Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles 47

'And on the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.'

'And when he had greeted them, he related one by one the things which God had wrought among the Gentiles through his ministry.'

This man was the brother of the Lord and bishop of Jerusalem, a great and admirable man.

To him Paul comes, just as before this too he had been sent to him.

'And on the following day,' it says, 'Paul went in with us to James.'

'And all the elders were present;'

'and when he had greeted them, he related one by one the things which God had wrought among the Gentiles through his ministry.'

Again he relates to them the affairs of the Gentiles—not out of vainglory, God forbid, but wishing to display the lovingkindness of God, and to fill them with much joy.

See, at any rate, how upon hearing they also glorified God.

They did not extol him nor marvel at him;

for he had so related it as ascribing it to Him.

'And when they heard it, they glorified God, and said to him:'

'You see, brother, how many myriads there are of the Jews who have believed;'

'and they are all zealous for the law.'

'And they have been informed concerning you, that you teach apostasy from Moses to all the Jews who are among the Gentiles, telling them not to circumcise their children, nor to walk according to the customs.'

See how they too speak with what great reserve.

He does not discourse authoritatively as a bishop, but they take him as a partner in the decision;

as though straightway and from the very outset making their defense, that 'We did not wish it.'

You see the necessity of the matter. 'You behold,' he says, 'how many myriads there are of the Jews who have believed?' And he did not say, 'How many myriads have we instructed,' but 'There are.'

'And these,' he says, 'are all zealous for the law.'

Two reasons: both the multitude, and the disposition.

For neither, if they had been few, ought one to have despised them, nor, if they had been many, and not all held fast to the law, need one have made much of it.

'And they have all been informed concerning you,' he says, 'that you teach apostasy from Moses to all the Jews who are among the Gentiles, telling them not to circumcise their children, nor to walk according to the customs.'

But, 'They have been informed'—that is, they were taught and believed—that 'you teach apostasy from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children, nor to walk according to the customs.'

What then is to be done? A multitude must by all means come together;

for they will hear that you have come.

'Do therefore this that we tell you.'

They speak these things as those who give counsel, not as those who give commands.

We have four men who have a vow upon themselves.

Take these men and be purified with them, and pay their expenses, that they may shave their heads; and all will know that there is nothing in the things they have been informed against you, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Law.

They counsel him to make his defense by deed, not by word.

'That they may shave their heads,' he says, 'and all may know that there is nothing in the things they have been informed against you.'

He did not say, 'You teach,' but 'They have been informed,' again indicating by this the thing that had been taught them; and that 'You walk orderly,' that is, that you too keep it, and that abundantly.

For it was not this alone that was being sought after—whether he refrains from teaching others otherwise—but also that he himself observes it.

'What then,' he says, 'if the Gentiles should learn of it—will they not be offended?' How so? Seeing that we too, the teachers of the Jews, sent word to them.

Concerning the Gentiles who have believed, we ourselves wrote, having judged that they should observe no such thing, except that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from what is strangled, and from fornication.

As we enjoined those men, even though we were preaching to Jews, so also you, though preaching to Gentiles, join with us in this.

He does not say, 'And indeed I am able to bring forward Timothy, whom I circumcised';

'and indeed I am able to prevail by argument';

but he yielded to them and did all things.

For it was not the same thing to be brought forward for a defense, and to do these things with no one knowing of it.

The very bearing of the expense was above suspicion.

Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having purified himself with them, entered into the temple, announcing the completion of the days of purification, until the offering was presented for each one of them.

'Announcing,' that is, 'proclaiming'; so that he himself was the one making himself manifest.

And when the seven days were about to be completed.

See how he especially tarries with them for a long while.

The Jews from Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the crowd, and laid hands on him, crying out:

'Men of Israel, help!

this is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, and the Law, and this place;

and moreover he has brought Greeks into the temple, and has defiled this holy place.'

See their disposition, everywhere turbulent, simply bawling out in the midst of the crowd.

For they had seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.

And the whole city was moved, and there was a running together of the people;

and having seized Paul, they dragged him out of the temple;

and immediately the doors were shut.

'Men of Israel, help!' he says.

'This is the man who is against the people and the Law and this place.'

The very things that most troubled them—the temple and the Law—these they put forward.

And Paul, though he suffered so many things, laid no charge against the apostles that they had become the cause of these things to him.

'And they dragged him,' he says, 'out of the temple';

for they wished to kill him, and for this reason dragged him outside, so as to do it with greater impunity.

And as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the commander of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in an uproar;

who at once took soldiers and centurions, and ran down upon them.

And they, when they saw the commander and the soldiers, ceased beating Paul.

Then the commander drew near, took hold of him, and commanded that he be bound with two chains;

and he inquired who he might be and what he had done.

But some cried one thing, some another, among the crowd.

And why, when he was about to examine him, did he command him to be bound with two chains? To assuage the fury of the populace.

But not being able to learn the certainty because of the uproar, he commanded that he be brought into the barracks.

And when he came upon the stairs, it happened that he was carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd;

for the multitude of the people followed after, crying out, 'Away with him!'

What is 'Away with him'? It was a custom of the Jews to say this against those upon whom they passed sentence, as also in the case of Christ they are seen doing and saying the same thing, 'Away with him!';

that is, 'Make him vanish from among the living.'

But some say that what among us is said according to the Roman usage, 'Cast him into the signa,' this is what 'Away with him' means.

And as Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the commander:

'May I say something to you?' Being carried up the stairs, he asks leave of the commander to say something.

'May I say something to you?' he says.

'Do you know Greek? Are you not then that Egyptian who before these days stirred up sedition and led out into the wilderness the four thousand men of the assassins?' This Egyptian was a certain innovator and insurgent.

To this Paul makes his defense, and by what he said leads him away from the suspicion.

But let us look again from the beginning at the things that have been read.

'We have,' he says, 'four men who have a vow upon themselves;

take these and be purified with them.'

To this, then, Paul does not resist, but is persuaded.

Whence it is clear that it was not something that had to be done as a matter of principle (which is why they even have to persuade him), but that the matter was a dispensation and a condescension.

This, then, was no hindrance to the preaching, seeing that they themselves also laid down such things as law for those others.

Managing this matter by dispensation, he himself also afterward brings a charge against Peter;

for what Paul himself did here, that is what Peter did there in keeping silence and establishing his teaching.

And they did not say, 'One ought not to teach those among the Gentiles,' nor 'It is enough not to have preached it there';

but 'It is needful also to do something more, that those men may be persuaded that you keep the Law.'

'The matter is a condescension; fear nothing.'

And observe, they do not persuade him beforehand, until they first tell the dispensation and the gain.

And to do this in Jerusalem was tolerable.

'Do this then here, that it may be permitted you to do that outside.'

'Then Paul,' he says, 'took the men on the next day.'

He did not defer it, but showing his compliance by deed, he takes along those with whom he was to be purified.

Such a fervent thing is dispensation.

And how, he asks, did the Jews from Asia see him in the temple? It is likely that they spent some days there.

But see how what came to pass was itself also a dispensation.

For it was after the Jews had been persuaded that they then set upon him.

And this was reasonable, lest those others also should join in the assault.

'Help,' he says, 'men of Israel!'

As though some creature hard to hunt and hard to master had fallen into their hands, they cry, 'Help!'

'This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere.'

'Not here only,' he says, 'but everywhere.'

Then the accusation is made greater by the present circumstances as well.

'Moreover,' he says, 'he has also profaned the temple by bringing Greek men into it.'

And yet, even in the case of Christ men went up to worship;

but these men speak of those who would never have chosen to worship.

'And laying hold of Paul,' he says, 'they dragged him outside.'

They cast him out of the temple;

for they no longer had any need of laws or of courts of justice;

so thoroughly do they appear to be, in all things, brazen and reckless.

But he made no defense at that moment, though he did so later.

And why ever did they keep crying, 'Away with him'? They were afraid that he might escape.

But observe with how much reserve Paul converses with the tribune.

For what does he say? 'May I be permitted to say something to you?' So humble was he, that he knew how to conduct himself with moderation on every occasion.

'Are you not then,' he says, 'the Egyptian?' [Section 3]

That Egyptian was a deceiver and a sorcerer, and he hoped by this means to throw a cloak over his own deeds and to make partakers in the charges that properly belonged to him

both Christ and the apostles;

but he availed nothing; rather, the truth became even more brilliant, in no way harmed by the devil's contrivances, but instead shining forth all the more.

For if these men had not been impostors, and then these others prevailed, perhaps someone might have found fault;

but when those men too were exposed, and yet these prevail, this is the wonder.

Therefore they are not even hindered from appearing, so that in this way too the true ones may shine forth all the more;

just as this same apostle says elsewhere:

'That those who are approved may be made manifest.'

Such was that which Gamaliel too was saying, that 'Before these days rose up Theudas.'

As for the Sicarii, some say they were a certain class of robbers, so called from the daggers they carried, which among the Romans are called sicae;

while others say they belonged to one of the sects among the Hebrews.

For among them there are three principal sects: Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes, who are also called the Holy Ones (for this is what the name 'Essenes' means), on account of the gravity of their manner of life;

and these same men were also called Sicarii because they were zealots.

Let us not then grieve because there are heresies, seeing that even false Christs, and men who wished to set upon Christ both before this and after it, arose so as to cast a shadow over the truth.

But the truth shines and is conspicuous everywhere.

This happened also in the case of the prophets;

there arose false prophets, and by the comparison the true ones shone all the brighter.

For indeed disease makes health manifest, and darkness the light, and the storm makes the calm apparent.

One cannot say of the Greeks that they were deceivers and sorcerers;

this happened also in the case of Moses;

God permitted the magicians, lest Moses should be supposed to be a magician;

He allowed them to teach all men how far magic is able to produce illusions;

but further than that they could not deceive; rather, they themselves confessed their defeat.

Those who assail us do us no harm at all;

rather, they even make us better, if one is willing to give heed.

'What then,' one asks, 'when we share the glory with them?' It rests not with us, but with those who have no judgment.

Let us not be greatly concerned about the glory that comes from the many, nor be anxious about it beyond what is fitting.

We live to God, not to men;

we have our citizenship in heaven, not on earth;

there lie the prizes and the rewards of our labors;

from there we look for the praises, from there the crowns.

Let us care for men only so far as not to give them any occasion or handle against us.

But if, when we give no occasion, they still wish to accuse us rashly and without cause, let us laugh, not weep.

'Provide things honest in the sight of the Lord and of men';

but if, while you provide honest things, that man mocks you, be concerned no longer.

You have the examples in the Scriptures.

'For do I now persuade men, or God?' he says;

and again, 'We persuade men, but we are made manifest to God.'

And Christ likewise said concerning those who were offended:

'Let them alone; they are blind leaders of the blind';

and again, 'Woe to you, when all men speak well of you.'

'Let your works shine, that men may see them and glorify your Father who is in heaven.'

'Whoever shall cause one of these little ones to stumble, it were better for him that a millstone turned by a donkey were hung about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea';

for these things are not contrary to one another, but are indeed in perfect harmony.

For when it comes about through us, woe to us;

but when it is not through us, then no longer.

'Woe to you, through whom the name of God is blasphemed.'

'What then, if I indeed do something of what I ought, but another blasphemes?' It is nothing to you, but to that man;

for through that man the name was blasphemed.

'And how is it possible both to do something of what one ought, and yet to give others a handle against oneself?' From where do you wish me to bring you the examples—from things that now exist, or from those of old? That we may not be timorous, do you wish that we speak of this very matter now in hand? Paul kept the Jewish observances in Jerusalem, but in Antioch he did so no longer;

he kept the Jewish observances, and they were offended, but those men were not offended justly.

It is said that he greeted even Nero's cup-bearer and his concubine.

How much do you suppose they said against him on this account? Yet not justly.

For if he greeted her for the sake of wantonness, or

for wicked purposes, then reasonably so;

but if for an upright manner of life, on what ground? Let me tell you of something that also befell one of my acquaintances.

Once the wrath of God fell, and that man, being very young and holding the rank of a deacon—since at that time the bishop happened to be absent, and none of the presbyters gave any heed, but they simply had many myriads enlightened all at once in a single night, and all were baptized without understanding anything—

these that man took aside privately, a hundred and two hundred together, and discoursed with them of nothing else but only the mysteries, so as not even to permit those uninitiated to be present.

Seeing him do this, many supposed that he did it out of a craving for authority.

But that man took no thought of those who so supposed;

he did not, however, prolong the matter for any length of time, but ceased at once.

What then? Was that man the cause of the stumbling-block? I for one do not think so.

For if he had done this when there was no cause for it, they would reasonably have charged the blame upon him; and likewise if he had prolonged it.

For whenever we are hindered from what seems good to God because of another's stumbling, we ought to disregard it;

but we ought to take thought only when we are in no way compelled on his account to offend God.

Since, tell me, if while we are discoursing and rebuking the drunkards, someone should be offended, am I to cease speaking? Hear Christ who says:

'Would you also go away?' Thus one must neither disregard nor overmuch strive against the weakness of the many.

Or do we not see the physicians too doing this, and, when it is permissible, gratifying their patients, but when that gratification would work harm, no longer sparing them? Everywhere it is good to honor the due measure.

Many blasphemed on account of a certain catechizing: because a comely maiden had remained a virgin, they approached her, and reviled those who catechized her.

What then? Ought those men to have withdrawn on this account? By no means;

for they were doing nothing amiss, but rather a thing that greatly seemed good to God.

Let us not, therefore, look to whether some are offended, but whether justly, and whether not with harm to ourselves.

'If food offends my brother,' he says, 'I will eat no flesh forever;'

for the not eating did no harm;

if, however, he is offended because I wish to renounce the world, one ought no longer to take thought of it.

And whom, one asks, does this offend? Many, I for one know.

Whenever, therefore, the hindrance is a matter of indifference, let it be done;

since, if we were to look only to this, we should have to withdraw from many things;

just as, on the contrary, if we were to disregard it, we should destroy many;

since Paul too took forethought against a stumbling-block:

'That no man,' he says, 'should blame us in this abundance which is ministered by us;'

for it did no harm to remove the suspicion.

But whenever we fall into such a necessity that great evils would arise because of another's stumbling, let us disregard him.

For that man is the cause to himself, while we are no longer answerable;

for it was not possible to spare him without harm.

Many were offended because certain believers reclined at table in sacred places, since one ought not to recline there;

for from this there was no harm.

They were offended because Peter ate with the Gentiles;

but he in the one case spared them, while in the other he no longer did so.

Everywhere it becomes us, following the laws of God, to use much diligence, so as to give no occasion of stumbling, that we ourselves may be without blame, and may be counted worthy of the loving-kindness that is from God, by the grace and loving-kindness of His Only-Begotten, with whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, might, honor, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.