56 John 10:1-6 With a wonderful veil, by the parable, he conceals the things being revealed from those not worthy to know, leaving the knowledge for the worthy. But the power of the parable is to reveal the departure, made for good, from the legal and Judaic way of life to the perfection in faith and with Christ; for the sheep which are well led out by the shepherd, and recognizing his voice, and following him as he leads, are the people from Israel who leave the people remaining in fleshly pursuits and have followed the Lord as he goes out of the world, who understand that the things of Christ are truly divine and he leads from small things to greater, not from good to evil, which is the work not of a shepherd, but of a thief and a robber, that is, of an evil teacher and one who transfers from law to lawlessness, saying that the sheep do not follow him, he teaches those who are obedient to both God and the law not to follow lawless teachers. And by saying the shepherd calls his own sheep by name, he indicates the selection of the suitable ones according to what was said in the prophets: "but you, gather the sons of Israel one by one"; "for not all have faith," nor are all able, since they do not even want to leap away from their customary practices and to be freed from worldly passion and to live for the divine and supramundane discipline, to which also the Lord guides his own disciples, going before them. And the occasion for such a parable is most necessary at the present time, teaching about those going out from the synagogue of the Jews, because indeed they cast out the one "blind from birth" who had regained his sight on account of his testimony about Christ. And for him this was not so much an evil, but the greatest good. because they did not understand his voice, the cause of his recovery of sight. And the gatekeeper who opens for the shepherd and opens a fitting entrance is the guardian angel of Israel, who gladly receives the coming of the king and hands over to the greater oversight those administered by himself according to the measure of the domestic stewardship; for, he says, we were "under stewards" and "guardians". 57 John 10:6 And clearly he now called the parable a proverb.

58 John 10:8-10 The Lord entered through the fulfillment of the law, being himself in a certain way also the law; for in the living and true Word the legal is also contained. and he led out to pasture and life-giving nourishment those who followed, because he feeds them by the power of the life-giving Spirit, no longer needing legal precepts, but being led by doctrines according to reason; for, he says, "having abolished the law of commandments in ordinances"; and the law was given, being unable to give life, but the word of Christ gives life unto eternal things from temporary goods, and not only life, but also bestowing the kingdom in life, which is the abundant thing. Who then would be the thieves and robbers who came before the Lord and were not heard by the sheep? Who else but those who, having taught the law, fell away through the transfer to the gentile way of life, those who lead to alienation from God and bring on the destruction that comes through alienation. Most necessarily, therefore, the Lord shows the difference between himself and those who transfer away from the law, which the apostle also, observing, points out, saying: "For I through the law died to the law, that I might live to God," that is, I was not separated from the law through lawlessness, so that I should be brought down to death, but through the truly lawful and divine way of life, which leads to eternal life; for since false and not good shepherds have been set over, shepherds for the hire of ephemeral pleasure, for whom the sheep were of no concern, but they hunted their own pleasure, fleeing to this when the wolf comes upon the sheep, that is, of the destruction that accompanies evil, the

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56 Jο 10, 1-6 Θαυμασίῳ προκαλύμματι τῇ παραβολῇ σκέπει τὰ δηλούμενα πρὸς τοὺς οὐκ ἀξίους ἐπιγινώσκειν τοῖς ἀξίοις καταλιπὼν τὴν ἐπίγνωσιν. δύναμις δὲ τῆς παραβολῆς δηλῶσαι τὴν ἐπ' ἀγαθῷ γινομένην ἀναχώρησιν ἀπὸ τῆς νομικῆς καὶ Ἰουδαϊκῆς ἀγωγῆς ἐπὶ τὴν ἐν πίστει καὶ παρὰ Χριστῷ τελείωσιν· πρόβατα γὰρ τὰ καλῶς ὑπὸ τοῦ ποιμένος ἐξαγόμενα καὶ τὴν φωνὴν γνωρίζοντα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀκολουθοῦντα καθηγουμένῳ οἱ ἐκ τοῦ Ἰσραήλ εἰσιν ἄνθρωποι οἱ τὸν ἐναπομένοντα τοῖς σωματικοῖς ἐπιτηδεύμασι λαὸν ἀφιέντες καὶ τῷ κυρίῳ συνα κολουθήσαντες ἐξιόντι τοῦ κόσμου, οἱ συνιέντες, ὅτι θεῖα ὄντως τὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ ἀπὸ μικρῶν ἐπὶ τὰ μείζω προάγει οὐκ ἐξ ἀγαθῶν εἰς κακά, ὅπερ οὐ ποι μένος, ἀλλὰ κλέπτου καὶ λῃστοῦ, τοῦτ' ἔστι πονηροῦ διδασκάλου καὶ πρὸς ἀνομίαν ἀπὸ νόμου μετατιθέντος, ᾧ μὴ συνακολουθεῖν τὰ πρόβατα λέγων διδάσκει μὴ ἕπεσθαι τοῖς παρανόμοις διδασκάλοις τοὺς ὑπηκόους θεοῦ τε καὶ νόμου. λέγων καὶ κατ' ὄνομα φωνεῖ τὰ ἴδια πρόβατα ὁ ποιμὴν ἐκλογὴν δηλοῖ τὴν τῶν ἐπιτηδείων κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον ἐν προφήταις· "ὑμεῖς δὲ συναγάγετε υἱοὺς Ἰσραὴλ κατὰ ἕνα καὶ ἕνα" · "οὐ γὰρ πάντων ἡ πίστις" οὐδὲ πάντες δύναν ται, ἐπειδὴ μηδὲ βούλονται τῶν συνήθων ἀποπηδῆσαι μελετημάτων καὶ τῆς κοσμικῆς ἐλευθερωθῆναι προσπαθείας καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν θείαν μὲν ἄσκησιν ζῆν καὶ ὑπερκόσμιον, πρὸς ἣν καὶ ὁ κύριος τοὺς ἑαυτοῦ καθοδηγεῖ μαθητὰς ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῶν πορευόμενος. καιρὸς δὲ ὁ τῆς τοιαύτης παραβολῆς ἀναγ καιότατος ὁ παρὼν διδασκούσης περὶ τῶν ἐξιόντων ἀπὸ συναγωγῆς Ἰουδαίων, ὅτι δὴ τὸν "ἐκ γενετῆς τυφλὸν" ἀναβλέψαντα διὰ τὴν περὶ Χριστοῦ μαρτυρίαν ἐξέωσαν ἐκεῖνοι. τῷ δὲ ἦν οὐχ οὕτω κακόν, ἀλλὰ μέγιστον ἀγαθόν. διότι οὐ συνῆκαν αὐτοῦ τὴν φωνὴν τὴν τῆς ἀναβλέψεως αἰτίαν. ὁ δὲ ἀνοίγων τῷ ποιμένι θυρωρὸς καὶ τὴν εἴσοδον ἀνοίγων εὐπρεπῆ ὁ τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ἐπιστάτης ἐστὶν ἄγγελος ὁ τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως παρουσίαν ἀσμένως δεχόμενος καὶ τῇ μείζονι παραδιδοὺς ἐπιστασίᾳ τοὺς οἰκονομηθέντας ὑφ' ἑαυτοῦ κατὰ τὸ μέτρον τῆς οἰκετικῆς ἐπιτροπῆς· "ὑπ' οἰκονόμους" γάρ, φησίν, ἦμεν καὶ "ἐπιτρόπους" . 57 Jο 10,6 Παροιμίαν δὲ δηλονότι

νῦν τὴν παραβολὴν ἐκάλεσεν.58 Jο 10,8-10 Εἰσῆλθεν ὁ κύριος διὰ νόμου πληρώσεως αὐτὸς ὢν τρόπον τινὰ καὶ ὁ νόμος· ἐν γὰρ τῷ ζῶντι καὶ ἀληθινῷ λόγῳ καὶ ὁ νομικὸς περιέχεται. ἐξήγαγε δὲ ἐπὶ νομῇ καὶ τροφῇ ζωοποιῷ τοὺς ἀκολουθήσαντας, ὅτι τῇ δυνάμει τοῦ πνεύματος αὐτοὺς τρέφει τοῦ ζωοποιοῦ οὐκέτι δεομένους νομικῶν παραγγελ μάτων, ἀλλὰ τοῖς κατὰ λόγον δόγμασιν ἀγομένους· "τὸν νόμον" γάρ, φησίν, "τῶν ἐντολῶν ἐν δόγμασιν καταργήσας" · καὶ νόμος μὲν ἐδόθη μὴ δυνάμενος ζωοποιεῖν, ζωὴν δὲ ὁ Χριστοῦ δίδωσι λόγος ἐπὶ τὰ αἰώνια ἀπὸ τῶν προσ καίρων καλῶν καὶ οὐ ζωὴν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἐν ζωῇ βασιλείαν ἐπιχωρηγῶν, ὅπερ ἐστὶ τὸ περισσόν. τίνες οὖν ἂν εἶεν οἱ κλέπται καὶ λῃσταὶ οἱ πρὸ τοῦ κυρίου παραγενόμενοι καὶ οὐκ ἀκουσθέντες ὑπὸ τῶν προβάτων; τίνες δὲ ἄλλοι ἢ οἱ νόμον διδάξαντες ἀπέστησαν διὰ τῆς ἐπὶ τὸν ἐθνικὸν βίον μετα θέσεως, οἱ πρὸς ἀλλοτρίωσιν ἐνάγοντες θεοῦ καὶ τὸν διὰ τῆς ἀλλοτριώσεως ὄλεθρον ἐπιφέροντες. ἀναγκαιότατα τοίνυν ὁ κύριος διαφορὰν ἐπιδείκνυσι πρὸς ἑαυτὸν τῶν ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου μετατιθέντων, ὅπερ φυλάσσων καὶ ὁ ἀπόστολος ἐπισημαίνεται λέγων· " ἐγὼ γὰρ διὰ νόμου νόμῳ ἀπέθανον ἵνα θεῷ ζήσω", τοῦτ' ἔστιν οὐ δι' ἀνομίας ἐχωρίσθη νόμος, ἵνα εἰς θάνατον κατενεχθῶ, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς ὄντως νομίμου καὶ θείας πολιτείας, ἣ πρὸς τὴν αἰώνιον ἄγει ζωήν· ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ψευδεῖς καὶ οὐκ ἀγαθοὶ ποιμένες ἐφεστήκασιν οἱ μισθοῦ τῆς ἐφη μερίας ἡδονῆς ποιμένες, οἷς οὐκ ἔμελεν τῶν προβάτων, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἰδίαν ἐθήρευον ἡδονὴν ἐπὶ ταύτην φεύγοντες ἐπιόντος τοῦ λύκου τοῖς προβάτοις, τοῦτ' ἔστι τοῦ ὀλέθρου τοῦ τῇ κακίᾳ συνακολουθοῦντος, ὁ

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