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willing to go where he was sent, he cries out again: "Not my will, but your will." "For the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." 53.1 As one running the victory contest for his soul, first he crowned his sacred head with thorns, removing the whole ancient curse of the earth and by his divine head taming again the thorniness that abounded because of sin. 53.2 And having drunk the bitter and sharp gall of the dragon, he mixed for us in return the whole sweet springs from himself. 53.3 For wishing to undo the work of the female and to stop the death-bringing flow that had previously come from the side, he now opened his sacred side in himself, from which flowed the sacred blood and water, the perfect signs of the spiritual and mystical nuptials and of adoption and regeneration.

53.4 "For he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire," the water as "with the spirit," and the blood as "with fire." 54.1 Then indeed two robbers are stretched out with him, bearing in themselves the signs of two peoples, of whom the one, by a change of mind, is grateful and with confession makes his confession and is pious toward the Lord, but the other is moved, being stiff-necked, and is ungrateful toward the Lord and is not pious and delights in his old sins. 54.2 Then too these are two thoughts of the soul, of which the one is changed from his old sins and strips himself for the Lord, for which reason he is also deemed worthy of the philanthropy and honor that come from repentance, but the other is without excuse, because he is also unchangeable and is a robber to the end.

55.1 And when the worldly contest had its end and he had contended through everything from every side, victorious, being neither exalted as God nor conquered as man, he remained rooted on the boundary of all things, himself in himself leading a victory trophy in triumph against the enemy. 55.2 Then the whole universe was astounded at his persistent endurance; then the heavens were shaken, and the principalities were moved, the super-celestial thrones and laws, seeing the commander-in-chief of the great power hanging; and the stars of heaven would have nearly fallen, seeing the one before the morning star being stretched out; and the fire of the sun was almost extinguished, seeing the great light of the world being dimmed; then the rocks of the earth were split, crying out against the ingratitude of Israel that: You did not know the spiritual rock, from which you drank when you followed; and the veil of the temple was torn, suffering with and revealing the truly heavenly high priest; and the whole world would have nearly been thrown into confusion and dissolved by the fear of the passion, if the great Jesus had not breathed forth the divine spirit, saying: "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." 55.3 For as all things were being shaken and quaking with a fearful earthquake, and all things were being moved, when the divine spirit ascended again, the whole universe, being in a <certain> way ensouled and made alive and established, stood firm again.

56.1 O the divine extension that is in all things and everywhere, O the crucifixion that is stretched out through all things. O you who alone of all are truly whole through all things, let the heavens have your spirit, and paradise your soul; "Today," he says, "I will be with you in paradise," and the earth your body. The indivisible is divided, so that all things may be saved, so that not even the place below might be uninitiated into the divine visitation; "We have not seen his form, but we have heard his voice." He loosed, therefore, even during his life the bonds of death, using kingly authority, so that: "Lazarus, come forth," and: "Maiden, arise," so that his authoritative power might also be revealed; for which reason also he himself whole

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βουλόμενος εἰς ἣν ἀπεστάλη, βοᾷ πάλιν· "Μὴ τὸ θέλημά μου, ἀλλὰ τὸ θέλημά σου". "Τὸ μὲν γὰρ πνεῦμα πρόθυμον, ἡ δὲ σὰρξ ἀσθενής". 53.1 Οἷα δὴ τὸν ὑπὲρ ψυχῆς τρέχων ἀγῶνα τὸν ἐπινίκιον, πρῶτον μὲν τὴν ἱερὰν κεφαλὴν ἀκάνθαις ἐστεφανώσατο, ὅλην τὴν παλαῖαν κατάραν τῆς γῆς ἀνελὼν καὶ τὸ δι' ἁμαρτίαν ἀκανθῶδες πλεονάσαν τῇ θείᾳ κεφαλῇ πάλιν ἐξημερῶν. 53.2 Τὴν δὲ πικρὰν καὶ ὀξεῖαν τοῦ δράκοντος χολὴν ἐκπιών, ὅλας ἡμῖν τὰς ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ γλυκεῖας ἀντεκέρασε πηγάς. 53.3 Τὸ γὰρ ἔργον τῆς θηλείας λῦσαι θελήσας καὶ τὴν ἐκ πλευρᾶς πρότερον ῥεύσασαν ἐπισχεῖν θανατηφόρον, ἤδη τὴν ἱερὰν αὐτοῦ ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἐστόμωσε πλευράν, ἐξ ἧς τὸ ἱερὸν ἔρρευσεν αἷμα καὶ ὕδωρ, τὰ τέλεια τῶν πνευματικῶν γάμων τῶν μυστικῶν καὶ υἱοθεσίας καὶ παλιγγενεσίας τὰ σημεῖα.

53.4 "Αὐτὸς γὰρ ὑμᾶς βαπτίσει ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ καὶ πυρί", τὸ μὲν ὕδωρ ὡς

"ἐν πνεύματι", τὸ δὲ αἷμα ὡς "ἐν πυρί". 54.1 Τότε δὴ συνεκτείνονται αὐτῷ δύο λῃσταί, εἰς δὲ δύο λαοὺς φέροντες ἐν

ἑαυτοῖς τὰ σημεῖα, ὧν ὁ μὲν εἷς ἐκ μεταβολῆς εὐγνωμονεῖ καὶ μετὰ ὁμολογίας ἐξομολογεῖται καὶ πρὸς τὸν δεσπότην εὐσεβεῖ, ὁ δὲ ἕτερος κινεῖται σκλη ροτράχηλος ὢν καὶ ἀγνωμονεῖ πρὸς τὸν δεσπότην καὶ οὐκ εὐσεβεῖ καὶ τοῖς παλαιοῖς ἁμαρτήμασιν ἐμφιλοχωρεῖ. 54.2 Εἶτε καὶ οἱ δύο ψυχῆς εἰσιν οὗτοι λογισμοί, ὧν ὁ μὲν ἕτερος ἐν τοῖς παλαιοῖς ἁμαρτήμασι μεταβάλλεται καὶ πρὸς τὸν δεσπότην ἀποδύεται, διὸ καὶ τῆς ἐκ μετανοίας φιλανθρωπίας καὶ τιμῆς ἀξιοῦται, ὁ δὲ ἕτερος ἀναπολόγητος, ὅτι καὶ ἀμετάθετος καὶ μέχρι τέλους ἐστὶ λῃστής.

55.1 Ὡς δὲ τέλος εἶχεν ὁ κοσμικὸς ἀγὼν καὶ πάντα πανταχόθεν διήθλησε

νικήσας, μήτε ὡς Θεὸς ἐπαιρόμενος μήτε ὡς ἄνθρωπος νενικημένος, ἔμενεν ἐν μεθορίῳ ὅλων ἐρριζωμένος, τρόπαιον ἐπινίκιον αὐτὸς ἐν ἑαυτῷ κατὰ τοῦ ἐχθροῦ προπομπεύων καὶ θριαμβεύων. 55.2 Τότε τῆς ὑπο μονῆς ἐπιμόνης ἐθαμβώθη τὸ πᾶν· τότε οὐρανοὶ μὲν ἐσαλεύθησαν, ἀρχαὶ δὲ ἐκινήθησαν, ὑπερκόσμιοι θρόνοι καὶ νόμοι, τὸν ἀρχιστράτηγον τῆς μεγάλης δυνάμεως ὁρῶντες κρεμάμενον, μικροῦ δ' ἂν ἐξέπεσον καὶ οἱ ἀστέρες τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, τὸν πρὸ ἑωσφόρου βλέποντες ἁπλούμενον, ἐσβέσθη δὲ παρ' ὀλίγον καὶ τὸ τοῦ ἡλίου πῦρ, τὸ μέγα βλέπον τοῦ κόσμου φῶς ἀμαυρούμενον· τότε ἐσχίσ θησαν πέτραι τῆς γῆς, τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ἀγνωμοσύνην κατα βοῶσαι ὅτι· Μὴ ἔγνως τὴν πέτραν τὴν πνευματικήν, ἐξ ἧς ἀκολουθήσας ἔπινες, ἐρράγη δὲ τοῦ ναοῦ τὸ καταπέτασμα, συμπάσχον καὶ μηνύον τὸν οὐράνιον ἀληθῶς ἀρχιερέα, μικροῦ δ' ἂν ὅλος ὁ κόσμος συνεχύθη καὶ τῷ φόβῳ τοῦ πάθους συνελύθη, εἰ μὴ τὸ θεῖον πνεῦμα ἐνεφύσησεν ὁ μέγας Ἰησοῦς εἰπών· "Πάτερ, παρακα τατίθεμαι τὸ πνεῦμά μου εἰς τὰς χεῖράς σου". 55.3 Κλονουμένων γὰρ τῶν ὅλων καὶ δονουμένων σεισμῷ τῷ φόβῳ, πάντων τε σαλευομένων, πάλιν ἀναβαίνοντος τοῦ θείου πνεύματος, τρόπον <τινὰ> ψυχούμενον καὶ ζωοποιού μενον καὶ στηριζόμενον πάλιν ἔστη τὸ πᾶν.

56.1 Ὢ τῆς θείας ἐκτάσεως τῆς ἐν πᾶσι καὶ πανταχοῦ, ὢ τῆς διὰ πάντων

ἁπλουμένης σταυρώσεως. Ὦ μόνε μόνων ἀληθῶς δι' ὅλων ὅλε, ἐχέτωσάν σου τὸ πνεῦμα οὐρανοί, ὁ δὲ παράδεισος τὴν ψυχήν· "Σήμερον" γάρ φησιν "ἔσομαι μετὰ σοῦ ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ", τὸ δὲ σῶμα ἡ γῆ. Μεμέρισται ὁ ἀμερής, ἵνα τὰ πάντα σωθῇ, ἵνα μηδὲ ὁ κάτω τόπος τῆς θείας ἐπιδημίας ἀμύητος ᾖ· "Εἶδος μὲν αὐτοῦ οὐκ εἴδομεν, φωνὴν δὲ αὐτοῦ ἠκούσαμεν". Ἔλυσε μὲν οὖν καὶ παρὰ τὸν βίον τοὺς τοῦ θανάτου δεσμοὺς ἐξουσίᾳ χρώμενος βασιλικῇ, ὥς τε· "Λάζαρε δεῦρο ἔξω", καί· "Ἡ παῖς ἐγείρου", ἵνα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ ἐν δυνάμει ἐπιτακτικὸν δηλωθῇ· διὸ δὴ καὶ ὅλον ἑαυτὸν