CYRIL,Archbishop of Alexandria,
ON THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN.19-31 BOOK XII.
Apostol Tomas Sunday
19, 20 When therefore it
was evening, on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were
shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and
stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when He had
said this, He showed unto them His Hands and His Side.
On the selfsame day on which He had appeared
unto Mary, and discoursed with her, He also showed Himself to the holy
disciples, who dreaded the intolerable attacks of the impious Jews, and were,
on that account, collected together in a certain house. For it was not likely
that[1] they
who had been so instructed, and had often been bidden to make haste to escape
from the wrath of their would-be murderers, would be found lacking in proper
prudence. Christ miraculously appears unto them. For while the doors were shut,
as the Apostle says, Christ unexpectedly stood in the midst, by His ineffable
Divine power rising superior to the chain of cause and effect, and showing Himself
able to dispense with the design and method appropriate to His action. For let
no man say, "How did the Lord, Whose Body was of solid Flesh, enter
without let or hindrance, though the doors were shut?" but rather let him
reflect that the Evangelist is not here speaking of one of ourselves, but
rather of Him Who is enthroned by the side of God the Father, and Who easily
doth whatsoever He will. For He that was by Nature the true God, was of
necessity not subject unto the sequences of cause and effect, as are the
creatures that owe their being to Him; but rather does He exercise Lordship
over necessity itself, and due and appropriate methods of performance. For how
did He make the sea afford a footing unto His Feet, and walk thereon as upon
dry land, though we are not so framed that we can tread upon the paths of the
sea? And how did He perform the rest of His marvellous works with God-like
power? All these things, you will say, surpass man's understanding. Put this
miracle of Christ side by side with the rest, and do not, following the opinion
of certain men, who, in the folly of their hearts, have been led astray to
judge falsely, imagine on account of this very occurrence that Christ rose
again without His human Body, wholly bereft thereof, and severed from the
Temple that He had taken on Himself. For if thou canst not understand the
working of God's ineffable Nature, why dost thou not rather cry out against the
infirmity of man's reason ----for that would be the wiser course----and then
silently acquiesce in the limit prescribed to you by the Creator? For
in rejecting the conclusion of wisdom, thou doest[2] wrong
to the great mystery of the Resurrection, on which all our reliance is fixed.
For remember the exclamation of Paul: If the dead are not raised, neither
hath Christ been raised: and if Christ hath not been raised, your faith is
vain, and ye are yet in your sins. And again: Yea, and we are
found false witnesses of God; because we witnessed of God that He raised up
Christ: Whom He raised not up, if so be that the dead are not raised. For
what can be raised up save that which is fallen? or what restored
to life, save that which is bowed down in death? And how shall we
expect to rise again, if so be that Christ raised not up His own Temple, making
Himself, for us, the Firstfruits of them which are asleep, and the Firstborn
from the dead? Or how shall this mortal put on
immortality, if, as some think, it be lost in total annihilation? For
how shall it escape this fate if it have no hope of a new life? Do
not, then, swerve from orthodoxy in the faith, because a miracle was
accomplished; but rather be wise, and add this to the other marvellous works
that Christ did.
For observe how, by unexpectedly entering
when the doors were shut, Christ showed, once more, that He was by Nature God,
and no other than He Who had erewhile dwelt among them; and also, by laying
bare the wounded Side of His Body, and by showing the print of the nails, He
gave us complete satisfaction that He had raised that Temple of His Body which
had hung upon the Cross, and had restored to life that Body which He had worn,
thereby subduing death, which is due to all flesh, inasmuch as He was by Nature
Life and God. What need, then, was there for Him to show them His Hands and
Side, if, as some perversely think, He did not rise again with His Body? And,
if He wished His disciples not to entertain this idea concerning Him, why did
He not rather appear in another form, and, disdaining the likeness of flesh,
conjure up other thoughts in their minds'? But, as it is, He thought it of so
great importance that they should be convinced of the [3]Resurrection
of His Body, that, when the time even seemed to call Him to change His Body
into some form of ineffable and surpassing Majesty, He resolved in His Providence
to appear once more as He had been of old, that He might not be thought to be
wearing any other form than that in which also He had suffered crucifixion. For
that our eyes could not have endured the glory of the holy Body, if Christ had
chosen to reveal it unto the disciples before He ascended to the Father, is
easily to be inferred, when we reflect upon His transfiguration on the Mount
before the holy disciples. For the blessed Matthew the Evangelist writes, that
Jesus took Peter, and James, and John, and went up into the mountain,
and was transfigured before them: and His Face did shine as lightning, and His
garments became white as snow, and they could not endure the sight,
but fell on their faces. Very appropriately, then, our Lord Jesus Christ, as He
had not yet transformed the Temple of His Body into its due and proper majesty,
still appeared in His original shape, not wishing the belief in the
Resurrection to be transferred to another form or body than that which He had
received from the Holy Virgin, in which also He was crucified, and died,
according to the Scripture, the power of death extending only over Flesh, from
which also it was driven forth. For if His Body, after death, did not rise
again, what sort of death was vanquished, and in what way was the power of
corruption weakened? For it could not be by the death of a single
rational being, or soul, or angel, or even the very Word of God. When, then,
the power of death has reference only to that which is doomed by nature to
corruption, with this it is that the power of the Resurrection is concerned,
and with this alone, in order that the dominion of the lord of this world might
be taken away. The entry of our Lord through the closed doors must be classed,
by men of wisdom, with the other miracles that He wrought. He then greeted His
holy disciples. Peace be unto you, He says; meaning by peace,[4] Himself.
For while Christ is present among men it follows that the tranquillity of their
minds is assured unto them. Paul also declared that this boon is granted to
those who believe on Him, when he says: The peace of Christ, which
passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts; meaning
by the peace of Christ which passeth all understanding nothing else than His
Spirit, of Which if any man partake he shall be filled with everything that is
good.
20 The disciples, therefore, were glad when they saw the Lord.
Hereby, also, the blessed Evangelist
testifies to the truth of our Saviour's Words, when he says that the disciples
were full of peace and joy of heart when they saw Jesus. For we remember the
mysterious utterance that He spake unto them concerning His precious Cross and
Resurrection from the dead, saying: A little while, and ye behold Me no
more; and again a little while, and ye shall see Me; and your heart shall
rejoice, and your joy no one talceth away from you. The Jews, indeed,
whose minds were transported by a frenzy of fury, rejoiced when they saw Jesus
nailed to the Cross, while the heart of the holy disciples was heavy laden with
an intolerable burthen of sorrow. But as He is by Nature Life, He overcame the
power of death, and rose again, and the joy of the Jews was extinguished, while
the heaviness of the holy disciples was turned into joy, and nothing could rob
or deprive them of their soul's delight. Christ, having died once for all to
put away sin, dieth no more, as is written. For He is alive for
evermore, and of a surety He will preserve those whose hope is in Him, in joy
without ceasing. He once more greets them with the oft-repeated
assurance: Peace be unto you; laying down, as it were, this
law for the children of the Church. Therefore, also, more especially in the
assembling and gathering of ourselves together in holy places, at the very
commencement of the blessed mystery of the Eucharist, we repeat this saying to
one another. For [5]our
being at peace with each other and with God must be accounted a fountain and
source of all good. Therefore, also, Paul, when he prays that those who are
called may enjoy the highest of all blessings, says: Grace to you and
peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; and also, when
he invites those who have not yet believed to make their peace with God, he
says: We are ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as though God were
entreating by us: we beseech you on behalf of Christ, be ye reconciled to
God. None the less, also, the Prophet Isaiah exhorts us, crying
out: Let us make peace with Him, let us make peace who come. The
meaning of the saying well befits the Dispenser of Peace, or rather the Peace
of all men; that is, Christ, for He is our peace, according to
the Scripture.
21 Then said He to them again, Peace be unto you: as the living
Father sent Me, even so send I you.
Hereby our Lord Jesus Christ ordained the
disciples to be guides and teachers of the world, and to be ministers of His
Divine mysteries, and also bade them, for the time was now come, like lights to
illuminate and enlighten, not merely the country of Judaea, according to the
limit of the commandment of the Law, which extended from Dan even unto
Beersheba, according to the Scripture, but rather also all under the
sun, and men scattered throughout all lands, wheresoever they dwelt. The saying
of Paul, therefore, is true: No man taketh the honour unto himself, but
he that is called of God. For our Lord Jesus Christ called into His
most glorious apostleship, before all others, His own disciples, and firmly
fixed the whole earth, which was well-nigh tottering and in the act of falling,
pointing out, as God, men to be props thereof who were well able to support it.
Therefore, also, He thus spake by the mouth of the Psalmist, concerning the
earth and the Apostles: I have fixed the pillars of it; for
the blessed disciples were as the pillars and ground of the truth, whom
also He says[6] that
He sent forth, even as the Father had sent Him; showing at the same time the
dignity of their apostle-ship, and the incomparable honour of the power
vouchsafed unto them, and also in all likelihood suggesting the method of life
the Apostles were to follow. For if He thought it meet that He should send
forth His own disciples, even as the Father had sent Him, was it not necessary
for those who were destined to imitate His mission to ascertain what the Father
sent forth the Son for to do? In divers ways, then, expounding unto
us the character of His own mission, He said in one place: I came not
to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance; and again: They
that are whole have no need of a physician; but they that are sick: and
again, in another place: For I am come down from heaven, not to do Mine
own Will, but the Will of Him That sent Me; and yet once more: For
God sent not His Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world
should be saved through Him. Summing up, therefore, in a few words the
character of their mission, He says that He sent them even as the Father had
sent Him, that they might know thereby that they were bound to call sinners to
repentance, and to minister to those who were in evil plight, whether of body
or soul, and in all their dealings upon earth, not in any wise to follow their
own will, but the Will of Him That sent them, and to save the world by their
teaching, so far as was possible. And in truth we shall find the holy disciples
eager to show the utmost zeal in performing all these things; and it is not
difficult for any one to satisfy himself of this, who has once turned his
attention to the Acts of the Apostles, and the words of the holy Paul.
22, 23 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and
saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whosesoever sins ye forgive, they
are forgiven unto them; whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained.
After dignifying the holy Apostles with the
glorious[7] distinction
of the apostleship, and appointing them ministers and priests of the Divine
Altar, as I have just said, He at once sanctifies them by vouchsafing His
Spirit unto them, through the outward sign of His Breath, that we might be
firmly convinced that the Holy Spirit is not alien to the Son, but
Consubstantial with Him, and through Him proceeding from the Father; He shows
that the gift of the Spirit necessarily attends those who are ordained by Him
to be Apostles of God. And why? Because they could have done nothing pleasing
unto God, and could not have triumphed over the snares of sin, if they had not
been clothed with power from on high, and been transformed
into something other than they were before. Therefore, also, it was said to one
of old time: The Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt
be turned into another man; and the Prophet Isaiah also declared that
those who waited upon the Lord should renew their strength. The wise Paul, too,
when he says that he surpassed some in his labours, that is, in the deeds of an
Apostle, adds at once: Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with
me. Besides, we say this, that the disciples would never at all have
understood the mystery that is in Christ, nor have been true guides in this
knowledge, if they had not advanced in the light of the Spirit to a revelation
of things which surpass man's reason and understanding, a revelation which is
able to point out to them the heights to which they were bound to ascend;
for no man can say Jesus is Lord, as Paul says, but in
the Holy Spirit.As, then, they were destined to proclaim that Jesus was the
Lord, that is, to preach that He was God and Lord of necessity, therefore they
received the grace of the Holy Spirit in immediate connexion with the office of
apostleship, Christ granting Him unto them, not ministering to the desires of
another, but rather vouchsafing Him of Himself; for the Spirit could only come
down unto us from the Father through the Son. The old and written Law,[8] however,
which contained shadows and types of the reality, ordained that the appointment
of priests should be performed in a more physical way, so to say, and that
their appointment should be attended with more outward display. For the blessed
Moses, by God's command, bade Aaron and the Levites wash themselves with water:
then he slew the ram of consecration and anointed with the blood the tip of
Aaron's right ear, as is written, and also put of the blood upon
the thumb of the right hand, and upon the big toe of the right foot, giving
an outline and type, as in a picture, of the mystery concerning Christ. For in
the presence here of water and blood, the instruments of sanctification, how
can there be any question that in an obscure type an outline was given of the
fair beauty of the reality? Our Lord Jesus Christ, transforming into the power
of truth the figure of the Law, consecrates through Himself the ministers of
the Divine Altar. For He is the Lamb of consecration, and He consecrates by
actual sanctification, making men partakers in His Nature, through participation
in the Spirit, and in some sort strengthening the nature of man into a power
and glory that is superhuman.
And there can be no doubt that the
explanation I have here given can be proved not to err from the truth. But,
perhaps, someone will come and say as follows, with a praiseworthy desire for
knowledge, it may be, putting to us the question, "Where then, and when,
did the Saviour's disciples receive the grace of the Spirit? When the Saviour
appeared unto them in the house, immediately after the Resurrection, and
breathed upon them, saying: Receive ye the Holy Ghost; or in
the days of the holy Pentecost, when, as they were again assembled together in
one place,suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a
mighty wind. And there appeared unto them tongues parting asunder, like as of
fire; and it sat upon each one of them. And they began to speak with other
tongues, as the Spirit gave[9] them
utterance?" For either, such an one will say, we must suppose
that a double grace was given unto them, or we must remain in ignorance of the
occasion on which they, in fact, became partakers in the Holy Spirit; if indeed
our Saviour's saying, and that which is written in the Acts of the holy
Apostles, is found to be true. And, indeed, the question may well excite our
perplexity, especially as Christ Himself said:It is expedient for you that I
go away; for if I go not away the Comforter cannot come unto you; but when I
depart, I will send Him unto you; for the inquirer will perhaps go on
to say, "The Truth, that is, Christ, cannot lie. When, then, He said in
plain words that the Comforter would not come unto the disciples unless He were
taken up unto the Father, but of a surety He would send Him then, when He was
in heaven at His side; how, then, can He be supposed to grant the gift of the
Spirit, though His journey from hence was not yet accomplished?" Still,
though the inquiry is very obscure, and very likely to cause perplexity, it yet
allows of an appropriate solution, when we remember our faith that Christ is
not as one of ourselves, but rather is God, and of God, and so exercises
dominion over His own Words, and moulds them to suit His purposes.
For He proclaimed that He would send down to
us from heaven the Comforter, when He was ascended to God the Father; and this,
indeed, He did, when He had gone away to the Father, and vouchsafed to shed
forth the Spirit abundantly upon all who were willing to receive it. For any
man could receive it, through faith, that is, and Holy Baptism; and then was
fulfilled that which was spoken by the voice of the Prophet: I will
pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh. But it was necessary that the
Son should appear as co-operating with the Father in granting the Spirit; it
was necessary that those who believed on Him should understand that He is the
Power of the Father, That has created this whole world, and called man out of
nothing into being.[10] For
God the Father, at the beginning, by His own Word, took of the dust of the
ground, as is written, and fashioned the animal, that is man, and endowed him
with a soul, according to His Will, and illuminated him with a share of His own
Spirit; for He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, as
is written. And when it came to pass that through disobedience man fell under
the power of death, and lost his ancient honour, God the Father built him up
and restored him to newness of life, through the Son, as at the beginning. And
how did the Son restore him? By the death of His own Flesh He slew
death, and brought the race of man back again into incorruption; for Christ
rose again for us. In order, then, that we might learn that He it was Who at
the beginning created our nature, and sealed us with the Holy Spirit, our
Saviour again grants the Spirit, through the outward sign of His Breath, to the
holy disciples, as being the firstfruits of renewed nature. For Moses writes
concerning our creation of old, that God breathed into man's nostrils the
breath of life. As, then, at the beginning, man was formed and came into being,
so likewise is he renewed; and as he was then formed in the Image of his
Creator, so likewise now, by participation in the Spirit, is he transformed
into the Likeness of his Maker. For that the Spirit impresses the Saviour's
Image on the hearts of those who receive Him surely does not admit of question;
for Paul plainly exhorteth those who had fallen through weakness into
observance of the Law, in the words:My little children, of whom I am again
in travail until Christ be formed in you. For he says that Christ will
not be formed in them save by partaking of the Holy Spirit, and living
according to the law of the Gospel. Therefore, as in the firstfruits of
creation, which is made regenerate into incorruption and glory and into the
Image of God, Christ establishes anew His own Spirit in His disciples. For it
was necessary that we should also perceive this truth, namely, that He brings
down and grants the Spirit[11] unto
us. Therefore, also, He said: All things, whatsoever the Father hath,
are Mine. And as the Father hath, of Himself and in Himself, His own
Spirit, so also the Son hath the Spirit in Himself, because He is
Consubstantial with Him, and essentially proceeded from Him, having by Nature
in Himself all the attributes of His Father.
From the following fact we can prove that,
many as were the actions that He repeatedly promised us that He would perform
in due season, He even in part anticipated the appointed time in the
performance of them, for our edification, that we might be fully convinced that
whatsoever He has spoken will assuredly come to pass. He declared that He would
raise up the dead, and bring back again to life those who are lying in the
earth and in tombs. The hour cometh, He says, when the
dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and shall come forth; they that
have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done ill,
unto the resurrection of judgment. And, desiring to satisfy us that He
could readily accomplish this, He taught, saying: I am the Resurrection
and the Life. But, inasmuch as the vastness of the miracle made it
difficult of belief that the dead could ever be restored to life, He
anticipated to our profit the time of the Resurrection, and gave us a sign by
raising Lazarus and the widow's son and the daughter of Jairus. And what else
besides? As He said that full of glory would be the resurrection of the Saints,
for then, He says, shall the righteous shine forth as
the sun in the Kingdom of their Father, in order that here again He
might be believed to speak truth, He granted the sight thereof before the time
to the disciples. For He took Peter and James and John, and went up
into the mountain, and was transfigured before them: and His Face did shine as
lightning, and His garments became white as snow. Just as, then, although
He promised to accomplish these things in their season, yet He performed the
works in part and with a limited scope even out of due time, as[12] an
earnest and foretaste of that which was expected to come to pass and to affect
the whole world, so doing in order that faith in Him might not be shaken; even
so, likewise, after having said that He would send the Comforter to us when He
went away to the Father, and having fixed this occasion for granting this grace
universally, He performed in the persons of His disciples the first instalment,
as it were, of the promise, for the many just and sufficient reasons we have
previously given.
They, therefore, partook of the Holy Spirit
when He breathed on them, saying, Receive ye the Holy
Ghost; for it were impossible for Christ to lie, and He would never
have said "Receive" without giving; but in the days of Holy
Pentecost, when God more openly proclaimed His grace, and manifested the
stablishment of the Holy Spirit in their hearts, there appeared unto them tongues
through flame, not signifying the beginning of the gift of the Spirit in their
hearts, but rather having reference to the time when they were first endowed
with the gift of languages. It is written, indeed, that they began to
speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.Note, that they
began to speak, not to receive sanctification, and that the gift of divers
tongues came down upon them; and this was the working of the Spirit that was in
them. For just as the Father spake from heaven, and bare witness to His Son,
saying, This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased; and
did this to satisfy the minds of those who heard, uttering, or causing to be
uttered, a sound as of some instrument which fell upon the ear; even so, also,
in the case of the holy disciples He made the manifestation of the grace given
them more public, sending down upon them tongues as of fire, and causing the
descent of the Holy Spirit to resemble the sound of the rushing of a
mighty wind. And that this very portent was given unto the Jews by way
of a sign, you will readily see, if you listen to God, the Lord of all, saying
by the mouth of the[13] Prophet:By
men of strange tongues, and by the lips of strangers, will I speak unto this
people, and yet will they not believe. And to the intent that we might
believe that the blessed disciples did, in fact, partake of the Holy Spirit,
and were from henceforth honoured with the grace of Christ from above, and that
they were able to expound the truth, and that the glory of their apostleship
was worthy all admiration, witness being borne thereto by the gift from on
high, therefore it was that fire came down in the form of tongues.
I think, indeed, that I have here said enough
to accurately explain the meaning of the passage; but, inasmuch as we are bound
to take every precaution in our treatise, that no stumblingblock spring up to
offend the brethren through the carping spirit of any amongst us, let us make
this addition to what we have said, and refute the vain talk that we may expect
will be started. We shall find, then, in the passage that follows, the
words: Thomas, called Didymus, was not with the disciples when Jesus
came. How, then, someone may not unreasonably inquire, if he were
away, was he in fact made partaker in the Holy Spirit when the Saviour appeared
unto the disciples and breathed on them, saying: Receive ye the Holy
Ghost? We reply that the power of the Spirit pervaded every man who
received grace, and fulfilled the aim of the Lord Who gave Him unto them; and
Christ gave the Spirit not to some only but to all the disciples. Therefore, if
any were absent, they also received Him, the munificence of the Giver not being
confined to those only who were present, but extending to the entire company of
the holy Apostles. And that this interpretation is not strained, or our idea
extravagant, we may convince you from Holy Writ itself, bringing forward as a
proof a passage in the Books of Moses. The Lord God commanded the all-wise
Moses to select elders, to the number of seventy, from the assembly of the
Jews, and plainly declared: I will take of the Spirit which is upon
thee and will put it upon them.[14]
Moses, as he was bidden, brought them together, and fulfilled the Divine
decree. Two only of the men who were included in the number of the seventy
elders were left behind, and remained in the assembly, to wit, Eldad
and Medad. Then when God put upon them all the Divine Spirit, as He
had promised, those whom Moses had collected together immediately received
grace, and prophesied; but none the less also the two who were in the assembly
prophesied, and, in fact, the grace from above came upon them first. Nay,
further, Joshua, that was called the son of Nun, who was the constant attendant
of Moses, not understanding at once the meaning of the mystery, but thinking
that after the manner of Dathan and Abiram they were rivals in the art of
prophecy to those whom Moses had brought together, said unto him: Eldad
and Medad do prophesy in the camp; my lord Moses, forbid them. And
what answered that truly wise and great man, seeing in his wisdom the working
of the grace given unto them, and the power of the Spirit? Enviest thou
for my sake? Would God that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the
Lord would put His Spirit upon them! Observe how he rebukes the saying
of Joshua, who knew not what had been done. Would that, he says, the Spirit
were given to all the people! Nay, this will indeed come to pass in due season,
when the Lord, that is, Christ, will grant unto them His Spirit; breathing upon
His holy Apostles as upon the firstfruits of those whose due it is to receive
Him, and saying: Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Then, if Thomas
were absent, he was not cut off from receiving the Spirit, for the Spirit
pervaded all whose due it was to receive Him, and who were included among the
number of His honoured disciples.
Christ, when He gave the Spirit unto them,
said: Whosesoever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven; and whosesoever
sins ye retain, they are retained; though only the living God is able
and powerful to grant unto sinners remission of sins; for whom could it befit
to pardon the[15] transgressions
that sinners have committed against the Divine Law, save the Lawgiver Himself?
You may, if you choose, see the meaning of the saying from the analogy of human
affairs. Who has authority to meddle with the decrees of earthly monarchs, and
who tries to undo that which has been ordained by the will and judgment of
rulers, save only someone who is invested with regal honour and dignity? Therefore,
wise was the saying, Insolent is he who saith unto the king, Thou
breakest the law. In what way, then, and in what sense did the Saviour
invest His disciples with the dignity which befits the Nature of God alone? The
Word that is in the Father cannot err; and this He did, and whatsoever He
doeth, He doeth well. For He thought it meet that they who have once been
endued with the Spirit of Him Who is God and Lord, should have power also to
remit or retain the sins of whomsoever they would, the Holy Spirit That dwelt
in them remitting or retaining them according to His Will, though the deed were
done through human instrumentality.
They who have the Spirit of God remit or
retain sins in two ways, as I think. For they invite to Baptism those to whom
this sacrament is already due from the purity of their lives, and their tried
adherence to the faith; and they hinder and exclude others who are not as yet
worthy of the Divine grace. And in another sense, also, they remit and retain
sins, by. rebuking erring children of the Church, and granting pardon to those
who repent; just as, also, Paul gave up him that had committed fornication at
Corinth, for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be
saved,and admitted him again into fellowship, that he might not be
swallowed up with his overmuch sorrow, as he says in his letter. When,
then, the Spirit of Christ dwelling in our hearts doeth things which befit God
alone, surely He is the living God, invested with the glorious dignity of the
Divine Nature, and having power over sacred laws.[16]
24, 25 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not
with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have
seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in His Hands the print
of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand
into His Side, I will not believe.
The greatest marvels are always attended by
incredulity, and any action which seems to exceed the measure of probability is
ill-received by those who hear of it. But the sight of the eyes succeeds in
banishing these doubts, and, as it were, compels a man by force to assent to
the evidence before him. This was the state of mind of the wise Thomas, who did
not readily accept the true testimony of the other disciples to our Saviour's
Resurrection, although, according to the Mosaic Law, in the mouth of two or
three witnesses every word shall be established. I think, however, that it was
not so much that the disciple discredited what was told him, but rather that he
was distracted with the utmost grief, because he had not been thought worthy to
see our Saviour with his own eyes. For he, perhaps, thought that he would never
receive that blessing. He knew that the Lord was by Nature Life, and that He was
able to escape death itself, and to destroy the power of corruption; for surely
He "Who released others from its trammels could deliver His own Flesh. In
his exceeding great joy he affected incredulity, and though he well-nigh leapt
in his ecstasy of delight, he longed to see Him before his very sight, and to
be perfectly satisfied that He had risen again to life according to His
promise. For our Saviour said: Children, a little while and ye behold
Me no more; and again a little while, and ye shall see Me, and your heart shall
rejoice.I think that the disciple's want of faith was extremely opportune
and well-timed, in order that, through the satisfaction of his mind, we also
who come after him might be[17] unshaken
in our faith that the very Body that hung upon the Cross and suffered death was
quickened by the Father through the Son. Therefore, also, Paul saith: Because
if thou shalt say with thy mouth, Jesus is Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart
that God raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For since it
was not the nature of flesh itself which brought back life, but the deed was
rather accomplished by the working of the ineffable Nature of God, in which
naturally abides a quickening power, the Father through the Son manifested His
power upon the Temple of Christ's Body; not as though the Word was powerless to
raise His own Body, but because the Father doeth whatsoever He doeth through
the Son, for He is His Power, and whatsoever the Son bringeth to effect
proceedeth also of a surety from the Father. We, therefore, are taught, through
the slight want of faith shown by the blessed Thomas, that the mystery of the
Resurrection is effected upon our earthly bodies, and in Christ as the
Firstfruits of the race; and that He was no phantom or ghost, fashioned in
human shape, and simulating the features of humanity, nor yet, as others have
foolishly surmised, a spiritual body that is compounded of a subtle and
ethereal substance different from the flesh. For some attach this meaning to
the expression "spiritual body." For since all our expectation and
the significance of our irrefutable faith, after the confession of the Holy and
Consubstantial Trinity, centres in the mystery concerning the flesh, the
blessed Evangelist has very pertinently put this saying of Thomas side by side
with the summary of what preceded. For observe that Thomas does not desire
simply to see the Lord, but looks for the marks of the nails, that is, the
wounds upon His Body. For he affirmed that then, indeed, he would believe and
agree with the rest that Christ had indeed risen again, and risen again in the
flesh. For that which is dead may rightly be said to return to life, and the
Resurrection surely[18] was
concerned with that which was subject unto death.
26, 27 And after eight days again His disciples were within,
and Thomas with them. Jesus cometh, the doors being shut, and stood in the
midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith He to Thomas, Reach hither thy
finger, and see My Hands; and reach hither thy hand, and put it into My Side:
and be not faithless, but believing.
Christ appeared once more unto His disciples
miraculously by His Divine power. For He did not, like unto us, bid them open
the doors for Him to enter in, but disdaining, as it were, the natural sequence
of events, passed within the doors, and unexpectedly appeared in the middle of
the room, presenting the same kind of miracle before the sight of the blessed
Thomas as He had performed on the former occasion. For he that was most
deficient in faith had need of healing medicine. He made use of the greeting so
often on His Lips, and solemnly gave them the blessed assurance of peace, as a
pattern unto us, as we have said before. One may well be amazed at the
minuteness of detail shown in this passage. For such was the extreme accuracy
that the compiler of this book took pains to observe, that he is not content
with simply saying that Christ manifested Himself to the holy disciples, but
explains that it was after eight days, and that they were gathered together.
For what else can their being all brought together in one house mean? We say
this to point out the diligent care that the Apostle so admirably displays, and
because Christ hereby has made clear unto us the occasion of our assembling,
and gathering ourselves together on His account. For He visits, and in some
sort dwells with, those assembled together for His sake, especially on the
eighth day, that is, the Lord's day. Let us reckon it up, if you so please: On
the one occasion He appeared unto the other disciples; on the other, He
manifested Himself to them, when Thomas was also[19] present.
It is written in the preceding passage: When therefore it was evening,
on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut, He stood
in the midst. Note, that it was on the first day of the week, that is,
the Lord's day, when the disciples were gathered together, that He was seen of
them, and that likewise also He appeared unto them on the eighth day following.
And we must not, because he says eight days after, suppose that he means the
ninth day, but that when he says this he includes the eighth day itself, on
which He appeared, in the number given.
With good reason, then, are we accustomed to
have sacred meetings in churches on the eighth day. And, to adopt the language
of allegory, as the idea necessarily demands, we indeed close the doors, but
yet Christ visits us and appears unto us all, both invisibly and also visibly;
invisibly as God, but also visibly in the Body. He suffers us to touch His holy
Flesh, and gives us thereof. For through the grace of God we are admitted to
partake of the blessed Eucharist, receiving Christ into our hands, to the
intent that we may firmly believe that He did in truth raise up the Temple of
His Body. For that the partaking of the blessed Eucharist is a confession of
the Resurrection of Christ is clearly proved by His own Words, which He spake
when He Himself performed the type of the mystery; for He brake bread, as it is
written, and gave it to them, saying: This is My Body, which is given
for you unto remission of sins: this do in remembrance of Me. Participation,
then, in the Divine mysteries, in addition to filling us with Divine
blessedness, is a true confession and memorial of Christ's dying and rising
again for us and for our sake. Let us, therefore, after touching Christ's Body,
shrink back from unbelief in Him as utter ruin, and rather be found well
grounded in the full assurance of faith.
Let the attentive reader call to mind that
our Lord repulsed Mary Magdalene from touching Him, saying[20] plainly: Touch
Me not, for I am not yet ascended unto the Father. Yet He allows
Thomas to touch His Side, and to feel with his fingers the print of the
nails. We have already explained why our Lord did this, but none the
less will we call back to mind the reason, briefly recapitulating what we said.
For not yet had the time arrived for Mary to touch Him, because she had not yet
been sanctified by the grace of the Holy Spirit; for while Christ was yet in
our midst, and had not yet ascended to the Father in heaven, it was impossible
to see the descent of the Comforter fully accomplished among men. It was meet,
however, for Thomas to touch Him, as he, as well as the rest, had been enriched
with the Spirit. For, as we said before, he was not on account of his absence
without his share in the Spirit. For the munificence of the Giver reached unto
him also, when the boon was granted to the entire company of the holy
disciples.
I think we ought also to investigate the
following question. Thomas felt our Saviour's Side, and found the wounds made
by the soldier's spear, and saw the print of the nails. Then
how was it, someone may inquire, that the marks of corruption were apparent in
an incorruptible Body? For the abiding trace of the holes bored through
the Hands and Side, and the marks of wounds and punctures made by steel,
affords proof of physical corruption, though the true and incontrovertible fact
that Christ's Body was transformed into incorrup-tion points to a necessary
discarding of all the results of corruption, together with corruption itself.
For will any man who is lame, at the Resurrection have a maimed foot or limb?
And if any man have lost the sight of his eyes in this life, will he be raised
again blind? How then, someone may say, can we have shaken off the
yoke of corruption, if its results still remain and rule over our members? It
is essential, I think, to inquire into this question; and this we say, with
reference to the difficulties raised by the[21] passage.
We are as far as possible anxious to assent to the contention that at the time
of the resurrection there will be no remnant of adventitious corruption left in
us, but, as the wise Paul said concerning this body of ours, that which is
sown in weakness is raised in power, and that which is sown in
dishonour is raised in glory. And what can we expect the resurrection
of this body in power and glory to be, if it does not imply that it will cast
off all the weakness and dishonour of corruption and disease, and return to its
original purity? For the human body was not made for death and corruption. But,
inasmuch as Thomas required this proof for his perfect satisfaction, our Lord
Jesus Christ, of necessity, therefore, in order to leave no excuse for our want
of faith, appears even as he sought to see Him; for even when He ascended into
heaven itself, and made known the meaning of the mystery concerning Himself to
the rulers, principalities, and powers above, and to those who commanded the
legions of angels, He appeared also unto them in this same guise that they
might believe that in very truth the Word That was of the Father, and in the
Father, became Man for our sake, and that they might know that such was His
care for His creatures that He died for our salvation. And, in order to make
the meaning of my explanation clearer to my hearers, I will add the very words
spoken by the mouth of Isaiah on this subject. He saith: Who is This
That cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bosra? They who raise
this shout, I mean the cry: Who is This That cometh from Edom? that
is, from the earth, are angels and rational powers, for they are marvelling at
the Lord ascending into heaven. And, seeing Him almost, as it were, dyed in His
own Blood, they say unto Him, not yet apprehending the mystery: Why is
Thy apparel red, and why are Thy garments like him that treadeth in the
wine-vats? For they compare the colour of the blood to new wine,
lately trodden in the press. And what saith[22] Christ
unto them?First, in order that He may be known to be the living God, He
saith: I speak righteousness; using the word speak, instead
of "teach." And most assuredly. He that teacheth righteousness must
be a Lawgiver, and if a Lawgiver, surely also God. Then say the angels unto
Him, as Christ showeth them the marks of the nails: What are these
wounds in Thy Hands? and the Lord answereth: Those with which
I was wounded in the house of My beloved. For Israel was the house
that the Lord loved, and Israel smote Him with nails and spear. For the
outrages of the soldiers may justly be ascribed unto the Jews, for they brought
the Lord to His death. Therefore, when He wished to satisfy the holy angels
that He was, in fact, a Man, and that He had undergone the Cross for us, and
that He was risen again to life from the dead, Christ was not content with mere
words, but showed unto them the marks of His suffering. What is there to
astonish us in the fact, that when He desired to rid the blessed Thomas of his
unbelief He showed the print of the nails, appearing unto him, contrary to
expectation, for the advantage of all men, and to the intent that we might
believe without question that the mystery of the Resurrection was actually
accomplished, no other body being raised but that which suffered death?
28 Thomas answered Him, and saith unto Him, My Lord and my God.
He that had shortly before been slack in the
duty of faith was now eager to profess it. and in a short time his fault was
wholly cured. For after an interval of only eight days the hindrances to his
faith were removed by Christ, Who showed unto him the print of the nails and
His wounded Side. But, perhaps, someone will ask the question: "Tell me
why did the minds of the holy disciples carry out so rigid an inquiry, and so
careful a scrutiny? For would not the sight of the Lord's Body, the
features of His Face, and the measure of His Stature,[23] have
sufficed to prove that He had indeed risen from the dead, and to secure His
recognition?" What do we reply? The inspired disciples were not free from
doubt, although they had seen the Lord. For. they thought that He was not in
very truth the same as He Who of old had lived and dwelt among them, and had
hung upon the Cross, but rather that He was a Spirit, cunningly fashioned like
unto our Saviour's Image, and simulating the features of the form which they
knew. For they fell into this delusion not without some apparent excuse, as He
miraculously entered when the doors were closed; in spite of the fact that a
body of coarse earthy mould requires a hole through which it can pass, and
necessitates the aperture of the door to correspond in width with the size of
the body. For this cause our Lord Jesus Christ, greatly to our profit, laid
bare His Side to Thomas, and exposed the wounds on His Person, through his
agency giving adequate proof to all. For though of Thomas alone is recorded the
saying: Except I shall put my hands and see the prints of the nails,
and put my hand into His Side, I will not believe, yet was the charge
of lack of faith common to them all; and we shall find that the minds of the
other disciples were not free from perplexity, though they said unto the holy
Thomas: We have seen the Lord. And that what we say does not
err from the truth we may easily perceive by what the Divine Luke tells us: As
they spake these things, He stood in the midst of them, that is, of course,
Christ, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified
and affrighted, and supposed that they beheld a spirit. And He said unto them,
Why are ye troubled? and wherefore do reasonings arise in your hearts? See My
Hands and My Feet, that it is I Myself: handle Me, and see; for a spirit hath
not flesh and bones, as ye behold Me having. And when He had said this, He
showed them His Hands and His Feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy, and
wondered, He said unto them, Have ye here anything to[24] eat?
And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And He took
it, and did eat before them. You see how the thought of unbelief is
found lurking, not in the blessed Thomas alone, but that the minds of the other
disciples were afflicted with a kindred disease. For, lo and behold! seeing
that their faith wavered even after the sight of the wounds upon the Cross, He
thought it right to convince them by another act, in nowise suited to a spirit,
but specially appropriate to earthly bodies and the nature of flesh. For He ate
the fish that was brought unto Him, or the portion of one. For when no mark at
all of corruption any longer remained after the Resurrection of His holy Flesh,
because He lived again to incorruption, and when it was incredible that His
Body stood in need of food as heretofore, He yet showed unto them the print of
the nails, and did not refuse to partake of food, in order that He might
establish the great mystery of the Resurrection, and cause faith in it to
spring up in the souls of us all. He does acts wholly alien to the nature of
spirits. For how, and in what way, could the prints of nails, and the traces of
wounds, and participation in bodily food, be found to exist in a naked spirit
unconnected with flesh, to which all these things are suitable by the law of
its being and the conditions under which it exists? In order, then,
that none might think that Christ rose again a mere spirit, or an impalpable
body, shadowy and ethereal, to which some give the name of spiritual, but that
the selfsame body that was sown in corruption, as Paul saith,
might be believed to have risen again, He openly did acts suitable to a
palpable human form. What we said at first, however, namely, that the blessed
disciple did not so much lack faith owing to infirmity of judgment, but rather
was affected in this way by excess of joy, will not be wide of the mark. For we
have heard the saying of the blessed Luke concerning all the others: And
while they disbelieved for joy and wondered. It[25] was
wonder, therefore, that made the disciples slow to be convinced. But as
henceforward there was no excuse for unbelief, as they saw with their own eyes,
the blessed Thomas accordingly unflinchingly confessed his faith in Him,
saying: My Lord and my God. For we must all confess that it
follows of a surety that He That is Lord by Nature and Ruler over all is also
God, just as also universal dominion and the glory of sovereignty is clearly
seen to appertain to the living God.
Observe, too, that when he says My
Lord and my God, he uses the article to show that there was One Lord
and One God. For he does not say without the qualification of the
article, My Lord and my God, to prevent any one from imagining
that he called Him Lord or God as he might have done one of ourselves or of the
holy angels. For there are gods many and lords many, in this
sense, in heaven and on earth, as the wise Paul has taught us;
but rather he recognises Him as, in a special sense, the One Lord and God, as
begotten of the Father, Who is by Nature Lord and God, when he says, My
Lord and my God; and, what is a still greater indication of the truth,
the Saviour heard His disciple saying this, and saw that he rested in the firm
conviction that He was, in fact, the Lord and God, and thought it not right to
rebuke him. Christ, then, approved his faith, and with justice. And you may
easily see that what I say is true. For to him that was possessed of this faith
He says, at the end of the Gospel, as unto the rest: Go ye and make
disciples of all the nations. And if He bids him who was thus minded
teach all nations, and appointed him to instruct the world in His mysteries, He
wishes us to have a like faith. For He is, in fact, Lord and God by Nature,
even when Incarnate Man. For observe that the disciple, when he had touched His
Hands, and Feet, and Side, made unto Him this confession of faith, not severing
Emmanuel into a duality of Sons, but recognising Him as one and the same in the
Flesh, for Jesus Christ is One Lord, according to the Scripture.[26]
29 Jesus saith unto him, Because thou hast seen Me, thou hast
believed: Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed.
This saying of the Saviour is very pertinent
and we may derive the greatest profit therefrom. For hereby He showed His great
care for our souls; for He is good, and willeth that all men should be
saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, according to the
Scripture. What is here said may not unlikely excite surprise. It was, indeed,
necessary for Him to be long-suffering, as was His wont, with Thomas, who
uttered that saying, and also with the other disciples with him, who thought
that He was a spirit or apparition; and also to exhibit, as He very readily did
for universal satisfaction, the print of the nails and His pierced Side; and
also, contrary to use and need, to partake of food, that no plea for their
unbelief might be left to those who sought to gain the benefits of His death.
But it was also essential to have regard to the security of our faith. It was
necessary also to have another end in view, namely, that those who should come
at the last times should not easily be drawn into unbelief. For it was likely
that some should err from the straight path, and from ignorance, practising a
spurious kind of caution, refuse to accept the resurrection of the dead, and
put themselves forward, and say unto us, like that unbelieving disciple: Except
I shall see in His Hands the print of the nails, and put my hand into His Side,
I will not believe. What sufficient means of satisfying them would
there have been, Christ being no longer on earth but having ascended into
heaven? And would they not have been, at times, thought to be
justified in thus speaking, when they appeared to be imitating therein the
disciple of the Saviour, and, considering it a noble thing not to believe
off-hand, but rather to require more for their complete assurance, claimed for
themselves the sight that was shown to the holy disciples? Christ,
therefore, restrains[27] men
from such an inclination, and keeps them from falling. For being truly God, He
knew well the malicious designs of the devil and his practice to deceive. And,
therefore, He declares that blessed are they who believe without seeing, for
they are surely worthy of admiration. And why? Because unquestioning belief is
due to what lies before our eyes, for there is nothing at all to raise doubt in
us. But if a man accept what he has not seen, and believe that to be true which
the words of his instructor in mysteries have brought to his ears, then he
honours with praiseworthy faith Him that is preached. Blessed, therefore, shall
be the lot of every man that believeth through the voice of the holy Apostles,which
were eye-witnesses of Christ's actions, and ministers of the
Word, as Luke says. To them must we hearken if we are enamoured of
life eternal, and cherish in our hearts the desire to abide in the mansions
above.
30, 31 Many other signs therefore did Jesus in the presence of
His disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written, that
ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, ye
may have eternal life in His Name.
He sums up the book in a manner, and makes
plain to His hearers the object of the preaching of the Gospel. For, he says,
this book was composed that ye may believe, and believing
might have eternal life. He says that the signs were many, and
does not limit the actions and marvellous works of our Saviour to those which
were accurately known by him personally, and recorded by him, and leaves the
other disciples to publish, if they chose, whatever was vividly impressed on
their memory. For all the signs, he says, are not written in this
book, but those only have been inserted by me which I thought best
able to convince my hearers that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.[28]
This
is what the inspired Evangelist says; and I think, too, that it may be of use
to make the following observation: For if the whole meaning of the record is directed
to producing in us this faith, and is well calculated to make us steadfast in
the conviction that the Child of the Holy Virgin, Who was called Jesus by the
voice of the angel, is the very Christ Whose coming was proclaimed by Holy
Writ; and if He be, indeed, very Christ and none other----not merely a son but
the Son of God in a unique and special sense; what then, I ask, can they who,
through ignorance, are in doubt about the faith, and who, furthermore, strive
to teach others to believe that there are two Christs----what can they do or
say in their defence, and what will be the sentence passed upon them when the
great day shall come? For they divide Christ into two separate
Beings, Man and God the Word, even after His union with man, and His ineffable
and wholly incomprehensible Incarnation. Therefore are they in error, and have
wandered far astray from the truth, and deniedthe Master that bought
them. For if we examine into the definition of the being of Christ,
and form a conception of Him, we find that the flesh is different from God the
Word, Which is in the Father, and proceedeth from Him; but if we consider the
meaning of 'the Incarnation, and strive to fathom so far as we are able this
exceeding great mystery, we conceive of the Word as One with His own Flesh,
though not converted into flesh. God forbid that we should so say, for the
Nature of the Word is inconvertible and unchangeable, and admits of no shadow
of turning. Rather do we maintain, according to our Holy and inspired
Scriptures, that the Messiah, conceived of as attaining to the perfect
definition of manhood through the Temple of flesh that enshrined His Godhead,
is One only----Jesus, the Christ and the Son of God. Consider that the selfsame
truth is found to have existence in the nature of ourselves who are men. For we
are combined into one man composed of soul and[29] body;
the body and the soul that it contains being distinct, but nevertheless
coinciding to form one perfect animal, and wholly incapable of separation after
combination with each other.
[1]
Christ worked by miraculous power.
[2] Christ
raised the Temple of His Body.
[3] Christ
raised His former Body.
[4]
The joy of the disciples.
[5]
Christ our Peace.
[6]
The nature of the Apostles mission.
[7]
The gift accompanying Ordination.
[8]
The Aaronic Ceremonial was a
Type.
[9]
Christ co-operates with the Father
[10]
in granting the Spirit.
[11]
Christ gave an earnest and foretaste
[12]
of what was coming to pass.
[13]
The absent Thomas received the Gift.
[14]
Eldad and Medad furnish an illustration.
[15]
Remission of sins is by the Spirit.
[16]
Thomas longed to see Christ.
[17]
The Resurrection of the Body.
[18]
The minuteness of the Evangelist.
[19]
684 Christians follow Apostolic customs.
[20]
Other doubts investigated.
[21]
Christ retained the marks in His Body
[22]
for the satisfaction of men and angels.
[23]
The Apostles might naturally doubt.
[24]
But Christ established their faith.
[25]
Jesus Christ the one Lord.
[26]
Christ commends the faithful of every age.
[27]
Jesus gave other signs.
[28]
Christ----though God and Man----is One.
[29]
Jesus vouchsafes another visit,
