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he called the cross a baptism; whence is this clear? "Are you able," he says, "to drink the cup that I am about to drink"? He calls the passion a cup and for this reason he says: "Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me." Do you see how he called the cross a baptism and the passion a cup? And he called it so, 159 not because he himself was being cleansed (for how could he, "who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth"?), but because the blood that flowed from there cleansed the entire world. For this reason Paul also says: "If we have become united with him in the likeness of his death through baptism." He did not say "with his death," but "with the likeness of his death." For both that and this are a death, but not of the same thing; for that was of the body, but this is of sin; for this reason, a likeness of death. What then? Do we only die with the Lord and share only in the sorrowful things? In fact, even this is not sorrowful, to share in the Lord's death. But wait a little and you will see yourself sharing in the good things also; "for if we have died with him," he says, "we believe that we will also live with him." For burial and resurrection are in baptism at the same time; it leaves the old man below and takes up the new and rises up, "just as Christ was raised through the glory of the Father." Do you see how he again speaks of the resurrection? But why are our resurrection and burial and death at the same time (for we are buried and raised at the same time), but the Lord's was delayed? For he was raised in three days. Why then is our resurrection immediate, but the Lord's slower? Yes, for our benefit, so that you might learn that the delay was not because of weakness; for he who was able to raise the servant in the briefest moment of time was much more able to raise himself. For what reason then the delay? For what reason the three-day burial? So that with the delay of death and through that delay, the proof of the resurrection might become indisputable. For where even now after so much proof there are men 160 saying that he suffered in appearance, if there had not been such a delay, what would they not have said? For the devil wished to plot not only against the account of the resurrection, but also against the belief in the death; for he knew, he knew clearly that the saving death was the universal medicine for the world, and he hastened to remove this from the faith of men, in order to take away their salvation. For this reason the Lord delays in the resurrection and the Jews come saying: "Give us soldiers, so that we may guard the tomb."

O the shamelessness; when did you see a dead man being guarded, O Jew? For if the one crucified was a common dead man and a mere human being, why are you doing strange and paradoxical things? Why are you afraid and trembling and gathering guards? But yet God did not prevent this, but allowed him to be guarded, so that the sinner might be caught in the works of his own hands. For they said: "Give us soldiers, so that his disciples might not steal him and say that he is risen." But the opposite happened; for they received soldiers, so that when he had risen they could not say that his disciples stole him and he did not rise, and the things contrived against the resurrection came to be for the resurrection, and Christ made the conspirators themselves witnesses of the resurrection, so that he might cut off their defense on that day. For what reason, then, the fathers commanded that you be initiated at this time, we have, I think, sufficiently explained to you through what has been said. But I wish also to pay another debt to you, if you have not grown tired of listening, and to say for what reason we send you from here naked and barefoot to the voices of the exorcists; for here too the same cause will appear again, that having won a war the king took captives. Such is the appearance of captives. Hear, at any rate, what 161 God says to the Jews: "In the way that my servant Isaiah went naked

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βάπτισμα τὸν σταυρὸν ἐκάλεσε· πόθεν τοῦτο δῆλον; "δύνασθε", φησί, "πιεῖν τὸ ποτήριον, ὃ ἐγὼ μέλλω πίνειν"; ποτήριον τὸ πάθος λέγει καὶ διὰ τοῦτο φησί· "πάτερ, εἰ δυνατόν, παρελθέτω τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο ἀπ' ἐμοῦ". εἶδες, πῶς βάπτισμα τὸν σταυρὸν ἐκάλεσε καὶ τὸ πάθος ποτήριον; ἐκάλεσε δὲ οὕτως, 159 οὐκ ἐπειδὴ αὐτὸς ἐκαθαίρετο (πῶς γάρ, "ὅς γε ἁμαρτίαν οὐκ ἐποίησεν οὐδὲ δόλος ἦν ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτοῦ";), ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ τὸ αἷμα τὸ ῥεῦσαν ἐκεῖθεν ἅπασαν τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐκάθηρε. διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Παῦλος φησί· "εἰ σύμφοιτοι γεγόναμεν τῷ ὁμοιώματι τοῦ θανάτου αὐτοῦ διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος". οὐκ εἶπε "τῷ θανάτῳ", ἀλλὰ "τῷ ὁμοιώματι τοῦ θανάτου αὐτοῦ". θάνατος μὲν γὰρ κἀκεῖνο καὶ τοῦτο, ἀλλ' οὐ τοῦ αὐτοῦ πράγματος· ἐκεῖνο μὲν γὰρ σώματος, τοῦτο δὲ ἁμαρτίας· διὰ τοῦτο ὁμοίωμα θανάτου. Τί οὖν; ἀποθνῄσκομεν μόνον μετὰ τοῦ δεσπότου καὶ ἐν τοῖς σκυθρωποῖς κοινωνοῦμεν μόνον; μάλιστα μὲν οὐδὲ τοῦτο σκυθρωπόν, τὸ κοινωνῆσαι θανάτῳ δεσποτικῷ. πλὴν μικρὸν ἀνάμεινον καὶ ὄψει καὶ ἐν τοῖς χρηστοῖς κοινωνοῦτά σε· "εἰ γὰρ ἀπεθάνομεν σὺν αὐτῷ", φησί, "πιστεύομεν ὅτι καὶ συζήσομεν αὐτῷ". ὁμοῦ γὰρ καὶ ταφὴ καὶ ἀνάστασίς ἐστιν ἐν τῷ βαπτίσματι κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν καιρόν· ἀφίησι κάτω τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον καὶ λαμβάνει τὸν καινὸν καὶ ἀνίσταται, "ὥσπερ ἠγέρθη ὁ Χριστὸς διὰ τῆς δόξης τοῦ πατρός". ὁρᾷς, πῶς πάλιν τὴν ἀνάστασιν λέγει; ἀλλὰ διατί ἡ μὲν ἡμετέρα ἀνάστασις καὶ ἡ ταφὴ καὶ ὁ θάνατος ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ καιρῷ (ὁμοῦ γὰρ καὶ θαπτόμεθα καὶ ἀνιστάμεθα), ἡ δὲ τοῦ δεσπότου ἐβράδυνεν; ἐν τρισὶ γὰρ ἡμέραις ἠγέρθη. διατί οὖν ἡ μὲν ἡμετέρα ἀνάστασις ἀθρόον, ἡ δὲ δεσποτικὴ βραδυτέρα; ναὶ συμφερόντως, ἵνα μάθῃς ὅτι οὐ δι' ἀσθένειαν ἡ βραδυτής· ὁ γὰρ τὸν δοῦλον ἀναστῆσαι δυνηθεὶς ἐν βραχείᾳ καιροῦ ῥοπῇ πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἑαυτὸν ἀναστῆσαι ἠδύνατο. τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν ἡ βραδυτής; τίνος ἕνεκεν ἡ τριήμερος ταφή; ἵνα βραδύναντος τοῦ θανάτου καὶ διὰ τῆς βραδυτῆτος ἀναμφισβήτητος τῆς ἀναστάσεως ἡ ἀπόδειξις γένηται. ὅπου γὰρ καὶ νῦν μετὰ τοσαύτην ἀπόδειξιν εἰσὶν ἄνθρω 160 ποι λέγοντες ὅτι δοκήσει ἔπαθεν, εἰ μὴ τοσαύτη γέγονε βραδυτής, τί οὐκ ἂν εἶπον ἐκεῖνοι; οὐδὲ γὰρ τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀναστάσεως ὁ διάβολος ἐπιβουλεῦσαι ἐβούλετο μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῇ πίστει τοῦ θανάτου· ᾔδει γάρ, ᾔδει σαφῶς ὅτι κοινὸν φάρμακον τῆς οἰκουμένης ὁ σωτήριος θάνατος ἦν καὶ ἐξελεῖν τοῦτον τῆς πίστεως τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐσπούδαζεν, ἵνα ἀνέλῃ τὴν σωτηρίαν. διὰ τοῦτο βραδύνει ὁ δεσπότης ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει καὶ προσέρχονται οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι λέγοντες· "∆ὸς ἡμῖν στρατιώτας, ἵνα τηρήσωμεν τὸν τάφον".

ὢ τῆς ἀναισχυντίας· πότε νεκρὸν εἶδες, ὦ Ἰουδαῖε, τηρούμενον; εἰ γὰρ κοινὸς νεκρὸς ἦν καὶ ψιλὸς ἄνθρωπος ὁ σταυρωθείς, τί ξένα καὶ παράδοξα ποιεῖς πράγματα; τί φοβεῖ καὶ τρέμεις καὶ φύλακας συνάγεις; πλὴν ἀλλ' οὐδὲ τοῦτο ἐκώλυσεν ὁ θεός, ἀλλ' ἀφῆκε φυλάττεσθαι, ἵνα ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ συλληφθῇ ὁ ἁμαρτωλός. ἐκεῖνοι μὲν γὰρ ἔλεγον· "∆ὸς ἡμῖν στρατιώτας, ἵνα μὴ κλέψωσιν αὐτὸν οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ εἴπωσιν ὅτι ἀνέστη". συνέβη δὲ τοὐναντίον· ἔλαβον γὰρ στρατιώτας, ἵνα μὴ ἀναστάντος αὐτοῦ λέγωσιν, ὅτι ἔκλεψαν αὐτὸν οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐκ ἀνέστη, καὶ τὰ κατὰ τῆς ἀναστάσεως σκευωρούμενα ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀναστάσεως γέγονε καὶ τοὺς ἐπιβούλους αὐτοὺς μάρτυρας ἐποίησε τῆς ἀναστάσεως ὁ Χριστός, ἵνα ἐκκόψῃ τὴν ἀπολογίαν αὐτῶν τὴν ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ. Τίνος μὲν οὖν ἕνεκεν ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τούτῳ μυσταγωγεῖσθαι ἐκέλευσαν οἱ πατέρες, ἱκανῶς (οἶμαι ἔγωγε) διὰ τῶν εἰρημένων ὑμῖν παρεστήσαμεν. βούλομαι δὲ καὶ ἕτερον ὑμῖν ἀποδοῦναι χρέος, εἰ μὴ πρὸς τὴν ἀκρόασιν ἀπεκάμετε, καὶ εἰπεῖν, τίνος ἕνεκεν γυμνοὺς καὶ ἀνυποδέτους ὑμᾶς πρὸς τὰς τῶν ἐξορκιζόντων ἐντεῦθεν παραπέμπομεν φωνάς· καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἐνταῦθα ἡ αὐτὴ αἰτία φανεῖται πάλιν, ὅτι πόλεμον νικήσας ὁ βασιλεὺς αἰχμαλώτους ἔλαβε. τοιοῦτον δὲ τῶν αἰχμαλώτων τὸ σχῆμα. ἄκουσον γοῦν, τί 161 φησι πρὸς τοὺς Ἰουδαίους ὁ θεός· "ὃν τρόπον ἐπορεύθη ὁ παῖς μου Ἡσαΐας γυμνὸς