馬太福音講道集 第 7 章

And having gathered together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ should be born.

You see how all things turn to the conviction of the Jews. For so long as they did not behold Him, neither were they caught up by envy, but proclaimed the testimonies with truth;

but when they saw the glory that arose from His miracles, then, being possessed by envy, they betrayed the truth.

Yet the truth was exalted through all things, and was the more mightily upheld even by its enemies.

Behold, then, even here, how wondrous and marvellous things are dispensed.

For at one and the same time both learn somewhat more from one another, and teach one another—both the barbarians and the Jews.

For the Jews heard from the magi that a star also had proclaimed Him in the land of the Persians;

and the magi learned from the Jews that this One, whom the star had proclaimed, the prophets also had foretold from many ages before;

and the occasion of the inquiry became for both a demonstration of a clearer and more exact teaching;

and the enemies of the truth are compelled, even against their will, to read the writings that are on behalf of the truth, and to interpret the prophecy, though not the whole of it.

For having named Bethlehem, and that out of it should come forth He that shall shepherd Israel, they thereafter no longer added what follows, flattering the king.

And what was this? That His goings forth are from of old, from the days of eternity.

And wherefore, one asks, if He was to come thence, did He, after His birth, dwell in Nazareth, and cast the prophecy into shadow? And in truth He did not cast it into shadow, but rather brought it the more to light.

For the fact that, though His mother dwelt there continually, He was born here, shows that the matter came to pass by dispensation.

Wherefore also He did not straightway, upon being born, go forth thence, but tarried forty days, giving to those who desired to make careful search the opportunity to examine everything with exactness.

For there were many things to move them to such an inquiry, if only they had been willing to give heed.

For when the magi came, the whole city was stirred up, and with the city the king; and the prophet was brought into the midst, and a very great tribunal was convened; and yet other and more things came to pass there, which Luke recounts, all of them, with exactness;

such as the things concerning Anna, and Simeon, and Zacharias, and the angels, and the shepherds—all of which were sufficient to furnish those who gave heed with occasions to discover what had come to pass.

For if the magi, coming from Persia, were not ignorant of the place, much more could those who dwelt there have learned these things.

He showed Himself, then, from the beginning, through many miracles;

but when they were unwilling to see, having hidden Himself during the intervening time, He again revealed Himself from another and more brilliant beginning.

For it was no longer the magi, nor the star, but the Father from above who proclaimed Him at the streams of the Jordan;

and the Spirit came upon Him, drawing that voice down upon the head of Him who was being baptized;

and John, with all boldness, cried aloud everywhere throughout Judaea, filling the world, the uninhabited wilderness, with such teaching;

and the testimony of the miracles too, and earth, and sea, and all creation sent forth a bright voice on His behalf.

But at the season of the birth-pangs, only so much took place as was fitting quietly to point out Him who had come.

For lest the Jews should say, We know not when He was born, nor in what region, all things concerning the magi were arranged by dispensation, together with the other things which we have mentioned.

And so they could allege no excuse, seeing they had not inquired into what had come to pass.

Consider too the exactness of the prophecy.

For he did not say that He should abide in Bethlehem, but 'He shall come forth.'

So that this also belonged to the prophecy: that He should merely be born there.

But some of them, out of shamelessness, say that these things were spoken concerning Zerubbabel.

And how could that stand to reason? For surely it is not of him that it is said, 'His goings forth have been from of old, from the days of eternity.'

And how could that which was said at the beginning, that 'Out of thee shall He come forth,' be fitting to him? For he was not born in Judaea, but in Babylon;

whence also he was called Zerubbabel, because he was begotten there.

And all who know the tongue of the Syrians know the meaning of the name.

And besides what has been said, all the time that followed thereafter is likewise sufficient to establish the testimony.

For what does it say? 'Thou art in no wise least among the princes of Judah;'

and he adds the cause of its renown, saying, that 'Out of thee shall He come forth.'

And no other made that place bright and renowned, save He alone.

For after that birth, from the ends of the world men come to see the manger and the place of the hut;

which very thing the prophet proclaimed beforehand of old, saying:

'Thou art in no wise least among the princes of Judah;'

that is, among the heads of the tribes.

And in saying this he also comprehended Jerusalem.

But not even so did they give heed, although the benefit passed over unto them.

For this cause too the prophets nowhere at the beginning discourse so much about His dignity as about the benefit that came from Him unto them.

For indeed, when the Virgin was bringing Him forth,

'Thou shalt call His name Jesus,' it says;

'For He shall save His people from their sins.'

And the Magi too said not, 'Where is the Son of God?' but, 'He that is born King of the Jews.'

And here again he said not that 'Out of thee shall the Son of God come forth;'

but, 'A Governor, who shall shepherd my people Israel.'

For it was needful both to discourse somewhat more condescendingly in the outset, lest they should be offended, and to proclaim the things concerning their salvation, that by this they might rather be drawn on.

At any rate, as many testimonies as are cited first, and those for which the season came immediately at the birth, say nothing great nor lofty concerning Him, nor such as those that came after the display of the signs;

for those speak more openly concerning His dignity.

At all events, when after many miracles the children were singing hymns unto Him, hear what the Prophet says:

'Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise;'

'For I will behold the heavens, the works of thy fingers;'

which shows Him to be the Maker of the universe.

And the testimony that was brought forward after the Ascension also declares His equality of honor with the Father;

for 'The Lord said,' it says, 'unto my Lord,'

And Isaiah too says, that:

'He that riseth up to rule over the nations, in Him shall the nations hope.'

But how does he say that Bethlehem is not least among the princes of Judah? For not in Palestine only, but throughout the whole world the village has become renowned.

But for the present the discourse is addressed to the Jews;

'He shall shepherd my people Israel;'

and yet He shepherded the whole world;

but, as I said, He is not willing for the present to give offense by disclosing the word concerning the Gentiles.

And how did He not shepherd the Jewish people? one may say. Indeed this very thing also came to pass;

for in here saying 'Israel,' he hinted at those of the Jews who had believed on Him.

And Paul, interpreting this, said:

'For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel; but as many as'

were begotten through faith and promise.

But if He shepherded not all, this is their charge and accusation.

For whereas they ought to have worshiped together with the Magi, and to have glorified God, that such a season had come, loosing all their sins;

for indeed they heard nothing about tribunals, nor about scrutinies, but about a gentle and meek Shepherd;

but they did the contrary, and were troubled, and made an uproar, and afterwards contrived countless plots.

Then Herod, having privily called the Magi, inquired of them exactly the time of the star that appeared;

endeavoring to slay Him that was born, which was a mark of utmost folly, not of madness only.

For indeed both the things that had been said and the things that had come to pass were sufficient to withdraw him from every such attempt.

For the things that had befallen were not according to man.

For that a star should call the Magi from on high, and that barbarian men should undertake so great a journey in order to worship Him that lay in swaddling clothes and in a manger, and that prophets should of old have foretold all these things, and all the rest—these were greater than could befit man;

but nevertheless none of these things restrained him.

It falls foul of itself, and ever attempts things impossible to accomplish.

For if he believed the prophecy, and deemed it to be immovable, it is quite plain that he was attempting things impossible;

but if again he disbelieved, and did not expect that the things spoken should come to pass, then he ought not to have dreaded and feared, nor on this account to have plotted;

so that on either side the treachery was superfluous.

And this too was a mark of utmost folly, to suppose that the Magi would prefer him to Him that was born, for whose sake they had come so long a journey.

For if before they saw Him they were so kindled with longing, after they had beheld Him and been confirmed by the prophecy, how did he hope to persuade them to betray the young child unto him? Yet nevertheless, though there were so many things to draw him away, he made the attempt. And having privily called the Magi, he inquired of them.

For indeed he supposed that the Jews were solicitous for the young child;

and he would not have expected them to slide into such madness, as to be willing to give up to His enemies the Champion and Saviour, who had come for the freedom of their nation.

For this cause too he calls them privily, and inquires the time, not of the young child, but of the star, laying his snare out of great abundance of craft.

For it seems to me that the star had appeared a long time before.

For since the Magi were to consume much time on the journey, in order that they might present themselves immediately unto Him that was born;

for it was needful that He should be worshiped in the very swaddling clothes, so that the marvelous and paradoxical nature of the matter might appear, the star shows itself a long time before.

For if it had appeared to them in the East at the very time when He was born in Palestine, then, spending much time on the journey, they would not have seen Him in swaddling clothes when they arrived.

And if he slays the children from two years old and under, let us not be amazed;

for his rage and his fear, seeking still greater assurance, added an even wider span of time, that none might escape.

So then, calling them, he says:

'Go and search diligently concerning the young child;'

'and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.'

Do you see his folly? For if you say these things in truth, why do you inquire secretly? But if because you wish to plot against him, how did you not perceive that, from being questioned in secret, the Magi would be able to discern the treachery? But, as I said, a soul once seized by wickedness becomes more senseless than anyone.

And he did not say, 'Go and learn concerning the king,' but 'concerning the young child;'

for he could not even endure to call it by the name of sovereignty.

But the Magi, perceiving none of these things, out of their great reverence set forth;

for they would not have supposed that that man had come to such a pitch of wickedness, and would attempt to plot against so marvelous a dispensation;

They depart, suspecting none of these things, but conjecturing all that pertains to others from what pertains to themselves.

'And lo, the star, which they had seen in the east, went before them.'

For this reason it was also hidden, that, having lost the one who guided them by the hand, they might fall into the necessity of inquiring of the Jews, and the matter might become manifest to all.

For after they had inquired and had their enemies as teachers, the star appears to them again.

And observe the most excellent sequence that comes about.

For from the star the people of the Jews and their king receive them, and they bring forward the prophet who teaches the meaning of what appeared.

And from the prophet again an angel, taking them in charge, taught them all things;

and meanwhile from Jerusalem to Bethlehem they journey by means of the star;

for the star again accompanied them from thence also;

that you may learn from this too that this was no one of the common sort;

for not a single star has this nature.

And it did not simply move, but went before them, drawing them on and leading them by the hand in the midst of the day.

'And what need was there any longer of this star,' one asks, 'once the place had been made known?' That the young child too might be pointed out.

For there was nothing else to make him manifest;

since neither was the house conspicuous, nor was the mother splendid and distinguished.

There was need, therefore, of the star to set them at the place.

Wherefore it appears to them also as they come out of Jerusalem, and does not stand still before then, until it reached the manger.

And wonder was joined to wonder;

for both things were beyond expectation, both that the Magi should worship, and that the star should go before them; and these were sufficient to draw on even those exceedingly hard as stone.

For if the Magi had said that they had heard the prophets declaring these things, or that angels had privately conversed with them, they might have been disbelieved;

but now, with the sight of the star appearing from on high, even those who were exceedingly shameless were put to silence.

Then, when it had come to rest over the young child, the star stood still again;

which very thing was of a power greater than belongs to a star, namely, now to be hidden and now to appear, and having appeared to stand still.

From this those men too received an increase of faith.

For this reason they also rejoiced, because they had found what they sought, because they had become messengers of the truth, because they had not come so long a way in vain;

so great a longing had they for Christ.

For having come, it stood over the very head, showing that the offspring is divine;

and having stood, it leads them to worship, not simply barbarians, but the wiser among them.

Do you see that with good reason the star appeared? For even after the prophecy, and after the exposition of the chief priests and scribes, they still gave heed to it.

Let Marcion be put to shame, let Paul of Samosata be put to shame, who would not see the things which the Magi saw, they who were forefathers of the Church;

for I am not ashamed thus to call them.

Let Marcion be put to shame, seeing God worshiped in the flesh.

seeing him worshiped not simply as a man.

But that it was indeed in the flesh, the swaddling clothes and the manger show;

and that they worshiped him not as a mere man, they make plain by offering, at so untimely an age, such gifts as it was fitting to offer to God.

Let the Jews too be put to shame together with them, seeing barbarians and Magi outrunning them, and not even enduring to come after those men.

For the things then done were a type of the things to come, and from these very beginnings it was made plain that the Gentiles would outstrip that people of theirs.

'And how is it,' one asks, 'that not from the beginning, but afterward, he said:

"Go and make disciples of all the nations"? Because, as I said, what was taking place was a type of that which was to be, and a kind of foreannouncement.

For the natural order was that the Jews should come first;

but since they willingly betrayed the benefit that belonged to them, the matter came about in the reverse order.

Since not even here ought the Magi to have come before the Jews;

nor ought those from so great a distance to have outstripped those who were seated hard by the very city;

nor ought those who had heard nothing to have outrun those nurtured amid so many prophecies.

But since with excess they were ignorant of the good things that were their own, those from Persia outstrip those in Jerusalem;

which very thing Paul also declares, saying:

'It was necessary that the word of the Lord should first be spoken to you;'

'but since you judged yourselves unworthy, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.'

For even if they were not persuaded before this, at least, having heard from the Magi, they ought to have run;

for this reason, while those men were sleeping, these ran on ahead.

Let us then, we also, follow the Magi, and part from our barbarous custom,

and let us make a great distance from it, that we may see Christ;

since those men too, if they had not gone far from their own country, would not have seen him.

Let us withdraw from earthly affairs.

For the Magi too, so long as they were in Persia, saw only the star;

but when they had departed from Persia, they beheld the Sun of righteousness;

or rather, they would not even have seen the star, had they not eagerly risen up from thence.

and though all be in tumult, let us run to the house of the young child;

though kings, though peoples, though tyrants cut off this road, let us not slacken our longing.

For thus shall we beat off all the terrors that press upon us.

For these men too, had they not beheld the young Child, would not have escaped the peril that came from the king.

Before they saw the young Child, fears and dangers and troubles pressed upon them from every side;

but after their worship came calm and safety.

And no longer a star, but an angel receives them, now that from their worship they had become priests;

for indeed they also offered gifts.

Do you also, therefore, leaving the Jewish people, the troubled city, the murderous tyrant, the phantom of this present life, hasten to Bethlehem, where is the house of the spiritual Bread.

For even if you are a shepherd, and come here, you shall see the young Child in an inn.

Even if you are a king, and do not draw near, your purple robe will profit you nothing.

Even if you are a wise man, this will in no way hinder you, provided only you come to honor and to worship, and not to trample under foot the Son of God;

provided you do this with trembling and with joy;

for these two things can indeed meet together at once.

But take heed lest you become like Herod, and say:

'That I may come and worship Him,' and then, when you are come, you should wish to slay Him.

For to this man are like those who partake of the mysteries unworthily.

For such a one shall be guilty, it says, of the body and blood of the Lord. For indeed they have within themselves the tyrant who is grieved at the kingdom of Christ, one more lawless than that Herod—namely, mammon.

For this tyrant wishes to reign, and he sends forth his own servants, who in appearance indeed do homage, but in the very act of worshiping commit murder.

Let us therefore fear lest we ever have the appearance of suppliants and worshipers, while in our deeds we display the very opposite.

And let us cast away all things from our hands, when we are about to worship.

Even if we have gold, let us offer it to Him, and not bury it in the ground.

For if those barbarians then offered it for His honor, what shall you be, who give not even to Him that has need? If they came so long a journey that they might see Him newly born, what excuse will you have, who will not go even the length of a single lane to visit the sick and the one in bonds? And yet even the sick and those in chains, even our enemies, we pity;

yet you pity not even your own Benefactor and Master.

And they indeed offered gold;

They saw the star, and rejoiced;

but you, seeing Christ Himself a stranger and naked, are not moved to compassion.

For which of you, who have received ten thousand benefits, has for Christ's sake undertaken so long a journey as those barbarians made—nay rather, than those who were more philosophic than the philosophers? And why do I speak of so long a road? Many of our women are so delicate that they will not even cross a single street to see Him upon the spiritual manger, unless they can lay hold of mules.

Others, since they are able to walk, set before their coming hither—some the throng of the affairs of this life, and some the theaters.

And the barbarians, before they saw Him, accomplished so great a journey for His sake;

but you, not even after seeing, are zealous to imitate them; nay, forsaking Him after seeing, you run to see the mime (for I touch again upon the same things as before);

and beholding Christ lying in a manger, you leave Him, that you may see women upon the stage.

Of how many thunderbolts are these things not worthy?

For tell me, if someone promised to bring you into a palace, and to show you the king seated on his throne, would you then choose to see the theater instead of these things? And yet even from that there would be nothing to gain.

But here a spiritual fountain of fire gushes up from this table;

and you, forsaking this, run down to the theater, to see

women swimming, and nature put to open shame, while you leave Christ sitting beside the fountain. For even now He sits beside the fountain, conversing not with a Samaritan woman, but with a whole city;

or perhaps even now with a Samaritan woman alone.

For no one is present with Him even now;

but some are present with their bodies only, and others not even with these.

Yet nevertheless He does not withdraw, but abides, and asks of us to drink—not water, but holiness;

for He gives the holy things to the holy.

For neither does He supply us water from this fountain, but living blood;

and though it is a symbol of death, yet it has become the cause of life.

But you, forsaking the fountain of blood, the awesome cup, depart to a devilish fountain, to see a harlot swimming, and to suffer the shipwreck of your soul.

For that water is a sea of licentiousness, which does not make bodies to sink beneath the waves, but works the shipwreck of souls.

And while she swims with her body stripped bare, you, by looking on, are plunged down into the deep of licentiousness.

For such is the devil's net;

it makes those who go not down into the water itself, but sit above, more deeply submerged than those wallowing there below, and drowns them more grievously than Pharaoh, who was then sunk together with his horses and his chariots.

And if it were possible to see souls, I could show you many floating upon these waters, even as the bodies of the Egyptians then floated.

But this is the more grievous thing, that they call such utter ruin a delight, and name this sea of destruction the channel of pleasure.

And yet one might more easily traverse the Aegean and the Tyrrhenian sea in safety than this spectacle.

For first, throughout the whole night, the devil forestalls their souls with expectation; then, having shown them the thing expected, he straightway bound them fast and made them captives.

For do not, because you have not consorted with the harlot, suppose yourself clean from the sin;

for by your eager desire you have accomplished the whole.

For if you are held fast by desire, you have kindled the greater flame;

but if you feel nothing towards the things you see, you are worthy of the greater condemnation, becoming a stumbling block to others by your incitement to these spectacles, and putting your own sight to shame, and with your sight your soul.

But that we may not only rebuke, come, let us also devise a method of correction.

What then shall the method be? I wish to hand you over to your own women, that they may instruct you.

For it were fitting, according to the law of Paul, that you should be the teachers;

but since the order has been inverted through sin, and the body has come to be uppermost while the head is below, let us take even this road.

But if you are ashamed to have a woman for a teacher, flee the sin, and you will be able speedily to ascend to the throne given you by God.

For so long as you transgress, the Scripture sends you not to a woman only, but even to creatures more lowly than you;

and it is not ashamed to send him who is honored with reason as a disciple to the ant.

For this is no reproach against the Scripture, but against those who thus betray their own nobility.

This then we also will do;

and now indeed we will hand you over to the woman;

but if you despise her, we will send you also to the school of the brute creatures, and will show you how many birds, how many fishes, how many four-footed beasts and creeping things appear more dignified and more temperate than you.

But if you are ashamed at the comparison, and blush, ascend to your own proper nobility, and flee the sea of hell and the river of fire—the swimming pool that is in the theater.

For this pool procures that sea, and kindles that abyss of flame.

For if he that looks on a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery,

how shall not he who is compelled even to see her naked become a captive ten thousand times over? The flood in Noah's day did not so destroy the race of men as these swimming women drown all there present with much shame.

For that rain, though it wrought the death of the body, yet checked the wickedness of the soul;

But this man does the very opposite: while the bodies remain, he destroys the soul.

Yet you, whenever there is talk of precedence, claim the right to preside over the whole world, since our city was the first to bind on itself the name of Christians;

you claim to take precedence over every city, because ours was the first to take up the name of Christians;

but in the contest of self-control, when you carry off less even than the more rustic cities, are you not ashamed? 'Yes,' he says;

'and what do you bid me do? To take to the mountains and become a monk?' It is for this very reason that I groan, that you suppose orderliness and self-control to befit those men alone;

and yet Christ laid down laws common to all.

For when He says, 'If anyone looks at a woman to lust after her,' He does not speak to the solitary monk only, but also to the man who has a wife;

for indeed that mountain of His was at that time filled with people of all such conditions.

Consider, then, that theatre, and hate this diabolical one, and do not condemn the word as too severe.

For I do not forbid marriage, nor do I hinder your taking delight;

but I wish this to be done with self-control, not with shame and accusation and countless reproaches.

I do not enjoin you to take to the mountains and the deserts, but to be kind and gentle and temperate while dwelling in the midst of the city.

For all the laws are common to us with the monks, except marriage;

or rather, even in this Paul commands us to be made equal to them in all things, saying:

'For the fashion of this world passes away, that even those who have wives may be as though they had none.'

So then, he says, I do not bid you take the summits of the mountains;

for indeed I could have wished it, because the cities imitate the things done in Sodom;

Remain having a house and children and a wife;

but do not outrage your wife, nor make an example of your children, nor bring into your house the pollution that comes from the theatres.

Do you not hear Paul saying? 'The husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife;'

and laying down laws common to both? But you, if your wife frequently goes to church, become a harsh accuser;

yet spending your own days in the theatres, you do not think yourself deserving of accusation;

but concerning your wife's chastity you are so exacting as to be even excessive and immoderate, not even permitting her the necessary outings;

yet for yourself you suppose everything is permitted.

But Paul does not allow this to you, He who gives the same authority also to the wife; for indeed:

'Let the husband,' he says, 'render to the wife the honour that is due.'

What sort of honour is this, then, when in matters of moment you outrage her, and give her body over to harlots? for your body is hers;

when you bring uproars and wars into the house? when you do such things in the marketplace as, when recounted at home, shame the wife who hears, disgrace the daughter who is present, and above them shame yourself? For one must either keep silent, or behave so shamefully that even the household servants deserve to be scourged for it.

What excuse, then, will you have, tell me—you who behold with great eagerness the very things which it is not even good to mention? who set before all else those things which cannot even be recounted with decency? For the present, then, so as not to become too burdensome, I will here bring my discourse to a close.

But if you persist in the same things, I will make the blade sharper, and give a deeper cut;

and I will not cease until, having scattered the devil's theatre, I make the assembly of the Church pure.

For thus we shall both be delivered from the present shame, and shall reap the life to come, by the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion, unto the ages of ages. Amen.