John Chrysostom, On the Cross and the Thief II

the fear of the judge; so also then, when our nature is being judged and the penalties for our sins are demanded, even the angels who are conscious of no wrong in themselves, and the other powers, are afraid and tremble because of the threat of the judge. But this we have understood; but for what reason and why does he come holding the cross? Learn the reason for this too. For so that those who crucified him might learn their own senselessness through the deeds themselves, for this reason he shows them the very proof of their madness. And so that you may learn that for this reason he bears it, that he might rebuke them, hear again the evangelist himself saying: Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn, seeing their accuser, and recognizing their sin. And why do you wonder, if he comes bearing the cross? he comes bearing the very wounds with him. From where is it clear that he bears the very wounds with him? Hear the prophet saying: They shall look on him whom they have pierced. For just as he did in the case of Thomas, wishing to correct the unbelief of the disciple, and showed him the marks of the nails, and the very wounds, and says, Put your finger here, and bring your hand, and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, to show him that he had truly risen; so also then he bears the wounds and the cross, to show them that he is the one who was crucified. A great good, therefore, and salvific, and a clear proof of the philanthropy of God. 5. Rather, not only the cross, but also the very words on the cross show his 49.415 ineffable philanthropy. And hear these words. For with those who crucified him standing by and seething with anger, he says, Father, forgive them this sin; for they do not know what they are doing. Have you seen the Master’s philanthropy? being crucified, he prayed for those who were crucifying him; and yet they mocked and derided him, saying: If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. And yet for this reason he does not come down from the cross, because he is the Son of God; for for this reason he came, that he might be crucified for us. Let him come down, he says, from the cross, that we may see, and believe in him. See the words of shamelessness and the pretexts of unbelief. He did something greater than coming down from the cross, and they did not believe, and now they say: Come down from the cross, and we will believe you. For to raise a dead man, with the stone lying on the tomb, was much greater than coming down from the cross; to bring Lazarus, who had been dead four days and was wrapped in burial cloths, out of the tomb with these things, was much greater than coming down from the cross. Have you seen the words of folly? have you seen the excess of madness? but pay close attention, I beg you, that you may know the surpassing philanthropy of God, and how Christ uses their very folly as an occasion for forgiveness. Father, he says, forgive them their sin; for they know not what they do. For he almost makes this clear by what he says: They are foolish, and they are ignorant of what they are doing. And they were saying: If you are the Son of God, save yourself; but he was zealous to save those who were reproaching him and mocking and reviling him. Forgive them, he says, this sin; for they know not what they do. What then? did he forgive them their sin? He forgave those who wished to show repentance. And if he had not forgiven them their sin, Paul would not have become an apostle; if he had not forgiven them their sin, three thousand and five thousand would not have immediately, nor would the many myriads of Jews have believed later. For hear what James says to Paul in Jerusalem: You see, brother, how many myriads there are of Jews who have believed. Let us therefore imitate the Master, I beg you, and let us pray for our enemies. Which yesterday

φόβον τοῦ δικαστοῦ· οὕτω καὶ τότε, τῆς φύσεως τῆς ἡμετέρας κρινομένης καὶ τῶν πλημμελημάτων τὰς εὐθύνας ἀπαιτουμένης, καὶ οἱ μηδὲν συνειδότες ἑαυτοῖς ἄγγελοι, καὶ αἱ λοιπαὶ δυνάμεις δεδοίκασι καὶ τρέμουσι διὰ τὴν ἀπειλὴν τοῦ δικαστοῦ. Ἀλλὰ τοῦτο μὲν ἔγνωμεν· τίνος δὲ ἕνεκεν καὶ διὰ τί ἔχων τὸν σταυρὸν ἔρχεται; Μάνθανε καὶ τούτου τὴν αἰτίαν. Ἵνα γὰρ δι' αὐτῶν τῶν ἔργων μάθωσιν οἱ σταυρώσαντες τὴν οἰκείαν ἀγνωμοσύνην, διὰ τοῦτο αὐτὸν τὸν ἔλεγχον τῆς μανίας αὐτοῖς δείκνυσι. Καὶ ἵνα μάθῃς ὅτι διὰ τοῦτο αὐτὸν φέρει, ἵνα αὐτῶν καθάψηται, ἄκουε πάλιν αὐτοῦ τοῦ εὐαγγελιστοῦ λέγοντος· Τότε φανήσεται τὸ σημεῖον τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, καὶ κόψονται πᾶσαι αἱ φυλαὶ τῆς γῆς, βλέπουσαι τὸν κατήγορον, καὶ ἐπιγινώσκουσαι τὸ ἁμάρτημα. Καὶ τί θαυμάζεις, εἰ τὸν σταυρὸν φέρων ἔρχεται; αὐτὰ τὰ τραύματα μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ φέρων ἔρχεται. Πόθεν δῆλον, ὅτι αὐτὰ τὰ τραύματα φέρει μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ; Ἄκουε τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος· Ὄψονται εἰς ὃν ἐξεκέντησαν. Καθάπερ γὰρ ἐπὶ τοῦ Θωμᾶ ἐποίησε, βουλόμενος τὴν ἀπιστίαν διορθῶσαι τοῦ μαθητοῦ, καὶ ἔδειξεν αὐτῷ τοὺς τύπους τῶν ἥλων, καὶ αὐτὰ τὰ τραύματα, καὶ λέγει, Βάλε τὸν δάκτυλόν σου, καὶ φέρε τὴν χεῖρά σου, καὶ ἴδε, ὅτι πνεῦμα σάρκα καὶ ὀστέα οὐκ ἔχει, ἵνα δείξῃ αὐτῷ, ὅτι ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη· οὕτω καὶ τότε φέρει τὰ τραύματα καὶ τὸν σταυρὸν, ἵνα αὐτοῖς δείξῃ, ὅτι αὐτός ἐστιν ἐκεῖνος ὁ σταυρωθείς. Μέγα ἄρα ἀγαθὸν καὶ σωτήριον, καὶ τεκμήριον ἐναργὲς τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίας. εʹ. Μᾶλλον δὲ οὐχ ὁ σταυρὸς μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὰ τὰ ῥήματα τὰ ἐπὶ τοῦ σταυροῦ δείκνυσιν αὐτοῦ 49.415 τὴν ἄφατον φιλανθρωπίαν. Καὶ ἄκουε αὐτῶν τῶν ῥημάτων. Παρεστώτων γὰρ αὐτῶν τῶν σταυρωσάντων καὶ τῷ θυμῷ ζεόντων, Πάτερ, φησὶν, ἄφες αὐτοῖς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ταύτην· οὐ γὰρ οἴδασι τί ποιοῦσιν. Εἶδες φιλανθρωπίαν ∆εσπότου; σταυρούμενος, ὑπὲρ τῶν σταυρούντων παρεκάλει· καίτοι ἐκεῖνοι ἐχλεύαζον καὶ διέσυρον αὐτὸν λέγοντες· Εἰ Υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ Θεοῦ, κατάβηθι ἀπὸ τοῦ σταυροῦ. Καὶ μὴν διὰ τοῦτο οὐ καταβαίνει ἀπὸ τοῦ σταυροῦ, ἐπειδὴ Υἱός ἐστι τοῦ Θεοῦ· διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ ἦλθεν, ἵνα σταυρωθῇ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν. Καταβάτω, φησὶν, ἀπὸ τοῦ σταυροῦ, ἵνα ἴδωμεν, καὶ πιστεύσωμεν εἰς αὐτόν. Ὅρα ἀναισχυντίας ῥήματα καὶ προφάσεις ἀπιστίας. Τοῦ καταβῆναι ἀπὸ τοῦ σταυροῦ μεῖζον ἐποίησε, καὶ οὐκ ἐπίστευσαν, καὶ νῦν λέγουσι· Κατάβα ἀπὸ τοῦ σταυροῦ, καὶ πιστεύσομέν σοι. Τοῦ γὰρ καταβῆναι ἀπὸ τοῦ σταυροῦ πολὺ μεῖζον ἦν τὸ νεκρὸν ἀναστῆναι, τοῦ λίθου ἐπικειμένου τῷ τάφῳ· τοῦ καταβῆναι ἀπὸ τοῦ σταυροῦ πολὺ μεῖζον ἦν τετραήμερον ὄντα τὸν Λάζαρον κειρίαις ἐνειλημμένον, μετὰ τούτων ἐξαγαγεῖν ἐκ τοῦ μνημείου. Εἶδες ἀνοίας ῥήματα; εἶδες μανίας ὑπερβολήν; ἀλλὰ προσέχετε μετὰ ἀκριβείας, παρακαλῶ, ἵνα εἰδῆτε Θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίαν ὑπερβάλλουσαν, καὶ πῶς αὐτῇ τῇ ἀνοίᾳ αὐτῶν ἀφορμῇ κέχρηται εἰς συγγνώμην ὁ Χριστός. Πάτερ, φησὶν, ἄφες αὐτοῖς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν· οὐ γὰρ οἴδασι τί ποιοῦσι. Μονονουχὶ γὰρ τοῦτο δηλοῖ, δι' ὧν φησιν· Ἀνόητοί εἰσι, καὶ ἀγνοοῦσιν ὃ πράττουσι. Κἀκεῖνοι μὲν ἔλεγον· Εἰ Υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ Θεοῦ, σῶσον σεαυτόν· αὐτὸς δὲ ἐσπούδαζεν ὅπως ἐκείνους σώσῃ τοὺς ὀνειδίζοντας αὐτῷ καὶ κωμῳδοῦντας καὶ λοιδορουμένους. Ἄφες αὐτοῖς, φησὶ, τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ταύτην· οὐ γὰρ οἴδασι τί ποιοῦσι. Τί οὖν; ἀφῆκεν αὐτοῖς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν; Ἀφῆκε τοῖς βουλομένοις τὴν μετάνοιαν ἐπιδείξασθαι. Καὶ εἰ μὴ ἀφῆκεν αὐτοῖς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, οὐκ ἂν Παῦλος ἀπόστολος ἐγένετο· εἰ μὴ ἀφῆκεν αὐτοῖς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, οὐκ ἂν εὐθέως τρισχίλιοι καὶ πεντακισχίλιοι, οὐκ ἂν αἱ πολλαὶ μυριάδες τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἐπίστευσαν ὕστερον. Ἄκουσον γὰρ τί φησι πρὸς τὸν Παῦλον Ἰάκωβος ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις· Θεωρεῖς, ἀδελφὲ,πόσαι μυριάδες εἰσὶ τῶν πεπιστευκότων Ἰουδαίων. Μιμησώμεθα τοίνυν, παρακαλῶ, καὶ ἡμεῖς τὸν ∆εσπότην, καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐχθρῶν εὐχώμεθα. Ἅπερ χθὲς