John Chrysostom, On Matthew

harms the truth of what has been said. And these things, as God may grant, we shall try to demonstrate as we proceed, asking you to observe this along with what has been said, that in the principal matters which hold our life together and constitute our preaching, not one of them is found to disagree even a little. And what are these things? For instance, that God became man, that He worked miracles, that He was crucified, that He was buried, that He arose, that He ascended, that 57.17 He is to judge, that He gave saving commandments, that He did not introduce a law contrary to the Old, that He is the Son, that He is the Only-begotten, that He is genuine, that He is of the same substance as the Father, and all such things; for concerning these we shall find there is great harmony among them. But if in the miracles not all of them said all things, but one said these things, and another those, let this not disturb you; for if one had said everything, the number of the rest would have been superfluous; and if all had written things different and new with respect to each other, the proof of their harmony would not have been apparent. For this reason they discussed many things in common, and each of them took up something of his own to say, so that he might neither seem to be superfluous and simply added on, and that he might furnish us with an exact test of the truth of what was said. 3. Luke, then, also states the reason why he comes to write; "that you may have," he says, "certainty concerning the things you were taught;" that is, that being continually reminded you may have certainty, and may remain in security. But John himself was silent about the reason; for as a tradition says that has come down to us from above and from the fathers, he too did not simply come to write; but since the other three had been zealous to dwell on the account of the economy, and the doctrines of the divinity were in danger of being passed over in silence, Christ moved him at last, and so he came to the writing of the Gospel. And this is clear both from the history itself, and from the introductions of the Gospel. For he does not begin from below, like the rest, but from above, to which he was hastening, and for this reason he composed the whole book. Not only in the introductions, but throughout the entire Gospel he is loftier than the others. And Matthew is also said, when those of the Jews who had believed came to him and asked, to have left for them in writing what he had said in words, and to have composed the Gospel in the Hebrew language; and Mark too in Egypt, at the request of the disciples, to have done this very thing. For this reason Matthew, as writing to Hebrews, sought to show nothing more than that He was from Abraham and David. But Luke, as addressing all in common, carries his account further back, proceeding up to Adam. And the one begins from the nativity; for nothing so reassured the Jew as to learn that Christ was a descendant of Abraham and David; but the other does not so, but mentions many other matters, and then proceeds to the genealogy. And we will demonstrate their harmony both from the inhabited world which has received what was said, and from the very enemies of the truth. For many heresies were born after them, holding doctrines contrary to what was said; and some accepted all that was said, while others cut off parts of what was said from the rest, and so hold them for themselves. But if there were any conflict in what was said, neither would those who say the contrary have accepted it all, but only the part that seemed to them to agree; nor would those who took 57.18 a part have been refuted from that part, so that not even the fragments themselves are hidden, but proclaim their kinship with the whole body. And just as if you take some part from a side, in the part you will find all the things from which the whole animal is constituted, both sinews, and veins, and bones, and arteries, and blood, and a sample, as one might say, of the whole composition; so also in the Scriptures it is possible to see in each of the parts that are mentioned the kinship of the whole shining through. But if they disagreed, this would not have been shown, and the doctrine itself would long ago have been dissolved; "For every kingdom," He says, "divided against itself will not stand." But now even in this the strength of the Spirit shines, persuading those

βλάπτει τῶν εἰρημένων τὴν ἀλήθειαν. Καὶ ταῦτα δὲ, ὡς ἂν ὁ Θεὸς παρέχῃ, πειρασόμεθα προϊόντες ἀποδεῖξαι, ἐκεῖνο μετὰ τῶν εἰρημένων ἀξιοῦντες ὑμᾶς παρατηρεῖν, ὅτι ἐν τοῖς κεφαλαίοις καὶ συνέχουσιν ἡμῶν τὴν ζωὴν καὶ τὸ κήρυγμα συγκροτοῦσιν, οὐδαμοῦ τις αὐτῶν οὐδὲ μικρὸν διαφωνήσας εὑρίσκεται. Τίνα δὲ ταῦτά ἐστιν; Οἷον, ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς ἄνθρωπος ἐγένετο, ὅτι θαύματα ἐποίησεν, ὅτι ἐσταυρώθη, ὅτι ἐτάφη, ὅτι ἀνέστη, ὅτι ἀνῆλθεν, ὅτι 57.17 μέλλει κρίνειν, ὅτι ἔδωκε σωτηριώδεις ἐντολὰς, ὅτι οὐκ ἐναντίον τῇ Παλαιᾷ νόμον εἰσήνεγκεν, ὅτι Υἱὸς, ὅτι Μονογενὴς, ὅτι γνήσιος, ὅτι τῆς αὐτῆς οὐσίας τῷ Πατρὶ, καὶ ὅσα τοιαῦτα· περὶ γὰρ ταῦτα πολλὴν εὑρήσομεν οὖσαν αὐτοῖς συμφωνίαν. Εἰ δὲ ἐν τοῖς θαύμασι μὴ πάντες πάντα εἶπον, ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν ταῦτα, ὁ δὲ ἐκεῖνα, τοῦτό σε μὴ θορυβείτω· εἴτε γὰρ εἷς πάντα εἶπε, περισσὸς ἦν ὁ τῶν λοιπῶν ἀριθμός· εἴτε πάντες ἐξηλλαγμένα καὶ καινὰ πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἔγραψαν, οὐκ ἂν ἐφάνη τῆς συμφωνίας ἡ ἀπόδειξις. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ κοινῇ πολλὰ διελέχθησαν, καὶ ἕκαστος αὐτῶν ἴδιόν τι λαβὼν εἶπεν, ἵνα μήτε περισσὸς εἶναι δόξῃ καὶ προσεῤῥῖφθαι ἁπλῶς, καὶ τῆς ἀληθείας τῶν λεγομένων ἀκριβῆ παράσχηται τὴν βάσανον ἡμῖν. γʹ. Ὁ μὲν οὖν Λουκᾶς καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν φησὶ, δι' ἢν ἐπὶ τὸ γράφειν ἔρχεται· Ἵνα ἔχῃς γὰρ, φησὶ, περὶ ὧν κατηχήθης λόγων τὴν ἀσφάλειαν· τουτέστιν, Ἵνα συνεχῶς ὑπομιμνησκόμενος τὴν ἀσφάλειαν ἔχῃς, καὶ ἐν ἀσφαλείᾳ μένῃς. Ὁ δὲ Ἰωάννης αὐτὸς μὲν ἐσίγησε τὴν αἰτίαν· ὡς γὰρ λόγος φησὶν ἄνωθεν καὶ ἐκ πατέρων εἰς ἡμᾶς καταβὰς, οὐδὲ αὐτὸς ἁπλῶς ἐπὶ τὸ γράφειν ἦλθεν· ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ τοῖς τρισὶν ἡ σπουδὴ γέγονε τῷ τῆς οἰκονομίας ἐνδιατρῖψαι λόγῳ, καὶ τὰ τῆς θεότητος ἐκινδύνευεν ἀποσιωπᾶσθαι δόγματα, τοῦ Χριστοῦ κινήσαντος αὐτὸν λοιπὸν, οὕτως ἦλθεν ἐπὶ τὴν εὐαγγελικὴν συγγραφήν. Καὶ τοῦτο δῆλον καὶ ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς ἱστορίας, καὶ τῶν τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου προοιμίων. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ὁμοίως τοῖς λοιποῖς κάτωθεν ἄρχεται, ἀλλ' ἄνωθεν, πρὸς ὅπερ ἠπείγετο, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τὸ πᾶν βιβλίον συνέθηκεν. Οὐκ ἐν τοῖς προοιμίοις δὲ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ παντὸς τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου τῶν ἄλλων ἐστὶν ὑψηλότερος. Λέγεται δὲ καὶ Ματθαῖος, τῶν ἐξ Ἰουδαίων πιστευσάντων προσελθόντων αὐτῷ καὶ παρακαλεσάντων, ἅπερ εἶπε διὰ ῥημάτων, ταῦτα ἀφεῖναι διὰ γραμμάτων αὐτοῖς, καὶ τῇ τῶν Ἑβραίων φωνῇ συνθεῖναι τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον· καὶ Μάρκος δὲ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ, τῶν μαθητῶν παρακαλεσάντων, αὐτὸ τοῦτο ποιῆσαι. ∆ιὰ δὴ τοῦτο ὁ μὲν Ματθαῖος, ἅτε Ἑβραίοις γράφων, οὐδὲν πλέον ἐζήτησε δεῖξαι, ἢ ὅτι ἀπὸ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ ∆αυῒδ ἦν. Ὁ δὲ Λουκᾶς, ἅτε κοινῇ πᾶσι διαλεγόμενος, καὶ ἀνωτέρω τὸν λόγον ἀνάγει, μέχρι τοῦ Ἀδὰμ προϊών. Καὶ ὁ μὲν ἀπὸ τῆς γενέσεως ἄρχεται· οὐδὲν γὰρ οὕτως ἀνέπαυε τὸν Ἰουδαῖον, ὡς τὸ μαθεῖν αὐτὸν, ὅτι τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ τοῦ ∆αυῒδ ἔγγονος ἦν ὁ Χριστός· ὁ δὲ οὐχ οὕτως, ἀλλ' ἑτέρων πλειόνων μέμνηται πραγμάτων, καὶ τότε ἐπὶ τὴν γενεαλογίαν πρόεισι. Τὴν δὲ συμφωνίαν αὐτῶν καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς οἰκουμένης παραστήσομεν τῆς δεξαμένης τὰ εἰρημένα, καὶ ἀπ' αὐτῶν τῶν τῆς ἀληθείας ἐχθρῶν. Καὶ γὰρ πολλαὶ μετ' ἐκείνους αἱρέσεις ἐτέχθησαν, ἐναντία δοξάζουσαι τοῖς εἰρημένοις· καὶ αἱ μὲν πάντα κατεδέξαντο τὰ λεχθέντα, αἱ δὲ μέρη τῶν εἰρημένων ἀποκόψασαι τῶν λοιπῶν, οὕτω παρ' ἑαυταῖς ἔχουσιν. Εἰ δὲ μάχη τις ἦν ἐν τοῖς εἰρημένοις, οὔτ' ἂν αἱ τἀναντία λέγουσαι ἅπαντα ἂν ἐδέξαντο, ἀλλὰ μέρος τὸ δοκοῦν αὐταῖς συνᾴδειν· οὔτ' ἂν αἱ μέρος ἀπολα 57.18 βοῦσαι διηλέγχθησαν ἀπὸ τοῦ μέρους, ὡς μηδὲ τὰ κόμματα αὐτὰ λανθάνειν, ἀλλὰ βοᾷν τὴν πρὸς τὸ ὅλον σῶμα συγγένειαν. Καὶ καθάπερ ἂν ἀπὸ πλευρᾶς λάβῃς τι μέρος, καὶ ἐν τῷ μέρει τὰ πάντα εὑρήσεις, ἀφ' ὧν τὸ ὅλον ζῶον συνέστηκε, καὶ νεῦρα, καὶ φλέβας, καὶ ὀστᾶ, καὶ ἀρτηρίας, καὶ αἷμα, καὶ ὁλοκλήρου, ὡς ἂν εἴποι τις, τοῦ φυράματος δεῖγμα· οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν Γραφῶν ἔστιν ἰδεῖν ἑκάστῳ τῶν εἰρημένων μέρει τὴν τοῦ παντὸς συγγένειαν διαφαινομένην. Εἰ δὲ διεφώνουν, οὔτ' ἂν τοῦτο ἐδείχθη, καὶ αὐτὸ πάλαι ἂν διελύθη τὸ δόγμα· Πᾶσα γὰρ βασιλεία, φησὶν, ἐφ' ἑαυτῆς μερισθεῖσα οὐ σταθήσεται. Νῦν δὲ κἂν τούτῳ τοῦ Πνεύματος ἡ ἰσχὺς λάμπει, πείσασα τοὺς