John Chrysostom, On Matthew

having crowned ourselves, we may attain the good things to come, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

57.31 HOMILY III. The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

1. Behold, a third discourse, and we have not yet resolved the things in the introduction. Not in vain, then, was I saying that the nature of these thoughts has much depth. Come now, let us speak today of what remains. What then is the question now? For what reason is Joseph's genealogy given, though he contributed nothing to the birth. And we have already stated one reason; but it is necessary to state the other also, which is more mystical and secret than that one. What then is this? He did not wish it to be evident to the Jews at the time of the birth-pangs that Christ was born of a Virgin. But be not disturbed at the paradoxical nature of what is said. For the saying is not mine, but of our Fathers, admirable and illustrious men. For if He veiled many things from the beginning, calling Himself Son of man, and did not everywhere clearly reveal to us His equality with the Father; why do you marvel if He also veiled this for a time, 57.32 arranging something admirable and great? And what is admirable? he says. That the Virgin should be preserved, and be delivered from evil suspicion. For if this had been made manifest to the Jews from the beginning, they would have stoned the Virgin, treating the report as a crime, and they would have judged her for adultery. For if concerning the other things, of which they often had examples in the Old Testament, they were openly shameless (for indeed because He cast out demons, they called Him demon-possessed, and because He healed on the Sabbath, they considered Him to be an adversary of God, although the Sabbath had often been broken before), what would they not have said had this been told? For they had all the time before this on their side, which had never produced any such thing. For if after so many signs they still called him the son of Joseph, how could they have believed before the signs that He was of a Virgin? For this reason indeed is his genealogy given, and the Virgin is betrothed. For whereas Joseph, being a just and admirable man, needed many things to accept what had 57.33 happened, both an angel, and the vision in a dream, and the testimony from the prophets, how would the Jews, being both stubborn and corrupt, and so hostilely disposed toward him, have accepted this notion? For the strange and new thing was sure to disturb them greatly, and the fact that no such thing had ever happened to their forefathers, nor been accepted by hearsay. For he who was once persuaded that He is the Son of God would have no further reason to dispute about this; but he who thought Him a deceiver and an adversary of God, how would he not have been even more scandalized by this, and led to that suspicion? For this reason not even the apostles say this immediately at the beginning; but concerning the resurrection they discourse much and often, since there were examples of this in former times, even if not such as this; but that He was born of a Virgin, they do not say continuously; but not even his mother herself dared to utter this. See, at least, what the Virgin says to him: Behold, I and your father were seeking you. For if this had been suspected, He would not have been considered the son of David any longer; and if this were not believed, many other evils would have been brought forth. For this reason not even the angels say these things, but to Mary alone and to Joseph; but to the shepherds, when they announced the good news of what had happened, they did not add this. But for what reason, having mentioned Abraham, and having said He begot Isaac, and Isaac, Jacob, and not having mentioned his brother, when it comes to Jacob

ἀναδησάμενοι, τῶν μελλόντων ἐπιτύχωμεν ἀγαθῶν, χάριτι καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ᾧ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

57.31 ΟΜΙΛΙΑ Γʹ. Βίβλος γενέσεως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, υἱοῦ ∆αυῒδ, υἱοῦ Ἀβραάμ.

αʹ. Ἰδοὺ τρίτη διάλεξις, καὶ τὰ ἐν προοιμίοις οὐδέπω διελυσάμεθα. Οὐκ ἄρα

μάτην ἔλεγον, ὅτι πολὺ τὸ βάθος ἔχει τῶν νοημάτων τούτων ἡ φύσις. Φέρε δὴ τὰ λειπόμενα σήμερον εἴπωμεν. Τί ποτ' οὖν ἐστι τὸ ζητούμενον νῦν; Τίνος ἕνεκεν ὁ Ἰωσὴφ γενεαλογεῖται, οὐδὲν πρὸς τὴν γέννησιν συντελῶν. Καὶ μίαν μὲν αἰτίαν εἰρήκαμεν ἤδη· ἀναγκαῖον δὲ καὶ τὴν ἑτέραν εἰπεῖν, τὴν μυστικωτέραν καὶ ἀποῤῥητοτέραν ἐκείνης. Τίς οὖν ἐστιν αὕτη; Οὐκ ἐβούλετο τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις εἶναι δῆλον παρὰ τὸν τῶν ὠδίνων καιρὸν, ὅτι ἐκ Παρθένου γεγέννηται ὁ Χριστός. Ἀλλὰ μὴ θορυβεῖσθε πρὸς τὸ παράδοξον τοῦ λεγομένου. Οὐ γὰρ ἐμὸς ὁ λόγος, ἀλλὰ Πατέρων ἡμετέρων, θαυμαστῶν καὶ ἐπισήμων ἀνδρῶν. Εἰ γὰρ πολλὰ συνεσκίασεν ἐξ ἀρχῆς, Υἱὸν ἀνθρώπου καλῶν ἑαυτὸν, καὶ οὐδὲ τὴν πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα ἰσότητα πανταχοῦ σαφῶς ἡμῖν ἐξεκάλυψε· τί θαυμάζεις, εἰ καὶ τοῦτο συνεσκίασε τέως, 57.32 θαυμαστόν τι καὶ μέγα οἰκονομῶν; Καὶ ποῖον θαυμαστόν; φησί. Τὸ διασωθῆναι τὴν Παρθένον, καὶ ὑποψίας ἀπαλλαγῆναι πονηρᾶς. Εἰ γὰρ τοῦτο ἐξ ἀρχῆς τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις γέγονε κατάδηλον, κἂν κατέλευσαν τὴν Παρθένον κακουργοῦντες τῷ λεγομένῳ, καὶ μοιχείας αὐτὴν ἔκριναν ἄν. Εἰ γὰρ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἄλλων, ὧν πολλάκις καὶ ὑποδείγματα εἶχον ἐν τῇ Παλαιᾷ, φανερῶς ἠναισχύντουν (καὶ γὰρ ἐπειδὴ δαίμονας ἐξέβαλε, δαιμονῶντα ἐκάλουν, καὶ ἐπειδὴ ἐν Σαββάτῳ ἐθεράπευσεν, ἀντίθεον εἶναι ἐνόμιζον, καίτοιγε πολλάκις καὶ πρότερον ἐλύθη τὸ Σάββατον), τί οὐκ ἂν εἶπον τούτου λεχθέντος; Καὶ γὰρ εἶχον πάντα τὸν πρὸ τούτου συναγωνιζόμενον αὐτοῖς καιρὸν, οὐδέποτέ τι τοιοῦτον ἐνεγκόντα. Εἰ γὰρ μετὰ τοσαῦτα σημεῖα ἔτι αὐτὸν τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ ἐκάλουν υἱὸν, πῶς ἂν πρὸ τῶν σημείων ἐπίστευσαν, ὅτι ἐκ Παρθένου ἦν; ∆ιὰ δὴ τοῦτο καὶ γενεαλογεῖται, καὶ μνηστεύεται τὴν Παρθένον. Ὅπου γὰρ ὁ Ἰωσὴφ, καὶ δίκαιος ὢν καὶ θαυμαστὸς ἀνὴρ, πολλῶν ἐδεήθη ὥστε δέξασθαι τὸ γε 57.33 γενημένον, καὶ ἀγγέλου, καὶ τῆς δι' ὀνειράτων ὄψεως, καὶ τῆς ἀπὸ τῶν προφητῶν μαρτυρίας, πῶς ἂν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι, καὶ σκαιοὶ ὄντες καὶ διεφθαρμένοι, καὶ πολεμίως οὕτω πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔχοντες, ταύτην ἂν παρεδέξαντο τὴν ὑπόνοιαν; Σφόδρα γὰρ αὐτοὺς ἔμελλε θορυβεῖν τὸ ξένον καὶ καινὸν, καὶ τὸ μηδέποτέ τι τοιοῦτον μηδὲ ἀκοῇ παραδέξασθαι ἐπὶ τῶν προγόνων συμβεβηκός. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἅπαξ πεισθεὶς, ὅτι τοῦ Θεοῦ Υἱός ἐστιν, οὐδὲ περὶ τούτου λοιπὸν ἀμφισβητεῖν εἶχεν· ὁ δὲ καὶ πλάνον καὶ ἀντίθεον αὐτὸν εἶναι νομίζων, πῶς οὐκ ἂν ἀπὸ τούτου καὶ ἐσκανδαλίσθη μειζόνως, καὶ πρὸς ἐκείνην ὡδηγήθη τὴν ὑπόνοιαν; ∆ιὰ τοῦτο οὐδὲ οἱ ἀπόστολοι παρὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν εὐθέως τοῦτο λέγουσιν· ἀλλ' ὑπὲρ μὲν τῆς ἀναστάσεως πολλὰ διαλέγονται καὶ πολλάκις, ἐπειδὴ ταύτης ὑποδείγματα ἦν ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν χρόνοις, εἰ καὶ μὴ τοιαῦτα· ὅτι δὲ ἐκ Παρθένου γέγονεν, οὐ συνεχῶς λέγουσιν· ἀλλ' οὐδὲ αὐτὴ ἡ μήτηρ ἐξενεγκεῖν τοῦτο ἐτόλμησεν. Ὅρα γοῦν καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν τί φησιν ἡ Παρθένος· Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατήρ σου ἐζητοῦμέν σε. Εἰ γὰρ τοῦτο ὑπωπτεύθη, οὐδ' ἂν τοῦ ∆αυῒδ λοιπὸν ἐνομίσθη εἶναι υἱός· τούτου δὲ μὴ νομισθέντος, πολλὰ ἂν ἐτέχθη καὶ ἕτερα κακά. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο οὐδὲ οἱ ἄγγελοι ταῦτα λέγουσιν, ἀλλὰ τῇ Μαρίᾳ μόνῃ καὶ τῷ Ἰωσήφ· τοῖς δὲ ποιμέσιν εὐαγγελιζόμενοι τὸ γεγενημένον, οὐκέτι τοῦτο προσέθηκαν. Τίνος δὲ ἕνεκεν μνησθεὶς τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ, καὶ εἰπὼν Ἐγέννησε τὸν Ἰσαὰκ, καὶ ὁ Ἰσαὰκ τὸν Ἰακὼβκαὶ οὐ μνημονεύσας τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ, ὅτε εἰς τὸν Ἰακὼβ