear 
" not : only believe, and she shall live." 

And having now come to the house of His supplicant, He 
quiets their lamentations, silences the musicians, and stops the 
tears of the weepers, saying, " The damsel is not dead, but 
" rather sleepeth." And they, it says, laughed at Him. Ob 
serve here, I pray, the great skill of the management. For 
though He well knew that the damsel was dead, He said, 
" She is not dead, but rather sleepeth." For what reason ? 
That by their laughing at Him, they might give a clear and 
manifest acknowledgment that the damsel was dead. For pro 
bably there would be some of that class who always resist His 
glory, who would reject the divine miracle, and say, that the 
damsel was not yet dead ; and that in being delivered from 



196 COMMENTARY UPON 

sickness, there was nothing done by Christ very extraordinary. 
To have, therefore, the acknowledgment of many that the 
damsel was dead, He said, that she was rather sleeping. And 
le tno man affirm that Christ spake untruly. For to Him, as 
being Life by nature, there is nothing dead. And this is the 
reason why we, having a firm hope of the resurrection of the 
dead, call them " those that sleep." For in Christ they will 
Rom. vi. 8. arise : and, as the blessed Paul says, " They live to Him," in 
that they are about to live. 

But observe this also. For as if to teach us to avoid vain 
glory ; though certainly no such admirable deeds can be 
wrought by us ; when He came to the house in which the 
damsel was lying dead, He took in with Him but three of the 
holy Apostles, and the father and the mother of the damsel. 

And the manner in which He wrought the miracle was wor 
thy of God. For having taken her, it says, by the hand, He 
said, Damsel, arise : and she arose immediately. the power 
of a word, and the might of commands that nothing can resist ! 

the life-producing touch of the hand, that abolishes death, 
and corruption ! These are the fruits of faith, for the sake of 
which the law also was given to those of old time by the hand 
of Moses. 

But perhaps some one may say to this : ( But lo ! any one 
can see that the ceremonial ordained by the law is unlike and 
at variance with faith in Christ : for the law commands us to 
make use of bloody sacrifices ; but faith rejects every thing 

1 of the kind, and has brought in for mankind a worship to be 
1 offered in spirit and in truth. For even Christ is somewhere 
found thus speaking by the harp of the Psalmist to God the 
< Father in heaven : " Sacrifices and offerings Thou didst not 

" desire : whole burnt offerings, and for sins, Thou hadst no 

pleasure in : but a body hast Thou framed for Me. Then 

" said I, Lo ! I come : for in the chapter of the books it is 

" written of Me : I delight to do Thy will, God," Offerings 

therefore by blood are unavailing ; but the sweet savour of 

spiritual worship is very acceptable to God. And this no man 

1 can present unto Him, unless first he possess that faith which 

is by Christ, And the blessed Paul bears witness to this, 

Heb. xi. 6. where he writes : " Without faith, no man can ever do that 

( " which is well pleasing." 7 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 197 

It is necessary, therefore, for us to explain in what sense 
we say that the law was given because of faith. The blessed 
Abraham then was justified by obedience and faith. For it is 
written : " That Abraham believed God ; and he was called Jam. ii. , 3 
" the friend of God, and faith was counted to him for right- 
" cousness." And God promised him both that he should be 
the father of many nations, and that all nations should be 
blessed in him ; that is to say, by the imitation of his faith. 
One can see, therefore, that the grace that is by faith is prior 
to the ceremonial enjoined by the law, in that Abraham at 
tained unto it while still uncircumcised. And afterwards, in 
process of time, the law entered by the hand of Moses. Did 
it then thrust away the justification that is by faith, that I 
mean which God promised to those who follow the steps of the 
faith of our father Abraham, which he had while still uncir 
cumcised ? But how can this be true ? The blessed Paid, 
therefore, writes: "This I say then, that the covenant, which Gal. iii. 17. 
" was confirmed of old by God, the law, which was four hun- 
" dred and thirty years afterwards, does not disannul, so as to 
" make the promise given to the fathers of no effect. 1 And 
again: "Is the law then against the promises of God? It Gal. iii. 21. 
" may not be." And the same divine Paul further teaches us 
the reasons for which the law at length entered by the minis 
tration of angels, and the manner in which it confirms the 
faith in Christ, by having been brought in before the time of 
the incarnation of the Only-begotten, saying at one time, that 
" the law entered that sin might abound :" and at another Rom. v. 20. 
again, " that the Scripture hath included all things under sin:" Gal. iii. 22. 
and again, " The law, therefore, was added, because of trans- Gal. iii. 19. 
" grcssions." 

Do you wish to learn how the Scripture included all thi-ngs 
under sin ? If so, I will explain it to the best of my ability. 
The heathen, then, as those who were without God, and desti 
tute of hope, were in this world as men imprisoned in the pit 
falls of baseness, and entangled without hope of escape in the 
cords of sin. On the other hand, the Israelites possessed in 
deed the law as a schoolmaster : but no man could be justified 
by its means. For there is no profit to them that are in their 
sins in an offering by blood. And to this Paul again bears 
witness, saying ; " For the blood of bulls, and of goats, cannot Heb. x. 4 . 



198 COMMENTARY UPON 

" take away sins." The law is the proof of the infirmity of all 
2 Cor. iii. 7. men : anc [ therefore the blessed Paul calls it " the ministry of 
" condemnation." Sin abounded by its means : and that, not 
as though it made any man sin, but rather because it declared 
the condemnation of him who was subject to offences. It was 
enacted, therefore, because of transgressions, that as now no 
man was able to attain to a blameless life, the bringing in of 
the justification that is by Christ might be altogether neces 
sary. For there was no other way by which the inhabitants 
of earth could escape from the tyranny of sin. The law, then, 
entered first for the sake of faith, to declare the guilt of those 
who were liable to infirmities, and prove them to be sinners. 
It sent men, therefore, so to speak, to the cleansing that is in 
Christ by faith. And for this reason the blessed Paul again 
Gal. iii. 24. wrote : " Therefore the law was our schoolmaster unto Christ. 
" But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a 
" schoolmaster." For we are all sons of God by faith in 
Christ Jesus. 

Faith, then, in every way, is the cause of life, as that which 
slays sin, the mother and nurse of death. Excellently, there 
fore, said Christ to the ruler of the synagogue of the Jews, 
when his daughter was dead ; " Fear not : only believe, and 
" she shall live." For, as I said, Christ makes those live who 
Acts xvii. approach Him by faith, in that He is life ; " for in Him we 
" live and move, and are :" and He will raise the dead " sud- 
Cor. xv. ft denly, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump," as it is 
written. And having this hope in Him, we shall both attain 
to the city that is above, and reign as kings with Him ; by 
Whom and with Whom, to God the Father be praise and do 
minion, with the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever, Amen. 



52. 



THK GOSPEL OF ST. LUKK. 199 



SERMON XLVII. c.fc.i- 5 . 

airo<TT6\ovs 

And when He had called the twelve Apostles, He gave them 



a _ 
Bs. 



power and authority over all the devils, and to heal sick- 

* . i / y^V J Olll. VT-L. 

nesses. And He sent them to preach the kingdom oj troa, 0111 T0 j, s 
and to heal the sick. And He said iwto them, Take nothing M* 
for the way : no staff: no scrip : neither bread nor money : 
nor shall ye have two coats. And into whatsoever house 
ye enter, there abide, and thence depart. And whosoever 
will not receive you, when ye depart from that city, shake 
off the dust from your feet for their testimony. 



OV KOV. 



IT is a true saying, that the fruit of good deeds is honour 
able. For those who wish to lead lives pure and undefiled as 
far as is possible for men, Christ will adorn with His gifts, and 
grant them an abundant recompense for all their saintly deeds, 
and make them partakers of His glory. For it is impossible 
that He should ever lie who says : As I live, saith the Lord, iSam.ii. 
" those who honour Me, I will honour."" 

As a plain and clear proof of this, I take the glorious and 
noble company of the holy Apostles. Behold them highly dis 
tinguished, and crowned with more than human glory, by this 
fresh gift bestowed by Christ. " For He gave them, it says, 
" power and authority over all the devils, and to heal sick- 
" nesses." Observe again, I pray, that the Incarnate Word 
of God exceeds the measure of humanity, and is radiant with 
the dignities of the Godhead. For it transcends the limits o 
human nature, to give authority over unclean spirits to whom 
soever He will : as does also the enabling them to deliver from 
sicknesses such as were afflicted with them. For God, indeed, 
bestows on whom He will powers of this kind ; and on His 
cree alone it depends that any are able, according to His good 
pleasure, to work divine miracles, and act as ministers of t 
grace that is from above : but to impart to others the gift 
stowed on them, is altogether an impossibility. For the 
jesty and glory of the supreme nature is found existing ess 
tially in nothing that has being, except in Itself, and It only. 



200 COMMENTARY UPON 

Be it, therefore, angel or archangel, that any one mentions, or 
thrones and dominions, or the seraphim, which again are higher 
in, dignity, let him wisely understand this: that they indeed 
possess pre-eminent authority by the powers given them from 
above, such as language cannot describe, nor nature bestow : 
but reason altogether forbids the supposition of their imparting 
these powers to others. But Christ bestows them, as being God 
therefore, and as out of His own fulness : for He is Himself 
the Lord of glory and of powers. 

The grace then bestowed upon the holy Apostles is worthy 
of all admiration ; but the bountifulness of the Giver surpasses 
all praise and admiration: for He gives them, as I said, His own 
glory. Man receives authority over the evil spirits, and re 
duces unto nothingness the pride that was so high exalted, and 
arrogant, even that of the .devil : his wickedness he renders 
ineffectual, and, by the might and efficacy of the Holy Ghost, 
burning him as with fire, he makes him come forth with groans 
and weeping from those whom he had possessed. And yet in 

Is. x. 14. old time he had said: " I will hold the whole world in my 
" hand as a nest, and will take it as eggs that are left : and 
" there is no one that shall escape from me, or speak against 
" me." He missed, then, the truth, and fell from his hope, 
proud and audacious though he was, and vaunting himself 
over the infirmity of mankind. For the Lord of powers mar 
shalled against him the ministers 2 of the sacred proclamations. 
And this verily had been foretold by one of the holy prophets 

Hab. ii. 7. when speaking of Satan and the holy teachers : " That sud- 
" denly they shall arise that bite thee : and they shall awake 
" that afflict thee, and thou shalt be their prey." For, so 
to speak, they bit Satan by attacking his glory, and making 
his goods a spoil, and bringing them unto Christ by means of 

z Ministers, iepovpyovs : and again, to such as had the office of initiating 

a little below, it occurs in the same the catechumens ; but in process of 

sense as one occupied with or en- time it came simply to mean " to 

gaged in any religious duty, " the teach :" so Cyril, Glaph. i. in Ex. 

ministers of the divine preaching." p. 252. even adds ^va-rr^pLov, to 

See also Rom. xv. 16. And at the complete the sense; napa T^ S f 

end of the sentence " teachers" in c6vS>v e /c/cXqo-ias dfgerai Xpicrrbv f) 

the Greek is ^uoraywyoi, properly TWV louSaiW o-vvayuyr) 

" initiators in the mysteries," and yov^vrj TO cV aura 
so applied in the Church originally 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 201 

faith in Him: for so they attacked Satan himself. Great there 
fore was the power given unto the holy Apostles by the decree 
and will of Christ, the Saviour of us all. " For He gave them 
" power and authority over the unclean spirits." 

We will, in the next place, also inquire, if it seem good, 
whence a grace, thus illustrious and famous, descended upon 
mankind. The Only-begotten Word therefore of God crowned 
human nature with this great honour by becoming flesh, and 
taking upon Him our likeness. And thus, without in one single 
particular departing from the glories of His majesty ; for He 
wrought deeds worthy of God, even though He became, as I 
said, like unto us, and was of flesh and blood; He broke the 
power of Satan by His almighty word. And by His rebuking 
the evil spirits, the inhabitants of earth became able to rebuke 
them also. 

And that what I say is true, I will endeavour to make quite 
certain. For the Saviour, as I said, was rebuking the unclean 
spirits : but the Pharisees, opening their mouth to deride His 
glory, had the effrontery to say, "This man casteth not out Mat.xii.24, 
" devils, but by Beelzebub, prince of the devils." But the Sa 
viour rebuked them for so speaking, as men prone to mockery, 
and ill-disposed, and utterly without understanding, thus say 
ing ; " If I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your 
" sons cast them out ? Therefore shall they be your judges." 
For the blessed disciples, who were sons of the Jews by their 
descent according to the flesh, were the terror of Satan and 
his angels : for they broke their power in the Name of Jesus 
Christ of Nazareth. And our Lord further said : " But if I by 
" the Spirit of God cast out devils, then the kingdom of God is 
" come upon you." For He, as the Only-begotten Son of the 
Father, and the Word, both was and is omnipotent, and there 
is nothing that is not easy to Him : but inasmuch as He re 
buked evil spirits while He was man, human nature was tri 
umphant in Him, and crowned wih godlike glory ; for it was 
capable of rebuking even the evil spirits with power. By 
Christ s casting out devils, therefore, the kingdom of God 
came unto us : for one may affirm that it is the perfection of 
godlike majesty to be able to beat down Satan in spite of his 
resistance. 

Dd 



COMMENTARY UPON 

He glorified therefore His disciples by giving them authority 
and power over the evil spirits, and over sicknesses. Did He 
then thus honour them without reason, and make them illus 
trious without any cogent cause ? But how can this be true ? 
For it was necessary, most necessary, that having been publicly 
appointed ministers of the sacred proclamations, they should 
be able to work miracles, and by means of what they wrought 
convince men of their being the ministers of God, and mediators 
of all beneath the heaven, inviting them all to reconciliation 
and justification by faith, and pointing out the way of salvation 
and of life that is thereby. For the devout and intelligent 
need generally only reasoning to make them understand the 
truth : but those who have wandered without restraint into re 
bellion, and are not prepared to receive the sound speech of 
him who would win them for their true profit ; such require 
miracles, and the working of signs : and scarcely even so are 
they brought to thorough persuasion. 

For we often find that the discourse of the holy Apostles 
prospered in this way. For, for example, Peter and John deli 
vered from his malady that lame man who lay at the beautiful 
gate. And upon his entering the temple, they had his aid, as 
it were, in testimony of the great deed that had been wrought, 
and spake with great boldness concerning Christ, the Saviour 
of us all ; even though they saw that those whose lot it was to 
be rulers of the synagogue of the Jews, were still travailling 
Acts iii.i2. with bitter ill-will against Him. For they said: "Ye men of Israel, 
tf why wonder ye at this, or why gaze ye at us, as though by 
" our own might or righteousness we made this man to walk ? 
" The God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of 
" Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified His Son Jesus, 
" Whom ye delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, 
" when he would have let Him go. But ye denied the Holy 
" One, and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted 
" you. And Him the Prince of Life ye killed ; Whom God 
" raised from the dead. And of Him we are witnesses : and 
" His Name, through faith in His Name, hath made this man 
1 1 strong whom ye see and know : and faith in Him hath given 
" him this soundness in the presence of you all." But although 
many of the Jews were embittered at a loftiness of speech such 



THE GOSPEL *OF ST. LUKE. 203 

as this, yet against their will they put, so to speak, a bridle 
upon their wrath, being ashamed because of the greatness of 
the miracle. 

And there is another point we must not omit. For having 
first invested the holy Apostles with powers thus splendid, He 
then bids them depart with speed, and commence their office 
of proclaiming His mystery to the inhabitants of the whole 
earth. For just as able generals, having equipped their bravest 
soldiers with weapons of war, send them against the phalanxes of 
the enemy ; so too does Christ, our common Saviour and Lord, 
send the holy teachers of His mysteries, clad as it were in the 
grace that He bestows, and fully equipped in spiritual armour, 
against Satan and his angels ; that so they may be unconquer 
able and hardy combatants. For they were about to do battle 
with those who in old time held mastery over the inhabitants 
of earth ; even against the wicked and opposing powers, who 
had divided among them all under heaven, and had made 
those their worshippers who had been created in the image of 
God. These, then, the divine disciples were about to vex, by 
summoning to the knowledge of the truth those that were in 
error, and giving light to them that were in darkness : while 
those who in old time worshipped them, they rendered earnest 
followers of such pursuits as become saints. 

For this reason very fitly He bade them take nothing with 
them, wishing them both to be free from all worldly care, and 
so entirely exempt from the labours that worldly things occa 
sion, as even to pay no regard to their necessary and indispen 
sable food. But manifestly One Who bids them abstain even 
from things such as these, entirely cuts away the love of 
riches and the desire of gain. For their glory, He said, 
and, so to speak, their crown, is to possess nothing. And He 
withdraws them even from such things as are necessary for 
their use, by the command to carry nothing whatsoever, nei 
ther staff, nor scrip, nor bread, nor money, nor two coats, 
serve, therefore, as I said, that He withdraws them from vain 
distractions, and anxiety about the body, and bids them have 
no cares about food, repeating to them, as it were, that pas 
sage in the Psalm : Cast thy care upon the Lord, and He P.. iv a 
shall feed thec." For true also is that which Christ said : 






204 COMMENTARY UPON 

Lukexvi. Ye are not able to serve God and Mammon." And again; 

Mat. vi. 21. " For where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also." 

That they may lead, therefore, a consistent and simple life, 
and, being free from vain and superfluous anxiety, may devote 
themselves entirely to the duty of proclaiming His mystery, 
and labour without ceasing in publishing to men everywhere 
the tidings of salvation, He commands them to be indifferent 
both as regards clothing and food. And to the same effect the 

Luke xii. Saviour elsewhere spake : " For let your loins, He says, be 
" girt, and your lights burning." But by their loins being 
girt, He means the readiness of the mind for every good work : 
and by their lights burning, that their heart be filled with di 
vine light. And in like manner the law also of Moses plainly 

Ex. xii. ii. commands those who ate of the lamb : i( Thus shall ye eat it : 
" your loins shall be girt : and your staves in your hands : 
" and your sandals on your feet." Observe, therefore, that 
those in whom Christ, the true Lamb, dwells, must be like 
Eph. vi. 15. men girt for a journey : for they must " shoe their feet with the 
" readiness of the. Gospel of peace," as blessed Paul wrote unto 
us ; and be clad as becometh wayfarers. For it is not fitting 
for those charged with the divine message, if they would pros 
per in their office, to remain stationary ; but, as it were, they 
must constantly be moving forward, and run, not for an uncer 
tainty, but to win a glorious hope. For even those who once 
had fallen under the hand of the enemy, if by faith they fight 
for Christ, the Saviour of us all, will inherit an incorruptible 
crown. 

But I can imagine some one saying, Lord, Thou hast 
commanded thy ministers to carry with them no supply what 
soever of necessaries for food and raiment : whence, then, will 
they obtain what is essential and indispensable for their use ? 
This too He at once points out, saying ; " Into whatsoever 
" house ye enter, there abide, and thence depart." The fruit, 
He says, which you will obtain from those you instruct, shall 
be sufficient. For those who receive from you things spiritual, 
and gain the divine seed for their souls, shall take care of your 
bodily needs. And this no one can blame : for the wise Paul 
iCor.ix.ii. also sent word as follows : " If we have sown unto you spiritual 
" things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your bodily things ? 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 205 

" So the Lord also commanded, that those who preach the 
" Gospel shall live of the Gospel." And that this same truth 
is signified by the command of Moses, he clearly shews, saying, 
" It is written, Thou shalt not muzzle the trampling ox." And Deut. xxv. 
what the intention of the law is he again showed, saying, 4- 
" Doth God care for oxen ? or sayeth He it altogether on our 
" account, because it is fit that he who plougheth should 
" plough in hope : arid he who trampleth the corn as having 
" hope to share in it?" For the teachers, therefore, to re 
ceive from those taught these trifling and easily procurable 
matters is in no respect injurious. 

But He commanded them both to abide in one house, and 
from it to take their departure. 8 For it was right, both that 
those who had once received them should not be defrauded of 
the gift : and that the holy Apostles themselves should not 
place any impediment in the way of their own zeal and earn 
estness in preaching God s message, by letting themselves be 
carried off to various houses by those whose object was, not to 
learn of them some necessary lesson, but to set before them a 
luxurious table, beyond what was moderate and necessary. 

And that it is by no means without its reward to honour the 
saints, we learn from our Saviour s words. For He said unto 
them ; " Whosoever receiveth you receiveth Me, and whoso- Mat. x. 40. 
" ever receiveth Me receiveth Him That sent Me." For He 
purposely makes His own, and takes unto Himself, the honours 
paid to the saints, in order that on every side they may have 
security. For what is there better, or what is comparable unto 
the honour and love due unto God ? But this is rendered by 
giving honour to the saints. And if he who receiveth them is right 
blessed, and of glorious hope, how must not also the converse 
be entirely and absolutely true ! For he must be full of utter 
misery, who is indifferent to the duty of honouring the saints. 
For this reason He said, " that when ye go out from that 
" house, shake off the very dust from your feet for their testi- 
mony." 

a Mai here inserts ^ in the that when they took their final de- 
Greek, which equally with the Sy- parture from the city, it was to be 
riac has no negative : but certainly from the same house which they 
without reason, as the meaning is, had first entered. 



206 COMMENTARY UPON 

And next, we must see what this signifies. And it is this : 
That from those who would not receive them, nor set store by 
the charge confided to them, nor obey the sacred message, 
nor receive the faith; from such they should refuse to re 
ceive any thing whatsoever. For it is unlikely that those who 
despise the master of the house, will shew themselves generous 
to the servants : and that those who impiously disregard the 
heavenly summons, will ask a blessing of its preachers, by of 
fering them things of no value, and such as the disciples could 
without trouble obtain from their own people. For it is written, 

P3. cxii. 5. " Let not the oil of the wicked anoint my head." And besides 
they ought to feel that their love was due to those only who 
love and praise Christ ; and avoid all others of a different cha- 

Ps cxxxix. racter : for it is written : " Have I not hated, O Lord, them 
" that hate Thee : and been hot exceedingly at Thy enemies ? 
" I have hated them with a perfect hatred : they have become 
" my enemies." So is the love proved of earthy soldiers : for 
it is not possible for them to love foreigners, while paying a 
due regard to their king s interests. We learn this too by 

Mat.xii.3o. what Christ says: "that he who is not with Me is against 
" Me ; and he that gathereth not with Me altogether scat- 
" tereth." 

Whatsoever, therefore, Christ commanded his holy Apostles 
was exactly fitted for their use and benefit : by Whom and 
with Whom to God the Father be praise and dominion, with 
the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever, Amen. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 207 



SERMON XLVIII. 

And the day began to decline: and the twelve drew near, c.ix. 17-17. 
and said unto Him, Send the multitudes away, and let 
them go into the villages, and fields round about, and 
lodge, and find victuals : for we are here in a desert place. 
But He said unto them, Give ye them to eat. But they 
said, We have no more than five loaves and two fishes : 
unless we go and buy food for all this people. But they flow 8 s. 
were about five thousand men. And He said to His dis- 
ciples, Make them sit down in companies of fifty each. 
And tliey did so, and made them all sit down. And when 
He had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, He looked 
up to heaven and blessed them, and brake, and gave to His 
disciples to set before the multitudes. And they did eat, 
and were all filled : and that which remained over unto 
tliem was taken up, even twelve baskets of fragments. 

THE Jews, in my opinion, have not a single argument that 
can serve before the tribunal of God as a defence for their dis 
obedience : for their opposition had no appearance of reason 
on its side. And why so ? Because the law of Moses, by sha 
dows and figures, led them unto the mystery of Christ. For 
the law, or rather the things it contained, was symbolical, and 
in it the mystery of Christ was depicted by type and shadow 
as in a painting. And the blessed prophets also foretold long 
before that in due time there should come One to redeem all 
beneath the heaven, and further proclaimed the very place of 
His birth in the flesh, and the signs that He would accomplish. 
But they were so obdurate, and their mind so indiscriminately 
set upon that alone which agreed with their prejudices, that 
they would not receive the words of instruction, nor be brought 
to obedience even by miracles so splendid and glorious. 

Such then was their conduct : but let us, who have acknow 
ledged the truth of His appearing, offer Him our praises for 
His godlike works ; such as that which the passage before us 
records. For we learn bv it, that our Saviour from time to 



208 COMMENTARY UPON 

time went out from Jerusalem and other cities and towns, 
followed by multitudes, some seeking deliverance from the 
tyranny of devils, or recovery from sickness ; but others de 
siring to receive instruction from Him, and constantly with 
great earnestness, remaining with Him, that they might be 
made fully acquainted with His sacred doctrines. When then 
the day was declining, as the Evangelist says, and evening had 
all but arrived, the disciples had care of the multitudes, and 
drew near, offering requests on their behalf. For they said, 
" Send them away, that they may go into the neighbouring 
" villages and fields, and lodge and find victuals ; for we are 
" in a desert place." 

But let us carefully inquire what is the meaning of the ex 
pression " Send them away." For we shall see by it both the 
admirable faith of the holy apostles, and also the supernatural 
and wonderful power of Christ the Saviour of us all, in what 
soever He willeth to perform. For, as I said, some of them 
followed beseeching Him to deliver them from the evil spirits 
that oppressed them, while others sought recovery from various 
maladies. Since, therefore, the disciples knew that by the 
mere assent of His will he could accomplish for those sick per 
sons what they wanted, they say " Send them away :" not so 
speaking as though they were themselves at all annoyed, and 
considered that the proper time had gone by ; but seized with 
love toward the multitudes, and beginning to have a concern 
for the people, as being already intent upon their pastoral 
office : so that we may even take pattern by them ourselves. 
For to draw near, and make supplication on the people s be 
half, is an act becoming to the saints, and the duty of spiritual 
fathers, and the proof of a mind that has regard not to selfish 
objects alone, but already considers as its own the interests of 
others : of which surpassing love this is a clear and very evi 
dent instance. And if we may be permitted to carry our 
argument above the level of human things, we say, for the 
benefit of such as meet with it, that when in earnest prayer 
we continue with Christ, whether asking of Him healing "for 
the maladies of our souls, or deliverance from other sicknesses, 
or desiring to obtain anything whatsoever for our advantage ; 
there is no doubt that when we ask in prayer any thing that 
is good for us, there supplicate in our behalf both the intelli- 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 209 

gent powers, and those holy men who have freedom of access 
unto Him. 

But observe the incomparable gentleness of Him Whom they 
supplicate. For not only docs He grant all that they ask 
Him to bestow on those who followed Him, but also adds 
thereto of His own bountiful right hand ; refreshing in every 
way those that love Him, and nurturing them unto spiritual 
courage. And this we may see from what has now been read. 
For the blessed disciples besought Christ that those who were 
following Him, having had their requests granted them, might 
be sent away, and disperse as they best could. But He com 
manded them to supply them with food. The thing, however, 
was impossible in the eyes of the disciples, for they had brought 
nothing with them but five loaves and two fishes : and this 
they drew near and confessed to Him. To magnify, there 
fore, the greatness of the miracle, and make it in every way 
evident that He is in His own nature God, He multiplies that 
little many times, and looks up to heaven to ask a blessing 
from above, being intent in this also upon our good. For He 
is Himself That which filleth all things, being the blessing b 
that cometh 7rom above from the Father. But that we may 
learn that when we commence a meal , and are about to break 
bread, it is our duty to offer it to God, placing it, so to speak, 
upon our stretched out hands, and calling down a blessing 
upon it from above, He purposely became our precedent, and 
type, and example in the matter. 

But what was the result of the miracle ? It was the satisfy 
ing a large multitude with food : for there were as many as 
five thousand men besides women and children, according to 
what another of the holy Evangelists has added to the narra- Mat 
tive. Nor did the miracle end here; but there were also 
gathered twelve baskets of fragments. And what do we infer 
from this ? A plain assurance that hospitality receives a rich 
recompense from God. The disciples offered five loaves : but 

b Ev\fryia, upon which word conf. blessing upon it from above." The 

the note in p. 71 . same hand has marked with a cross 

c In the margin there is the fol- all the passages in the first volume 

lowing note ; " Upon the duty, when of the MS. which affirm the divinity 

we are about to approach the table, of the Son. 
of offering the bread, and invoking a 

E c 



o 

. X 1 1 1 . 
21. 



COMMENTARY UPON 

after a multitude thus large had been satisfied, there was 
gathered for each one of them a basketful of fragments. Let 
nothing therefore prevent those who are willing from receiving 
strangers, whatever there may be likely to blunt the will and 
readiness of men thereunto : and let no one say, " I do not 
" possess suitable means ; what I can do is altogether trifling 
" and insufficient for many." Receive strangers, my beloved ; 
overcome that unreadiness which wins no reward : for the 
Saviour will multiply thy little many times beyond expectation, 
and though thou givest but little, thou wilt receive much. 

2 Cor. ix.6. " For he that soweth blessings shall also reap blessings d ," ac 
cording to the blessed Paul s words. 

The feeding, therefore, of, the multitudes in the desert by 
Christ is worthy of all admiration ; but it is also profitable in 
another way. For we can plainly see that these new miracles 
accord with those in old time, and that they are the acts of 

PS. ixxvili. one and the same power. " He rained manna in the desert 
" upon the Israelites ; He gave them bread from heaven ; 
" man did eat angels food," according to the words of praise 
in the Psalms. But lo ! again in the desert He has abundantly 
supplied those in need of food, bringing it down, as it were, 
from heaven. For His multiplying that little many times, and 
feeding, so to speak, with nothing so large a multitude, 
is not unlike that former miracle. And to address myself 
once again to the throng of the Jews, Thou wast in need of 
the natural water, when thou wast walking in that long wilder 
ness; and God gave thee thy desire beyond thy hopes, and from 

F*. ixxviii. an unlooked-for quarter. For, as the Psalmist says, " He clave 
" the rock in the desert ; He gave them drink as from the 
" vast abyss ; and He brought forth water out of the rock, 
" and made water flow like rivers." Tell me then, when thou 
hadst drunk, didst thou praise the Worker of the miracle ? 
Didst thou raise thy tongue for thanksgiving ? or wast thou 
induced by what had happened to acknowledge the ineffable 
power of God ? Not so : for thou murmuredst against God, 

Pa. Ixxviii. saying, " Can God prepare a table in the wilderness ? If He 
" smote the rock, and the waters flowed, and He made the 
" streams overflow ; can He also give bread, or prepare a 

d For the meaning of " blessings," see p. 109. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 211 

" table for His people ?" Thou wast not astonished at seeing 
the flint rock the source of copious rivers ; fountains issuing 
marvellously from stones, and streams running with rapid 
force, but imputedst weakness to Him Who is Almighty. And 
yet how was it not rather thy duty to perceive that He is the 
Lord of powers ? How indeed could He be unable to prepare a 
table, Who made the flint rock a fountain and a stream, flowing 
over for that multitude ? 

But since thou hast brought thyself to so great folly as to 
imagine that there is anything impossible with God, and with 
empty babble hast said that He cannot prepare a table for His 
people in the wilderness, answer the question we now put to 
thee : Wilt thou embrace the faith now that thou seest a table 
prepared by Christ in the wilderness, and an innumerable mul 
titude so abundantly supplied with food that twelve baskets of 
remnants were collected ? or wilt thou still refuse to believe, 
and ask another sign ? When, therefore, wilt thou be found 
believing ? When wilt thou cease from finding fault with the 
ineffable power of Christ? When wilt thou put a door and 
bolt to thy tongue ? and delivering it from the language of 
blasphemy, change it to a better use by praising Him, so that 
thou also mayest be a partaker of the blessings He bestows ? 
For His mercies are revealed upon those who love Him, and 
He delivers them from all sickness. He supplies them also 
with spiritual food, by means of which each one attains to 
manliness in every thing that is praiseworthy. But upon the 
unbelieving and contemptuous lie bestows no such gifts, but 
rather brings upon them that condemnation which they fitly 
deserve. * For by one of His holy prophets He as it were said 
unto them, " Behold, they who serve Me shall eat, but ye shall Is. ixv. 13. 
" suffer hunger. Behold, they who serve Me shall drink, but 
" ye shall thirst. Behold, they who submit themselves to Me 
" shall rejoice in happiness, while ye shall lament from sorrow 
" of heart, and wail from contrition of spirit," And again it 
is written, " The Lord killeth not the righteous soul with Prov. x. 3- 
" hunger, but wastcth the life of the wicked." 

For the flocks of the believers have, as it were, a pasture 
full of divers plants and flowers, in the holy Scriptures, which 
are their wise guides : and filled with spiritual joy at the glo 
rious doctrines and instructions which they contain, they fre- 

E e 2 



COMMENTARY UPON 

quent the sacred courts. And this it is which long ago was 
J. xx.\. 25. proclaimed in the words of Isaiah : "And there shall be upon 
" every high mountain, and upon every high hill, running 
Joeliii. 18. " waters upon that day." And again; " And the mountains 
" shall drop sweetness : and the hills flow with milk." For it 
is the custom of divine Scripture to compare to mountains and 
hills those set over others, and whose office it is to teach, inas 
much as they are high exalted, in respect, I mean, of their 
thoughts being occupied with elevated subjects, and withdrawn 
from things earthly : while the waters and the sweetness and 
the milk are the instructions which flow from them as from 
fountains. " There shall be then, He says, at that time from 
" every high mountain, and from every high hill, flowing 
" waters, and sweetness and milk." And these are the spiri 
tual consolations of holy instructors, oifered to the people 
under their charge. Of these the Jewish congregations are 
deprived, because they did not receive Christ, the Lord of the 
hills and mountains, the Giver of spiritual consolation, Who 
Johnvi. 33, offers Himself as the bread of life to those who believe in 
Him : for He it is Who came down from heaven, and gave life 
to the world : by Whom, and with Whom, to God the Father 
be praise and dominion with the Holy Ghost, for ever and 
ever, Amen. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 



SERMON XLIX. 

And it came to pass that as He was alone, praying, His dis- c. ix. 18 
ciples ivere with Him : and He asked them, saying, Whom * 
do the multitudes say of Me that I am ? And they answered 
and said, Some, indeed, John the Baptist : and others, &\\OL 
Elijah : and others, that some prophet of those in old time 
has risen again. And He said unto them ; But whom do ye 
say that I am ? And Peter answered and said, The Christ 
of God. And He charged and commanded them to tell 
this to no man, saying, The Son of man is about to suffer 
many things, and to be rejected of the elders, and chief 
priests, and scribes : and be slain, and rise again the a^aa-T^ 
third day. tyeps^a 

WELL may we call out to those who would search the B 
sacred Scriptures, " Arouse ye, and awake." For it is a thing 
impossible to perceive the exact meaning of the mystery of 
Christ, if we use for this end a debauched mind, and an under 
standing drowned, so to speak, in sleep. Need rather is there 
of a wakeful mind, and a penetrating eye; for the subject is 
one difficult to comprehend in the highest degree. And this is 
apparent now that our discourse has come to the explanation 
of the passage before us. For what says the Evangelist? 
% " And it came to pass that as He was alone, praying, His dis- 
" ciples were with Him; and He asked them, saying; Whom 
" do the multitudes say of Me that I am T Now the first thing 
we have to .examine is, what it was which led our Lord Jesus 
Christ to propose to the holy apostles this question, or inquiry. 
For no word or deed of His is cither at an unseasonable time 
or without a fitting reason ; but rather, He docs all things 
wisely and in their season. What therefore do we say, or 
what suitable explanation do we find for His present acts? He 
had fed in the desert a vast multitude of five thousand men : 
and how had He fed them ? With five loaves ! breaking with 
them into morsels two small fish ! And these so multiplied out 
of nothing, that twelve baskets of fragments even were taken 
up. The blessed disciples therefore were astonished as well as 
the multitudes, and saw by what had been wrought., that He is 



COMMENTARY UPON 

in truth God and the Son of God. And afterwards, when they 
had withdrawn from the multitude and He was alone, He occu 
pied Himself in prayer, in this too making Himself our ex 
ample, or rather instructing the disciples how to discharge effi 
ciently their office as teachers. For it is, I think, the duty of 
those who are set over the people, and whose lot it is to guide 
Christ s flocks, constantly to occupy themselves with their 
necessary business, and openly practise those things with which 
God is well pleased : even that saintlike and virtuous conduct 
which gains great admiration, and is certain to profit the 
people under their charge. For they ought either to be 
actively engaged in those duties which are to the glory of God : 
or such as in their retirement bring upon them a blessing, and 
call down upon them power from on high : of which latter, one 
and the most excellent is prayer. Knowing which the divine 
i Thess. Paul said, " Pray without ceasi