約伯倫理 第 691 章

Verse 18. — 'The foolish also despised me.' 54. When the wise fell from the truth, even the foolish failed. — With the wise falling from the faith of the truth, it is rightly added concerning the foolish also, because, while the Pharisees and the teachers of the law despised the Lord, the throng of the people also followed their unbelief — the throng which, in that it saw a man, despised the proclamations of the Redeemer of the world. For often by the name of the foolish those who are poor among the common people are designated. Whence also it is said through Jeremiah: 'I said, Perhaps they are poor and foolish, not knowing the way of the Lord, and the judgement of their God' (Jer. 5:4). Now, having left the wise and rich of the world, our Redeemer had come to seek the poor and the foolish.

Whence now, as if to the increase of His sorrow, it is said: 'The foolish also despised me.' As if it were openly said: These too despised me, for whose healing I took upon myself the foolishness of preaching. For it is written: 'Since in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe' (1 Cor. 1:21). For the Word of God is wisdom, but the flesh of the Word has been called the foolishness of this wisdom; that, because the carnal by the prudence of their own flesh were not able to attain to the wisdom of God, they might be healed through the foolishness of preaching — that is, through the flesh of the Word. He says, therefore: 'The foolish also despised me.' As if it were openly said:

and by those very ones I was despised for whom I did not fear to be esteemed foolish. And because the common people of the Jews, when they beheld the miracles of our Redeemer, honoured Him from the signs, saying, 'This is the Christ' (Mark 13:21); but when they beheld the weak things of His humanity, they disdained to believe Him the Creator, saying, 'No, but He deceives the crowds' (John 7:12); rightly is it subjoined: