C 9- ( 



A COMMENTARY 



UPON 




THE GOSPEL ACCOKDING 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 THF, BODLEIAN LIBRARY. 



PART II. 



OXFORD: 

AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS. 
M.DCCC.LIX. 




THE SECOND BOOK 



THE SECOND BOOK 



OF THE 



EXPLANATION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE, 



BY 



THE HOLY CYRIL, 

ARCHBISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 869 



BOOK II. 



SERMON LXXXI. 

But if I by Beelzebub cast out the devils, by whom do your c. xi. 19 
* sons cast them out ? Therefore they shall be your judges. 26 
But if I by the finger of God cast out the devils, then the 
kingdom of God has come upon you. When the strong 
man armed guardeth his house, his goods are in peace : 
but when He Who is stronger than he shall come upon 
him, and overcome him, He takethfrom him all his armour 
wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. He that is not 
with Me is against Me: and he that gathereth not with 
Me, scattereth for Me. When the unclean spirit hath gone (ncopirifa 
forth from the man, it wander eth about in places where ** OL Sl 
there is no water, seeking rest : and not having found it, 
then it saith, I will return to my house, whence I came out. r6re AeV< 
And when it cometh, it findeth it empty, swept, and gar- ^ r6rf 
nished. Then it goeth, and bringeth seven other spirits GTs. 
worse than itself, and they enter in and dwell there. And 
the last state of that man is made worse than the first. 

THE God of all, blaming the haughtiness of the Jews, and 
their constant tendency to run into disobedience, thus spake by 
the voice of Isaiah; "Hear, heavens, and give ear, earth; is. i. i. 
" for the Lord hath spoken. I have begotten, and brought up 
" sons ; and they have rejected Me." For they rejected God 
the Father, by setting in manifold ways the Son at nought, 
Who, though sprung from Him by nature, yet afterwards 
was made like unto us for our sakes : and yet He called them 
unto the grace that is by faith, and would have fulfilled the 
promise given unto their fathers. For of this the sacred Paul 
bears witness, where he writes, " For I say that Christ was a Rom.xv.8. 
" minister of the circumcision, to fulfil the promises of the 
" fathers: and that the Gentiles might glorify God for mercy." 
The Only-begotten Word of God therefore was made man, 
that He might fulfil the promise of the blessing granted unto 



370 COMMENTARY UPON 

them. And that they might know that it was He Whom the 
law had prefigured hy shadows, and Whom the company also 
of the holy prophets had foretold, He wrought these godlike 
deeds, and rebuked the unclean spirits. But they, though it 
was their duty to have praised Him, as doing wonders, as One 
Who possessed a power and authority beyond that of nature, 
and incomparable in degree, on the contrary disparaged His 
glory, saying, " This man casteth not out devils but by Beel- 
" zebub the prince of the devils." And what doth Christ reply 
to this? " If I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your 
" sons cast them out ?" 

Now this subject was explained by me to you at length at 
our last meeting. But inasmuch as it is right that the wicked 
ness of the Jews, in thus idly prating against Him, should still 
further be rebuked by many and convincing arguments, He 
adds on this account to what had been already said, an unan 
swerable consideration. And what this is, I will now mention 
to you as to my children. 

The blessed disciples were Jews, and the children of Jews, 
according to the flesh ; but they had obtained authority from 
Christ over unclean spirits, nnd set free those that were pos 
sessed by them, by calling over them these words, " In the 
" Name of Jesus Christ." For Paul also once with apostolic 
Acts xvi. authority commanded an unclean spirit, saying, " I command 
181 " thee, in the Name of Jesus Christ, to come out of her." 

When therefore He says, your own children in My Name 
trample upon Beelzebub, by rebuking his satellites, and ex 
pelling them forthwith from those in whom they are, what else 
is it but manifest blasphemy, joined with great ignorance, to 
say that I borrow this power from Beelzebub ? Ye are con 
victed therefore, He says, by the faith of your own children, 
if, as is the case, they having received of Me authority and 
power, overthrow Satan, and against his will drive him from 
those in whom he dwells ; while ye affirm, that I make use of 
his agency in working divine miracles. But inasmuch as what 
ye say is not true, but, on the contrary, empty and false, and 
liable to the charge of calumny, it is plain that I cast out 
Mat, xii. devils by the finger of God. And by the finger of God He 
means the Holy Ghost. For the Son is called the hand and 
arm of God the Father; for He d^th all things by the Son, 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 371 

and the Son in like mariner worketh by the Spirit. For just 
as the finger is appended to the hand, as something not foreign 
from it, but belonging to it by nature, so also the Holy Ghost, 
by reason of His being equal in substance, is joined in oneness to 
the Son, even though He proceed from God the Father. For, 
as 1 said, the Son does every thing by the consubstantial 
Spirit. Here, however, purposely He says, that by the finger 
of God He casts out devils, speaking as a man : because the 
Jews in the infirmity and folly of their mind, would not have 
endured it, if He had said, "by My own Spirit I cast out 
" devils." Appeasing therefore their excessive readiness to 
anger, and the proneness of their mind unto insolence and 
phrensy, He spake as a man, although He is by nature God, 
and Himself the Giver of the Spirit from God the Father 
to those who are worthy, and employs as His own that power 
which is from Him. For He is consubstantial with Him, 
and whatsoever is said to be done by God the Father, this 
necessarily is by the Son in the Spirit. If therefore, He says, 
I, being a man, and having become like unto you, cast out 
devils in the Spirit of God, human nature has in Me first 
attained to a godlike kingdom. For it has become glorious by 
breaking the power of Satan, and rebuking the impure and 
abominable spirits : for such is the meaning of the words, that 
" the kingdom of God has come upon you." But the Jews did 
not understand the mystery of the dispensation of the Only- 
begotten in. the flesh : and yet how ought they not rather to 
have reflected, that by the Only -begotten Word of God having 
become man, without ceasing to be that which He was, He 
glorified the nature of man, in that He did not disdain to take 
upon Him its meanness, in order that He might bestow upon 
it His own riches. 

And inasmuch as it was necessary, as I shewed, that the 
argument upon this subject should travel through many consi 
derations, He makes use of a most plain and evident compa 
rison, by means of which those who will may see, that He has 
conquered the ruler of this world, and having, so to speak, 
hamstrung him, and stripped him of the power which he pos 
sessed, has given him over for a prey unto His followers. 
" For when, He says, the strong man being armed guardeth 
" his house, all his goods arc in peace : but when One That is 

3 B 2 



372 COMMENTARY UPON 

" stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, 
" He taketh away all his armour wherein he trusted, and divi- 
" deth his spoil." This is, as I said, a plain demonstration, and 
type of the matter depicted after the manner of human affairs. 
For as long as a strong man retains the superiority, and guards 
his own property, he is in no danger of being plundered. 
But when one who is stronger than he, and more powerful, 
comes upon him, and prevails against him, then forthwith he is 
spoiled. And such has been the fate of our common enemy, 
the wicked Satan, that many headed serpent, the inventor of 
sin. For before the coming of the Saviour, he was in great 
power, driving and shutting up, so to speak, in his own stall 
flocks not his own, but belonging to God over all, like some 
rapacious and most insolent robber. But inasmuch as the Word 
of God Who is above all, the Giver of all might, and Lord of 
powers assailed Him, having become man, all his goods 
have been plundered, and his spoil divided. For those who of 
old had been ensnared by him into ungodliness and error have 
been called by the holy apostles to the acknowledgment of the 
truth, and been brought near unto God the Father by faith in 
His Son. 

Wouldst thou also hear and learn another convincing argu 
ment besides these ? " He that is not with Me," He says, " is 
" against Me : and he that gather eth not with Me, scatter eth 
for Me." For I, He says, have come to save every man from 
the hands of the devil ; to deliver from his guile those whom 
he had ensnared ; to set the prisoners free ; to give light to 
those in darkness ; to raise up them that had fallen ; to heal 
the broken-spirited : and to gather together the children of 
God who were scattered abroad. Such was the object of 
My coming. But Satan is not with Me ; on the contrary he 
is against Me. For he ventures to scatter those whom I have 
gathered and saved. How then can he, who wars against Me, 
and sets his wickedness in array against My purposes, give Me 
power against himself? How is it not foolish even barely to 
imagine the possibility of such a thing as this ? 

The cause however which made the Jewish multitudes fall 
into such thoughts concerning Christ He Himself makes plain, 
by saying ; " When the wicked spirit hath gone forth from 
" the man, it returneth with seven other spirits more bitter 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 373 

" than itself ; and the last state of that man is worse than the 
" first." For as long as they were in bondage in Egypt, and 
lived according to the customs and laws of the Egyptians, 
which were full of all impurity, they led polluted lives ; an 
evil spirit dwelt in them : for it dwells in the hearts of the 
wicked. But when in the mercy of God they had been delivered 
by^MoseSj and received the law as a schoolmaster, calling them 
to the light of the true knowledge of God, the impure and pol 
luted spirit was driven out z . But because they did not believe 
in Christ, but rejected the Saviour, the impure spirit again 
attacked them: for he found their heart empty, and devoid 
of all fear of God, and, swept as it were, and took up his 
abode in them. For just as the Holy Ghost, when He sees 
any one s heart free from all impurity, and clean, dwells and 
abides there, and rests therein ; so also the impure spirit is 
wont to dwell in the souls of the wicked. For they are devoid, 
as I said, of all virtue : and there is in them no fear of God. 
The last state therefore of the Israelites has become worse 
than the first. For as the disciple of the Saviour said ; " It 2 Pet. ii. 
" had been better for them not to have known the way of 7I- 
" truth, than that when they have known it, they should turn 
" back again from the holy commandment that was delivered 
" unto them. It has happened to them according to the true 
" proverb ; The dog that returned to its vomit ; and the 
" washed sow to wallow in the mire." Let us flee therefore 
from being like the Jews ; let Christ Who worketh miracles, 
be extolled by us: by Whom and with Whom to God the 
Father be praise and dominion, with the Holy Ghost, for ever 
and ever, Amen. 

z An instance occurs in this place p. 334 C, to the effect that the ex- 

of the neatness with which the Ca- pulsion of the spirit took place, 

tenists inserted passages from other " when they sacrificed the lamb as 

works of S. Cyril in the body of the " a type of Christ, and were anoint- 

Commentary. For two lines merely " ed with its blood, and escaped 

are here added from the Glaphyra, " the destroyer." 



374 COMMENTARY UPON 



SERMON LXXXII. 

c. xi. 29- And when the multitudes were gathered together, He began to 
om. yewi say ; This generation is an evil generation. It seeketh 
aiterumGs. a s ig n . an d a sign shall not be given it, except the sign of 
Jonah*. 

From Mai. THE request originated in malice, and therefore was not 
Hoa. v. 6. granted them, according to the text, " The wicked shall seek 

" Me, and shall not find Me." * * 

From the * * * * and which He spake to the divine 

Syriac. M oses . the rod was changed into a serpent. And what thing 
is this? some one, forsooth, may say; or what is the truth it 
hints at ? And this certainly we must examine : for I say that 
of all that is contained in the sacred Scriptures, there is nothing 
which is not useful for edification. When Israel then had 
dwelt for a lengthened period in Egypt, and been brought up 
in the customs of its inhabitants, he wandered far from God, 
and became like one that had fallen from His hand, and been 
made a serpent, by which is meant one naturally of a 
thoroughly wicked disposition. But inasmuch as God again 
took hold of him, he was restored to his former state, and 
became a rod, that is to say, a plant of Paradise. For he was 
called to the true knowledge of God, and enriched with the 
law as the means of a virtuous life. 

Moreover God wrought also something further of an equally 
Ex. iv. 6. miraculous character. For He said unto Moses, " Put thy 
" hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom ; 
" and he drew forth his hand from his bosom, and his 
" hand had become leprous, like snow. And he said again, 
" Put thy hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his 
" bosom ; and he drew it forth from his bosom, and it had 
" gained again the colour of his flesh." For as long as Israel 
adhered to the customs of his fathers, and represented in his 

a A folium in the Syriac has seldom preserving the Exordia of 
perished, of which Mai has reco- these discourses. Of the next folium 
vered but one sentence, the Catenas lost most has been preserved. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 375 

own manners the type of virtuous living which he had in 

Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, he was, as it were, in the 

bosom of God, that is, under His guardianship and protection : 

but by abandoning the virtue of his ancestors, he became, so 

to speak, leprous ; and fell into impurity : for the leper by the 

law of Moses was impure. But when He was again accepted by 

God, and placed under His protection, he was delivered from 

his leprosy ; and put away the impurity of the Egyptian mode 

of life. And when these signs were wrought in their presence, 

they believed Moses, saying, " The Lord God of your fathers Ex. iv. 31. 

" hath sent me unto you." 

Observe therefore that they did not make the display of 
miracles a reason for fault finding. They did not revile the 
divine Moses ; they did not give free license to an unbridled 
tongue, and say that he wrought the miracles which he dis 
played before them by means of Beelzebub : they did not ask 
a sign from heaven, in contempt of his mighty deeds. But 
thou assignedst to Beelzebub works thus honourable and mira 
culous, and wast not ashamed in bringing to perdition others 
as well as thy own self, by means of those very things which 
ought to have made thee possess a steadfast faith in Christ. 
But He will not grant thee another sign, that He may not 
give holy things unto dogs, nor cast pearls before swine. For 
how can they who are hot calumniators of the miracles already 
wrought, deserve yet more ? On the contrary we see* that 
very skilful husbandmen, when they observe land sluggish in 
bearing fruit, withhold their hand, and refuse to plough it any 
more, that they may not suffer the loss at once both of their 
labour and of the seed. 

He said, however, the sign only of Jonah shall be given 
them, by which is meant the passion upon the cross, and the 
resurrection from the dead. " For as Jonah," He says, " was 
" in the belly of the fish three days and three nights, so shall 
" also the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days 
" and three nights." But had it been possible for Jesus not 
to have willed to suffer death in the flesh upon the cross, 
neither would this sign have been given to the Jews : but 
inasmuch as the passion, wrought for the salvation of the 
world, was indispensable, it was given these unbelievers for 
their condemnation. For also in speaking to the Jews, He 



376 COMMENTARY UPON 

Jolmii. 19. said, " Loose this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." 
But that the abolishing of death, and restoration of corruption 
by the resurrection from the dead, is a very great sign of the 
power and godlike authority of the Incarnate Word, will be 
sufficiently proved, as I imagine, in the judgment of serious 
men, by the soldiers of Pilate, who were appointed to guard 
the tomb, having been bribed with a large sum of money to 
Mat.xxviii. say, that " the disciples came by night, and stole Him." It 
was therefore no unavailing sign, but rather one sufficient to 
convince all the inhabitants of the whole earth, that Christ is 
God, that of His own choice He suffered death in the flesh, but 
rose again, having commanded the bonds of death to depart, 
and overthrown corruption. But the Jews did not believe 
even this : for which reason it was very justly said of them, 
that "the queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment 
" against this generation." * 

From Mai. * * This woman, though a barbarian, earnestly sought to 
hear Solomon, and for this purpose travelled so vast a distance, 
to listen to his wisdom upon the nature of things visible, and 
animals, and plants. But ye, though already present, and 
listening to Wisdom Itself, Who came to you, discoursing upon 
things invisible and heavenly, and confirming what He said by 
deeds and miracles, turn away from the word, and pass by with 
indifference the wonderful nature of His oracles. How then is 
there* not more than Solomon here, that is in Me ? And again 
observe, I pray, the skilfulness of His language ; for why does 
He say " here/ and not rather " in Me ?" It is to persuade us 
to be humble, even though we be largely endowed with spiri 
tual gifts. And besides, it is not at all unlikely, that had the 
Jews heard Him say, " that there is more than Solomon in 
" Me," they would have ventured to speak of Him in their 
usual way : See ! He says, that He is superior even to the 
4 kings who have gloriously reigned over us/ The Saviour, 
therefore, for the economy s sake, uses moderate language, 
saying, " here," instead of " in Me." 

He says, moreover, that the Ninevites will appear for the 
condemnation of the Jews at the season of judgment : for they 
were rude and barbarous people, ignorant of Him Who by 
nature and in truth is God, who had never even heard of the 
predictions of Moses, and were without knowledge of the glo- 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 377 

rious tidings of prophecy : but even though this was their 
mental state, they repented, He says, at the preaching of 
Jonah. Far better therefore were they than the Israelites, 
and will condemn them. But listen to the very words : " The 
" men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment with this genc- 
" ration, and shall condemn it ; for they repented at the 
" preaching of Jonah, and behold ! more than Jonah is here." 

"No man, having lighted a lamp, putteth it into a cellar, V 
" nor under the bushel, but upon the lampstand, that they who 
" enter in may see the light." And what was the object of 
such words as these ? He combats the Jews by an objec 
tion drawn from their own folly and ignorance : for they said 
that He wrought miracles, not that He might be more fully 
believed in, but that He might have numbers of followers, and 
catch the applause of those who saw his wondrous acts. And 
this calumny He refutes by taking as an example the use of a 
lamp. For a lamp, He says, is always elevated, and put upon 
a stand, to be of use to those who see. And let us consider 
the inference which follows from this. Before then the coming 
of our Saviour, the father of darkness, even Satan, had made 
the world dark, and blackened all things with an intellectual 
gloom ; but in this state the Father gave us the Son, to be as 
it were a lamp to the world, to irradiate us with divine light, 
and rescue us from Satanic darkness. But, Jew, if thou 
blamest the lamp, because it is not hidden, but on the con 
trary, being set on high on a stand, gives its light to those who 
see, then blame Christ for not wishing to be concealed, but on 
the contrary to be seen of all, illuminating those in darkness, 
and shedding on them the light of the true knowledge of God. 
He did not therefore fulfil His miracles so much in order to be 
wondered at, nor seek by them to become famous, as that 
we might rather believe, that whereas He is God by nature, 
yet He became man for our sakes, but without ceasing to 
be what He was. And upon the holy church as a lamp- 
stand, shining by the doctrine He proclaims, He gives light to 
the minds of all by filling them with divine knowledge. 



378 COMMENTARY UPON 



SERMON LXXXIII. 

c. xi. 37- And as He was speaking, a certain Pharisee besought Him 
41 to dine with him : and He went in and lay down to meat. 

Oin. T/jUl. -F77 TT 7 7 

But the Pharisee, when he saw it, wondered that He had 
not first washed before dinner. But the Lord said unto 
him, Now do ye Pharisees make dean the outside of the 
cup and the dish, but that which is within you is full of 
rapine and wickedness. ye little minded, did not He 
Who made that which is without, make that which is 
within also ? But whatever there is give as alms, and be 
hold ! every thing is clean unto you. 

iTim.i 15. THE very wise Paul truly tells us, that "Christ came into 
" the world to save sinners." For this was His aim, and for 
this purpose He humbled Himself to the emptying of His 
glory, and appeared upon earth in the flesh, and conversed 
with men. For it was right, that as being the Creator and 
Lord of all, He should give a saving hand to those who had 
fallen into sin, and show unto them that were wandering in 
error, a pathway that would lead them straight unto every 
good work, and the excellence of virtuous deeds. And it is 
said somewhere also by one of the holy prophets, concerning 
those who have been called by faith to the knowledge of His 

Is. liv. 13. glory "And they shall be all taught of God." How, there 
fore, does He lead us into every thing that is useful? By hum 
bling Himself to be with sinners, and condescending sometimes 
even to those things that He would not, that so He might save 
many. That this was the case we may see by the lessons from 
the gospel now set before us; for one of the Pharisees, it says, 
besought Him to dine at His house : " and He went in, and 
" lay down to meat." And yet how is it not plain to every 
one, that the Pharisees b as a class were always wicked and 
impure, hateful to God, and envious, ready for anger, of innate 
pride, and ever bold of speech against Christ the Saviour of us 
all ? For they found fault with His divine miracles, and gather 
ing wicked troops of counsellors, plotted His death. How then 
b Literally, the gang of the Pharisees. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 879 

did He become their guest ? Was He not aware of their mali 
ciousness ? But how can this be safely affirmed ? For as God 
He knoweth all things. What therefore is the explanation ? 
It is this, that He was especially anxious to admonish them, 
therein resembling the most excellent physicians. For they 
apply the remedies of their art to those who are most danger 
ously ill, struggling against the disease under which they 
suffer, and assuaging its cruel attacks. As they therefore 
without restraint gave way to an infatuated mind, it was ne 
cessary for Christ to speak unto them what was requisite 
and useful for their salvation. For as He Himself some 
where says, "He came not to call the righteous, but sinners to Mat. ix. 13. 
" repentance." And again He also said, that " they who are ib. 12. 
" whole need not a physician, but they who are sick." 

The Pharisee therefore for some purpose of his own invites 
Him to an entertainment : and the Saviour of all submits, as I 
said, to this, for the economy s sake. But He made the matter 
an opportunity of giving instruction, not consuming the time of 
their meeting in the enjoyment of food and delicacies, but in 
the task of making those more virtuous who were assembled 
there. And the dull Pharisee himself supplied an occasion for 
His discourse, for " he wondered," it says, " that He had not 
" washed before dinner." Did he then wonder at Him, as 
having done something of which he approved, as being espe 
cially worthy of the saints ? This was not his view : how 
could it be ? On the contrary he was offended, because having 
the reputation among them of a righteous man and a prophet, 
He did not conform Himself to their unreasonable customs. 
For they washed before meat, as though they so freed them 
selves from all pollution. But this was very absurd. For the 
washing with water is highly useful for those who are unclean 
in body ; but how can it free men from the defilement of the 
mind and heart ? 

Our argument however is this: foolish Pharisee, thou 
vauntest much of thy knowledge of the sacred Scriptures : 
thou art ever quoting the law of Moses. Tell us therefore 
where Moses gave thee this precept? What commandment 
canst thou mention, ordained by God, requiring men to wash 
before meat ? The waters of sprinkling were indeed given by 
the command of Moses for the cleansing of corporeal unclean- 



380 COMMENTARY UPON 

ness, as being a type of the baptism which really is holy and 
cleansing, even that in Christ. Those also who were called 
unto the priesthood were bathed in water: for so did the 
divine Moses bathe Aaron, and the Levites with him, the law 
thereby declaring by means of the baptism enacted in type 
and shadow, that even its priesthood had not that which suf- 
ficeth for sanctification, but, on the contrary, needs divine 
and holy baptism for the true cleansing : and further, beauti 
fully shewing us that the Saviour of all is sufficient to sanctify 
and cleanse from all defilement, by means of holy and precious 
baptism, ourselves, who are the generation consecrated to and 
elect of God. Plainly however, he nowhere commands it as a 
duty to wash before eating. Why therefore dost thou wonder, 
or for what reason art thou offended, Pharisee ? He Who 
Himself spake it in old time has not violated the precept of 
Moses : and, as I said, the law, which thou makest a profes 
sion of honouring, has nowhere given thee any such com 
mandment. 

But what said the Saviour ? He most opportunely rebuked 
them, saying, " Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside 
" of the cup, and the dish ; but that which is within you is full 
" of rapine and wickedness." For it would have been easy for 
the Lord to have used other words with the view of instructing 
the foolish Pharisee, but He found an opportunity, and, so to 
speak, connects His teaching with what was before their eyes. 
For as it was the time of eating, and of sitting at table, He takes 
as a plain comparison the cup and the dish, and shows that 
those who sincerely serve God must be pure and clean, not 
only from bodily impurity, but also from that hidden within 
in the mind ; just, for instance, as those utensils also that serve 
the table must be cleansed both from those impurities that are 
on the outside, and also as well from those that are within. 
" For He who made," He says, " that which is without, made 
" also that which is within :" by which is meant, that He Who 
created the body made also the soul. As therefore they are 
both the works of one virtue-loving God, their purification 
must be uniform. 

But this was not the practice of the Scribes and Pharisees ; 
for so far as the mere reputation went of being clean, they 
were anxious to do every thing. They went about with sad 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 381 

looks, as though pale from fasting ; and as the Saviour says, 
" made broad the hems of their robes, and widened their Mat. xxiii. 
" phylacteries, and stood in the streets and prayed, that they ^j at vi 
" might be seen of many/ wishing rather to have praise of 
men than God, and to carry off the applause of the spectators. 
And, to speak briefly, while they exhibited themselves to the 
lookers on as the very pattern of the life of virtue that is by 
the law, they in every possible way withdrew from being lovers 
of God. "Whitened sepulchres Avere they," as the Saviour said, Mat. xxiii. 
" which on the outside arc beautiful, but inside are full of 2 
" bones of the dead, and of all uncleanness c ." But Christ 
willeth not that we be such as these, but rather spiritual wor 
shippers, holy and without blame both in soul and body. For 
one also of our communion said, "Cleanse your hands ye James iv.8. 
" sinners, and sanctify your hearts, ye double-minded." And 
the prophet David somewhere sings, " Create in me a clean Ps. li. 10. 
" heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." And 
again the prophet Isaiah speaks as in the person of God, 
" Wash you, make you clean ; put away iniquities from your is. i. 16. 
" souls from before My eyes. Cease from your iniquities." 
Observe the exactness of the expression : for His words are, 
" From before My eyes put away iniquities from your souls." 
For the wicked do sometimes escape the eyes of men, but 
never can they escape those of God. It is our duty therefore, 
inasmuch as God sees what is secret, to put away wickedness 
from before His eyes. 

But the Pharisees had no knowledge of any such method 
of virtuous living : what medicine therefore did the Saviour 
offer them after His rebukes ? How did He Who smote them 
make them whole ? " Whatever ye have," He says, " give as 
" alms : and lo ! every thing is pure unto you." And yet we 
affirm that there are many ways of virtuous conduct, such for 
instance as meekness, humility, and other kindred virtues : 
why therefore did He omit these, and command them to be 

c Mai mentions, that in one of bis mentary. As the Syriac however 

Codices, A, a passage here inserted does not recognise it, the alterations 

is said to be from the Julian books ; are probably rather to be regarded 

but as it differs in some respects from as made by the Catenist to fit the 

its form there, he thinks it possible passage to its new position, 
that S. Cyril repeated it in the Com- 



382 COMMENTARY UPON 

compassionate ? What answer do we make to this ? The Pha 
risees then were exceedingly avaricious, and the slaves of base 
gains, and accumulated with greedy hand stores of wealth. 
For the God of all even somewhere said concerning them, 

is. i. i. How has the faithful city Zion, that was full of judgment, 
" become a harlot ! Righteousness lodged in her, but now 
l murderers ! Your silver is adulterate ; thy merchants mingle 
" the wine with water ; thy princes are disobedient, the part- 
" ners of thieves, loving bribes, running after recompense; 
" they judge not the fatherless, and regard not the suit of the 
" widow." He purposely therefore had regard to that malady 
which had possession of them, and tears their avarice up by 
the root, that being delivered from its wickedness, and at 
taining to purity in mind and heart, they might become true 
worshippers. 

The Saviour therefore in all these things acted in accordance 
with the plan of salvation ; and being invited to a banquet, 
bestowed spiritual food, not only upon His entertainer, but 
upon all those who were feasting with Him. And let us too 

John vi. 5 r. pray Him for this spiritual food; for " He is that living 
" Bread, which came down from heaven, and giveth life unto 
" 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. 383 



SERMON LXXXIV. 

But woe unto you, Pharisees ! ivho tithe mint and rue and C. xi. 42- 
all herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God. 44 
But these things ought ye to have done, and not to leave ravra BTy. 
the other undone. Woe unto you, Pharisees I for ye love mptunu 
the uppermost seat in the synagogues, and greetings in the ? T -, 
markets. Woe unto you ! for ye are as those graves which GS S . 
appear not, and the men that ivalk over them know it not. add- 

fj-areis 



THOSE who are exact observers of the sacred command- 
ments do not venture in any way whatsoever to offend the 
God of all. For they feel the truth of what is written, " That James ii. 
" whosoever shall keep the whole law, but shall offend in one K 
" particular, becomes guilty of all. For He Who said, Thou 
" shalt not commit adultery, said also, Thou shalt not kill. If 
" then thou commit not adultery, but yet killest, thou art 
" become a transgressor of the law." The transgression there 
fore of one commandment transgresses the law, that is, proves 
the man to be without the law. But when any one disre 
gards those commandments, which especially are important 
above the rest, what words will he find able to save him from 
deserved punishment ? That the Pharisees then merited these 
severe censures, the Lord proved against them, saying, " Woe 
" unto you, Pharisees ! who tithe mint and rue and all herbs, 
" and pass over judgment and the love of God. These things 
" ought ye to have done, and not to pass by d the other, that 
" is, to leave them undone." For while they omitted, as of no 
importance, those duties which they were especially bound to 
practice, as, for instance, judgment and the love of God, they 
carefully and scrupulously observed, or rather commanded the 
people subject to their authority to observe, those command 
ments only which were a way and means of great revenues for 
themselves. 



d From this it is possible that S. explaining it by d(f>tevai, his own 
Cyril really read napflvai, as other- reading in the text, 
wise one can see no reason for his 



384 COMMENTARY UPON 

But more fully to explain these things to thee, my beloved, 
I must speak as follows. The law of Moses commanded tithes 
to be offered to the priests by the Israelites. For it spake 

Deut.xviii. thus ; "The sons of Levi shall have no inheritance among the 
" children of Israel. The offerings of the Lord are their 
" inheritance." For whatsoever was offered by any one for 
the glory of God, on the score I mean of tithe, this God set 
apart for those whose office it was to minister ; and this was 
their inheritance. But inasmuch as the Pharisees above all 
others were covetous, and fond of disgraceful gains, they com 
manded that this law of tithing should be observed carefully 
and scrupulously, so as not even to omit the most paltry and 
insignificant herbs ; while they carelessly disregarded what 
they ought to have observed, namely, the more essential com 
mandments given by Moses ; such, for instance, as judgment, 
by which is meant justice in passing judgment, and the love of 
God. For it would have been a jnst judgment, and an upright 
sentence, to have considered every thing that was commanded 
deserving of equal care and attention, and not to neglect things 
of primary importance, while they paid a scrupulous regard to 
those only which were to their profit. And the effect of love 
to God would have been to avoid making Him angry in any 
respect, and to dread the violation of any part whatsoever of 
the law. 

Or to put it in another light, one may say, that judgment 
would have been to decree just sentences, and to make upon no 
matter whatsoever an unfair decision. And this too was disre 
garded by the Pharisees ; for the Spirit rebuked them by the 

Ps. Ixxxii. voice of David, thus saying, " God arose in the congregation of 
" the Gods, and in the midst of the Gods He judgeth. How 
" long judge ye unjustly, and accept the persons of the 
" wicked 1" He accused them also by the voice of Isaiah, 

Is. i. 21. saying, " How has the faithful city Zion, that was full of 
"judgment, become a harlot? Righteousness lodged in her, 
" but now murderers. Your silver is adulterate : thy mer- 
" chants mingle the wine with water : thy princes are disobe- 
" dient, the partners of thieves, loving bribes, running after 
" recompense : they judge not the fatherless, and regard not 
" the suit of the widow." For to judge unjustly is not the part 
of those who practice love to the brethren, but the crime rather 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 385 

of an iniquitous mind, and a plain proof of a falling away into 
sin. While therefore ye tithe mint, He says, and rue, and 
every herb, and ordain that the commandment upon these 
points is to be strictly kept, ye deign no attention to the 
weightier matters of the law, to those commandments, I mean, 
which are more especially necessary and beneficial to the soul, 
and by means of which ye might prove yourselves honourable 
and holy, and full of such praises as become those whose desire 
it is to love God, and please Him. 

And He adds yet another woe to those already spoken, 

saying, "Woe unto you, Pharisees, who love the uppermost 

" seat in the synagogues, and greetings in the market places." 

Is then this reproof useful to the Pharisees only ? Not so : for 

the benefit of it extends even unto us : for by the rebukes 

He addressed to them, He effects also our improvement. For 

rue it is, that those who are perfect in mind, and lovers of up- 

ight conduct, find in the rebukes of others the means of their 

>wn safety. For they of course avoid imitating them, and do 

lot expose themselves to being caught in similar faults. The 

iccusation therefore which Christ brings against the Pharisees, 

hat they seek for greetings in the market places, and the 

uppermost seats in the synagogues, or meetings, shews that 

ihey were fond of praise, and wont to indulge themselves in 

mpty ostentation, and an absurd superciliousness. And what 

an be worse than this? or how must not such conduct be 

lateful to every man, as being boastful and annoying, and des- 

itute of the praises of virtue, and intent solely upon stealing 

be reputation of being honourable. And how must not he be 

ncomparably superior to men thus disposed, who is poor in 

pirit, and gentle, and affable ; not loving boasting, but court- 

ous ; not deceiving men by outside and fictitious disguises, but 

eing rather a true worshipper, and adorned with that rational 

eauty which the divine Word imprinteth in us by means of all 

irtue and holiness and righteousness. 

For if we must prove ourselves better than others, and 
here is nothing to prevent this, let the sentence of superiority 
>e given us of God, by our excelling them in point of conduct 
nd morals, and in a wise and blameless knowledge of the sa- 
:red scriptures. For to be saluted by others, and seated higher 

3 D 



386 COMMENTARY UPON 

than one s friends e , does not at all prove us to be persons of 
merit : for this is possessed by many, who, so far from being 
virtuous, are rather lovers of pleasure, and lovers of sin. For 
they wrest honours from every one, because of their possessing 
either vast wealth or worldly power. 

But that our being admired by others without investigation 
and inconsiderately, and without their knowing our real state, 
does not at all make us elect in the presence of God, Who 
knoweth all things, the Saviour at once demonstrates by say 
ing ; a Woe unto you, for ye are as those graves which appear 
" not, and the men who walk over them know it not." Ob 
serve, I pray, very clearly the force of the example. Those 
who desire to be saluted by every one in the marketplace, 
and anxiously consider it a great matter to have the foremost 
seats in the synagogues, differ in no respect from graves that 
appear not, which on the outside are beautifully adorned, but 
are full of all impurity. See here, I pray, that hypocrisy is 
utterly blamed : for it is a hateful malady, both towards God 
and men. For whatsoever the hypocrite seems, and is thought 
to be, that he is not : but he borrows, so to speak, the reputa 
tion of goodness, and thereby accuses his real baseness: for 
the very thing which he praises and admires, he will not prac- j 
tise. But it is a thing impossible for thee long to hide thy ! 
hypocrisy : for just as the figures painted in pictures fall off, 
as time dries up the colours, so also hypocrisies, after escaping 
observation for a very little time, are soon convicted of being 
really nothing. 

We then must be true worshippers, and not as wishing to 
please men, lest we fall from being servants of Christ. For so the 
Gal. i. io. blessed Paul somewhere speaks ; " For now do I persuade menj 
1 or God ? or do I seek to please men ? If I yet pleased men, j 
" I should not be the servant of Christ." For suppositions ini 
matters of moral excellence are simply ridiculous, and worthy 
neither of account nor admiration. For just as in gold coins 
that which is counterfeit and faulty is rejected, so the hypocrit 
is regarded with scorn both by God and men. But he who is 



e The Syriac translator evidently has TrpoeSpeGo-ai <piAe>, which is, n 
read n-poedpevo-ai (pi Acoi/, but Mai doubt, the right reading. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 387 

true meets with admiration ; just, for instance, as Nathaniel, 

of whom Christ said, " Behold one truly an Israelite, in whom 

" is no guile." He who is such is esteemed before God ; he is 

counted worthy of crowns and honours ; has a glorious hope 

given him ; and is " a fellow-citizen with the saints, and of the E P h. ii. 19. 

" household of God." 

Let us therefore flee from the malady of hypocrisy : and 
may there rather dwell within us a pure and uncorrupt mind, 
resplendent with glorious virtues. For this will unite us unto 
Christ* by Whom and with Whom to God the Father be 
praise and dominion, with the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever, 
Amen. 



3 D 2 



388 COMMENTARY UPON 



SERMON LXXXV. 

c. xi. 45- Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto Him, 

4 8 - Teacher, in saying these things thou reproachest us also. 

And He said, Also unto you, lawyers, woe ! for ye lade 

add. flapta men with burdens heavy and grievous to be borne ; and ye 

Kals - yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. 

Woe unto you ! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, 

and your fathers killed them. Therefore ye bear witness, 

and approve of the deeds of your fathers : for they indeed 

om. avrwv killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. 

ra /j.vrjfjLe ia 
TVT 

REPROOF is ever, so to speak, a thing difficult for any 
man to bear : but it is not without profit to the soberminded : 
for it leads them to the duty of performing those things which 
make them worthy of honour, and lovers of virtuous pursuits. 
But those who run into wickedness with all eagerness, and 
whose heart is set against admonition, are hurried into greater 
sins by the very things that should have made them more 
soberminded, and are only hardened by the words of those 
who try to benefit them. And, as an example of this state of 
mind, behold those who among the Jews were called lawyers. 
For the Saviour of all was rebuking the Pharisees, as men that 
were wandering far from the right way, and fallen into unbe 
coming practices. For He blamed them as being boasters, as 
hypocrites, as loving greetings in the markets, and as wishing 
to sit in front of everybody else in the synagogues : and He 
Mat. xxiii. further called them " whited sepulchres, which on the outside 
27 " are beautiful, but inside are full of dead men s bones and all 

" impurity/ At these things the band of wicked lawyers was 
indignant, and one of them stood up to controvert the Saviour s 
declarations, and said ; " Teacher, in saying these things, Thou 
" reproachest us also." Oh what great ignorance ! what blind 
ness in mind and understanding unto every thing necessary ! 
These men subject themselves to blame : or rather the force of 
truth shewed them to be liable to the same accusations as the 
Pharisees, and of one mind with them, and partners of their 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 389 

evil deeds, if they thus consider that what Christ said unto the 
others was spoken also against them. For tell me, for what 
reason art thou angry ? When any reproof is addressed to the 
Pharisees, thou sayest that thou art reproached. Thou con- 
fessest therefore thy deeds. Thou art conscious, of course, to 
thyself of being a similar character. But if thou considerest it 
a reproach for ought of this sort to be said of thee, and never 
theless dost not alter thy behaviour, it is thy own conduct thou 
art found blaming. If thou hatest reproof as being a re 
proach, shew thyself superior to the faults with which thou art 
charged : or rather do not regard as a reproach the word of 
correction. Dost thou not see that those who heal the bodies 
of men converse with the sick upon the causes which have 
>rought on their maladies, and use pungent drugs to coun 
teract what has happened : but no one is angry with them on 
this account, or regards what they say as a reproach. But 
;hou art weak-minded in bearing admonitions, nor consentest 
;o learn what those passions are which are bringing injury to 
;hy heart. Far better would it be to love reproof, and ask for 
deliverance from thy maladies, and healing for the ulcers of 
;hy soul. Far better were it rather to say, " Heal me, O Lord, j e r. xvii. 
lt and I shall be healed : save me, and I shall be saved : for I4> 
" Thou art my praise." 

Nothing however of this sort enters the mind of the lawyers, 
but they venture even to say; "In speaking these things, Thou 
" reproachest us also :" ignorantly giving the name of reproach 
to a reproof which was for their benefit and advantage. What 
then does Christ reply ? He makes His reproof yet more se 
vere, and humbles their empty pride, thus saying ; " Also to 
" you, lawyers, woe ! for ye lade men with burdens heavy and 
ie grievous to be borne : and ye yourselves touch not the bur- 
" dens with one of your fingers." He frames His argument 
against them out of a plain example. For the law was confess 
edly grievous to the Israelites, as the divine disciples also ac 
knowledged. For they even rebuked those who were endea 
vouring to make such as had already believed desire to return 
to the legal ritual : for they said; " And now why tempt ye Actsxv.io. 
God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which 
neither we nor our fathers were able to bear?" And the 
Saviour Himself taught us this, crying out and saying; "Come Mat.xi.28. 



390 COMMENTARY UPON 

" unto Me, all ye weary, and heavy laden ; and I will give you 
" rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me ; for I am 
meek and lowly in heart ; and ye shall find rest for your- 
" selves." Weary then and heavy laden are those, He says, 
who are under the law: while He calls Himself meek, as 
though the law had nothing in it of this character. For, as 

Heb. x. 28. Paul says ; " Whosoever has despised Moses law is put to 
" death without mercy at the mouth of two or three witnesses." 
Woe to you, therefore, He says, lawyers : for while ye bind 
burdens grievous to be borne, and intolerable to carry, and lay 
them on those who are under the law, ye yourselves will not 
touch them. For while commanding that the ordinance of 
Moses should be kept inviolate, and passing sentence of death 
upon any who despise it, they themselves paid not the slightest 
heed to the duty of performing its precepts. As accustomed 

Kom.ii. 17. thus to act, the wise Paul also rebukes them, saying ; " Behold 

" thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest 

" thy boast of God; and knowest His will, and discernest the 

" things that are more excellent, being instructed by the law ; 

" and art confident of thyself, that thou art a guide of the 

" blind ; an instructor of those without understanding ; a 

" teacher of babes ; and that thou hast the form of knowledge 

" and of truth in the law. Thou therefore that teachest others, 

" teachest thou not thyself? thou that sayest that men should 

" not steal, dost thou steal ? thou that sayest that men should 

" not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery ? And thou 

" that despisest idols, dost thou plunder the sanctuary ? And 

" thou that boastest in the law, by the transgression of the 

" law despisest thou God ? " For the teacher is rejected with 

infamy when his conduct does not agree with his words. Upon 

him our Saviour also passes the sentence of severe punishment : 

Mat. v. 19. for whosoever," He says, " has taught and done, shall be 

" called great : but whosoever shall teach and not do, he shall 

" be called small in the kingdom of heaven." And for the same 

James iii. i. reason the disciple of the Saviour also writes to us; " Let 

" there not be many teachers among you, my brethren ; know- 

" ing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. For in 

" many things we all of us commit wrong." 

And having thus shewn the worthlessness of this abominable 
crew of lawyers, He goes on to utter a common reproof to all 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 391 

the chiefs of the Jews : " Woe unto you ! for ye build the 
" sepulchres of the prophets : and your fathers killed them. 
" Therefore ye bear witness, and approve of the deeds of your 
" fathers ; for they indeed killed them, and ye build their se- 
" pulchres." Let us then carefully examine what the Saviour 
means ; for what wicked act can we say that they were guilty 
of in building the tombs of the saints ? Were they not rather 
doing them distinguished honour ? What doubt can there be 
of this? It is necessary therefore to see what it is which 
Christ teaches us. The ancestors then of the Jews had from 
time to time put the holy prophets to death, when bringing 
them the word of God, and leading them unto the right way : 
but their descendants, acknowledging that the prophets were 
holy and venerable men, built over them sepulchres or tombs, 
as bestowing upon them an honour suitable to the saints. 
Their fathers therefore slew them ; but they, as believing that 
they were prophets and holy men. became the judges of those 
that slew them. For by determining to pay honour to those 
who had been put to death, they thereby accused the others 
of having done wrongfully. But they, who condemned their 
fathers for such cruel murders, were about to incur the guilt 
of equal crimes, and to commit the same, or rather more 
abominable offences. For they slew the Prince of Life, the 
Saviour and Deliverer of all : and added also to their wicked 
ness towards Him other abominable murders. For Stephen 
was put to death, not as being accused of any thing base, but 
rather for admonishing them, and speaking unto them what is 
contained in the inspired Scriptures. And other crimes besides 
were committed by them against every saint who preached 
unto them the Gospel message of salvation. 

The lawyers therefore and Pharisees were reproved in every 
way, as being haters of God, and boastful, and lovers of plea 
sure more than lovers of God : and as everywhere hating to be 
saved. For this reason Christ added always that word " woe," 
as something peculiarly theirs : by Whom and with Whom to 
God the Father be praise and dominion, with the Holy Ghost, 
for ever and ever, Amen f . 

f In the Syriac the 4Qth and two repeatedly occur. In filling up this 

following verses are omitted, other lacuna, the Catenists first attribute 

instances of which habit of S. Cyril to him an explanation of v. 49, to 



392 



COMMENTARY UPON 



the effect that by the prophets 
whom the wisdom of God sends are 
meant the apostles, and their suc 
cessors, the chief pastors of the 
church: but as the apostles are 
mentioned by name in the text, 
there is no reason for making the 
prophets identical with them in 
meaning, especially as our Lord was 
plainly referring to 2 Chron. xxiv. 
19 21. Next on v. 51, two of 
Mai s codices C and D assign to 
Cyril a passage closely resembling, 
as he remarks, one in Gregory of 
Nyssa s sermon in diem nat. Do 
mini, and actually referred to him 
by B, and by Cramer s MS. : and 
though there are many verbal dis 
crepancies in Gregory s text, yet 
other portions, especially towards 
the end, so exactly agree, that there 
can be no doubt that it is really his. 
It records an " unwritten tradition," 
to use Severus words, to the effect 
that by Zacharias is meant John 
Baptist s father, and that he was 
put to death at the altar for assert 
ing the virginity of Mary, who after 



her conception had nevertheless 
taken her place in that part of the 
temple appropriated to virgins. 
Upon the Jews wishing to remove 
her, Zacharias prophesied that she 
would be the mother of God, and 
that her offspring would be " God 
" the Saviour Jesus Christ, the 
" King and Ruler of their race." 
The Jews then in alarm at the pre 
diction of a king, slew Zacharias at 
the altar. Of such a tradition it is 
enough to say in the words of Je 
rome ; Quia de scripturis non 
habet auctoritatem, eadem facili- 
tate contemnitur, qua probatur. 
Com. in Mat. xxiii. 35. Lastly, a 
few lines are assigned to Cyril in A. 
to the effect, that when our Lord 
says that the punishment of murder 
would be required of that genera 
tion, He does not mean that mur 
derers of other generations were to 
escape: for generation sometimes 
means the whole of any class, as 
where the Psalmist says, "This is 
" the generation of them that seek 
" the Lord." 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 393 



SERMON LXXXVI. 

Woe unto you, lawyers : for ye have taken away the key 0/" c .-. xi - 5^ 
knowledge : ye entered not in, and those that are entering 
in ye hindered. And as He came out from thence, the 
scribes and Pharisees began to urge Him vehemently, and 
to put Him to silences about many things, lying in wait to 

. avTovravra 

catch something out of his mouth. Meamuhile many 



myriads of the people having assembled, so that they trode ^ ^ - 
one upon another, He began to say unto His disciples first rofWes Gy. 
of all, Beware in yourselves of the leaven of the Pharisees, ^ aT ^j^_ 
which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered, that <nv afoot 
shall not be revealed: neither hid, that shall not be known. 
All things whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness, shall be 
heard in the light : and that which ye have spoken in the 
ear in chambers, shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. 

THOSE who search the sacred Scriptures, and know the 
jord s will, if they are virtuous men, and anxious for the peo- 
le s good, and skilled in leading them aright unto every thing 
hat is admirable, shall be rewarded with every blessing, if 
hey discharge their duties with earnestness. And of this the 
Saviour assures us where He says, " Who then is a faithful Mat. xxiv. 
and wise servant, whom his Lord hath set over his household, 45< 

to give them meat in its season? Blessed is that servant, 
whom his Lord shall come and find so doing : verily, I say 
unto you, that he will set him over all that he hath." But 
if he be indolent, and neglectful, and a^ cause of offence to those 
ntrusted to his charge, so as for them to fall from the right 
way, most miserable is he, and in danger of hopeless punish 
ment. For again Christ Himself has said; " Whosoever there- Mat. xviii. 
fore shall offend one of these little ones, which believe in Me, 
it were better for him that the millstone of an ass h were 
hung about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depths 
of the sea." 



By aTToo-ro/iari ^tj/ is rather h That is, the stone of a mill 

neant " to question." The Phi- turned by an ass, and so of the 

oxenian nevertheless translates it in largest size, hand mills being gene- 

he same way as the text. rally used. 

3 K 



394 COMMENTARY UPON 

Of faults thus grievous, Christ proved them guilty who pro 
fessed to be skilled in the law ; the scribes, I mean, and law 
yers : and for this reason he said unto them ; " Also to you 
" lawyers woe ! who have taken away the key of knowledge." 
By the key of knowledge we consider that the law itself is 
meant, and justification in Christ, by faith I mean in Him. 
For though the law was in shadow and type, yet those types 
shape out to us the truth, and those shadows depict to us in 
manifold ways the mystery of Christ. A lamb was sacrificed 
according to the law of Moses; they ate its flesh, they anointed 
the lintels with its blood, and overcame the destroyer. But 
the blood of a mere sheep could not turn away death. It was 
Christ then Who was typified under the form of a lamb, Who 
endures to be the victim for the life of the world, and saves by 
His blood those who are partakers of Him. And one might 
mention many other instances as well, by means of which we 
can discern the mystery of Christ, sketched out in the shadows 
of the law. And He Himself once when speaking to the Jews 

John v. 45. said, " There is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom 
* ye trusted. For if ye had believed Moses, ye would have 
" also believed Me ; for he wrote of Me. " And again ; 

John v. 39. (( Search the Scriptures : for in them ye think that ye have 
" eternal life ; and it is they that testify of Me. And ye are 
" not willing to come unto Me, that ye may have life." For 
every word of divinely inspired Scripture looks unto Him, and 
refers to Him. And whether it be Moses who speaks, he, as 
has been shewn, was typifying Christ : or be it the holy pro 
phets that thou namest, they also proclaimed to us in mani-j 
fold ways the mystery of Christ, preaching beforehand the sal 
vation that is by Him. 

It was the duty therefore of those who were called lawyers, 
because they studied the law of Moses, and were well ac 
quainted with the words of the holy prophets, to open, so to 
speak, to the Jewish multitudes the doors of knowledge. For 
the law directs men unto Christ, and the pious announcements 
of the holy prophets lead, as I said, to the acknowledgment of 
Him. But this the so-called lawyers did not do, but on the 
contrary they took away the key of knowledge, by which you 
are to understand the guidance of the law, or really faith in 
Christ. For by faith is the knowledge of the truth, as the 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 395 

prophet Isaiah somewhere says ; " If ye will not believe, nci- is. vii. 9. 
" ther shall ye understand." This same way of salvation by 
faith in Christ He before declared unto us by the holy pro 
phets, saying; " Yet a little, a little while, and he that cometh Hab. 11.3. 
" shall come, and shall not tarry. And whosoever shall draw Heb Xl 37- 
" back, in him My soul shall have no pleasure/ And what is 
meant by a person s drawing back is his giving way to sloth- 
fulness. When therefore He says, that no one of those who 
have been called must draw back, it means, that if he grow 
slothful in his progress towards the grace which is by faith, My 
soul shall have no pleasure in him. 

But that the fathers were proved by faith, the examination 
of their deeds demonstrates. Take, for instance, the patriarch 
Abraham, who was called the friend of God : what is written 
of him? "Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him James ii. 
" for righteousness : and he was called the friend of God." 23> 
And it is written again; "By faith Noah, when it was revealed Heb. xi. 7. 
" to him of things not seen as yet, prepared the ark for the 
" saving of his house, in which few, that is, eight persons, were i Pet. iii. 
" saved by water/ And the blessed Paul has laid down for 2 
us a definition, so to speak, or rather a general law, thus 
saying; "Without faith it is impossible for anyone whatso- Heb. xi. 6. 
ever to please God." " For by it, he said, the elders, that 
" is, those in old time, obtained a good report/ 

But these so-called lawyers had taken away the key of 
knowledge ; for they would not let men believe in Christ the 
Saviour of all. He wrought miracles in manifold ways; raising 
the dead from their graves ; restoring beyond all hope their 
sight to the blind ; making the lame whole in their feet ; 
cleansing lepers; and rebuking unclean spirits. But they, 
:hough it was their duty to regard Him with admiration 
Because of these things, despised His divine signs : and making 
.he people entrusted to their charge to stumble, they said ; 
This man casteth not out devils but in Beelzebub the prince Mat. xii. 
of the devils." Here then thou seest them taking away the 24 
key of knowledge. He taught in their synagogues ; He re 
pealed to His hearers that good and acceptable and perfect R om . xii. 2. 

l of God the Father ; but they cannot leave even these His 
nstructions without blame : for they called out to the multi 
tudes, " He hath a devil, and is utterly mad. Why hear ye Johnx. 20 . 



396 COMMENTARY UPON 

" Him?" In truth therefore they took away the key of know 
ledge : they went not in themselves, and the others they 
hindered. 

And thus being indignant at this reproof, " they began," it 
says, " to urge Him vehemently ;" by which is meant, to 
attack Him with cunning, and oppose Him, and shew their 
hatred of Him. And they ventured also, it says, even " to put 
" Him to silence about many things." And what again is the 
meaning of their putting Him to silence ? It is that they re 
quired Him at once, and so to speak, without consideration to 
make answer to their wicked questions ; expecting forsooth that 
he would fall, and say something or other open to objection. 
But they knew not that He was God ; or rather, they were de- 
spisers, and proud and contemptuous. And therefore it was 
that Christ told His friends, that is, His disciples, to " beware 
" of the leaven of the Pharisees and scribes," meaning by leaven 
their false pretence. For hypocrisy is a thing hateful to God, 
and abominated by man, bringing no reward, and utterly use 
less for the salvation of the soul, or rather the cause of its per 
dition. For though sometimes it may escape detection for a 
little, yet before long it is sure to be laid bare, and bring upon 
them disgrace ; like ill-featured women, when they are stripped 
of that external embellishment which they had produced by 
artificial means. 

Hypocrisy therefore is a thing foreign to the character of 
the saints : for that it is impossible for those things that are 
done and said by us to escape the eye of the Deity, He shewed 
by saying ; " For there is nothing covered that shall not be 
" revealed : neither hid that shall not be known." For all 
our words and deeds shall be revealed at the day of judgment. 
Hypocrisy therefore is superfluous trouble ; and our duty is to 
prove ourselves true worshippers, serving God with free and 
open countenance, not submitting our judgment to those who 
take away the key of knowledge, but seeing even in the law ] 
the mystery of Christ, and seizing upon the words of the holy 
prophets to confirm our knowledge of Him. For this His dis- I 
Pet. i. 19. ciple also taught us thus saying ; " We have for confirmation I 
" the word of prophecy, into which ye do well to look, as upon 
" a torch shining in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the 
" star of light arise in your hearts." 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 397 

On us then who are in Christ the day has shone, and the 
star of the rational dawn has arisen, possessing as we do a cor 
rect and blameless knowledge of Him : for He has Himself 
put into our mind and heart divine knowledge, being the 
Saviour and Lord of all; by Whom and with Whom to God the 
Father be praise and dominion, with the Holy Ghost, for ever 
and ever, Amen*. 

1 Mai adds a few lines from A. are known unto God, and shall be 
explaining v. 3, as possibly signi- revealed unto everybody, 
fying that all our deeds and words 



398 COMMENTARY UPON 



SERMON LXXXVII. 

THIS HOMILY IS FIT TO BE READ IN A TIME 

OF STRUGGLE AND PERSECUTION FOR 

FAITH IN GOD. 

C. xii. 4-7. And I say unto you. My friends, Fear not them that kill the 
body, and afterwards have nothing more to do. But I 
will shew you Whom ye shall fear : fear Him Who after 
He hath killed hath power to cast into hell : yea, I say 
unto you, fear Him. Are not five sparroiffs sold for two 
halfpence ; and not one of them is forgotten before God. 
But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear 

rib BST. not . y e are o f more value than many sparroivs. 

PATIENCE, arid an enduring and courageous mind, form 

the impenetrable armour of the saints : for they render them 

approved and resplendent with the praises of piety. For one 

Luke xxi. also of the holy apostles thus spake, at one time ; " In patience 

Heb x q6 " possess ye your souls : " at another ; "Ye have need of 

" patience, that by doing the will of God, ye may receive the 

" promise." By such manly virtues we become famous, and 

praiseworthy, and renowned among men everywhere, and 

worthy of honours and the blessings that are prepared for the 

i Cor. ii.p. saints : even those which " eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 

as wise Paul says. And how must not those things be worth 

the gaining and admirable, which surpass our understanding 

and reason? And therefore, as I said, He prepares k those who 

love Him for spiritual fortitude, thus speaking ; " I say unto 

" you, My friends." 

His present discourse therefore does not, as it seems, belong 
to every one absolutely : but, on the contrary, to those only 
who evidently love Him with all their heart, and can fitly 

Rom. viii. say ; " Who shall separate me from the love of Christ ? shall 

35- 

k Literally " He anoints," a me- the struggle began. To anoint 

taphor taken from the palestra, therefore is to prepare for imme- 

where the combatant was rubbed diate exertion, 
over with oil, immediately before 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 399 

" tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or naked- 
" ness, or peril, or sword ? " For those who have as yet no 
sure and certain and well-founded love of Him, as long as they 
live in tranquil times, may forsooth possibly preserve their 
faith in Him : but if distress or persecution harass them a 
little, they turn away and forsake Him, losing, together with 
their faith, that which stirred them up to love Him. For just 
as young plants, which have lately sprung up, cannot endure 
the violence of too tempestuous a wind, because they have not 
as yet struck their roots deep ; while those which are firmly 
fixed, and well rooted, remain secure in the ground, even 
though a gale of fierce winds shake them : so those whose 
mind is not yet firmly and securely fixed upon Him are very 
easily drawn aside, and readily desert ; while those who have 
stored up and possess in mind and heart a secure and unwa 
vering love of Him, are unalterable in mind, and unwavering 
in heart, being superior to all indolence, and looking with con 
tempt upon the most intolerable dangers, and making a mock 
at terrors, so as even to ridicule the violence of death. The 
commandment therefore so to act belongs to those who love 
Him. 

But who are those who love Him ? They are, so to speak, 
such as are like-minded with Him, and anxious to follow in His 
footsteps. And to this His disciple encourages us by saying ; 
" Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, iPet. iv. i. 
" do ye for His sake 1 arm yourselves with the same mind." 
He laid down His life for us, and was "among the dead as one Ps.lxxxviii. 
" free." For death did not attack Him, as it attacks us, be- 5- 
cause of sin : for He was and is far removed from all sin, and 
incapable of iniquity : but of His own will He endured it for 
our sakes, because of His boundless love toward us. For listen 
to Him as He plainly says ; " Greater love hath no man than 
" this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." And how 
then is it not a most base thing not to return to Christ, 
as a most necessary debt, that which we have received of 
Him? 



1 This addition of v-rrep avrov to the text is not supported by any MS. 
authority. 



400 COMMENTARY UPON 

And, to put it in another light ; as being His friends, we 

ought not to fear death, but rather imitate the faith of the 

holy fathers. The patriarch Abraham, when tempted, offered 

Heb.xi.i9. his only-begotten son Isaac, " accounting that God was able to 

" raise him up even from the dead." What terror of death, 

2 Tim. i. 10. therefore, can assail us, now that " Life hath abolished death ?" 

Johnxi.25. for Christ is "the Resurrection and the Life." 

And this too we must bear in mind, that the crowns are to 
be won by labour. It is strong exertion united with skill that 
perfects those mighty athletes in the games. It is courage and 
a brave mind that are most serviceable to those who are skilled 
in battles : while the man who throws away his shield is ridi 
culed even by the foe : and if the runaway live, he leads a life 
of disgrace. But he who was steadfast in the battle, and stood 
stoutly and courageously with all his might against the enemy, 
is honoured if he win the victory ; and if he fall, is looked upon 
with admiration. And so ought we to reckon for ourselves ; for 
to endure patiently, and maintain the conflict with courage, 
brings with it great reward, and is highly desirable, and wins 
for us the blessings bestowed by God : while to refuse to suffer 
death in the flesh for the love of Christ, brings upon us lasting, 
or rather never-ending punishment. For the wrath of man 
reaches at most to the body, and the death of the flesh is the 
utmost that they can contrive against us : but when God pun 
ishes, the loss reaches not to the flesh alone ; how could it ? 
but the wretched 01 soul also is cast along with it into torments. 
Let our lot therefore rather be the honoured death; for it 
makes us mount up to the commencement of an eternal life, to 
which of necessity are attached those blessings also which come 
from the divine bounty : and let us flee from and despise a life 
of shame; a life accursed, and of short duration, and which 
leads down to bitter and everlasting torment. 

And to bestow yet another means of succour upon our 
minds, He forcibly added; " that five sparrows are scarcely 
" perhaps worth two halfpence, and yet not one of them is for- 
" gotten before God." And further, He said ; that also the 



m Mai reads fj dOdvaros ^x 7 ?, d6\ia, which the Syriac and Cramer 
but notices that some MSS. have confirm. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 401 

" separate hairs of your head are all numbered." Consider, 
therefore, how great care He takes of those that love Him. 
For if the Preserver of the universe extends His aid to things 
thus worthless, and descends, so to speak, to the smallest ani 
mals, how can He forget those who love Him, especially when 
He takes so great care of them, and deigns so to visit them, 
as to know exactly each particular of their state, and even how 
many are the hairs of their head ? 

Where, then, is the vain and senseless babbling of heathen 
boasting ? " Where is the wise ? Where is the scribe ? Where i Cor. i. 1 
" is the disputer of this world ? hath not God made foolish the 
" wisdom of the world ?" For some of them entirely deny the 
providence of God : while others make it reach down as far 
only as the moon, and set bounds to it, as though they had 
bad this authority committed to them. Unto such we would 
say : Is the providence of God too weak to reach down to that 
which is below, and even as far as unto us, or is the Creator 
of all too weary to see what we do ? If then they say that it 
is too weak, this is mere stupidity, and nothing else. But if 
they represent the divine nature as subject to indolence, they 
make it thereby liable also to envy. And this again is blas 
phemy, and a crime than which none is greater. But they 
answer, it is giving trouble to the divine and supreme will 
to impose upon it the care of all these earthly matters. They 
:now not how great is that nature which the mind cannot un 
derstand nor speech describe, and which ruleth over all. For 
;o it all things are small : and so the blessed prophet Isaiah 
teaches us where he says ; " If it be true that all the nations Is. xl. 15. 
are as a drop from a cask, and are reckoned as the turn 
of a balance, and shall be counted as spittle, to what have 
ye likened the Lord ? " For what is one drop from a cask ? 
and what is the turn of a balance ? and what too is spittle ? 
that is, a single expectoration ? If therefore this be the posi- 
ion of all things towards God, how can it be a great matter 
;o Him, or one that occasions Him trouble, to have the care 
>f all things ? The noxious sentiments therefore of the heathen 
are bereft of reason. 

Let us therefore not doubt but that with rich hand He will 
)estow His grace upon those who love Him. For either He 



402 COMMENTARY UPON 

will not permit us to fall into temptation : or if, by His wise 
purpose, He permit us to be taken in the snare, in order that 
we may gain glory by suffering, He will most assuredly grant 
us the power to bear it. And of this the blessed Paul is our 
witness, who says; " God is powerful, Who will not suffer you 
" to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with the 
" temptation also make a way of egress, that ye may be able 
" to bear it." For He Who is the Saviour and Lord of us all, 
is the Lord of powers : 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. 403 



SERMON LXXXVIII. 

THIS HOMILY ALSO is FIT TO BE READ IN A TIME OP STRUGGLE 

AND PERSECUTION FOR FAITH IN GOD. 

And I say unto you, that whosoever shall confess Me before C. xii. 8- 
men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the I0 
angels of God. But he that shall deny Me before men, 
shall be denied before the angels of God. And whosoever 
shall speak a word against the son of man, it shall be 
forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the 
Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him. 

HERE too, ye who love to hear, replenish yourselves with 
;he words of holiness : receive within you the knowledge of the 
sacred doctrines, that advancing prosperously in the faith, ye 
may obtain the crown of love and steadfastness in Christ. For 
He bestows it, not upon those whose heart is faint and easily 
shaken, but rather on those who can with fitness say ; " For to Phil. i. 21. 
( me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." For those who live 
lolily, live unto Christ ; and those, who for piety towards Him, 
endure dangers, gain the life incorruptible, being crowned by 
His decree before the judgment seat of God. And this He 
teaches us, saying ; " Whosoever shall confess Me before men, 

him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of 

God/ 

It is then a thing above all others worthy of our attention to 
see who it is that confesses Christ, and in what way one may 
rightly and blamelessly confess Him. Most wise Paul therefore 
writes to us, " Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend unto Eom. x. 6. 
" heaven ? that is to bring Christ down : or who shall descend 
into the deep ? that is, to bring Christ up from the dead. 
" But what saith the Scripture ? The Word is nigh thee, in 
" thy mouth and in thy heart; that is, the Word of faith which 
" we preach : because if thou shalt say with thy mouth that 
" Jesus is the Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart that God 
" raised Him from the dead, thou shalt live. For with the 
" heart man belie veth unto righteousness, and with the mouth 

3 P 2 



404 COMMENTARY UPON 

< ( confession is made unto salvation." In which words the mystery 
of Christ is most excellently explained. For first of all it is our 
duty to confess that the Son, Who sprang from God the Fa 
ther, and Who is the Only-begotten of His substance, even 
God the Word, is Lord of all : not as one on whom lordship 
has been bestowed from without, and by imputation, but as 
being by nature and in truth Lord, as the Father also is. And 
next we must believe, that " God raised Him from the dead," 
that is, when having become man, He had suffered in the flesh 
for our sakes : for so He arose from the dead. The Son there 
fore is, as I said, Lord ; yet must He not be reckoned with 
those other lords, to whom the name of lordship is given and 
imputed : for He alone, as I said, is Lord by nature, being 
God the AVord, Who transcends every created thing. And 
i Cor. viii. this the wise Paul teaches us saying ; " That though there be 
5- " in heaven or in earth certain Gods many, and Lordships 

" many : yet to us there is one God the Father, from Whom 
11 is evervthirio; and we from Him : and one Lord Jesus Christ, 

t, 

" by Whom is everything and we by Him." But even though 
there be but one God, Whose name is the Father ; and one 
Lord, Who is the Son ; yet neither is the Father put aside 
from being Lord, by reason of His being God by nature : nor 
does the Son cease from being God, because He is Lord by 
nature. For perfect freedom is the attribute of the divine and 
supreme substance only, and to be entirely separate from the 
yoke of servitude : or rather, to have the creation put in 
subjection under Its feet. And therefore, though the Only- 
begotten Word of God became like unto us, and, as far as 
regarded the measure of the human nature, was placed un 
der the yoke of slavery : for He purposely paid the Jewish 
tax-gatherers the two drachms according to the law of Moses ; 
yet He did not conceal the splendour of the glory that dwelt 
Mat. xvii. in Him. For He asked the blessed Peter ; " The kings of the 
" earth, of whom do they receive tribute and poll-tax; of their 
" own children, or of strangers ? And when he had said, Of 
" strangers : Then, said He, are the children free." The Son 
therefore is in His own nature Lord as being free : as the wise 
2 Cor. iii. Paul has again taught us, thus writing : " But we all, with 
l8 - " open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are 

" changed into the same likeness, from glory to glory, as by 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 405 

" the Lord, the Spirit." "Now the Spirit is the Lord: but 2Cor.iii.i7. 
" where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." Observe 
therefore how he affirms that the Spirit is Lord : not as pos 
sessed of sonship ; for He is the Spirit, and not the Son ; but 
as being co-essential with the Son, Who is Lord and free, and 
proved by this natural equality with Him to possess that free 
dom which befitteth God. 

Whosoever therefore confesseth Christ before men, as God 
and Lord, shall be acknowledged by Him before the angels of 
God. But where and how ? Evidently at that time, when He 
shall descend from heaven in the glory of His Father with the 
holy angels at the end of this world : then shall He crown His 
true confessor, who possessed an unwavering and genuine 
faith, and so made profession. There also shall the company 
of the holy martyrs shine, who endured the conflict even unto 
life and blood, and honoured Christ by their patient en 
durance : for they denied not the Saviour, nor was His glory 
unknown to them, but they kept their fealty to Him. Such 
shall be praised by the holy angels ; and shall themselves glo 
rify Christ the Saviour of all, for bestowing upon the saints 
those honours which especially are their due. And so the 
Psalmist also declares, " And the heavens shall declare His P*. l. 6. 
" righteousness; because God is judge. 1 And such then shall 
be the lot of those who confess Him. 

But the rest, those who denied and despised him, shall be 
denied : when the Judge shall say to them that, as it were, 
which was spoken by the holy prophets to certain of old ; " As Obad. 15. 
" thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee ; and thy requital 
" shall be requited upon thine own head ;" and shall deny 
them in these words : " Depart from Me, ye workers of ini- Luke xiii. 
" quity, I know you not." And who then are they that shall 2 
be denied ? First of all, those who when persecution was 
pressing upon them, and tribulation had overtaken them, de 
serted the faith. The hope of such shall depart utterly from 
its very root : for such no human words can suffice ; for 
wrath and judgment and the unappeasable fire shall receive 
them. 

And in like manner both the followers and teachers of heresy 
deny him. For they venture to say that the Only-begotten 
Word of God is not by nature and in truth God ; and they 



406 COMMENTARY UPON 

traduce His ineffable generation, by saying that He is not of 
the substance of the Father : yea rather, they count among 
things created Him Who is the Creator of all, and wickedly 
class with those who are under the yoke Him Who is Lord of 

Phil. ii. 1 1. all; although Paul affirms, that we must say that "Jesus is 
"Lord." 

The disciples also of the vain babbling of Nestorius deny 
Him by acknowledging two sons, one false, and one true ; the 
true one, the Word of God the Father : the false one, to whom 
the honour and name of a son belongs by imputation only, 
who in their phrase is the son only, and sprung from the 
seed of the blessed David, according to the flesh. Most heavy 

2 Pet. ii. i. is the judgment of these also ; for they have denied " the Lord 
" Who bought them." They have not understood the mystery 

Eph. iv.5. of His dispensation in the flesh: for "there is one Lord, one 
" faith," as it is written. For we do not believe in a man and 
a God, but in one Lord, the Word Who is from God the 
Father, Who became man, and took upon Him our flesh. And 
thus then these also are numbered among those Who deny 
Him. 

And that blasphemy is a most wicked crime for men to 
commit, He has further taught us by saying, " that whosoever 
" shall speak a word against the son of man", it shall be for- 
" given him : but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy 
" Ghost, it shall not be forgiven." And in what way is this too 
to be understood ? Now if the Saviour means this, that 
if any scornful word be used by any one of us towards some 
mere man, he will obtain forgiveness if he repent, the matter is 
free from all difficulty . For as God is by nature good, He will 
free from blame all those who repent. But if the declaration 



n As I have before mention- but that blasphemy against God is 

ed, the Syriac language possesses so serious a sin, that under ordi- 

no single word for "man," CJN.J] nary circumstances it can expect 

signifying "some one:" its place no forgiveness. In this way S. 

therefore is supplied by the peri- Cyril first of all explains it, and 

phrasis J*j.o, the son of some then takes the other alternative, 

one, or as it is usually rendered, which as being acquainted with the 

" the son of man." The meaning Greek language only, he probably 

therefore of the text is, that whoso- considered equally tenable, of our 

ever shall speak ill of a man, shall Lord by the son of man signifying 

upon his repentance be forgiven : Himself. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 407 

has reference to Christ himself, the Saviour of all, how can he 
be innocent, or secure from condemnation, who has spoken 
against Him ? What then we say is this ; that whenever any 
one, who has not yet learnt the meaning of His mystery, nor 
understood that being by nature God, He humbled Himself 
to our estate, and became man, speaks anything against Him, 
blasphemous to a certain extent, but yet not so wicked as to 
pass forgiveness, such things God will pardon in those who 
have sinned from ignorance. And to explain my meaning by 
an example; Christ somewhere said, "I am the living bread John vi.5i. 
" which came down from heaven, and giveth life to the world." 
Because therefore some did not know His glory, but thought 
that he was a mere man, they said, " Is not this the car 
penter s son, Whose father and mother we know ? How 
" doth He now say that I came down from heaven ?" And 
again, He was once standing teaching in a synagogue, arid was 
wondered at by them all. But some, it tells us, said, " How Johnvii.is. 
" knoweth this man learning, having never been taught ? " For 
of course they knew not that " in Him are all the treasures of Col. ii. 3. 
" wisdom, and the hidden things of knowledge." Such things 
might well be forgiven, as being spoken inconsiderately from 
ignorance. 

But for those who have blasphemed the Godhead itself, con 
demnation is inevitable, and the punishment eternal both in 
this world and in that which is to come. 

For by the Spirit He here means not only the Holy Ghost, 
but also the whole nature of the Godhead, as understood (to 
consist) in the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And 
the Saviour Himself also somewhere said, "God is a Spirit." John iv. 24. 
Blasphemy therefore against the Spirit, is against the whole 
supreme substance : for as I said, the nature of the Deity, 
as offered to our understanding in the holy and adorable voCnm. 
Trinity, is one. 

Let us therefore, as the writer of the book of Proverbs 
saith, "put a door and a bar to the tongue," and draw near to Ecclus. 
the God over all, thus saying, " Set a watch, O Lord, upon my 
" mouth ; and a door of safety about my lips ; incline not my 
" heart to wicked words ;" for those are wicked words which 
are against God. And if thus we rightly fear Him, Christ 



408 COMMENTARY UPON 

will bless us : by Whom and with Whom to God the Father 
be praise and dominion, with the Holy Ghost, for ever and 
ever, Amen. 

o S. Cyril having omitted vv. 1 1, effect that our Lord would have His 

12, the Catenist has inserted, pos- disciples anxious only to defend the 

sibly from the Commentary on faith, and trust all besides to His 

Mark xiii. n, a few words to the care. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 409 



SERMON LXXXIX. 

And one of the multitude said unto Him, Teacher, bid my c. xii. 13- 
brother divide with me the inheritance. But He said unto " 
him, Man, who made Me a judge or a divider over you ? 
And He said unto them, Take heed, and keep yourselves 
from, all greediness : for a man s life is not from his pos- a ^ T0 y GSs. 
sessions by reason of his having a superfluity. And He T $ BT - 
spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain 
rich man brought forth unto him plentifully. And he adda^S. 
thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I lv aury B. 
have not tuhere to gather my fruits ? And he said, This 
will I do : I will pull doiun my storehouses, and build 
greater: and there will I gather all my crops and my T&J/O-?T<>B. 
goods. And I will say to myself, Self, thou hast much 
goods laid up for many years ; take thine ease, eat, drink, *) 
enjoy thyself. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this 
night they demand of thee thy soul. But whose shall 
those things be which thou hast provided ? So is he that 
layeth up treasures for himself, and is not rich toward H> B. 
God. 

PAUL, as a wise man, recommends constancy in prayer : for 
he said, " Pray without ceasing." And in very truth it is a i Thes. v 
thing full of benefit. But I say this, that whosoever draws r7 
near unto God, ought not to do so carelessly ; nor may he 
offer unbefitting petitions. And one may very justly affirm, 
of a multitude of petitions, that they are unbefitting, and such 
as are not suitable for God to give, nor beneficial for us to 
receive. And if we will direct the penetrating glance of the 
mind upon the passage before us, we shall see without difficulty 
the truth of what I have said. For a certain man drew near 
to Christ, the Saviour of us all, and said, " Teacher, bid my 

brother divide with me the inheritance. But He said unto 
" him, Man, who set Me as judge or divider over you ? " For 
the Son indeed, when He appeared in our likeness, was set by 
God the Father as " Head and King over Sion, His holy p s . ii. 6. 
" mount/ according to the Psalmist s words : and the nature 



410 COMMENTARY UPON 

of His office He again Himself makes plain, " For I am come, 

" He says, to preach the commandment of the Lord." And 

what is this ? Our virtue-loving Master wisheth us to depart 

far from all earthly and temporal matters; to flee from the 

love of the flesh, and from the vain anxiety of business, and 

from base lusts ; to set no value on hoards, to despise wealth, 

and the love of gain; to be good and loving unto one another ; 

not to lay up treasures upon earth ; to be superior to strife and 

envy, not quarrelling with the brethren, but rather giving way 

to them, even though they seek to gain an advantage over us ; 

Luke vi. 29. for from him, He saith, who taketh away what is thine, 

" demand it not again;" and rather to strive after all those things 

which are useful and necessary for the salvation of the soul. 

And for those who habitually thus live, Christ lays down laws 

by which they become illustrious and praiseworthy. For He 

Mat. x. 9. said, " Possess neither silver nor gold : nor two coats, nor 

Luke xii. " scrip, nor brass in your purses/ And again, " Make for 

33 " yourselves purses that grow not old : a treasure that failcth 

" not for ever in heaven." And when a young man drew near 

Mat. xix. saying, " Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life ?" 

161 " Go, He answered, sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, 

" and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come after Me." 

To those therefore who bow down to Him the obedient neck of 

their minds, He both gives commandments and appoints laws : 

He lays down for them precepts, distributes to them the hea 

venly inheritance, gives them spiritual blessings, and is a store 

house for them of never-failing gifts. While for those who 

think only of earthly things, and whose heart is set on wealth, 

and their mind hardened, and unmerciful, and without gen 

tleness or love for the poor, to such He will justly say, " Who 

" set Me as ruler or divider over you ?" He rejects the man 

therefore as troublesome, and as having no desire to learn 

ought fitting for him to know. 

But He does not leave us without instruction: for having 
found, so to speak, a seasonable opportunity, He frames a pro 
fitable and saving discourse ; and protesting as it were against 
them, declares, "Take heed, and keep yourselves from all 
" covetousness p ." He shewed us that pitfall of the devil, 



P In the text the translator had as here he has JZ-QOQ^A., the 
used i^niV . "greediness," where- word constantly elsewhere used by 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 411 

covetousness, a thing hateful to God, and which the wise Paul 

even calls idolatry, perhaps as being suitable for those only Col. iii. 5. 

who know not God, or as being equal in the balance with the 

defilement of those men who choose to serve stocks and stones. 

It is a snare of evil spirits, by which they drag down man s soul 

to the meshes of hell. For this reason He says very justly, as 

setting them on their guard, " Take heed and keep yourselves 

" from all covetousness :" that is, from great and small, and 

from defrauding any one whoever ho may be. For as I said, 

it is a thing hateful to God and men. For who does not flee 

from him who uses violence, and is rapacious and greedy, and 

ready for iniquity in those things to which he has no right, 

and who with avaricious hand gathers that which is not his ? 

What beast of prey does not such a man surpass in savagcness ? 

Than what rocks is he not more hard ? For the heart of him 

who is defrauded is torn, and even melted sometimes by the 

penetrating pain as it were by fire: but he takes pleasure 

therein, and is merry, and makes the pains of them that suffer 

a cause of rejoicing. For the wronged man is sure generally 

to be one without power, who can but raise his eyes to Him 

Who alone is able to be angry for what he has suffered. And 

He, because He is just and good, accepts his supplication, and 

pities the tears of the sufferer, and brings punishment on those 

who have done the wrong. 

And this thou mayest learn from what He Himself says 
thereupon by the mouth of the holy prophets; " Therefore Amos v.n. 
" because ye have bruised the heads of the poor, and taken 
" from them chosen gifts, ye shall build houses of carved stone, 
" but ye shall not dwell therein : and ye shall plant desirable 
" vineyards, but ye shall not drink of their wine. For I know 

him as the equivalent of ir\foveia. " Spirit" feminine, whereas his own 

As |oi\ . is also used in the custom is, wherever it refers to the 

Peschito, (and the Philox.) I ima- Godhead, to make it masculine, in 

gine that though the translator ren- the same way as " the Word" is 

dered the Greek directly into Sy- masculine, and not feminine, where- 

iac, yet that in the quotations his ever it refers to Christ. That he 

nemory frequently suggested to did not however use a translation 

lira the words and phrases of the directly, I infer from the fact, that 

Peschito, as there frequently occur he so frequently varies in his quo- 

n texts archaic forms unlike his tations, using synonyms even where 

)wn more polished language. He evidently rendering exactly the same 

las even once or twice made the Greek text. 

3 G 2 



COMMENTARY UPON 

" your many wickednesses, and mighty are your sins." And 
is. v. 8. again, " Woe unto those who add house to house, and join 
" field to field, that they may take away something from their 
" neighbour. Will ye dwell alone in the earth ? For these 
" things have been heard in the ears of the Lord of hosts. 
" For though your houses be many, they shall be a desolation : 
" though they be great and fair, there shall be none to inhabit 
" them. For the ground that ten yoke of oxen till shall pro- 
" duce one pitcher full : and he that soweth six artaba?q shall 
" gather three measures/ Although therefore houses and 
fields may be the fruit of the oppression of others, yet these, 
He says, shall lie waste, without inhabitants, and shall yield no 
profit whatsoever to those who will act wickedly, because the 
just wrath of God is poured out upon them. In every way 
therefore there is no profit in covetousness. 

And to view it in yet another light ; it availeth nothing, 
because a man s life, as He saith, is not from his possessions, 
by reason of his having a superfluity. And this is plainly 
true : for the duration of a man s life is not extended in pro 
portion to his wealth, nor does the sum of his life run parallel 
with that of his wicked gains. And this the Saviour has 
clearly and manifestly shewn us, by very excellently adding 
the present parable in connexion with His previous argument. 
" For the ground, He said, of a certain rich man brought forth 
" abundant crops." Consider it exactly, that thou mayest 
admire the beautiful art of the discourse. For He has not 
pointed out to us an estate of which one portion only brought 
forth abundant harvests; but the whole of it was fertile for its! 
owner, shewing thereby the vastness of his wealth. Similar 
to this is that passage of one of the holy apostles ; " Be-| 
James v. 4. t( hold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped your land, 
" which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth : and the suppli- 
" cations of those that reaped have entered into the ears of the 
" Lord of Sabaoth." The Saviour therefore said that all his 
estate brought forth abundant harvests. 

<i In the margin the translator an Ephah, i. e. i bushels. As the] 

has remarked that " one Artaba Sept. however here translate a Ho- 

" equals three measures." But three mer by six Artaba?, whereas it isj 

measures, rpia perpa, is the usual generally represented as equal ten 

rendering of the Sept. for rtQ N, ten Ephahs, there is still some diffi- 

Ephah, cf. Ex. xvi. 36. An Ar- culty in reconciling the translation 

taba therefore must be the same as with the Hebrew. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 413 

What therefore does the rich man do, surrounded by a pro 
fusion of so many blessings beyond all numbering ? In distress 
and anxiety he utters the words of poverty. " For what, he 
" says, shall I do ?" The man who is in want of necessaries 
constantly ejaculates this miserable language : but lo ! one 
here of boundless wealth uses similar expressions. He deter 
mined then to build more spacious storehouses : he purposed to 
enjoy for himself alone those revenues that were sufficient for a 
populous city. He looks not to the future ; he raises not his 
eyes to God ; he does not count it worth his while to gain for 
the mind those treasures which are above in heaven : he does 
not cherish love for the poor, nor desire the estimation to 
be gained thereby : he sympathizes not with suffering ; it 
gives him no pain, nor awakens his pity. And what is still 
more irrational, he settles for himself the duration of his life, 
as if he would reap this too from the ground : for he says, 
" I will say to myself, Self, thou hast goods laid up for many 
" years ; eat, drink, enjoy thyself." But, rich man, one 
f may say, thou hast indeed storehouses for thy fruits, but 
* whence wilt thou obtain thy many years ? for by the decree 
of God thy life is shortened. For God, it tells us, said unto 
him, Thou fool, this night they shall require of thee thy 
soul. But whose shall these things be that thou hast pre- 
4 pared 1 *? 1 

It is true therefore, that a man s life is not from his posses 
sions, by reason of his having a superfluity : but very blessed, 
and of glorious hope is he who is rich towards God. And who 
is he? Evidently one who loveth not wealth, but virtue rather, 
and to whom few things are sufficient: and Avhosc hand is open Luke x. 42. 
to the necessities of the indigent, comforting the sorrows of 
those in poverty, according to his means, and the utmost of his 
power. It is he who gathers in the storehouses that are above, 
and lays up treasures in heaven. Such a one shall find the 
usury of his virtue, and the recompense of his upright and 
blameless life ; Christ shall bless him : by Whom, and with 
Whom, to God the Father be praise and dominion with the 
Holy Ghost, for ever and ever, Amen. 

r A passage inserted in this place Com. on Luke, at all events is not 
by Mai, as quoted in a catena upon rightly placed here, 
the minor prophets from Cyril s 



414 



COMMENTARY UPON 



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Heb. i. i. 



SERMON XC. 

//e 5-iW unto His disciples ; Therefore I say unto you, 
Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat : nor for 
your body, what ye shall put on. For the life is more 
than meat, and the body than raiment. Consider the 
ravens, that they soiv not nor reap : which have neither 
closet nor store, and God feedeth them : hoiv much more 
are ye better than the birds ! And which of you by being 
anxious can add to his stature one cubit ? If ye then be 
not able to do even that which is least, ivhy are ye anxious 
about any thing else ? Consider the lilies how they groiv : 
they toil not, neither do they spin : but I say unto you, 
that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like 
one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is 
today in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, how 
much more will He you, ye of little faith ? And seek not 
what ye shall eat, nor ivhat ye shall drink, neither let your 
mind be unsettled : for all these things the nations of the 
world seek after : but your Father knoweth that ye have 
need of them. But seek His kingdom, and all these things 
shall be added unto you. 

THE law of Moses was ordained for the Israelites, to guide 
them unto all which it was their duty to do, and to set clearly be 
fore them whatever was for their benefit. And they made this a 
matter of the greatest joy, saying, " Blessed are the children 
" of Israel : for unto us are made known the things that please 
" the Lord." But I affirm, that we can even more fitly and 
appropriately use these words : for it was not a prophet, nor 
yet an angel, who spake unto us, but the Son in His own 
person, even He Who is Lord of the holy angels and of the 
prophets. And this the wise Paul, the minister of His myste 
ries, clearly teaches us, thus writing ; " God, Who in manifold 
" parts and manifold manners spake in old times to the 
" fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken 
" unto us by the Son, Whom He hath appointed Heir of all ; 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 415 

" and by Whom also He made the worlds." Blessed therefore 
are we, in that we are taught by Himself His good and saving 
will, by which we are guided into all virtuous pursuits, that 
having so fulfilled a life worthy of emulation, such as befits the 
elect, we may reign with Him. 

Observe therefore how carefully, and with what great skill 
He fashions the lives of the holy apostles unto spiritual excel 
lence. But with them He benefits us also : for He wills that 
all mankind should be saved, and should choose the wise and 
more excellent life. For this reason He makes them abandon 
superfluous anxiety, and does not permit them to practise a 
careworn and urgent industry through the wish of gathering 
what exceeds their necessities ; for in these matters a super 
fluity adds nothing to our benefit. " Be not anxious therefore, 
" He says, for your life, what ye shall eat : nor for your body, 
" what ye shall put on. For the life is more than meat, and 
" the body than raiment." He did not simply say, " Bo not 
" anxious;" but added " for your life :" that is, do not expend 
any careful study on these things, but bestow your earnestness 
on things of far higher importance. For the life indeed is of 
more importance than food, and the body than raiment. Since 
therefore a risk is laid upon us that concerns both life and 
body, and pain and punishment are decreed against those who 
will not live uprightly, let all anxiety be laid aside respecting 
raiment and food. 

And besides how is it not a base thing for those who are 
lovers of virtue, and earnest followers after such manly virtues 
as are excellent and approved of God, to be intoxicated with 
fine apparel like young boys, and to run after expensive ban 
quets ! For there follow immediately upon these things a 
savage crowd also of other lusts : and the result is apostasy 
from God : for it is written, " Love not the world, neither the i John ii. 
" things that are in the world." And again ; " Know ye not 
" that the love of the world is enmity with God !" It is our 
duty therefore to keep our foot apart from all worldly desires, 
and rather to take delight in those things which please God. 
But perchance thou wilt reply to this, Who then will give 
us the necessaries of life? And to this be our answer as fol 
lows; The Lord is worthy to be trusted; and He clearly 
promises it to thee, and by little things gives thce full assur- 



416 COMMENTARY UPON 

ance that He will be true also in that which is great. " For 
" consider, He says, the ravens : that they sow not,, nor reap : 
" they have neither closet nor store : and God feedeth them." 
For just as, when He was strengthening us unto spiritual forti 
tude, He taught us to despise even death itself by saying, 
Lukexii.4. Fear not them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the 
" soul ;" and in the same way to make His providence plain to 
thee, used for His proof things utterly valueless, saying ; 
" Are not two sparrows sold for one halfpenny ? and not one 
" of them falleth to the ground without your Father : " and 
" the individual hairs of your head are all counted : fear not 
" therefore ; for ye are of more value than many sparrows :" 
so also here, from the birds and the flowers of the field, he 
produces in thee a firm and unwavering faith. Nor does He 
permit us at all to doubt, but that most certainly He will grant 
us His mercy, and stretch out His comforting hand, to bestow 
upon us in all things a sufficiency. It is moreover a very 
wicked thing, that while those who are placed under the yoke 
of bodily slavery depend upon their masters, as sufficient to 
supply them with food and clothing ; we will not consent to 
put our trust in Almighty God, when He promises us the 
necessaries of life. 

And what benefit at all is there in living luxuriously ? Or 
rather, will it not bring with it utter destruction ? For quickly 
of a certainty there enter along with luxurious pleasures 
the infamies of sensuality, and the assaults of base and con 
temptible lusts ; things whose approach is difficult to combat. 
And the being clad too in splendid apparel is of no benefit 
whatsoever. " For consider," He says, " the lilies, how they 
" grow. They toil not, neither do they spin. I tell you, that 
" not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed like one of 
" these." And this also is true : for both in lilies and other 
flowers that spring up in the fields, the lustre of the colours 
possesses an admirable beauty, both by the diversity of the 
hues, and the variety of the arrangement, as they glitter in 
their natural purple, or shine with the brilliancy of other 
colours : but all that is made by the art of man in imitation of 
them, whether by the painter s skill, or in embroidery, alto- 1 
gether falls short of the reality : and even though it be sue- j 
cessful as a work of art, it scarcely even approaches the truth. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 417 

If therefore these representations by means of art, are so infe 
rior to the glory of the lily, and the beautiful colours of other 
flowers, how is it not true, that even Solomon, though so mag 
nificent a king, in all his glory was not arrayed like one of 
these ? Vain therefore is our toil for beautiful apparel. Suffi 
cient is it for men of sense that their raiment being such as 
necessity requires should be decorous, and easily procurable ; 
and with it such a bare sufficiency of food as merely satisfies 
the demands of nature. Let their banquet in Christ be suffi 
cient for the saints : a banquet spiritual, divine, and intellec 
tual: and the glory that will follow. "For He shall change Phil, iii.ai. 
" the body of our humiliation into the likeness of the body of 
" His glory ;" and as He Himself says, " They shall shine like Mat. xiii. 
" the sun in the glory of their Father." What garments 43 
therefore are not surpassed in splendour by the magnificence 
that is in Christ ? 

And in another view it was unbefitting for those who were to 
be the type and pattern for others of holy conduct, themselves 
carelessly to fall into those things, which as soon as they be 
came the world s teachers, they would have to warn others to 
abandon. And it would have been no slight injury both to 
their zeal, and to the usefulness of their sacred preaching, for 
the disciples to have been burdened with the care of worldly 
pursuits. On the contrary, it was their duty with determined 
mind entirely to disregard such things, and simply and ear 
nestly to be anxious for apostolic victories 8 . Very justly for 
this reason He openly reprobates the pursuit of the things of 

8 Some additions are here made bably taken from some other work 

by Mai, who first gives what wears of S. Cyril. Arid lastly, from the 

the appearance of a deduction of the same Codex A, supported by B, a 

Catenist, namely, that our Lord sentence is inserted as an introduc- 

took no slight care of the preacher s tion to the subsequent passage in 

office in thus making him abstain the Syriac, viz., " Shall not so good 

from worldly business. In the Ox- " a Lord, Who nourishes the tiniest 

ford translation of Aquinas, who " bird, feed him who was made in 

has correctly given Dominus con- " his own image ? Very justly for 

suluit non modicum studio sacra- " this reason," &c. On more than 

rum predicationum, this passage is one occasion I have noticed the 

changed into, " Our Lord strongly same habit of the Catenists, to in- 

" recommends the study of holy troduce some extract quoted ver- 

" preaching." Next from A 178, batim by a short summary of the 

there is an exhortation to value the previous argument, 
soul above meat and clothing, pro- 

3 H 



418 COMMENTARY UPON 

time, " for the nations of the world," He says, "seek after 
" them :" and raises them to the unwavering conviction, that 
certainly and under all circumstances they will have enough, 
because their Father well knoweth of what things they have 
need, even He Who is in heaven. And at a most fitting season 
He calls Him Father, that they may know, that He will not 
forget His children, but be kind and loving unto them. 

Let us seek, therefore, not such food as is unnecessary and 
superfluous, but whatsoever tends unto the salvation of the 
soul : not raiment of great price, but how to deliver our body 
from the fire, and from judgment. And this let us do, seeking 
His kingdom ; even all that will aid us in becoming partakers 
of the kingdom of Christ : 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. 419 



SERMON XCI. 

Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father s good pleasure C. xii. 32- 

tojjive you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give 34 
I alms : make you purses that grow not old : and a treasure add. al S. 
thatfaileth not in heaven, ivhere thief approacheth not, nor 
moth destroy eth. For where your treasure is, there will 
your heart be also. 

AGAIN the Saviour deigns to bestow upon us a pathway to 
eternal life,, and opens wide the door of salvation ; that travel 
ling thereon, and adorning the soul with every virtue, we may 
attain to the city which is above, and of which the prophet 
Isaiah also bore witness, saying ; " Thine eyes shall see Jeru- Is. xxxiii. 
" salem, the wealthy city, even the tents that shake not." For 2a 
immoveable is that tabernacle which is in heaven, and unend 
ing Jy is the lot of those that dwell therein. And the nature 
of the way that leads us thereto He shews us, by saying ; 
" Fear not, little flock : for it is your Father s good pleasure 
" to give you the kingdom." This therefore is indeed spiritual 
consolation, and the pathway that leads us to assured faith. 

I think, however, that I ought first of all to shew you the 
reason why the Saviour spake words such as these ; for so 
the full signification of the passage before us will become the 
more plain to the hearers. In teaching therefore His dis 
ciples not to be covetous of wealth, He also withdraws them 
from worldly anxiety, and from vain toils and luxury and 
splendour of attire, and whatsoever evil habits follow upon 
these things : and bids them rather courageously be earnest in 
the pursuit of these things, [which* are good and more excel 
lent, by saying ; " Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall 
eat: nor for your body, what ye shall put on. For the life 
" is more than meat, and the body than raiment ? " And He 
also] added to this, that " your Father which is in heaven 
" knoweth that these things are needed by you." And, so to 

* The MS. having suffered in rent, the words within brackets are 
this place a slight injury from a added to complete the sense. 

3 H 2 



420 COMMENTARY UPON 

speak, He enounced as a general law, useful and necessary for 
salvation, not only to the holy apostles, but to all who dwell 
upon the earth, that men must seek His kingdom, as being 
sure that what He gives will be sufficient, so as for them to 
be in need of nothing. For what does He say ? " Fear not, 
" little flock/ And by Do not fear, He means that they 
must believe that certainly and without doubt their heavenly 
Father will give the means of life to them that love Him. He 

Ps. civ. 28. will not neglect His own : rather He will open unto them His 
hand, which ever filleth the universe with goodness. 

And what is the proof of these things ? "It is," He says, 
" your Father s good pleasure to give you the kingdom." And 
He Who gives things thus great and precious, and bestows^the 
kingdom of heaven, what unwillingness can there be on His 
part to be kind towards us ; or how will He not supply us with 
food and clothing ? For what earthly good is equal to the 
kingdom of heaven ? or what is worthy to be compared with 
those blessings, which God is about to bestow, and which nei 
ther the understanding can conceive, nor words describe ? 

i Cor. ii. 9. " For eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have enterec 
" into the heart of man, the things which God hath preparec 
" for them that love Him." When thou praisest earthly wealth 
and admirest worldly power, these things are but as nothing 

i Pet.i. 24. compared with that which is in store. " For all flesh," it says 
" is grass : and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. 
And if thou speakest of temporal affluence and luxuries am 

i John ii. banquets, yet " the world," it says, " passeth away, and th( 
" desire thereof." The things therefore which are of God sur 
pass in an incomparable degree ought which this world pos 
sesses. If therefore God bestow the kingdom of heaven upon 
those that love Him, how can He be unwilling to give foo( 
and raiment ? 

And He calls these on earth a " little flock." For we are 
inferior to the multitude of the angels, who are innumerable 
and incomparably surpass in might our mortal things. Am 
this too the Saviour has Himself taught us, in that parable in 
the Gospels so excellently framed for our instruction : for He 

Luke xv. 4. said, " What man of you, that has a hundred sheep, and one 
" of them go astray, will not leave the ninety and nine upon 
" the mountains, and go to seek that which has strayed ? Am 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 421 

" if ho chance to find it, verily I say unto you, that he will 
" rejoice in it more than in the ninety and nine which went not 
" astray." Observe therefore, that while the number of ra 
tional created beings extends to ten times ten, the flock that is 
upon earth is but as one out of a hundred. But though it is 
little, both by nature and number and dignity, compared with 
the countless troops of the spirits that are above, yet has the 
goodness of the Father, which surpasses all description, given 
also to it the portion of those transcendent spirits, I mean the 
kingdom of heaven : for permission is given to whosoever will 
to attain thereunto. 

u [And the means by which we may attain to it, we learn 
from the Saviour s words: for He says, "Sell that ye have, 
" and give alms." Arid this perchance] is a commandment 
hard and difficult for the rich to endure: for so He Him 
self has somewhere said; " That hardly shall they that have Luke xviii. 
" riches enter the kingdom of God." And yet the command- ?4- 
ment is not impossible for them that are of perfect mind. For 
come, let me address a few words to those who are rich. With 
draw your attention a little from these temporal things ; cease 
from too worldly a mind ; fix the eye of the understanding 
upon the world that is to be hereafter : for that is of long dura 
tion ; but this is limited and short : the time of every indivi 
dual s life here is allotted by measure ; but his life in the world 
to come is incorruptible and enduring. Let our earnestness 
therefore after things to come be unwavering: let us store 
up as our treasure the hope of what will be hereafter : let us 
gather beforehand for ourselves those things, by which we 
shall even then be counted worthy of the gifts which God 
bestows. 

To persuade us, however, to take due care of our souls, 
come, and let us consider the matter among ourselves with 
reference to men s ordinary calculations. Suppose one of us 
wanted to sell a. fertile and productive farm, or, if you will, a 

u The words within brackets have the Greek text in Mai, to supply 

been added to supply the lacuna on the place of those which have pe- 

the obverse side of the leaf occa- rished in the Syriac, the whole fo- 

sioned by the rent spoken of above, lium being in an extremely muti- 

Many single words have also been lated state, 
added chiefly on the authority of 



COMMENTARY UPON 

very beautifully-built house; and so one of you, who had plenty 
of gold and plenty of silver, were to conceive the desire of pur 
chasing it; would he not feel pleasure in buying it, and readily 
give the money that was laid up in his coffers, and even add to 
what he had by him other money on loan ? Of this I think 
there can be no doubt, and that he would feel pleasure in giv 
ing it : for the transaction would not expose him to loss, but 
rather the expectation of his future gains would make him in 
a flutter of joy. Now what I say is somewhat similar to this. 
The God of all offers to sell thee paradise. There thou wilt 
reap eternal life; an unending joy; an honourable and glorious 
habitation. Once there, right blessed wilt thou be, and wilt 
reign with Christ. Draw near therefore with eagerness : pur 
chase the estate : with these earthly things obtain things eter 
nal : give that which abideth not, and gain that which is se 
cure : give these earthly things, and win that which is in hea 
ven : give that which thou must leave, even against thy will, 
that thou rnayest not lose things hereafter : lend to God thy 
wealth, that thou mayest be really rich. 

And the way in which to lend it He next teaches us, saying ; 
" Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make you purses that 
" grow not old: and a treasure that faileth not, eternal x , in 
" heaven." And the very same the blessed David also teaches 
us in the Psalms, where he says by inspiration of every merciful 
Ps. cxii. 9. and good man: "He hath dispersed, and given to the poor, 
" and his righteousness is stored up for ever." For worldly 
wealth has many foes : for thieves are numerous, and this 
world of ours is full of oppressors ; of whom some are wont to 
plunder by secret means, while others use violence, and tear it 
away even from those who resist. But the wealth that is laid 
up above in heaven, no one injures: for God is its Keeper, Who 
sleepeth not. 

And besides it is a very absurd thing, that while we often 
entrust men of probity with our earthly wealth, and feel no 
fear lest any loss should result from our confidence in the up 
rightness of those who receive it ; we will not trust it to God, 

x " Eternal" is an erroneous ad- memory, as he does not read it in 
dition, occasioned probably by S. the heading, nor has it any MS. 
Cyril having quoted the text from authority. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 423 

Who receives from us these earthly things, so to speak, as a 
loan, and promises to give us things eternal, and that with 
usury. " For good measure," He says, " and pressed close, and Lukevi.38. 
" weighing down the scale, and running over, shall they give 
" into your bosom." And for the measure to run over, is a 
direct proof of its great abundance. Away then with this plea 
sure-loving wealth ; this parent of base lusts ; this inciter to 
carnal impurity ; this friend of covetousness ; this worker of 
boasting : which, as with indissoluble bonds, chains the human 
mind in effeminacy and indolence towards all that is good, and 
stretches out, so to speak, a stiff and haughty neck against 
God : for it yields not itself to that yoke which would lead it 
unto piety. And be gentle, and merciful, ready to communi 
cate, and courteous. For the Lord is true, Who says; tc that 
" where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also/ For the 
whole earnestness of those who value these temporal things is 
set upon them ; while those who wish for that which is in hea 
ven, direct thither the eye of the mind. Be therefore, as I 
said, friendly to thy companions, and merciful. And the blessed 
Paul makes me speak unto thee, where he writes ; " Charge i Tim. vi. 
" them who are rich in this world, that they be not high- I? 
" minded, nor trust in riches, wherein is no reliance, but on 
" God, Who giveth us all things richly to enjoy : that they do 
" good : that they be rich in good works, ready to give, and 
" willing to share with others ; laying up for themselves trea- 
" sures that shall be a good foundation for that which is to 
" come, that they may lay hold upon true life." These are the 
things which, if we earnestly practise, we shall become heirs of 
the kingdom of heaven, by Christ ; by Whom and with Whom 
to God the Father be praise and dominion, with the Holy 
Ghost, for ever and over, Amen.y 

y Mai s first extract from this ing partly his, but that the" Ca- 
Sermon, from A. and D., is par- tenae do not uniformly ascribe it to 
tially an abbreviation of S. Cyril, him appears from Aquinas, who as- 
but with additional explanations signs half of it to Theophylact, and 
from Theophylact, and some other half to Bede. Theophylact always 
author, of the reason why our Lord borrows largely from Cyril, but in- 
called his disciples a little flock : terweaves his own very marked 
Cf. Th. p. 412. The passage may style of interpretation, 
have been assigned to Cyril as be- 



COMMENTARY UPON 



C. xii. 35- 

40. 

vuwv bis S. 



add. 



om. t\ey et 



om. ol Sov- 
Aot BT> 



om. olv B. 



SERMON XCIL 

,et your loins be girt, and your lamps burning, and ye like 
unto men that wait for their lord, ivhen he will return 

from, the banquet : that when he hath come and knocked 
they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those ser 
vants, whom their lord at his coming shall find watching. 
Verily I say unto you, that he will gird up his loins, and 
make them sit down to meat, and pass 2 by and minister 
unto them. And if he come in the second watch, or if he 
come in the third ivatch, and find them so, blessed are 
those servants. And know this, that if the master of the 
house had known at what hour the thief would come, he 
ivould be awake, and not have suffered his house to be dug 
through. Be ye therefore also ready, for in an hour that 
ye expect not the Son of man cometh. 



THE Psalmist has somewhere said unto Christ, the Saviour 
Ps.cxix.96. of all; ".Thy commandment is exceeding broad/ And any 
one may see if he will from the very facts that this saying is 
true : for He establishes for us pathways in countless numbers, 
so to speak, to lead us unto salvation, and make us acquainted 
with every good work, that we, winning for our heads the 
crown of piety, and imitating the noble conduct of the saints, 
may attain to that portion which is fitly prepared for them. For 
this reason He says, " Let your loins be girt, and your lamps^ 
" burning." For He speaks to them as to spiritually-minded 
persons, and describes once again things intellectual by such as 
are apparent and visible. 

For let no one say, that He wishes us to have our bodily 
loins girt, and burning lamps in our hands : such an interpre- 



z The Greek 7rapc\d<av probably 
means " coming forward ;" Alford 
translates " coming in turn to each :" 
the Syriac, however, translates it 
quite literally, and so do both the 
Peschito and Philox. versions. It 
will be noticed also above that the 



translator renders -ya/ioi by a " ban- 
" quet," and so does the Peschito, 
following in this the Greek usage, 
which had gradually widened the 
meaning of ydp.oi to any sumptuous 
entertainment. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 45 

tation would suit only Jewish dullness : but our loins being 
girt, signifies the readiness of the mind to labour industriously 
in every thing praiseworthy ; for such as apply themselves to 
bodily labours, and are engaged in strenuous toil, have their 
loins girt. And the lamp apparently represents the wakefulness 
of the mind, and intellectual cheerfulness.* And we say that 
tlie human mind is awake when it repels any tendency to 
slumber off into that carelessness, which often is the means of 
>ringing it into subjection to every kind of wickedness, when 
>eing sunk in stupor the heavenly light within it is liable 
,o be endangered, or even already is in danger from a vio- 
ent and impetuous blast, as it were, of wind. Christ therefore 
commands us to be awake: and to this His disciple also arouses 
us by saying ; Be awake : be watchful." And further, the very t Pet. v. 8. 
wise Paul also says ; " Awake, sleeper, and arise from the Eph. v. r 4 . 
* dead : and Christ shall give thee light." 

It is the duty therefore of those who would be partakers of 
eternal life, and firmly believe that in due season Christ will 
descend from heaven as Judge, not to be lax, and dissolved in 
Measures ; nor, so to speak, poured out and melted in worldly 
dissipation : but rather let them have their will tightly girt, 
and distinguish themselves by their zeal in labouring in those 
duties with which God is well pleased. And they must further 
)ossess a vigilant and wakeful mind, distinguished by the 
knowledge of the truth, and richly endowed with the radiance 
of the vision of God ; so as for them, rejoicing therein, to say, 
Thou, Lord, will light my lamp : Thou, my Gocl, wilt Ps - xviii - 
( lighten my darkness." 

Quite unbefitting is an expression like this for heretics, 
whether they be the sectaries or the teachers. For as Christ 
Himself said, " Darkness b has blinded their eyes." And this John xii. 
Paul explains to us, saying, that " the god of this world hath 4C 
" blinded the minds of them that believe not, that the light of 
the glorious Gospel of Christ may not shine upon them." 
It is our duty therefore carefully to avoid their false speaking, 

a Mai has a short interpolation " watch with unwinking eyes for 

here, possibly from some other " our Master s nod." 

work of S. Cyril, as follows : "And b In this quotation S. Cyril s me- 

that we must daily be prepared mory has apparently confounded 

for our departure hence, and John xii. 40. with i John ii. n. 

3 1 



426 COMMENTARY UPON 

and not to turn aside from the doctrines of the truth, and 
admit into our minds the darkness of the devil ; but rather to 
draw near to the true light, even Christ, praising Him in psalms 

Ps. xiii. 3. and saying, "Lighten mine eyes, that I sleep not for death." 
For it is in very deed death, and that not of the body, but of 
the soul, to fall from the uprightness of true doctrines, and 
choose falsehood instead of the truth. Let therefore our loins 
be girt, and our lamps burning, according to what has here 
been spoken unto us. 

And let us know that the law also of the very wise Moses 
is found to have commanded something of the kind to the 

Ex. xii. 6. Israelites. For a lamb was sacrificed on the fourteenth day of 

i Cor. v. 7. the first month, as a type of Christ. " For our passover, Christ 
" is sacrificed," according to the testimony of most sacred 
Paul. The hierophant Moses then, or rather God by his means, 

Ex. xii. ii. commanded them, when eating its flesh, saying, " Let your; 
" loins be girt, and your shoes on your feet, and your staves in 
" your hands." For I affirm that it is the duty of those who 
are partakers of Christ, to beware of a barren indolence ; and 
yet further, not to have as it were their loins ungirt and loose, 
but be ready cheerfully to undertake whatever labours become 
the saints ; and to hasten besides with alacrity whithersoever 
the law of God leads them. And for this reason He very 
appropriately made them wear [at the passover] the garb of 
travellers c . 

And that we ought to look for the coming again of Christ 
from heaven ; for He will come in the glory of the Father with 
the holy angels ; He has taught us saying, " That we must be 
" like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return 
" from the banqueting-house, that when he hath come and 
" knocked, they may open to him immediately." For Christ 
will return as from a feast : by which is plainly shown, that 
God ever dwells in festivals, such as befit Him. For above 

c Again, Mai adds the following * " the loin, embolden thy strength 

from B, For the dress of travellers " greatly." For He bids them, as 

is very fitting for those who preach though about to proceed immedi- 

the divine gospel : and so God ately to Judsea, to strengthen the 

* bids the captives in Babylon, when * loin ; which means, to be ready 

foretelling their restoration, and and prepared for the labours of 

encouraging them to prepare for wayfaring, and, using resistless ear- 

it ; " Examine the way, strengthen nestness, to prevail over every toil. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 427 

there is no sadness whatsoever : since nothing can grieve That 
nature Which is incapable of passion, and of being affected by 
anything whatsoever of this kind. 

When therefore He comes and finds us girt and wakeful, 
and with our heart enlightened, then forthwith He will make 
us blessed : for < He will gird up His loins, and serve them." 
By which we learn that he will requite us proportionately : 
and because we are as it were weary with toil, He will comfort 
us, setting before us spiritual banquets, and spreading the 
abundant table of His gifts. 

" And whether He come in the second watch, it says, or 
whether He come in the third watch, blessed are they." 
Here observe I pray, the breadth of the divine gentleness, and 
ihe bountifulness of His mildness towards us. For verily He 
knoweth our frame, and the readiness with which man s mind 
wanders into sin. He knoweth that the power of fleshly lust 
yrannizeth over us, and that the distractions of this world 
ven, so to speak, against our will drag us on by force, leading 
;he mind into all that is unseemly. But in that He is good, 
He does not leave us to despair, but on the contrary, pities us, 
bid has given us repentance as the medicine of salvation. For 
Ihis reason He says, that " whether He come in the second 
" watch, or whether He come in the third watch, and find 
them so doing, blessed are they." ^ T ow the meaning of this 
:hou will certainly wish clearly to understand. Men therefore 
divide the night into three or four watches. For the sentinels 
on city walls, who watch the motions of the enemy, after being 
on guard three or four hours, deli ver over the watch and guard 
to others. So with us there are three ages : the first, that in 
which we are still children ; the second, in which we are young 
nen ; and the third, that in which we come to old age. * Xow 
thelfirst of these, in which we are still children, is not* called to 
iccount by God, but is deemed worthy of pardon, because of 
ihe imbecillity as yet of the mind, and the weakness of the 
mdorstanding. But the second and the third, the periods of 
nanhood and old age, owe to God obedience and piety of life, 
iccording to His good pleasure. Whosoever therefore is found 
notching, and, so to speak, well girt, whether, if it so chance, 
-ie be still a young man, or one who has arrived at old age, 

3 I 2 



428 COMMENTARY UPON 

blessed shall he be. For he shall be counted worthy of at 
taining to Christ s promises. 

And in commanding us to watch, He adds further for our 
safety a plain example, which very excellently shews that it is 
dangerous to act otherwise. For lie says, " that if the master 
" of the house had known at what hour the thief would come, 
" he would be awake, and not have suffered his house to be 
" dug through. Be ye therefore also ready, for in an hour 
" that ye expect not, the Son of man cometh." For as His 
2 Pet. iii. disciple- said, " The day of the Lord will come as a thief, in 
" which the heavens shall suddenly pass away, and the ele- 
" ments being on fire shall melt, and the earth, and the works 
" that are therein shall be utterly burned. But we look for 
" new heavens and a new earth, and d His promises." And to 
this he adds, " Since then all these things shall be dissolved, 
" what manner of persons ought we to be found, being holy jj 
" and without blame before Him ? " For no one at all knows 
the time of the consummation of all things, at which Christ 
shall appear from above, from heaven, to judge the world in 
righteousness. Then shall He give an incorruptible crown to 
them that are watching ; for He is the Giver, and Distributor, 
and Bestower of the Divine gifts: by Whom, and with Whom, to 
God the Father be praise and dominion with the Holy Ghost, 
for ever and ever, Amen. 

d Mai has the ordinary reading Syriac has the reading of several of 
Kara TO ^VayyeA/uara avrov, hut the the best MSS., as B, Kal TO. f. d. 



TPIE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 429 



SERMON XCIII. 

And Peter said, Lord speakest Thou this parable unto us, or c. xii. m- 
also unto all ? And the Lord said. Who then is the faith- J[ d j 



fid and wise steward, whom his lord shall set over his GTs -, 

household, to give the portion of food in its season ? Blessed BS. 

is that servant, ivhom his lord at his coming shall find so f ^ v Se 

doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will appoint & <pp6v. BT. 

him over all that he hath. But if that servant say in his Ka k 

heart, My lord delayeth his coming, and begin to beat the 

men servants and female servants, and to eat and drink, 

and be drunken : the lord of that servant shall come in a 

day that he expecteth not, and at an hour of which he is 

not aware, and will cut him asunder, and give him a por- om - w" 

tion with the unbelievers. And that servant who knew his 

lord s will, and did it not, neither prepared according fa *d t**i*odt- 

his will, shall be beaten ivith many stripes. But fie who eToi/j.d<ras 

knew it not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be ^ Kal ^ 

beaten with few strines. For unto ivhomsoever much is ft B.) vot. 

T>p<m 

given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men 
have committed much, of him they will require the more. 

IT is a good and saving thing for us to direct the penetrating 
glance of the mind unto the words of God. For it is written of 
the words which God speaks, "Who is wise, and he will under- Hos - x iv-9- 
" stand them ? or prudent, and he will know their meaning ? " 
For simply to hear, and receive the spoken word in the ear, is 
common to all men, both to the wise, and to those who are not 
so: but the habil_oX_penetrating deep into profitable thoughts 
is found only with those who are truly wise. Let us therefore 
ask this of Christ : let us imitate the blessed Peter, that chosen 
disciple, that faithful steward and true believer ; who, when he 
had heard Christ say somewhat highly advantageous for their 
benefit, prayed that it might be explained to him, and did 
not allow it to pass by, because he had not as yet clearly 
understood it. For he said, " Lord, speakest Thou this parable 
" unto us, or also unto all ?" Is it, he asks, a general law, and 



430 COMMENTARY UPON 

one that appertains in equal measure to all, or is it fitting for 
those only who are superior to the rest? What then was it 
which troubled the wise disciple, or what led him to wish to 
learn things such as this from Christ ? This point then we will 
first discuss. 

There are then some commandments which befit those who 
have at&ined to apostolic dignities, or possess a more than 
ordinary knowledge, and the higher spiritual virtues ; while 
others belong to those in an inferior station. And that this is 
true, and according to my words, we may see from what the 

r Cor. iii.2. blessed Paul wrote unto certain of his disciples, " I have given 
" you milk to drink, and not meat : for ye were not as yet 

Heb. v. 14. " strong enough, nor even yet could ye bear it." " For solid 
" food belongeth to them that are full grown, who by reason 
" of perfectness 6 have the senses of the heart exercised for the 
" discerning of good and evil." For just, for instance, as very 
heavy burdens can be carried by persons of a very power 
ful frame, to which men of weaker stature are unequal, so 
those of a vigorous mind may justly be expected to fulfil the 
weightier and more excellent commands among those which 
become the saints ; while such as are, so to speak, simple, and 
quite easy, and free from all difficulty, suit those who have not 
yet attained to this spiritual strength. The blessed Peter 
therefore, considering with himself the force of what Christ 
had said, rightly asked, which of the two was meant; whether 
the declaration referred to all believers, or only to them ; that 
is, to those who had been called to the discipleship, and espe 
cially honoured by the grant of apostolic powers ? 

And what is our Lord s reply ? He makes use of a clear and 
very evident example, to shew that the commandment especially 
belongs to those who occupy a more dignified position, and 
have been admitted into the rank of teachers. " For who, He 
" says, is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord will set 
" over his household, to give the allowance of food at its 

e As all the MSS. read ety, and " ness," " ability obtained by prac- 

also the Greek of Mai, the Syriac " tice and experience;" for examples 

translator apparently intends to ex- of which cf. Host s Passow. " The 

press it by his word "perfectness" "senses of the heart" is rather a 

or " completeness." He has taken periphrase than a translation of TO. 
it therefore in its sense of " skilful- 






THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 431 

" season/ Let us suppose, He says, a householder ; who 

* being about to go upon a journey, has entrusted to one of his 
faithful slaves the charge of all his house, to give his house- 
hold, that is, his servants, their allowance of corn at its due 
season. When therefore, He says, he shall return, if on 
coming to his house he shall find him so doing as he com- 

* manded, very blessed shall that servant be. For he will set 
him, He says, over all that he hath. But if he be neglectful 
and indolent, and take pleasure in oppressing his fellow- 

* servants, eating and drinking, and given up to self-indulgent 
voluptuousness, he will be cut asunder, that is, will have to 
bear the severest punishment, when his lord shall come to 
him in a day that he expecteth not, and at an hour of which 
he is not aware. 

Such then is the simple and plain meaning of the passage : 
but if we now fix our mind accurately upon it, we shall see what 
is signified by it, and how useful it is for their benefit who 
have been called to the apostleship, to the office, that is, of 
teacher. The Saviour has ordained as stewards, so to speak, 
over his servants ; that is, over those who have been won by 
faith to the acknowledgment of His glory ; men faithful and 
of great understanding, and well instructed in the sacred doc 
trines. And He has ordained them, commanding them to give 
their fellow-servants their allowance of food; and that not 
simply and without distinction, but rather at its proper season : 
by which is meant such food, I mean spiritual food, as is 
sufficient and fitting for each individual. For it is not fitting 
to address simply to all who have believed in Christ instruction 
upon all points; for it is written, "With knowledge learn the Prov. 
" souls of thy flock." For very different is the way in which xxvll- 
we establish in the paths of truth one who has but just now 
become a disciple, using simple teaching, in which there is 
nothing profound nor difficult to understand, counselling him 
to escape from the error of polytheism, and fittingly persuading 
him to discern by the beauty of things created, the universal 
Creator and Artificer, Who is One by nature, and verily God : 
from the way in which we instruct those who are more con 
firmed in mind, and able to understand what is the height and 
depth, and what the length and breadth, of the definitions of 



432 COMMENTARY UPON 

the supremo Godhead. For as we have already said, " Solid 
" meat belongeth to them that are full grown." ) 

Whoever therefore shall wisely in due season, and according 

to their need, divide to his fellow-servants their portion, that 

is, their food, very blessed shall he be, according to the 

Saviour s word. For he shall be counted worthy of still 

greater things, and shall receive a suitable recompense for his 

fidelity. " For he will set him, He says, over all that he hath." 

And this the Saviour has elsewhere taught us, where praising 

Mat. xxv. the active and faithful servant, He said, " good and faithful 

2I " servant, thou hast been faithful over few things, I will set 

" thee over many things : enter into the joy of thy lord." 

But if, He says, neglecting the duty of being diligent and 
faithful, and despising watchfulness in these things as super 
fluous, he let his mind grow intoxicated with worldly cares, 
and is seduced into improper courses, dragging by force, and 
oppressing those who are subject to him, and not giving them 
their portion, in utter wretchedness shall he be. For this I 
think, and this only, is the meaning of his being cut asunder. 
" And his portion too/ He says, " shall be with the unbe- 
" lievers." For whosoever hath done wrong to the glory of 
Christ, or ventured to think slightingly of the flock entrusted 
to his charge, differs in no respect whatsoever from those who 
know Him not: and all such persons will justly be counted 
among those who have no love for Him. For Christ even 
John xxi. once said to the blessed Peter, " Simon, son of Jonah, lovest 
161 " thou Me ? feed My sheep ; feed My lambs." If therefore 

he who feeds his flock loves it, then of course he that neglects 
it, and leaves the flock that has been entrusted to him without 
oversight, hates it : and if he hate it he will be punished, and 
be liable to the condemnation pronounced upon the unbelievers, 
as being convicted by the very facts of being negligent and 
contemptuous. Such was he who received the talent to trade 
vortrws with in things spiritual, and did not do so, but on the contrary 
brought that which had been given him without increase, 
Mat. xxv. saying, " Lord, I knew that thou art a hard man, that thou 
24< " reapest where thou hast not sown, and gatherest whence 

" thou hast not scattered ; and I was afraid, and hid the 
" talent : lo ! thou hast what is thine." But those who had 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 433 

received the five talents, or even yet more, and laboured and 
loved service, were honoured with glorious dignities. For they 
heard, the one of them, " Be thou over ten/ 1 and the other, 
" Be thou over five cities :" while that contumelious and slothful 
servant suffered the severest condemnation. To be negligent 
therefore in discharging the duties of the ministry is every 
where dangerous, or rather, brings upon men perdition : but to 
perform them with unwearying zeal earns for us life and 
glory. And this means to discourse to our fellow servants 
correctly and without error the things which relate to God, 
and whatsoever is able to benefit them in attaining both to the 
knoAvledge and the ability to walk uprightly. And the blessed 
Paul [Peter] also writes to certain persons, " Feed the flock of i Pet. v. 2. 
" God which is among you, that when the Chief Shepherd 
" shall appear, ye may receive your reward." And as know 
ing that slothfulness is the door of perdition, he again said, 
" Woe is me, if I preach not." iCor.ix.i6. 

And that bitter and inevitable punishment is threatened 
against those who are slothful in this duty, the Saviour immedi 
ately shewed, by adding to what had been already said two ex 
amples one after the other. " For the servant," He says, " who 
" knew his master s will, and did it not, neither prepared 
" according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes : but 
" he who knew it not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall 
" be beaten with few stripes." Now the guilt is indisputable 
in the case of him who knew his master s will, but afterwards 
neglected it, and did nothing that was fitting, and which it was 
his duty to do. For it is manifest contumely, and therefore 
the many stripes. But for what reason were the few stripes 
inflicted on him who neither knew nor did his master s will ? 
For some one, for instance, may say, How can he who knew it 
not be guilty ? The reason is, because he would not know it, 
although it was in his power to learn. But if he who is 
entirely ignorant of it does not escape from anger, because 
when it was his duty to know he neglected the means of learn 
ing, what plea can deliver him from justly bearing many 
stripes, who knew, and disregarded it? " For unto whomso- 
" ever much is given, of him shall be much required : and to 
" whem men have committed much, of him they will require 
" the more." 

3 K 



434 COMMENTARY UPON 

Very severe therefore is the condemnation of those who 
teach. And this Christ s disciple shews us, saying, " Let there 
" not be many teachers among you, my brethren, knowing that 
" we shall receive the greater condemnation/ For abundant 
is the bestowal of spiritual gifts upon those who are the chiefs 
of the people: for so the wise Paul also somewhere wrote to 

1 Tim. ii. 7. the blessed Timothy; " The Lord shall give thee wisdom in 

2 Tim. i. 6. " every thing." And, " Despise not the gift that is in thee, 

" which was given thee by the laying on of my hands." From 
such as these then, the Saviour of all, in that He hath given 
them much, requires much in return. And what are the vir 
tues He requires ? Constancy in the faith ; correctness in 
teaching ; to be well grounded in hope ; unwavering in 
patience ; invincible in spiritual strength ; cheerful and brave 
in every more excellent achievement : that so we may be 
examples to others of the evangelic life. For if we will 
thus live, Christ will bestow upon us the crown ; by Whom 
and with Whom, to God the Father be praise and dominion, 
with the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever, Amen f . 



f An instance occurs in this ser- and for the most part in his very 

mon of the manner in which the words, but entirely remodelled, and 

Catenists summed up the general in the manner of an abstract rather 

sense of a passage : for the second than of a quotation. An exactly 

extract given by Mai in p. 304, similar but shorter instance occurs 

from A and D, but chiefly I irna- again in Mai, p. 310. 
gine from the latter, is really Cyril s, 



! 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 4.35 



SERMON XCIV. 

/ am come to cast fire upon the earth : and what will /, ifv. xii. 49 
already it be kindled ? And I have a baptism to be bap- 53> 
tized with : and how am I straitened, until it be accom 
plished ! Ye think that I am come to give peace upon 
earth : I tell you, Nay, but division. For henceforth there 
shall be Jive in one house divided; three against two, and 
two against three. The father shall be divided against S^P^, 
the son, and the son against the father; the mother against -l^ 
the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the GSy - 
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daugh 
ter-in-law against her mother-in-law. om. afcfr 

B. 

GOD the Father for the salvation of all sent down for us 
the Son from heaven. For to the Israelites indeed He gave p s . i xxv iii 
the law to be their helper, according to the Scripture ; and 5> 
also spake to them by the holy prophets such things as were 
profitable for their salvation, promising them the deliverance 
that is by Christ. But when the season had arrived, in which 
those things that had been prophesied of old were to be accom 
plished, He Who is God and Lord shone forth upon us. And 
He tells us the cause thereof in these words ; " I am come to 
" cast fire u P on the earth ; and what will I if already it be 
"kindled?" Come therefore, and let us examine of what 
nature is this fire, concerning which He here speaks. Is it 
useful for those upon earth? Is it for their salvation? Or does it 
torture men, and cause their perdition, like that which is pre 
pared for the devil and his angels ? 

We affirm therefore that the fire which is sent forth by 
Christ is for men s salvation and profits : God grant that all 

The Catenist in Mai (from A,) give the leading portions of what 

prefaces this sentence with the follows very correctly, though not 

words, " Cleopas and his compa- in the same order as the Syriac. 

" nions having this fire said, Did Cramer gives the same sentence e 

" not our heart burn within us on avfniypdfyov, whence probably its 

the way as he opened to us the confusion with what is really Cy- 

" Scriptures," but then proceeds to ril s. 

3 K 2 



436 COMMENTARY UPON 

our hearts may be full thereof. For the fire here is, I say, the 
saving message of the Gospel, and the power of its command 
ments ; by which all of us upon earth, who were so to speak 
cold and dead because of sin, and in ignorance of Him Who by 
nature and truly is God, are kindled unto a life of piety, and 
Rom. xii. made " fervent in spirit," according to the expression of the 
blessed Paul. And besides this we are also made partakers of 
the Holy Ghost, Who is as fire within us. For we have been 
baptized with fire and the Holy Ghost. And we have learnt 
the way thereto, by what Christ says to us : for listen to His 
John Hi. 5. words ; " Verily I say unto you, that except a man be born of 
" water and spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God." 

It is the custom moreover of the divinely inspired Scripture 

to give the name of fire sometimes to the divine and sacred 

words, and to the efficacy and power which is by the Holy 

Ghost, and whereby we are made, as I said, " fervent in 

" spirit." For one of the holy prophets thus spake as in the 

Mai. iii. i. person of God respecting Christ our common Saviour : " The 

" Lord, Whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, 

" even the Messenger of the covenant, Whom ye desire : 

" behold He cometh saith the Lord. And who shall endure 

" the day of His coming ? or who shall stand at the sight 

" of Him ? For lo ! He cometh like the fire of a furnace, and 

" like the sulphur of the bleacher. And He shall sit, like one 

" that smelteth and purifieth as silver and as gold." Now by 

the temple he here means the body, holy of a truth and undc- 

filed, which was born of the holy virgin by the Holy Ghost in 

the power of the Father. For so was it said to the blessed 

Luke i. 35. virgin, " The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power 

" of the Highest shall overshadow thee." And he styles Him 

" the Messenger of the covenant," because He makes known 

and ministers unto us the good-will of the Father. For He 

John xv. has Himself said to us, " All things that I have heard of the 

I5 " Father, I have made known unto you." And the prophet 

Is. ix. 6. Isaiah also thus writes respecting Him ; " Unto us a Child is 

" born ; yea, unto us a Son is given : and His government 

" shall be upon His shoulder : and His name shall be called, 

" The Messenger of the great counsel." Just therefore as 

those who know how to refine gold and silver, melt out the 

dross contained in them by the use of fire ; so also the Saviour 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 437 

of all cleanses by the doctrines of the Gospel in the power of the 
Spirit, the mind of all those who have believed in Him. 

And further the prophet Isaiah also said, that " He saw the is. vi. i. 
" Lord of Sabaoth sitting upon a throne high, and lifted up : 
" and around Him stood the Seraphim, praising Him. Then 
" said He to himself, Alas for me a sinner, for I repent me : in 
" that being a man, and of unclean lips, I dwell among a 
" people of unclean lips, and have seen with my eyes the King, 
" the Lord of Sabaoth." But to this he adds, that " one of 
" the Seraphim was sent unto me, and in his hand he had a 
" live coal, which he had taken with the tongs from the altar, 
" and he touched with it my mouth, and said, Lo ! this hath 
" touched thy lips, and it shall take away thy sins, and cleanse 
" thee of thy iniquities." What interpretation then are we to 
put upon the coal which touched the prophet s lips, and 
cleansed him from all sin ? Plainly it is the message of sal 
vation, and the confession of faith in Christ, which whosoever 
receiveth with his mouth is forthwith and altogether purified. 
And of this Paul thus assureth us; "that if thou shalt say with Kom. x. 9. 
" thy mouth that Jesus is Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart 
" that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be 
" saved." 

We say then that the power of the divine message resembles 
a live coal and fire. And the God of all somewhere said to tho 
prophet Jeremiah, "Behold, I have made My words in thy j er . v. 14, 
" mouth to be fire, and this people to be wood, and it shall 
" devour them." And again, " Arc not My words as burning j er . xxiii. 
" fire, saith the Lord ?" Rightly therefore did our Lord Jesus 2 9- 
Christ say unto us, " I am come to throw fire upon earth ; and 
" what will I, if it be already kindled ? " For already some of 
the Jewish crowd believed on Him, whose firstfruits were the 
divine disciples : and the fire being once kindled was soon to 
seize upon the whole world, immediately that the whole dis-^ 
pensation had attained to its completion : as soon, that is, as He 
had borne His precious passion upon the cross, and had com 
manded the bonds of death to cease. For He rose on the 
third day from the dead. 

And this He teaches us by saying, " But I have a baptism to 
" be baptized with, and how am I straitened until it be accom- 
" plished !" And by His baptism He means His death in the 



438 COMMENTARY UPON 

flesh : and by being straitened because of it He means, that 
He was saddened and troubled until it was accomplished. For 
what was to happen when it was accomplished ? That hence 
forth not in Judgea only should the saving message of the 
Gospel be proclaimed : comparing which to fire He said, " 
" am come to send fire upon earth :" but that now it should 
be published even to the whole world. For before the precious 
cross, and His resurrection from the dead, His commandments 
and the glory of His divine miracles, were spoken of in Judaea 
only. But because Israel sinned against Him, for they killed 
Actsiii. 15. the Prince of Life, as far as they were concerned, even though 
He arose having spoiled the grave: then immediately He gave 
Mat.xxviii. commandment to the holy apostles in these words: " Go, make 
I9> u disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the 

" Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; and teach- 
" ing them to observe all those things which I have commanded 
" you." Behold therefore, yea see, that throughout all nations 
was that sacred and divine fire spread abroad by means of the 
holy preachers. 

And of the holy apostles and evangelists Christ somewhere 
Zech. xii.6. spake by one of the prophets : " And it shall come to pass in 
" that day, that I will make the heads of the thousands of 
" Judah like a firebrand among wood, and like a fiery lamp 
" among reeds ; and they shall devour on the right hand and 
" on the left all the nations round about." For, so to speak, 
like fire they ate up all the nations, and fed upon the whole 
earth, kindling all its inhabitants, who as I said were cold, and 
had suffered the death of ignorance and sin. 

Wouldst thou see the effects of this divine and rational fire ? 
hear then again His words : " Or think ye that I am come to 
" give peace upon earth ? I tell you, nay, but division." And 
E P h. ii. 14. yet Christ is our peace, according to the Scriptures. " He 
" hath broken down the middle wall : He hath united the 
" two people in one new man, so making peace : and hath 
" reconciled both in one body unto the Father." He hath 
united the things below to them that are above : how therefore 
did He not come to give peace upon earth ? What then say we 
to these things 11 ? 

h In Mai nearly a page of addi- and C. recasting the latter part of 
tional matter is inserted from A. B. this passage in a more rhetorical 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 439 

That peace is an honourable and truly excellent thing when 
given by God. For the prophets also say; " Lord, grant us 
" peace : for Thou hast given us all things." But not every 
peace 1 necessarily is free from blame : there is sometimes, so to 
speak, an unsafe peace, and which separates from the love of 
God those who, without discretion or examination, set too high 
a value upon it. As for instance: the determination to avoid evil 
men, and refuse to be at peace with them ; by which I mean 
the not submitting to entertain the same sentiments as they 
do ; is a thing profitable and useful to us. And in like man 
ner the opposite course is injurious to those who have believed 
in Christ, and attained to the knowledge of His mystery : to 
such it is unprofitable to be willing to follow the same sentiments 
as those who wander away from the right path, and have fallen 
into the net of heathen error, or been caught in the snares of 
wicked heresies. With these it is honourable to contend, and 
to set the battle constantly in array against them, and to glory 
in holding opposite sentiments ; so that even though it be a 
father that believes not, the son is free from blame who con 
tradicts him, and resists his opinions. And in like manner also 
the father^if he be a believer, and true unto God, but his son 
disobedient and evilly disposed, and that opposeth the glory of 
Christ, is also free from blame, if he disregard natural affec 
tion, and disowns him as his child. And the same reasoning 
holds with respect to mother and daughter : and daughter-in- 
law and mother-in-law. For it is right that those who are in 
error should follow those who arc sound in mind : and not, on 
the contrary, that those should give way whose choice is to 



form, and which, after dilating " peace is an honourable thing," 

upon the seeming contradiction and gives the rest in accordance 

between Christ s declarations, that generally with the Syriac, but in a 

He especially gives peace, (John briefer form. Possibly therefore the 

xiv. 27.), and yet is come not to Catenists may have borrowed from 

give peace upon earth, finally solves S. Cyril s Commentary on Mat. 

the difficulty by quoting i Cor. x. 34. 

v. ii. that we are not even to eat * In the margin some later hand 

with a fornicator; and 2 John 10, has written; "That not every peace 

that we are not to receive a heretic. " is free from blame, but that there 

It then inserts dfj\ov yap before the " is an unsafe peace, and which 

next passage, " For it is plain that " withdraws us from loving God." 



440 COMMENTARY UPON 

entertain correct sentiments, and who have a sound knowledge 
of the glory of God. 

And this Christ has also declared to us in another manner ; 

Mat. x. 37. He that loveth father or mother more than Me, is not 
" worthy of Me : and he that loveth son or daughter more 
" than Me, is not worthy of Me." When therefore thou de- 
niest an earthly father for thy piety s sake towards Christ, 
then shalt thou gain as Father Him Who is in heaven. And 
if thou give up a brother because he dishonours God, by re 
fusing to serve Him, Christ will accept thee as His brother : 
for with His other bounties He has given us this also, saying ; 

ps.xxii.M. " I will declare Thy Name unto My brethren. 15 Leave thy 
mother after the flesh, and take her who is above, the heavenly 

Gal. iv. 76. Jerusalem, "which is our mother:" so wilt thou find a glorious 
and mighty lineage in the family of the saints. With them 
thou wilt be heir of God s gifts, which neither the mind can 
comprehend, nor language tell. Of which may we too be 
counted worthy by the grace and loving-kindness of Christ, the 
Saviour of us all ; 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. 441 



SERMON XCV. 

And He said also to the multitudes, When ye have seen a ? xu 54 ~ 
cloud rising out of the west, straightway ye say, that rain add. 8 S. 
cometh ; and so it is. And when [ye see~\ the south wind 
blowing, ye say, There will be heat : and so it is. Ye 
hypocrites ! ye know how to prove the face of the sky, and 
of the earth: how then knoiv ye not how to prove this time ? * olSare 
and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is just ? For -Q^ 
whilst thou art going with him who hath a suit against s K ^d- 
thee in the way to the magistrate, give diligence that thou e v rrj 68$ 
mayest be delivered from him ; lest he drag thee to the ^ & PX VTa 
judge, and the judge deliver thee to the exactor, and the om. air B. 
exactor cast thee into prison. I tell thee, thou shalt not 
come out thence, until thou hast made compensation unto 
the last mite. 

THOSE physicians who are exact in their art, and have be 
come proficients by great practice, deliver the sick from their 
maladies, by making use of many kinds of drugs, by the aid of 
which they appease the anguish of men s sufferings, gathering 
from all quarters whatever may benefit them. And this we 
also find Christ, the Saviour of all, here doing : for He is the 
Physician of spirits, and delivers us from the maladies of the 
soul. For He even said by one of the holy prophets ; " Return, Jer. iii. 22. 
" ye returning sons ; and I will heal your breaches." And as 
knowing this, the prophet Jeremiah offered up his supplications 
unto Him in these words : " Heal me, Lord, and I shall be Jer. xvii. 
" healed : save me, Lord, and I shall be saved : for Thou I4 
" art my glory/ 

Observe, therefore, how he prepares for us the medicine of 
admonition, not using as He so often did direct discourse, but 
mingling, so to speak, and entwining with it images drawn 
from examples, to make it the more abundantly profitable. 
For He cried unto the multitudes, saying ; " When ye see a 
" cloud rising out of the west, straightway ye say that rain 



442 COMMENTARY UPON 

" cometh ; and it is so. And when [ye see] the south wind 
" blowing, ye say there will be heat : and so it is." For men 
fix their attention on things of this kind, and from long obser 
vation and practice tell beforehand when rain will fall, or gusts 
happen of violent winds : and one especially sees sailors very 
skilful in this matter. Well therefore, He says, well would it 
become those who can calculate things of this sort, and foretell, 
it may be, storms that are about to happen, to fix the pene 
trating glance of the mind also upon matters of importance. 
And what are these ? The law shewed beforehand the mystery 
of Christ ; and that certainly He would shine forth in the last 
ao-es of the world upon the inhabitants of the earth, and sub- 

O 

mit to be a sacrifice for the salvation of all. For it even corn- 
Ex, xii. 6. manded a lamb to be sacrificed as a type of Him towards 
evening, and at lamp-lighting ; that we might understand, that 
when, like the day, this world was declining to its_close^Jthe 
great and precious and truly-saving passion would be fulfilled : 
and the door of salvation be thrown widely open unto those 
who believe in Him, and abundant happiness be their lot. For 
also in the Song of Songs we find Christ calling to the bride 
there described, and who represents the person of the Church, 
Cant. ii. ro. in these words: "Arise, come, My neighbour, Mybeautifu 1 
" dove : for lo ! the winter is past, and the rain is gonet: it 
" hath passed away. The flowers appear on the ground : the 
" time of the pruning is come." As I said, therefore, a certain 
springlike calm was about to arise for those who believe in 
Him. 

But against those, who, in the greatness of their wickedness 
have scorned His goodness, and rejected the Saviour, there is 
decreed wrath and misery ; and, as it were, a winter of tor 
ment and punishment, from the blast of which hard will it be 
Ps. xi. 6. to escape. For, as the Psalmist says; " Fire, and brimstone, 
" and the whirlwind, is the portion of their cup/ And why 
so ? Because they have rejected, as I said, the grace that is 
by faith ; and therefore the guilt of their sins cannot be wiped 
away, and they must bear, as they deserve, the punishment 
due to those who love sin. For so, when speaking of the Jews, 
John viii. He said ; " Verily I say unto you, that if ye believe not that I 
24> " am He, ye shall die in your sins." 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 443 

And that the blessed prophets also in manifold ways preached 
the mystery of Christ, no one can doubt. For one of them thus 
speaks as in the person of God the Father : " Behold I lay in Rom.ix.33. 
" Sion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence : and who- 
" soever belie veth in Him shall not be ashamed." For those 
who are in their sins are full of shame. For so it is somewhere 
said of the Israelites, who violated the law of Moses : " Like Jer. ii. 26. 
" the shame of a thief when he is caught, so shall the children 
" of Israel be ashamed." But those who are in Christ by 
faith, escaping from the pollutions of sin, are not only not full 
of shame, but have that boldness which becometh those who 
are free. 

It was their duty, therefore, yes ! their duty, He says, as 
being possessed of understanding, and able to discern the face 
of the sky and of the earth, to examine also things future, and 
not to let those tempests escape their observation, which come 
after this world. For there will be the south wind and rain : 
that is to say, fiery torment. For the south wind is hot : and 
the infliction of that punishment is vehement and inevitable, like 
the rain falling upon those overtaken by it. They must not, 
therefore, let the time of salvation pass by unnoticed : that 
time in which our Saviour came, and at which perfect know 
ledge of the truth reached mankind, and the grace shone forth 
which purifieth the wicked. And that, not by means of the 
law: for " it made nothing perfect," having only types and Heb.vii.ip. 
shadows ; but by faith rather in Christ, not rejecting the law, 
but fulfilling it by a spiritual service. For the very wise 
Paul wrote; "Do we then make void the law through faith ? Kom.iii.3i. 
44 It may not be : but we establish the law." For we who are 
justified by Christ establish that law of faith, which in mani 
fold ways was proclaimed beforehand by Moses and the pro 
phets. k 



k A few lines follow in Mai from 
A. manifestly interpolated. Prove 

* ye not the season ? Prove ye not 
the things by the words ? nor the 

* words by the things ? Ye see 
wonders, and behold signs con- 



tions about to overtake you per 
suade you : the destruction of the 
temple, the capture of the metro 
polis, the destruction of the race. 
Do not these things bring you to 
your senses ? His next extract 



firming the words : if these things also begins with five lines, not ac- 
persuade you not, let the tempta- knowledged by the Syriac, to the 

3L2 



444 COMMENTARY UPON 

That it is our duty, therefore, to be watchful, in seeking 
quickly to attain to deliverance from our sins, and the means of 
escaping from blame, before we arrive at the termination of our 
natural lives, He has shewn, by saying ; " And why even of 
" yourselves judge ye not what is just ? For while thou art 
< going with him who hath a suit against thee, in the way to 
" the magistrate, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered 
" from him ; lest he drag thee to the judge, and the judge de- 
" liver thee to the exactor, and the exactor cast thee into pri- 
" son. I tell thee, thou shalt not come out thence, until thou 
" hast made compensation unto the last mite." 

Now perhaps it may be imagined that the sense of this pas 
sage is difficult to comprehend : but it will become very easy 
if we examine the metaphor by what takes place among our 
selves. For let there be supposed, He says, some one who 
has brought a charge against thee before one of those in au 
thority, and has pointed thee out to those whose office it is to 
carry the accused into court, and is causing thee to be taken 
thither. " While therefore, He says, thou art still with him 
" in the way," that is, before thou hast come to the judge, 
" give diligence," that is, weary not, in using all thy earnest 
ness that thou mayest be delivered from him. For otherwise 
he will give thee up to the judge ; and then, when thou hast 
been proved to be indebted to him, thou wilt be delivered to 
the exactors, to those, that is, whose office it is to exact the 
money ; and they will cast thee into prison, and make thee 
pay the last mite. 

Now all of us, without exception, upon earth are guilty of 

offences : he who has a suit against us and accuses us js the 

Ps. viii. 2. wicked Satan : for he is " the enemy and the exactor. 1 1 While 

therefore we are in the way : that is, ere yet we have arrived 

at the termination of our life here, let us deliver ourselves from 



effect, that those who settle a suit fj.eva>v els dpxqv alriaa-iv nva TTOIT]- 

without the intervention of a judge cra^vos Kara crov : and there can be 

are more prudent than those who no doubt that the Syriac has rightly 

go to law : and that what is right translated it, but Mai renders, Esto 

to do at one place is right to do at aliquis, inquit, subjectus homini in 

another. The next sentence Mai dignitate constitute, quicum con- 

misunderstands : the Greek is, wro- troversiam habens, &c. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 445 

him : let us do away with the offences of which we have been 
guilty : let us close his mouth : let us seize upon the grace that 
is by Christ, which frees us from all debt and penalty, and de 
livers us from fear and torment : lest if our impurity be not 
cleansed away, we be carried before the judge, and given over 
to the exactors, that is, the tormentors, from whose cruelty no 
man can escape : yea, rather, who will exact vengeance for 
every fault, whether it be great or small. I 

Far removed from this danger are those who search for the 
time of Christ s coming, and are not ignorant of His mystery, 
but well know that the Word, though He be God, has shone 
forth upon the inhabitants of earth in likeness as one of us, 
that freeing them from ah 1 blame, He may bless with exceeding 
happiness those who believe in Him, and acknowledge Him as 
God and the Son of God : by Whom and with Whom to God 
the Father be praise and dominion, with the Holy Ghost, for 
ever and ever, Amen. 



446 COMMENTARY UPON 



SERMON XCVI. 1 

C.xiii.6-9- And He spake this parable. A certain man had a fiy-tree 
planted in his vineyard, and he came and sought fruit 
thereon, but found none. Then said he unto the dresser oj 

add. p.ev S. his vineyard, Lo, three years indeed I come seeking fruit 

add. olv S. on this fig-tree, and find none. Cut it down therefore : why 
doth it make the ground also barren ? But he answered 
and said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also : until 

ei 5e w 76 j- ft - arounc i ft anc i dunci it : and if it bear fruit in the 

ante ets rb * . 

v.ix\ov coming [year, welf], and if not, thou shalt cut it down. 

GTs. post 

-po 

THE Psalmist shews the surpassing gentleness of Christ, 
Pe. viii. 4. the Saviour of us all, in these words ; " Lord, what is man, 
" that Thou art mindful of him, or the son of man, that Thou 
" visitest him ?" For man upon earth, as far as his bodily na 
ture is concerned, is dust and ashes : but he has been honoured 
by God, by having been made in His image and likeness: 
not in his bodily shape, m that is, but rather because he is ca 
pable of being just and good, and fitted, for all virtue. The 
Creator therefore takes care of him, as being His creature, 
and for the purpose of adorning the earth. For as the prophet 
Is. xlv. 1 8. Isaiah saith ; " He made it not in vain, but that it should be 
" inhabited :" inhabited of course by a rational animal, who 
can discern with the eyes of the mind the Creator and Artificer 
of the Universe, and glorify Him like the spirits that are 
above. But because by the deceiving arts of the serpent he 
had turned aside unto wickedness, and was held fast by the ! 
chains of sin, and removed far from God, Christ, to enable him 

1 Again S. Cyril has omitted the law of Moses. This extract is 

vv. 1-5. of this chapter, but the ascribed to S. Cyril by A. C. and D. 

lacuna is filled up in the Catenae by of Mai s Codices, and by Aquinas. \ 
a long extract from Theophylact, ra In the margin a note occurs 

p. 422. identifying the Galilseans by the same later hand to the fol- 

with the followers of Judas of Ga- lowing effect : " In what way man 

lilee, Acts v. 37, r who forbade their " is in the image and likeness of 

calling any one Lord, or offering " God." 
any sacrifice not commanded by 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 447 

once .again to mount upwards, has sought him out, and fashioned 
him anew to what he was at first, and granted him repentance 
as the pathway to lead him unto salvation. 

He proposes therefore a wise parable: but we ought perhaps 
first to explain what was the occasion which led to it, or what 
at all the necessity why He brought it forward. 

There were therefore certain who told Christ, the Saviour 
of us all, that Pilate had put to death cruelly and without pity 
certain Galilaeans, and mingled their blood with their sacrifices. 
And others that the tower near Shiloh had fallen, and eighteen Siloam. 
persons perished beneath the ruins. And afterwards referring 
to these things, Christ had said to His hearers ; " Verily, I say 
" unto you, that except ye repent, ye also shall in like manner 
" perish." This was the head and root of the present parable, 
and that at which it was, as it were, aimed. 

Now the outer sense of this passage needs not a single 
word for its explanation : but when we search into its inward 
and secret and unseen purport, it is, we affirm, as follows. The 
Israelites, after our Saviour s crucifixion, were doomed to fall 
into the miseries they deserved, Jerusalem being captured, 
and its inhabitants slaughtered by the sword of the enemy. 
Nor were they to perish thus only, but their houses were to 
be burnt with fire, and even the temple of God demolished. 
It is probable therefore that He likens the synagogue of the 
Jews to a fig tree ; for the sacred Scripture also compares 
them to various plants : to the vine, for instance, and the 
olive, and even to a forest. For the prophet Jeremiah at one Hosea. 
time says of Jerusalem, or rather of its inhabitants ; " Israel is HOS. x. i. 
" a vine with many branches." And again at another address 
ing it. he says ; " The Lord hath called thy name a beautiful Jer - xi - l6 - 
" olive tree, well shaded in appearance : at its pruning time a 
" fire was kindled in it : great was the tribulation that was 
" upon it ; its branches were destroyed. 1 And another of the 
holy prophets, comparing it to Mount Lebanon, thus speaks ; 
" Open thy doors, Lebanon, and the fire shall devour thy Zech. xi. i. 
" cedars." For the forest that was in Jerusalem, even the 
people there, many as they were and innumerable, was de 
stroyed as by fire. He takes therefore, as I said, the fig tree 
spoken of in the parable as a figure of the Jewish synagogue, 
that is, of the Israelites : and " three years," He says, " He 



448 COMMENTARY UPON 

" sought fruit upon it, and found none." By which, I think, 
are signified to us those three periods during which the Jewish 
synagogue bore no fruit. The first of these, one may say, was 
that in which Moses and Aaron and his sons lived : who served 
God, holding the office of the priesthood according to the law. 
The second was the period of Jeshua, the son of Nun, and the 
judges who succeeded him. And the third, that in which the 
blessed prophets flourished down to the time of John the Bap 
tist During these periods Israel brought forth no fruit. 

But I can imagine persons making to this the following ob 
jection ; But lo ! it did fulfil the service ordained by the law, 
1 and offered the sacrifices which consisted in the blood of vic- 
tims and burning incense/ But to this we reply : that in the 
writings of Moses there was only a type of the truth, and a 
gross and material service: there was not as yet a service 
simple, pure, and spiritual, such as we affirm God chiefly loves, 

John iv. 24. having so learnt of Christ, Who said; " God is a Spirit: and 
" they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and 
" truth." As far therefore as regarded the good-will of the 
Father, and evidently that also of the Son, the service which 
consisted in shadows and types was unacceptable, being utterly 
without fruit in whatsoever appertains to a sweet spiritual 
savour. And therefore it was rejected: for so the Saviour 

Pa. xl. 6. teaches us, when saying to God the Father in heaven ; " Sa- 
" crifice and offering Thou wouldest not : and whole burnt 
" offerings, and sin offerings Thou didst not require." And 
again by the voice of Isaiah He saith Himself to those who 

Is. i. 12. were seeking to fulfil it : " For who hath required this at 
" your hands ? Tread My court no more : if ye bring fine 
" meal, it is in vain : incense is an abomination unto Me." How 
therefore can that which God hates and abominates be sup 
posed to be the rational and spiritual fruit of the soul, and ac 
ceptable unto Him ? 

He says therefore, " Lo, three years do I come seeking fruit 
" on this fig tree, and find none. Cut it down therefore : why 
" doth it make the ground also useless." As though He 
would say, Let the place of this barren fig tree be laid bare : 
for then there will come up or may be planted there some 
other tree. And this too was done : for the multitude of the 
Gentiles was summoned into its room, and took possession of 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 449 

the inheritance of the Israelites. It became the people of God ; 
the plant of Paradise ; a germ good and honourable ; that 
knoweth how to bring forth fruit, not in shadows and types, 
but rather by a pure and perfectly stainless service, even that 
which is in spirit and in truth, as being offered to God, Who is 
an immaterial Being. 

The owner then of the ground said, that the fig-tree, which 
during so long a time had been barren and without fruit, must 
be cut down. But the vinedresser, it says, besought him, say 
ing ; " Lord, let it alone this year also : until I dig around it 
" and dung it : and if it bear fruit in the coming [year, well ;] 
" and if not, thou shalt cut it down." 

Now it is necessary to inquire, who is to be understood by 
the vinedresser. If then any one choose to affirm that it is 
the angel who was appointed by God as the guardian of the 
synagogue of the Jews, he would not miss a suitable interpreta 
tion. For we remember that the prophet Zechariah wrote, that 
one of the holy angels stood offering supplications for Jerusa 
lem, and saying, " Lord Almighty, how long wilt Thou not Zech. i. 12. 
"have mercy upon Jerusalem, and on the cities of Judah; 
" which Thou hast abandoned, lo ! for seventy years ? " And 
it is written also in Exodus, that when the ruler of the land 
of the Egyptians with his warriors was pursuing after the 
Israelites, and was already upon the point of engaging with Ex. xiv. 20. 
them in battle, the angel of God stood between the camp of 
the Israelites and of the Egyptians, and the one came not near 
the other all the night. There is therefore nothing unbefitting 
in supposing here also, that the holy angel who was the guar 
dian of the synagogue offered supplications in its behalf, and 
prayed for a respite, if perchance yielding to better influence it 
might yet bring forth fruit. 

But if any one should say that the vinedresser is the Son, 
this view also has a reason on its side not unbefitting right ar 
guments. For " He is our Advocate with the Father/ " and i Johnii.i. 
" our propitiation," and the husbandman of our souls, Who 
pruneth away constantly whatever is to our hurt, and filleth us 
with rational and holy seeds, that so we may bring forth for 
Him fruits: and so He spake of Himself. " A sower went out Lukeviii.5. 
" to sow his seed." 

And it in no respect militates against the glory of the 
3M 



450 COMMENTARY UPON 

Son, that He assumes the character of the vinedresser : for 
the Father is Himself also found to have taken it, without 
being exposed to any blame for so doing. For the Son said 

John xv. i. to the holy apostles, " I am the Vine : ye arc the branches : 
" My Father is the Husbandman." For the verbal expression 
must from time to time be made to accord with the supposi 
tions which are laid down. 

Let Him therefore be supposed to be the Advocate in our 
behalf: and He says, " Let it alone this year also, until I dig 
" around it and dung it." And what then is this year ? But 
plainly this fourth year, this time subsequent to those former 
periods, is that in which the Only-begotten Word_of God be 
came man, to stir up like some husbandman by spiritual ex 
hortations the Israelites who had withered away in sin, digging 

Rom. xii. round them, and warming them, to make them " fervent m 

11 " spirit." For He repeatedly denounced against them destruc 

tion and ruin, wars and slaughters, burnings and captivities, 
and immitigable wrath : while, on the other hand, He promised, 
if they would believe on Him, and now at length become fruit 
ful trees, that he would give them life and glory, the grace of 
adoption, the communion of the Holy Ghost, and the kingdom 
of heaven. But Israel was incapable of being taught even thus. 
it was still a barren fig tree, and continued so to be. It was 
cut down, therefore, that it might not make the ground use 
less : and in its stead there sprung up, as a fertile plant, the 
gentile church, beautiful, and fruit-bearing, deeply-rooted, and 
incapable of being shaken. For they have been counted as 

Eom.xi. 2 4. children unto Abraham, and have been ingrafted into the good 
olive-tree : for a root has been preserved, and Israel has not 
utterly perished. 

But that it was doomed to be cut down, on account of its 
utter barrenness, the blessed John the Baptist also declared in 

Luke iii. 9. these words ; " Behold the axe is laid at the root of the trees : 
" every tree therefore that bririgeth not forth good fruit is 
" hewn down, and cast into the tire." And one of the holy 
prophets also" * * 

n The rest of this (96th) Exposi- pp. 315-321; and Cramer, ii. 107, 

tion, the whole of the 97th, and the where some of the following extract 

commencement of the 98th, having is given anonymously : and from 

perished, their place is supplied the Aurea Catena, p. 201. ed. Ve- 

from Mai s Nov. Bib. Pat. vol. ii. net. 1775. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 451 

Behold there was a woman, which had a spirit of infirmity c. xiii. n. 
eighteen years. 

Now there was in the synagogue a woman who for eighteen From Mai. 
years was bowed down by infirmity. And her case may prove 
of no little benefit to those who have understanding : for we 

must gather what is to our advantage from every quarter : 

since by what happened to her we may see that Satan often 
receives authority over certain persons, such, namely, as fall 
into sin, and have grown lax in their efforts after piety. 
Whomsoever therefore he gets into his power, he involves, it 
may be, in bodily diseases, since he delights in punishment 
and is merciless. And the opportunity for this the all-seeing 
God most wisely grants him, that being sore vexed by the bur 
den of their misery, men may set themselves upon changing 
to a better course. For which reason St. Paul also delivered 
over to Satan a certain person at Corinth accused of fornica 
tion, " for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit might be i Cor. v. 5. 
" saved." The woman therefore who was bowed down is said Also from 
to have suffered this from the cruelty of the devil, according Cramcr - 
to our Master s words, " Whom Satan hath bound for eighteen 
" years :" God, as I said, so permitting it, either for her own 
sins, or rather by the operation of a universal and general law. 
For the accursed Satan is the cause of disease to .the bodies of 
men, inasmuch as Adam s transgression was, we affirm, his 
doing, and by means of it our human frames have become 
liable to infirmity and decay. But when this was the state 
of men, God, Who by His very nature is good, did not aban 
don us when suffering under the punishment of a protracted 
and incurable malady, but freed us from our bonds, re 
vealing as the glorious remedy for the sufferings of mankind 
His own presence and manifestation in the world. For He 
came to fashion our state again to what it was originally : for 
" God, as it is written, made not death : neither hath He wisdom 
" pleasure in the destruction of the living. For He created all * T 3- 
" things that they might have their being ; and healthful were 
" the generations of the world ; and there is in them no poi- 

Or rather, if our language per- o-eis, tbe creative acts by which the 
mitted, " the generatings," at yej/e- world was called into existence. 

3 M 2 



452 



COMMENTARY UPON 



Wisdom " son of destruction," " but by the envy of the devil death 

ii. 24. entered into the world." 

Also from The Incarnation of the Word, and His assumption of human 

Aquinas. na ^ ure 00 k place for the overthrow of death and destruction, 
and of that envy nourished against us by the wicked serpent, 
who was the first cause of evil. And this is plainly proved to 
us by facts themselves. And so He set free the daughter of 
Abraham from her protracted sickness, calling out and saying, 
" Woman, thou art loosed from thy infirmity." A speech most 
worthy of God, and full of supernatural power : for with the 
kingly inclination of His will He drives away the disease. 
And He also lays His hands upon her : and immediately, it 
says, she was made straight. And hence too it is possible to 
see that His holy flesh bore in it the power and activity of 
God. For it was His own flesh, and not that of some other 
Son beside Him, distinct and separate from Him, as someP 
most impiously imagine. 

Ver. 14. And the ruler of the synagogue answered, being indignant, 
that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, fyc. 

From Mai. And yet how ought he not rather to have wondered at 
Christ s having freed from her bonds this daughter of Abra 
ham? Thou hast seen her unexpectedly delivered from her 
misfortune : thou wast an eyewitness that the Physician prayed 
not, nor received as a boon from another the healing of the 
sick woman ; but that He wrought it as a deed of power. As 
being the ruler of a synagogue, thou knowest, I suppose, the 
writings of Moses. Thou sawest him praying upon every 
occasion, and working nothing whatsoever by his own power. 
For when Mariam was struck with leprosy, for having merely 
spoken something against him in the way of reproach, and that 

Num.xii.i. true, "for he had taken, she says, unto himself an Ethiopian 
wife," Moses could not overcome the disease, but, on the con 
trary, fell down before God, saying, " God, I beseech Thee, 
" heal her." And not even so, though he besought it, was the 
penalty of her sin remitted her. And each one of the holy 
prophets, if anywhere at all they wrought any miracle, is seen to 



P The Nestorians, who are ex 
pressly named by Theophylact, who 
has either borrowed the latter part 



of this extract from Cyril, or the 
Catenist has mixed up the two to 
gether. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 4.53 

have done it by the power of God. But here observe, I pray, 
that Christ, the Saviour of all, offers no prayer, but refers 
the accomplishment of the matter to His own power, healing 
her by a word and the touch of the hand. For being Lord 
and God, He manifested His own flesh as of equal efficacy 
with Himself for the deliverance of men from their diseases. 
And hence it was intended that men should understand the 
purport of the mystery concerning Him. Had therefore the 
ruler of the synagogue been a man of understanding, he would 
have perceived Who and how great the Saviour was from so 
wonderful a miracle, nor would he have talked in the same 
ignorant manner as the multitudes, nor have accused those 
occupied with healing of a breach of the law respecting the 
traditional abstinence from labour on the sabbath day. 

But plainly to heal is to labour/ Is the law then broken 
when God shews mercy even on the sabbath day ? Whom did 
He command to desist from labour? Himself? or was it not 
rather thee ? If Himself, let His providence over us cease on 
the sabbath : let the sun rest from his daily course ; let the 
rains not fall ; let the springs of waters, and the streams of 
ever-flowing rivers, and the winds be still :*but if He com 
manded thee to rest, blame not God because with power He 
has shewn mercy on any even on the sabbath. And why did 
He command men at all to rest upon the sabbath ? It was, 
thou art told, that thy manservant, and thy ox, and thy 
horse, and all thy cattle might rest. When therefore He 
gives men rest by freeing them from their diseases, and thou 
forbiddest it, plainly thou brcakest the law of the sabbath, in 
not permitting those to rest who are suffering under sickness 
and disease, and whom Satan had bound. 

But the ruler of the unthankful synagogue, when he saw Also from 
the woman whose limbs were crippled, and her body bent and A( l uinas - 
crooked even to the ground, receiving mercy from Christ, and 
made perfectly upright by the touch alone of His hand, and 
walking with that erect gait which becometh man, and magni 
fying God for her deliverance, is vexed thereat, and burning 
with rage against the glory of the Lord, is entangled in envy, 
and calumniates the miracle; nevertheless he passes by our 
Lord, Who would have exposed his hypocrisy, and rebukes the 
multitudes, that his indignation might seem to be aroused for the 



454- COMMENTARY UPON 

sake of the sabbath day. But his object really was to prevail upon 
those who were dispersed throughout the week, and occupied 
with their labours, not to be spectators and admirers of the 
miracles of the Lord upon the sabbath, lest ever they also 
should believe. 

But tell me, thou slave of envy, what kind of work did 
the law forbid in commanding thee to abstain on the sabbath 
day from all manual labour ? Does it forbid the labour of the 
mouth and speaking ? Abstain then from eating and drinking, 
and conversing, and singing psalms on the sabbath. But it 
thou abstainest from these things, and dost not even read the 
law, what good is the sabbath to thee ? If however thou con- 
finest the prohibition to manual labour, how is the healing of a 
woman by a word a manual labour ? But if thou callest it an 
act because the woman was actually healed., thou also per- 
formost an act in blaming her healing. 

But says he, He said, thou art loosed from thy infirmity : 
and she "is loosed/ Well! dost not thou also unloose thy 
girdle on the sabbath ? Dost not thou put off thy shoes, and 
make thy bed, and cleanse thy hands when dirtied with eating ? 
fao\4\vffcu Why then art thou so angry at the single word "thou art 
" loosed ? " And at what work did the woman labour after the 
word was spoken ? Did she set about the craft of the brazier, or 
the carpenter, or the mason? Did she that very day begin 
weaving or working at the loom? No. She was made 
straight, he says. It was the healing absolutely that is a 
labour. But no ! thou art not really angry on account of- 
the sabbath : but because thou secst Christ honoured, and wor 
shipped as God, thou art frantic and choked with rage, and 
pinest with envy. Thou hast one thing concealed in thy 
heart, and professest and makest pretext of another ; for 
which reason thou art most excellently convicted by the Lord, 
Who knowcth thy vain reasonings, and receivest the title 
which befits thee, in being called hypocrite and dissembler 
and insincere <1. 

<i The comparison of the original sense with tolerable exactness, the 

Greek with the Latin of the Aurea English translator has been guilty 

Catena, and the English of the Ox- of extreme carelessness. Thus in 

ford translation, will be sufficient to the Greek, Christ heals the woman 

shew that while Aquinas gives the vevf^an /SacnXt/cw, rendered by A- 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 



455 



Thou hypocrite! does not each one of you on the sabbath v er . 15. 
loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away 
to watering ? 

Thou wonderest, He says, at Me, Who have loosed a From Mai. 
daughter of Abraham ; and yet thou givest rest to thy ox and 
thy ass, loosing them from their labours, and leading them 
away to watering: but when a human being suffering from 
sickness is marvellously healed, and God has shewn mercy, 
thou blamest both as transgressors : the One for having 
healed, and the other for being delivered from her malady. 

Behold, I pray, the ruler of the synagogue, how a human 
being is of less account in his sight than a beast, since at least 
he counts his ox and his ass worthy of care on the sabbath, 
but in his envy would not have Christ deliver from her 
Infirmity the woman who was bowed together, nor wishes her 
to recover her natural form. 

But the envious ruler of the synagogue would have preferred 
the woman who was made straight to be bowed down after the 
manner of fourfooted beasts, rather than that she should 



quinas imperatorio motu, and in the 
English, "by His royal assent." 
The act proves, OTI TTJV TOV 6eot) 
ftvafUV T Kal fVfpyeiav 17 ayia TTC- 
<j>6pT)K( o-dpg- which Aquinas cor 
rectly renders in quo oportet per- 
pendere sacram carnem induisse 
virtutem divinam. But the Eng 
lish, We should here answer that 

* the divine power had put on the 
sacred flesh ! 6 TTJS d^apio-Tov o~vv- 
ayoyijs dpxto-vvdyayos, ingratoe syn- 
agoga? pi-acsul, becomes the un- 
grateful ruler of the synagogue. 

(7M TTj OUgT) TOV KvplOU TTVpTToXoV- 

fiefof d(Tfj,(iTai ro) (pdovq>, Kal TTT]- 
pfd&i roi QavpaTi,, ardens gloria 
Domini, irretitur invidia, arguitque 
miraculum, becomes, sullies his 
zeal for the glory of the Lord with 

* envy, and condemns the miracle. 

QAA 17T tlfJLllSy O VOLLOS t /CCoXuO"Z/ OTI 

OTTO TravTos epyov %ipoKp,r)rov azrocr- 



8ia o-TOfj.aTos KOL Sta Xo you ; Sed die, 
lex prohibuit ab opere manual! die 
sabbati abstinere, numquid ab eo 
quod verbo et ore fit ? becomes, 
But the law has not forbidden all 
manual work on the sabbath day, 
and has it forbidden that which is 
done by the word or the mouth ? 
Iva TL, cur, i. e. cui rei, for what 
purpose, becomes how ? These ex 
amples are taken from the transla 
tion of a single passage of thirty-two 
lines in p. 484, and I can imagine 
nothing more calculated to bring 
the writings of the fathers into dis 
credit than such negligence, in pre 
paring their works for the use of 
English readers. The only passage 
in the above which offers the 
slightest difficulty is ardens glo- 
ria Domini, where gloria is the 
abl. of the cause, burning (with 
rage) because of the glory of the 
Lord. 



456 COMMENTARY UPON 

recover the form fitting for man ; having no other view than 

that Christ might not be magnified, nor be proclaimed as God 

Also from by His deeds. But he is convicted of being a hypocrite, if at 

Aquinas. least he ]e ^ s ^ dumb cattle upon fa G sa bbath to watering, 

but is indignant that this woman, who was a daughter of 
Abraham by descent, and still more by her faith, should be 
freed from the chain of her infirmity. For he considers her 
deliverance from sickness as a transgression of the sabbath r . 

Ver. 17. All His adversaries were ashamed. 

From Mai Shame fell then on those who had uttered these corrupt 
nas AqUl opinions: who had stumbled against the chief corner stone, 
and been broken ; who had resisted the Physician, who had 
clashed against the wise Potter, when busied in straightening 
His crooked vessels : and there was no reply which they could 
make. They had unanswerably convicted themselves, and were 
put to silence, and in doubt what they should say. So had the 
Lord closed their audacious mouth. But the multitudes, who 
reaped the benefit of the miracles, were glad. For the glory 
and splendour of His works solved all inquiry and doubt in 
those who sought Him without malice. 

Ver. 19. It is like a grain of mustard seed. 

The comparison is an excellent one, and most fit to set 
before them what took place and happened at the divine and 
sacred preaching of the Gospel, to which He here gives the 
name of the kingdom of heaven ; because it is through it that 
we gain the right of sharing Christ s kingdom. At first then 
it was addressed to few persons, and within a narrow range, 
but afterwards it widened its influence, and spread abroad 
unto all nations. For at first it was spoken in Judaea only, 
where also the blessed disciples were very few in number : but 
when Israel disobeyed, the commandment was given to the 
Mat. holy apostles, " having gone to make disciples of aU_the 
xxviii. 19. tt nat i ons> & c< AS therefore a grain of mustard seed is far 

r These three passages, all of manner in which extracts are strung 

which are taken from the same MS. together in the Catenae, as it is quite 

A., compared also with the different impossible for any writer to have so 

arrangement in the Aurea Catena, repeated himself, 
may serve as an instance of the 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 457 

inferior in size to the seeds of other plants, but shoots up to a 
great height, far beyond what is usual among herbs, so as for 
it even to become the lodging of many sparrows, so also the 
kingdom of heaven, even the new and sacred preaching of sal 
vation, by which we are guided into every good work, and 
learn Him Who both by nature and verily is God, being at 
first addressed to but few persons, and as it were small and 
limited, shot up afterwards into rapid growth, and became the 
refuge of those who fled to it for shelter, and who may be 
compared to sparrows, because human things are but of small 
measure in comparison with God. 

The law of Moses was given to the Israelites : but inasmuch 
as the inhabitants of earth could not be saved by the shadow 
which alone it contained and its material service, as a necessary 
consequence the saving preaching of the Gospel sprang up, and 
is spread abroad unto all under heaven. 

And this the letter of the Mosaic law has signified to us in 
an ainigma : for it runs thus, And the Lord spake unto Num. x. i 
"Moses, saying, Thou shall make unto thyself two trumpets 
" of beaten metal, of silver shalt thou make them, and they 
" shall be unto thee to call the synagogue together, and to 
" move the camp." And soon afterwards, "And the priests, 
" the sons of Aaron, shall sound the trumpets, and it shall be 
" a perpetual law for your generations." By this then thou art 
intended to understand both the preparatory training of the law, 
and the perfectness attained to in Christ by the gospel mode of 
life, and the teaching which surpasses shadows and types. The 
law then is a trumpet, and equally so is the saving preaching 
of the Gospel ; for by this name does the prophet Isaiah also 
make mention of it, saying, " And it shall come to pass on Is . xxvii . 
" that day that they shall sound with the great trumpet/ J 3- 
For in very deed a great trumpet sounded forth by the voice 
of the holy apostles, not setting at nought the first [trumpet], 
but s containing it also within it ; for they ever prove what they From the 
say concerning Christ by the law and the prophets, making S 
use of the testimonies of older times. 

There were then two trumpets made of beaten silver, in 
which the silver signifies splendour ; for every word of God is 

8 The Syriac commences again at these words, forming part of Sermon 



21. 



Luke i. 



Is. xi. 9. 



Amos v. 
24. 



T Thes. v 
23- 



458 COMMENTARY UPON 

o-lorious, having in it none of the darkness of the world : and 
the hammering out of the metal shewed that the sacred and 
divine trumpet, that is, both the old and new preaching, would 
advance and grow onward: for that which is hammered out 
advances as it were continually onward, and extends in breadth 
and length. For at Christ s rising for the inhabitants of earth, 
both the ancient law was to advance unto its spiritual interpre 
tation for so we preach it who have attained unto spiritual 
illumination in Christ: and the message of the Gospel was to 
spread until it embraced the whole world. And to the priests 
the law gave the use of the trumpets to command the people : 
but Christ gave the ministers of the new proclamations, by 
whom are meant the holy apostles, the command to preach 
Him and His precepts. For they proclaim His mystery, using 
as it were two trumpets, both preaching Him, as having^ been 
" from the beginning eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word," 
and adding, in confirmation of their words, the true testimonies 
of the law and the prophets. 

And it is no difficult thing to see, that the message of the 
Gospel preaching, being small at first, was soon to leap forth 
as it were unto great increase, inasmuch as God had foretold 
of it by the voice of Isaiah, that the whole earth has been 
" filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the deep waters 
" that cover the seas." For the preaching of salvation is 
everywhere poured forth like a sea, and its onward course is 
irresistible. And this too the God of all clearly told us by the 
voice of the prophet, " And judgment shall roll as the waters, 
" and righteousness as an impassable flood." For He gives 
the names of judgment and righteousness to the gospel mes 
sage, and grants us the assurance that it shall roll over the 
world like waters and as a flood, whose rushing streams, as it 
violently pours along, no man can stay. 

And the same method of explanation will hold good of the 
kingdom of God being also compared unto leaven. For the 
leaven is small in quantity, yet forthwith it seizes upon the 
whole mass, and quickly communicates to it its own properties. 
And the word of God .operates in us in a similar manner : for 
when admitted within us, it makes us holy and without blame, 
arid pervading our mm<J_and .heart, it renders us, spiritual, tjiat 
as Paul says, " Our whole body and spirit and soul^maj_b| 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 459 

" kept .blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." And 

that the divine word is poured out even into the depth of our 

understanding, the God of all clearly shews, where He says by 

one of the holy prophets, " Behold the days come, saith the Jer. xxxi. 

" Lord, and I will accomplish upon the house of Israel and 3I 

" upon the house of Judah a new covenant, not according to 

" the covenant which I made with their fathers, in the day 

" that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land 

" of Egypt, because they have not continued in My covenant, 

" and I have also rejected them, saith the Lord. But this is 

" the covenant which I will make with them, after those days, 

" saith the Lord, I will put My laws in their mind, and will 

" write them on their hearts." 

We receive therefore the rational and divine leaven in our 
mind and understanding, that by this precious and holy and 
pure leaven we may be found spiritually unleavened, as having >/ vvn 
in us none of the wickedness of the world*, but being rather v or v 
pure and holy and partakers of Christ ; by Whom and with 
Whom to God the Father be praise and dominion, with the 
Holy Ghost, for ever and ever, Amen. 



* Mai adds here probably from " mind, transforms 

some other work of S. Cyril, " For " both soul and body and spirit into 

" tbe life giving energy of the Gos- " its own properties." 
" pel teaching entering into tbe 



3 N 



4CJ0 COMMENTARY UPON 



SERMON XCIX. 

C. xiii. 22- And He ivent about among the cities and villages teaching ; 
and journeyed towards Jerusalem. And one said unto 
Him, Lord, are they few that be saved ? And He said 

evpas unto them; Strive to enter in at the strait door: for many, 

Trv\-ns s. I sa y un to you-, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able, 
directly that the master of the house ariseth, and shutteth 
the door : and ye begin to stand outside, and to knock at 

KupiebisGs. the door, saying, Lord, open to us; and He shall answer 
and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are. Then ye 
will begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in Thy pre 
sence, and Thou hast taught in our streets : and He will 

om. fymsB. say, I tell you, I know you not, whence ye are; depart 
from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weep 
ing and gnashing .of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and* 
Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of 
God, and ye yourselves cast out. And they shall come 
from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and 
from the south, and shall sit down to meat in the kingdom 
of God. And lo ! there are last that shall be first, arid 
first that shall be last. 

A SHIP is guided to the right port by means of the helm ; | 
but the word of God piloteth the soul of man, and leadeth him 
without risk of error to every thing that is necessary for sal- I 
Hos. xiv. 2. vation. For so spake one of the holy prophets ; " Take with : 
" you words :" even those which are inspired by the Holy 
Ghost : for no man of sense will say, that it means the words i 
of the wise of this world. For their words lead men unto the 
pit of destruction, by bringing polytheism into the world, and 
by inciting unto carnal pleasure, and to the desire of the 
world s vain distractions : but the words of God point out the 
pathway to a better life, and beget in us an earnestness which 
makes us cheerfully advance unto the duty of performing all 
those things, by means of which we are made partakers of: 
eternal life. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 461 

Let us listen therefore to the Saviour s words, which He 
addressed unto those who wanted to learn, whether they be few 
who are saved : and to whom the Saviour answered, " Strive 
" to enter in by the strait door." Now this reply may seem 
perhaps, to wander from the scope of the question. For the 
man wanted to learn, whether they be few who are saved : 
but He described unto him the way whereby he might be 
saved himself, saying, " Strive to enter in by the strait door." 
What reply then do we make to this objection ? We answer as 
follows; that it was the custom of our common Saviour Christ 
to meet His questioners, not of course according to what might 
seem good to them, but as having regard to what was useful 
and necessary for His hearers. And this He especially did 
when any one wanted to learn what was superfluous and un- 
edifying. For what good was there in wishing to learn, whe 
ther there be many or few that be saved ? What benefit re 
sulted from it to the hearers ? On the contrary it was a neces 
sary and valuable thing to know in what way a man may 
attain to salvation. He is purposely silent therefore with 
respect to the useless question which had been asked Him, but 
proceeds to speak of what was essential, namely, of the know 
ledge necessary for the performance of those duties by which 
men can enter in at the strait and narrow door. For this He 
has also taught us in another place, saying ; " Enter in at the Mat. vii. 
" strait door : for wide is the door, and broad is the way that I3 
" leadeth to destruction, and many are they that go in thereby. 
" For strait is the door, and narrow is the way that leadeth 
t( unto life, and few are they that find it." 

Now I consider it my duty to mention why the door is 
narrow, through which a man goeth unto life. Whosoever 
then would enter must of necessity first before everything 
else possess an upright and uncorrupted faith : and, secondly, a 
spotless morality, in which is no possibility of blame, according 
to the measure of human righteousness. For so the prophet 
David also somewhere says, very excellently framing his suppli 
cations unto God, " Judge me, Lord, according to my right- Pa. vii. 8. 
" eousness ; and according to my innocency requite me." For 
the innocency and righteousness of the holy angels, being in 
proportion to their nature and glory, is entirely distinct from 
that which belongs to the inhabitants of earth : for theirs is of 



462 COMMENTARY UPON 

a lower kind, and inferior in every respect, just as they are 
inferior to them also in nature. Nevertheless those who wish 
to live holily cannot do so without labour : for constantly, so to 
speak, the pathway that leadeth unto virtue is rugged and 
steep, and for most men too difficult to walk upon. For labours 
spring up before us and we have need altogether of forti 
tude and patience, and nobleness of conduct: yea, moreover, 
and of a mind that cannot be prevailed upon, dissolutely to 
take part in base pleasures, or to be led by irrational impulses 
into carnal lust. He who has attained unto this in mind and 
spiritual fortitude will enter easily by the strait door, and run 

Prov. xvi. along the narrow way. For it is written, that " by labours a . 

2(5t " man labourcth for himself, and violently gaineth the mastery 

" over his destruction." Thou hearest how the prophet plainly 
saith, that he gaineth the mastery over his destruction by vio- 

Mat. xi.i2. lence; for as the Lord himself again said, "The kingdom of 
" heaven is gained by violence, and the violent seize it." 

" For wide is the door, and broad the way that bringeth 
" down many to destruction." And what are we to under 
stand by its broadness ? It means an unrestrained tendency to 
carnal lust ; a base and pleasure loving life ; luxurious feast- 
ings, and revellings and banquetings, and unresisted inclina 
tions unto every thing which is condemned by the law, and 
displeasing to God : a stiffnecked mind that will not bow to the 
yoke of the law : a life accursed, and relaxed in all dissolute 
ness, thrusting from it the divine law, and utterly unmindful of 
the sacred commandments : wealth and the vices that spring 
from it, scorn and pride, and the vain imagining of transitory 
boastings. From all such things must those withdraw who 
would enter in by the strait door, and be with Christ, and keep; 
festival with Him. 

And that such as are not thus minded cannot walk upon! 
this way, He shewed at once by a plain example. For those j 
who were too late, and so to say, did not arrive at the feast, 
their lot was to be at once rejected. " For when/ He saysJ 
" the master of the house entereth in, and shutteth the door,; 
" and they begin to say from without, Lord, open to us ; he will 
" say, I know you not whence ye are." For in the character ; 
as it were of some householder, who has gathered many of hisj 
neighbours to his house and table, and has afterwards entered j 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 463 

in with his guests and closed the door, He says that those who 
subsequently knock, shall have for answer, " I know you not 
" whence ye are u :" and though, He says, ye importune, 
saying, " we have eaten before Thee and drunk ; and Thou 
"hast taught in our streets; ye shall hear none the less, I 
" know you not whence ye are. Depart far from Me, all ye 
V workers of iniquity." For the light has no communion at 
all with the darkness : nor can any one be near unto the per 
fectly pure God who is held by the pollutions of sin, and whose 
stain is not yet washed away. 

We must however next inquire who we are to understand 
by those who say unto Christ, We have eaten and drunk in 
Thy presence, and Thou hast taught in our streets ? Such 
an assertion then would suit the Israelites, to whom also Christ 
said, " ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the 
" prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves cast 
" out." But how then were they eating and drinking before 
God ? I answer, by performing the service enacted in the law : 
for when offering unto God sacrifices by the shedding of blood, 
they ate and made merry. And they heard also in their syna 
gogues the writings of Moses, interpreting God s messages : for 
constantly he prefaced his words with, Thus saith the Lord. 1 
These then are they who say, " We have eaten and drunk in 
Thy presence, and Thou hast taught in our streets." But 
the worship by the shedding of blood is not sufficient for justi 
fication, nor verily does a man wash away his stains by having 
become a hearer of the divine laws, if he docs nothing of what 
has been commanded. 

And in another way, as long as they refused to accept the 
faith, which justifieth the wicked, nor would follow the evan 
gelic commands, by means of which it is possible to practice the 
excellent and elect life, how could they enter the kingdom of 
God ? The type therefore profiteth not : for it justifieth no 
man, and it is a thing impossible for the blood of bulls and of 
goats to take away sins. 

u This extract in Mai from B, C, of course knows who they are ; but 

and D, ends in a manifest interpo- it signifies " friendship," that God 

lation, to the effect that hy knowing does not acknowledge them among 

them is not meant absolute know- His people, 
ledge, for God as being omniscient 



4C4 COMMENTARY UPON 

With the abovenamed, thou mayest number certain others 
also as able to say to the Judge of all, " we have eaten and 
drunk in Thy presence, and Thou hast taught in our streets." 
And who again are these ? Many have believed in Christ, and 
celebrate the holy festivals in His honour; and frequenting 
the churches they also hear the doctrines of the Gospel : but 
they lay up in their mind of the truths of Scripture absolutely 
nothing. And it is with difficulty that the practice of virtue 
is brought with them even to this extent, while of spiritual 
fruitfulness their heart is quite bare. These too shall weep 
bitterly, and gnash their teeth ; for the Lord shall deny them 
Mat. vii. also. For He has said, that " riot every one that saith unto 
" Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, 
" but he that doeth the will of My Father Who is in heaven." 
But that the Jews were about to fall utterly from their rank 
of being in a spiritual sense His household, and that the mul 
titude of the Gentiles should enter in their stead, He shewed 
by saying, that " there shall come from the east and from the 
" west, from the north and from the south, many who received 
" the call, and shall rest with the saints ; but they shall be 
" driven away : and whereas they once had the first rank, 
" they shall now take the second, by reason of others being 
" preferred before them."" Which also happened ; for the 
Gentiles have been honoured far above the Jewish herd. For 
it was guilty both of disobedience and of the murder of the 
Lord: but they honoured the faith that is in Christ; by Whom 
and with Whom to God the Father be praise and dominion, 
with the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever, Amen x . 

x Mai has collected three extracts ther this confusion is owing to Mai 

under v. 39, of which the first from or the Catena itself, I have no 

A and B, after correctly giving the means of knowing : if to the Ca- 

passage, " Many shall rest with the tena, it would shew that its extracts 

" saints," (read vvvavaTravcrovTai}, must have been gathered at second 

as far as " the Jewish herd," then hand. The reading is here cor- 

adds a general summary of S. Cy- rectly crvvavcnravcrovTai, for (rui/eXew- 

ril s explanation in the Catenist s arovrai. The third extract Mai per- 

own words, with a reference possibly ceived could not really belong to 

also to the De Ador. Spir. p. 170. this place, and referred it to the lost 

The second extract from A, only commentary upon the parable of 

repeats the first sentence or two of the labourers in the vineyard in 

this extract, but commences its quo- Mat. xx. It is really taken from 

tation higher up at the words, " But the Glaphyra, page 268 B, (erro- 

" that the Jews were about." Whe- neously paged 264.) 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 165 



SERMON C. 

That same hour there drew near certain Pharisees, saying 35. 
unto Him, Depart, and go hence : for Herod desireth to 
kill thee. And He said unto them. Go ye, and tell thisfox } 
Behold I cast out devils, and I do cures today and to 
morrow, and on the third I shall be perfected. Nevertheless add. 
I must walk today and tomorrow and the day afterward : B> 
for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. 
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth 
them that are sent unto her, how often would I have ga- ter B> 
thered thy children, as a hen gathereth her chickens under 
her ivings, and ye would not. Behold your house is aban 
doned for you : and I say unto you, that ye shall not see add. 
Me, until ye say, Blessed is He That cometh in the name 5 ^ v ^ f A 
of the Lord, 70* s. 

om. frri B. 

THE Pharisaic crew was always, so to speak, wicked and GTs. 
designing, and eager for fraud, gnashing their teeth at Christ, 
whenever He was regarded with admiration, and with their 
heart consumed by the fire of envy. And yet how was it not 
rather their duty as being the people s guides, and set over 
the ordinary multitude, to lead them on unto the confession of 
Christ s glory, as being the purpose both of the enactment of 
the law, and of the preaching of the holy prophets. But this 
in their great wickedness they did not do : yea ! rather in 
every way they resisted Him, and provoked Him incessantly 
to anger ; and therefore Christ said unto them, " Woe unto 
" you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites : for ye have taken 

away the key of knowledge : ye enter not in yourselves, and 
" those that were entering ye have hindered." For one can 
see that they had fallen into such a state of malice, and into a 
disposition so contrary to the love of God, that they were not 
willing for Him even to dwell in Jerusalem, lest He should 
benefit men, partly by filling them with wonder at His divine 
miracles, and partly by shedding upon them the light of the 

3 



466 COMMENTARY UPON 

accurate vision of God by means of the teaching of truths 
superior to those of the law. 

Such are the thoughts to which we are here led by the pur 
port of the lessons now set before us. " For in that same hour, 
" it says, certain Pharisees drew near, and said unto Him, 
" Depart and go hence : for Herod desireth to kill Thee." 
Come, then, and let us fix the scrutinizing eye of the mind on 
what is here said by them. Let us accurately examine which 
of the two is the case, whether the speakers are to be reckoned 
among those who love Him, or among those who would oppose 
Him. But, as it appears, there is no difficulty whatsoever in 
perceiving that they were His thorough opponents. For 
Christ, for instance, raised the dead from the grave, employ 
ing therein a power such as belongs to God : for He cried, 
Johnxi.43- " Lazarus, come forth :" and to the widow s son, " Young man, 
Lukevii.i4 u j sav un ^ t nee? ar ise." But they made the miracle food for 
Johnxi.47. their envy, and even said, when gathered together, " What do 
" we, because this man doeth many miracles ? If we thus leave 
" Him alone, the Romans will come, and take away our people 
" and our land." And then, even then, it was that Caiaphas, 
planning wicked murder against Him, said ; " As for you, ye 
" know nothing at all, that it is expedient for you that one 
" man die for the people, and not that the whole people 
" perish." 

And they resisted Him also in other ways ; at one time 
treating Him with scorn, and mocking His miraculous power, 
and venturing even to accuse His godlike authority, saying, 
that whatever was done was wrought by the help of Beelzebub : 
and at another even endeavouring to give Him up to Caesar s 
satellites. For as though He prohibited the Israelites from 
paying tax unto Caasar, they drew near to Him in treachery 
Lukexx.22. and guile, saying, " Is it lawful to give tribute unto Ca3sar or 
" not ?" Can those then who laid for Him all kinds of snares ; 
who, in their audacity and hardihood, did not even abstain 
from murder ; who, being cunning for wickedness, attacked 
Him with remorseless violence, and readily practised all such 
arts as those do who hate utterly ; how, I say, can such be 
reckoned among those who love Him ? 

Why then did they draw near, saying, " Depart hence : for 






THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 467 

" Herod wishes to kill Thee :" and what object had they in so 
doing ? The Evangelist tells us this, by saying, " That same 
" hour they drew near to Him." And what is the meaning of 
this carefulness of language ? Why was there this exactitude ? 
or what hour does he mean as that in which the Pharisees said 
these things to Jesus ? He was occupied in teaching the Jewish 
multitudes, when some one asked Him whether there be many 
that are saved. He passed by the question, however, as un 
profitable, and turned to that which was fitting for Him to tell, 
the way, namely, by which men must walk to become heirs of 
the kingdom of heaven. For He said, " Strive to enter in at 
" the strait door : and told them that if they refuse so to do, 
" they will see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and all the pro- 
" phets in the kingdom of God, and themselves cast out." And 
He added thereunto, that " whereas they had been the first, 
" they should be the last," upon the calling namely of the 
heathen. These remarks goaded the mind of the Pharisees 
unto anger : they saw the multitudes already repenting, and 
receiving with eagerness faith in Him ; and that they needed 
now but a little more instruction to learn His glory and the 
great and adorable mystery of the incarnation. As being likely 
therefore to lose their office of being chiefs of the people, and 
as already fallen and expelled from their authority over them, 
and deprived of their profits, for they were fond of wealth, 
and covetous, and given to lucre, they made pretence of 
loving Him, and even drew near, and said, " Depart and go 
" hence : for Herod desireth to kill Thee." But, O stony 
hearted Pharisee, hadst thou been wise; hadst thou been 
well acquainted with the law of the most wise Moses ; hadst 
thou really fixed thy mind upon the declarations of the holy 
profits; it could not have escaped thee that there was no 
possibility of thy being undetected in feigning a false show of 
affection, while thy mind was full of gall. He was not a mere 
man, and one of those like unto us, and so liable to deception ; 
but God in our likeness : God Who understandeth everything, 
and " knoweth secrets," as it is written, and " trieth the hearts P 3 . x iiv.2i 
" and reins ;" " to Whom all things are naked, and spread ^ei/iv ? 
" open/" and from Whom nothing is hid. But thou knewest 
not this precious and mighty mystery : thou thoughtest that 

302 



468 COMMENTARY UPON 

Job thou couldst deceive even Him Who saith ; " Who is this that 

xxxvin. . (t hideth from Me his mind, and shutteth up words in his heart, 
" and thinketh that from Me he hideth them ?" 

What then does Christ answer to these things ? He re 
plied to them gently, and with His meaning veiled, as was His 
wont : " Go and tell, He says, this fox." Attend closely to 
the force of the expression : for the words used seem forsooth 
to be directed, and to have regard, as it were, to the person of 
Herod : but they really rather refer to the craftiness of the 
Pharisees. For while He would naturally have said, " Tell that 
" fox," He does not do so, but using very skilfully a middle 
sort of expression, He, so to speak, pointed to the Pharisee, 
who was close beside Him, and said, "this fox." And He 
compares the man to a fox : for it is constantly a very crafty 
animal, and, if I may so speak, malicious, such as were the 
Pharisees. 

But what did He bid them say ? " Behold, I cast out devils, 
" and do cures today and tomorrow, and the third I shall be 
"perfected." Thou seest that He declares His intention of 
performing what He knew would grieve the troop of Pha 
risees : for they drive Him from Jerusalem, lest by the display 
of miracles He should win many unto faith in Him. But in 
asmuch as their purpose herein did not escape Him as being 
God, He declares His intention of performing what they hated, 
and says, that " He shall also rebuke unclean spirits, and de- 
" liver the sick from their sufferings, and be perfected ;"" which 
means, that of His own will He would endure the passion upon 
the cross, for the salvation of the world. He knew, therefore, 
as it appears, both how and when He would endure death in 
the flesh. 

The Pharisees, however, imagined that the power of Herod 
would terrify Him, and humble Him unto mean fears, al 
though He is Lord of powers, and begets in us spiritual bra- 
Mat, x. 28. very by His words, " Fear not them who kill thejho3& but 
" cannot kill the soul/ And that He too makes no account 
of the violence of men He shewed, saying, " But I must walk 
" today and tomorrow and the day after." And in saying, 
" I must," He does not imply that an inevitable necessity, so 
to speak, was laid upon Him, but rather that by the power of 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 469 

His own will, freely and without danger He would go wherever 
He chose, and traverse Juda9a without any one opposing Him 
or plotting Him ill, until of His own accord He received His 
consummation upon the precious cross. 

Let not therefore those murderers of the Lord pride them 
selves, or superciliously vaunt themselves against Him. Thou 
didst not win a victory over One Who fled from suffering. 
Thou didst not seize One unwilling. Thou didst not prevail 
over One Who refused to be caught in the meshes of thy craf 
tiness. Of His own will He consented to suffer, as being well 
assured that by the death of His flesh He would abolish death, 
and return again to life. For He arose from the dead, having 
raised up with Him the whole nature of man, and having 
fashioned it anew unto the life incorruptible. 

But He shews that Jerusalem is guilty of the blood of many 
saints, declaring, " that it is not possible for a prophet to 
perish out of her." And what follows from this ? That they 
were about to fall from being members of God s spiritual fa 
mily ; that they were about to be rejected from the hope of 
the saints, and entirely deprived of the inheritance of those 
blessings which are in store for them who have been saved by 
faith. For that they were forgetful of God s gifts, and intract 
able, and slothful unto everything that might have profited 
them, He shewed, saying; " Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth 
" the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her, how 
" often would I have gathered thy sons, as a hen gathereth 
" her chickens under her wings, and ye would not : behold 
" your house is abandoned unto you." For He taught them 
by the most wise Moses, and ordained for them the law to 
direct them in their conduct, and be their ruler and guide in 
the life worthy of admiration, and which though it was but as 
yet in shadows, nevertheless possessed the type of the true 
worship : He admonished them by the holy prophets : He 
would have had them under His wings, under the protection, 
that is, of His power : but they lost blessings thus valuable by 
being evil-disposed and ungrateful, and despisers. 

" But," saith He, " ye shall not see Me henceforth until ye 
" say, Blessed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord." 
And what again is this ? The Lord withdrew from Jerusalem, 



470 COMMENTARY UPON 

and left as unworthy of His presence those who said, " Depart 
" and go hence." And afterwards having traversed Judaea, 
and saved many, and performed miracles which no words can 
adequately describe, He returned again to Jerusalem. And 
then it was, even then, that He sat upon a foal and an ass, 
while vast multitudes and young children, holding up branches 
of palm-trees, went before Him, praising Him, and saying, 
" Hosanria to the Son of David. Blessed is He That cometh 
" in the Name of the Lord." Having left them therefore as 
being unworthy, He says that He will then barely be seen by 
them when the time of His passion has arrived. For then 
again He went up to Jerusalem, and entered amid praises, and 
at that very time endured His saving passion in our behalf, 
that by suffering He might save, and renew unto incorruption 
the inhabitants of the earth. For God the Father has saved 
us by Christ : 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. 471 



SERMON CL 

And it came to pass, when He had gone into the house of one C.xiv. 1-6. 
of the chief Pharisees on the sabbath day to eat bread, that 
they ivatched Him. And behold there was a certain man 
before Him ivho had the dropsy. And Jesus answered and 
spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying; Is it lawful Qeanv 
to heal on the sabbath day or no? And they were silent. f i%t Q S 
And He took him, and healed him, and sent him awai/. om -^ oiiGs - 
And He answered them, saying ; Which of you shall have 
a son or an ox fall into a pit, and will not immediately 
draiv him out on the sabbath day ? And they could not re 
turn Him an answer to these things. 

AGAIN the Lord worketh miracles, and exercising a divine 
and supreme power, performs His accustomed acts, and mani 
fests His glory. He benefits then in more ways than one the 
intractable and contentious Pharisee. For just as maladies of 
more than usual violence will not yield to the skill of physi 
cians, but require the main force of persons of blunter feelings : 
so also the human mind, that has turned aside to wickedness, 
rejects all that could benefit it, directly that it has once be 
come the victim of an uncontrollable tendency to disobedience, 
being brought into this state by unreproved departures from 
the right path.y 

And that this is undeniably true, any one may see who will 
give his attention to the lessons here set before us. For a 
Pharisee, of higher rank than usual, invited Jesus to a ban 
quet : and He, although He knew their malice, went with him, 
and dined in their company. And He submitted to this act of 
condescension, not to honour His inviter, but rather to benefit 
those in whose company He was, by such words and miraculous 
deeds as might lead them to the acknowledgment of the true 
service, even that which is taught us by the gospel. For He 

y Cramer s Catena contains a summary of this Sermon, not found by 
Mai in his MSS. 



COMMENTARY UPON 

knew that even against their will He would make them eye 
witnesses both of His power, and of His more than human 
glory, if perchance even so they might believe that He is God 
and the Son of God, Who assumed indeed our likeness, but 
continued unchanged, nor ceased to be that which He had 
been. 

He became the guest then of His inviters, to fulfil, as I said, 
a necessary duty : " but they, it says, watched Him." And 
for what reason did they watch Him, and on what account ? 
To see forsooth whether He would disregard the honour due 
to the law, and so do something or other forbidden on the 
sabbath day. But, senseless Jew, understand that the 
law was a shadow and type, waiting for the truth : and the 
truth was Christ, and His commandments. Why then dost 
thou arm the type against the truth? why settest thou the 
shadow in array against the spiritual interpretation? Keep thy 
sabbath rationally : but if thou wilt not consent so to do, then 
art thou cut off from that sabbath keeping which is well 
pleasing to God, and knowest not the true rest, which He 
requires of us Who of old spake the law of Moses. Let us 
cease from our sins ; let us rest from our offences ; let us wash 
away our stains ; let us abandon the impure love of the flesh ; 
let us flee far from covetousness and extortion ; and from dis 
graceful gains, and the love of lucre. Let us first gather pro 
visions for our souls for the way, the meat that will suffice us< 
in the world to come : and let us apply ourselves to holy 
works, thereby keeping the sabbath rationally. Those whose 
office it was to minister among you according to the law used 
to offer unto God the appointed sacrifices, even upon the sab 
bath : they slew the victims in the temple, and performed 
those acts of service which were laid upon them : and no man 
rebuked them, and the law itself was silent. It did not there 
fore forbid men ministering upon the sabbath. This then was 
a type for us : for, as I said, it is our duty, keeping the sabbath 
in a rational manner, to please God by a sweet spiritual savour. 
And, as I have already before said, we render this when ceasing 
from sins, we offer unto God as a sacred oblation a life holy 
and worthy of admiration, steadily advancing unto all virtue. 
For this is the spiritual sacrifice well pleasing unto God. 

But if, having nought of this in thy mind, thou cleavest 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 473 

solely to the grossness of the legal Scripture, abandoning the 
truth as something thou canst not attain to, listen unto God, 
Who tells thee by the voice of the prophet Isaiah; " The heart I 8 . 
" of this people is waxed gross, their eyes they have closed, 
" and made their ears heavy, lest they should see with their 
" eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their 
" heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them." 
For how were not they heavy and without understanding, and 
of a mind past helping, who when they might have perceived 
that He was the Christ by His teaching being superior to the 
law, and by the wonderful works that He wrought, were obdu 
rate, and regarded only their own preconceived idea of what 
was right : or rather that only which brought them down to 
the pit of destruction ? 

But what was the miracle of which they were spectators ? 
There was a certain man before Him who had the dropsy : the 
Lord therefore asks the lawyers and Pharisees, whether it is 
lawful to heal on the sabbath day or not ? " But they, it says, 
" were silent." But why, lawyer, wast thou silent? Quote 
something from the scriptures ; shew that the law of Moses 
ever blamed the doing good on the sabbath: prove to us 
that it wishes us to be hardhearted and unmerciful, because of 
the rest for our bodies ; that it forbids kindness, in order that 
we may honour the sabbath. But this thou canst not prove 
from any part of it. And as they were silent from malice, 
Christ refutes their immitigable shamelessness by the con- 
vincing arguments which He uses. For " whose son of you/ 
He says, " or whose ox shall fall into a pit, and he will not 
" immediately draw him out on the sabbath day ?" If the law- 
forbids the shewing mercy on the sabbath, why dost thou thy 
self take compassion on that 2 which has fallen into the pit? 
Trouble not thyself about thy son s danger upon the sabbath ; 
rebuke the sting of natural affection, which incites thee to feel 
a father s love. Commit thy child with joy to the grave, that 
thou mayest honour the Giver of the law, as knowing that He 



VI. IO. 



Ill 



2 The reading both of Cr. and fore of ovov for TOV made by Mai ... 

Mai s Codd. rbv els (fjpeap Kara- his text, like conjectural emenda- 

TTfo-oVm, is further supported by tions generally, is an error. 
;he Syriac : the substitution there- 



474 COMMENTARY UPON 

is harsh and unmerciful. Let thy friend be in danger, but 
pay not thou the slightest heed thereto : nay though thou near 
est a young child weeping, and asking for help, say to it, Die : 
such is the will of the law. But thou wilt not assent to such 
reasonings ; thou wilt stretch out thy hand to one who is dis 
tressed, esteeming him of more account than the honour due to 
the law, or rather than a senseless rest, even if thou wilt not as 
yet acknowledge that the sabbath ought to be kept in a spi 
ritual manner. The God of all ceaseth not to be kind : He is 
good and loving unto men : He instituted not the law of Moses 
as the mediator of harshness, nor appointed it as a teacher of 
cruelty, but rather to lead thee on to the love of thy neighbour. 
How then was it fitting that a commandment thus venerable 
and worthy of admiration should by the will of God lose its 
force upon the sabbath day ? Why therefore wast thou silent, 
O lawyer ? Confessedly because thou hadst nothing to say. 
For the force of truth is something great, and invincible, able 
to confound the envious mind, and to muzzle the faultfinding 
tongue. 

Paying then no further heed to the envyings of the Jews, 
He delivers from his malady the man afflicted with the dropsy, 
and tyrannized over by an incurable disease a . Thou hast seen 
Jew, the miracle : extol then the Worker of it. Understand 
His might, and the gloriousness of His dominion : acknowledge 
that He is God : offer Him thy faith : be not obdurate ; but as 
Joel 11.13. the prophet Jeremiah says b , " Rend your hearts, and not 
" your garments." Expand thy mind : open the eye of thine 
heart : understand that the acts which He works are those of 
Deity, even though in appearance He be a man like unto us. 
Recognize therefore Him Who for our sakes bore our likeness, 
but even so was far above us : or rather far above all creation 
by His ineffable generation from God the Father. For He is 
the Son of Him Who transcends all, but though He was Lord He 



a Mai from A interpolates here that the sight of his misery might 

an example of extremely minute cri- awaken His compassion, 

ticism to the effect that the man b This discrepancy is noted in 

did not venture to ask Christ to the margin, which says, " This text 

heal him for fear of the Pharisees, " is found in Joel." 
hut stood before Him in the hope 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 475 

took the form of the slave, that He might make the slave like 
unto Himself: yet He did not cease to be God, but remains 
the Same, Whom angels worship, and principalities, and 
thrones, and lordships. The Seraphim praise Him: and let us 
also serve Him in faith, mounting upward by His aid to the lot 
of the saints ; by Whom and with Whom, to God the Father 
be praise and dominion with the Holy Ghost, for ever and 
ever, Amen. 



3 p 2 



476 COMMENTARY UPON 



SERMON CII. 

C. xiv. 7- A nc l ffe spake a parable unto them which were, bidden pre 
venting c hoiv they chose the foremost seals : saying unto 

om els yd- them, When thou art bidden of any one, seat not thyself at 
the head of the seat, lest a more honourable man than thou 
be bidden of him ; and when he that bade thee and him 
cometh, he say unto thee, Give this man place ; and then 
thou begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when 
thou art bidden, go seat thyself in the lowest place, that 
when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, 
Friend, go up higher ; then shalt thou have honour before 

om. trdvruv all who sit with thee at meat. For whosoever exalteth 

GTs * himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall 

be exalted, 

NEVER does the Saviour cease from doing some act or 
other replete with benefit, guiding by admonitions and coun 
sels all who draw near unto Him into propriety of conduct, and 
teaching them that sobriety which becometh saints, that as 
i Tim. Hi. Paul says, " the man of God may be perfect, complete unto 
" every good work." Seizing therefore every opportunity, 
however slight, for His words, He wove for us admonitions 
well worthy of our attention, therein resembling an active hus 
bandman ; for whatsoever is liable to blame and reprehension, 
and covers with utter infamy those who are guilty of it, this 
He cuts away from our minds, and plants, so to speak, every 
i Cor. iii.p. fruit of virtue: for " we, as Scripture says, are God s hus- 
" bandry." 

What benefit then He has here too discovered for us, we 
learn from the passage now read. For He was dining on the 
sabbath day with one of the Pharisees, at his special request. 

c The reading in the Greek is " places at the top of the seats." 

eVf xoop, which is almost universally The Syriac translator however has 

taken with TOV vovv understood, in understood it in its literal sense of 

the sense of noticing," observing; preventing, holding back, and 

and so the Peschito paraphrases it, the Philoxenian renders it in the 

" because He saw them choosing same way. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 477 

And his purpose in so doing, and motive we explained unto 
you when last we met together. But inasmuch as He saw cer 
tain of those who were invited foolishly seizing the uppermost 
seats as a thing of importance, and worth the taking, and that 
they were eager after vainglory, for the benefit. both of them 
and us He utters an urgent warning, saying ; " When thou 
" art bidden of any one, seat not thyself at the head of the 
" seat, lest a more honourable man than thou be bjdden of 
" him, and when he that bade thee and him cometh, he say 
" unto thee, Give this man place ; and then thou begin with 
" shame to take the lowest place." 

Now such things may seem perchance to some to be but tri 
fling matters, and not worthy of much attention. But when 
any one fixes upon them the eye of his mind, he will then 
learn, from what blame they deliver a man, and how great 
orderliness they produce in him. For in the first place to 
hurry inconsiderately after honours neither suitable, nor due 
to us, shews us to be foolish, rude, and arrogant, seizing 
what is not fitting for us, but for others rather, who are 
greater than and superior to ourselves. Whoever he be 
that thus acts, is hated, and often too becomes an object of 
ridicule, when he has to restore to others, and that often 
against his will, the honour which in no respect belongs unto 
him. " For when, He says, a more honourable man than thou 
" cometh, he that bade thee and him will say, Give this man 
" place." ! what great ignominy is there in having so to 
do ! It is like a theft, so to speak, and the restitution of the 
stolen goods. He must restore what he has seized; for he 
had no right to take it. But the modest and praiseworthy 
man, who might without fear of blame have claimed the dig 
nity of sitting among the foremost, seeks it not, but yields to 
others what might be called his own, that he may not even 
seem to be overcome by vainglory ; and such an one shall 
receive honour as his due : for he shall hear, He says, him who 
bade him say, " Come up hither." 

A modest mind therefore is a great and surpassing good : 
for it delivers those who possess it from blame and contempt, 
and from the charge of vaingloriousness. But yes ! says the 
< lover of vainglory, I wish to be illustrious and renowned, and 
not despised and neglected, and numbered among the un- 



478 COMMENTARY UPON 

known/ If however thou desirest tliis transitory and 
human glory, thou art wandering away from the right path, 
by which thou mightest become truly illustrious, and attain to 
i Pet. i. 24. such praise as is worthy of emulation. For it is written, " All 
" flesh is grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of 
" grass." And the prophet David also blames those who love 
Ps.cxxix.6. temporal honours ; for he also thus spake of them, " Let them 
" be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth before 
" it is plucked up." For just as the grass that springs up 
upon the housetops has no deep fixed root, and for this reason 
is easily parched up ; so he who values worldly honour, after 
he has been for a short time conspicuous, and, so to speak, in 
flower, sinks at last into nothingness. 

If then any one wish to be set above others, let him win it 

by the decree of heaven, and be crowned by those honours 

which God bestows. Let him surpass the many by having the 

testimony of glorious virtues ; but the rule of virtue is a lowly 

mind that Ipveth not boasting : yea ! it is humility. And 

this the blessed Paul also counted worthy of all esteem : for 

he writes to such as are eagerly desirous of saintly pursuits, 

Col. ill. 12. " Love humility." And the disciple of Christ praises it, thus 

Jam esi. 9. writing ; " Let the poor brother glory in his exaltation : and 

" the rich in his humiliation, because as the flower of the grass 

" he passeth away." For the moderate and bridled mind is 

Ps - H- 17- exalted with God : for " God, it says, will not despise the con- 

" trite and abased heart." 

But whosoever thinks great things of himself, and is su 
percilious, and elate in mind, and prides himself on an empty 
loftiness, is rejected and accursed. He follows a course the 
Mat.xi.29. contrary of Christ s, Who said; " Learn of Me, for I am meek 
i Pet. v. 5. " and lowly in heart." " For the Lord, it says, resisteth the 
" proud, but giveth grace to the humble." The wise Solomon 
also shews in many places the safety of the humble mind ; at 
Ecclus. i. one time saying, " Exalt not thyself, that thou fall not :" and 
Prov. xvii. at another time, he figurately declares the same thing ; " He 
1 9- " that maketh his house high, seeketh an overthrow." Such 

a one is hated of God, and very justly, as having mistaken 
himself, and senselessly aimed above the limits of his nature. 
For upon what ground, I pray, does man upon earth think 
great things of himself? For certainly his mind is weak, and 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 479 

easily led into base pleasures : his body is tyrannized over by 
corruption and death : and the duration of his life is short and 
limited. Nor is this all, for naked were we born, and there 
fore riches, and wealth, and worldly honour come to us from 
without, and are not really ours : for they belong not to the 
properties of our nature. For what reason therefore is the 
mind of man puffed up ? What is there to exalt it to super 
ciliousness and boasting ? Were any one but to regard his state 
with understanding eyes, he would then become like Abraham, 
who mistook not his nature, and called himself " dust and Gen. xviii. 
" ashes." And like another also who says ; " Quit man who 2 ?- 
" is rottenness, and the son of man who is a worm." But he 
who is a worm and rottenness ; this dust and ashes : this very 
nothingness becomes great and admirable and honourable 
before God, by knowing himself; for so he is crowned by God 
with honour and praise : for the Saviour of all and Lord giveth 
grace to the humble : by Whom and with Whom to God the 
Father be praise and dominion, with the Holy Ghost, for ever 
and ever, Amen. d 

d As has frequently been the case ril, or possibly because remarks of 

before, the latter part of the sum- their own, or pieces given anony- 

mary of this homily in Mai is not mously came in time to be referred 

found in the Syriac, either because to the father, whose real words they 

the Catenists generally appended at follow. At all events in the present 

the end of their extracts such short case Cramer edits this passage with 

passages as they found bearing upon a break between, and gives the lat- 

the subject in other works of S. Cy- ter portion anonymously. 



480 COMMENTARY UPON 



SERMON CIII. 

C.xiv.i 2 - Then said He also to him that bade Him, When thou makest 

141 a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, 

neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours ; lest they also 

bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. But ivhen 

thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, 

teal Ti/fAok and the blind. And thou shall be blessed, because they 

cannot recompense thee : for thou shalt be recompensed at 

the resurrection of the just. 

REMARKABLE indeed is the beauty of the mind of man : 
and it shews itself in various ways, and is conspicuous in a 
diversity of manners. For just as those who are skilled in 
delineating forms in pictures cannot by one colour attain to 
perfect beauty in their painting, but rather use various and 
many kinds of hues ; so also the God of all, Who is the Giver^ 
and Teacher of spiritual beauty, adorns our souls with that 
manifold virtue which consists in all saintlike excellence .of 
living, in order to complete in us His .likeness. For in His 
rational creatures the best and most excellent beauty is the 
likeness of God, which is wrought in us by the exact vision of 
God, and by virtue perfected by active exertion. Consider 
therefore how our Lord Jesus Christ makes our souls beautiful 
by every spiritual adornment. For here He had commanded 
the Pharisees and lawyers, or rather, the Scribes, to think lowly 
of themselves, and to cultivate a mind free from the love of 
vainglory, bidding them not to seize upon the foremost seats. 
For He was dining with them, that being in their company He 
might benefit them even against their will. And after them 
He next addressed him who had invited them, and assembled 
them to the entertainment, saying, " When thou makest a 
" dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, 
" neither thy kinsmen nor thy rich neighbours : but rather the 
" lame, and the blind, and the maimed." 

Would He then produce in us a morose state of mind ? Is it 
His will that we be unsociable, and unloving, so as not even to 
deem our friends and relatives worthy of that affection which 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 481 

especially is fitting and due to them ? Are we to pay no regard 
to those who are near us in affection and love ? Does He 
forbid the rights of hospitality ? But how is it not absurd and 
ignorant to imagine that He contradicts His own laws ? What 
then does He wish to teach ? Something perhaps like what 
follows ; Those who possess great store of wealth make much 
account, so to speak, of a constant display and ostentation. 
For oftentimes they bring men to banquet with them, and 
make entertainments at vast cost, with curiously prepared 
viands, and such as do not escape the blame of prodigality. 
And this it is their custom to do, in order to gain the praises 
and applause of their guests. And in receiving the praises 
of their flatterers, as the wages, so to speak, of their extrava 
gance, they rejoice greatly, as though they had gained some 
thing of value. For it is the habit of flatterers to praise even 
those things which deserve blame. 

For what good is there in such prodigal abundance beyond 
what necessity requires ? For as Christ Himself somewhere 
said, " Few things are needful, or one," for the necessary ap- Lukex. 4 2. 
peasing of the wants of the body. That we may escape therefore 
the danger of losing the reward of our outlay, by expending our 
wealth in such pursuits as will bear good fruit, He has com 
manded us to invite the poor, and the maimed, and the blind, 
and thqse who are suffering under other bodily maladies ; that 
by our liberality in so doing, we may attain to the hope that 
cometh from above from God. 

The lesson therefore which He teaches us is love unto the 
poor, which is a thing precious in the sight of God. Dost thou 
feel pleasure in being praised when thou hast any friends or 
relatives feasting with thee ? I tell thee of something far better : 
angels shall praise thy bounty, and the rational powers above, 
and holy men as well : and He too shall accept it Who tran 
scends all, and Who loveth mercy and is kind. Lend unto Him 
fearing nothing, and thou shalt receive with usury whatever 
thou gavest : " for he, it says, who hath pity on the poor Prov. xix. 
" lendeth unto God." He acknowledged the loan, and pro- I7> 
miseth repayment. " For when the Son of man, He saith, Mat. xxv. 
" shall come in the glory of His Father, with the holy angels, 3I> 
" and shall sit upon the throne of His glory, He shall set the 
" sheep upon His right hand, and the goats upon His left. 

3Q 



482 COMMENTARY UPON 

" And He shall say to them on His right hand, Come ye 
" blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you 
" from the foundations of the world : for I was hungry and ye 
" gave Me meat: I was thirsty and ye gave Me drink : I was 
" naked and ye covered Me : sick and ye visited Me : in 
" prison, and ye came unto Me. And to this He added, Verily 
" I say unto you, that whatsoever ye have done to one of these 
" little ones, ye have done unto Me." The outlay therefore is 
not unfruitful : rather shall compassion upon the poor make thy 
wealth breathe forth a sweet savour. Purchase the grace that 
cometh from God ; buy for thy friend the Lord of heaven 
and earth : for verily we oftentimes purchase men s friendship 
with large sums of gold, and if those of high rank are recon 
ciled unto us, we feel great joy in offering them presents even 
beyond what we can afford, because of the honour which 
accrues to us from them. And yet these things are but trans 
itory, and quickly fade away, and are like the phantasies of 
dreams. 

But to be members of God s household, must we not count 
that as a thing worth the gaining, and esteem it as of the highest 
importance ? For certainly after the resurrection from the dead 
we must stand in Christ s presence ; and there a recompense 
shall of necessity be made to the compassionate and mer 
ciful : but a condemnation commensurate with their deeds 
shall be the lot of those who were harsh and without mutual 
James ii. love ; for it is written, "that there is judgment without mercy 
" for those who have shewed no mercy/ And if so, how is it 
not the proof and perfection of a sound mind, that before we 
descend to the pit of torment we should take forethought for 
our life ? For come, and let us discuss this among ourselves. 
Suppose that for some cause or other which the law condemned 
they had dragged us before the judges, and so a sentence 
such as our offences deserved had been passed upon us after 
our conviction ; should we not with pleasure offer up our 
Avealth to escape from all torment and punishment ? And 
how can there be any doubt of this ? For oneself is better than 
possessions, and life than wealth. Now we are guilty of many 
sins, and must give an account to the Judge of whatsoever we 
have done ; and why then do we not deliver ourselves from 
judgment and the everlasting fire while time permits? And the 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 483 

way in which to deliver ourselves is to live in virtue ; to com 
fort the brethren who are grieved with poverty, and open our 
hand wide to all who are in need, and to sympathize with the 
sick. 

For tell me what is harder than poverty, that implacable 
beast of prey, that bane which no admonition can charm away, 
that worst of maladies, or rather more cruel than any malady ? 
We therefore must give a helping hand to those who are suf 
fering under it : we must open wide to them our heart, and not 
pass by their lamentation. For suppose a savage beast of prey 
had sprung upon some wayfarer, would not any one who wit 
nessed the occurrence seize up any thing that came to hand, a 
stone for instance, or stick, and drive away the beast that was 
mercilessly rending and tearing the man fallen beneath its 
blow ? Who is so hardhearted and full of hatred to mankind 
as to pass by one thus miserably perishing ? And must not thou 
own, that poverty, as I said, is more cruel than any beast of 
prey? Aid therefore those who arc fallen under it: incline 
thine ear to the poor, and listen to him, as it is written, " For Prov. xxi. 
" he, it saith, who stoppeth his cars that he may not hear the I3 
" feeble, he also shall cry, and there shall be none to listen." 
Give that thou mayest receive: hear that thou mayest be 
heard : sow thy little that thou mayest reap much. And be 
sides, the pleasure of the body is short and temporary, and 
ends in rottenness: but almsgiving and charity to the poor 
crown those who practise them with glory from God, and lead 
them to that incorruptible happiness which Christ bestows on 
those who love Him : by Whom and with Whom to God the 
Father be praise and dominion, with the Holy Ghost, for ever 
and ever, Amen. 



484 COMMENTARY UPON 



SERMON CIV, 

C. xiv. 15- And when one of them that reclined at table with Him heard 
* 4 these things, he said unto Him, Blessed is he that shall eat 

bread in the kingdom of God. But He said unto him, A 
certain man made a great supper, and bade many. And 
sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were 
om. mfe/To bidden, Come, for lo ! all things are ready. And they at 
B> once began all of them to make excuse. The first said unto 

e fA06?v cal him, I have bought a field, and I must needs go to see it : 
omfal I pray thee permit me to be excused. And another said, I 

BST. have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them : 

I pray thee permit me to be excused. And another said, 
I have taken a wife, and therefore I cannot come. And 
when the servant returned, he told his lord these things. 
Then the master of the house was angry, and said to his 
servant, Go out quickly into the streets and marketplaces 
of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, 
TU</>AOUS Kal and the blind, and the lame- And the servant said, Lord, 
BST 0i;S what thou commandest is done, and yet there is room. And , 

XO>A. Kal ffi e i ora sa id to his servant, Go out into the highways and 
hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be 



? S > rT filled. For I say unto you, that none of those men that \ 
Sov\ov av- ivere bidden shall taste of my supper. 

rou S. 

om. pov B. AGAIN, the purport of the lessons laid before us obliges me 
to say, that the fruit of good works is praiseworthy. For not 
unrewarded is the toil of the saints, as they strenuously labour 
to lead that life which is truly worthy of admiration both with 

Heb. vi.io. God and men. For the wise Paul writes, "For God is not 
" unrighteous to forget your labour and your love, which ye 
" have shewed unto His Name." And again in another place he 

2 Cor. iv. uses similar words, " For the lightness, he says, of our present 

I7> " affliction worketh for us abundantly and in a higher degree 

" an eternal greatness of glory, when we look not at the things 
" which are seen, but at those which are not seen ; for the things 
" which are seen are those of time, but the things which are not 
" seen are for eternity." For the things of time are those of 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 485 

earth ; and these we say are what are here called " the things 
11 which are seen :" but those which are to come, and which at 
present are not seen, but consist in those hopes which are with 
God, are stored up for us in mansions that cannot be shaken. 

And who they are for whom these things are prepared, and 
unto whom they will be given, the Saviour has here shewn, 
pourtraying as in a picture by the parable set before us, the 
nature and efficacy of the dispensation. It is necessary how 
ever for me first to say what was the occasion which led to 
this discourse. 

Our Lord then was feasting at a certain Pharisee s, in com 
pany with many others assembled there, the friends of him 
who had bidden them to the entertainment, and the sharers 
of his sentiments. There again the Saviour of all, to bene 
fit those who were gathered there, for He loveth mercy 
rather, and not honour and vainglory ; perfected him that 
invited them, by not permitting him to make lavish expense, 
or aim at what was beyond his means, to gain the praise 
of men. For He said, " When thou makest a dinnner or a 
" supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, nor further, 
" any others who are rich and thy neighbours : but rather the 
" poor, and the maimed, and the blind. For those, He said, 
" who so act shall be blessed at the resurrection of the just." 
Upon which one of those who were reclining with them at 
meat, on hearing words thus excellent, said, " Blessed is he 
" that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God." Probably 
however this man was not as yet spiritual, but rather animal, 
nor fitted to understand correctly what was spoken by 
Christ : for he was not one of those who believed, nor had 
he as yet been baptized. For he supposed that the rewards wt0Ti 
of the saints, for their mutual labours of love, would be in * *** 
things pertaining to the body. Because then they were too 
dull in heart to comprehend a precise idea, Christ frames for 
them a parable which with sufficient appositeness sets forth the 
nature of the dispensation about to be instituted for their sakes : 
and says, "A certain man made a great supper, and bade many. 
" And he sent his servant at supper time to say to them that 
" were bidden, Come, for lo ! all things are ready." 

And here let us first of all inquire, what was the reason why 
it is rather to a supper than a dinner that the guests were 



486 COMMENTARY UPON 

invited ; or rather, even before this, who is to be understood 
by the man who sent one to invite to the supper ; and who also 
is the inviter, and who in fine they are who were invited, but 
despised the summons. 

By the man therefore is to be understood God the Father. 
For similitudes are formed to represent the truth, and are by 
no means the truth themselves. He therefore, the Creator of 
the universe, and the Father of glory, made a great supper, 
that is, a festival for the whole world, in honour of Christ. In 
the last times then of the world, and so to speak, at this our 
world s setting, the Son arose for us : at which time also He 
suffered death for our sakes, and gave us His flesh to eat, as 
being the bread from heaven, Which giveth life to the world. 
Towards evening also, and by the light of torches, the lamb was 
sacrificed, according to the law of Moses. And therefore with 
good reason the invitation that is by Christ is called a supper. 

And next, who is he that was sent, arid who it also says was 
a slave ? Perchance Christ Himself : for though God the Word 
is by nature God, and the very Son of God the Father, from 
Whom He was manifested, yet He emptied Himself, to take 
the form of a slave. As being therefore God of God He is 
Lord of all ; but one may justly apply the appellation of a 
slave to the limits of His humanity. Yet though He had taken, as 
I said, the form of a slave, He was even so Lord as being God. 

And when was He sent ? At supper time, it says. For it 
was not at the commencement of this world that the only- 
begotten Word of the Father descended from heaven, and 
was in form like unto us ; but rather when the Omnipotent 
Himself willed it, even in these latter times, as also we have 
already said. 

And what was the nature of the invitation ? " Come: for lol 
" all things are ready." For God the Father lias prepared in 
Christ for the inhabitants of earth those gifts which are be 
stowed upon the world through Him, even the forgiveness of 
sins, the cleansing away of all defilement, the communion of the 
Holy Ghost, the glorious adoption as sons, and the kingdom of 
heaven. Unto these blessings Christ invited by the command 
ments of the gospel Israel before all others. For somewhere 
Pa. ii. 6. He lias even said by the voice of the Psalmist ; " But I have 
" been set as a king by Him ; that is, by God the Father ; 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 487 

" upon Zion His holy mount, to preach the commandment of 

the Lord." And again, " I was not sent but unto the lost Mat. xv. 
" sheep of the house of Israel." 

And their determinatiorPEIien, was it for their own good? 
Did they regard with admiration the gentleness of Him Who 
bade them, and the office of Him Who ministered the call ? olKovapla 
Not so : for " they began, it says, all of them at once to make 

excuse :" that is, as with one purpose, without any delay, 
they made excuse. " For the first said, I have bought a field, 
" and I must needs go to see it : I pray thee, permit me to be 
" excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of 
" oxen, and I go to examine them : I pray thee, permit me to 

be excused. And another said, I have taken a wife, and 
" therefore I cannot come." Thou perceivest that by sense 
lessly giving themselves up to these earthly matters, they 
cannot see things spiritual ; for being overcome by the love of 
the flesh, they are far from holiness, and are covetous and 
greedy after wealth. They seek those things which are below. 
but make no account, no not in the slightest degree, of those 
hopes which are stored up with God. Far better would it 
have been instead of earthly fields to gain the joys of paradise: 
and instead of transitory tillage, for this was the object of the 
yokes of oxen, to gather the fruits of righteousness. For it is 
written, " Sow for yourselves righteousness; gather as vintage Hos. x. 12. 
" the fruit of life." Was it not their duty rather, instead of 
the carnal procreation of children, to have chosen spiritual 
fruitfulness ? For the one is subject unto death and corrup 
tion : the other is an eternal and abiding affluence for the 
saints. 

When then the householder heard their refusal, he was 
angry, it says ; and commanded that from the streets and 
marketplaces of the city there should be gathered the poor, 
and the maimed, and the blind, and the lame. And who then 
are to be understood by those who for the sake, as I said, of 
lands, and tillage, and the carnal procreation of children, 
refused to come ? Certainly it must be those, who stood at the 
head of the Jewish synagogue ; men with wealthy purses, the 
slaves of covetousness, with their mind set on lucre, on which 
they lavished all their earnestness. For so to speak throughout 



488 COMMENTARY UPON 

the whole of inspired Scripture,, one may see them blamed for 
this very thing. 

Those then who were superior in station to the mass of the 
common people did not submit themselves to Christ,, when 
Mat. xi.29. saying unto them, " Take My yoke upon you :" they rejected 
the invitation : they did not accept the faith ; they remained 
away from the feast ; and scorned the great supper by their 
hardened disobedience. For that the scribes and Pharisees 
did not believe in Christ, is manifest by what He says unto 
Lukexi.52. them, " Ye have taken away the key of knowledge : ye enter 
" not in yourselves : and those that are entering ye have hin- 
" dered." In their stead therefore those were called who 
were in the streets and market-places, who belonged, that is, 
to the Jewish common people, whose mind was sickly, and 
infirm, and dark, and halting : for such one may consider to be 
blind and lame. But they became strong and whole in Christ : 
they learnt to walk uprightly, and received the divine light 
into their mind. And that a multitude of the Jews not easy 
to number believed, one may learn from the Acts of the 
Apostles e . 

When then those, it says, who were in the streets had been 
called, he whose office it was to bid them to the supper said to 
the householder, " Still there is room. And the lord said to 
" his servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and com- 
" pel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say 
" unto you, that no one of those men that were bidden shall 
" taste of my supper." 

Here observe, I pray, the calling of the Gentiles after that 
the Israelites had entered by faith. For in old time the Gen 
tiles were boorish in mind, and uncultivated in understanding, 
and so to say, outside the city, as living in lawlessness, and 
more like cattle than men, and with little use of reason. And 
on this account he who invites to the supper is sent unto the 
highways, outside the city, and to the hedges in the fields: 

e Mai adds here a passage either there can be little doubt both from 

from A. or E., bringing proofs from the matter, and the language of this 

the Acts, both that multitudes of extract, that it is a gloss of the Ca- 

the common people believed, and tenist himself, 
that the rulers rejected Christ : but 






THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 489 

moreover he is commanded by him who sent him not morel v to 
invite, and offer them exhortation only, but even to compel 
them. And yet in all men faith is a voluntary act, and by 
attaining unto it of their own free will, men are acceptable 
unto God, and largely endowed with His gifts. How then are 
men compelled ? Yes, this also was said advisedly. For it was 
necessary, absolutely necessary for the Gentiles, as being fet 
tered by an intolerable tyranny, and fallen under the yoke of 
the devil, and caught, so to speak, in the indissoluble meshes 
of their sins, and utterly ignorant of Him Who by nature and 
verily is God, that their calling should be very urgent, resem 
bling the use of force, that they might be able to look up unto 
God, and taste the sacred doctrines, and leave off their former 
error, and spring away as it were from the hand of Satan. For 
Christ also said, " No man can come unto Me except My Father John vi. 44 . 
"Who sent Me drag him." But dragging f implies that the call 
ing is an act of power such as God only can exercise. And the 
blessed David is also found addressing God in similar terms 
respecting them, " With bridle and bit shalt Thou restrain the Ps.xxxii. 9 . 
"jaws of those that draw not near unto Thee." Thou seest 
ow the God of all as with a bridle turns unto Himself those 
vho fiercely have departed from Him : for He is good and 
oving unto mankind, and willeth that all men should be saved, 
and come unto the knowledge of the truth. 

The chiefs therefore of the Israeli tish populace remained 
aloof from the supper, as being obdurate and proud and dis- 
bedient, and scorned so surpassing an invitation, because they 
lad turned aside to earthly things, and fixed their mind upon 
he vain distractions of this world. But the vulgar multitude 
was called in, and after them immediately and without delay 
le Gentiles. For when our Lord Jesus Christ arose from the 
ead, He cried out unto the holy apostles saying, " All power Mat xxviii. 
is given unto Me in heaven and in earth : go make disciples l8 
of all nations, baptizing ye them in the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost : and teaching ye 
them to observe all those things that I have commanded 
you : and lo ! I am with you every day even unto the end of 
the world." 

f For \e ty, the reading in Mai, the Syriac evidently read eXgis. 

3 



490 COMMENTARY UPON 



SERMON CV. 

C. xiv. 25- And great multitudes went with Him : and He turned and 
said unto them; Whosoever cometh unto Me, and hateth 
not his father and his mother, and his wife, and his chil 
dren, and his brethren, and his sisters : yea, and his own 
fans ov self also, he cannot be My disciple. And ivhosoever doth 
not ^ ear ^ s cross > an ^ come a ft er Me, cannot be My dis- 

B. ciple. For which of you, that wisheth to build a tower, 

sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, to see whether 

(h airapriff- h e have sufficient to finish it ? Lest when he has laid the 

I TJQ p *V 

foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it 
begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and 
was not able to finish. Or what king going to make war 
with another king, sitteth not down first and considereth, 
whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that 
cometh against him ivith twenty thousand ? And if he be 
S. not, while the other is yet afar off, he sendeth ambass- 
sadors, and asketh conditions of peace. So therefore every 
one of you that for saketh not all his possessions, cannot be 
om. ofc Gs. My disciple. Salt therefore is good : but if the salt have 
BT. * no savour, with what shall it be seasoned? It is useful nei 

ther for the land, nor yet for the dunghill: they cast it out. 
He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 

THOSE who command warlike armies, and have won for 
themselves martial glory, whenever the time for battle has 
arrived, instruct the troops under their orders in what way, 
arraying themselves manfully against the phalanxes of the 
enemy, they will gain a triumphant victory. And the Saviour 
of all, imitating the skilfulness of those here mentioned, very 
clearly shews unto all who would follow Him, the pathway of 
spiritual manfulness : that advancing with unrestrainahle impe 
tuosity unto every triumph of piety, and exerting a stern and 
irresistible earnestness, they may win by a just decree the 
right of being with Him, and following Him. 

This lesson then clearly teaches us, what sort of persons He 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 493 

would bar laid up in hope. Many too the fear of death has 
( says, and hal when the season called them unto persecutions, 
< and his childrcoved they might receive the crown of incor- 
his own self aWe denied the faith, have avoided, that is, the 
Lord, some peng patiently, and having shewn themselves weak 
natural affectiohave fallen from their steadfastness. To work 
other, and to c 7 a mind incapable of being broken, and make us 
their sons, to ;ry worldly matter for our love of Him, He com- 
their brethremate even our relatives according to the flesh, and 
bers of thejlf also, if, as I have just said, the season call us 
rather to Ic 

be with tlext He uses two examples, to encourage unto an in- 
This is fortitude those who are His friends, and to establish 
1 thour unwavering zeal those whose desire it is to attain to ho- 
ent &:s by patience and endurance. " For if, saith He, any one 
i)em ish to build a tower, he reckoneth first if he have means 
for nfficient to finish it, lest when he has laid the foundation, 
hose vd is not able to finish it, men laugh at him." For those 
aonou;se choice it is to lead a glorious and blameless life ought to 
u .beforehand in their mind a zeal sufficient thereunto, 
to remember him who says, "My son, if thou draw Ecclus.ii i. 
r to serve the Lord, prepare thyself for every temptation: 
r /make thy heart straight, and endure." But those who have 
)f mi such zeal, how will they be able to reach the mark that is 
nand before them ? 

n a*< Or what king, He saith, wishing to make war with another 
tt king, doth not consider with himself, whether with his ten 
r thousand he can prevail over one who is more mighty than 
himself?" And what does this mean ? " Our wrestle is not Eph. vi. 12. 
"against blood and flesh, but against governments *, against 
" empires ; against the worldholders of this darkness ; against 
" wicked spirits in the heavenly regions." We have too a 
crowd, as it were, of other enemies, the carnal mind, the law 
that rages in our members, passions of many kinds, the lust of 
pleasure, the lust of the flesh, the lust of wealth, and others: 
with these we must wrestle ; this is our savage troop of ene 
mies. How therefore shall we conquer ? By believing that 
"in God we shall do valiantly, as Scripture saith, and He PS. k. 12. 
" shall bring to naught those that oppress us." In this confi 
dence one of the holy prophets said, Behold the Lord helpcth Is. i. 



i. 9 . 



490 



COMMENTARY UPON 



felt for 



C. xiv. 25- 
35- 



KOl fiffTlS 0V 

GSTs. 
tarts oSv ov 
B. 



fls airapnar- 
H6v BST. 
TO. irpbs air. 



om. ovv Gs. 
add. Kal 
BT. 



,sion was which 
he passage then 

SERMON CV. cribed the ccle- 

were invited by 

And great multitudes went with Him : a^ n( ijff eren t to it : 
said unto them ; Whosoever cometh unto .^ an( j ga -^ Qne 
not his father and his mother, and his wife ^ Q to ge e it ., 
dren, and his brethren, and his sisters: 2/ ea >* xen: an( j a 
self also, he cannot be My disciple. And ivhf^ em pj yj n g 
not bear his cross, and come after Me, cannot ^^ ^y e 
ciple. For which of you, that ivisheth to build 
sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, to see 
he have sufficient to finish it? Lest when he has la^ 
foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that beh ^ 
begin to mock him, saying, This man began to 
was not able to finish. Or what king going to 
with another king, sitteth not down first and consic 
whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him 
cometh against him with twenty thousand ? And if A, 
not, while the other is yet afar of, he sendeth 
sadors, and asketh conditions of peace. So therefore 
one of you that for saketh not all his possessions 
My disciple. Salt therefore is good : but if the salt _ 
no savour, with what shall it be seasoned? It is useful 
therfor the land, nor yet for the dunghill: they cast it 
He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 

Ila, 

THOSE who command warlike armies, and have won fuV 
themselves martial glory, whenever the time for battle has 
arrived, instruct the troops under their orders in what way, 
arraying themselves manfully against the phalanxes of the 
enemy, they will gain a triumphant victory. And the Saviour 
of all, imitating the skilfulness of those here mentioned, very 
clearly shews unto all who would follow Him, the pathway of 
spiritual manfulness : that advancing with unrestrainable impe 
tuosity unto every triumph of piety, and exerting a stern and 
irresistible earnestness, they may win by a just decree the 
right of being with Him, and following Him. 

This lesson then clearly teaches us, what sort of persons He 









THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 493 

blessings laid up in hope. Many too the fear of death has 
terrified, and when the season called them unto persecutions, 
that being proved they might receive the crown of incor- 
ruption, they have denied the faith, have avoided, that is, the 
duty of suffering patiently, and having shewn themselves weak 
and cowardly, have fallen from their steadfastness. To work 
in us therefore a mind incapable of being broken, and make us 
careless of every worldly matter for our love of Him, He com 
mands us to hate even our relatives according to the flesh, and 
our own self also, if, as I have just said, the season call us 
thereto. 

And next He uses two examples, to encourage unto an in 
vincible fortitude those who are His friends, and to establish 
in an unwavering zeal those whose desire it is to attain to ho 
nours by patience and endurance. " For if, saith He, any one 
" wish to build a tower, he reckoneth first if he have means 
" sufficient to finish it, lest when he has laid the foundation, 
" and is not able to finish it, men laugh at him." For those 
whose choice it is to lead a glorious and blameless life ought to 
store up beforehand in their mind a zeal sufficient thereunto, 
and to remember him who says, "My son, if thou draw Ecclus.il. i. 
" near to serve the Lord, prepare thyself for every temptation: 
" make thy heart straight, and endure." But those who have 
no such zeal, how will they be able to reach the mark that is 
set before them ? 

" Or what king, He saith, wishing to make war with another 
" king, doth not consider with himself, whether with his ten 
thousand he can prevail over one who is more mighty than 
" himself?" And what does this mean ? " Our wrestle is not Eph. vi. 12. 
" against blood and flesh, but against governments $ against 
" empires ; against the worldholders of this darkness ; against 
" wicked spirits in the heavenly regions." We have too a 
crowd, as it were, of other enemies, the carnal mind, the law 
that rages in our members, passions of many kinds, the lust of 
pleasure, the lust of the flesh, the lust of wealth, and others: 
with these we must wrestle ; this is our savage troop of ene 
mies. How therefore shall we conquer ? By believing that 
" in God we shall do valiantly, as Scripture saith, and He Ps. lx. 12, 
" shall bring to naught those that oppress us." In this confi 
dence one of the holy prophets said, Behold the Lord helpcth is. 1. 9. 



494 



COMMENTARY UPON 



" me : who shall make me ashamed?" And the divine David 
Ps. xxvii.i. also sings, "The Lord is my light, and my Saviour: whom 
" shall I fear ? The Lord is the helper of my life, at whom 
" shall I tremble ?" For He is our strength, and by Him we 
shall gain victory : for He has given unto us to tread upon ser 
pents and scorpions, and upon all the, power of the enemy . As 
therefore He says, " Salt is good : but if the salt be tasteless, 
" with what can it be seasoned ? It is cast out, 1 He says. 
" Let there be therefore, He proceeds, salt in you/ 1 that is, the 
divine words which bring salvation : but which if we despise, 
we become without savour, and foolish, and utterly useless. 
Such things must the congregation of the saints cast out, by 
the gift unto them of mercy and love from Christ, the Saviour 
of us all ; by Whom and with Whom to God the Father be 
praise and dominion, with the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever, 
Amen. h 



h Two short extracts upon this 

verse are also referred to Cyril, one 

by Mai from A. and C., saying, 

that as neither bread nor fish are 

eatable without salt, so the soul, 

without apostolic teaching and 

wisdom, is tasteless and without 

scent, and not sweet before God." 

And the other by Corderius, to the 

effect, that " the earth is that which 

" is capable of being benefited, and 

" the dunghill that which benefits 

" it : to be rejected therefore as 



" tasteless salt signifies the being 
" able neither to profit others, nor 
" be profited oneself." Neither of 
these passages could possibly be 
Cyril s ; and the latter, even the 
most obtuse person, would at once 
refer to Theophylact. How entirely 
Cyril s principles of explanation 
differ from those of Theophylact 
any one may see by referring to the 
rules laid down by the former in 
the introduction to Sermon cviii. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 495 



SERMON CVI. 

Now all the publicans and sinners used to draw near unto C.xv.i-io- 
Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and Scribes mur- add. re BT. 
mured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth 
with them. And He spake this parable unto them, saying, 
What man of you having a hundred sheep, and having 
lost one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the 
wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it. 
And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, 
rejoicing. And when he hath come home, he calleth together 
his friends and his neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice 
with me : for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say 
unto you, that likewise there shall be joy in heaven over 
one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine 
just persons who need no repentance. Or ivhat woman hav 
ing ten drachms, if she lose one of them, doth not light a 
lamp, and siueep the house, and search diligently till she 
find it. And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends 
and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me : for 
I have found the drachm which I had lost. Likewise I say 
unto you, that there is joy before the angels of God over one 
sinner that repenteth. 

YE have no doubt attended here also to what has been read ; 
ye have wondered with me at the Saviour s words : have ye 
also understood it thoroughly and spiritually, and fixed the 
searching eye of the mind upon its profounder interpretation ? 
Has the sense of what has been said been caught by you ? Or 
possibly has the word, after having rung in your hearing, 
flown away, and nothing settled there that would be to your 
profit. But as I imagine, in that ye are believers, and love in 
struction, the Saviour illumineth your understanding. For He 
it is " Who revealeth the deep things of darkness, and putteth i Cor. iv. 5, 
" the light of understanding in the hearts of those that love 
" Him. 1 

The two parables then that follow close upon one another 
depict to us an image of the divine gentleness, being both of 



496 COMMENTARY UPON 

similar meaning, and, so to say, at concord with one another. 
But the senseless Jew is openly reproved, for refusing in every 
way to understand the great and profound mystery of the In 
carnation. From him ife was completely hidden, that God the 

Johniii.i7. Father sent the Son from heaven, not " to judge the world/ 
as He Himself declares, but that the world might be saved 
through Him. In what manner then was it fitting for the world 
to be saved, which had been caught in the meshes of sin, 
and proved guilty of the charge of wickedness, and that was 
subject to a cruel tyrant, even Satan? Was it by demanding 
of it punishment, for having fallen into transgression and sin ? 
Or was it not rather by helping it, in that God is long-suf 
fering, and ready, so to speak, to cover over in forgetfulness 
those things wherein man had transgressed, and to renew unto 
holiness of life those who knew not how to live uprightly ? 

Tell me therefore, Pharisee, why tliou murmur est, because 
Christ disdained not to be with publicans and sinners, but pur 
posely provided for them this means of salvation ? To save 
men lie yielded Himself to emptiness, and became in fashion 
like unto us, and clothed Himself in human poverty. And dost 
thou then blame the dispensation of the Only-begotten in the 
flesh ? Dost thou find fault with His humbling Himself from 
above in heaven, Who transcends all ? Nay, leavest thou not 
the very Incarnation without censure ? And yet the holy pro 
phets wondered at the beautiful skill of the mystery. For the 

Ps. xlvii. 7. prophet David in the Psalms declares, " Sing ye with under- 
" standing : God hath set a King over all the nations/ 1 And 

Hab. iii. 2. the prophet Habakkuk says, " That he heard His hearing, 
" and was afraid : and that he considered also His doings, and 
" was astonished." How therefore art thou not ashamed of 
blaming those things which thou oughtest to have admired \ 
Wouldest thou have the Lord of all stern and inexorable, or 
good rather and kind to men? The family upon earth had 
gone astray : it had wandered from the hand of the chief shep 
herd : and therefore He Who feedeth the flocks above in hea 
ven, became like unto us, that He might make us also dwell in 
His folds : that He might unite us to those who had never 
gone astray, and drive from us the beast of prey, and ward off 
like some impious band of robbers those impure demons, who 
had led astray all beneath the sky. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 497 

He sought therefore that which was lost : and, to shew that 
the Jewish fault-finding on this account was vain, He saith 
unto them, " What man of you having a hundred sheep, and 

having lost one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine 

in the wilderness, and go to seek that which is lost. And if it 
" chance to be found, he rejoiceth in it, He saith, more than 
" in those that went not astray." Understand from this, my 
beloved, the wide extent of the Saviour s kingdom, and the 
multitude past numbering of His subjects, and the skilful 
plan of the dispensation to usward. For the sheep, He says, 
are a hundred, so making the number of His subjects mount 
up to a multitude complete and altogether perfect. For con 
stantly, so to speak, a hundred is a perfect number, being 
composed of ten times ten. 1 And we have learnt also from the 
divinely-inspired Scripture, that a " thousand thousands min- Dan.vii.io. 
" ister to God, and ten thousand times ten thousand stand 

around His lofty throne." The sheep therefore are a hun 
dred : and of them one has gone astray, even the family upon 
earth ; which also the chief Shepherd of all sought, having left 
in the wilderness k those ninety and nine. Was it therefore 
because He had no regard for the many, that mercy was 
shewn to the one only ? No ! not because He had no regard 
for them ; that were impossible : but because they are in se 
curity, guarded by His Almighty hand. It was right therefore 
that mercy should rather be shewn to that which was lost, that 
evidently nothing might be wanting to that other multitude, 
but the one being restored thereto, the hundred might regain 
its beauty. 

The search therefore after that which was lost was no act of 
contempt towards those who had not erred, but one of grace 
and mercy and love to mankind fit for the supreme and trans 
cendent nature to bestow on His fallen creatures. 

For come, and let us examine the matter by the help also of 
another example, in order that we may at all times defend the 
incomparable gentleness of Christ, the Saviour of us all. For 
let it be supposed that in one house there are many inmates, of 

1 Compare what is said on c. xii. here in Mai, explaining the wilder- 

32. " ness as that lofty and heavenly 

k A single line is interpolated " region which is full of serenity." 



498 COMMENTARY UPON 

whom it so chances that one falls ill. For whom then are those 
skilled in healing summoned ? Is it riot for him only who has 
fallen ill ? But it is not through any disregard of the many, 
that those who have been called in to heal attend only to him 
who is sick, and give him the benefit of their skill, as the time 
and his need require. In like manner therefore it was worthy, 
right worthy of God, Who ruleth over all, to stretch out His 
saving hand to that which had gone astray. The wild beast 
had seized it: it had led the family upon earth astray from the 
pasture, and had hurried it into all misery. The chief Shepherd 
saved it : for He sought that which had wandered, and has 
established for us a fold, unassailable and impregnable against 
wild beasts and robbers, even the Church ; in admiration of 
Is. xxvi. r. which we may say, in the words of the prophet, " Behold, we 
" have a strong and secure city : He will place (for us) a wall 
" and rampart." 

And the sense of the parable which immediately follows is 
exactly similar, in which, He says, that a woman who had 
ten drachms lost one of them, and having lit a lamp and 
found it, rejoiced greatly therein, and made it a reason for 
special joy. By the former parable therefore, in which the 
wandering sheep signified the family upon earth, we learnt, 
that we are the property of God over all, in that He it is Who 
brought into existence those things which previously had no 
Ps. c. 3. existence. For " He made us, and not we ourselves," as it is 
Ps. xcv. 7. written. And " He is our God, and we are the people of His 
" pasture, and the sheep of His hand." And by this second 
parable, in which that which was lost is compared to a drachma, i 
and that again as one out of ten, that is of a perfect number, j 
and of a sum complete in the reckoning ; for the number ten 
also is perfect, being the close of the series from the unit up- 
wards ; it is clearly shewn, that we are in the royal likeness 
and image, even that of God over all. For the drachma is, I 
suppose, the denarius, 1 on which is stamped the royal likeness. 

1 The Greek has simply i/d/ua^a, gold coin a dinar, i. e. denarius. 

a coin j and possibly the Syriac As the denarius and drachma were, 

meant nothing more by calling it a however, really equivalent in value, 

denarius; for the use of Roman I have retained the Syriac ren- 

money was so general in the East, dering. 
that to this day the Arabs call their 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 499 

That we then who had fallen, and, so to speak, been lost, have 
been found by Christ, and transformed by holiness and right 
eousness into His image, how can any one doubt, when the 
blessed Paul has thus written, "But we all, with open face 2Cor.iii.i8. 
" beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are changed 
" ij^JkfJ^ 16 a S e J fr m gl oi y to glory, as of the Lord the 
" Spirit." And he sends to the Galatians also in these words, 
" My children, of whom I arn again in travail, until Christ is Gal. iv. 19. 
" formed in you." 

A search then was made for that which had fallen, for which 
purpose the woman lighted a lamp. For we were found, as I 
said, by the wisdom of God the Father, Which is the Son, 
when the divine and intellectual light shone upon us, and the 
sun arose, and " the day star ascended, and the day dawned," 2 Pet. i.rp. 
according to the Scripture. For God also has somewhere said 
by one of the holy prophets of Christ the Saviour of us all, 
" My righteousness quickly approacheth, and My mercy to be Is. Ixii. i. 
" revealed, and My salvation shall burn as a lamp." And He 
saith of Himself, at one time, " I am the light of the world :" John viii. 
and again at another, " I am come a light into this world : he 
" that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall 
" possess the light of life." By the light therefore that which 
was lost is saved, and there was joy thereby to the powers 
above. For they rejoice even in one sinner that repenteth, as 
He hath taught us Who knoweth all things. If they then 
keep festival over one who is saved, in unison altogether with 
the divine purpose, and laud with never-ceasing praises the 
Saviour s gentleness, with how great joy must they be filled, 
when all beneath the heaven is saved, and called by faith in 
Christ to the acknowledgment of the truth, having put off the 
pollutions of sin, and loosed its neck from the bonds of death, 
and escaped from blame, even the blame of its wandering and 
fall ! For all these things we gain in Christ : by Whom, and 
with Whom, to God the Father be praise and dominion with 
the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever, Amen. 



500 



COMMENTARY UPON 



SERMON CVII. 



C. xv. n- 
32. 

6 & BS. 
K al GTs. 



vai e/c B. 



Koi\iav Q.V- 
TOV airb 
GSTs. 



om. KO.} 
BGT. 



om. Kal BT, 
add. Trofy- 

(T&V /At US 

fva TU>V IJLL- 



om. TO.-XV 
GTs. 

<j)fpT BT. 



GSs. 



6 oi)V TTO.T. 

GSs. 

6 5e IT. BT. 



And He said, A certain man had two sons : and the younger 
of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of 
thy goods that cometh to me. And he divided unto them 
his substance. And not many days after, the younger son 
gathered every thing together, and journeyed into a far 
country, and there scattered his goods by riotous living. 
And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in 
that land, and he began to be in want* And he went and 
joined himself to a citizen of that country, who sent Mm 
into his fields to feed swine. And he desired to fill 
his belly with the husks which the swine were eating : 
and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, 
lie said, How many hired servants of my father have bread 
in abundance, and I perish here with hunger. I will arise 
and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have 
sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more 
worthy to be called thy son : make me as one of thy hired 
servants. And he arose and went to his father. And while 
he ivas yet a great way of, his father saw him, and his 
bowels yearned, and he ran and fell on his neck, and kissed 
him. And his son said unto him, My father. I have sinned 
against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to 
be called thy son. But his father said to his servants, 
Bring forth quickly the chief robe, and clothe him : and 
put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring 
the fatted calf, and kill it, and we will eat, and be merry : 
for this my son was dead, and is alive : and was lost, and 
is found. And they began to be merry. Now his elder son 
was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the 
house, he heard the sound of music and rejoicing. And he 
called one of the servants, and asked him what these things 
meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come, and 
thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath re 
ceived him sound. And he was angry, and would not go 
in : therefore came his father out, and besought him. But 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 501 

he answered and said to his father, Lo ! all these years do om. avrov 
I serve thee, and never have transgressed thy command 
ment, and thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make 
merry with my friends. But when this thy son, ivho hath 
eaten up thy wealth with harlots, is come, thou hast killed 
for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, My son, 
thou art ever with me : and all that is mine is thine. But 
it was fitting to make merry and be glad : for this thy 
brother was dead, and is alive : and was lost, and is 
found. 

I HEAR one of the holy prophets trying to win unto 
repentance those who are far from God, and saying, " Re- Hos. xiv.r. 
" turn, Israel, to the Lord thy God : for thou hast become 
" weak in thy iniquity. Take with you words, and return to 
" the Lord our God." What sort of words then did he, under 
the influence of the Spirit, command them to take with them ? 
Or were they not such as become those who wish to repent ; 
such namely, as would appease God. Who is gentle, and loveth 
mercy. For He even said by one of the holy prophets, " Re- j e r. iii. 11. 
" turn ye returning children, and I will heal your breaches." 
And yet again by the voice of Ezekiel, " Return ye altogether EZ. xviii. 
" from your wickednesses, house of Israel. Cast away from 3 - 
" you all your iniquities which ye have committed, that they be 
" not to you for a punishment of iniquity. For I have no 
" pleasure in the death of the sinner, as that he should turn 
" from his evil way and live." And the same truth Christ here 
also teaches us, by this most beautifully composed parable, which 
I will now to the best of my ability endeavour to discuss, briefly 
gathering up its broad statements, and explaining and defend 
ing the ideas which it contains. 

It is the opinion then of some, that by the two sons are sig 
nified the holy angels, and we the dwellers upon earth : and 
that the elder one, who lived soberly, represents the company 
of the holy angels, while the younger and profligate son is the 
human race. And there are some among us who give it a dif 
ferent explanation, arguing that by the elder and well con 
ducted son is signified Israel after the flesh : while by the 
other, whose choice it was to live in the lust of pleasures, and 
who removed far from his father, is depicted the company of 



502 COMMENTARY UPON 

the Gentiles. With these explanations I do not agree : but I 
would have him who loveth instruction, search after that which is 

Prov. ix. 9 . true and unobjectionable. What then I say is as follows, " giving 
" occasions to the wise, and to the just offering knowledge," as 
Scripture commands : for they will examine for a fitting meaning 
the explanations proposed to them. If then we refer the up 
right son to the person of the holy angels, we do not find him 
speaking such words as become them, nor sharing their feelings 
towards repentant sinners, who turn from an impure life to 
that conduct which is worthy of admiration. For the Saviour 

Luke xv. 7 . of all and Lord saith, that "there is joy in heaven before the 
" holy angels over one sinner that repenteth." But the son, 
who is described to us in the present parable as being accept 
able unto his father, and leading a blameless life, is represented 
as being angry, and as even having proceeded so far in his 
unloving sentiments as to find fault with his father for his 
natural affection for him who was saved. " For he would not, 
" it says, go into the house," being vexed at the reception of 
the penitent almost before he had come to his senses, and be 
cause there had even been slain the calf in his honour, and his 
father had made for him a feast. But this, as 1 said, is at 
variance with the feelings of the holy angels : for they rejoice 
and praise God when they see the inhabitants of the earth 
being saved. For so when the Son submitted to be born in 
the flesh of a woman at Bethlehem, they carried the joyful 

Luke H. 10. news to the shepherds, saying, "Fear ye not: for behold I 
" bring you glad tidings of great joy that shall be to all the 
" people, that there is born to you today in the city of David 
" a Saviour Who is Christ the Lord." And crowning with 
lauds and praises Him Who was born, they said, " Glory to 
" God in the highest, and upon earth peace, and among men 
" good-will." 

But if any one say, that Israel according to the flesh is 
meant by the virtuous and sober son, we are again prevented 
from assenting to this opinion by the fact, that in no way what 
soever is it fitting to say of Israel that he chose a blameless 
life. For throughout the whole of the inspired Scripture, so 
to say, we may see them accused of being rebels and dis 
obedient. For they were told by the voice of Jeremiah, 

Jer. ii. 5. " What fault have your fathers found in Me, that they have 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 503 

14 wandered tar from Me, and have gone after vanities, and 
" become vain ? " And in similar terms God somewhere spake 
by the voice of Isaiah, " This people draweth near unto Me ; is. 
" with their lips they honour Me, but their heart is very far J 3- 
" from Me : but in vain do they fear Me, teaching as doctrines 
the commandments of men."" And how then can any one apply 
to those who are thus blamed the words used in the parable of 
the virtuous and sober son ? For he said, " Lo ! all these years 
" do I serve thee, and never have I transgressed thy com- 
" mandment." But they would not have been blamed for their 
mode of life, had it not been that transgressing the divine 
commandments, they betook themselves to a careless and pol 
luted mode of life. 

And yet again, for I think it right to mention this also, 
some would refer to the person of our Saviour that fatted calf 
which the father killed when his son was called m unto con 
version. But how then could the virtuous son, who is described 
as wise and prudent, and constant in his duty, and whom some 
even refer to the person of the holy angels, treat it as a reason 
for anger and vexation that the calf was slain ? For one can 
find no proof of the powers above being grieved when Christ 
endured death in the flesh, and, so to speak, was slain in our 
behalf. Rather they rejoiced, as I said, in seeing the world 
saved by His holy blood. And what reason too had the vir 
tuous son for saying " thou never gavest me a kid." For what 
blessing is wanting to the holy angels, inasmuch as the Lord 
of all has bestowed upon them with bounteous hand a plentiful 
supply of spiritual gifts? Or of what sacrifice stood they in 
need as regards their own state ? For there was no necessity 
for the Emmanuel to suffer also in their behalf. But if any 
one imagine, as I have already said before, that the carnal 
Israel is meant by the virtuous and sober son, how can he say 
with truth " thou never gavest me a kid ? " For whether we 
call it calf or kid, Christ is to be understood as the sacri 
fice offered for sin. But He was sacrificed, not for the Gen 
tiles only, but that He might also redeem Israel, who by reason 
of his frequent transgression of the law had brought upon 

m For KfKXi/jifvov, which Mai has, the Syriac must have read 

fJLfVOV. 



504 COMMENTARY UPON 

himself great blame. And the wise Paul bears witness to this, 
Heb. xiii. saying, " For this reason Jesus" also, that He might sanctify 
" the people by His blood, suffered outside the gate." 

What then is the object of the parable ? Let us examine the 
occasion which led to it ; for so we shall learn the truth. The 
blessed Luke therefore had himself said a little before of Christ 
Luke xv. i. the Saviour of us all, "And all the publicans and sinners drew 
" near unto Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and Scribes 
" murmured saying. This man receiveth sinners and eateth 
" with them." As therefore the Pharisees and Scribes made 
this outcry at His gentleness and love to man, and wickedly 
and impiously blamed Him for receiving and teaching men 
whose lives were impure, Christ very necessarily set before 
them the present parable, to shew them clearly this very 
thing, that the God of all requires even him who is thoroughly 
steadfast, and firm, and who knows how to live holily, and has 
attained to the highest praise for sobriety .of conduct, to be 
earnest in following His will, so that when any are called unto 
repentance, even if they be men highly blameable, he must 
rejoice rather, and not give way to an unloving vexation on 
their account. 

For we also sometimes experience something of this sort. 
For some there are who live a perfectly honourable and con 
sistent life, practising every kind of virtuous action, and ab 
staining from every thing disapproved by the law of God, 
and crowning themselves with perfect praises in the sight of 
God and of men : while another is perhaps weak and trodden 
down, and humbled unto every kind of wickedness, guilty of 
base deeds, loving impurity, given to covetousness, and stained 
with all evil. And yet such a one often in old age turns unto 
God, and asks the forgiveness of his former offences : he prays 
for mercy, and putting away from him his readiness to fall 
into sin, sets his affection on virtuous deeds. Or even per 
haps when about to close his mortal life, he is admitted to 
divine baptism, and puts away his offences, God being merciful 
unto him. And perhaps sometimes persons are indignant at 

n Mai, who has extracted this in this place : the Syriac translator 
passage from two of his codices, A however must have found the ordi- 
and E, says that they both read vlos nary reading I^o-oOs in his copy. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 505 

this, and even say, This man, who has been guilty of such 
and such actions, and has spoken such and such words, has 
not paid unto the judge the retribution of his conduct, but 
has been counted worthy of a grace thus noble and ad- 
mirable : he has been inscribed among the sons of God, and 
f honoured with the glory of the saints/ Such complaints 
men sometimes give utterance too from an empty narrowness 
of mind, not conforming to the purpose of the universal 
Father. For He greatly rejoices when He sees those who 
were lost obtaining salvation, and raises them up again to that 
which they were in the beginning, giving them the dress of 
freedom, and adorning them with the chief robe, and putting a 
ring upon their hand, even the orderly behaviour which is 
pleasing to God and suitable to the free. 

It is our duty, therefore, to conform ourselves to that which 
God wills : for He heals those who are sick ; He raises those 
who are fallen ; He gives a helping hand to those who have 
stumbled ; He brings back him who has wandered ; He forms 
anew unto a praiseworthy and blameless life those who were 
wallowing in the mire of sin ; He seeks those who were lost ; 
He raises as from the dead those who had suffered the spiritual 
death. Let us also rejoice : let us, in company with the holy 
angels, praise Him as being good, and loving unto men ; as 
gentle, and not remembering evil. For if such is our state of 
mind, Christ will receive us, by Whom and with Whom, to 
God the Father be praise and dominion with the Holy Ghost, 
for ever and ever, Amen. 



Mai not only contains the only placed here conjecturally, be- 
whole of the above homily, with the ing taken from a catena upon the 
exception of the first and last para- prophets : it does, however, belong 
graphs, but also very considerable to the commentary elsewhere. And 
collections besides : of these, how- the rest are short extracts, gathered 
ever, the first (p. 341.) is cited by possibly from S. Cyril s other works, 
Macarius expressly from Cyril on with the exception of that from E. 
the Psalms, and is retained by Mai f. 238, which belongs to the corn- 
here, simply " quia psalmus ad mentary on the Lord s Prayer, and 
" quern pertinet non nominatur." is given by Mai iisdem verbis in 
The second, (p. 345.) similarly is p. 262. 



3 T 



506 



COMMENTARY UPON 



C. xvi. 1-9. 

om. Kal S. 
om. avTov 
BT. 



om. K 
GTs. 



6 5^ BST. 
Kal GJ. 
TO ypd/j./j.a- 
TaBT. 

om. /cat BT. 

ra ypd/j.fj.a- 
ra BT. 



Gs. 



John viii. 

12. 

Johnxii.46, 



SERMON CVIII. 

And He said unto His disciples, There was a certain rich 
man, who had a steward, and they accused him of scat 
tering his goods. And he called him, and said unto him, 
What is this that I hear of thee ? Give up the account of 
thy stewardship : for thou canst be no longer steward. 
And the steward said within himself, What shall I do, for 
my lord taketh away from me the stewardship ? I cannot 
dig : and to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved ivhat to do, 
that when I am removed from the stewardship, they may 
receive me into their houses, So he called each one of his 
lord s debtors, and said unto the first ; How much owest 
thou unto my lord? And he said, A hundred baths of 
oil. And he said unto him, Take thy writing, and sit 
down, and write fifty quickly. And aftenuards he spake 
to the second, And how much owest thou ? And he said, 
A hundred corsv of wheat. And he said unto him, Take 
thy writing, and write eighty. And the lord praised the 
unjust steward, because he had done wisely : for the chil 
dren of this world are wise in their generation more than 
the children of light. And I say unto you, Make for your 
selves friends of the unrighteous mammon : that when it 
has failed*! they may receive you into eternal tabernacles. 

OUR Lord Jesus Christ, revealing His glory to the Jewish 
multitudes, or rather to all those who have believed on Him, 
said ; " I am the light of the world :" and again, " I am come 
" a light into this world." For He fills the mind of those who^ 
fear Him with a divine and intellectual light, that they may 



P The bath contained about se 
ven gallons and a balf : while the 
cor was equal to ten baths. 

1 In the text the diacritic mark, 
which distinguishes the perfect from 
the present tense, is wanting; but 
in the quotation in the next sermon 
it is added : similarly the Peschito 



also has the equivalent for e /cAnn;, and 
so has the Philox. in the margin, and 
in the text Ai7n?rf . Their authoritj 
therefore is entirely in favour of tl 
past tense, as is also that of Barsa- 
libi, who reads in the text 
and in the margin Lxl>j. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 507 

not wander from the right way by walking in gloom and dark 
ness ; but may rather know how to advance uprightly in every 
good work, and in whatsoever aids a man in leading a saintly 
life. He would have us therefore to be good, and ready to 
communicate, loving one another, and merciful, and adorned 
with the honours of charity. Most wisely therefore did He 
prepare for us the present parable : which we being anxious 
to explain to the best of our ability, of necessity speak as fol 
lows to those who love instruction. 

The parables then indirectly and figuratively explain to us 
much that is for our edification, provided only we consider 
their meaning in a brief and summary manner. For we are 
not to search into all the parts of the ^ parable in a subtil and 
prying way, lest the argument by its immoderate length weary 
with superfluous matter even those most fond of hearing, and 
tire men with a crowd of words. For if, for instance, any 
one were to undertake to explain, who is to be regarded 
by us as the man who had a steward, who was accused 
unto him ; or who possibly it is that accused him ; and who 
too those are who owed the debts, and subtracted a portion 
from them ; and for what reason one is said to have owed oil, 
and the other wheat ; he will render his discourse at once ob 
scure and redundant. All the parts of the parable therefore 
are not necessarily and in every respect useful for the expla 
nation of the things signified, but, so to speak, have been 
taken to form an image of some important matter, which 
figuratively sets forth some lesson for the profit of the 
hearers. 

The sense therefore of the present parable is something like 
the following : " The God of all willeth that all men should be i Tim. ii. 4 , 
" saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth." For this 
reason " He also gave the law for a help," according to the L S . viii. 20. 
expression of the prophet. And the law in such passages we 
say means, not of course that which was ministered by Moses, 
but rather the whole inspired Scripture, by means of which 
we learn the path which leads straight unto every good and 
saving thing. The Lord of all therefore requires us to be 
thoroughly constant in our exertions after virtue, and to fix 
our desires upon the better and holy life, setting ourselves free 

3 T 2 



508 COMMENTARY UPON 

from the distractions of the world,, and from all love of riches, 

and of the pleasure which wealth brings, that we may serve 

Him continually, and with undivided affections. For He also 

Ps. xlvi.io. says by the harp of the Psalmist; " Be constant/ and know 

" that I am God." And further, by His own mouth, the Sa- 

Luke xii. viour of all says to those who possess worldly riches, " Sell 

33- tt your possessions, and give alms : make for you purses that 

" grow not old : a treasure for ever, unfailing in heaven." 

Now the commandment is indeed for our salvation, but the 

mind of man is very weak, fixed constantly, so to speak, upon 

things which are of earth chiefly, and unwilling to withdraw 

itself from the delight of riches. It loves vain boasting ; is 

soothed much by the praises of flatterers ; longs for beautiful 

equipments, and counts nothing better than temporal honour. 

And knowing this, the Saviour has Himself somewhere said of 

Luke xviii. them, " How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the 

24f "kingdom of God!" And further, "that it is easier for a 

" camel to go through the eye of a needle, than a rich man 

" into the kingdom of God. 1 For as long as a man lives in 

wealth and pleasure, he is careless about piety to God. For 

wealth renders men contemptuous, and sows in the minds of 

those that possess it the seeds of all voluptuousness. 

Is there then no way of salvation for the rich, and no means 
of making them partakers of the hope of the saints ? Have 
they fallen completely from God s grace ? Is hell and the fire 
necessarily prepared for them, such as is the fitting lot of the 
devil and his angels ? Not so : for lo ! the Saviour has shewn 
them a means of salvation in the present parable. They have 
been entrusted with worldly wealth by the merciful permission 
of Almighty God : s according nevertheless to His intention 



r The Greek is o-^oXdo-are, which, " has given them this worldly 

however, frequently bears the sense " wealth : whereas according to 

given it by the Syriac translator, of "His intention they have been ap- 

devoting oneself entirely to some " pointed as stewards, &c." His 

object. next sentence is an interpolation, 

s Mai punctuates this sentence ascribing to Cyril a false etymology, 

so as to give it an entirely different " and they are called stewards, be- 

sense, and produce an antithesis " cause they distribute to every one 

between it and what follows; "they " his due," irapa r<a ra oi/ceia e*d- 

" feel sure that God in His mercy or vepctv. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 509 

they have been appointed stewards for the poor. But they 
discharge not their stewardship rightly, in that they scatter, 
so to speak, what has been given them of the Lord : for they 
waste it solely on their pleasures, and purchase temporal ho 
nours, not remembering God, Who says, "Thou shalt open Deut. xv. 8. 
" wide thy mercy unto thy brother, even to him that hath 
" need of thee." Nor moreover Christ Himself, the Saviour 
of us all, Who says, " Be ye merciful, even as your Father Lukevi.s6. 
" Who is in heaven is merciful/ But they, as I said, make 
no account whatsoever of shewing mercy to their brethren, 
but study only their own pride. And this it is which accuseth 
them before the Lord of all. And of course upon the approach 
of death they must cease from their stewardship, withdrawing 
them as it does from human aifairs. For the net of death no 
man can escape from. What therefore would Christ have them 
to do ? It is, that while they are yet in this world, if they are 
unwilling to divide all their wealth among the poor, that at 
least they should gain friends by a part of it ; and numerous 
witnesses to their charitableness, even those who have received 
well at their hands : that when their earthly wealth fails them, 
they may gain a place in their tabernacles. For it is impos 
sible for love to the poor ever to remain unrewarded. Whether 
therefore a man give away all his wealth, or but a part, he will 
certainly benefit his soul. 

It is an act therefore that becometh the saints, and is worthy 
of perfect praises, and that wins the crowns above, to set no 
store by earthly wealth, but distributing it among those that 
are in need, to gather rather that which is in heaven, and ob 
tain purses that grow not old, and possess a treasure that fail- 
eth not : and next in order comes the employment of a sort of 
artifice, so as to obtain those for friends who are especially 
near unto God, by giving them some portion of their wealth, 
and comforting the many who are afflicted with poverty, that 
so they may share what is theirs. And something of this sort 
the very wise Paul also advises, saying unto those who love 
wealth : " Let your abundance be for their want, that their 2 Cor. viii, 
" abundance also may be for your want." 

It is our duty therefore, if we are right-minded ; if we fix 
the eye of the mind on what will be hereafter; if we remember 



510 COMMENTARY UPON 

a Cor. v. io. the sacred Scripture, which says plainly, "that we shall all be 
" manifested before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one 
" may receive retribution for the things done by means of the 
" body, according to that he hath done, whether good or bad;" 
if we fear the cruel and unappeasable flame; to remember God, 
Who requires us to shew mercy upon the brethren, to suffer 
with those that are sick, to open our hand wide to those that 
are in need, and to honour the saints, of whom Christ says, 

Mat. x. 40. " He that receiveth you receiveth Me : and he that receiveth 
" Me, receiveth Him That sent Me/ For that mercy towards 
the brethren is not without profit and benefit, the Saviour 

Mat. x. 42. Himself teaches us, saying ; " Whosoever shall give only a 
" cup of cold [water] to drink in the name of a disciple, shall 
" not lose his reward." For the Saviour of all is bounteous in 
giving : 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. 511 



SERMON CIX. 

He that is faithful in little,*- is faithful also in much; and C. xvi. 
he that is unjust in little, is unjust also in much. If there- I3> 
fore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, 
who will give you the true ? And if ye have not been faith 
ful in that which is another s, who will give you that ivhich 
is your own ? No servant can serve two lords : for either 
he will hate the one, and love the other : or he will honour 
the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and 
mammon. 

THE most distinguished and experienced teachers, when 
they wish to fix any important doctrine deep in the minds of 
their disciples, omit no kind of reasoning able to throw light 
upon the chief object of their thoughts ; at one time weaving 
arguments together, at another employing apposite examples, 
and so gathering from every quarter whatever is b^rviceable 
for their use. And this we find Christ also, Who is the Giver 
unto us of all wisdom, doing in many places. For oftentimes 
He repeats the very same arguments upon the subject, what 
ever it may be, that the mind of those who hear may be led on 
to an exact understanding of His words. For look again, I 
pray, at the purport of the lessons set before us : for so thou 
wilt find our words to be true. " He that is faithful in little," 
He says, " is faithful also in much : and he that is unjust in 
" little, is unjust also in much." 

Before, however, I proceed further, I think it would be use 
ful to consider, what was the occasion of a discourse such as 
this, and from what root it sprung : for so the sense of what is 

* The Syriac, like the Semitic ancient times; for Clemens Rom. 

languages generally, possesses no says in his 2nd Ep. ad Cor. 8. Aeyet 

degrees of comparison ; and though 6 Kvptos ev T<3 et-ayyfX/o) ei TO ftt- 

occasionally it employs a periphrasis Kpov OVK cY^o-crre, TO /ne ya ris V/MV 

to express them, it more frequently Saxre t ; and Jacobson quotes there 

tieglects them altogether. There from Irenaeus, " Si in modico fide- 

^are, however, evident traces of the " les non fuistis, quod magnum est 

positive having been read in very " quis dabit vobis ? " 



COMMENTARY UPON 

said will become very evident. Christ then was teaching the 
rich to feel especial delight in shewing kindness to the poor, 
and in opening their hand to whoever are in need, so laying up 
treasures in heaven, and taking forethought for the riches that 
are in store. For He said, " Make for yourselves friends of 
" the unrighteous mammon : that when it has failed, they may 
" receive you into eternal tabernacles." But as being God by 
nature, He well knew the slothfulness of the human mind in 
every earnest and good work. It escaped not His knowledge, 
that men, in their greediness after wealth, giving up their 
mind to the love of lucre, and being tyrannized over by this 
passion, become hard-hearted and unsympathizing with afflic 
tion, and shew no kindness whatsoever to the poor, even 
though they have heaped up much wealth in their stores. 
That those therefore who are thus minded, have no share in 
God s spiritual gifts, He shews by most evident examples, 
and says, "He that is faithful in little, is faithful also in 
" much : and he that is unjust in little, is unjust also in 
" much/ Lord, explain unto us the meaning : open Thou 
the eye of our heart. Listen therefore while He explains 
clearly and exactly what He said. " If therefore ye have not 
" been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will give you 
" the true ?" The little therefore is the unrighteous mammon : 
that is, worldly wealth, gathered often by extortion and covet- 
ousness. But those who know how to live virtuously, and 
thirst after the hope that is in store, and withdraw their mind 
from earthly things, and think rather of those things that are 
above, utterly disregard earthly wealth ; for it offers nothing 
but pleasures, and voluptuousness, and base carnal lusts, and 
splendour that profiteth not, but is transitory and vain. And 

iJolmii.i6. so one of the holy apostles teaches us, saying, " That all that is 
* in the world is the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, 
" and the pride of the world." But such things as these are 
absolutely nothing to those who lead a sober and virtuous life : 
for they are trifling, and temporary, and full of impurity, and 
provocative of the fire and judgment, and scarcely reaching to 
the end of the life of the body, even if they do not, when as.ny 
danger suddenly befalls those that possess them, unexpectedly de 
part away. Christ s disciple therefore rebukes the rich, saying^ 

James v. i. " Come now, ye rich men, weep, and lament over the miseries * 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 513 

ft 

" that arc coming upon you. Your wealth is decayed, your 
" garments are motheaten. Your gold and your silver are 
<( rusted, and the rust of them shall be your testimony." How 
then are the gold and silver rusted ? By being stored up in 
excessive abundance; and this very thing is the witness against 
them before the divine judgment seat, of their being unmer 
ciful. For having gathered into their treasuries a great and 
unnecessary abundance, they made no account of those who 
were in need, although it was in their power, had they so 
wished, to do good easily to many ; but they were not " faith- 
" ful in the little." 

But in what way men may become faithful, the Saviour 
Himself next taught us : and I will explain how. A certain 
Pharisee besought Him to eat bread with him on the sabbath 
day, and Christ consented: and having gone there, He sat 
down to meat : and there were many others also feasting with 
them. And none of them by any means resembled men who 
possessed nothing, but, on the contrary, they were all persons 
of distinction, and great haughtiness, and lovers of the fore 
most seats, and thirsting after vainglory, being clothed as it 
were in the pride of wealth. What then said Christ to His 
inviter? "When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not Luke xiv. 
thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy r2 - 
rich neighbours, lest they also invite thee again, and a re- 
" compense be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call 
" the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind. And thou 
" shalt be blessed, because they cannot recompense thee ; for 
" thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just." 
This then I think is a man s being faithful in little, that he 
have pity upon those who arc in need, and distribute assistance 
from his means to such as are in extreme distress. But we, 
despising a way thus glorious and sure of reward, choose one 
dishonourable and without reward, by treating with contempt 
those who are in utter poverty, and refusing even sometimes 
to admit their words into our ears ; while, on the other hand, 
we luxuriously provide a costly table, either for friends who 
live in pomp, or for those whose habit it is to praise and 
flatter, making our bounty an occasion for indulging our love 
of praise. But this was not God s purpose in permitting us to 
possess wealth. If therefore we are unfaithful in the little, by 



514 COMMENTARY UPON 



not conforming ourselves to the will of God, and bestow the best 
portion of ourselves upon our pleasures and our boasts, how can s 
we receive from Him that which is true ? And what is this ? 
The abundant bestowal of those divine gifts which adorn man s 
soul, and form in it a godlike beauty. This is the spiritual 
wealth, not that fattens the flesh, which is held by death, but 
rather that saves the soul, and makes it worthy of emulation, 
and honourable before Gocl, and that wins for it true praises. 

It is our duty therefore to be faithful unto God, pure in 
heart, merciful and kind, just and holy : for these things im 
print in us the outlines of the divine likeness, and perfect us as 
heirs of eternal life. And this then is that which is true. 

And that this is the purport and view of the Saviour s words, 
any one may readily learn from what follows. For He said, 
" If ye have not been faithful in that which is another s, who 
" will give you that which is your own 1 " And again, we 
say that which is another s is the wealth we possess. For we 
were not born with riches, but, on the contrary, naked ; and 

i Tim. vi. 7. can truly affirm in the words of Scripture, "that we neither 
" brought anything into the world, nor can carry anything 
" out. For the patient Job also has said something of this 

Job i. 21. kind: "Naked was I born from my mother s womb; naked 
" also shall I go onwards." It is therefore no man s own by 
rio-ht of nature that he is rich, and lives in abundant wealth : 

CD 

but it is a thing added on from without, and is a chance mat 
ter ; and if it cease and perish, it in no respect whatsoever 
harms the definitions of human nature. For it is not by 
virtue of our being rich that we are reasonable beings, and 
skilful in every good work : but it is the property of our nature 
to be capable of these things. That therefore, as I said, is i 
another s which is not contained in the definitions of our nature, j 
but, on the contrary, is manifestly added to us from without, i 
But it is our own, and the property of human nature to be 
fitted for every good work: for as the blessed Paul writes,; 
Eph.ii. 10. " We have been created unto good works, which God hath) 
" before prepared, that we should walk in them." 

When therefore any are unfaithful in that which is another s, , 
in those things namely, which are added unto them from with-, 
out, how shall they receive that which is their own? How, that! 
is, shall they be made partakers of the good things which God 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 515 

gives, which adorn the soul of man, and imprint upon it a 
divine beauty, spiritually formed in it by righteousness and 
holiness,, and those upright deeds which are done in the fear of 
God. 

Let such of us then as possess earthly wealth open our 
hearts to those who are in need ; let us shew ourselves faithful 
and obedient to the laws of God, and followers of our Lord s 
will in those things which are from without, and not our own, 
that we may receive that which is our own, even that holy and 
admirable beauty which God forms in the souls of men, fashion 
ing them like unto Himself, according to what we originally 



were. 



And that it is a thing impossible for one and the same person 
to divide himself between contraries, and still be able to live 
blamelessly, He shews by saying, "No man can serve two 
" lords : for either he will hate the one, and love the other, 
" or lie will honour the one, and despise the other." And this 
indeed is a plain and evident example, and very suitable for 
the elucidation of the subject before us. For that which 
follows is, so to speak, the conclusion of the whole argu 
ment: "for ye cannot serve God and mammon." For if, He 
says, a man be a slave of two masters, of diverse and contrary 
wills, and whose minds are irreconcilable with one another, 
how can he please them both ? For being divided in 
endeavouring to do that which each one approves, he is in 
opposition to the will of both : and so the same person must 
inevitably appear bad and good. If therefore, He says, he 
determine to be true to the one, he will hate the other, and set 
him of course at nought. It is not therefore possible to serve 
God and mammon. For the unrighteous mammon, by which 
wealth is signified, is a thing given up to voluptuousness, and 
liable to every reproach, engendering boasting, and the love of 
pleasure, making men stiffnecked, the friends of the wicked, 
and contemptuous : yea, what base vice doth it not produce in 
them that possess it ? 

But the goodwill of God renders men gentle, and quiet, and 
lowly in their thoughts; longsuffering, and merciful, and of 
exemplary patience, not loving lucre, nor desirous of wealth, 
content with food only and raiment, and especially fleeing from 
" the love of money, which is the root of all evils:" joyfully T Tim - vi - 

3 u 3 



516 COMMENTARY UPON 

undertaking toils for piety s sake; fleeing from the love of 
pleasure, and earnestly shunning all feeling of wearisomeness 
in good works, while constantly they value, as that which wins 
them reward, the endeavour to live uprightly, and the practice 
of all soberness. This is that which is our own, and the true. 
This God will bestow on those who love poverty, and know how 
to distribute to those who are in need that which is another s, 
and comes from without, even their wealth, which also has the 
name of mammon. 

May it then be far from the mind of each of us to be its 
slaves, that so we may freely and without hindrance bow the 
neck of our mind to Christ the Saviour of us all ; 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. 517 



SERMON CX. 

And the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these C. xvi. 14. 
things, and they derided Him. And He said unto them, Ye 17> 
are they who justify yourselves before men, but God knoiv- 
eth your hearts : for that which is high among men, is an 
abomination before God. The law and the prophets until P tov B. 
John: thenceforth the kingdom of God is preached, and ldd " < * Wfl 
every one taketh it by force. And it is easier for heaven 
and earth to pass away, than for one point" of the laiv to 
fall. 

THE love of money, my brethren, is a most wicked passion, 
and not easy to abandon. For when Satan has planted this 
malady in a man s soul, he next proceeds to blind him, nor 
does he permit him to listen to the words of exhortation, lest 
there be found for us a way of healing, able to save from 
misery those who are ensnared thereby. And observe again, 
I pray, how true my words upon this subject are from the 
instance even of the Pharisees. For they were lovers of riches, 
and enamoured of gain, and regarded a bare sufficiency with 
contempt. For even, so to speak, throughout the whole of the 
divinely inspired Scripture, one may see them blamed on this 
very account. For it is said by the voice of Isaiah to the 
mother ^of the Jews, I mean, Jerusalem, " Thy princes are is. i. 23. 
" rebellious, the partners of thieves : loving bribes, pursuing 
" after reward : they judge not the fatherless, neither do they 
" regard the widow s suit." And the prophet Ilabbakuk also 
said, " How long, Lord, shall I cry unto thee, and Thou wilt Hab. i. a . 
" not hear ? and shout unto Thee, being oppressed, and Thou 
" wilt not deliver? Judgment is before me, and the judge hath 
" taken a bribe : therefore is the law of none avail, and judg- 
" ment cometh not forth unto completion : for the wicked pre- 
" vaileth over the righteous, therefore doth judgment come 
" forth perverted." For as being lovers, as I said, of lucre, 
they repeatedly gave judgment on the matters before them, 

u By I^JJB, apex, Gr. Kcpaia, is Hebrew letter, namely, the > in 
meant the smallest portion of a r, to, b, &c. 



518 COMMENTARY UPON 

not according to what was agreeable to the laws of God, but, 
on the contrary, iniquitously, and in opposition to God s will. 
Moreover, the Saviour Himself rebuked them, thus saying, 

Mat. xxiii. " Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites : who tithe 

23 " anise, and mint, and cummin ; and have omitted the weightier 

" matters of the law, judgment, mercy and faith." For as the 
law had set apart for them the right of receiving tithes of every 
one, they extended the exactness of the search after them 
down to the most insignificant vegetables, while they made but 
slight account of the weightier matters of the law, that is, of 
those commandments which were of necessary obligation and 
for men s good. 

" Because therefore the Pharisees, it says, were lovers of 
" money, they derided Jesus," for directing them by His salu 
tary doctrines to a praiseworthy course of conduct, and ren 
dering them desirous of saintly glories. For it was their duty, 
He tells them, to sell their possessions, and make distribution 
to the poor ; so would they possess in heaven a treasure that 
could not be plundered, and purses that could not be harmed, 
and wealth that would not have to be abandoned. And why then 
did they deride Him ? For certainly the doctrine was salutary, 
a pathway of hope in things to come, and a door leading unto 
the life incorruptible : for they were being taught by Him the 
manners of true prosperity, and learning how they must seize 
the crown of the heavenly calling ; how too they might become 
partakers with the saints, and children of the city that is above, 
the Jerusalem which is in heaven, and which is truly free, and 

Gal. iv. 26. the mother of the free. For as the blessed Paul writes, " Je- 
" rusalem, which is our mother and is above, is free." And 
why then did they mock Him ? 

Let us see the cause of their wickedness. The passion of 
avarice had possession of their heart, and their mind being 
tyrannized over by it was in subjection even against its will ; 
humbled under the power of wickedness, and bound as it were 
by inevitable bonds. For so the writer of Proverbs somewhere 

Prov.v. 22. says, "that every man is bound by the cords of his sins." 
For as the more virulent diseases of the body do not admit of 
the remedies of medicine, and flee away as it were from heal 
ing ; and if any one apply that which is naturally adapted to 
do good, are irritated the more, and grow angry, however 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 519 

gently treated by the art : so also those passions to which the 
souls of men are liable, are sometimes obdurate, and refuse to 
listen to admonition, and will not hear a single word that sum 
mons them to depart from evil, and directs them into a better 
course. And as horses that are hard-mouthed and unmanage 
able, and excessively spirited will not obey the reins ; so also 
the mind of man when under the influence of passion, and 
thoroughly inclined to turn aside unto evil, is disobedient and 
intractable, and rejects with hatred the being healed. 

When therefore the Saviour of all had expended upon them 
many words, but saw that they would not change from their 
crafty purposes and passions, but preferred rather to abide in 
their innate folly, He betakes Himself at length to sterner re 
proofs, the very occasion calling them thereto. He shews there 
fore that they are hypocrites, and licrs in wait among the al 
tars x , and eager after the glory due to righteous and good men, 
without being such in reality : not being in earnest in meriting 
the approval of God, but hunting on the contrary eagerly after 
the honours which come from men. He said therefore, " Ye are 
" they which justify yourselves before men ; but God knoweth 
" your hearts: for that which is high among men, is an abomi- 
" nation before God." This He is found also in another place 
saying unto them ; " How can ye believe, who receive honour John v. 44. 
" one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from 
" the one God." For the God of all crowns with praises unto 
righteousness those who arc truly good : but those who love 
not virtue, but are hypocrites, steal perchance by their own 
votes solely the reputation of being honourable. But no one, 
worthy sirs, some perchance may say, crowns himself; and 
the man is justly ridiculed, who devises praises for himself: 
for it is written, " Let thy neighbour praise thce, and not thy Prov.xxvii. 
" own mouth : a stranger, and not thy own lips. 1 But though 2f 
hypocrites may be able possibly to remain undetected, and 
seize the honours which men bestow, " yet God, He says, 

x In the Greek /ScoyLtoXo ^ous : i. e. " gulosos victimarum appetitores," 

persons capable of committing any Just above he translates cnce/Li/Mara 

meanness for gain ; the Syriac trans- by cogitationes, but its employment 

lation has at least the merit of being in many other places justifies the 

literal, which Mai s wants, though sense given it in the Syriac of 

equally curious; for he renders it tricks, artifices. 



520 COMMENTARY UPON 

< knoweth your hearts." The Judge cannot bo deceived ; He 
sceth the depth of our mind ; He knoweth who is the true 
combatant, and who steals by fraud the honour which an 
other truly deserves : and while He honoureth him who is 
Ps. liii. 5. truly just, He " scattereth the bones of the men-pleasers," 
according to the Psalmist s expression. For the desire of 
pleasing men is constantly, so to speak, the nurse, and head, 
and root of that accursed pride which is hated alike by God 
and men. For he who is the victim of this passion lusteth 
after honour and praise : and this is hateful unto God: for He 
hateth the proud, but accepteth and sheweth mercy to him 
who loveth not glory, and is lowly in mind. 

And when Christ had crushed them with these reproofs He 
added thereto yet something more; even that which they were 
about to suffer by reason of their disobedience and wickedness; 
" For the law, He says, and the prophets until John : thence - 
" forth the kingdom of God is preached, and every one taketh 
" it by force. And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass 
" away, than for one point of the law to fall." Again docs He 
conceal in obscurity that which would give them pain, and veils, 
so to speak, the prediction of those things that were about to 
happen to all who would not obey Him. For Moses, He 
says, and with him the company of the holy prophets, before 
announced the import of My mystery to the inhabitants of 
earth : both the law declaring by shadows and types that to 
save the world I should even endure the death of the flesh, 
and abolish corruption by rising from the dead ; and the pro 
phets also speaking words of the same import as the writings of 
Moses. It is nothing strange therefore, He says, or that was 
not known before, that ye spurn My words, and despise every 
thing that would avail for your good. For the word of pro 
phecy concerning Me, and you, extends until the holy Baptist 
John : but " from the days of John, the kingdom of heaven is 
" preached, and every one taketh it by force." And by the 
kingdom of heaven He here means justification by faith, the 
washing away of sin by holy baptism, sanctification by the 
Spirit, worshipping in the Spirit, the service that is superior to 
shadows and types, the honour of the adoption of sons, and 
the hope of the glory about to be given to the saints. 

The kingdom of heaven therefore, He says, is preached, for 






THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 5^1 

the Baptist has stood forth in the midst saying, " Prepare ye Luke iii. 4 . 

" the way of the Lord :" and has shewn, that lo! He is already 

near, and as it were within the doors, even the true Lamb of 

God, Who beareth the sin of the world. Whosoever therefore 

is a hearer and lover of the sacred message taketh it by force : 

by which is meant, that he uses all his earnestness and all his 

strength in his desire to enter within the hope. For, as He saith 

in another place, " The kingdom of heaven is taken by violence Mat.xi. 12. 

" and the violent seize upon it." 

" And it is easier, He says, for heaven and earth to pass 
" away, before the day that God commandeth this to be, than 
" for one point of the law to fall." Now sometimes by the 
word law He signifies collectively the whole divinely inspired 
Scripture, the writings, that is, of Moses and the prophets. 
What then did it foretell, which must also necessarily reach 
its accomplishment ? It foretold, that by reason of their exces 
sive unbelief and immorality, Israel would fall from being of 
God s family, even though he be the eldest son : arid that 
Jerusalem would be thrust away from His indulgence and His 
love. For so He spake concerning it by the voice of Jere 
miah y, "Behold! I will hedge up her way with stakes, and Hoa. ii. 6. 
" block up her ways, and she shall not find her path." For 
the way of those who fear God is straight, nor is there any 
steep part therein, but all is level and well beaten. But the 
path of the mother of the Jews is hedged up with stakes, in 
that the way of piety has been rendered impassable for them. 

And that they were darkened in mind, and did not accept 
the light of the glory of Christ, for they knew Him not; He 
before proclaimed saying unto the multitude of the Jews; " I Ho*. 
" have likened thy mother unto the night, My people is like 
" unto one that hath no knowledge. Because thou hast re 
jected knowledge, therefore will I reject thee from being My 
" priest. And thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, and I 
" will forget thy children. 11 Thou nearest that the multitude 
of the disobedient are very justly compared unto darkness and 
the night : for the intellectual day star, and the Sun of right- 



iv. 5. 



y Mai reads here fl^ correctly, in the N. T. and the fathers, than 
out probably it is a later correction, for the minor prophets to be quoted 
for nothing is more common both under Jeremiah s name. 

3 * 



COMMENTARY UPON 

eousness arises and shines in the mind and heart of those who 
believe : but the mind of those who treat with contumely a 
grace so splendid and worthy of our possessing, is blackened in 
darkness, and intellectual gloom. And thus much then con 
cerning those things which the company of the holy prophets 
before announced respecting Israel. 

But unto those who have acknowledged the revelation of the 
glory of Christ the Saviour of all, God the Father promised by 
Zech. x.i 2. one of the holy prophets, thus saying ; " And I will strengthen 
" them in the Lord their God, and in the name of their God 
" they shall be established 2 ." And in accordance with this 
the Psalmist also says in the Spirit unto our Lord Jesus 
PH. ixxxix. Christ : i( They shall walk, O Lord, in the light of Thy coun- 
" tenance : and in Thy Name shall they rejoice all the day. 
" For thou art the glory of their strength, and in Thy right- 
" eousness shall our horn be exalted." For we glory in 
Christ, and as being justified by Him are exalted, having cast 
off the abasement of sin, and living in the excellence of every 
virtue, we have been enriched also with the exact and unadul- 
terate knowledge of the doctrines of truth. For this God pro 
le, xlii. 16. mised us where He says by the voice of Isaiah, " And I will 
" load the blind by a way that they know not : and in paths 
" which they have not known I will make them walk. I will 
" make their darkness to be light, and all their steep places to 
" be smooth." For we, who were once blind, have been en 
lightened, and travel in an unwonted pathway of righteousness; 
while those who boasted of the law as their schoolmaster, have 
Johnxii.4o. become darkened. For as Christ Himself said ; " Darkness 
xl 2 " hath blinded their eyes: and blindness in part hath happened 
" unto Israel, that seeing they might not see, and hearing they 
might not hear. 1 " 1 For they sinned against the holy prophets ; 
and even ventured to lift their hands against Him Who was 
calling them to salvation and life. Even though therefore, He 
says, ye be disobedient, and though ye foolishly deride My 
words, which would guide you in the. attainment of that which 
is useful and becoming, yet this conduct, He says, was not 

z There is a strange diversity raKavxTjcrovTai, they shall glory : 
here in the readings; Mai has vrrdp- whereas the Syriac must have read 
ouirt they shall he; the Sept. KO- Kar 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 523 

unforeknown, but already had been declared by the law and 
the prophets. And it is a thing impossible for the words of 
God to fail of their accomplishment: for He declared that 
which He knew must altogether and necessarily happen. 

Unbelief therefore brings upon men destruction, as also does 
the stretching out of the haughty neck of the mind from exces 
sive pride against Christ the Saviour of us all ; by Whom and 
with Whom to God the Father be praise and dominion, with 
the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever, Amen. 



3x2 



524 COMMENTARY UPON 



SERMON CXI. 

(J. xvi. 19- Bat there -was a certain rich man, and he ivas clothed in 

purple and fine linen, feasting sumptuously every day. 

TIS fo 6v. A. And a certain -poor man whose name ivas Lazarus had 

* s Gs been laid at his gate, full of sores ; and desiring to satisfy 

om T>V \i/i- himself ivith the crumbs which fell from the rich mans 

table : moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And 

it came to pass that the poor man died, and the angels 

carried him to Abrahains bosom. And the rich man also 

died, and was buried. And in Hades, having lifted up 

Mpaxs S. his eyes, being in torment, he saw Abraham afar off, and 

Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said, Father 

Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he 

may dip the tip of his finger in ivater, and cool my tongue : 

add. ^STJ S. for behold ! I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham 

oWxajBw said, Son, remember that thou receivedst thy good things in 

(rvT^. om. t j u j nfe ti me; ana Lazarus in like manner his evil things: 

add. auToD but now he is comforted here, and thou art tormented. 

? T,rr a And besides all this, betiueen us and you a great gulf is 

woe jjlo. 

S5e s. placed, so that those who would pass from hence to you 

67r cannot ; nor can those pass who would come from thence 
unto us. And he said, I pray thee, father, to send him to 
my father s house: I have five brethren ; that he may tes 
tify unto them, lest they also come unto this place of tor- 
\f-yei 5s ment. But Abraham said unto him, They have Moses and 

ayraJST. t j prophets : let them hear them. But he said, Nay, 

om. 5e -B. -i J- v 

om. au7< father Abraham : but if one go unto them from the dead 
they will repent. But he said unto him, If they hear not 
Moses and the prophets, they would not be persuaded even 
though one rose from the dead. 

WHEN" Solomon was offering up prayers in behalf of his 
7 Chron. i. kingdom, he somewhere said unto God, " Give me wisdom, 
" even that which abideth by Thy throne." And God praised 
him for earnestly desiring such blessings as these ; for there 
is nothing better for men than sacred gifts : of which one 
worthy of our acceptance, and that perfects in blessedness 
those who have been counted worthy of it, is the wisdom which 



om. 
om. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 525 

God bestows. For it is the sight of the mind and heart, and 
the knowledge of every good and profitable thing. 

And it is our duty also to be enamoured of such gifts as 
these : that being counted worthy thereof we may rightly and 
without error approach the Saviour s words. For this is 
useful for us unto spiritual improvement, and leads unto a 
praiseworthy and blameless life. Come therefore, that being 
made partakers of the wisdom which is from above, we may 
examine the meaning of the parable now set before us. 

It is necessary however, I think,, in the first place to mention, 
what was the occasion which led to His speaking of these 
things; or what Christ intended to illustrate in so excellently 
sketching and describing the parable set before us. The 
Saviour therefore was perfecting us in the art of well-doing, 
and commanding us to walk uprightly in every good work, 
and to be in earnest in adorning ourselves with the glories 
which arise from virtuous conduct. For He would have us be 
lovers one of another, and ready to communicate : prompt to 
give, and merciful, and careful of shewing love to the poor, 
and manfully persisting in the diligent discharge of this duty. 
And He especially admonished the rich in this world to be 
careful in so doing, and to guide them into the way which 
altogether becometh the saints, He said, " Sell your possessions, Luke xii, 
" and give alms : make you purses that grow not old ; a trea- 33- 
" sure that faileth not for ever in heaven." Now the com 
mandment indeed is beautiful, and good, and salutary : but it 
did not escape His knowledge, that it is impossible for the 
majority to practise it. For the mind of man has ever been, 
so to speak, infirm in the discharge of those duties which 
are arduous and difficult : and to abandon wealth and posses 
sions and the enjoyment which they give, is not a thing very 
acceptable to any, inasmuch as the mind is early clothed and 
entangled, as it were, in indissoluble cords, which bind it to the 
desire of pleasure. 

As being therefore good and loving unto men, He has pro 
vided for them a special kind of help, lest eternal and never- 
ending poverty should follow upon wealth here, and everlasting 
torment succeed to the pleasures of the present time. "For Lukexvi.p. 
" make for yourselves friends, He says, of the unrighteous 
" mammon : that when it has failed, they may receive you into 



526 COMMENTARY UPON 

" eternal tabernacles." And this then is the advice of One 
providing them with something which they can do. For if, 
He says, ye cannot be persuaded to give up this pleasure- 
loving wealth, and to sell your possessions, and make distri 
bution to those who are in need, at least be diligent in the 
practice of inferior virtues." " Make for yourselves friends of 
" the unrighteous mammon :" that is, do not consider your 
riches as belonging to yourselves alone ; open wide your hand 
to those who are in need : assist those in poverty and pain : 
comfort those who have fallen into extreme distress : condole 
with those who are in sorrow, or oppressed with bodily mala 
dies, and the want of necessaries : and comfort also the saints 
who embrace a voluntary poverty that they may serve God 
without distraction. Nor shall your so doing be unrewarded. 
For when your earthly wealth abandons you, as ye reach 
the end of your life, then shall they make you partakers of 
their hope, arid of the consolation given them by God. For 
He being good and kind to man, will lovingly and bountifully 
refresh those who have laboured in this world: and more espe 
cially such as have wisely and humbly and soberly borne the 
heavy burden of poverty. And somewhat similar advice the 
wise Paul also gives to those who live in wealth and abundance 
2 Cor. viii. respecting those in misery : " Your abundance shall be to 
14 " supply their falling short: in order that also their abun- 

" dance may supply your falling short." But this is the 
advice of one who enjoins that simply which Christ spake; 
" Make to yourselves friends of the unrighteous mammon :" 
so that the commandment is well worthy of our admiration. 

And that our refusal so to act will cause our ruin, and bring 
us down to the inextinguishable flame, and to an unavailing 
remorse, He plainly shews by weaving for us the present para 
ble. " For there was a certain rich man, He says, and he was 
" clothed in purple and fine linen, feasting sumptuously every 
" day. And a certain poor man whose name was Lazarus had 
" been cast down at his gate, full of sores." 

Here observe, I pray, and mark accurately the Saviour s 

words. For while it was easy to have said, " That there was 

" such and such a rich man whoever it might be a ," He does 

not say so, but simply calls him a rich man : while He men- 

a The Catenist adds, " as was done in the case of Job." 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 

tions the poor man by name. What conclusion therefore must 
we draw ? That the rich man as being uncom passionate was 
nameless in God s presence: for He has somewhere said by the 
voice of the Psalmist, concerning those who do not fear Him, 
" I will not make mention of their names with My lips :" while P s . xvi. 
as I said, the poor man is mentioned by name by the tono-ue 
of God. 

But let us look at the pride of the rich man puffed up for 
things of no real importance ; " he was clothed, it says, in 
" purple and fine linen," that is, his study was to deck himself 
in beautiful attire, so that his raiment was of great price, and 
he lived in never-ceasing banquetings ; for such is the meaning 
of his feasting every day: besides which it adds that he feasted 
sumptuously, that is, prodigally. All the luxury therefore of 
that rich man consisted in things of this sort: in clothing clean, 
delicate, and embroidered with linen, and dyed with purple, so 
as to gratify the eyes of beholders. And what is the resu lt ? 
Differing but little from the figures in statuary and painting, 
the rich man is indeed admired by those who are destitute of 
sense, but his heart is full of pride and haughtiness: he has 
high thoughts of himself and is boastful, and while there is 
nothing of excellence in his mind, he makes variously coloured 
hues a reason for his empty pride. His delight is in expensive 
banquets ; in music and revellings ; he has numerous cooks, 
who labour to provoke gluttony by carefully prepared meats : 
his cupbearers are beautifully attired; he has singing men and 
singing women, and the voices of flatterers. Such were the 
things in which the rich man lived ; for the disciple of Christ 
certifies us. saying, that all that is in the world is the lust of i John ii. 
" the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of the l6 
" world." 

Meanwhile Lazarus, bound fast by sickness and poverty, was 
cast down, He says, at his gate. For the rich man dwelt in 
lofty halls, and spacious mansions nobly built: whereas the poor 
man was not so much laid as cast down, thrown there in 
neglect, and not deemed worthy of any account. Cut off from 
compassion and care,, he would fain, to satisfy his hunger, have 
gathered the worthless morsels that fell from the rich man s 
table b . lie was tormented moreover by a severe and incu- 

b The following passage is found neither by the principal MS. nor 
IS. 14,725, but is acknowledged the Greek ; besides the late date of 



528 



COMMENTARY UPON 



rable malady ; " Yea, even the dogs, it says, licked his sores/ 
and that, as it seems, not to injure him, but rather, so to speak, 
as sympathizing with him, and tending him : for with their 
tongues they allay their own sufferings, removing with them 
that which pains them, and gently soothing the sore. 

But the rich man was more cruel than the beasts ; for he 
felt neither sympathy for him nor compassion ; but was full of 
all mercilessness. And what the result was, the outline of the 
parable teaches us in what follows : but it is too long to tell it 
now. For lest my discourse should prove more than suffi 
cient for my hearers, and a fatigue beyond due measure to him 
who speaks, stopping now from a due regard for the good both 
of myself and you, I will speak to you again upon these things 
* at our next meeting, if Christ our common Saviour grant me 
the ability so to do : by Whom and with Whom, to God the 
Father be praise and dominion, with the Holy Ghost, for 
ever and ever, Amen c . 



the MS., which is on paper of the 
thirteenth century, I have little 
doubt of its spuriousness, from, 
first, its extremely rhetorical style ; 
secondly, the strangeness of several 
of its words : and thirdly, the diffi 
culties in its grammar. It is how 
ever as follows , 

" He desired verily to satisfy him 
self with the morsels which re 
mained over from the rich man s 
table, and no one gave unto him. 
O the meanness of life! For the 
rich man was set in manifold en 
joyments, and the poor man had 
nothing, and was withering in the 
woe of poverty : and from the ex- 
cessiveness of his want his person 
was exposed to the hailstones. He 
had no lands nor cornfields to 
bring him increase : he had no 
vineyards nor trees to bear him 
fruits, but was cast down, exposed 
to the sun, and day and night his 
couch was the dunghill. Poor La 
zarus was cast down at the rich 
man s door : he was not cast down 
at a distance, but close by, lest, were 



he removed far away, some excuse 
might be found for the rich man s 
cruelty." 

c Of the extracts gathered by Mai, 
the first is the only one not recognised 
by the Syriac. It starts the question, 
whether this parable, expressly men 
tioning Lazarus by name, and 
thereby giving some colour to the 
tradition, that he was an actual per 
son, may he taken as a proof, that 
the retribution of men s good or 
evil deeds takes place immediately 
after death. This Cyril answers in 
the negative, shewing from Scrip 
ture that the judgment does not 
take place till after the resurrection. 
This Mai says requires " a some- 
" what more accurate explanation 
".on account of the fatal error of 
" the Greeks, that the reward of 
" human actions is delayed until 
" after the resurrection." But his 
explanation is in fact an attempt at 
a refutation of S. Cyril s doctrine : 
for the extract really is S. Cyril s, 
being the sixteenth chapter against 
the Anthropomorphitae. 






THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 529 



SERMON CXIL 

The same subject continued. 

THE blessed prophet Isaiah has somewhere introduced those c. xvi. 19- 
who by faith in Christ have been won unto life, as calling out 3I< 
eagerly, so to speak, unto one another, and saying ; " Come, let is. ii. 3. 
" us go up unto the mountain of the Lord, and unto the house 
" of the God of Jacob, and they shall teach us His way, and 
" we will walk in it." Now by the mountain here we affirm to 
be meant not any earthly mountain ; for to imagine this would 
be foolish : but rather the church which Christ has rescued for 
Himself. For it is high and conspicuous to people everywhere, 
and, so to say, exalted, because there is nothing in it which 
brings men down to earth. For those who dwell within it care 
nothing for the things of earth, but rather desire those things 
that are above : and, as the Psalmist says, " They are exalted Pa. xlvii. 9. 
" far above the earth ;" as being altogether brave and cou 
rageous, and practising uninterrupted endeavours after all 
things whatsoever which please God. 

And such we believe you to be; and your earnest desire 
after instruction is a plain proof thereof. For ye have come of 
course to seek the fulfilment of the promise given unto you : 
but neither have we forgotten what we promised, but pay our 
debt, adding on to what has been already said that which is 
still wanting to the parable of Lazarus and" the rich man. 

" For it came to pass, He says, that Lazarus died, and was 
" carried by angels to Abraham s bosom : and the rich man 
" also died, and was buried." Observe carefully the Saviour s 
words. For of the poor man, He says, that he was carried by 
angels to Abraham s bosom : but of the rich man there is 
nothing of the sort, but only that he died and was buried. 
For those who have hope towards God find in their departure 
from the world a deliverance from anguish and pain. And 
something like this Solomon also has taught us, saying, " In the Wi 3 . iii. 2 . 
" sight of men they seemed to die, and their departure was 
" considered an injury and their going from among us a break- 
" ing to pieces : but they are at peace, and their hope is full of 

3 Y 



530 COMMENTARY UPON 

" immortality." For there is given unto them a measure of 
consolation commensurate with their labours : or even perhaps 
one which surpasses and exceeds their toils: for Christ has some- 
Luke vi. 38. where said, that "good measure, pressed down, and heaped 
" up, and running over shall they give into your bosom." For 
like as ships that sail upon the sea stand the shock of savage 
waves, and struggle with the violence of mighty winds, but 
afterwards arriving at tranquil havens fit for their rest, cease 
there from tossing ; so in like manner I think that the souls of 
men, when they emerge from the turbulence of earthly things, 
enter the mansions that are above, as into a haven of sal 
vation. 

" Lazarus then, He says, was carried by the holy angels 
" unto Abraham s bosom : but the rich man died and was 
" buried." For to that rich man who had shewn himself harsh 
and unmerciful the separation from the body was death. For 
he was going from pleasure to torment : from glory to shame : 
from light to darkness. Such were the things that the rich 
man must suffer, who had been voluptuous, and close-handed, 
and unready for mercy. And to torment him the more now 
that he dwells in Hades, he beheld, it says, Lazarus in the 
bosom of Abraham : and made supplication that he might be 
sent to drop a little water upon his tongue : for he was tor 
mented, it says, as in a fierce flame. And what reply does the 
patriarch Abraham make ? " Son, thou receivedst thy good 
" things in thy life : and Lazarus his evil things." Thou wast 
enamoured, He says, of these temporal things ; thou wast clad 
in fine linen and purple d ; thou wast boastful and haughty ; all 
thy time was spent in luxury ; thou offer edst up thy wealth to 
thy appetite and to flatterers ; but thou never once calledst to 
mind the sick and sorrowful : thou hadst no compassion on 
Lazarus when thou sawest him thrown down at thy portals. 
Thou beheldest the man suffering incurable misery, and a prey 
to intolerable griefs : for two maladies at once possessed him, 

d The rest of the translation is XCI, beginning with the words, 

from the Cod. 14,725, referred to "Withdraw your attention from 

above. It is a volume of miscel- " these temporal things." Cf. p. 421. 

laneous sermons, containing of S. In the main MS. the rest of this 

Cyril s only the two upon this para- sermon, and the whole of the four 

ble, made up into one, and ending following, have perished, 
with the latter portion of Sermon 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 531 

each worse than the other, the cruel pain of his ulcers, and 
the want of the necessaries of life. The very beasts soothed 
Lazarus, because he was in pain ; " the dogs licked his sores," 
but thou wast more hard-hearted than the beasts. " Thou 
" hast received therefore, He says, thy good things in thy life, 
" and Lazarus his evil : and now here he is comforted, and 
" thou art tormented ;" and, as the sacred Scripture saith, 
" they shall have judgment without mercy who have wrought James ii.i 3 
" no mercy." Thou wouldst have been a partner with Laza 
rus, and a portion of his consolation would have been given 
thee by God, if thou hadst admitted him to be a partner of thy 
wealth. But this thou didst not do, and therefore thou alone 
art tormented : for such is the fitting punishment of the unmer 
ciful, and of those whose mind feels no sympathy for the sick. 

Let us therefore make for ourselves friends of the unright 
eous mammon : let us listen to Moses and the prophets calling 
us unto mutual love and brotherly affection : let us not wait 
for any of those now in Hades to return hither to tell us the 
torments there : the sacred Scripture is necessarily true : we 
have heard, that " Christ shall sit upon the throne of His Mat. xxv. 
" glory to judge the world in righteousness, and that He shall 3I> 
" set the sheep indeed on His right hand, but the goats on 
" His left. And to those on His right hand He shall say, 
" Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom pre- 
" pared for you from before the foundations of the world : for 
" 1 was hungry, arid ye gave Me to eat ; and thirsty also, and 
" ye gave Me to drink : I was naked,, and ye clothed Me ; in 
" prison, and ye came unto Me." But upon those upon the 
left hand He shall lay a heavy condemnation, saying, " Go to 
" the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels/ And 
the charge against them is, that they have done the very op 
posite of that for which the saints were praised. " For I was 
" hungry, and ye gave Me not to eat ; and thirsty, and ye 
" gave Me not to drink : for inasmuch as ye did it not, He 
" says, to one of these little ones, ye did it not to Me." 

But to this perhaps some one will object, that there are 
many kinds of well living ; for virtue is diversified, so to speak, 
and manifold : why therefore, having omitted those other 
kinds, does He make mention only of love to the poor ? To 
this we reply, that the act is better than any other kind of 

3 Y 2 



COMMENTARY UPON 

well doing : for it works in our souls a certain divine likeness 
which moulds us, so to speak, after God s image. For Christ 

Luke vi. 36. also has said, "Be ye merciful, as your Father also in heaven 
" is merciful." He who is quick to shew mercy, and compas 
sionate and kind, is ranked with the true worshippers ; for it 

Jamesi.27. is written, that "a pure and unpolluted sacrifice to God the 
" Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their poverty, 
" and that a man keep himself unspotted from the world/ 

Heb. xiii. And the wise Paul also has somewhere written, " But alms and 
" communication forget not : for with such sacrifices God is 
" content." For He loveth not the incense of the legal wor 
ship, but requireth rather the pleasantness of the sweet spi 
ritual savour. But the sweet spiritual savour unto God is to 
shew pity unto men, and to maintain love towards them. This 

Rom.xiii.8. also Paul adviseth us, saying, " Owe no man anything, but 
" that ye love one another :" and the daughter of love is pity 
for poverty. 

Come therefore, ye rich, cease from transitory pleasure : be 
earnest after the hope that is set before you : clothe yourselves 
with mercy and kindness : hold out the hand to them that are 
in need : comfort those who are in necessity : count as your 
own the sorrows of those who are in extreme distress. * * 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 533 



SERMONS CXIII CXVI. 

It is impossible but that offences come. C. xvii. i. 

WHAT are the offences which Christ mentions as being in From Mai. 
every way certain to happen ? Offences then are of two kinds : 
for some are against the glory of the Supreme Being, and 
assail That Substance Which transcends all, as far at least as 
regards the purpose of the contrivers of them : while other 
offences happen from time to time against ourselves, and pro 
ceed no further than to the injury of some of the brethren, 
who are our partners in the faith. For whatever heresies have 
been invented, and every argument which opposes itself to the 
truth, resist really the glory of the supreme Godhead, by 
drawing away those who are caught therein from the upright 
ness and exactness of the sacred doctrines. And such were the 
offences concerning which the Saviour Himself again some 
where said, " Woe to the world because of offences ! for it Mat. xviii. 
" must needs be that offences come : but woe to that man by 7 
" whom the offence cometh." For offences of this kind, caused 
I mean by unholy heretics, are not levelled against some single 
individual, but are aimed rather against the world, that is, 
against the inhabitants of the whole earth. And the inventors 
of such offences the blessed Paul rebukes, saying, " But in thus i Cor. viii. 
" sinning against the brethren, and wounding their weak con- 
" science, ye sin against Christ." And that such offences might 
not prevail over the faithful, God somewhere spake unto those 
who are the ambassadors of the upright word of truth, and 
skilful in teaching it, saying, " Go through My gates, and Is. ixii. 10. 
" make a pathway for My people, and cast away the stones 
" out of the way." And the Saviour has attached a bitter 
penalty against those who lay such stumblingblocks in men s 
road. 

Perhaps, however, these are not the offences here referred 
to, but those rather, which very frequently from human 
infirmity happen between friends and brethren : and the ac 
companying discourse which immediately follows these opening 



534 COMMENTARY UPON 

remarks, and which speaks of our pardoning the brethren in 
case they ever sin against us, leads us to the idea that these 
were the offences meant. And what then are these offences ? 
Mean and annoying actions, I suppose; fits of anger, whether 
on good grounds or without justification; insults; slanders 
very frequently ; and other stumblingblocks akin and similar 
to these. Such, He says, must needs come. Is this then be 
cause God, Who governs all, obliges men to their commission ? 
Away with the thought : for from Him comes nothing that is 
evil, yea ! rather He is the fountain of all virtue. Why then 
Jamesiii.2. must they happen ? Plainly because of our infirmity : " for in 
" many things we all of us stumble," as it is written. Never 
theless there will be woe, He says, to the man who lays the 
stumblingblocks in the way : for He does not leave indifference 
in these things without rebuke, but restrains it rather by fear 
of punishment. Nevertheless He commands us to bear with 
patience those who occasion them. 

y er 4> If seven times in the day he sin against thee. 

For if, He says, he who sins against thee repent and ac 
knowledge his fault, thou shalt forgive him : and that not once 
only, but very many times. For we must not shew ourselves 
deficient in mutual love, and neglect forbearance, because any 
one is weak, and again and again offends; but must rather 
imitate those whose business it is to heal our bodily maladies, 
and who do not tend a sick man once only or twice, but just as 
often as he chances to fall ill. For let us remember that we 
also are liable to infirmities, and overpowered by our passions : 
and such being the case, we pray that those whose duty it is 
to rebuke us, and who possess the authority to punish us, may 
shew themselves kind to us and forgiving. It is our duty 
therefore, having a common feeling for our mutual infirmities, 

Gal. vi. i. "to bear one another s burdens ; for so we shall fulfil the law 
" of Christ." And observe also, that in the Gospel according 

Mat. xviii. to Matthew, Peter makes the inquiry, " How oft shall my.bro- 
" ther sin against me, and I forgive Him ?" And thereupon 
the Lord tells the Apostles, that though he sin seven times in 
the day ; that is, frequently, and shall as often acknowledge 
his fault, thou shalt forgive him/ 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 



535 



The Apostles said unto the Lord, Add unto us faith, Ver. $. 
That which necessarily gives joy to the soul of the saints is 
not the possession of transitory and earthly goods ; for they 
are corruptible, and easily lost ; but of such rather as render 
those that receive them reverend and blessed, even the spiritual 
graces which are God s gift. And of these one .of special value 
is faith, by which I mean the having been brought unto a belief 
in Christ, the Saviour of us all : which also Paul recognised as 
being the chief of all our blessings ; for he said, that " without Heb. xi.6. 
" faith it was impossible ever to have pleased 6 (God) : for by 
" it the elders obtained their testimony." Observe therefore 
the holy apostles emulating the conduct of the saints of old 
time. For what do they ask of Christ ? " Add unto us faith," 
They do not ask faith simply, lest thou shouldst imagine them 
to be without faith ; but they rather ask of Christ an addition 
to their faith, and to be strengthened therein. For faith partly 
depends upon ourselves, and partly is the gift of the divine 
grace : for tho coimnen<vin<Mit of it depends upon ourselves, 
and to maintain confidence and faith in God with all our power; 
b^Jhe confirmation and strength necessary for this comes 
from the divine grace : for which- reason, because all things 
are possible with God, the Lord says, that " all things are pos- Markix.^. 
" sible unto him that believeth/ For the power which comes 
unto us through faith is of God. And knowing this, the blessed 
Paul also says in the first Epistle to the Corinthians : " For to iCor.xii.8. 
" one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom : and to 
" another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit: 
" and to another faith in the same Spirit." Thou seest that 
he has placed faith also in the catalogue of spiritual graces. 
And this the disciples requested they might receive of the Sa- 
viour, contributing also that which was of themselves : and He 




e It is to be noticed, that the 
Sept. use fvapfareu as the equiva- 
lent of l^nnn, in Gen. v. 22, 
and elsewhere. Hence St. Paul s 
assertion, that " Enoch had this 
" testimony, that he pleased God," 
and also the means of arriving at 
the full force of the word, namely, 



to please God by our conduct. 
In Heb. xi. 6, Ez/o> x is understood 
before fvapfa-r^o-ai, and the correct 
translation is ; " but without faith 
" Enoch could not have pleased 
" God by his conduct;" or, to retain 
the word used in the O. T., " could 
" not have walked with Him." 



556 COMMENTARY UPON 

granted it unto them after the fulfilment of the dispensation, 
by the descent upon them of the Holy Ghost : for before the 
resurrection their faith was so feeble, f that they were liable 
even to the charge of littleness of faith. 

For the Saviour of all was sailing once, for instance, with the 
holy apostles upon the lake or sea of Tiberias, and purposely 
permitted Himself to fall asleep : and when a violent storm 
agitated the surge, and raised a mighty wave against the ves 
sel, they were greatly troubled, so that they even roused the 
Luke viii. Lord from sleep, saying, " Master J save us, we perish." And 
He, it says, arose, and rebuked the waves, and changed the 
savageness of the tempest into a calm. But He greatly blamed 
the holy apostles, saying, " Where is your faith?" For they 
ought not to have been troubled in any respect whatsoever, 
when the Sovereign of the universe was present with them, at 
Whom all His works tremble and shake. And if we must add 
a further and similar example, I will mention one. He corn- 
Mat, xiv. manded the holy apostles to go on board the vessel, and pre 
cede Him unto the opposite side of the lake : and they of 
John vi. 1 9. course did to. And when they had rowed, it says, about thirty 
furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and were greatly 
terrified, imagining that they saw a spectre. But when He 
called out unto them, saying, " It is I : be not afraid ;" Peter 
said, " If it be Thou, bid me come unto Thee on the water : 
" and He said, Come/ And having leaped down from the 
ship, he began to walk unto Him. But when, it says, he saw 
the wind and the wave, he was terrified: and beginning to 
sink, he cried out, " Lord, help me :" and He saved him in 
his danger, but again rebuked him, saying, " thou of little 
" faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" And that at the season 
of the passion, when the band of soldiers, and wicked officers, 
came to seize Jesus, they all forsook Him and fled, and Peter 
also denied Him, being terrified at a maidservant, is well 
known. 

Thou hast seen the disciples while still possessed of but little 
faith : now wonder at them when they had obtained an increase 

f For fbpaia, which Mai violently not of unfrequent occurrence in S. 
translates segnis, I imagine that the Cyril : or that a negative has been 
reading ought to be dSpavrjs, a word omitted by the copyist. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 537 

of their faith from Christ, the Saviour of us all. He commanded 
them " not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Fa- Acts i. 4 . 
" ther s promise," until they should be clothed with power 
from on high. But when the power from on high had de 
scended upon them in the shape of fiery tongues, even the 
grace which is through the Holy Ghost, then indeed they be 
came bold and manly and fervent in the Spirit, so as even to 
despise death, and to count as nothing the dangers with which 
they were threatened from unbelievers; yea, and then too 
they became able to work miracles. 

But that to be confirmed in the faith is a great and special 
grace,, the Lord shews by saying, " If ye have faith as a grain Ver. 6. 
" of mustard seed, hot, that is, and fervent, ye might have said 
" to the sycamine tree, Be thou uprooted in the sea, and it 
" would have obeyed you." For he who confides in Christ 
trusts not to his own strength, but rather assigns to Him the 
gower of performing all things. From Him then confessedly 
comes the accomplishment of all good things in men s souls : 
but they nevertheless must prepare themselves to receive this 
great grace. For if the power of faith remove that which is 
fixed and rooted in the ground, one may say absolutely that 
there is nothing so immovable as that faith cannot shake it, if 
its removal be required. The earth accordingly was shaken Acts iv. 31. 
when the apostles were praying, as the Acts of the Apostles 
record : and so, on the other hand, faith stays those things 
which are in motion, as the rapid course of a running river, j os . iii. 16. 
and the ceaseless way of the lights which move in heaven. Jos. x. 13. 
This, however, we must carefully notice, that God does not 
excite an empty astonishment or vain wondering, but that 
such things are far from the divine Substance, Which is free 
from pride and boasting, and altogether true, for the sole good 
and safety of mankind. And this I say, that no one may ex 
pect from sacred faith and the divine power useless changes, 
for instance, of the elements, or the removal of mountains and 
plants ; nor give way to impiety, as though the word were not 
true, if these things come not so to pass : nor again count faith 
weak, if it cannot accomplish such things. Let the thing be 
but useful for some real benefit, and the power will not be 
wanting. 

3 z 



538 COMMENTARY UPON 

Ver. 7. But which of you having a servant ploughing or feeding 

cattle. 

In the verses which precede a long and important discourse 
has been addressed to us by the Lord, to shew unto us the 
paths which lead unto honour, and to manifest the glories of 
the blameless life, that making progress therein, and advancing 
zealously unto whatsoever is admirable we may attain unto 
Phil.iii.i4. " the prize of our high calling." But since it is the nature of 
the mind of man ever to be carried away unto vaingloriousness, 
and to be afflicted most readily with a tendency thereto ; and 
since a pretext for this fault is often given by the being distin 
guished before God for some of the noblest virtues ; and since 
it is a sin grievous and hateful unto God : for the serpent, the 
author of evil, leads men sometimes into such a state of mind, 
as for them to imagine perhaps that God even owes them the 
highest honours, when their life is glorious and distinguished : 
to draw us away from such passions, He sets before us the 
purport of the lessons which have just been read, teaching us 
thereby, under the form of an example, that the might of 
sovereign authority demands everywhere of its slaves sub 
jection as a debt. For the lord, He says, will not acknowledge 
any gratitude to the slave, even if all that is due be done by 
him, according to what becomes the condition of a slave. 

Here observe, I pray, that the disciples, yea, all who are 
subject to the sceptre of Christ the Saviour of us all, are 
encouraged unto industry, but that, not as though they ren 
dered unto Him their service as a favour, but as discharging 
the debt of obedience incumbent upon slaves. And hereby the 
accursed malady of vainglory is done away. For if thou doest 
that which is thy due, why pridest thou thyself? Seest thou 
not that if thou dischargest not thy debt, there is danger : and 
that if thou dost discharge it, no gratitude is owed thee ? 
Which truth that admirable servant Paul having well learnt 

i Cor. ix. and understood, says, " If I preach the gospel, I have no cause 
" of boasting ; for a necessity is laid upon me : but woe unto 

Bom. i. 14. " me if I preach not the gospel." And again, " I am a debtor, 
" he says, of the preaching of the doctrine, both to Greeks and 
" barbarians, both to wise and foolish." If therefore thou hast 
done well, and hast kept the divine commands, and hast obeyed 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 539 

thy Lord, ask not honour of God as thy due, but rather draw 
near, supplicating for the gifts of His bounty. Bear in mind 
that also among us, masters acknowledge no gratitude when 
any of their slaves perform their appointed service, though 
often by their bounty they gain the goodwill of their faithful 
servants, and so beget in them a more ready alacrity. Simi 
larly God demands of us the service of slaves, using the right 
of His sovereign authority : but as being good and bountiful. 
He promises also rewards to those who labour. And the 
greatness of His bounty far surpasses the labours of His sub 
jects, as Paul shall prove unto you, writing, " The sufferings of Rom. viii. 
" the present season are not worthy to the glory about to be 
* revealed upon us." Yea ! though we are slaves, He calls us 
sons, and crowns us with the honour which becometh children. 
And observe that each one, having first attended to his own 
flesh, so must take charge of the good of others : for he " who iTim.iii. 5. 
" cannot govern his own house well, how shall he take care of 
" the church ?" 

Ten lepers met him. Ver. 12. 

Again the Saviour manifests unto us His glory, and by 
working godlike miracles, endeavours to win senseless Israel 
unto faith, obdurate though he was, and unbelieving. What 
argument then will avail him at the day of judgment for 
refusing to accept salvation through Christ ? Especially when 
they themselves heard His words, and were eyewitnesses of 
His ineffable miracles ? For which reason He said Himself of 
them, " If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not John xv. 
" had sin." And again, " If I had not done among them the 22 
" works which no other man did, they had not had sin, but 
" now they have both seen and hated both Me and My Father." 
The cleansing of the lepers, as I said just above, was a plain 
demonstration (of His miraculous power) : for by the law of 
Moses they were shut out of the cities and villages, as being 
impure. 

This then will suffice, I suppose, for introductory remarks. 
The lepers then having met the Saviour, earnestly besought 
Him to free them from their misery, and called Him Master, 
that is, Teacher. 

No one pitied them when suffering this malady : but He Who 

3 z 2 



540 COMMENTARY UPON 

had appeared on earth for this very reason, and had become 
man that He might shew pity unto all, He was moved with 
compassion for them, and had mercy upon them. 



Ver. 14. jj e sa ici U nto them, Go and shew yourselves unto the priests. 

And why did He not rather say, " I will, be ye cleansed ;" as 

Luke v. 13. he did in the case of another leper ; but commanded them rather 

to shew themselves unto the priests ? It was because the law 

gave directions to this effect to those who were delivered from 

o 

Lev. xiv. 2. leprosy : for it commanded them to shew themselves to the 
priests, and to offer a sacrifice for their cleansing. He com 
manded them therefore to go, as being already healed, and, that 
they might, so to speak, bear witness to the priests, as the rulers 
of the Jews, and ever envious of His glory, that wonderfully, 
and beyond their hope, they had been delivered from their mis 
fortune by Christ s willing that they should be healed. He did 
not heal them first, but sent them to the priests, because the 
priests knew the marks of leprosy, and of its being healed. 
He sent them to the priests, and with them He sent also the 
healing. What however was the law of leprosy, and what the 
rules for its purification, and what the meaning of each of the 
particulars commanded by the law, we have more fully de 
scribed at the commencement of our Saviour s miracles as 

Luke v. 12. recorded by Luke, and referring thither such as are anxious 
for learning, let us now proceed to what follows. The nine 
then, as being Jews, falling into a thankless forgetfulness, did 
not return to give glory to God : by which He shews that 
Israel was hard of heart, and utterly unthankful : but the 
stranger, for as being a Samaritan he was of foreign race, 
having been brought thither from Assyria : for the phrase is 

Luke xvii. not without meaning, in the middle of Samaria and Galilee :" 
returned with a loud voice to glorify God. It shews there 
fore that the Samaritans were grateful, but that the Jews, 
even when benefited, were ungrateful. 






THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 541 



SERMON CXVII. 

And having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom C. xvii. 
of God cometh, He answered and said unto them, The f om t 
kingdom of God cometh not by watchings ; neither shall Syrac. 
they say, Lo ! here, or Lo I there : for behold ! the kingdom 
of God is within you. And He said unto the disciples, ^ tKet BT> 
The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the 
days of the Son of man, and shall not see it. And if they *<& & S. 
shall say unto you, Lo ! here, or Lo ! there, go ye not, e /ceT, iSov 
neither run thither. For as the lightning that lighteneth |jj* * ,j o ~ 
from under heaven giveth light to that ivhich is under *" GSs. 
heaven, so shall the Son of man be in His day. But first add. /miBs. 
He must suffer many things, and be rejected by this gene- ? ir V *^Jj? ~ 
ration. And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it B. 
also be in the days of the Son of man. They were eating, 
and drinking, and were taking wives, and being made the add. /ml 
wives of men, until the day that Noah entered into the ter 
ark ; and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise 
also as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating and add. /ml 
drinking ; they were buying and selling ; they were plant- 
ing, were building : but on the day that Lot went out of 
Sodom, there rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and 
destroyed them all. So shall it be in the day when the Son 
of man is revealed. 

AGAIN is the Pharisee fighting against God, nor feels 
that he is kicking against the pricks : for while assuming the 
appearance of being anxious to learn, he makes a mock at 
divine mysteries so holy, that " the angels desire to look into i Pet. i. 12. 
" them," according to the word of the blessed Peter. For this 
reason " blindness in part hath happened unto Israel," and R m.xi.25. 
darkness hath blinded their eyes. For that they were dark 
and blind, so as even often to make the mystery of Christ an 
occasion of ridicule, any one may learn from what has now 
been read to us. For they drew near asking Him, and saying, 
" When will the kingdom of God come ?" Moderate thy pride.. 
foolish Pharisee : desist from a mockery that exposes thee to 



COMMENTARY UPON 

johniii.iS. heavy and inevitable guilt. " For he, it says, that believeth 
" not the Son, is condemned already, because he hath not be- 
" lieved in the Name of the Son of God." For the divine 
Moses shewed before by type and shadow that the Word is 
the world s way and door of salvation, in that though He is 
God, He appeared in human form, and endured the death of 
the flesh for the sake of the whole earth. And the declarations 
also of the holy prophets agree with what was said by Moses. 
For they foretold that He would come in due time in form 
like unto us. And this also came to pass : for He was mani 
fested to those upon earth, having assumed the form of a 
slave ; but even so He retained His natural lordship, and 
power, and glory such as befitteth God, as is proved by the 
splendour of the works He wrought. But thou didst not believe 
in Him : thou didst not accept justification by His means, in 
that thou wast obdurate and proud. And after this thou askest, 
" When the kingdom of God shall come?" 

As I said therefore, he mocks at a mystery thus truly holy 
and worthy of admiration. For because the Saviour of all in 
His public discourses spake from time to time of the kingdom 
of God, therefore these miserable men, in contempt of Him, 
or perhaps even having it in their mind that being entrapped 
by their malice, He will have to endure the death upon the 
cross, ask in mockery, " When the kingdom of God will 
1 come ;" as much as to say, that before this kingdom which 
Thou talkest about, the cross and death will seize Thee. What 
therefore does Christ reply? Again He displays His long- 
i Pet. 11.23. suffering and incomparable love unto man: for "being reviled, 
" He revileth not again : suffering, He threateneth not." He 
does not therefore harshly chide them, nor yet because of their 
wickedness does He deign to give them an answer to their 
question, but says that only which is for the benefit of all men, 
that " the kingdom of God cometh not by watchings : for 
" behold ! the kingdom of God is within you." For ask not, 
He says, about the times in which the season of the kingdom 
of heaven shall again arise and come : but rather be in earnest, 
that ye may be found worthy of it, for " it is within you," that 
is, it depends upon your own wills, and is in your own power, 
whether or not you receive it. For every man who has 
attained to justification by means of faith in Christ, and is 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 543 

i 

adorned by all virtue, is counted worthy of the kingdom of 
heaven s. 

Having therefore made this plain to all men, He now trans 
fers His words to the holy disciples, to whom as His true 
companions He says, " The days will come when ye shall 
" desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and shall 
" not see it." Is the Lord then in so speaking working 
cowardice in His disciples ? Does He enervate them before 
hand, and make them without heart for the endurance of those 
persecutions and temptations which they would have to bear ? 
This is not His meaning, but the contrary : for He would have 
them prepared for all that can grieve men, and ready to endure 
patiently, that so being approved, they may enter the king 
dom of God. He forewarns them therefore that before His 
advent from heaven, at the consummation of the world, tribu 
lation and persecution will precede Him, so that they will wish 
to see one of the days of the Son of man ; that is, one such as 
those when they were still going about with Christ, and con 
versing with Him. And yet the Jews even then were guilty 
of no little violence against Him. They stoned Him with 
stones: they persecuted Him not once only, but oftentimes: 
they led Him to the brow of the hill, that they might throw 
Him down from the precipice : they vexed Him with re 
proaches and calumnies, and there was no form of wickedness 
which the Jews did not practise against Him. How then did 
He say that the disciples would desire to see one of His days ? 
It was because, by comparison with the greater evils, the less 
are, so to speak, desirable. 

But that He will descend from heaven in the, latter times of 
the world, not obscurely nor secretly, but with godlike glory, 
and as " dwelling in the light which no man can approach i Tim. 
" unto," He declared, saying, that His coming shall be as the lt 
lightning. He was born indeed in the flesh of a woman, to 



& Mai has a very curious interpo 
lation here, For as a matter of fact 
the kingdom of heaven is outside 
those men from whose hearts pro- 
ceed evil thoughts : but virtually 
it is within all men. For that the 
kingdom of God was even within 
the Pharisees, though they knew 



it not, and thought that at some 
time or other from outside of them 
it would come to have a local ex 
istence, John shews where he says, 
" There standeth One among you, 
" Whom ye know not," meaning 
Christ. 



544 COMMENTARY UPON 

Phil, ii. 7. fulfil the dispensation for our sakes, and for this reason He 
emptied Himself, and made Himself poor, and no longer 
shewed Himself in the glory of the Godhead : for the season 
itself, and the necessity of the dispensation, summoned Him to 
this humiliation. But after the resurrection from the dead, 
having: ascended to heaven, and sat down with God the Father, 

o 

He shall descend again, not with His glory withdrawn, nor, in 
the meanness of human nature, but in the majesty of the 
Father, with the companies of the angels guarding Him, and 
standing before Him as God and Lord of all. He shall come 
therefore as the lightning, and not secretly. 

Nor must we believe any one saying, Lo ! Christ is here, 
" or lo ! He is there. But first He must suffer many things, 
" and be rejected by this generation." He cuts away another 
expectation from the heart of the disciples : for they supposed, 
that when He had gone round about Judaea, and afterwards 
been in Jerusalem, that He would immediately manifest the 
kingdom of God. They even drew near to Him and said, 

Acts i. 6. " Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel ?" 
Yea, even the mother of Zebedee s sons, expecting that this 

Matt. xx. would be the case, drew near and said, " Lord, say that my 
" two sons shall sit, the one on Thy right hand, and the other 
" on Thy left, in Thy kingdom." That they might know 
therefore that He was about first to undergo His saving pas 
sion, and to abolish death by the death of His flesh, and put 
away the sin of the world, and bring to nought the ruler of 
this world, and so to ascend unto the Father, and in due time 

Ps.xcvi.i3. to appear to "judge the world in righteousness," He says, that 
" He must first suffer many things." 

And to shew that He will appear unexpectedly, and with no, 
man knowing it, and the end of the world come, He says, that 
the end shall be " as it was in the days of Noah and Lot. For 
" they were eating, He says, and drinking : and were taking 
" wives, and being made the wives of men : they were selling 
" and buying, and building ; but the coming of the waters 
" destroyed the one, while the others were the prey and food 
" of brimstone and fire." What therefore is signified by this ? 
That He requires us to be always watchful, and ready to make 
our defence before the tribunal of God. For as Paul says, 

2 Cor. v. 10. " We are all about to be revealed before the judgment-seat of 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 545 

" Christ, that every man may receive a retribution for the 
" things that are by the body, according to that he hath done, 
" whether good or bad/ 1 " Then shall He set the sheep on Mat 
" His right hand, and the goats on His left : and He shall say 33< 
" unto the sheep, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the 
"kingdom prepared for you from the foundations of the 
" world." But upon the goats He will utter a terrible sen 
tence ; for He will send them to the flame that shall never be 
appeased. 

If therefore, Pharisee, thou desirest to be accounted 
worthy of the kingdom of God, become one of the sheep. 
Offer unto Christ the fruit of faith in Him, and the praise of 
holy conduct, even that which is by the Gospel. But if thou 
continuest to be a goat, that is, one unfruitful, and destitute 
both of faith and good works, why dost thou enquire when 
the kingdom of God will come? For it concerns not thee. 
Fear rather because of the torment which is decreed against the 
unbelieving, and the unappeasable flame appointed for those 
who sin against Christ : by Whom and with Whom to God the 
Father be praise and dominion, with the Holy Ghost, for ever 
and ever, Amen. 



4 A 



546 COMMENTARY UPON 



SERMON CXVIIi. 

c. xvii. 3 1 - In that day, he who is upon the housetop, and his goods in 
37< the house, let him not go down to carry them away : and 

he u ho is in the field, let him in like manner not return 
back. Remember Lot s wife. Whosoever shall seek to 
save his life shall lose it : and whosoever shall lose it, shall 
save i t a ii ve . i tell you, in that night there shall be two 
t>* 8 &J/BS. men in one bed : the one shall be taken, and the other left. 
am. airrV rji WQ women saa n fo grinding at a mill together ; the one 
om. fjnai B. shall be taken, and the other left. And they answer and 
r^BT 8 * sa U unto Him > Where, Lord ? And He said unto them, 
add. Svo Where the body is, there will also the eagles be gathered. 

effovrai ev 

THE sacred Scripture has somewhere said, "Prepare thy 
works for thy departure, and make thyself ready for the 
fyeOfaew " field." Now by our departure I imagine is meant our going 
s - from this world, and removal hence. For this time must of 

Prov^xxiv. course overtake every one : for, as the Psalmist says, " What 
2 7- " man is there that shall live and not see death, and that can 

jpg Ivxxix 

4 8. " save his soul from the hand of hell ?" For the nature of man 

was condemned in Adam, and fell away unto corruption, be 
cause ho foolishly transgressed the commandment given him. 
But those who are careless and contemptuous, lead a shameful 
and pleasure-loving life, not even perhaps admitting into their 
mind the thought of the world to come, and the hope prepared 
for the saints, nor feeling moreover any alarm at the torment 
that is appointed for those who love sin. But those who em 
brace a virtuous life rejoice in labours for probity s sake, bid 
ding, so to speak, farewell to the desire after earthly things, and 
paying but slight attention to the vain turmoil of the world. 

To a purpose thus excellent, and a proportionate earnestness 
the Saviour bids us hold fast, thus saying ; " In that day he 
" who is upon the housetop, and his goods in the house, let him 
tc not go down to carry them away : and lie who is in the 
" field, let him in like manner not return back." He was 
speaking of the last day, that is, of the end of this world ; 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 547 

" for as it was, He said, in the days of Noali and Lot ; they 
" were eating, and drinking, and were taking wives, and being 
" made the wives of men, until the flood came ; and upon 
" Sodom fire descended, and destroyed them all : so shall it he 
" in the day when the Son of man is revealed." Strengthening 
them therefore for the remembrance of the last day. and the 
final time, He commands them to disregard all earthly and 
temporal matters, and look only unto one end, the duty, namely 
of every one saving his soul. " He therefore, He says, that is 
" upon the housetop, let him not go down to the house to 
" carry away his goods." And in these words He apparently 
means the man who is at ease, living in wealth and worldly 
glory : for always those that stand upon the housetops are con 
spicuous in the eyes of them who are round about the house. 
If therefore, lie says, there be any one in this condition, let 
him at that time make no account of the goods stored up in 
his house. For vain henceforth are such things, and unavailing 
to his advantage. For, as it is written, " Treasures profit not Prov. x.s. 
" the wicked : but righteousness delivereth from death." 

But even " if any one be, He says, in the field, in like 
" manner let him not return back." That is, if any one be 
found devoted to industry, and occupied in labours, earnestly 
desirous of spiritual fruitful ness, and gathering the wages of 
virtuous toil, let him hold firmly to this diligence : " let him 
" not return back :" for, as Christ Himself again has some 
where said, " No man that putteth his hand to the plough, and Lukeix.6*. 
" turneth back, is fit also for the kingdom of heaven." For it 
is our duty to maintain our religious exertions without waver 
ing, and to persevere in them with undaunted wills, lest we 
suffer some such fate as befel the woman at Sodom, taking 
whom as an example, He says, " Remember Lot s wife." For 
when she had been rescued from Sodom, but would afterwards 
have returned, she became a pillar of salt, became, that is. 
foolish and stonelike. 

On that day therefore, He says, and at that time, both those 
who are accustomed to live in luxury must entirely abstain 
from such pride, and readily labour, in order that they may 
save themselves : and in like manner those who are industrious, 
and honour useful exertion, must bravely hold to the mark that 
has been set before them. " For whosoever shall seek to save 

4 A 3 



548 COMMENTARY UPON 

" his life shall lose it : and whosoever shall lose it, shall save it 
" alive." 

But the way in which a man loses his life that he may save 
it, and how he who imagines that he is saving loses it, Paul 

Gal. v. 24. clearly shews, where he says of the saints, " They that are 
" Jesus Christ s have crucified the flesh, with its affections and 
" lusts." For those who have really become true [followers] 
of Christ our common Saviour, crucify their flesh, and put it to 
death, by being constantly engaged in labours and struggles 
unto piety, and by mortifying its natural desire. For it is 

Col. iii. 5. written, " Mortify your members that are upon earth ; forni- 
" cation, uncleanness, passion, evil lust, and covetousness." 
But those who love a voluptuous course of life, imagine pro 
bably that they are gaining their soul by living in pleasure and 

Gal. vi. 8. effeminacy : whereas certainly they lose it. " For he that 
" soweth, it says, to the flesh, shall of the flesh reap cor- 
" ruption." 

But on the other hand, whosoever loses his life shall of a cer 
tainty save it. This the blessed martyrs did, enduring conflicts 
even unto blood and life, and placing on their heads as their 
crown their true love unto Christ. But thosejjadiQ* from weak 
ness of resolution and mind,, denied the faith, and fled from the 
present death of the flesh, became -their own murderers: for 
they will go down into hell to suffer the penalties of their 
wicked cowardice. For the Judge shall descend from heaven : 
and those who with all them heart have loved Him, and ear 
nestly practised entire virtuousness of life, He will call, saying,^ 

Mat. xxv. " Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom pre-_ 

34 " pared for you from the foundations of the world." But 

those who have led careless and dissolute lives, nor maintained 
the glory of faith in Him, on them will He pass a severe and^ 
overwhelming sentence, saying unto them, " Depart, ye cursed, 
" into everlasting fire." 

This He teaches us by saying, " In that night there shall be 
" two men in one bed : one shall be taken, and one shall be 
" left. Two women shall be grinding at a mill together, the i 
" one shall be taken, and the other left." Now by the two 
who are in one bed, He seems to hint at those who live in rest 
and plenty, and are equal to one another, as far as regards 
their being possessed of worldly affluence : for the bed is the 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 549 

symbol of rest, " But one of them, He says, shall be taken, 
" and one shall be left." How, or in what manner ? It is 
because not all those who are possessed of wealth and ease in 
this world are wicked and merciless. For what if a man be 
rich, but be gentle and merciful, and not destitute of the praise 
of compassion upon the poor ; if he be ready to share his wealth 
with others, and affable of address ; thoroughly liberal and 
sober-minded ; upright in the faith, and of an urgent zeal for 
piety ; if too, according to the Saviour s expression, he have 
made for himself friends by his use of the unrighteous mammon, 
this man is taken : but the other, who was not thus minded, 
shall be left. 

" Two women, He says, shall be grinding at a mill; the one 
" shall be taken, and the other left." And by these again He 
seems to mean such as live in poverty and labour : but even 
in these, He says, there is a certain vast difference. For some 
have borne the burden of poverty manfully, honouring a sober 
and virtuous course of life : while others have been of a dif 
ferent character, crafty for every wicked practice, and the con 
trivers of all baseness. There will be therefore even in their 
case a full and exact investigation of their manners, and he 
that is good will be taken, and he that is not so will be left. 

As Christ however, our common Saviour, had used the ex 
pression " shall be taken," the disciples usefully and necessa 
rily ask, "Whither, Lord? And He said unto them, Where 
" the body is, there will also the eagles be gathered." And 
what does this mean ? By the use of a common and very plain 
fact, He hints at a great and profound mystery. And what is 
this? That He shall descend from heaven " to judge the world Actsxvii. 
" in righteousness." But, as He Himself says, " He will send Mat. xxiv. 
" His angels, and they shall choose the righteous and the holy * l - 
" from among the sinners, and bring them near unto Him :" 
but those others they will leave on earth, as doomed to torment 
and condemned to the punishment which is by fire. 

Something to this effect the very wise Paul also declares, 
where he writes, " For I say unto you, that we who are left * Thess. iv. 
" alive shall not arrive before those who have slept. Suddenly, \ 5 ^ or xv 
" in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump. For it shall. 5*- 
" sound, and the dead in Christ shall rise incorruptible : arid 
" we who are left alive shall be caught up together with them 



550 COMMENTARY UPON 

" in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air ; and so shall we 
" ever be with the Lord." 

Just therefore, He says, as when a dead corpse is exposed, 
carnivorous birds assemble unto it ; so when the Son of man 
shall appear, then certainly shall the eagles, even those who fly 
aloft, and rise superior to earthly and worldly things, hasten 
to Him. 

And He calls the time of judgment night, because, as I ima 
gine, of His advent being unknown and unexpected. For we 
remember also one of the holy prophets crying out to them 

Amos v. who love sin, and saying, " Woe unto them that desire the day 

l8 " of the Lord ! What will the day of the Lord be unto you? 

" and it is darkness and not light ; and thick darkness that 
" hath no brightness in it." And again, Christ Himself has 

John ix. 4. somewhere said to the holy apostles : " I must work the works 
" of Him That sent Me while it is day : the night cometh, 
" when no man can work." And one also of the holy apostles 

i Thess. v. wrote, " The day of the Lord cometh as a thief," that is, with 
out being foreknown. 

In order therefore that we may be taken by Christ, let us 
abandon all earthly anxieties, and devote ourselves to every 
kind of good work. For so will He accept us, and make us 
His own, and crown us with honours from on high : 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. 551 



SERMON CXIX. 

And He spake a parable unto them, to the intent that men c. xv iii. i 
ought always to pray, and must not grow weary ; saying, 



There was in a certain city a judge, who feared not #od, GT*dd. 
neither felt shame at man. And there ivas a widow tn jjj ** BT< 
that city, and she came to him and said, Avenge me of my 
adversary. And he would not for a time : but afterwards W 
he said within himself, Though I fear not God, and ha 
no reverence for man, yet because this widow luearieth me, ol & v 0p. 
I will avenge her, lest finally she annoy me by her coming, jjj 
And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saiih. B. 
And shall not God avenge His elect, ivho cry unto Him day Hj 
and night, and He is longsuffering towards them ? I tell G , Sy ; 
you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when "" 
the Son of man cometh, shall He fold faith upon the earth? 

THE fountain of every blessing is Christ ; " Who of God was i Cor. i. 30. 
" also made unto us wisdom :" for in Him we are made wise, 
and filled with spiritual gifts. Now any one who is right- 
minded will affirm that the knowledge of those things by means 
of which we may prosper in every method of saintly excellence 
of life, and advance in virtue, is God s gift, and one well 
worthy of our winning. And we find one who asked it of God, 
saying, "Shew me Thy ways, Lord: and teach me Thy Ps. xxv. 4 . 
" paths." Now the paths which lead those onward to an 
uncorrupt life, who eagerly advance therein, are indeed nume 
rous ; but one, which especially benefits those who practise it, 
is prayer: and the Saviour was Himself careful to teach us 
by the parable now set before us, that we must make diligent 
use of it. " For He spake, it says, a parable unto them, to the 
" intent that men ought always to pray, and must not grow 
" weary." 

For it is, I affirm, the duty of those who set apart their lives 
for His service, not to be sluggish in their prayers, nor again 
to consider it as a hard and laborious duty : but rather to 
rejoice, because of the freedom of access granted them by 
God ; for He would have us converse with Him as sons with a 



552 COMMENTARY UPON 

father. Is not this then a privilege worthy of being valued by 
us most highly ? For suppose that some one of those possessed 
of great earthly power were easy of access to us, and were to 
permit us to converse with him with full license, should we not 
consider it as a reason for extraordinary rejoicing? What 
possible doubt can there be of this ? When therefore God per 
mits us each one to offer our addresses unto Him for whatever 
we wish, and has set before those who fear Him an honour so 
truly great and worthy of their gaining, let all sloth fulness 
cease tli at would lead men to an injurious silence therein; and 
rather let us draw near with praises, and rejoicing that we 
have been commanded to converse with the Lord and God of 
all, having Christ as our Mediator, Who with God the Father 
grants us the accomplishment of our supplications. For the 
2 Cor. i. 2. blessed Paul somewhere writes, "Grace be unto you, and 
" peace, from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus 
11 Christ/ And He somewhere Himself said to the holy apo- 
Johnxvi. sties, "Hitherto ye have asked nothing in My Name : ask, and 
2 4- ^ shall be given unto you." For He is our Mediator, our 

Propitiation, our Comforter, and the Bestower of every request, 
i Thesa. v. It is our duty therefore to " pray without ceasing." according 
I7> to the words of the blessed Paul, as well knowing, and being 

thoroughly assured, that He Whom we supplicate is able to 
James i. 6. accomplish all things. " For let a man, it says, ask in faith, 
" in nothing divided : for he who is divided is like a wave of 
" the sea, troubled and blown about by the wind. For let not, 
" it says, that man think that he will receive anything of the 
" Lord." For he that is divided is really guilty of mockery : 
for if thou dost not believe that He will incline unto thee, and 
gladden thee, and fulfil thy request, do not draw near to Him 
at all, lest thou be found an accuser of the Almighty, in that 
thou foolishly art divided. We must avoid therefore so base a 
malady. 

But that God will incline His ear to those who offer Him 
their prayers, not carelessly nor negligently, but with earnest 
ness and constancy, the present parable assures us. For if the 
constant coming of the oppressed widow prevailed upon the 
unjust judge, who feared not God, neither had any shame at 
men, so that even against his will he granted her redress, how- 
shall not He Who loveth mercy, and hateth iniquity, and Who 






THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 553 

ever giveth His helping hand to them that love Him, accept 
those who draw near to Him day and night, and avenge them 
as being His elect ? 

But come now, and let us examine who it is that offend 
against them : for the examination of this question will beget 
much that is of profit to all who are well taught. For very 
many, and those of various classes, offend against the saints. 
For the holy ministers and teachers, who rightly divide the 
word of truth,, are assailed by all who are the truth s enemies ; 
men ignorant of the sacred doctrines, and estranged from all 
uprightness, who walk in the crooked path, remote from the 
straight and royal road. Such are the impure and polluted 
gangs of heretics, whom one may justly call the gates of de 
struction, the snares of hell, the pitfalls of the devil, the slough 
ot destruction. These bring persecutions and distresses upon 
such as walk uprightly in the faith ; and just as men drunk 
with wine, and unable to stand, take hold often of those near 
them, that they may not fall to the earth alone, so also these, 
as being lame and halt, often bring to ruin with them those 
who are not steadfast. Against such men must all who are 
known of God make supplications, imitating the holy apostles, 
who, calling out against the wickedness of the Jews, said, "And Actsiv. 29. 
" now, Lord, behold their threatenings, and ^rant unto Thy 
" servants that with freedom of speech they may declare Thy 
" word." 

But perchance some one will say, But lo ! Christ some- 
where said to the holy apostles, "Love your enemies: pray Lukevi.?;. 

" for them who use you despitefully :" how then can we cry 
4 out against them, without despising the divine command ? 
To this we answer, Shall we then pray that boldness and power 
may be given them by God, that they may more strenuously 
attack those who praise His doings, not permitting them to 
teach, and resisting the glory of Him to Whom we address the 
supplication ? But how would not this be thorough folly ? 
Whenever therefore offences are committed by any against us 
personally, let us immediately even count it our glory to be 
forgiving towards them, and full of mutual love; and imi 
tating the holy fathers, even though they smite and scorn us, 
yea, even though they inflict violence upon us of every kind, let 
us free them from all blame, and be superior both to wrath 

4 



554 COMMENTARY UPON 

and vexation. Such glorying becomes the saints, and is pleasing 
to God. 

But when any sin against the glory of God, heaping up wars 
and distresses against those who are the ministers of the divine 
message, then indeed let us at once draw near unto God, 
beseeching His aid,, and crying out against those who resist 
His glory : just as also the mighty Moses did ; for he said, 

Num.x.35. a Arise, Lord, and let Thine enemies be scattered, and let 
" all those who hate Thy Name flee away." And the prayer 
also uttered by the holy apostles shews, that it is not with 
out advantage for the success of the divine message for the 
hand, so to speak, of the persecutors to be weakened. " For 
" behold, they say, their threatening^, " that is, prove their 
opposition to be in vain, and grant unto " Thy servants, that 
" with freedom of speech they may speak Thy word." 

But that men would make merchandize of the word of up 
rightness, and prevail on many to abandon a sound faith, in- 

Jer. xxiii. volving them in the inventions of devilish error, and " belching 
" forth, as Scripture saith, things out of their own hearts, and 
" not out of the mouth of the Lord," He foretold, saying, 
" When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith upon the 
" earth ?" It escaped not His knowledge : how could it, seeing 
that He is God Who knoweth all things ? He tells us then, to 

Matt. xxiv. use his own words, that " the love of many will grow cold," 
that "in the latter times some shall depart from a cor- 
rect and blameless faith, going after seducing spirits, and 
" giving heed to the false words of men who are seared in 
" mind."" Against whom we draw near unto God as faithful 
servants, praying Him that their wickedness, and their at 
tempts against His glory, may be brought to no effect. 

And others also there are who wrong the servants of God, 
and whom we may without sin attack in prayer. And who 
again are these ? They are the evil and opposing powers, and 
Satan the adversary of us all, who fiercely resists those who 
would live well ; who casts into the pitfalls of wickedness who 
ever slumbers ; who plants in us the seeds of every sin. For 
with his satellites he presses upon us furiously. And on this 

PS. Ixii. 3. account the Psalmist called out against them, saying, " How 
" long set ye yourselves against man ? and ye slay all of you, 
" as it were a leaning wall, and a bowing fence." For just as a 



THE GOSl KL OF ST. LUKK. 



555 



wall that already leans on one side,, and a fence that bows over 
as having been loosened, readily fall when any one pushes against 
them, so also the mind of man, by reason of its own great in 
clination of itself to the love of worldly pleasures, readily falls 
into them whenever any one draws and entices it thereto. And 
this is Satan s business : and therefore we say in our prayers 
to Him Who is able to save, and to drive away from us that 
wicked being, " Avenge me of my adversary." And this the 
Only-begotten Word of God has indeed done by having become 
Man : for He has ejected from his tyranny over us the ruler 
of this world, and has delivered and saved us, and put us 
under the yoke of His kingdom. 

Excellent therefore is it to make request by constant prayer ; 
for Christ will receive our supplications, and fulfil our petitions : 
by Whom and with Whom, to God the Father, be praise and 
dominion, with the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever, Amen. h 



h Mai ascribes here to S. Cyril 
an interpretation, which even Theo- 
phylact, from whom it is taken, (p. 
474,) characterises as curious (irtpi- 
tpyov}. According to it the widow 
represents the human soul, which 
having divorced her first husband 
the devil, is therefore persecuted by 
him as her adversary. On which ac 
count she prays to God, the Judge of 



injustice, because He condemns the 
unjust, and Who fears not God, 
that is, Himself, nor regards man, 
as not accepting man s person : but 
Who, wearied by her constant 
prayers, at length delivers her. The 
rest of the extract is equally a sum 
mary of what follows in Theophy- 
lact, but contains nothing remark 
able. 



48 2 



556 COMMENTARY UPON 



SERMON CXX. 

c. xviii. 9- And He spake also this parable unto certain who trust in 

*4- themselves that they are righteous, and despise others. 

Two men went up unto the temple to pray, the one a Pha- 

KaUQap.S. risee, and the other a publican. And the Pharisee stood 

and prayed thus to himself: God, I thank Thee that 1 

am not like the rest of mankind, extortioners, unjust, adul- 

om. Kal S. terers, or as this publican. I fast twice in the week : I 

d 5^ rex. pay tithe of all that I gain. But the publican, standing 

S\ GTj 5 afar off, would not lift up even his eyes unto heaven, but 

om. ei s B. smote upon his breast, saying, God, be merciful unto me the 

add. on S. sinner. I tell you that this man went down to his house 

^ yap (om. justified rather than the other. For every one that exalteth 

7 ^li Ker " himself shall be abased, and he that abaseth himself shall 

vos GSTs. 

-n-ap 1 eKtivov be exalted. 

B. 

YE who love instruction, and are eager to listen, receive 
once again the sacred words : delight yourselves in the honey 

Prov. xvi. of wisdom ; for so it is written, " Good words are honeycombs, 

24> " and their sweetness is the healing of the soul." For the 

labour of the bees is very sweet, and benefits in many ways the 
soul of man : but the divine and saving (honey) makes those in 
whom it dwells skilful in every good work, and teaches them 
the ways of (spiritual) improvement. Let us therefore, as I 
said, receive again in mind and heart the Saviour s words. 
For He teaches us in what manner we ought to make our re 
quests unto Him, in order that the act may not prove un 
rewarded to them who practise it ; and that no one may anger 
God, the Bestower of gifts from on high, by means of those 
very things by which he imagines that he shall gain some 

Eccles. vii. benefit. For it is written. " There is a righteous man, who 
(< perisheth in his righteousness." 

For see, I pray, an instance of this clearly painted, so to 
speak, in the parable set before us. One who prayed is con 
demned because he did not offer his prayer wisely. " For 
" two men, it says, went up unto the temple to pray, the one a 
" Pharisee, and the other a publican." And here we must 






THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 557 

admire the wise arrangement of Christ our common Saviour, in 
all things whatsoever He does and says. For by the parable 
previously read to us, He called us to diligence, and to the duty 
of offering prayer constantly : for the Evangelist said, " And 
u He spake unto them also a parable, to the intent that men 
" ought always to pray, and must not grow weary." Having 
then urged them to diligence in constant prayer, yet, as I said, 
lest by doing so sedulously but without discretion, we should 
enrage Him Whom we supplicate, He very excellently shews us 
in what way we ought to be diligent in prayer. " Two men 
" then, He says, went up unto the temple to pray." Observe 
here, I pray, the impartiality and entire fairness of the unerring 
Nature : for He calls those who were praying men, since He 
looks not so much at wealth or power ; but regarding their 
natural equality, He considers all those who dwell upon earth 
as men, and as in no respect different from one another. 

And what then was the manner of their prayer? " The Pha- 
" risee, it says, prayed thus to himself. God, I thank Thee 
" that I am not like the rest of mankind, extortioners, unjust, 
" adulterers, or as this publican." Many at once are the faults 
of the Pharisee : for first of all he is boastful, and without 
sense ; for he praises himself, although the sacred Scripture 
cries aloud, " Let a neighbour praise thee, and not thy own 
" mouth : a stranger and not thine own lips." But, excel- 2 
lent sir, one may well say to him, Behold, those who live in 
the practice of good and holy actions, as any one may see, are 
not very ready to listen to the words of flatterers : yea, and 
even if men extol them, they often are covered with shame, 
and drop their eyes to the ground, and beg silence of those 
that praise them. But this shameless Pharisee praises and 
extols himself because he is better than extortioners, and the 
unjust, and adulterers. But how did it escape thy notice, that 
a man s being better than the bad does not necessarily and of 
course prove him to be worthy of admiration : but that to vie 
with those who habitually excel, is a noble and honourable 
thing, and admits a man into the number of those who are 
justly praised. 

Our virtue therefore must not be contaminated with fault, 
but must be singleminded, and blameless, and free from all 
that can bring reproach. For what profit is there in fasting 



558 COMMENTARY UPON 

twice in the week, if thy so doing serve only as a pretext for 
ignorance and vanity, and make thee supercilious and haughty, 
and selfish ? Thou tithest thy possessions, and makest a boast 
thereof : but thou in another way provokest God s anger, by 
condemning men generally on this account, and accusing 
others; and thou art thyself puffed up, though not crowned by 
the divine decree for righteousness, but heapest, on the con 
trary, praises upon thyself. " For I am not, he says, as the 

Ps. cxli. 3. " rest of mankind." Moderate thyself, Pharisee : " put a 
" door to thy tongue, and a lock." Thou speakest to God 
Who knoweth all things. Await the decree of the Judge. 
None of those skilled in the practice of wrestling ever crowns 
himself: nor does any man receive the crown of himself, 
but awaits the summons of the arbiter. Lower thy pride : 
for arrogance is both accursed and hated by God. Although 
therefore thou fastest with puffed up mind, thy so doing will 
not avail thee : thy labour will be unrewarded ; for thou 
hast mingled dung with thy perfume. Even according to the 
law of Moses a sacrifice that had a blemish was not capable 
of being offered to God : for it was said unto him, " Of 

Lev. xxii. " sheep, and ox, that is offered for sacrifice, there must be 
" no blemish therein." Since therefore thy fasting is ac 
companied by pride, thou must expect to hear God saying, 

la. iviii. 5- " This is not the fast that I have chosen, saith the Lord." 
Thou offerest tithes : but thou wrongest in another way Him 
Who is honoured by thee, in that thou condemnest men gene 
rally. This is an act foreign to the mind that fears God : for 

Lukevi.a;. Christ even said, " Judge not, and ye shall not be judged : 
" condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned. 1 " And one also 

James iv. of His disciples said, " There is one Lawgiver, and Judge : 
" why then judgest thou thy neighbour?" No man because he 
is in health ridiculeth one who is sick for being laid up and 
bedridden : rather he is afraid, lest perchance he become 
himself the victim of similar sufferings. Nor does any man in 
battle, because another has fallen, praise himself for having 
escaped from misfortune. For the infirmity of others is not a 
fit subject for praise for those who are in health : nay, even if 
any one be found of more than usually vigorous health, even 
then scarcely does he gain glory thereby. Such then was the 
state of the self-loving Pharisee. 






THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 559 

But what of the publican ? He stood, it says, " afar off," not 
even venturing, so to speak, to raise up his eyes on high. 
Thou seest him abstaining from all boldness of speech, as haying 
no right thereto, and smitten by the reproaches of conscience"! 
for he was afraid of being even seen by God, as one who had 
been careless of His laws, and had led an unchaste and dissolute 
life. Thou seest also that by his external manner, he accuses 
his own depravity. For the foolish Pharisee stood there bold 
and broad, lifting up his eyes without scruple, bearing witness 
of himself, and boastful. But the other feels shame at his 
conduct: he is afraid of his Judge, he smites upon his breast, 
he confesses his offences, he shews his malady as to the Physi 
cian, he prays that he may have mercy. And what is the 
result ? Let us hear what the Judge saith, This man, He 
" says, went down to his house justified rather than the 
" other." 

Let us therefore pray without ceasing," according to the i Thess v. 
expression of the blessed Paul: but let us be careful to do so * 
aright. The love of self is displeasing to God, and He rejects 
empty haughtiness and a proud look, puffed up often on 
account of that which is by no means excellent. And even if 
a^man be good and sober, let him not on this account suffer 
himself to fall away into shameful pride : but rather let him 
remember Christ, Who says to the holy apostles, When ye Luke xvii. 
have done all those things, those namely which have been I0 - 
commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants, we 
" have done that which was our duty to do." For we owe unto 
God over all, as from the yoke of necessity, the service of 
slaves, and ready obedience in all things i. Yea, though thou 
leadest an excellent and elect life, exact not wages of the 
Lord ; but rather ask of Him a gift. As being good, He will 
promise it thee : as a loving Father, He will aid thee. Restrain 
not thyself then from saying, " God be merciful to me the sinner." 
Remember Him Who says by the voice of Isaiah, " Declare I B . xliii. ag. 
" thou thy sins first, that thou inayest be justified :" remember 
too that He rebukes those who will not do so, and says, 
" Behold, I have a judgment against thee, because thou sayest Jer. ii. 35 . 

Mai adds here a few lines from rical to belong to any but an infe- 
A and E, summing up the parable rior writer, 
in a string of antitheses, too rheto- 



560 COMMENTARY UPON 

" I have not sinned." Examine the words of the saints: for 

Prov. xviii. one saith, " The righteous is the accuser of himself in the 

P 7 S xxSfj " beginning 1 of his words." And another again, " I said, I will 

" confess against myself my transgression unto the Lord : and 

" thou forgavest the iniquity of my heart." 

What answer then will those make to this, who embrace the 
new tenets of Novatus, and say of themselves that they are 
pure ? Whose prayer do they praise ? That of the Pharisee, 
wlSPacquitted himself, or that of the Publican, who accused 
himself? If they say that of the Pharisee, they resist the 
divine sentence ; for he was condemned as being boastful : but 
if that of the Publican, why do they refuse to acknowledge 
their own impurity ? Certainly God justifies those who know 
well their transgressions, and are willing to confess them : but 
these men will have the portion of the Pharisee. 

Jamesiii.2. We then say, that in many things we " all of us offend," and 
that no man is pure from uncleanness, even though his life 
upon earth be but one day. Let us ask then of God mercy ; 
which if we do, Christ will justify 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. 561 



SERMON CXXI. 

And they brought also unto Him infants, that He *A<m/dc.xviii.i 5 - 
touch them: but ivhen the disciples saw them, they rebuked I7> 
them. But Jesus called them and said, Suffer little chil- trt v 
dren to come unto Me, and hinder them not; for of such is ? 
the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, that whoso- <* 
ever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, 7 
shall not enter therein. aura, el 

GSTs. 

EVERY manner of benefit does Christ weave for us, and opens 
wide the pathways of salvation. For His purpose is to save 
the dwellers upon earth, and produce in them a knowledge of 
the pursuits of piety, and make them skilful in all virtue, that 
they may be acceptable, being filled with spiritual fruitfulness. 
Let us see therefore what benefit He begets in us by what has 
just been read. For ye have heard the holy Evangelist saying, 
:f That they brought unto Him infants that He should touch 
" them : and when the disciples prevented them, He took them 
" and said, Suffer them to come unto Me, and hinder them 
" not : for of such is the kingdom of God." It was their 
mothers who brought the babes, desiring His blessing, and 
begging for their infants the touch of His holy hand. But the 
blessed disciples rebuked them for so doing, not because they 
envied the babes, but rather as paying to Him as their teacher 
a due respect, and preventing, so to speak, unnecessary fatigues, 
and as setting much value upon order. 

And infants even to the present time are brought near and 
blessed by Christ by means of consecrated hands : and the 
pattern of the act continues even until this day, and descends 
unto us from the custom of Christ as its fountain. Only the 
bringing near of infants takes not place now in an unbecoming 
or disorderly manner, but with proper order, and sobriety and 
fear. k 

k S. Cyril in these words refers in the ancient church immediately 
to the imposition of hands, or as it followed baptism even in the case of 
is now called confirmation, which infants. Cf. Bingham s Antiq. B. 

4 U 



562 COMMENTARY UPON 

Since then Christ has said, " Suffer the little children to 
" come unto Me, and hinder them not; for of such is the king- 
" dom of God," come then, yea come, and let us carefully exa 
mine, what sort of persons those must be, who desire eternal 
life, and are enamoured of the kingdom of heaven. For some 
one forsooth may say, What is there in babes that is worthy 
* of emulation ? Is it their want of firmness and intelligence ? 
And how then is it not incredible, to affirm or imagine anything 
of the kind ? Christ however does not wish us to be without 
understanding, but would have us perfectly know every thing 
that is useful and necessary for our salvation. For wisdom even 

Prov. i. 4. promises that she will give " to them that are simple, craftiness, 
and to the young the beginning of sense and understanding." 
And she is found also in the book of Proverbs like one that 

Prov.viii.4- raiseth her voice on high and saith, " You, men, do I 
" beseech, and utter my voice unto the sons of men : under- 
" stand, ye simple ones craftiness, and ye fools, put a heart 
" within you." It follows therefore, that the fool has no heart, 
and is deficient, in craftiness ; not in that which is blamable 
how could that be ? but in that which is praiseworthy. But 
how a man may at once be both simple and crafty, the Saviour 

Mat. x. 16. Himself elsewhere explains to us, saying, " Be ye crafty as ser- 
" pents, and simple as doves. 11 And similarly the blessed 

i Cor. xiv. Paul also writes, " My brethren, be ye not children in your 
" minds : but in wickedness be ye babes, and in your minds 
" grown men." 

It is necessary however to examine, what is the meaning of 
being babes in wickedness, and how a man becomes so, but in 
mind a grown man. A babe then, as knowing either very 
little, or nothing at all, is justly acquitted of the charge of 
depravity and wickedness : and so it is also our duty to endea 
vour to be like them in the very same way, by putting entirely 
away from us habits of wickedness, that we too may be re 
garded as men who do not even know the pathway which leads 
unto guile, but who, unconscious of malice and fraud, live in a 
simple and innocent manner, practising gentleness, and a price 
less humility, and readily forbearing from wrath and spiteful- 

xii. c. i. .2. The passage further the Latins used this rite of imposi- 
proves, that the Greeks as well as tion, cf. Antiq. xii. 3. . 5. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 503 

ness. For such we affirm are the qualities found in those who 
are still babes. 

But while such is our character in simplicity and innocence, 
we must be perfect in mind ; having our understanding firmly 
established in the clear knowledge of Him Who by nature and 
in truth is the Creator of the Universe, and God and Lord : 
acknowledging along with Him no other God whatsoever, new, 
and falsely so named : and avoiding as that which would bring 
upon us perdition, the being seduced into the abandonment of 
Him by the adoption of the customs of the heathen. Our mind 
then must be firmly fixed, so to speak, and safe, and unwavering 
in holding unto the living and true God : and we must further 
also flee far away from other pitfalls, and withdraw from the 
stumbling-blocks of the devil ; for such those men are, who 
corrupt the orthodox doctrine respecting God, and falsify the 
truth, and lift up their horn on high, and speak wickedly 
against God. For they belch forth things out of their own 
heart, and lead astray the souls of the simple, warring against 
the glory of the Only-begotten Son of God, and saying that 
He is to be numbered among things created, whereas it was by 
Him that they all were brought into existence. And bringing 
down severe and inevitable condemnation upon their own heads, 
they fear not to say the very same things also against the Holy 
Ghost. Whosoever then says of them that they are the gates 
of hell, errs not from the mark. And the wise Paul also pro 
tests unto us, that we must turn away our faces from such 
men : " For if, he says, any one preach unto you other than Gal. i. 9. 
44 that ye have received, let him be accursed." 

The chief perfection therefore of the mind is to be 
established in the faith, and for our understanding to be uri- 
cbrrupted therein : and the second, which neighbours upon this 
chief perfection, and is akin to it, and its constant com- 
panion, is the clear knowledge of that way of conduct which 
pleases God, and is taught us in the Gospel, and is perfect and 
blameless. 1 Those who travel thereon lead a life of simplicity 

1 The Catenists, who have summed in these words ; "for the definition 

up this homily in very few lines, " of philosophy is to be sincere, but 

(cf. Mai, p. 378. from A. B. and D.) " sagacious," TO /zero o 

give the purport of this paragraph a\a<rrov fivai. 



564 COMMENTARY UPON 

and innocence, while nevertheless they know what opinions 
they ought to hold, and what acts are right for them to do. 
These enter in by the narrow gate, refusing neither those la 
bours which piety unto God requires, nor such as are necessary 
for leading a glorious life. And so they duly advance into the 
broadness of the abundance which is to God-ward, and rejoice 
in His gifts, and win for themselves the kingdom of heaven 
by Christ ; 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. 565 



SERMON CXXII. 

And a certain ruler asked Him, saying, Good Teacher, what C. xviii. 
shall I do to inherit eternal Life? And Jesus said unto 
him, Why callest thou Me good ? None is good, but one, 
God. Thou knowest the commandments : Thou shalt not 
kill; thou shalt not commit adultery ; thmi shalt not steal; 
thou shalt not bear witness falsely ; honour thy father and 
thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my 
youth. And when Jesus heard these things, He said unto (Jf 
him ; Yet lackest thou one thing : sell all that thou hast, BT. 
and distribute to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in 
heaven : and come, follow Me. And ivhen he heard this, 
he was very sorrowful : for lie was very rich. And Jesus 
seeing it said, How hardly shall they that have gold enter add. 
into the kingdom of God ! For it is easier for a camel to ^? bv ^ t . 
enter in through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man Xvvov 7 e "<*- 
to enter the kingdom of God. And they that heard it said, ^puJtfs. 
And who can live ? And He said, The things which are fl <r^<rv- 
impossible with men, are possible with God. fla-jrop^ov- 

rai BT. 

THOSE who believe that the Word, Who shone forth from S^sBT. 
the very substance of God the Father, is by nature and verily $$&&,. 
God, draw near to Him as unto an omniscient God, Who, as 
the Psalmist says, " trieth the hearts and reins ;" and seeth all PS. vii. 9 . 
that passes in us : " for all things are naked, and spread out Heb.iv. 13. 
" before His eyes," according to the expression of the blessed 
Paul. But we do not find the Jewish multitudes thus disposed : 
for they with their princes and teachers were in error, and 
saw not with the eyes of their mind the glory of Christ. Ra 
ther they looked upon Him as one like unto us : as a mere 
man, I mean ; and not as God rather, Who had become man. 
They approached Him therefore to make trial of Him, and lay 
for Him the nets of their craftiness. 

And this thou mayest learn by what has now been read. 
For a ruler, it says, asked Him, saying, " Good teacher, what 
" shall I do to inherit eternal life ?" And Jesus said unto him 



566 COMMENTARY UPON 

" Why callest thou Me good ? None is good but one, God." 
Now he, who is here called a Ruler, and who fancied himself 
to be learned in the law, and supposed that he had been accu 
rately taught therein, imagined that he could convict Christ 
of dishonouring the commandment spoken by the most wise 
Moses, and of introducing laws of His own. For it was the 
object of the Jews to prove that Christ opposed and resisted 
the former commandments, to establish, as I said, new laws, of 
His own authority, in opposition to those previously existing, 
that their wicked conduct towards Him might have a specious 
pretext. He draws near therefore, and makes pretence of 
speaking kindly : for he calls Him Teacher, and styles Him 
Good, and professes himself desirous of being a disciple. For 
" what, he says, shall I do to inherit eternal life? 1 Observe 
therefore how he mixes up flattery with fraud and deceit, like 
one who mingles wormwood with honey : for he supposed that 
he could in this way deceive Him. Of such men one of the 
Jer. ix. 8. holy prophets said, " Their tongue is a piercing lance : the j 
" words of their mouth are deceitful. To his neighbour he 
" speaketh peacefully : but there is enmity in his soul." And 
Ps. x. 7. again the wise Psalmist also thus speaks of them : " Their 
Ps. lv. 21. " mouth is full of cursing and bitterness." And again, " Their 
" words are smoother than oil : and yet are they spears." 

He therefore flatters Jesus, and attempts to deceive Him, 
making pretence of being well-disposed to Him. And what 
Job v. 13. does the Omniscient reply, "Who, as it is written, taketh 
"the wise in their craftiness?" "Why callest thou Me 
" good ? None is good but one, God." Thou seest how He 
proved at once that he was neither wise nor learned, though 
the ruler of a synagogue of the Jews. For if, He says, thou 
didst not believe that I am God, and the clothing of the flesh 
hath led thee astray, why didst thou apply to Me epithets 
suitable to the supreme nature alone, while still thou supposedst 
Me to be a mere man like unto thyself, and not superior to the 
limits of human nature ? In the nature that transcends all, 
even in God only, is found the attribute of being by nature, 
and unchangeably good : but the angels, and we upon earth, 
are good by resembling Him, or rather by participation of 
Ex. iii. 14. Him. For as He is what He is, and this is His Name, and His 
everlasting memorial for all generations; but we^exist and 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 567 

come into being by being made partakers of Him Who really 
jixisLsi so He indeed is good, or the good absolutely, but angels 
and men are good, only by being made, as I said, partakers of 
the good God. Let therefore the being good be set apart as 
the special property of God over all alone, essentially attached 
to His nature, and His peculiar attribute. If, however, He 
says, I do not seem to thee to be truly God, then thou hast 
ignorantly and foolishly applied to Me the properties and vir 
tues of the divine nature, at the very time when thou imaginest 
me to be a mere man, one that is who never is invested with 
goodness, the property of the unchangeable nature, but only 
gains it by the assent of the divine will. And such then was 
the purport of what Christ spake. 

But those perchance will not assent to the correctness of this 
explanation, whose minds are perverted by sharing in the wick 
edness of Arius. For they make the Son inferior to the supre 
macy and glory of God the Father : or rather, they contend 
that He is not the Son ; for they both eject Him from being 
by nature and verily God, and thrust Him away from having 
really been born, lest men should believe that He is also equal 
in substance to Him Who begat Him. For they assert, as 
though they had obtained a reason for their blasphemy from 
the passage now before us, Behold, He has clearly and ex- 
pressly denied that He is good, and set it apart as something 
appropriate to God the Father only: but verily had He been 
equal to Him in substance, and sprung from Him by nature, 
how would not He also be good as being God? 

Let this then be our reply to our opponents. Since all cor 
rect and exact reasoning acknowledges a son to be consubstan- 
tial with the father, how is He not good, as being God ? For 
He cannot but be God, if He be consubstantial with Him Who 
is by nature God. For surely they will not affirm, however 
extreme may be the audacity into which they have fallen, that 
from a good father a son has sprung who is not good. For to 
this we have the Saviour s own testimony, Who thus speaks ; 
"A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruits. 1 How from a good Mat.vii.i8. 
root has there shot forth an evil sprout ? Or how from a sweet 
fountain can there flow a bitter river ? Was there ever a time 
when there was no Father, seeing that He is the Father eter 
nally ? But He is the Father, because He has begotten, nnd 



568 COMMENTARY UPON 

this is the reason why He bears this name, and not as being 
one who borrows the title by resemblance to some other per 
son. For from Him all paternity in heaven and earth is named. 
We conclude therefore that the fruit of the good God is the 
good Son. 

Col. i. 15. And in another way: as most wise Paul says, " He is the 
" image of the invisible God :" and the image, because He dis 
plays in His own nature the beauty of Him Who begat Him. 
How therefore can we see in the Son, Who is not good, the 

Heb. i. 3. Father, Who is by nature and verily good? " He is the bright- 
" ness and likeness of His person :" but if He be not good, as 
the senseless heretic asserts, but the Father is by nature good, 
it is a brightness different in nature, and that possesses not the 
splendour of Him Who bade it shine. And the likeness too is 
counterfeit, or rather is now no likeness at all: for it represents 
not Him Whose likeness it is, if, as all must allow, that which 
is not good is the contrary of that which is good. 

And much more might one say in opposition to them upon 
this point : but that our discourse may not extend to an unrea 
sonable length, and be burdensome to any, we will say no more 
at present, and hold in as with a bridle our earnestness in this 
matter ; but at our next meeting we will continue our explana 
tion of the meaning of this passage from the Gospel, should 
Christ once again assemble us here : 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. 569 

SERMON CXXIII. 

THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. 

I PERCEIVE you assembled here with great earnest 
ness and zeal ; and, as I suppose,, ye have come to exact 
a debt. I then, for my part, acknowledge that I promised 
at our last meeting to complete what was wanting to my 
discourse : and I have come to pay it as unto children, praying 
Christ, our common Saviour, to impart to my mind His divine 
light, and give utterance to my tongue, that I may benefit 
both you and myself. For Paul has somewhere written, " The 2 Tim. ii.6, 
" husbandman who laboureth must first eat of the fruits/ 

Let me then bring back to your remembrance first of all 
what has already been considered, and then we will proceed to 
what remains. 

The blessed Evangelist therefore said, " And a certain ruler 
" asked Him, saying, Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit 
" eternal life ? And He said unto him, Why callest thou Me 
" good ? None is good, but one, God :" and so on with the 
rest of the lesson. Now we have already explained what is the 
meaning of this passage in the Gospel, and enough has been 
said to you upon that point : for we shewed both that by na 
ture and verily the Son is good as also He is Who begat Him ; 
and that the answer, " Why callest thou Me good ? None is 
" good, but one, God," was spoken relatively to the questioner. 
Let us therefore direct our inquiry to the Scriptures which 
follow. 

What then says this chief of the synagogue of the Jews ? 
"What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" He does not ask 
with a view to learn ; for then his question would have been 
worthy of all praise : but his object was to prove, that Christ 
did not permit them to retain the Mosaic commandments, but 
led rather His disciples and followers unto new laws enacted 
by Himself. For on this pretext they rebuked the people 
under their charge, saying of Christ, our common Saviour, 
"He hath a devil, and is mad: why hear ye Him?" For John x. 20 

40 



570 COMMENTARY UPON 

they said that He had a devil, and was mad, on the supposi 
tion that He had set up his own laws against those which had 
been given from above, from God. True rather would it be 
to affirm of them that they had a devil, and were utterly 
Mat. v. 17. mad, for resisting the Lord of the law, Who had come not 
so much to destroy the commandment which had been given 
of old, and of which Moses was the minister, as to fulfil it, ac 
cording to His own words : for He transformed the shadow 
into the truth. 

The chief of the synagogue therefore expected to hear 
Christ say, Cease, man, from the writings of Moses ; 
abandon the shadow; they were but types, and nothing more; 
draw near therefore rather to My commandments, which thou 
hast in the Gospel: but He did not so answer, because He 
discerned by His godlike knowledge the object of him who 
tempted Him. As though then He had no other command 
ments, but those only given by Moses, He sends the man unto 
them, and says, "Thou knowest the commandments/ And 
lest he should say, that He referred to His own command 
ments, He enumerates those contained in the law, and says ; 
" Thou shalt not kill : thou shalt not commit adultery: neither 
" shalt thou bear false witness m ." And what reply does this 
cunning schemer in wickedness make, or rather this very igno 
rant and senseless person ? For he thought that even though 
He Whom he asked was God, yet nevertheless he could easily 
cajole Him into answering whatever he chose. But as the sa- 
Prov.xii.27. C red Scripture saith, " The prey falleth not to the lot of the 
(SepM -crafty." 

For though he had shot wide of his mark, and missed his 
prey, he yet ventures to bait for Him another snare : for he 
said, "All these have I kept from my youth." He might there- 
John viii. fore well hear from us in answer, foolish Pharisee, " thou 
" bearest witness of thyself ; thy witness is not true." But 
omitting now this argument, let us see in what way Christ re 
pelled His bitter and malignant foe. For while He might have 
Mat. v. 3. said, " Blessed are the poor in spirit : for their s is the kingdom 

m Mai adds here from A. a short the law forbids every kind of wick- 
summary of the five commandments edness. 
quoted by our Lord, to shew that 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 571 

" of heaven : blessed are the meek : blessed are the pure in 
" heart:" He tells him nothing of this kind, but because he 
was fond of lucre and very rich, He proceeds at once to that 
which would grieve him, and says, " Sell all that thou hast, and 
" give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; 
" and come, follow Me." This was torture Jo the heart of that 
covetous man, who so prided himself upon his keeping of the 
law. It proved him at once both frail and weak, and alto 
gether unfit for the reception of the new message of the gospel. 
And we too learn how true that is which Christ spake ; " No Mat - . 
"man putteth new wine into old wine-skins; else the skins 7 
" burst, and the wine is spilt : but new wine is put into new 
" wine-skins." For the chief of the synagogue of the Jews 
proves to be but an old wine-skin, that cannot hold the new 
wine, but bursts and becomes useless. For he was saddened, 
although he had received a lesson that would have won for 
him eternal life. 

But those who have received in them by faith Him Who 
makes all things new, even Christ, are not rent asunder by 
receiving from Him the new wine. For when they have but 
newly received from Him the word of the gospel message, 
which gladdeneth the heart of man, they become superior to 
wealth and the love of lucre : their mind is established in 
courage: they set no value on temporal things, but thirst 
rather after things eternal : they honour a voluntary poverty, 
and are earnest in love to the brethren. For, as it is written 
in the Acts of the holy Apostles, "As many as were possessors Acts iv. 34, 
" of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the 
" things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles feet ; 
" and distribution was made unto every one according to his 
" need/ 

As the ruler therefore was too infirm of purpose, and could 
not be prevailed upon even to listen to the advice of selling his 
possessions, although it would have been good for him, and full 
of reward, our Lord lays bare the malady which has its lair in 
the rich, thus saying, " How hardly shall they that have riches 
" enter into the kingdom of God ! And I say unto you, that it is 
" easier for a camel to enter in through the eye of a needle, 
" than a rich man into the kingdom of God." Now by a 
camel He means not the animal of that name, but a thick cable 

4 D i 



572 COMMENTARY UPON 

rather : for it is the custom of those well versed in navigation 
to call the thicker cables " camels." 

Observe however, that He does not altogether cut away the 
hope of the rich, but reserves for them a place and way of sal 
vation. For He did not say that it is impossible for a rich man 
to enter in, but that he does so with difficulty. 

When the blessed disciples heard these words, they objected, 
saying, " And who can live?" And their plea was for those 
who had wealth and possessions. For we know, they say, that 
no one will ever be persuaded to abandon his wealth and 
riches : " Who then can be saved ? " But what does the Lord 
reply ? " The things that are impossible with men, are possible 
" with God." He has reserved therefore for those who possess 
wealth the possibility of being counted worthy, if they will, of 
the kingdom of God: for even though they refuse entirely 
to abandon what they have, yet it is possible for them in 
another way to attain unto honour. And the Saviour has 
Himself shewed us how and in what way this can happen, 
saying, " Make to yourselves friends of the unrighteous 
" mammon : that when it has failed, they may receive you into 
" eternal tabernacles." For there is nothing to prevent the 
rich, if they will, from making the poor partakers and sharers 
of the abundance which they possess. What hinders him who 
has plentiful possessions from being affable of address, and 
ready to communicate to others, easily prevailed upon to give, 
and compassionate, and full of" that generous pity which is 
wellpleasing to God. Not unrewarded, nor unprofitable shall 

James ii. we find carefulness in this respect; for " mercy boasteth over 

I3< " judgment," as it is written. 

By every argument therefore, and in every way does our 
common Saviour and Lord benefit 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. 573 



SERMON CXXIV. 

And Peter said, Lo we have left all, and followed Thee. C. xviii. 
And He said unto them. Verily I say unto you, There is ^j^im 
no man that hath left house, or wife, or brethren, or parents, ir ^ * ai 
or children, for the kingdom of God s sake, who shall not ri tSa ^ 
receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world P GT> 

f t) yov. fj a8. 

to come eternal life. % yvv . G S . 

HE Who is the fountain of sacred doctrines causes here also 
a healthful stream to flow for us, and the very season, as it 
seems, bids us say unto those who search into the divine words, 
" Ye who thirst, come to the waters." For there is set before la. lv. i. 
you that ye may partake thereof "the torrent of pleasure/ even 
Q nr J s J^. For by this name the prophet David makes mention 
of Him, saying unto God the Father in heaven ; "But the sons Ps. xxxvi. 
" of men shall trust in the protection of Thy wings : they shall 8l 
" be satisfied with the fatness of Thy house, and Thou shalt 
" make them drink of the torrent of Thy pleasure. 11 

And what the stream is which here gushes forth for us 
from Him, the purport of the evangelic lessons now set before 
us clearly teaches : " For Peter, it says, said unto Him, Lo ! 
" we have left all and followed Thee." And to this another 
Evangelist, Matthew, adds, " What then shall we have?" Let Mat. xix. 
us however, before proceeding to any of the other points, first 27 
enquire into the occasion which brought the discourse *to this 
present subject. 

When therefore our common Saviour Christ said unto one of 
the chiefs of the synagogue of the Jews, " Go, sell all that thou 
" hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in 
" heaven, and come, follow Me, 11 the disciples ask, What they 
shall have from God who keep this precept : and usefully they 
take upon themselves, as representing a class, the outline of the o,W 0jt u- 
matter. But, as I imagine, to this some may reply, What ""* 
after all had the disciples given up ? for they were men who 
1 gained the necessaries of life by their sweat and labour, being 
by trade fishermen, who at most perhaps owned somewhere a 
boat and nets : who had neither well-built houses, nor any 
other possessions. What therefore had they left, or for what 



574 COMMENTARY UPON 

did they ask of Christ a recompense ? What therefore do we 
answer to this ? Chiefly, that for this very reason they made 
this most necessary enquiry. For inasmuch as they possessed 
nothing but what was trifling and of slight value, they would 
learn in what manner God will requite, and gladden with His 
gifts those who likewise have left but little for the sake of the 
kingdom of God, for the desire, that is, of being counted worthy 
of the kingdom of heaven for their love s sake towards Him. 
For the rich man, as one who has disregarded much, will confi 
dently expect recompense : but he who possessed but little, 
and abandoned it, how was it not right to ask, what hopes he 
might entertain ? For this reason, as representing those in like 
condition with themselves, in respect of their having left but 
little, they say, " Behold, we have left all and followed Thee." 
And it is further necessary to observe this also ; that, cor 
rectly considered, the pain of abandoning is the same whether 
it be of much or little. For come let us see the real import of 
the matter by a trifling example. Supposing that two men 
had to stand naked, and in so doing the one stripped himself of 
raiment of great price, while the other put off only what was 
cheap and easy of acquisition, would not the pain of the naked 
ness be equal in both cases ? What possible doubt can there be 
upon this point ? As far therefore as regards obedience and 
good-will, those must be placed upon an equal footing with the 
rich, who though differently circumstanced, yet practised equal 
readiness, and willingly bore the selling of what they had. 
And tbe very wise Paul also takes up their cause, where he 
Cor. viii. thus wrote : " For if there be a ready mind, it is accepted 
2 " according to what a man hath, and not according to what he 

" hath not." The enquiry therefore of the holy apostles was 
not an unreasonable one. 

What then said Christ unto them, Who accepteth not per 
sons ? " Verily I say unto you, There is no man who hath left 
" houses or brethren, or children, or parents, for the kingdom 
" of God s sake, who shall not receive manifold more in this 
11 present time, and in that which is to come eternal life." 
Worthy of God is the declaration, and holy and admirable 
the decree. For observe how He raises up all who hear to an 
assured hope, promising not merely the fulness of the boun 
teous gift which is bestowed upon the saints, but confirming 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 575 

His promise by an oath, by prefixing to His declaration the 
word Verily, which, so to speak, performs the part of an oath. 
And not only does He include within His promises those who 
disregard wealth, but those also, He says, who leave father or 
mother, or wife or brethren, for the kingdom of God s sake, 
shall receive manifold more in this world, and in that which is 
to come eternal life. 

But that those who have led a virtuous life necessarily gain 
the life eternal, there can be no doubt whatsoever : some 
inquiry is however necessary, in the first place, as to who they 
are who leave father and mother, and wife, and brethren, and 
houses : and secondly, a still more exact examination of the 
way in which those who thus act shall receive manifold more 
in this world. 

Men therefore leave father and mother, and wife and bre 
thren, and oftentimes count for nought the natural affection 
due to the ties of kindred, for love s sake unto Christ, And in 
what manner they do so, He teaches us by saying, at one time, 
" He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy Mat. x. 37. 
" of Me ; and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is 
" not worthy of Me :" and at another time again, " Think not Mat. x. 34. 
" that I am come to send peace on earth ; I tell you nay, I am 
" not come to send peace, but division : for I am come to divide 
" a man from his father, and the daughter from her mother, 
" and the daughter-in-law from her mother-in-law/ For when 
the divine message of the gospel is catching as in a net the 
whole world unto faith in Him, and raising it up unto the light 
of the true knowledge of God, there are those who would readily 
enter in, did they not suffer from an injurious shame, as being 
afraid either on their father s account, or their mother s, and 
taking too much into consideration their anger or their sorrow. 
For if these are idolaters, they will not consent that their sons 
or daughters should yield themselves unto Christ s service, and 
abandon the error in which they have been brought up, and 
which has become habitual with them. And often when the 
sons are unbelieving and ill-disposed, their fathers have not 
the courage to vex them by hastening unto the faith, and 
seizing the salvation which is by Christ, And the same ex 
planation may be given respecting brethren with brethren, and 
the daughter-in-law with her mother-in-law, and the latter 



576 COMMENTARY UPON 

with the former. But those who are strong in mind, and prefer 
nothing to the love of Christ, eagerly grasp the faith, and 
earnestly endeavour to gain admission into His household by a 
spiritual relationship, heeding nothing the wars, or rather 
divisions which will follow, with those who are their kindred 
according to the flesh. And in this way then men leave house 
and kindred for Christ s sake, that they may win His Name , 
being called Christians ; or rather for His glory s sake, for 
frequently His Name means His glory. 

But next let us see, in what way one who leaves house or 
father or mother or brethren, or it may be his wife even, re 
ceives manifold more in this present time. Shall he become 
the husband of many wives, or find on earth many fathers 
instead of one, and thus have his earthly kindred greatly mul 
tiplied ? This is not what we say, but rather, that abandoning 
these carnal and temporal things, he shall receive what is far 
more valuable, and so to speak, manifold times as much as 
what was disregarded by him. For let us take, if you 
please, the holy apostles as our examples ; and we say then 
of them, that they were men not distinguished in worldly sta 
tion, nor skilled in eloquence, nor did they possess a polished 
tongue, or elegance of words ; on the contrary they were un 
trained in speech, and by trade fishermen, who gathered by 
their labour the means of life : but whatever they had they 
left, that they might be the constant attendants and ministers 
of Christ ; nor could any thing hinder them, or draw them 
away to other occupations, or worldly pursuits. Having left 
them but little, what did they gain ? They were filled with the 
Holy Ghost : they received power over unclean spirits, to cast 
them out : they wrought miracles : the shadow of Peter healed 
those that were sick : they became illustrious among mankind 
everywhere : foremost in glory ; worthy of emulation, and 
renowned, both while they were still living, and afterwards as 
well. For who knows not those who taught the world Christ s 
mystery? Who wonders not at the crown of glory that was 
bestowed upon them ? 

But perchance thou sayest, Shall we all of us therefore 

n As usual, the reading in St. " for the kingdom of God s sake," 
Matthew s Gospel was present in St. we find, "for My Name s sake/ 
Cyril s mind; for there, instead of (Mat. xix. 29.) 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 577 

become like them ? To this we answer, that each one of us 
also who have believed in Christ and loved His Name, if he 
have left a house shall receive the mansions that are above : 
and if he have abandoned a father, shall gain that Father Who 
is in heaven. If he be abandoned by his brethren, yet will 
Christ admit him to brotherhood with Him. If he leave a wife, 
he shall have as the inmate of His house Wisdom who cometh 
down from above, from God. For it is written, "Say unto Prov.vii.4. 
" Wisdom that she is thy sister, and make Understanding thy 
" friend." By her shalt thou bring forth beautiful spiritual 
fruits, by means of which thou shalt be made a partaker of the 
hope of the saints, and join the company of the angels. And 
though thou leave thy mother, thou shalt find another incom 
parably more excellent, even " the Jerusalem that is above, Gal. iv. 26. 
" which is free, and our mother." How are not these things 
manifold times more than those that were left ? For they 
were but transitory, and rapidly do they waste, and lightly 
fail us utterly ! for as the dew, and like a dream, so they pass 
away. But he who is counted worthy of these things becomes 
even in this world illustrious and enviable, being adorned with 
glory both before God and men. Manifold more therefore are 
these things than all that is earthly and carnal, and the Giver 
of them is our common Lord and Saviour : by Whom and with 
Whom to God the Father be praise and dominion, with the 
Holy Ghost, for ever and ever, Amen. 

The Syriac is supported by the MSS. in the rejection of TTOI/TOV, 
majority of the more important "all." 



578 COMMENTARY UPON 



SERMON CXXV. 

C. xviii. And He took the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go 
3I ~ 34 up to Jerusalem, and all those things shall be accomplished 

ivhich are written in the prophets of the Son of man. For 
He shall be delivered up to the heathen, and shall be 
mocked, and shamefully entreated, and spit upon. And 
when they have scourged Him, they shall put Him to death: 
and on the third day He shall rise again. And they un 
derstood none of these things, and this word was hid from 
them, and they knew not what ivas said. 

THE blessed prophet David has spoken one of those things 

which are of great importance for our benefit, especially as it 

refers to what is of constant occurrence, so to speak, to men s 

Ps.cxix.6o. minds. " For I was prepared, he says, and was not troubled." 

* pt For whatever happens unexpectedly, whenever it is of a serious 

character, exposes even courageous persons to agitation and 

alarm, and sometimes to unendurable terrors. But when it has 

been mentioned before that it will happen, its attack is easily 

averted. And this, I think, is the meaning of, " I was prepared, 

" and was not troubled." 

For this reason the divinely-inspired Scripture very fitly 
says unto those who would attain unto glory by leading a 
Ecclus.ii i. course of holy conduct, "My son, if thou drawest A near to 
" serve the Lord, prepare thyself for temptation. Direct thy 
" heart, and endure." For it does not so speak in order to 
produce in men an abject slothfulness which will win no reward, 
but that they may know that by practising patience and en 
durance, they will overcome the temptations which befal all 
who would live virtuously, and prove superior to every thing 
that could harass them. And so here also the Saviour of all, to 
prepare beforehand the disciples minds, tells them that He 
shall suffer the passion upon the cross, and death in the flesh, 
as soon as He has gone up to Jerusalem. And he added too, 
that He should also rise, wiping out the pain, and obliterating 
the shame of the passion by the greatness of the miracle. For 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 579 

glorious was it, and worthy of God, to be able to sever the 

bonds of death, and hasten back unto life. For testimony is Rom. i. 4 . 

borne Him by the resurrection from the dead, according to 

the expression of the wise Paul, that He is God and the Son 

of God. 

It is necessary, however, for us to explain what the benefit 
was which the holy apostles received from having learnt the 
approach of those things which were about to happen. By this 
means then He cuts away beforehand both unseemly thoughts 
and all occasion for stumbling. How, you ask, or in what 
way? The blessed disciples then, I answer, had followed 
Christ, our common Saviour, in His circuit through Juda3a : 
they had seen that there was nothing, however ineffable, and 
worthy of all wonder, which He could not accomplish. For 
He called from their graves the dead when they had already 
decayed : to the blind He restored sight : and wrought also 
other works, worthy of God and glorious. They had heard Him 
say, " Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing ? and one Mat. x . 9 . 
" of them doth not fall to the ground without your Father." 
And now they who had seen these things, and been emboldened 
by His words unto courageousness, were about to behold Him 
enduring the ridicule of the Jews, crucified, and made a mock 
of, and receiving even buffets from the servants. It was possible 
therefore, that being offended because of these things, they 
might think thus within themselves, and say : He Who is so 
great in might, and possesses such godlike authority; Who 
performs miracles by His nod alone ; Whose word is almighty, 
so that even from their very graves He raises the dead; Who 
says too that His Father s providence reaches even to the 
birds ; Who is the Only-begotten, and first-born : how did He 
not know what was about to happen? Is He too taken in 
the nets of the foe, and made the prey of His enemies, 
Who even promised that He would save us ? Is He then dis 
regarded and despised of that Father, without Whose will not 
even a tiny bird is taken ? These things perchance the holy 
apostles might have said or thought among themselves. And 
what would have been the consequence ? They too, like the 
rest of the Jewish multitude, would have become unbelieving, 
and ignorant of the truth. 

4 E 2 



580 COMMENTARY UPON 

That they might therefore be aware both that He foreknew 
His passion, and though it was in his power easily to escape, 
that yet of His own will He advanced to meet it, He told them 
beforehand what would happen. In saying then, " Behold, we 
" go up to Jerusalem/ He, so to speak, testified urgently and 
commanded them to remember what had been foretold. And 
He added necessarily, that all these things had been foretold 
by the holy prophets. For Isaiah, as in the person of Christ, 

Is. 1. 6. says ; " I have given My back to scourgings, and My cheeks 
" to buffetings : and My face I have not turned away from the 
" shame of spittings." Aud again, in another place, He says 

Is. liii. 7. of Him, " As a sheep He was led unto the slaughter, and was 

Is. liii- 6. " silent, as a lamb before its shearer." And again, " All we 
" like sheep have gone astray : every one hath gone astray in 
" his path: and the Lord hath delivered Him up because of 
" our sins." And again the blessed David also in the twenty- 
first P Psalm, painting as it were beforehand the sufferings 
upon the cross, has set before us Jesus speaking as one that lo ! 

Ps. xxii. 6. already was hanging upon the tree, " But I am a worm, and 
" not a man : the reproach of men, and a thing rejected of the 
" people. All those that have seen Me, have derided Me : 
" they have spoken with their lips, and shaken their heads ; 
" He trusted in the Lord : let Him deliver Him." For some 
of the Jews did shake their wicked heads at Him, deriding 

Mat. xxvii. Him, and saying, " If Thou art the Son of God, come down 
" now from the cross, and we will believe Thee." And again 

Ps.xxii.i8. He said, " They parted My garments among them, and upon 
" My vesture they cast the lot." And again in another place 

Ps. lxix.2i. He says of those that crucified Him, " They gave gall for My 
" food, and for My thirst they made Me drink vinegar." 

Of all therefore that was about to befal Him, nothing was 
unforetold, God having so ordered it by His Providence for 
our use, that when the time came for it to happen, no one 
might be offended. For it was in the power of one Who knew 
beforehand what was about to happen, to refuse to suffer alto- 



P In the Septuagint, the ninth sequent Psalms are numbered one 
and tenth Psalms are incorporated less than in our version, 
into one, and therefore all the sub- 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 581 

gether. No man then compelled Him by force, nor again 
were the multitudes of the Jews stronger than His might: but 
He submitted to suffer, because He knew that His passion 
would be for the salvation of the whole world. For He endured 
indeed the death of the flesh, but rose again, having trampled 
upon corruption, and by His resurrection from the dead, Ho 
planted in the bodies of mankind the life that springs from 
Him. For the whole nature of man in Him hastened back to 
incorruption. And of this the wise Paul bears witness, saying, 
at one time, " For since by man was death, by man was also iCor.xv.2i. 
the resurrection of the dead." And again, " For as in Adam 
" all die, so also in Christ shall all live." Let not those there 
fore who crucified Him indulge in pride : for He remained not 
among the dead, seeing that as God He possesses an irresistible 
might : but rather let them lament for themselves, as being 
guilty of the crime of murdering the Lord. This the Saviour 
also is found saying to the women who were weeping for Him, 
" Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, but weep for Luke xxiii. 
" yourselves, and for your children." For it was not right 28 
that they should lament for Him, Who was about to arise from 
the dead, destroying thereby corruption, and shaking death s 
dominion ; but more fitly, on the contrary, would they lament 
over their own afflictions. 

The Saviour of all then declared these things beforehand to 
the holy apostles : " but they, it says, understood not what 
" was said, and the word was hid from them." For as yet 
they knew not accurately what had been before proclaimed by 
the holy prophets. For even He Who was first among the 
disciples heard the Saviour once say that He should be cru 
cified, and die, and arise : but in that he did not as yet under 
stand the depth of the mystery, he resisted it, saying, " That Mat. xvi. 
" be far from Thee, Lord : this shall not be unto Thee." But 72 
he was rebuked for so speaking : because he as yet knew not 
the purport of the Scripture inspired of God relating there 
unto. But when Christ arose from the dead, He opened their Luke xxiv. 
eyes, as another of the holy Evangelists wrote ; for they were 3I 
enlightened, being enriched with the abundant participation of 
the Spirit. For they who once understood not the words of 
the prophets, exhorted those who believed in Christ to study 



582 COMMENTARY UPON 

2 Pet. 1.19. their words, saying, "We too have a more sure prophetic 
" word, whereurito ye do well to look, as unto a lamp that 
" shineth in a dark place, until the day, shine forth, and the 
" light- star arise in your hearts." And this has also reached its 
fulfilment : for we have been enlightened in Christ ; 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. 583 



SERMON CXXVI. 

And it came to pass, that as He drew near unto Jeri- c. xviii 
cho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging : 35-43- 
and hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it 
meant. And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth passeth 
by. And he cried, saying, Jesus, Son of David, have 
mercy upon me. And they who went before rebuked him 
that he should hold his peace. But he cried out so much 
the more, Son of David, have mercy upon me. And Jesus 
stood still, and commanded that they should bring him to 
Him. And when he drew near, He asked him, What wilt add. \4y<* v 
thou that I should do unto thee ? And he said, Lord, that Gs 
I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive 
thy sight: thy faith hath made thee live. And immediately 
he received his sight, and folloiued Him, glorifying God. 
And all the people when they saw it gave glory to God. 

WHOSOEVER are yet without understanding, and accept 
not the faith in Christ, may justly have that said unto them 
which was spoken by the voice of David, " Come and see the p s . x i v i. 8. 
" works of God, the miracles that He hath put upon earth." 
For He wrought miracles after no human fashion, though He 
was in appearance a man such as we are ; but with godlike 
dignity rather, for He was God in form like unto us, since He 
changed not from being what He was, as tFie purport of the 
passage now read from the Gospels proves to us. For the 
" Saviour, it says, was passing by. And a blind man cried 
" out, saying, Son of David have mercy on me." Let us then 
examine the expression of the man who had lost his sight ; for 
it is not a thing to pass by without enquiry, since possibly the 
examination of what was said will beget something highly ad 
vantageous for our benefit. 

In what character then does he address to Him his prayer ? 
Is it as to a mere man, according to the babbling of the Jews, 
who stoned Him with stones, saying in their utter folly, " For John x. 33 . 
" a good work we stone Thee not, but for blasphemy ; because 



584 COMMENTARY UPON 

" that Thou being a man makest Thyself God?" But must 
not that blind man have understood that the sight of the blind 
cannot be restored by human means, but requires, on the con 
trary, a divine power, and an authority such as God only 
possesses ? for with God nothing whatsoever is impossible. He 
drew near to Him therefore as to the Omnipotent God ; but 
how then does he call Him the Son of David? What therefore 
can one answer unto this ? The following is perhaps, as 1 think, 
the explanation. As he had been brought up in Judaism, and 
was by birth of that race, the predictions contained in the law 
and the holy prophets concerning Christ of course had not 
escaped his knowledge. He had heard them chant that pas- 
Ps. cxxxii. sage in the book of the Psalms : " The Lord hath sworn the 
" " truth unto David, and will not reject it, that of the fruit of 

" thy loins will I set upon thy throne/ He knew also that 
Is. xi. i. the blessed prophet Isaiah had said, " And there shall spring 
" forth a shoot from the root of Jesse, and from his root shall 
Mat. i. 23. " a flower grow up." And again this as well ; " Behold, a 
Is. vii. 14. (t Y j r g m g^j conce iv e an d bring forth a son, and they shall 
" call His Name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God 
" with us." As one therefore who already believed that the 
Word, being God, had of His own will submitted to be born in 
the flesh of the holy virgin, he draws near to Him as unto 
God, and says, " Have mercy upon me, Son of David." For 
Christ bears witness that this was his state of mind in offer 
ing his supplication, by saying unto him, " Thy faith hath 
" saved thee." 

Let those then ,be ashamed who imagine themselves not to 
2 Pet. i. 9. be blind, but who, as the wise Peter says, are " sightless, and 
" havedarkness in their mind. 1 For they divide into two the 
one Lord Jesus Christ : even Him Who is the Word of the 
Father, [butq Who became a man, and was made flesh. For 
they deny that He Who was born of the seed of David was 
really the Son of God the Father : for so, they say, to be born 
is proper to man only, rejecting in their great ignorance His 
flesh,] and treating with contempt that precious and -ineffable 
dispensation by which we have been redeemed : and even 

i From the mutilated state of the MS. the text of this passage is chiefly 
conjectural. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 585 

perhaps foolishly speaking against the Only-begotten, because 
He emptied Himself, and descended to the measure of human 
nature, and was obedient unto the Father even unto death, 
that by His death in the flesh He might abolish death, might 
wipe out corruption, and put away the sin of the world. Let 
such imitate this blind man : for he drew near unto Christ the 
Saviour of all as unto God, and called Him Lord and Son of 
the blessed David. He testifies also to His glory by asking 
of Him an act such as God only can accomplish. Let them 
wonder also at the constancy wherewith he confessed Him. 
For there were some who rebuked him when confessing his 
faith ; but he did not give way, nor cease his crying, but bade 
the ignorance of those who were rebuking him be still. He 
was justly therefore honoured by Christ : for he was called by 
Him, and commanded to draw near r . Understand from this, 
my beloved, that faith sets us also in Christ s presence, and 
so brings us unto God, as for us to be even counted worthy of 
His words. For when the blind man was brought unto Him, 
He asked him, saying, " What wilt thou that I should do unto 
" thee ?"" Was his request then unknown to Him ? For was it 
not plain that he sought deliverance from the malady that 
afflicted him? How can there be any doubt of this? He 
asked him therefore purposely, that those who were standing 
by, and accompanying Him, might learn, that it was not 
money he sought, but rather that regarding Him as God, he 
asked of Him a divine act, and one appropriate solely to the 
nature that transcends all. 

When then he had declared the nature of his request, say 
ing, " Lord, that I may receive my sight :" then, yea ! then 
the words that Christ spake were a rebuke of the unbelief of 
the Jews : for with supreme authority He said, " Receive thy 
" sight." Wonderful is the expression ! right worthy of God, 
and transcending the bounds of human nature ! Which of the 
holy prophets ever spake ought such as this ? or used words 
of so great authority ? For observe that He did not ask 
of another the power to restore vision to him who was deprived 
of sight, nor did He perform the divine miracle as the effect of 

* Mai adds from A. and D. " that " Him by faith, might now approach 
" he who already had approached " Him also corporeally." 

4P 



586 COMMENTARY UPON 

prayer unto God, but attributed it rather to His own power, 
and by His almighty will wrought whatever He would. " Re- 
" ceive, said He, thy sight ;" and the word was light to him 
that was blind : for it was the word of Him Who is the true 
light. 

And now that he was delivered from his blindness, did he 
neglect the duty of loving Christ ? Certainly not : " For he 
" followed Him, it says, offering Him glory as unto God." 
He was set free therefore from double blindness : for not only 
did he escape from the blindness of the body, but also as well 
from that of the mind and heart : for he would not have glo 
rified Him as God, had he not possessed spiritual vision. And 
further, he became the means of others also giving Him 
" glory, for all the people, it says, gave glory [to 8 God. 
It is plain therefore from this, that great is the guilt of the 
scribes and Pharisees ; for He rebukes them for refusing to 
accept Him though working miracles, while the multitude glo 
rified Him as God because of the deeds which He wrought. 
No such praise is offered on their part : yea, rather] the mi 
racle is made an occasion of insult and accusation ; for they 
said that the Lord wrought it by Beelzebub : and by thus act 
ing they became the cause of the destruction of the people 
under their rule. Therefore the Lord protested against their 

Jer.xxiii.i. wickedness by the voice of the prophet, saying ; " Alas for the 
" shepherds, who destroy and scatter the sheep of My inherit- 

Jer. x. 21. " ance." And again ; " The shepherds have become foolish, 
" and have not sought the Lord : therefore did none of the 
" flock understand, and were scattered. 

Such then was their state : but we are under the rule of the 
chief Shepherd of all, even Christ : by Whom and with Whom 
to God the Father be praise and dominion, with the Holy 
Ghost, for ever and ever, Amen. 

s Again the MS. is so mutilated, as to render the text chiefly conjectural. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 587 

SERMON CXXVII.t ^ 

Behold a man named Zacchwus. Ver. 2. 

ZACCH^EUS was chief of the publicans, a man entirely aban- From Mai, 

, , i , i i i & Cramer. 

doned to covetousness, and whose sole object was the increase 

of his gains: for such was the practice of the publicans, though 

Paul calls it " idolatry," possibly as being fit only for those who Col. iii. 5. 

have no knowledge of God. And as they shamelessly made 

open profession of this vice, the Lord very justly joined them 

with the harlots, thus saying to the chiefs of the Jews, " The Mat. xxi. 

" harlots and the publicans go before you into the kingdom of 31 

" God/ But Zacchaeus continued not among their number, 

but was counted worthy of mercy at Christ s hands : for He it 

is Who calls near those who are afar off, and gives light to 

those who are in darkness. 

But come then, and let us see what was the manner of 
Zaccha3us J conversion. He desired to see Jesus, and climbed 
therefore into a sycomore tree, and so a seed of salvation 
sprang up within him. And Christ saw this with the eyes of 
Deity : and therefore looking up, He saw him also with the 
eyes of the manhood, and as it was His purpose for all men 
to be saved, He extends His gentleness unto him, and encou 
raging him, says, " Corne down quickly." For u he had sought 

* The first half of this Sermon " the manhood." The passage con- 
having perished in the Syriac, its sists chiefly of a play upon O-UKO/ZOJ- 
place is supplied from Mai, p. 385. paia, " a sycomore tree," and p.<op6s, 
and Cramer, p. 137. " foolish," suggested by a mis- 
u This passage, given by Mai spelling, which probably did not 
from B., but omitted by Cramer, exist in Cyril s days, as the tree 
in whose Catena the sense is car- correctly is a-vKopopcd, " the fig- 

-ried on unbroken to the next para- " mulberry :" and this pun is no 

graph, " For God by His foreknow- less than thrice repeated, first in 

" ledge knew what would happen," pwpdvas TO. p.e\rj eVi TTJS yrjs, then 

cannot possibly be S. Cyril s, but in TO. papa TOV Koorpov eeXearo, 

belongs to some less earnest writer, and finally in (TVKT) p.r] Troiovcra trv/ca 

as also, in my opinion, does a line oXXa /*apa. I am aware that this 

above, also omitted by Cramer, tree has met with much of this 

namely, " And therefore looking up treatment at the hands of later Fa- 

" He saw him also with the eyes of thers : Theophylact, for instance, 

! 4 F 2 



588 COMMENTARY UPON 

to see Him, but the multitude prevented him, not so much 
that of the people, as of his sins ; and he was little of stature, 
not merely in a bodily point of view, but also spiritually : and 
in no other way could he see Him,, unless he were raised up 
from the earth, and climbed into the sycomore, by which 
Christ was about to pass. Now the story contains in it an 
enigma: for in no other way can a man see Christ and believe 
in Him, except by mounting up into the sycomore, by render- 

ino- foolish his members which are upon the earth, fornication, 
...& A 

uncleanness, &c. And Christ, it says, was about to pass by the 
sycomore : for having taken for His path the conversation 
which is by the law, that is, the fig tree, He chose the foolish 
things of the world, that is, the cross and death. And every 
one who takes up his cross, and follows Christ s conversation, 
is saved, performing the law with understanding, which so be 
comes a fig tree not bearing figs but follies ; for the secret con 
duct of the faithful seems to the Jews to be folly, consisting as 
it does in circumcision from vice, and idleness from bad prac 
tice, though they be not circumcised in the flesh, nor keep the 

p. 487.0. says, dvapalvd tin CTVKO- this kind to Cyril, the Syriac has 

fiopeav -rracrav i^Soi^i/ /uoopaii/a>i> : and uniformly ignored them, and I have 

Gregory, Moralia, xxvii. 27. Syco- almost always been successful in 

morus quippe ficus fatua dicitur : tracing them up to their true au- 

and Bede, cap. 78. in Lucam, Syco- thor. To a writer with a competent 

morus namque ficus fatua dicitur : knowledge of Greek, the pun upon 

but no instance of this style of cri- which this miserable jingle of words 

ticism will be found in S. Cyril, is founded would not even have 

For while he held that the Old Tes- suggested itself : and, to say no- 

tament was entirely typical of the thing of several other difficulties, 

New, and therefore saw its myste- there is an evident bungling in 

ries shadowed out in the minutest uniting it to what really belongs to 

occurrence, and simplest phrase con- S. Cyril, as any one may see by the 

tained in the law and the prophets, triple repetition of vTreftetaro avrbv 

and consequently wherever types ^atptoi/, and by comparing with this 

and prophecies are concerned, de- passage the extract given on v. 5. 

scends to much which appears to by Mai from A. as well as B., and 

us to be laborious trifling; on the contained also by Cramer. Al- 

contrary, in his treatment of the though therefore I have held myself 

New Testament, nothing can be bound to follow Mai, so far as to 

broader and more sensible than his admit it into the text, not having 

method of interpretation, and he been able to trace it to its real au- 

himself expressly condemns this thor, I nevertheless have not the 

minuteness in Serm. cviii. Wher- slightest hesitation in pronouncing 

ever Mai has attributed passages of it spurious. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 589 

sabbath. He knew therefore that he was prepared for obe 
dience, and fervent for faith, and ready to change from vice 
to virtue ; wherefore also He calls him, and he will leave (the 
fig tree) to gain Him. And with haste he came down, and 
received Him joyfully, not only because he saw Him as he 
wished, but because he had also been called by Him, and be 
cause he received Him (to lodge with him), which he never 
could have expected. 

Zacchceus, come down quickly : for to-day I must abide at Ver. 5. 
thy house. 

This was an act of divine foreknowledge ; for He well knew 
what would happen. He saw the man s soul prepared most 
readily to choose a holy life, and converted him therefore unto 
piety. The man therefore received Jesus joyfully : and this From the 
was the commencement of his turning himself unto good, of his s y riac - 
departure from his former faults, and of his manfully betaking 
himself unto a better course. 

But perchance some one possibly may say to our common 
Saviour Christ, What dost Thou, Lord? Goest Thou to 
lodge with Zacchaeus ? and deignest Thou to abide with the 
chief of the publicans ? He hath not yet washed away the 
* stain of his greedy love of lucre : he is still sick with covetous- 
1 ness, the mother of all crimes : still full of the blame of rapine 
1 and extortion. But yes, He says, I indeed know this, in that 
I am God by nature, and see the ways of every individual upon 
earth. And more than this, I know also things to come. I 
have called him to repentance, because he is ready thereto : 
and though men murmur, and blame My gentleness, facts 
themselves shall prove that they are wrong. " For Zaccha3us, 
" it says, stood up, and said unto the Lord, Behold, the half of 
" whatever I possess I give unto the poor, and if I have de- 
" frauded any man, I make fourfold restoration." 

Thou beholdest his repentance; his rapid change unto a 
better course ; his haste unto piety ; the bountifulness of his 
love for the poor. He who lately was a publican, or rather 
the chief of the publicans, given up to covetousness, and set 
upon gain, at once becomes merciful, and devoted to charity. 
He promises that he will distribute his wealth to those who are 



590 COMMENTARY UPON 

in need, that he will make restoration 14 to those who have 
been defrauded : and he who was the slave of avarice, makes 
himself poor, and ceases to care for gains. 

Let not the Jewish multitudes therefore murmur when 
Christ saves sinners; but let them answer us this. Would 
they have physicians succeed in effecting cures when they 
visit the sick? Do they praise them when they are able 
to deliver men from cruel ulcers, or do they blame them, and 
praise those who are unskilful in their art ? But, as I suppose, 
they will give the sentence of superiority in favour of those 
who are skilful in benefiting such as suffer from diseases. Why 
therefore do they blame Christ, if when Zaccha3us was, so to 
say, fallen and buried in spiritual maladies, He raised him from 
the pitfalls of destruction ? 

And to teach them this He says, " To-day there is salvation 
" for this house, in that he also is a son of Abraham :" for 
where Christ enters, there necessarily is also salvation. May 
He therefore also be in us : and He is in us when we believe : 
for He dwells in our hearts by faith, and we are His abode. 
It would have been better then for the Jews to have rejoiced 
because Zaccha3us was wonderfully saved, for he too was 
counted among the sons of Abraham, to whom God promised 
IB. lix. 20. salvation in Christ by the holy prophets, saying, " There shall 
" come a Saviour from Zion, and He shall take away iniquities 
" from Jacob, and this is my covenant with them, when I will 
" bear their sins." 

Christ therefore arose, to deliver the inhabitants of the 
earth from their sins, and to seek them that were lost, and to 
save them that had* perished. For this is His office, and, so to 
say, the fruit of His godlike gentleness. Of this will he also 
count all those worthy who have believed in Him : by Whom 
and with Whom to God the Father be praise and dominion, 
with the Holy Ghost for everand ever, Amen. 

k The Catenist adds, that fourfold Ex. xxii. i, and enjoined by David 
restitution was enacted by the law, in 2 Sam. xii. 6. 



I 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 591 



SERMON CXXVIII. 

And as they hear these things, He added and spake ac.xix. n- 
parable, because He was nigh unto Jerusalem, and they ^ 
thought that the kingdom of God was about immediately 
to be manifested. He said therefore, A certain nobleman 
went into a far country, to receive for himself a kingdom, 
and to return. And when he had called ten of his servants, 
he gave them, ten minas 1 , and said unto them, Traffic until I & ? BT. 
come. Bat his citizens hated him, and sent an embassy ea 
after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over 
us. And it came to pass that when he had received the 
kingdom and returned, he commanded them to call unto om. at S. 
him those servants, to whom he had given the money, that 
he might know what they had gained by trading. And the rl SieTrpay- 
first came saying, Lord, thy mina hath gained ten minas B^^TlsT! 
more. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant : <TaTO GTs - 
because thou hast been faithful in a little, thou shalt have 
authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, 
Lord, thy mina hath gained five minas. And he said also 
unto him, And thou shalt be over five cities. And the om. 6 Gs. 
other came, saying, Lord, behold thy mina that I had, laid 
up in a napkin. For I was afraid ofthee, because thou art 
a hard man ; because thou takest up what thou layedst not add. 8n S. 
down, and reapest tuhat thou didst not sow. And he said om. Se T. 
unto him, Out of thy mouth ivill I judge thee, thou wicked 
servant. Thou knewest that 1 am a hard man ; that I 
take up what I layed not down, and reap what I did not 
sow. Why didst thou not give my money to the table [ofom. nal S. 
the moneychanger^, and 1 on my return should have ^ tt v T 
exacted it with its usury. And he said unto those that 
stood before him, Take from him the mina, and give it to 
him that hath ten minas. And they said unto him, Lord, 
he hath ten minas! For I say unto you, that unto every om. yap B. 
one that hath shall be given ; but from him that hath not, 

1 The mina was worth rather more than 4/. 



592 COMMENTARY UPON 

om. air* av- even that which he hath shall be taken away from him. 
roJrws But these my enemies, who would not that I should reign 

BST. over them, bring hither and slay before me. 



add. avrots APPROACH yet once again, that opening widely the eye 
of the mind, we may receive the light of the sacred doctrines, 
which Christ richly sheds on those who love Him. For He 
also is the true light, Who enlighteneth angels, and princi 
palities, and thrones and dominions, and even the holy sera 
phim, and also shineth into the hearts of those that fear Him. 
Let us ask therefore the illumination which He bestows, that 
understanding exactly the force of the parable set before us, 
we may store up in our minds as a spiritual treasure the benefit 
which it offers us. 

The scope therefore of the parable briefly represents the 
whole purport of the dispensation that was to usward, and of 
the mystery of Christ from the beginning even unto the end. 
For the Word being God became man : but even though He 
was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, and on this account is 
also called a servant, yet He was and is free m born, by His 
being ineffably begotten of the Father : yea ! and He is God 
also, transcending all in nature and in glory, and surpassing the 
things of our estate, or rather even the whole creation, by His 
incomparable fulness. The man therefore is freeborn, as being 
the Son of God : and not as we are called to this appellation 
by His goodness and love to mankind, but because it belongs 
to Him by nature, both to be of the Father by generation, and 
also to transcend every thing that is made. When then the 
Word, Who was in the likeness of, and equal with the Father, 

Phil. ii. 8. was made like unto us, " He became obedient unto death, and 
" the death of the cross : and therefore, God also, it says, hath 
" highly exalted Him, and given Him a Name that is above 
" every name : that at die Name of Jesus Christ every knee 
" should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and of 
" those under the earth ; and every tongue confess that Jesus 
" Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father, Amen." Did 
the Father therefore give the Name Which is above every 

m The word in the Greek cv- free- born, to which probably they 
yfvrjs, translated in the A. V. no- attached the idea of nobility, simi- 
bleman, is in the Syriac rendered larly to the German use of Freiherr. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 593 

name to the Son as one Who is not God by nature? And 
how then, if this be true, has there not been a new God ma 
nifested unto us ? And yet the sacred Scripture cries aloud, 
!l There shall no new God be in thee : neither shalt thou wor- P s . i xxx i. 
" ship any strange God." But He would be different and 9- 
alien from God, were He not of Him by nature. 

The Son therefore certainly is God by nature : and how 
then did the Father give Him that Name which is above 
every-name To this we say, that when He was flesh, that is, 
man like unto us, He took the name of a servant, and assumed 
our poverty and low estate: but when He had finished the 
mystery of the dispensation in the flesh, He was raised 11 to the 
glory that belonged to Him by nature; not as to something 
unwonted and strange, and that accrued to Him from without, 
and was given Him from another, but rather as to that which 
was His own. For He spake unto God the Father in heaven, 
" Father, glorify Thou Me with the glory which I had with John xvii. 
" Thee before the world was." For existing before the ages, 5 * 
and before the worlds, as one That was of God, and was God, He 
was clothed with the glory which belongs to the Godhead ; and 
when He became a man, as I said, He endured neither mutation 
nor change, but continued rather in that state in which He had 
constantly existed, and such as the Father was \Vho begot Him, 
that is to say, like Him in every thing. For He is also " the He b. i. 3 . 
" image of His person," Who by right of His nature possesses 
every thing that He is Who begat Him, by being, I mean, of 
the selfsame " substance, and of an equality admitting of no 
variation, and of a similarity to Him in every thing. Being 
therefore by nature God, He is said to have received of the 
Father the Name which is above every name, when He had 
become man, that He might be believed in as God and the 
King of all, even in the flesh, that was united unto Him. 

But when He had endured for our sakes the passion upon 
the cross, and by the resurrection of His body from the dead 
had abolished death, He ascended unto the Father, and be 
came as a man journeying unto a far country : for heaven is a 
different country from earth, and He ascended that He 
might receive for Himself a kingdom. Here again remember, 

n In the Greek avcnrtffroLTTjKf, He returned. 
4G 



594 COMMENTARY UPON 

i Cor. x. 5. I pray, the blessed Paul, who says, " That we must destroy 
" reasonings, and every high thing that exalteth itself against 
" the knowledge of God, and lead captive every thought to the 
" obedience of Christ." For how does He Who reigns over all 
with the Father ascend unto Him to receive a kingdom ? I 
answer, that the Father gives this also to the Son in respect of 
His having become man. For when He ascended into heaven, 
He sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high, hence 
forth expecting until His enemies are put under His feet. For 
PB. ex. i. it was said unto Him of the Father, " Sit Thou at My right 
" hand, until I place Thy enemies as the footstool for Thy 
" feet. 1 

" But his citizens, it says, hated him." And similarly Christ 

John xv. reproaches the Jewish multitudes, saying, " If I had not done 

* 4 " among them the works which no one else hath done, they had 

" not had sin : but now they have both seen and hated both Mo 

" and My Father." They would not have Him reign over 

them : and yet the holy prophets were constantly uttering 

predictions of Christ as of a King. For one of them even said, 

Zach. ix. 9. " Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion, for lo ! thy King cometh 

" unto thee, just, and a Saviour ; He is meek, and riding upon 

" an ass, and upon a new foal." And the blessed Isaiah says 

Is.xxxii.i. of Him and of the holy apostles, "Behold a just king shall 

" reign, and princes shall rule with judgment." And again, 

Christ Himself has somewhere said by the voice of the Psalmist, 

P. ii. 6. " But I have been appointed King by Him upon Zion, His 

" holy mount, and I will declare the commandment of the 

" Lord." 

They then denied His kingdom : for when they drew near 

Johnxix. unto Pilate saying, "Away with Him, away with Him, crucify 

15- Him," he asked them, or rather said unto them in derision, 

" Shall I crucify your king V And they answering with wicked 

words, said, We have no king but Caesar." Having denied 

therefore the kingdom of Christ, they fell under the dominion 

of Satan, and brought upon themselves the yoke of sin, which 

cannot be thrown off. For they would not have their neck 

free, though Christ invited them thereunto, saying, that 

John viii. " Every one that doeth sin is the slave of sin : but the slave 

34- " continueth not in the house for ever ; the Son abideth for 

" ever : if therefore the Son make you free, ye will become 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 595 

" truly free." And again, If ye abide in My Word, ye ai? John viii. 
" truly My disciples. And ye shall know the truth, and the 3I * 
" truth shall set you free." But Israel in its madness was not 
open to instruction, and therefore it has continued in slavery, 
because it refused to know Christ, Who maketh free. 

And thus far I will proceed on the present occasion, re 
serving for some other time the consideration of the rest of the 
parable ; lest too long a discourse be found both fatiguing to 
him who speaks, and wearisome to those who hear. And may 
He Who is the Bestower and Giver of all good bless you all, 
even Christ : by Whom and with Whom to God the Father 
be praise and dominion, with the Holy Ghost, for ever and 
ever, Amen. 



4 G 2 



596 COMMENTARY UPON 



SERMON CXXIX. 

THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. 

MEN who are in debt run away from their creditors, be 
cause they know them to be importunate. But not so with me ; 
for I have come to pay my debt, and to fulfil what I promised: 
and I rather pursue after my creditors than am pursued by 
them. What therefore is that which I promised, or what is the 
debt ? At our last meeting then, a long parable having been 
read to us, we completed our exposition only of a certain por 
tion of it, and reserved the remainder for this our holy meeting. 
And the parable was as follows ; " A certain nobleman went 
" into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to 
" return. And when he had called ten of his servants, he 
" gave them ten minas, and said unto them, Traffic until I 
" come. But his citizens hated him, and sent an embassy after 
" him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us." 
And moreover to this He added, that when the nobleman re 
turned after he had received the kingdom, he demanded of 
those servants to whom he had distributed the talents an ac 
count of their trafficking. 

Now in our previous exposition we reined in our words, 
which, so to speak, were at full speed, at the sentence " but 
" his citizens hated him : and would not have him reign over 
" them." Now then I shall address you upon those servants who 
had been entrusted by their Lord with the minas ; enquiring 
both who they were that traded and therefore were honoured; 
and who, on the other hand, is signified by that indolent and 
sluggish servant, who hid the talent, and added nothing there 
unto, and thereby brought upon himself severe condemnation. 

The Saviour therefore distributes to those who believe in 
Him a variety of divine gifts : for this we affirm to be the 
meaning of the talent. And great indeed is the difference 
between these [who receive the talents], and those who have 
even completely denied His kingdom. For they are rebels, 






THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 597 

who throw off the joke of His sceptre : b while the others are 
invested with the glory of serving Him. As faithful servants 
therefore they are entrusted with their Lord s wealth, that 
gaining something by trafficking therewith, they may earn the 
praises due to faithful service, and also be accounted worthy of 
those honours which abide for ever. 

The mariner therefore of the distribution and who the persons 
are, and what the talents signify which He distributes, for He 
continues to distribute even unto this day, the sacred Scripture 
clearly shews. For the blessed Paul has said; "There are iCor.xii. 4 . 
" distributions of gifts, but the same Spirit : and there are 
" distributions of ministries, but the same Lord : and there 
" are distributions of things to be done, but the same God 
" Who worketh all in every man." And subsequently, ex 
plaining what he said, he further states the kinds of the gifts, 
as follows; " For to one is given the word of wisdom : and to iCor.xii.8. 
" another the word of knowledge : and to another faith : and 
" to another gifts of healing : J1 and so on. The diversity 
therefore of the gifts is made plain in these words. 

But next I think that I ought to mention who they are who 
have been entrusted by Christ with these gifts, according to 
the measure of each one s readiness and disposition. For He 
knoweth whatsoever is in us, in that He is very God, Who 
spieth the reins and hearts. Let us notice, however, that an 
other Evangelist is aware of a difference in the amount of the 
distribution that was made of the talents. " For to one, he Mat. xxv . 
11 says, He gave five talents ; and to another two, and to an- * 5 
" other one/ Thou seest that the distribution was made suit 
ably to the measure of each one s faculties. And as to those 
who were entrusted with them, come, and let us declare who 
they are to the best of our ability. They are then those who 
are " perfect in mind, to whom also strong meat is fitting, and Heb. v. r 4 . 
" whose intellectual senses are exercised for the discernino- of 

O 

" good and evil." They are those who are skilled in instructing 
rightly, and acquainted with the sacred doctrines : who know 
how to direct both themselves and others unto every better work : 
such, in short, as above all others the wise disciples were. And 

b A note in the margin explains " the yoke of His sceptre" by " the 
" yoke of His kingdom." 



598 COMMENTARY UPON 

again, next to these come such as succeeded to their ministry, or 
who hold it at this day, even the holy teachers, who stand at the 
head of the holy churches : who are the rulers of the nations, 
and know how to order unto every thing that is useful those 
who are subject unto them. Upon these the Saviour bestows 

Phil.ii. 15. a diversity of divine gifts, that they may be " lights in the 
" world, holding the word of life :" and they, by admonish 
ing the people under their charge, and giving them such 
counsel as^is useful for life, and rendering them steadfast, and 
of an upright and blameless faith, gain by traffic unto their 
talent, and seek spiritual increase. Greatly blessed are they, 
and win the portion that becometh the saints. For when the 
nobleman, even Christ, shall have returned after he hath re 
ceived the kingdom, they will be accounted worthy of praises, 
arid rejoice in surpassing honours. For having multiplied the 
talent tenfold, or fivefold, by winning many men, they will be 
set over ten or five cities ; that is, they will again be rulers, 
not merely over those whom they ruled before, but even also 
over many others. For on this account we find the saints, by 
the voice of the Psalmist, extolling and making the praises of 
their gratitude mount up to Christ, Who crowneth them ; and 

Ps. xlvii. 3. saying, te He hath subjected the Gentiles unto us, and nations 
" under our feet." And that it is the practice and earnest 
purpose of the saints to make those who are taught by them 
partakers of the grace given them by Christ, any one may 
learn from the message which the blessed Paul sent unto 

Eom. i. ir. certain, saying, " For I desired to see you, that I might give 
" you some spiritual gift, that ye may be established." And 

i Tim. iv. he testifies also to his disciple Timothy, " Despise not the gift 
" that is in thee, which was given thee by the laying on of my 
" hands." For he wished him to excel in his teaching. And 
the Saviour Himself also somewhere said in another parable, 

Luke xii. <( \Vho therefore is the faithful and wise servant, whom his 
" lord shall set over his household, to give them their food at 
" its season ? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he 
" cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, that he 
" will set him over all that he hath." And what is the meaning 
of his giving his fellow servants food, except it be the distri 
buting to the people committed to his charge the benefit of 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 599 

spiritual instruction, and the satisfying, so to speak, with spi 
ritual victuals those who hunger after righteousness ? 

There are honours, therefore, and triumphs, and crowns for 
those who have laboured, and loved service : but shame for 
those who have been overcome by sloth. For he who hid his 
mina in a napkin became liable to a terrible condemnation. 
He drew near, saying, " Lo ! thou hast that is thine ! " But 
the purpose, He says, for which thou receivedst it, was not 
that thou shouldst keep it in concealment. And if thou knewest 
that I am a hard man, that I reap where I have not sowed, and 
that I gather whence I have not scattered ; lo ! this very thing, 
He says, even makes thy guilt the heavier, and gives no spe 
cious pretext for thy slothfulness. For if I am a hard man who 
reap where I have not sowed, why didst thou not give the 
grace that was bestowed upon thee ; for this is the meaning 
of the mina ; to the money-changers : why, that is, didst thou 
not lay it out for the happiness or the benefit of those who would 
well know how to put to the test what they had received from 
thee ? " For so when I came, I should have exacted, that is, 
te should have received back my own with its increase." For 
it is the duty of teachers to sow, and plant, as it were, in their 
hearers beneficial and saving counsel : but to call unto obedi 
ence those whom they teach, and render their mind very fruit 
ful, is the effect of that power which God bestows. And this 
is the increase. For when those who have heard the divine 
words, receive into their mind the benefit of them, and labour 
with joy in doing good, then do they offer that which was 
given them with increase. 

" Take therefore, he says, from him the mina, and give it 
" unto him that hath ten minas ; for to him that hath, there 
" shall more be given : but from him that hath not, even that 
" which he seemeth to have shall be taken away from him/ 
For that slothful servant was stripped even of the gift which 
had been bestowed upon him : but those who have advanced 
in the better course, and proved superior to indolence and 
sloth, will receive fresh blessings from above, and being filled 
with divine gifts, will mount up to a glorious and admirable 
lot, 

We have seen the honours of the saints : come and let us 
examine the torments of the wicked, who would not have that 



600 



COMMENTARY UPON 



man of noble lineage to rule over them. " But those, my ene- 
" mies, He says, who would not that I should reign over them, 
t( bring hither, and slay them before Me." This was the fate 
of the Israelitish race : for having denied the kingdom of 
Christ, they fell into extreme miseries : being evil, they evilly 
perished. And the gangs too of wicked heretics deny the king 
dom of Christ, and so also do all those, who, disregarding the 
duty of living uprightly, spend their lives in impurity and sin. 
And these also suffering a penalty like unto that of those men 
tioned above shall go unto perdition. 

But over us Christ rules as King, and we have a good hope, 
that we shall also be counted worthy of the portion of the 
saints, and twine around our heads the crown that becometh 
the steadfast ; for this also is the gift of Christ our common 
Saviour ; by Whom and with Whom to God the Father be 
praise and dominion, with the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever, 
Amen. c 

c Mai contains two extracts not ever, rather to St. Matthew s Gos- 



found in the Syriac : the first from 
B. (from A. rather ?) is a general 
introduction to the parable ; the se 
cond from A. and B. is said ex 
pressly in the margin to be " a Ho 
mily of Cyril s." It belongs, how- 



pel, as it closely adheres to the ex 
pressions there used by our Lord ; 
but is well worth a careful com 
parison with the exposition given 
above. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 601 



SERMON CXXX. 

THIS EXPOSITION is FIT TO BE BEAD ON THE HOLY DAY 

OF HOSANNAS. d 

And when He had said these things, He went onwards, going c. xix. 28 
up to Jerusalem. And it came to pass, that when He was 4 
come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called 
of Olives, He sent two of His disciples, saying, Go into the 
village over against us, in ivhich at your entering ye shall 
find a colt, tied, whereon yet never man sat : loose, and 
bring it. And if any man ask you, Why loose ye it ? thus 
shall ye say unto him, It is wanted for the Lord. And 
when they that were sent had gone their ivay, they found r 
even as He had said unto them. And as they loosed the colt, 
the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? 
And they said, It is ivantedfor the Lord. And they brought add. 6n B 
it unto Jesus: and when they had cast their garments upon 
the colt, they made Jesus ride thereon : and as He went, 
they spread their garments before Him in the way. And 
ivhen He had now arrived at the descent of the Mount of 
Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began with joy 
to praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works 
that they had seen, saying, Blessed be the King that cometh 
in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the 
highest. And some of the Pharisees from among the mul 
titude said unto Him, Teacher, rebuke Thy disciples. And 
He answered, and said unto them, I tell you, that if these om. a)?* 
be silent, the stones will cry out. 

THE disciples praise Christ the Saviour of all, calling Him 
King and Lord, and the peace of heaven and earth : and let us 
also praise Him, taking, so to speak, the Psalmist s harp, and 

d By the day of Hosannas, Palm rejoicing among the Jews, may he 
Sunday is meant. That the palm seen by i Mac. xiii. 51. 
branch was an ordinary symbol of 



602 COMMENTARY UPON 

Ps. civ. 24. saying ; " How great are thy works, Lord : in wisdom hast 
" Thou made them." For there is nothing whatsoever of the 
works wrought by Him but is in wisdom ; for He guideth all 
useful things each in its proper manner, and assigns to his 
acts that season which suiteth them. As long then as it was 
fitting that He should traverse the country of the Jews, en 
deavouring to win by lessons and admonitions superior to the 
law many unto the grace that is by faith, He ceased not so to 
do : but inasmuch as the time was now at length calling Him 
to that Passion which was for the salvation of the whole world, 
to free the inhabitants of the earth from the tyranny of the 
enemy, and abolish death, and destroy the sin of the world, 
He goeth up unto Jerusalem, pointing out first to the Israelites 
by a plain fact, that a new people from among the heathen 
shall be subject unto Him, while themselves are rejected as the 
murderers of the Lord. 

What then was the sign ? He sat upon a colt, as we have 
just heard the blessed Evangelist clearly telling us. And yet 
perchance some one will say, that when He traversed the 
whole of Juda?a; for He taught in their synagogues, adding 
also to His words the working of miracles ; He had not 
asked for an animal to ride upon. For when He might have 
purchased one, He would not, though wearied often by His 
long journeys by the way. For when traversing Samaria, He 

John iv. 6. was " wearied with His journey," as it is written. Who there- 
fore can make us believe, that when He was going from the 
1 Mount of Olives to Jerusalem, places separated from one an- 
other by so short an interval, that He would require a colt ? 
And why, when the colt was accompanied by its dam, did He 
not rather take the mother, instead of choosing the colt? For 
that the ass also, that bore the colt, was brought unto Him, 

Mat.xxi.2. < we learn from the words of Matthew, who says, "that He 
" sent the disciples unto a village over against them ; and 
" said unto them, that ye will find an ass tied, and a colt 
" with her : loose and bring them unto Me. And they 
" brought, it says, the ass, and the colt with her." We 
must consider therefore what is the explanation, and what the 
benefit which we derive from this occurrence, and how we 
make Christ s riding upon the colt a type of the calling of the 
Gentiles. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 603 

The God of all then created man upon the earth with a 
mind capable of wisdom, and possessed of powers of under 
standing. But Satan deceived him, though made in the 
image of God, and led him astray even until he had no 
knowledge of the Creator and Artificer of all. He humbled 
the dwellers upon earth down to the lowest stage of irra 
tionality and ignorance. And the blessed prophet David 
knowing this, and even, so to speak, weeping bitterly for it, 
says, "Man being