John Chrysostom, On "The Jews gathered"

a host has been abolished, because humanity has been set free, because the resurrection of the dead has been preached to all; but now they do not rejoice at such good things, but they lament, and they plan to destroy the one responsible for so many good things. And what do they say? What shall we do? There was nothing else to say, than that having repented, we should turn back, and falling before him, we should believe. For what else could they say in repentance, but this? What shall we do, because we have transgressed the commandment of God, because we did not keep the law given to us, which says to us, that the Lord God will raise up for you a Prophet from your brothers, like me; him you shall hear in all things, whatever he commands you. But now they do not say for repentance, What shall we do? but, What shall we do? how shall we kill the righteous one? As Israel is 59.527 driven mad. Have you not even heard this, that You shall not kill the innocent and righteous? Were the ancient bloods of the prophets not enough for you? For even until now they cry out to God, awaiting vengeance from him. But while still adding to that blood, you condemn innocent and righteous blood, and you say, What shall we do? O ungrateful mind, and counsel filled with foolishness!

Their four-day-dead man came back to life; the bonds of sins were being broken; and they were arming themselves for murder against him. Instead of which, they ought to have changed their speech and said, What shall we do, for we have insulted a holy one, for we have not believed in the Son of God? What shall we do? with a word he scraped off the hail-like scabs of lepers like a ship, and we did not believe in him. What shall we do? we knew men blind from birth were given sight by him, and we did not believe in him. What shall we do? we knew five thousand were fed to the full in the desert by him from five loaves, and we did not believe in him. What shall we do? he dried up flows of blood with the fringes of his garments, and we did not believe in him. What shall we do? with a word he raised up a paralytic lying on a bed, who had his disease for thirty-eight years, as long as his own life, and we did not believe in him. What shall we do? we saw him walking on the sea, as if on dry land, and we knew that with a nod of his hand he silenced the incurable violence and turmoil of the contrary winds, and we did not believe in him. But they said, What shall we do? not in repenting, but in doing evil. Their land without toil brought forth the dead alive, like white-robed and ripe ears of corn, and they groaned. Did you not reap what you sowed, O Jews? For was any of you burdened by receiving the Lord? what harm did you suffer to be burdened? how were you wronged by God? why, driven by envy, do you hinder the dead from life? why do you wish to break up the ever-flowing channels of the honey-flowing spring, which 59.528 those who drink do not thirst? why do you kill your sick, by wishing to destroy their physician? But the cause of all these things is the most wicked envy. O envy, parent of murder, invention of the devil, author of death; O envy, you who neither want those you bewitch to live, and who punish more greatly those who possess you; O envy, housemate of the devil; O envy, enemy of friendship, adversary of peace, opponent of love, offspring of the devil, dark-colored flower; those who pasture on you, work Christ-murder; you bewitched Adam in paradise from the beginning, and having tasted sweet pleasure, you delivered him to a most bitter death; for death was not in the world, if you, envy, had not given birth to it. And the divine oracle testifies to me, saying: God did not make death, nor does he delight in the destruction of the living. But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world. You stripped Cain of the white-robed garment of brotherly love, and armed him with the sword of murder, and taught him to kill, and immediately taught the wretched one to tremble. You, inhabiting Pharaoh, withered the newborn infants of the Hebrews like grass. You, O envy, being benefited, move more against the benefactors; just as the

στῖφος κατήργηται, ὅτι ἡ ἀνθρωπότης ἠλευθέρωται, ὅτι νεκρῶν ἀνάστασις πᾶσι κεκήρυκται· νῦν δὲ ἐπὶ τοιούτοις ἀγαθοῖς οὐ χαίρουσιν, ἀλλὰ θρηνοῦσι, καὶ τὸν τοσούτων ἀγαθῶν αἴτιον ἀναλίσκειν βουλεύονται. Καὶ τί λέγουσι; Τί ποιήσωμεν; Οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἦν εἰπεῖν, ἢ ὅτι μετανοήσαντες ἐπιστρέψωμεν, καὶ αὐτῷ προσπεσόντες πιστεύσωμεν. Τί γὰρ ἄλλο μετανοοῦντες εἶχον λέγειν, ἢ τοῦτο; Τί ποιήσωμεν, ὅτι τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ παρέβημεν, ὅτι τὸν νόμον τὸν δοθέντα ἡμῖν οὐκ ἐφυλάξαμεν, τὸν λέγοντα ἡμῖν, ὅτι Προφήτην ἡμῖν ἀναστήσει Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἐκ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ὑμῶν, ὡς ἐμέ· αὐτοῦ ἀκούσεσθε κατὰ πάντα, ὅσα ἂν ἐντελεῖται ὑμῖν. Νῦν δὲ οὐ πρὸς μετάνοιαν λέγουσι, Τί ποιήσωμεν; ἀλλὰ, Τί ποιήσωμεν; πῶς ἀποκτείνωμεν τὸν δίκαιον; Ὡς ὁ Ἰσραὴλ φρενολυ 59.527 πεῖται. Οὐδὲ τοῦτο οὐκ ἤκουσας, ὅτι Ἀθῷον καὶ δίκαιον οὐκ ἀποκτενεῖς; Οὐκ ἤρκεσέ σοι τὰ ἀρχαῖα τῶν προφητῶν αἵματα; Καὶ γὰρ μέχρι τοῦ νῦν κράζουσι πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν, τὴν παρ' αὐτοῦ ἐκδίκησιν ἐκδεχόμενα. Ἀλλ' ἀκμὴν ἐκείνοις τοῖς αἵμασι προστιθεὶς, ἀθῷον καὶ δίκαιον αἷμα κατακρίνεις, καὶ λέγεις, Τί ποιήσωμεν; Ὢ γνώμης ἀγνώμονος, καὶ βουλῆς ἀβουλίας μεμεστωμένης.

Ὁ τετραήμερος αὐτῶν ἀνεβίωσε· τὰ δεσμὰ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων διεῤῥήγνυντο· κἀκεῖνοι πρὸς δολοφονίαν κατ' αὐτοῦ ὡπλίζοντο. Ἀνθ' ὧν ἔδει τὸ ῥῆμα μεταστρέψαντας εἰπεῖν, Τί ποιήσωμεν, ὅτι ἅγιον ἐνυβρίσαμεν, ὅτι εἰς τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ παῖδα οὐκ ἐπιστεύσαμεν; Τί ποιήσωμεν; λεπρῶν χαλαζώματα δίκην πλοίου τῷ λόγῳ ἀπέξεσε, καὶ τούτῳ οὐκ ἐπιστεύσαμεν. Τί ποιήσωμεν; τυφλοὺς ἐκ γενετῆς ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ὀμματωθέντας ἔγνωμεν, καὶ τούτῳ οὐκ ἐπιστεύσαμεν. Τί ποιήσωμεν; ἐκ πέντε ἄρτων πέντε χιλιάδας εἰς κόρον ἐν ἐρήμῳ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ διατραφέντας ἔγνωμεν, καὶ τούτῳ οὐκ ἐπιστεύσαμεν. Τί ποιήσωμεν; πηγὰς αἱμάτων κρασπέδοις ἱματίων ἐξήρανε, καὶ τούτῳ οὐκ ἐπιστεύσαμεν. Τί ποιήσωμεν; παραλυτικὸν ἐπὶ κλίνης βεβλημένον, ἐν τριάκοντα καὶ ὀκτὼ ἔτεσι σύγχρονον τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ζωῆς τὴν νόσον ἔχοντα, ῥήματι ἐξήγειρε, καὶ τούτῳ οὐκ ἐπιστεύσαμεν. Τί ποιήσωμεν; ἐπὶ θαλάττης αὐτὸν περιπατοῦντα, καθάπερ ἐπὶ ἐδάφους, ἐθεασάμεθα, καὶ τῶν παλιστρόφων πνευμάτων βίας καὶ ταραχὰς ἀνηκέστους νεύματι χειρὸς κατασιγήσαντα ἔγνωμεν, καὶ τούτῳ οὐκ ἐπιστεύσαμεν. Ἀλλ' ἔλεγον, Τί ποιήσωμεν; οὐκ ἐν τῷ μετανοεῖν, ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ κακοπραγεῖν. Ἡ χώρα αὐτῶν τοὺς νεκροὺς ζῶντας, καθάπερ στάχυας λευχείμονας καὶ πεπείρους, ἀπόνως ἐβλάστησε, κἀκεῖνοι ἐστέναζον. Μὴ ἃ ἐσπείρατε, Ἰουδαῖοι, οὐκ ἐθερίσατε; μὴ γάρ τις ὑμῶν ὑποδεξάμενος τὸν Κύριον ἐβαρύνθη; τί ζημιωθέντες ἐβαρύνθητε; τί ἠδικήθητε παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ; τί τοὺς νεκροὺς ζωῆς κωλύετε ὑπὸ φθόνου ἐλαυνόμενοι; τί τοὺς ἀεννάους ὀχετοὺς τῆς μελιῤῥύτου πηγῆς διαλῦσαι βούλεσθε, ἣν οἱ 59.528 πιόντες μὴ διψῶσι; τί τοὺς ἀῤῥώστους ὑμῶν ἀποκτείνετε, τὸν ἰατρὸν αὐτῶν ἀναλίσκειν βουλόμενοι; Ἀλλὰ τούτων πάντων αἴτιος ὁ κάκιστος φθόνος. Ὦ φθόνε, φόνου γεννήτωρ, διαβόλου εὕρημα, θανάτου ἀρχηγέ· ὦ φθόνε, ὁ μήτε τοὺς ὑπὸ σοῦ βασκαινομένους ζῇν ἐθέλων, καὶ τοὺς ἔχοντάς σε μειζόνως κολάζων· ὦ φθόνε, διαβόλου σύνοικε· ὦ φθόνε, φιλίας ἐχθρὲ, εἰρήνης ἀντίπαλε, ἀγάπης ἀντίδικε, διαβόλου βλάστημα, σκοτεινόχροον ἄνθος· οἵ σε νεμόμενοι, χριστοκτονίαν ἐργάζονται· σὺ δὲ τὸν Ἀδὰμ ἐν παραδείσῳ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐβάσκανας, καὶ γλυκείας ἡδονῆς ἀπογευσάμενον πικροτάτῳ θανάτῳ παρέδωκας· θάνατος γὰρ οὐκ ἦν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, εἰ μὴ σὺ αὐτὸν, φθόνε, ἐκύησας. Καὶ μαρτυρεῖ μοι τὸ θεῖον λόγιον, λέγον· Οὐκ ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεὸς θάνατον, οὐδὲ τέρπεται ἐπ' ἀπωλείᾳ ζώντων. Φθόνῳ δὲ διαβόλου θάνατος εἰς τὸν κόσμον εἰσῆλθε. Σὺ καὶ τὸν Κάϊν τῆς φιλαδελφίας τὴν λευχείμονα στολὴν ἀπέδυσας, καὶ τῆς δολοφονίας τὴν μάχαιραν ὥπλισας, καὶ τοῦτον φονεύειν ἐδίδαξας, καὶ εὐθὺς τὸν ἄθλιον τρέμειν ἐδίδαξας. Σὺ τῷ Φαραὼ ἐνοικήσας, τὰ ἀρτιγενῆ βρέφη τῶν Ἑβραίων δίκην χλόης ἀπεμάρανας. Σὺ, ὦ φθόνε, εὐεργετούμενος, πλείω κατὰ τῶν εὐεργετούντων κινῆσαι· ὥσπερ ὁ