Now, inquiring within myself what it was that so astonished the multitudes concerning John, that they marveled at him and believed him as he preached a baptism of repentance, and that all people from every quarter, leaving their own homes, streamed together into the wilderness -- especially since the accounts record no deed of his in the way of miracles (for he is not recorded to have raised the dead, nor to have performed other wonders) -- what, then, was it that astonished them all? Was it not, perhaps, his strange manner of life, so different from that of the many? For he came forth from the wilderness clothed in a strange garment, and shunned every common resort of men, neither turning aside into village nor city nor any common gathering of men, nor even partaking of common food.
It is written, indeed, that from the age of a child he was in the deserts, until the day of his manifestation to Israel; and moreover, that his clothing was made of camel's hair, and his food locusts and wild honey.
Was it not, then, that seeing a man who was a Nazirite of God in respect of his hair, showing forth a countenance befitting God, clothed in a strange manner of dress, appearing suddenly, coming from some unseen place in the wilderness, and after his preaching withdrawing again into the wilderness and into obscurity, drinking nothing, eating nothing ordinary, having no dealings with the multitude -- they were, not unreasonably, amazed, not even suspecting him to be a man? For how could they not marvel at one who had no need of food at all? Wherefore they had also supposed him to be an angel -- this same one who is signified through the prophet in the words, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who shall prepare your way before you’ -- of which passage the evangelist Mark has indeed made use in citation.
For it was natural that those who were unbelieving and hard and resistant toward the truth should, on account of John's aforementioned manner of life, blaspheme him in this way -- just as, conversely, those who perceived his excellence supposed him to be an angel. This, then, I consider to have furnished those who beheld John with amazement at him; wherefore also they flocked together from every quarter to the cleansing of the soul that was proclaimed through him.
Josephus also makes mention of the history concerning him, in the eighteenth book of the Jewish Antiquities, writing in this manner: ‘But to some of the Jews it seemed that the army of the Jews had been destroyed by God, and that most justly, in requital for the punishment of John who was called the Baptist. For Herod killed him, a good man, who bade the Jews, practicing virtue and using both righteousness toward one another and piety toward God, to come together in baptism; for thus indeed did baptism appear acceptable to him.’ From the same author:
‘Be glad, O thirsty wilderness, let the desert rejoice, and let it blossom as a lily; and it shall blossom forth, and the waste places of the Jordan shall rejoice, and the glory of Lebanon has been given to it, and the honor of Carmel; and my people shall see the glory of the Lord.’
To which he adds: ‘Be strong, you slackened hands and feeble knees; be comforted, you who are faint-hearted in mind; be strong, do not fear. Behold, our God renders judgment and will render recompense; he himself shall come and shall save us. Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall hear; then shall the lame man leap as a deer, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be clear; for water has broken forth in the wilderness, and a torrent-valley in the thirsty land.’
And these things too were fulfilled, after John's preaching, through the manifestly marvelous works of our Savior. Observe, then, how it is the wilderness that is evangelized -- not simply, nor any wilderness whatsoever, but that particular one, marked out and alone, namely the one beside the river Jordan.
For it was there, tarrying in that place, that John baptized, as Scripture testifies, saying: ‘John was in the wilderness, baptizing, and all the country of Judea went out to him, and all those of Jerusalem, and were baptized by him in the Jordan.’
I think, then, that the wilderness — the wilderness once destitute of all good things pertaining to God, I mean the Church gathered from the nations — contains a symbol of this; while the river upon the wilderness, which cleanses all who are washed in it, is an image of a certain purification contemplated in the mind, concerning which the Scriptures speak, saying, "The streams of the river make glad the city of" [God].
This signifies the ever-flowing outpouring of the divine Spirit, springing forth from above and watering the city of God — for such is the name given to the commonwealth that is according to God. This river of God, then, has come down even to the wilderness — that is, plainly, to the Church gathered from the nations — and even now still supplies it with the living waters that are in it. In addition to this, the prophecy says that the glory of Lebanon and the honor of Carmel will be given to the aforesaid wilderness.
And what is the glory of Lebanon but the worship performed through sacrifices according to the law of Moses, which God rejected through the prophecy that says, "To what purpose do you bring me frankincense from Sheba? And what to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?" He has transferred the glory of Jerusalem to the wilderness of the Jordan, the course of life according to piety beginning to be accomplished not at Jerusalem, but at the wilderness, from the times of John.
In the same way, also, the honor of the law, and of the things legislated in it more bodily [that is, in a more corporeal, ritual manner], has been given to the wilderness of the Jordan, for the reason already stated — namely, that those in need of the healing of the soul no longer took refuge at Jerusalem, but at the place called the wilderness, on account of the remission of sins there proclaimed.
I think also that the coming of our Savior to baptism is signified by the words, "And my people shall see the glory of the Lord and the majesty of God." For then indeed was seen the glory of our Savior, when, having been baptized, he came up from the water, and the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and remaining upon him, when also a voice was heard from the heavens, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Moreover, everyone who comes sincerely to the mystery of the washing, having received the theology concerning Christ, will behold his glory, and would say, like Paul, "Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no longer." From the Psalm.
"He who dwells in the help of the Most High shall lodge in the shelter of the God of heaven. He shall say to the Lord, 'You are my helper and my refuge, my God, my helper, and in him will I hope; for he shall deliver me from the snare of the hunters, and from the troublesome word. He shall overshadow you with his shoulders, and under his wings you shall hope.'"
"His truth shall encompass you as with a shield; you shall not be afraid of the terror by night, of the arrow that flies by day, of the thing that walks in darkness, of destruction and the noonday demon. A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you behold, and shall see the reward of sinners. Because you, O Lord, are my hope; you have made the Most High your refuge. No evils shall come upon you, and no scourge shall come near your dwelling."
"For he shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the asp and the basilisk, and you shall trample the lion and the dragon underfoot."
Our Savior and Lord Jesus, the Christ of God, considered according to that in which he became man, is said to be "he who dwells in the help of the Most High," lodging "in the shelter of God" and the Father. He, then, having possessed the Father alone and no other as his refuge in the time of temptation by the devil, was on one occasion delivered from the snares of the opposing powers — now called "hunters" — at the time when, as though he were some common man, he was led up into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, and was in the wilderness forty days and forty nights, being tempted by Satan; and he was, as the evangelist testifies, "with the wild beasts."
And of what beasts, but those which the Psalm now before us mentions, saying to him who dwells in the help of the Most High, "You shall tread upon the asp and the basilisk, and you shall trample the lion and the dragon underfoot"? And it says that he shall be delivered not only from these, but also "from the troublesome word."
It is worth considering the cause why so great a Savior as ours was tempted. Being about to drive out from mankind every disease and every infirmity, and the harassing spirits and unclean demons who, from a long age, had held mastery over all people on earth through polytheistic superstition, he did not proceed to the aforesaid works as one who hides himself, as it were, out of the unseen; but, having taken the field against the invisible rulers who had previously been vexing men, through the man he had assumed, and having gone into the very midst of the devil himself and the whole demonic host — treading upon the asp and the basilisk, and trampling the lion and the dragon underfoot, and having, long before, cast down thousands and ten thousands of the ruling enemies, some warring from the right and some from the left — the principalities and powers, and indeed the so-called world-rulers of this darkness, and the spiritual hosts of wickedness — having thus refuted all these as having no strength whatsoever, and at length having driven far away, by the word of his mouth, the devil himself, the chief instigator of evils, and having passed through and walked about among the whole of the opposing power, presenting himself to all who wished to approach and tempt him, while none was able to withstand him — thus he proceeded to the salvation of mankind. Wherefore also the demons, seeing him, recognized him from his sojourn already spoken of in the wilderness, saying to him, "What have we to do with you, Jesus, Son of God?"
These things, then, concerning these matters. But what follows in the Psalm has been proclaimed with reference to Christ himself, from the words, "He shall overshadow you with his shoulders" — that is, the Most High — "and under his wings you shall hope; his truth shall encompass you as with a shield." And since he was tempted for forty days and as many nights, concerning those who assailed him during the nights it is said, "You shall not be afraid of the terror" by night, of those warring against him; and concerning those warring against him during the days, the words "of the arrow that flies by day."
And again, concerning those that assail by night: "of the thing that walks in darkness"; and concerning those by day: "of destruction and the noonday demon."
Then, since evil powers surrounded him in the temptation, some holding his right side, but many more his left, inasmuch as the right side is the mightier part, it is fittingly added to him, "A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you" — "side" being used in place of "left," the name "left" being fittingly passed over in silence, because nothing sinister or left-handed was to be found in him. And since a whole ten thousand, and along with it a thousand, are said to fall both at his side and at his right hand, fittingly it is next said concerning these, "Only with your eyes shall you behold, and shall see the reward of sinners."
"And these things," it says, "shall be concerning you, O Christ of God, since you yourself, O Lord, who happen to be my hope, have made the Most High your refuge."
Here you should also observe how the prophet says to the Lord himself, "You, O Lord, my hope, have made the Most High your refuge" — carefully distinguishing another, particular Lord, and the God who is his Father, the Most High.
Therefore, since Christ has made him, as Father and Most High God, his own refuge, it is said to him, "No evils shall come upon you, and no scourge shall come near your dwelling; for he shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone."
And observe carefully how, in the words, "You, O Lord, my hope, have made the Most High your refuge," the word "Lord" is rendered in Hebrew by the four-lettered Name, which the sons of the Hebrews, saying it is not to be pronounced, are accustomed to apply to God alone — and we too have already shown beforehand that it is found applied, in very many Scriptures, to the divinity of the Word, just as also in the Psalm now before us, which speaks in the person of the Lord himself: "You, O Lord, my hope, have made the Most High your refuge" — all but saying, "You yourself, O Lord, who happen to be the hope of me who prophesy these things, knowing that God the Most High is greater than yourself, have made him your refuge."
Whence also, at the beginning of the Psalm, it was said concerning him, "He who dwells in the help of the Most High shall lodge in the shelter of the God of heaven. He shall say to the Lord, 'You are my helper and my refuge, my God, my helper, and in him will I hope.'"
Since, then, you, O Lord, have made the Most High your refuge, for this reason it says that the Most High himself "shall deliver you from the snare of the hunters, and from the troublesome word, and shall overshadow you with his shoulders." Wherefore, having such fatherly help from the Most High, "you shall not be afraid of the terror by night," nor of any of the things previously enumerated, nor yet of the things brought forward next.
"For since you, O Lord, have made the Most High your refuge, for this reason no evils shall come upon you, and no scourge shall come near your dwelling." And you would find that in the Gospels the workings that come from demons are called "scourges," which, it says, are not able even to dare to approach the "dwelling" of Christ, that is, his body.
For how could they, when he drove them out from men by a word alone? And concerning this "dwelling" also David once swore to the Lord, and vowed to the God of Jacob, saying, "If I go up upon the couch of my bed, if I give sleep to my eyes, and slumber to my eyelids, and rest to my temples, until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling for the God of Jacob..."
And it was on account of this "dwelling," indeed, that it was said, "You shall not be afraid of the terror by night"; and "he himself shall deliver you from the snare of the hunters, and from the troublesome word"; and "no evils shall come upon you, and no scourge shall come near your dwelling"; and whatever else is said about him in more human terms, such as "he shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you," and "they shall bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone."
For these things would not be fittingly said as spoken with reference to God, but with reference to his dwelling, which he assumed on our account, when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. It seems to me good, for the sake of confirming precisely what has been said, to set alongside it also the renderings of the other translators; of whom Aquila spoke thus: "Because you, O Lord, my hope, have made the Most High your habitation."
"Evil shall not be transferred to you, and no touch shall come near in your shelter; for he charges his angels to keep you in all your ways." Symmachus, however, renders: "For you, O Lord, are my freedom from fear; you have made your dwelling most high."
"Evil shall not prevail over you, nor shall any touch come near your tent; for he charges his angels concerning you, to keep you in all your ways." Accordingly, by these very words it is said to the Lord, as concerning another who is greater, "He charges his angels concerning you, to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you up in their hands" (that is, you, the Lord) "lest you, the Lord, dash your foot against a stone."
And the devil made use of these very words in the temptation against our Savior, when, having taken him to the holy city, he set him upon the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here; for it is written, 'He shall give his angels charge over you, and in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'" To whom our Lord answered and said, "It is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
Then, since, according to the evangelist, he spent his time during the temptation "with the wild beasts," though of what kind is not recorded, this same point is made clearer by the prophecy of the Psalm, which, hinting at the species of these beasts, says, "You shall tread upon the asp and the basilisk, and you shall trample the lion and the dragon underfoot."
He himself, then, has been attested as trampling underfoot the chief among the intelligible beasts — "the lion and the dragon, the asp and the basilisk" — that is, the devil himself, and the ruling and evil powers that follow after him. But to his disciples and apostles, who have acquired a virtue like his own, he grants the authority himself "to tread upon serpents and scorpions," not permitting them to be tempted beyond what they are able; for it belonged to him alone to cast down, by his divine power, the worse powers in wickedness, and the ruler and tyrant himself of this age over them all. From Isaiah.
"Drink this first; do it quickly, O land of Zabulon, land of Nephthalim, and the rest who dwell on the seacoast, and beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations, the people who walk in darkness — see a great light; and to those dwelling in a land and shadow of death, light shall shine upon you. The greater part of the people whom you brought down shall rejoice in your joy, and they shall rejoice before you, as those who rejoice in the harvest, and as those who divide spoils; because the yoke that lay upon them shall be removed, and the rod that was on their neck. For the Lord has scattered the rod of those who exacted, as on the day that was against Madian; because every garment gathered by deceit, and every mantle, they shall repay with a reconciliation, and shall wish that they had been burned with fire. For a child was born to us, a son also was given to us, whose government came to be upon his shoulder, and his name is called Messenger of Great Counsel, Ruler of Peace, Potentate, Mighty God, Father of the age to come."
In addition to all the other things, this too was fulfilled with reference to our Savior and Lord Jesus, the Christ of God, when, according to the admirable evangelist, having heard that John had been delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee, and, leaving Nazareth, came and dwelt in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zabulon and Nephthalim, that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, "Land of Zabulon and land of Nephthalim, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations — the people who sat in darkness saw a great light, and to those who dwelt in the region and shadow of death, light arose upon them." From that time, then, Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
And walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."
And they immediately left their nets and followed him. And going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them; and they immediately left the boat and their father and followed him.
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people; and his fame went out into all Syria, and they brought to him all who were sick, afflicted with various diseases and torments, those possessed by demons, and lunatics, and paralytics, and he healed them; and great crowds followed him from Galilee.
I have set out all these things for the sake of the prophecy which promises that a great light will come to be for Galilee, and for the region of Zabulon and Nephthalim, neither of which happens to be Galilee of the nations. But why did he spend most of his time in Galilee of the nations? Because he was laying down the preliminaries of the calling of all the nations; it was from there, at any rate, that he called his own disciples, they being natives of that region.
Wherefore, a little further on in the Gospel, you will find that Matthew was called from Galilee, and again, in another passage, Levi. And Philip, according to John, came from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter, and this too was in Galilee. But also, in that same evangelist, a marriage took place at Cana of Galilee, where the Lord, marvelously transforming water into wine, made there the beginning of his signs, when also he manifested his glory, and his disciples believed.
Consider whether it is not this very thing — the first miracle of our Savior, which took place at Cana of Galilee, concerning the changing of the water into wine — that the present text sets forth as a prophecy at the very beginning, when it says, "Drink this first; do it quickly, O land of Zabulon, and land of Nephthalim, Galilee of the nations."
If this marvel was a symbol of a more mystical mixture, changed from the more bodily kind to the intellectual and spiritual gladness of the drink-offering of the new covenant, see whether this too was not fittingly hinted at in the things declared concerning Galilee, prophesying that at the coming of Christ, first of all — before even those of Judea and Jerusalem — those who dwelt in Zabulon and Nephthalim would come to partake of the drink of the evangelical proclamation.
And the text says that the cause of their gladness was the shining forth of the great light — for before his coming they sat in darkness, passing their lives in a land and shadow of death; and now that the saving light has risen upon them, they will rejoice in this manner, as those who rejoice in the harvest, and as those who divide the spoil.
And these things indeed were fulfilled in deed, when our Savior and Lord, having called the apostles from Galilee, displayed to them the marvels of his works and his teaching.
The prophecy foretells that they will rejoice before him after the manner of those who rejoice in the harvest. And what harvest is this but the one concerning which he himself said, while teaching, "Lift up your eyes and see the fields, for they are already white for harvest"? By this he signified the gathering together of the nations. And concerning these same it was said that "they will rejoice, as those who divide the spoil."
For the disciples and evangelists of our Savior, having divided among themselves the countries of the nations and the whole world under the sun, despoiled countless rulers of this age, who had previously held the nations in their power. Moreover, the text also states another cause of their gladness — namely, that the bodily yoke of the law, which had previously long lain upon them, and which neither they nor their fathers were able to bear, was lifted from them.
Not only has the yoke been taken away from them, but also the rod of those who exacted, which formerly lay upon their neck. And he indicates who these exactors are elsewhere, saying, "My people, your collectors glean you, and those who exact tribute rule over you."
But these, who beheld the great light from Zabulon and Nephthalim, will rejoice for the reasons already stated; whereas those who formerly exacted tribute from them will be made to pay to the last farthing, and, having repaid every garment and every mantle, will be burned with fire at the time of the exaction.
And it says that all these things will come to pass because "a child has been born to us, a son has been given to us," the Messenger of Great Counsel. And to whom — "to us" — but to those who have believed in him, that is, plainly, to the whole Galilee of the nations, upon whom the great light has risen? And what was this but the child that was born, and the son given by God, named Messenger of Great Counsel, and Ruler of Peace, and Potentate, and Mighty God, and Father of the age to come? These things we have already, at the proper time, previously demonstrated as named of our Savior and Lord alone. From Psalm 67.
"Your goings have been seen, O God, the goings of my God, the King who is in the sanctuary. The rulers went before, joined with those who sang psalms, in the midst of young maidens playing on timbrels. Bless God the Lord in the assemblies, you who are of the fountains of Israel. There is Benjamin the younger in ecstasy, the princes of Judah their leaders, the princes of Zabulon, the princes of Nephthalim."
Here again I consider that the "princes of Nephthalim" referred to are none other than the apostles; for it was from there that our Savior and Lord chose them, according to Matthew's account. And the Scripture, prophesying the going forth of the divine Word to mankind and his enfleshed sojourn among us, says, "Your goings have been seen, O God," and so forth.
Having become, as it were, forerunners of this manifestation, the prophets who were beloved of God of old, proclaiming and hymning through the psaltery and choirs and all manner of spiritual instruments, "went before, in the midst of young maidens playing on timbrels."
For assuredly the divine prophets, coming forward in the midst of the assemblies of the circumcision, foretold the arrival of Christ; and these same, by the divine Spirit, addressed the apostles of our Savior, saying, "Bless God the Lord in the assemblies, you who are of the fountains of Israel." And the "fountains of Israel" would be the oracles that were entrusted to Israel; for they were the first to be entrusted with the sayings of God, and it is from these that we too must draw and water the churches of Christ.
By "young maidens" and "timbrel-players" he hinted at the souls who lived of old more bodily, according to the law of Moses — calling them "young maidens" on account of the youthful and imperfect state of their understanding, and "timbrel-players" on account of their being worn out in bodily forms of religious observance. From Isaiah.
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because of which he has anointed me; he has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim release to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to call the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of recompense."
And our Lord himself confesses that this very prediction has been fulfilled with reference to himself, when, having come to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he entered, as was his custom, into the synagogue on the sabbath day; and when he stood up, the book of Isaiah the prophet was given to him, and unrolling the book, he read what was written: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because of which he has anointed me; he has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth the bruised in release, to call the acceptable year of the Lord."