John Chrysostom, On Eleazar and the Seven Boys

is full; for in stating the cause for which he is about to give another covenant, he called it new, that is, extraordinary; For I will make, he says, a new covenant, not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, because they did not remain in my covenant; and I disregarded them, says the Lord. And yet for this they ought to have been punished, and to have suffered the ultimate penalty, and to have undergone unbearable retribution, because having enjoyed so many wonders, and having received the law, they became in no way better. But here he does not demand a penalty from them, but even promises things greater than the former. Now, we ought today to have brought the solution to this difficulty, but since our discourse is hurrying on to another matter, and we wish to train you, so that you do not learn everything from us, but also discover it on your own, I leave this for you to seek out and find. But if we see that you have sought but not found, then we ourselves will also lend a hand; and so that the discovery may be easier for you, I will now tell you in advance the apostolic passages, in which one may especially find the treasure and the solution to this difficulty: in the epistle to the Romans, and to the Galatians, and to the Hebrews, having set forth this main point, he resolved it. And all who are industrious will be able, by going through the epistles, to discover this solution, if during these intervening 63.528 days you do not give yourselves over to untimely gatherings or useless idle talk, but, being fixed on the care of what has been said, you dig up the treasure. Leaving this for now unsolved, we shall proceed to what follows. And what follows? That this is the covenant which I will make with you, says the Lord: giving my laws into their mind, and on their hearts I will write them. And they shall not teach, each one his fellow citizen, and each one his brother, saying, "Know the Lord"; for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest of them, for I will be merciful to their iniquities, and their sins and their lawlessness I will remember no more. Having spoken of the old covenant which he gave, and having spoken also of the new which he is about to give, he then outlines its beauty, and shows its characteristics, and sets forth its distinguishing marks one after another, so that you may learn how great is the difference of the new from the old—the difference, not the opposition; how great the superiority, how great the splendor, how great the brilliance of the gifts and of the grace. 4. What then are the characteristics of the new? Giving my laws into their mind, and on their hearts I will write them. For the old law was written on tablets of stone, and since the first tablets were broken, he carved others again, and having engraved the letters there, Moses came down, having the nature of the tablets akin to the insensibility of those who received them. But the new is not so; for tablets were not carved when the new covenant was being given, but how and in what manner? Hear Luke relating it: They were all with one accord in one place, he says; and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind; and there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Do you see how the prophet clearly proclaimed this from of old, saying thus: Giving my laws into their mind, and on their hearts I will write them. For the grace of the Spirit given from God to sit within their minds made them living pillars. and overshadows the mind with his glory; wherefore he also said, that he was sent to preach, not in wisdom of speech, lest the cross of Christ be made of no effect; and again, God has made foolish the wisdom of this world; and up and down he turns the cross. For since, he says, the Jews ask for signs,

γέμει· λέγων γὰρ τὴν αἰτίαν, δι' ἣν μέλλει διδόναι διαθήκην ἑτέραν, καινὴν αὐτὴν εἶπεν, τουτέστι παράδοξον· ∆ιαθήσομαι γὰρ, φησὶ, διαθήκην καινὴν, οὐ κατὰ τὴν διαθήκην ἣν διεθέμην τοῖς πατράσιν αὐτῶν, ὅτι αὐτοὶ οὐκ ἐνέμειναν τῇ διαθήκῃ μου· κἀγὼ ἠμέλησα αὐτῶν, λέγει Κύριος. Καὶ μὴν διὰ τοῦτο αὐτοὺς κολασθῆναι ἔδει, καὶ τὴν ἐσχάτην δοῦναι δίκην, καὶ τιμωρίαν ὑποστῆναι τὴν ἀφόρητον, ὅτι τοσούτων ἀπολαύσαντες θαυμάτων, καὶ νόμον λαβόντες, οὐδαμόθεν ἐγένοντο βελτίους. Ἀλλ' ὧδε μὲν αὐτοὺς οὐκ ἀπαιτεῖ δίκην, ἀλλὰ καὶ μείζονα ἐπαγγέλλεται τῶν προτέρων. Ἔδει μὲν οὖν καὶ σήμερον ἐπαγαγεῖν τῇ διαπορήσει ταύτῃ τὴν λύσιν, ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ καὶ πρὸς ἕτερον ἡμῖν ὁ λόγος ἐπείγεται, καὶ βουλόμεθα ὑμᾶς παιδεύειν, ὥστε μὴ παρ' ἡμῶν πάντα μανθάνειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἴκοθεν εὑρίσκειν, τοῦτο ὑμῖν καταλιμπάνω ζητῆσαι καὶ εὑρεῖν. Ἐὰν δὲ ἴδωμεν ζητήσαντας μὲν, οὐχ εὑρόντας δὲ, τότε καὶ αὐτοὶ χεῖρας ὀρέξομεν· ὥστε δὲ καὶ εὐκολωτέραν ὑμῖν γενέσθαι τὴν εὕρεσιν, καὶ τὰ χωρία τὰ ἀποστολικὰ, ἐν οἷς μάλιστά ἐστι τὸν θησαυρὸν εὑρεῖν καὶ τῆς ἐπαπορήσεως ταύτης τὴν λύσιν, ἤδη ὑμῖν προαγορεύω· ἐν τῇ πρὸς Ῥωμαίους ἐπιστολῇ, καὶ πρὸς Γαλάτας, καὶ πρὸς Ἑβραίους, τουτὶ τὸ κεφάλαιον θεὶς διέλυσε. Καὶ ὅσοι φιλόπονοι, δυνήσονται ἐπελθόντες τὰς ἐπιστολὰς τὴν λύσιν φωρᾶσαι ταύτην, ἐὰν τὰς μεταξὺ 63.528 ταύτας ἡμέρας μὴ συλλόγοις ἀκαίροις μηδὲ ἀδολεσχίαις ἀνονήτοις ἑαυτοὺς δῶτε, ἀλλὰ τῇ μερίμνῃ τῶν εἰρημένων προσηλωμένοι, τὸν θησαυρὸν ἀνορύττητε. Τοῦτο τέως ἄλυτον ἀφέντες, ἐπὶ τὰ ἑξῆς βαδιούμεθα. Τίνα δὲ τὰ ἑξῆς; Ὅτι αὕτη ἡ διαθήκη, ἣν διαθήσομαι ὑμῖν, λέγει Κύριος· διδοὺς νόμους μου εἰς διάνοιαν αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐπὶ καρδίας αὐτῶν ἐπιγράψω αὐτούς. Καὶ οὐ μὴ διδάξουσιν ἕκαστος τὸν πολίτην αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἕκαστος τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ, λέγων· Γνῶθι τὸν Κύριον· ὅτι πάντες εἰδήσουσί με ἀπὸ μικροῦ ἕως μεγάλου αὐτῶν, ὅτι ἵλεως ἔσομαι ταῖς ἀδικίαις αὐτῶν, καὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν ἀνομιῶν αὐτῶν οὐ μὴ μνησθῶ ἔτι. Εἰπὼν παλαιὰν διαθήκην, ἣν ἔδωκεν· εἰπὼν καὶ νέαν, ἣν μέλλει διδόναι, ὑπογράφει δὴ καὶ τὴν εὐμορφίαν αὐτῆς, καὶ δείκνυσιν αὐτῆς τοὺς χαρακτῆρας, καὶ τὰ παράσημα ἐπάλληλα τίθησιν, ἵνα μάθῃς πόσον τὸ διάφορον τῆς καινῆς πρὸς τὴν παλαιὰν, τὸ διάφορον, οὐ τὸ ἐναντίον· πόση ἡ ὑπεροχὴ, πόση ἡ λαμπηδὼν, πόση ἡ ἀστραπὴ τῶν δωρεῶν καὶ τῆς χάριτος. δʹ. Τίνες οὖν οἱ χαρακτῆρες τῆς καινῆς; ∆ιδοὺς νόμους μου εἰς διάνοιαν αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐπὶ καρδίαις αὐτῶν ἐπιγράψω αὐτούς. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ παλαιὸς νόμος ἐν πλαξὶ λιθίναις ἐγράφη, καὶ ἐπειδὴ αἱ πρῶται συνετρίβησαν πλάκες, ἑτέρας πάλιν ἐκόλαψε, καὶ ἐκεῖ τὰ γράμματα ἐγχαράξας, κατέβαινε Μωϋσῆς, συγγενῆ τῆς ἀναισθησίας τῶν δεχομένων τὴν φύσιν τῶν δέλτων ἔχων. Ἡ δὲ καινὴ οὐχ οὕτως· οὐ γὰρ πλάκες ἐκολάφθησαν, ὅτε ἡ καινὴ διαθήκη ἐδίδοτο, ἀλλὰ πῶς καὶ τίνι τρόπῳ; Ἄκουε τοῦ Λουκᾶ διηγουμένου· Ἦσαν πάντες ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ, φησί· καὶ ἐγένετο ἄφνω ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ φωνὴ ὡσεὶ φερομένης πνοῆς βιαίας· καὶ ὤφθησαν αὐτοῖς διαμεριζόμεναι γλῶσσαι ὡσεὶ πυρός· ἐκάθισέ τε ἐφ' ἕνα ἕκαστον αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐπλήσθησαν Πνεύματος ἁγίου, καὶ ἤρξαντο φθέγγεσθαι γλώσσαις, καθὼς τὸ Πνεῦμα ἐδίδου αὐτοῖς. Ὁρᾷς πῶς τοῦτο ἄνωθεν ὁ προφήτης σαφῶς προανεφώνησεν, οὕτως εἰπών· ∆ιδοὺς νόμους μου εἰς διάνοιαν αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐπὶ καρδίαις αὐτῶν ἐπιγράψω αὐτούς. Ἡ γὰρ τοῦ Πνεύματος χάρις ἡ παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ δοθεῖσα ταῖς διανοίαις αὐτῶν ἐγκαθῆσθαι, στήλας αὐτοὺς ἐποίησεν ἐμψύχους. καὶ τῇ διανοίᾳ ἐπισκιάζει τῇ δόξῃ αὐτοῦ· διὸ καὶ ἔλεγεν, ὅτι ἀπεστάλη κηρύττειν, οὐκ ἐν σοφίᾳ λόγου, ἵνα μὴ κενωθῇ ὁ σταυρὸς τοῦ Χριστοῦ· καὶ πάλιν, Ἐμώρανεν ὁ Θεὸς τὴν σοφίαν τοῦ κόσμου τούτου· καὶ ἄνω καὶ κάτω τὸν σταυρὸν περιστρέφει. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ, φησὶν, Ἰουδαῖοι σημεῖα αἰτοῦσι,