being nourished, thou wilt become full-grown; and what as a little one thou couldst not, thou shalt see when full-grown; but that thou ma}^est be nourished, "cast thy care upon the Lord, and He will nourish thee."
12. Therefore let us now briefly run over what remains, and do you see how the Lord makes known to us the things which I have been here commending to your attention. " The Father loveth the Son, and showeth Him all things which Himself doeth." Himself raiseth up souls, but by the Son, that the souls raised up may enjoy the substance of God, that is, of the Father and of the Son.
I Ps. liii. 23.
" And greater works than these He will shovv Him." Greater than which? Than healings of bodies. We have treated of this already, and must not linger upon it now. Greater is the resurrection of the body unto eternity than this healing of the body, wrought in that impotent man, to last only for a time. "And greater works than these He will show Him, that ye n-^ay marvel. " "Will show," as if the act were temporal, therefore as to a man made in time, since God the Word is not made. He by whom all times were made. But Christ was made man in time. We know in what consulship the Virgin Mary brought forth Christ, conceived of the Holy Ghost. Wherefore He, by whom as God the times were made, was made man in time. Hence, just as in time, " He will show Him greater works," that is, the resurrection of bodies, " that ye may marvel " at the resurrection of bodies wrought by the Son.
13. He then returns to that resurrection of souls: " For as the Father raiseth the dead, and quickeneth them, so also the Son quickeneth whom He will;" but this according to the Spirit. The Father quickeneth, the Son quickeneth; the F''ather whom He will, the Son whom He will; but the Father quickeneth the same as the Son, because all things were made by Him. " For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, so also the Son quickeneth whom He will." This is said of the resurrection of souls; but what of the resurrection of bodies? He returns, and says: " For the Father judgeth not any man, but all judgment hath He given to the Son." The resurrection of souls is effected by the eternal and unchangeable substance of the Father and Son. But the resurrection of bodies is effected by the dispensation of the Son's, humanity, which dispensation is temporal, not co-eternal with the Father. Therefore, when He mentioned judgment, in which there should be a resurrection of bodies. He saith, " For the Father judgetii not any man, but all judgment hath He given to the Son;" but concerning the resurrection of souls, He saith, " Even as the Father raiseth the dead, and quickeneth them, so also the Son quickeneth whom He will." That, then, the Father and the Son together. But this concerning the resurrection of bodies: " The Father judgeth not any man, but hath given all.judgment to the Son; that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father."
This is referred to the resurrection of souls. "That all may honor the Son." How? "Even as they honor the Father." For the Son works the resurrection of souls in the same manner as the Father doth; the Son Tractate XXIII.]
quickeneth just as the Father doth. Therefore, hi the resurrection of souls, " let all honor the Son as they honor the Father." But what of the honormg on account of the resurrection of the body? " Whoso honoreth not the Son, honoreth not the Father that sent Him." He said nott7'<?;/ as, but honoreth '^nd honoreth. For the man Christ is honored, but not even as God the Father. Why? Because, with respect to this, He said, " The Father is greater than I."' And when is the Son honored even as the Father is honored? When " in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God; and all things were made by Him." And hence, in this second honoring, what saith He? " Whoso honoreth not the Son, honoreth not the Father that sent Him." The Son was not sent, but because He was made man.
14. " Verily, verily, I say unto you." Again He returns to the resurrection of souls, that by continual repetition we may apprehend His meaning; because we could not keep up with His discourse hastening on as on wings, Lo, the Word of God lingers with us; lo, it doth, as it were, dwell with our infirmities. He returns again co the mention of the resurrection of souls. " Verily, verily, I say unto you. Whoso heareth my word, and believeth Him that sent me, hath eternal life; " but hath it as from the Father, " For whoso heareth my word, and believeth Him that sent me, hath eternal life" from the Father, by believing the Father that sent the Son. " And shall not come into judgment, but is passed from death to life." But from the Father, whom he believes, is he quickened. What, dost Thou not quicken? See that the Son also "quickeneth whom He will." "Verily, verily, I say unto you, That the hour cometh when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live." Here He aid not say, they shall believe Him that sent me, and therefore shall live; but by hearing the voice of the Son of God, "they that hear," that is, they that obey the Son of God, "shall live," Therefore, both from the Father shall they live, when they will believe the Father; and from the Son shall they live, when they will hear the voice of the Son of God, Why shall they live both from the Father and from the Son? " For even as the Father hath life in Himself, ' John xiv. 28.
' John xiv. 28.
so also hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself."
15. He has finished speaking of the resurrection of souls; it remains to speak more evidently of the resurrection of bodies. " And hath given Him authority also to execute judgment:" not only to raise up souls by faith and wisdom, but also to execute judgment. But why this? " Because He is the Son of man." Therefore the Father doeth something through the Son of man, wnich He doeth not from His own substance, to which the Son is equal: as, for instance, that He should be born, crucified, dead, and have a resurrection; for not any of these is contingent to the Father. In the same manner also the raising again of bodies. For the raising to life of souls the Father effects from His own substance, by the substance of the Son, in which the Son is equal to Him; because souls are made partakers of that unchangeable light, but not bodies; but the raising again of bodies, the Father effects through the Son of man. For " He'hath given Him authority also to execute judgment, because He is the Son of man; " according to that which He said above, " For the Father judgeth not any man." And to show that He said this of the resurrection of bodies, He goes on: " Marvel not at this, for the hour cometh:" not, and now is; but, " the hour cometh, in which all that are in the graves (this ye have already heard sufificienily explained yesterday) shall hear His voice, and come fortii." Where? Into judgment: " They that have done well, into the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, into the resurrection of judgment." And dost Thou do this alone, because the Father hath given all judgment to the Son, and judgeth not any man? I, saith He, do it. But how doest Thou it? "I cannot of myself do anything; as I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just." When He was treating of the resurrection of souls. He did not say, I hear; but, I see. For/ hear refers to the command of the Father as giving order. Therefore, now as a man, just as He than whom the Father is greater; as froni the form of a servant, not from the form of God, "As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just." Whence is the man's judgment a just one? My brethren, mark well: " Because I seek not my own will, but the will of Him that sent me."
IS8 [Tractate XXIV.
TRACTATE XXIV.
Chapter VI. 1-14.
1. The miracles performed by our Lord Jesus Christ are indeed divine works, and incite the human mind to rise to tlie apprehension of God from the things that are seen. But inasmuch as He is not such a substance as may be seen with the eyes, and His miracles in the government of the whole world and the administration of the universal creation are, by their familiar constancy, slightly regarded, so that almost no man deigns to consider the wonderful and stupendous works of God, exhibited in every grain of seed; He has. agreeably to His mercy, reserved to Himself certain works, beyond the usual course and order of nature, which He should perform on fit occasion, that they, by whom His daily works are lightly esteemed, might be struck with astonishment at beholding, not indeed greater, but uncommon works. For certainly the government of the whole world is a greater miracle than the satisfying of five thousand men with five loaves; and yet no man wonders at the former; but the latter men wonder at, not because it is greater, but because it is rare. For who even now feeds the whole world, but He who creates the cornfield from a few grains? He therefore created as God creates. For, whence He multiplies the produce of the fields from a few grains, from the same source He multiplied in His hands the five loaves. The power, indeed, was in the hands of Christ; but those five loaves were as seeds, not indeed committed to the earth, but multiplied by Him who made the earth. In this miracle, then, there is that brought near to the senses, whereby the mind should be roused to attention, there is exhibited to the eyes, whereon the understanding should be exercised, that we might admire the invisible God through His visible works; and being raised to faith and purged by faith, we might desire to behold Him even invisibly, whom invisible we came to know by the things that are visible.
2. Yet it is not enough to observe these things in the miracles of Christ. Let us interrogate the miracles themselves, what they tell us about Christ: for they have a tongue of their own, if they can be understood. For since Christ is Himself the Word of God, even the act of the Word is a word to us. Therefore as to this miracle, since we have heard how great it is, let us also search how profound it is; let us not only be delighted with its surface, but let us also seek to know its depth. This miracle, which we admire on the outside, has something within. We have seen, we have looked at something great, something glorious, and altogether divine, which could be performed only by God: we have praised the doer for the deed. But just as, if we were to inspect a beautiful writing somewhere, it would not suffice for us to praise the hand of the writer, because he formed the letters even, equal and elegant, if we did not also read the information he conveyed to us by those letters; so, he who merely inspects this deed may be delighted with its beauty to adm.ire the doer: but he who understands does, as it were, read it. For a picture is looked at in a different way from that in which a writing is looked at. When thou hast seen a picture, to have seen and praised it is the whole thing; when thou seest a Vvriting, thi^ is tiot the whole, since thou art reminded also to read it. Moreover, when thou seest a writing, if it chance that thou canst not read, thou sayest, "What do we think that to be which is here written? " Thou askest what it is, when already thou seest it to be something. He of whom thou seekest to be informed what it is that thou hast seen, will show thee another thing. He has other eyes than thou hast. Do you not alike see the form of the letters? But yet you do not alike understand the signs. Well, thou seest and praisest; but he sees, praises, reads and understands. Therefore, since we have seen and praised, let us also read and understand.
3. The Lord on the mount: much rather let us understand that the Lo|;a on the mount is the Word on high. Accordingly, what was done on the mount does not, as it were,, lie low, nor is to be cursorily passed by, but must be looked up to. He saw the multitude, knew them to be hungering, mercifully fed them: not only in virtue of His goodness, but also of His power. For what would m.ere goodness avail, where there was not bread with which to feed the hungry crowd? Did not power attend upon goodness, that crowd had remained fasting and hungry. In short, the disciples also, who were with the Lord, and hungry, themselves wished to feed the multitudes, that they might not remain empty, but had not wherewithal to feed Tractate XXIV.]
Tractate XXIV.]
them. The Lord asked, whence they might buy bread to feed the multitude. And the Scripture saitli: "But this He said, proving him; " namely, the disciple Philip of whom He had asked; '' for Himself knew what He would do." Of what advantage then was it to prove him, unless to show the disciple's ignorance? And, perhaps, in showing the disciple's ignorance He signified something more. This will appear, then, when the sacrament of the five loaves itself will begin to speak to us, and to intimate its meaning: for there we shall see why the Lord in this act wished to exhibit the disciple's ignorance, by asking what He Himself knew. For we sometimes ask what we do not know, that, being willing to hear, we may learn; sometimes we ask what we do know, wishing to learn whether he whom we ask also knows. The Lord knew both the one and the other; knew both what He asked, for He knew what Himself would do; and He also knew in like manner that Philip knew not this. Why then did He ask, but to show Philip's ignorance? And why He did this, we shall, as I have said, understand afterwards.
4. Andrew saith: "There is a lad here, who has five loaves and two fishes, but what are these for so many?" When Philip, on being asked, had said that two hundred penn3'worth of bread would not suffice to refresh that so great a multitude, there was there a certain lad, carrying five barley loaves and two fishes. "And Jesus saith. Make the men sit down. Now there was there much grass: and they sat down about five thousand men. And the Lord Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks; " He commanded, the loaves were broken, and put before the men that were set down. It was no longer five loaves, but what He had added thereto, who had created that which was increased. "And of the fishes as much a? sufficed." It was not enough that the multitude had been satisfied, there remained also fragments; and these were ordered to be gathered up, that they should not i^e lost: "And they filled twelve baskets with the fragments."
5. To run over it briefly: by the five loaves are understood the five books of Moses; and rightly are they not wheaten but barley loaves, because they belong to the Old Testament. And you know that barley is so formed that we get at its pith with difticulty; for the pith is covered in a coating of husk, and the husk itself tenacious and closely adhering, so as to be stripped off with labor. Such is the letter of the Old Testament, invested in a covering of carnal sacraments: but yet, if we get at its pith, it feeds and satisfies us. A certain lad, then, brought five loaves and two fishes. If we inquire who this lad was, perhaps it was the people Israel, which, in a childish sense, carried, not ate. For the things which they carried were a burden while shut up, but when opened afforded nourishment. And as for the two fishes, they appear to us to signify those two sublime persons, in the Old Testament, of priest and of ruler, who were anointed for the sanctifying and governing of the people. And at length Himself in the mystery came, who was signified by those persons: He at length came who was pointed out by the pith of the barley, but concealed by its husk. He came, sustaining in His one person the two characters of priest and ruler: of priest by offering Himself to God as a victim for us; of ruler, because by Him we are governed. And the things that were carried closed are now opened up. Thanks be to Him. He has fulfilled by Himself what was promised in the Old Testament. And He bade the loaves to be broken; in the breaking they are multiplied. Nothing is more true. For when those five books of Moses are expounded, how many books have they made by being broken up, as it were; that is, by bemg opened and laid out? But because in that barley the ignorance of the first people was veiled, of whom it is said, " Whilst Moses is read, the veil is upon their hearts;"^ for the veil was not yet removed, because Christ had not yet come; not yet was the veil of the temple rent, while Christ is hanging on the cross: because, I say, the ignorance of the people was in the law, therefore that proving by the Lord made the ignorance of the disciple manifest.
6. Wherefore nothing is without meaning; everything is significant, but requires one that understands: for even this number of the people fed, signified the people that were under the law. For why were there five thousand, but because they were under the law, which is unfolded in the five books of Moses? Why were the sick laid at those five porches, but not healed? He, however, there cured the impotent man, who here fed multitudes witn five loaves. Moreover, they sat down upon the grass; therefore understood carnally, and rested in the carnal. " For all flesh is grass. " = And what were those fragments, but things wliich the people were notable to eat? We understand them to be certain matters of more hidden meaning, which the multitude are not able to take in. What remains then, but that those matters of more hidden meaning, which the multitude cannot take in, be entrusted to men ' 2 Cor. iii. 15.
2 Isa. xl. 6.
i6o [Tractate XXIV.
who are fit to teach others also, just as were the apostles? Why were twelve baskets filled? This was done both marvellously, because a great thing was done; and it was done profitably, because a spiritual thing was done. They who at the time saw it, marvelled; but we, hearing of it, do not marvel. For it was done that they might see it, but it was written that we might hear it. What the eyes were able to do in their case, that faith does in our case. We perceive, namely, with the mind, what we could not with the eyes: and we are preferred before them, because of us it is said, " Blessed are they who see not, and yet believe." ' And I add that, perhaps, we have understood what that crowd did not understand. And we have been fed in reality, in that we have been able to get at the pith of the barley.
7. Lastly, what did those men who saw this miracle think? "The men,'' saith he, " when they had seen the sign which He had done, said, This is indeed a prophet." Perhaps they still thought Christ to be a prophet for this reason, namely, that they were sitting on the grass. But He was the Lord of the prophets, the fulfiller of the prophets, the sanctifi,er of the prophets, but yet a prophet also: for it was said to Moses, " I will raise iip for them a prophet like unto thee." Like, ac^ cording to the flesh, but not according to the majesty. And that this promise of the Lord is to be understood concerning Christ Himself, is clearly expounded and read in the Acts of ' John XX. 29.
' John XX. 29.
the Apostles.- And the Lord says of Himself, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country. ''^ The Lord is a prophet, and the Lord is God's Word, and no prophet prophesies without the Word of God: the Word of God is with the prophets, and the Word of God is a prophet. The former times obtained prophets inspired and filled by the Word of God: we have obtained the very Word of God for our prophet. But Christ is in such manner a prophet, the Lord of prophets, as Christ is an angel, the Lord of angels. For He is also called the Angel of great counsel.-* Nevertheless, what says the prophet elsewhere? that not an ambassador, nor an angel, but Himself coming will save them;5 that is, He will not send an ambassador to save them, nor an angel, but Himself will come. Who will come? The Angel himself? Certainly not by an angel will He save them, except that He is so an angel, as also Lord of angels. For angels signify messengers. If Christ brought no message, He would not be called an angel: if Christ prophesied nothing, He would not be called a prophet. He has exhorted us to faith and to laying hold of eternal life; He has proclaimed something present, foretold something future because He proclaimed the present, thence He was an angel or messenger; because He foretold the future, thence He was a prophet; and that, as the Word of God He was made flesh, thence He was Lord of angels and of prophets.
2 Acts vii. 37. 4 Isa. ix. 6, LXX.
3 John iv. 44. S Isa. XXXV. 4.
TRACTATE XXV.
Chapter VI. 15-44.
I. Following upon yesterday's lesson from the Gospel is that of to-day, upon which this day's discourse is due to you. When that miracle was wrought, in which Jesus fed the five thousand with five loaves, and the multitudes marveled and said that He was a great prophet that came into the world, then follows this: " When Jesus therefore knew that they came to seize Him, and to make Him king. He escaped again unto the mountain alone." It is therefore given to be understood that the Lord, when He sat on the mountain with His disciples, and saw the multitudes coming to Him. had descended from the mountain, and fed the multitudes on its lower parts. For how can it be that He should escape thither again, if He had not before descended from the mountain? There is something meant by the Lord's descending from on high to feed the multitudes. He fed them, and ascended.
2. But why did He ascend after He knew that they wished to seize' Him and make Him a king? How then; was He not a king, that He was afraid to be made a king? He was certainly not such a king as would be made by men, but such as would bestow a kingdom on men. May it not be that Jesus, whose deeds are words, does here, too, signify some- Tractate XXV.]
i6l thing to us? Therefore in this, that they wished to seize Him and malce Him a king, and that for this He escapes to the mountain alone, is this action in His case silent; does it speak nothing, does it mean nothing? Or was this seizing of Him perhaps an intention to anticipate the time of His kingdom? For He had come now, not to reign immediately, as He is to reign in the sense in which we pray, Thy kingdom come. He ever reigns, indeed, with the Father, in that He is the Son of God, the Word of God, the Word by which all things were made. But the prophets foretold His kingdom according to that wherein He is Christ made man, and has made His faithful ones Christians. There wall consequently be a kingdom of Christians, which at present is being gathered together, being prepared and purchased by the blood of Christ. His kingdom will at length be made manifest, when the glory of His saints shall be revealed, after the judgment is executed by Him, which judgment He Himself has said above is that which the Son of man shall execute. Of which kingdom also the apostle has said: " When He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father." ' In reference to which also Himself says: " Come, ye blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom which is prepared for you from the beginning of the world."- But the disciples and the multitudes that believed on Him thought that He had thus come immediately to reign; hence, they wished lo seize Him and to make Him a king; they wished to anticipate the time which He hid with Himself, to make it known in due time, and in due time to declare it in the end of the world.
3. That ye may know that they wished to make Him a king, — that is, to anticipate, and at once to have manifest the kingdom of Christ, whom it behoved first to be judged and tlfen to judge, — when He was crucified, and they who hoped in Him had lost hope of His resurrection, having risen from the dead, He found two of them despairingly conversing together, and, with groaning, talking with one another of what had been done; and appearing to them as a stranger, while their eyes were held that He should not be recognized by tliem, He mixed with them as they held discourse: but they, narrating to Him the matter of their conversation, said that He was a prophet, mighty in deeds and in words, that had been slain by the chief priests; "And we," say they, "did hope that it was He that should have redeemed Israel."^ Rightly you hoped: a true thing you hoped .or. XV. 24.
-' Matt. XXV. 34. i Luke xxiv. i.•-21.
for: in Him is the redemption of Israel. But vv^hy are ye in haste? Ye wish to seize it. The following, too, shows us that this was their feeling, that, when the disciples inquired of Him concerning the end, they said to Him, " Wilt Thou at this time be made manifest, and when will be the kingdom of Israel? " For they longed for it now, they wished it now; that is, they wished to seize Him, and to make Him king. But saith He to the disciples (for He had yet to ascend alone), " It is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Father hath put in His own power: but ye shall receive virtue from on high, the Holy Spirit coming upon you, and ye shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the ends of the earth. " ■* You wish that I should manifest the kingdom now; let me first gather what I may manifest; you love elevation, and you shall obtain elevation, but follow me through humility. Thus it was also foretold of Him, "And the gathering of the peoples will surround Thee, and for this cause return Thou on high;"^ that is, that the gatherings of the peoples may surround Thee, that Thou mayest gather many together, return Thou on high. Thus He did; He fed men, and ascended..
4. But why is it said. He escaped? For He could not be held against His will, nor seized against His will, since He could not be recognized against His will. But that you may know that this was done mystically, not of necessity, but of express purpose, you will presently see in the following: that He appeared to the same multitudes that sought Him, said many things in speaking with them, and discoursed much about the bread of heaven; when discoursing about bread, was He not with the same people from whom He had escaped lest He should be held of them? Then, could He not have so acted at that time that He should not be seized by them, just as afterwards when He was speaking with them? Something, therefore, was meant by His escaping, ^^'hat means. He escaped? His loftiness could not be understood. For of anything which thou hast not understood thou sayest, " It has escaped me." Wherefore, " He escaped again unto the mountain alone, — the first-begotten from the dead, ascending above all heavens, and interceding for us. '"^ 5, Meanwhile, He, the one great High Priest being above (He who has entered into that WMthin the veil, the people standing without; for Him that priest under the old law, who did this once a year, did signify): He then be- •1 Acts i. 6-8 5 Ps. vii. 8. <* Col. i. iS; Kom. viii. 34.
l62 [Tractate XXV,