Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew 86

Then they spat in his face, and buffeted him;

and others struck him with the palms of their hands, saying:

'Prophesy to us, O Christ, who is it that struck You?' (Section 1)

Why did they do these things, when they were about to put Him to death? What need was there of this mockery? That through every detail you might learn their unbridled disposition;

and that, as though they had found some prey, so did they display their own drunken insolence, and glutted themselves with their frenzy, making a festival of this deed, and coming upon Him with pleasure, and exhibiting their murderous disposition.

But do you marvel at the disciples' love of wisdom, with how great an exactness they report these things.

Hence their truth-loving character is displayed, in that they narrate with all truthfulness the things which seem to be matters of reproach, hiding nothing, nor being ashamed, but rather accounting it a very great glory (as indeed it was) that the Lord of the whole world should endure to suffer such things for our sake.

This showed both His unspeakable tender care, and their unpardonable wickedness, who dared such things against One so gentle and meek, and who charmed them with such words as were sufficient even to turn a lion into a lamb.

For neither did He Himself fall short in any measure of gentleness, nor they of insolence and cruelty, in the things which they did and in the things which they said.

All which things the prophet Isaiah also foretold, thus proclaiming them beforehand, and in a single word setting forth all this insolence.

For 'As many shall be astonished at You,' he says, 'so shall Your form be without glory from men, and Your glory from the sons of men.'

For what could be equal to this insolence?

Upon that face which the sea beheld and was awed, which the sun, gazing on it upon the cross, turned back its rays, they spat and struck it with the palm, and smote it upon the head, glutting themselves with all fullness of their own madness.

For they inflicted blows more insulting than all others, buffeting Him, striking Him with the palm, and to these blows they added the insult that came from spitting.

And again they uttered words full of much mockery, saying:

'Prophesy to us, O Christ, who is it that struck You?' — since they mocked Him as a prophet.

And another evangelist says that they even covered His face with a garment, and did these things, as though taking into their midst some vile and worthless fellow.

And not free men only, but slaves also then vented this drunken insolence upon Him.

Let us read these things continually; let us hear them as we ought; let us inscribe them upon our understanding;

for indeed these are our sacred glories.

In these things I take great pride, not only in the countless dead whom He raised, but also in the sufferings which He suffered.

These things Paul turns over up and down;

the cross, the death, the sufferings, the revilings, the insults, the mockings.

And now he says, 'Let us go forth unto Him, bearing His reproach;'

and now, 'Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame.'

'But Peter was sitting outside in the court;'

'and a maidservant came to him, saying:'

'You also were with Jesus the Galilean.'

'But he denied it before them all, saying, I do not know what you are saying.'

'And when he had gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and says:'

'This man also was there with Jesus the Nazarene.'

'And again he denied it with an oath.'

'And after a little while those who stood by came and said to Peter:'

'Truly you also are one of them;'

'for your speech also makes you known.'

'Then he began to curse and to swear, saying, I do not know the man.'

'And immediately a cock crowed.'

'And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, who had said, Before a cock crows, you shall deny Me three times.'

'And he went out, and wept bitterly.'

O strange and paradoxical events!

When he saw the Teacher merely being seized, he was so fervent as even to draw his sword and cut off the ear;

but when it was more natural to be indignant, and to be kindled and inflamed at hearing such revilings, then he becomes a denier.

For whom would the things that then took place not have kindled into madness? Yet the disciple, overpowered by fear, not only shows no indignation, but even denies, and cannot bear the threat of a wretched and worthless servant-girl;

but he denies a second and a third time, and that in a short space, and not even before judges;

for they questioned him when he had gone out into the porch;

and he did not even quickly perceive his fall.

And Luke tells this, that Christ looked upon him, showing that he not only denied, but did not even recall it of himself, even after the cock had crowed, but needed again the Master's reminding, and the look became to him instead of a voice;

But Mark says that when he had once denied, then the cock crowed for the first time, and when he had denied a third time, then it crowed a second time, thereby setting forth more exactly the weakness of the disciple, and how utterly he was, as it were, dead with fear, and this he learned from the Master Himself;

for indeed he was a disciple of Peter.

Wherefore one might especially be amazed at him, that he not only did not conceal the failing of his teacher, but even proclaimed it more clearly than the others, precisely by reason of his being that teacher's disciple.

How then is that which is said true, when Matthew says that He said, 'Verily I say unto thee, that before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice,' but Mark says that after the third time, 'the cock crew a second time'? It is indeed exceedingly true, and in agreement.

For since at each turn of crowing the cock is wont to crow both a third and a fourth time, Mark, making plain that not even the voice checked Peter or brought him to remembrance, says this;

for before the cock had completed the one round of crowing, he had denied a third time.

And not even when reminded of his sin by Christ did he dare to weep openly, lest he should be accused because of his tears;

but 'having gone out, he wept bitterly.'

'And when it was day, they lead Jesus from Caiaphas unto Pilate.'

For since they were minded to slay Him, but were not able because of the feast, they lead Him to the governor.

But consider with me how the matter was driven together, so that it came to pass at the feast.

For thus had it been prefigured beforehand from of old.

'Then Judas, who betrayed Him, when he saw that He was condemned,'

'repented himself, and brought back the thirty pieces of silver.'

This is an accusation both against him and against them:

against him, not because he repented, but because it was late and tardy, and he became self-condemned;

for that he had betrayed, he himself confessed;

and against them, because, though they had power to change their course, they did not repent.

But mark when it is that he repents.

When the sin was completed and had reached its end.

The devil does not suffer those who are not watchful to see the evil before this, that the one who is caught may not repent.

So then, though Jesus said so many things, he was not bent;

but when the transgression was completed, then repentance came in upon him;

For the condemning of himself, and the casting away of the pieces of silver, and the not standing in awe of the Jewish multitude, all these things are commendable;

but the hanging of himself, this again is unpardonable, and the work of an evil demon.

For he led him out beyond repentance, that he might reap no fruit therefrom;

and by a most shameful death, manifest to all, he destroys him, having persuaded him to make away with himself.

But consider with me the truth shining forth on every side, even through the very things which His adversaries both do and suffer.

For indeed the very end of the traitor stops the mouths of those who condemned Him, and does not permit them to have even the shadow of a shameless defence.

For what could those men have to say, when the traitor is seen pronouncing such a sentence against himself? But let us look also at the words which he speaks.

'He brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests, and says,'

'I have sinned in that I betrayed innocent blood.'

'And having cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed, and went away and hanged himself.'

For neither could he bear his conscience scourging him.

But consider with me also the Jews suffering the same things.

For these men too, who from what they suffered ought to have been corrected, do not stop before they have filled up the measure of their sin.

For his sin, indeed, had already been filled up;

but when those others also had completed the deed and had nailed Him to the cross, then they too are thrown into turmoil;

at one moment saying, 'Do not write, This is the King of the Jews' (and yet why are you afraid, why are you troubled at a dead body nailed upon a cross?), and at another moment setting a guard over Him, saying:

Lest His disciples steal Him away, and say that He is risen;

and so the last error shall be worse than the first.

And yet, if they should say this, the matter would be disproved unless it were true.

But how shall those men speak, who did not even dare to stand firm when He was seized—and their chief three times denied Him, unable to bear the threat of a servant-girl? But, as I said, they were now in confusion.

For that they knew the deed to be a transgression of the law is plain from what they said: 'See thou to it.'

Listen, you lovers of money, and consider what that man suffered;

how he both lost the money, and wrought the sin, and destroyed his own soul.

Such is the tyranny of the love of money.

He enjoyed neither the silver, nor the present life, nor the life to come, but all at once he cast everything away, and having gained an evil reputation even in the eyes of those very men, he hanged himself in this way.

But, as I said, after the deed is done, then some men see clearly.

Observe then how these men too for a while were unwilling clearly to perceive their reckless crime, but said, 'See thou to it';

which very thing was itself their greatest accusation.

For this is the mark of men bearing witness to their own audacity and lawlessness, yet drunk with passion, and unwilling to abstain from their satanic undertaking, but senselessly wrapping themselves in the screen of a feigned ignorance.

For if these things had been said after the crucifixion and His being put to death, in the first place, not even then would the plea have had any reason; nevertheless it would not so utterly have condemned them;

but now, while you still have Him among yourselves, and are masters to release Him, how could you say these things? For this very defense would become your greatest accusation.

How and in what way? Because, laying the whole charge upon the betrayer (for 'See thou to it,' he says), though they themselves were able to be rid of the murder of Christ, they let him go and yet strove eagerly at the reckless crime, adding the cross to the betrayal.

For what hindered them, when they had said to him, 'See thou to it,' from themselves desisting from the reckless deed? But now they did even the contrary,

adding the slaughter, and everywhere—both by what they do and by what they say—entangling themselves in inescapable evils.

For indeed after these things, when Pilate had permitted it, they chose rather that the robber should be released than Jesus;

and Him who had done no wrong, but had rather bestowed so many benefits, they put to death.

What then did that man do? When he saw that he was laboring to no purpose, and that they would not consent to receive the silver, 'He cast it down in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.'

But the chief priests, having taken the silver, said:

'It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is the price of blood.'

And having taken counsel, they bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in.

Wherefore that field was called the Field of Blood unto this day.

Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

'And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of Him that was valued, and gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me.'

Do you see them again condemned from their own act by their conscience? For since they knew that they had purchased murder, they did not put it into the treasury, but bought a field to bury strangers in.

And this too became a testimony against them, and a proof of the betrayal.

For the name of the place proclaimed to all, more clearly than a trumpet, their foul murder.

And they do not do it simply, but after taking counsel—and everywhere thus—so that no one might be innocent of the reckless crime, but all be liable.

And these things prophecy had foretold from of old.

Do you see that not the apostles only, but the prophets also, relate the shameful things with exactness, and from every side proclaim beforehand and foreshadow the Passion? This the Jews also endured without being aware of it.

For if they had cast it into the treasury, the matter would not have become so manifest;

but now, having bought a place, they made the whole thing plain even to the generations that came after.

Listen, all you who out of murders think to do deeds of charity, and take the price of men's souls.

These are Jewish acts of almsgiving, or rather satanic ones.

For there are, even now there are, those who, while plundering countless goods from others, suppose that they make amends for the whole by paying down ten pieces of gold or a hundred.

Concerning whom the prophet also says:

"You covered My altar with tears."

Christ does not wish to be fed by rapacity; He does not accept such nourishment.

Why do you insult the Master by bringing Him unclean things? It is better to overlook one who is wasting away with hunger than to feed him from such gains.

The former is the act of a cruel man; the latter, of one both cruel and insolent.

It is better to give nothing at all than to give what belongs to some to others.

For tell me: if you saw two men, one naked and the other clothed, and then, having stripped the garment from the one who had it, you clothed the naked one with it, would you not have done a wrong? Surely this is plain to everyone.

But if, by giving all that you received to another, you have committed a wrong and not shown mercy—

when you do not give back even the smallest fraction of what you plunder, and yet you call the deed almsgiving, what punishment will you not incur? For if men who offered lame and irrational beasts were called to account, what pardon will you obtain who do far worse things? For if the thief, even when he gives back to the Lord Himself, still does wrong—and so does wrong that he can scarcely absolve the charge by a fourfold addition, and that under the Old Covenant—

then consider how great a fire he heaps upon his own head—the one who does not steal but seizes by violence, and who gives not even to the very person robbed, but to another in his place; who returns not even fourfold, nor even the half, and who lives not under the Old Covenant but under the New.

And if he does not yet pay the penalty, for this very reason lament him: that he is treasuring up for himself a greater wrath, unless he repents.

For what? "Do you think," He says, "that those alone were sinners, upon whom the tower fell? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you also shall suffer the same things."

Let us therefore repent, and give alms that are pure from rapacity and possess great abundance.

Consider that the Jews maintained eight thousand Levites, and together with the Levites also widows and orphans; and they rendered many other services besides, and along with this they even went to war.

But now there are fields, and houses, and rents of dwellings, and carriages, and mule-drivers, and

mules, and much array of this kind in the Church—and all because of you and your inhumanity.

For it ought indeed to have been that this treasure of the Church were with you, and that your ready zeal were its revenue;

but now two absurdities come to pass: both you remain unfruitful, and the priests of God do not handle the things that befit them.

For was it not possible in the days of the apostles for their houses and their fields to remain their own? Why then did they sell them and give? Because this was better.

But now fear seized your fathers—seeing you so madly bent on the things of this life, and given to gathering rather than to scattering—lest the companies of widows and orphans and virgins should perish of hunger;

for this reason they were compelled to make these provisions.

For they did not wish to cast themselves into such unseemliness, but desired that your good will should be their revenue, and to reap the fruits from that source, and themselves to attend to prayers alone.

But now you have compelled them to imitate the households of those who manage civil affairs;

whence everything has been turned upside down.

For when both you and we are entangled in the same affairs, who is there to propitiate God? Because of these things it is not possible for us to open our mouth, since the Church is disposed no better than the men of worldly business.

Have you not heard that the apostles did not even consent to distribute money that was collected without trouble? But now the bishops have surpassed for us stewards and managers and hucksters in their anxiety over these matters;

and whereas they ought to be caring and taking thought for your souls, instead they wear themselves out day after day over the very things about which tax-collectors and revenue-gatherers and accountants and treasurers are concerned.

These things I say, not merely lamenting, but so that some correction and change may come about—that we, who serve a grievous servitude, may find mercy, and that you may become the revenue and treasure of the Church.

But if you are unwilling, behold, the poor are before your eyes;

as many as it is possible for us to suffice, we shall not cease to feed;

but those whom we cannot, we shall leave to you, that you may not hear those words on the fearful Day—the words spoken to the merciless and the cruel: "You saw Me hungry, and you did not feed Me."

For this inhumanity makes us, together with you, an object of ridicule—that, having abandoned prayers and teaching and all other holiness, some of us wrestle all our time long with wine-sellers, some with grain-sellers, and some with those who peddle other wares.

Hence come fights and contentions, and daily revilings, and reproaches and mockeries; and upon each of the priests are laid names more fitting for worldly households;

whereas instead of these they ought to exchange for other titles, and to be called from those things by which the apostles too laid down their ordinances—from the sustenance of the poor, from the protection of the wronged, from the care of strangers, from the aid of the oppressed, from the provision for orphans, from the championing of widows, from the oversight of virgins—and to distribute these stewardships instead of the anxiety over lands and buildings.

For these are the treasures of the Church;

these are the treasures that befit her, affording both to us much ease

and to you benefit—or rather, to you also ease along with the benefit.

For by the grace of God I reckon that those who are gathered here amount to the number of a hundred thousand;

And if each man were to share but a single loaf with one of the poor, all would be in abundance;

if each gave but a single obol, no one would be poor, nor should we have endured so many reproaches and mockeries on account of our anxiety over possessions.

For that saying, 'Sell your possessions, and give to the poor, and come, follow Me,' might well be spoken also to those who preside over the Church, concerning the Church's possessions.

For it is not possible to follow as one ought in any other way, unless a man be freed from all coarser and more worldly cares.

But now the priests of God sit beside the vintage and the harvest, and busy themselves with the buying and selling of revenues;

and those who served the shadow enjoyed complete exemption from all

such duties, and this though they had been entrusted with a more bodily ministry;

but we, who are called to the very inmost sanctuaries of the heavens, and who enter into the true Holy of Holies, take upon ourselves the cares of merchants and hucksters.

Hence comes great neglect of the Scriptures, and slackness in prayers, and carelessness about all other things.

For it is not possible to be divided between both with the earnestness that befits each.

Wherefore I beg and beseech you that many fountains may gush forth to us from every side, and that your eagerness may become to us both threshing-floor and wine-press.

For thus both will the poor be more easily nourished, and God will be glorified, and you yourselves will advance the more in benevolence, and will enjoy the eternal good things;

which may it be granted us all to attain, by the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory unto the ages of ages.