John Chrysostom, On the Cross and the Thief II

of him will go forth as light; it has no darkness, it has no hiding place, it accepts no deviation. For lest that one say, 'He was condemned below,' why do you advocate for him? he led him up to the court above, to the fearful judgment seat, to the incorruptible tribunal, to the judge who cannot be deceived, he reminded him of that fearful tribunal. 'Look there,' he says, 'and you will not bear the condemning vote, nor will you stand with the men below, but you will marvel, and you will accept the judgment from above.' 'Do you not even fear God?' he says. Did you see the philosophy of a thief, did you see his understanding, did you see his teaching? suddenly from the cross he flew up to heaven. And see him already fulfilling the apostolic law, not looking only to his own interests, but doing and endeavoring all things, so as to deliver that one also from error, and to lead him back to the truth. For having said, 'Do you not even fear God?' he added, 'For we are under the same condemnation.' Consider a perfected confession. What is, 'We are under the same condemnation'? 'Under the same punishment,' he says; 'for we too are on a cross.' Therefore, in reviling that one, you cast revilings upon yourself before him. Just as, therefore, one who is in sin and condemns another, condemns himself before the other; so also one who is in misfortune, and reviles another's misfortune, reviles himself before the other. 'We are under the same condemnation,' he says. He reads to him an apostolic law, evangelical words that say: 'Judge not, that you be not judged.' 'For we are under the same condemnation.' What are you doing, O thief? do you make him a partner with you by saying, 'We are under the same condemnation'? 'No,' he says; 'I add the correction through what follows;' 'And we indeed,' he says, 'justly; for we are receiving what we deserve for what we have done.' For lest, hearing that he said, 'We are under the same condemnation,' you should think that he made him a partner in sin, for this reason he added the correction, and says: 'We indeed justly; for we are receiving what we deserve for what we have done.' Did you see a perfect confession on the cross? did you see how he washed away his sins through his words? did you see how he fulfilled that prophetic command: 'Declare your iniquities first, that you may be justified'? No one forced him, no one accused him, no one assailed him; he becomes his own accuser; for this reason he had no other accuser left. For anticipating, he seized the role of the accuser, and denounced himself, saying: 'We indeed justly; for we are receiving what we deserve for what we have done; but this man has done nothing wrong.' Did you see his intense piety? When he had accused himself, when he had publicly exposed his own affairs, when he had made a defense for the Lord, saying, 'We indeed justly, but this man has done nothing wrong;' then he dared to offer his supp49.413 lication, saying: 'Remember me, Lord, when you come into your kingdom.' He did not dare to say before, 'Remember me,' until through confession he had cleansed himself from the filth of his sins, until by condemning himself he had rendered himself blameless, until through accusation he had put away his offenses. Do you see how powerful confession is, even on the cross itself? Hearing these things, beloved, never despair of yourself, but considering the ineffable greatness of God's love for mankind, hasten to the correction of your sins. For if He deemed the thief, while on the cross, worthy of such great honor, much more will He deem us worthy of His own love for mankind, if we should be willing to make confession of our offenses. Therefore, so that we too may enjoy His love for mankind, let us not be ashamed to confess our own sins; for great is the strength of confession, and great is its power. For behold, this man also confessed, and found paradise opened; he confessed, and received boldness, though he was in robbery, to ask for a kingdom. Until that time the

αὐτοῦ ὡς φῶς ἐξελεύσεται· οὐκ ἔχει σκότος, οὐκ ἔχει ἀποκρυβὴν, οὐδεμίαν δέχεται παρατροπήν. Ἵνα γὰρ μὴ λέγῃ ἐκεῖνος, ὅτι κατεδικάσθη κάτω, τί αὐτῷ συνηγορεῖς; ἀνήγαγεν αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὸ ἄνω δικαστήριον, ἐπὶ τὸ βῆμα τὸ φοβερὸν, ἐπὶ τὸ κριτήριον τὸ ἀδέκαστον, ἐπὶ τὸν ἀπαραλόγιστον δικαστὴν, ἀνέμνησεν αὐτὸν ἐκείνου τοῦ φοβεροῦ κριτηρίου. Ἐκεῖ βλέπε, φησὶ, καὶ οὐκ οἴσεις τὴν καταδικάζουσαν ψῆφον, οὐδὲ στήσῃ μετὰ τῶν κάτω ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλὰ θαυμάσεις, καὶ ἀποδέξῃ τὴν ἄνωθεν κρίσιν. Οὐδὲ φοβῇ, φησὶ, τὸν Θεὸν σύ; Εἶδες φιλοσοφίαν λῃστοῦ, εἶδες σύνεσιν, εἶδες διδασκαλίαν; ἀθρόον ἀπὸ τοῦ σταυροῦ πρὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀνέπτη. Καὶ ὅρα αὐτὸν ἀποστολικὸν νόμον ἤδη πληροῦντα, καὶ οὐ τὰ ἑαυτοῦ μόνον σκοποῦντα, ἀλλὰ πάντα ποιοῦντα καὶ πραγματευόμενον, ὥστε καὶ ἐκεῖνον τῆς πλάνης ἀπαλλάξαι, καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐπαναγαγεῖν. Εἰπὼν γὰρ, Οὐδὲ φοβῇ τὸν Θεὸν σὺ, ἐπήγαγεν, Ὅτι ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ κρίματί ἐσμεν. Σκόπει ἐξομολόγησιν ἀπηρτισμένην. Τί ἐστιν, Ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ κρίματί ἐσμεν; Ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ, φησὶ, κολάσει· καὶ ἡμεῖς γὰρ ἐν σταυρῷ ἐσμεν. Ἐκεῖνον τοίνυν ὀνειδίζων, σαυτὸν πρὸ ἐκείνου βάλλεις ταῖς λοιδορίαις. Ὥσπερ οὖν ὁ ἐν ἁμαρτήμασιν ὢν, καὶ ἕτερον καταδικάζων, ἑαυτὸν πρὸ ἐκείνου καταδικάζει· οὕτω καὶ ὁ ἐν συμφορᾷ ὢν, καὶ ὀνειδίζων ἑτέρου συμφορὰν, ἑαυτὸν πρὸ ἐκείνου ὀνειδίζει. Ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ κρίματι, φησὶν, ἐσμέν. Ἀποστολικὸν αὐτῷ νόμον ἀναγινώσκει, εὐαγγελικὰ ῥήματα λέγοντα· Μὴ κρίνετε, ἵνα μὴ κριθῆτε. Ὅτι ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ κρίματί ἐσμεν. Τί ποιεῖς, ὦ λῃστά; κοινωνὸν ὑμῶν αὐτὸν ποιεῖς λέγων, Ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ κρίματί ἐσμεν; Οὐχὶ, φησίν· ἐπάγω τὴν διόρθωσιν διὰ τῶν ἑξῆς· Καὶ ἡμεῖς μὲν, φησὶ, δικαίως· ἄξια γὰρ ὧν ἐποιήσαμεν ἀπολαμβάνομεν. Ἵνα γὰρ μὴ ἀκούσας ὅτι εἶπεν, Ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ κρίματί ἐσμεν, νομίσῃς ὅτι κοινωνὸν αὐτὸν τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἐποίησε, διὰ τοῦτο ἐπήγαγε τὴν διόρθωσιν, καί φησιν· Ἡμεῖς μὲν δικαίως· ἄξια γὰρ ὧν ἐποιήσαμεν ἀπολαμβάνομεν. Εἶδες ἐξομολόγησιν τελείαν ἐν σταυρῷ; εἶδες πῶς ἀπενίψατο διὰ τῶν ῥημάτων τὰ ἁμαρτήματα; εἶδες πῶς ἐπλήρωσεν ἐκεῖνο τὸ προφητικὸν παράγγελμα· Λέγε σὺ τὰς ἀνομίας σου πρῶτος, ἵνα δικαιωθῇς; Οὐδεὶς αὐτὸν ἠνάγκασεν, οὐδεὶς κατηγόρησεν, οὐδεὶς ἐπέθετο· αὐτὸς ἑαυτοῦ κατήγορος γίνεται· διὰ τοῦτο οὐδένα λοιπὸν εἶχεν ἕτερον κατήγορον. Προλαβὼν γὰρ ἥρπασε τὴν τάξιν τοῦ κατηγόρου, καὶ ἑαυτὸν ἐστηλίτευσε λέγων· Ἡμεῖς δικαίως· ἄξια γὰρ ὧν ἐπράξαμεν ἀπολαμβάνομεν· οὗτος δὲ οὐδὲν ἄτοπον ἔπραξεν. Εἶδες εὐλάβειαν ἐπιτεταμένην; Ὅτε δὴ κατηγόρησεν ἑαυτοῦ, ὅτε ἐξεπόμπευσε τὰ καθ' ἑαυτὸν, ὅτε ἀπελογήσατο ὑπὲρ τοῦ ∆εσπότου εἰπὼν, ὅτι Ἡμεῖς μὲν δικαίως, οὗτος δὲ οὐδὲν ἄτοπον ἔπραξε· τότε καὶ τὴν ἱκε49.413 σίαν προσαγαγεῖν ἐθάῤῥησε, λέγων· Μνήσθητί μου, Κύριε, ὅταν ἔλθῃς ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ σου. Οὐκ ἐτόλμησε πρότερον εἰπεῖν, Μνήσθητί μου, ἕως ὅτε διὰ τῆς ἐξομολογήσεως ἐκάθηρεν ἑαυτὸν τοῦ ῥύπου τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων, ἕως ὅτε καταδικάσας ἑαυτὸν ἀνεύθυνον εἰργάσατο, ἕως ὅτε διὰ τῆς κατηγορίας ἀπέθετο τὰ πλημμελήματα. Ὁρᾷς πόσον ἰσχύει ἐξομολόγησις καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ σταυρῷ; Ταῦτα ἀκούων, ἀγαπητὲ, μηδέποτε ἀπογνῷς σαυτοῦ, ἀλλ' ἐννοῶν τὸ ἄφατον μέγεθος τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίας, ἐπείγου πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἡμαρτημένων διόρθωσιν. Εἰ γὰρ ἐν σταυρῷ ὄντα τὸν λῃστὴν τοσαύτης ἠξίωσε τῆς φιλοτιμίας, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἡμᾶς τῆς οἰκείας ἀξιώσει φιλανθρωπίας, εἰ βουληθείημεν τῶν πεπλημμελημένων τὴν ἐξομολόγησιν ποιήσασθαι. Ἵνα τοίνυν καὶ ἡμεῖς τῆς παρ' αὐτοῦ φιλανθρωπίας ἀπολαύσωμεν, ἐξομολογεῖσθαι τὰ ἑαυτῶν ἁμαρτήματα μὴ ἐπαισχυνώμεθα· μεγάλη γὰρ τῆς ἐξομολογήσεως ἡ ἰσχὺς, καὶ πολλὴ ταύτης ἡ δύναμις. Ἰδοὺ γὰρ καὶ οὗτος ἐξωμολογήσατο, καὶ τὸν παράδεισον εὗρεν ἀνεῳγμένον· ἐξωμολογήσατο, καὶ παῤῥησίαν ἔλαβεν, ὁ ἐν λῃστείᾳ ὢν, βασιλείαν αἰτῆσαι. Μέχρις ἐκείνου τοῦ καιροῦ τὴν