of the world, sitting, as it were, tax us and hold us, lest something of theirs be in us. Therefore it is written: "The ruler of this world is coming, and he will find nothing in me." 23.145 What troubles, then, are we to have from those tax collectors who search all things, when a person himself is taken whole in place of a tax? But Jacob was not such a one; for, being confident, he says to the quasi-tax collector Laban: "Search if anything of yours is with me." And scripture indeed testifies concerning Jacob, saying: "And Laban found nothing with Jacob." 26.154 If you were holy, you are baptized "with the holy spirit," but if you were a sinner, you are baptized with this "fire"; for the same baptism becomes "fire" and judgment for the unworthy and evil who are baptized, but for those who descend well and for salvation, it becomes "holy spirit" and salvation. But this baptizer "in holy spirit and fire" is said to "have a winnowing fork in his hand and to clear the threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into the barn, but to burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." And I wish to see in what way my Lord Jesus has a "winnowing fork," and with what wind blowing, and a strong one at that—for in 26.155 a calm the winnowing fork is useless—the "chaff" is separated into its own place, but the "wheat," having overcome the wind, is carried down to the same place. And see, lest perhaps the temptations that separate "the chaff" are the wind that proves "the wheat," that it is wheat. Therefore, when your soul is tempted and you are defeated, the temptation has not made you "chaff," but it has convicted you of being "chaff," that is, light and unfaithful. But when a temptation occurs and you endure the temptation, the temptation has not made you faithful and patient, but has revealed the patient power that is in you. 27.157 He who teaches the word of the gospel does not preach one thing, but many; for the thing promised has the meaning that there are "many" things that he preaches; "Many other things" indeed John also "preached," but it is not written, 27.158 that, since it is likely they were of greater import than scripture, Luke was silent. This man unlawfully married the wife of his brother against the law of Moses. But the undaunted John, who shows partiality to no one, not fearing the royal authority, no less fulfilling prophetic boldness, rebuked Herod for the lawlessness of the marriage; for which reason he was also shut up "in prison," and while not concerned about death, he was concerned about Christ. 27.160 [that is] because of its gentleness and innocence, so that we too might imitate the gentleness and innocence of the dove and the flying with the mind above earthly things. 28.161 Our Lord Jesus Christ is given a genealogy, though he is without genealogy according to his divinity, but he cast himself into a genealogy for your sake. And he is given a genealogy not in the same way by the evangelists, which has troubled many who encounter the scripture. For Matthew, beginning from Abraham, brings his genealogy down, until he says: "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows." And Matthew does not give a genealogy of the one being baptized, but of the one coming into the world; but Luke, giving a genealogy, does not bring the genealogy down, but leads it up to God himself, of the one being baptized. And not through the same people 28.162 is the descent of the genealogy and the ascent. For the one bringing it down in his account brings him down also through sinful women, having recorded only the censurable ones, but the one giving the genealogy of the one being baptized does not name a woman in his genealogy: Tamar, who unlawfully came together with her father-in-law, Ruth the Moabitess, Rahab, whom we do not even know, and the wife of Uriah. For since he came to take the sins of men, and God "made him who knew no sin to be sin for us," for this reason, descending, he took on sinful persons and is born through Solomon, whose sins have been recorded, 28.163 and Rehoboam, whose failings are told in the books of Kings, and the rest, of whom many did "evil in the sight of the Lord." But this one, ascending, brings it up from the

κόσμου καθεζό μενοι οἱονεὶ τελωνοῦσι ἡμᾶς καὶ κατέχουσι, μή τι αὐτῶν ἐν ἡμῖν ἐστιν. ∆ιὸ γέγραπται· «ἔρχεται ὁ ἄρχων τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, καὶ ἐν ἐμοὶ εὑρήσει οὐδέν». 23.145 Ποῖα οὖν μέλλομεν πράγματα ἔχειν ὑπ' ἐκείνων τῶν τελωνῶν τῶν ἐρευνώντων τὰ πάντα, ὅταν τις αὐτὸς ὅλος λαμβάνηται ἀντὶ τέλους; Ἀλλ' οὐ τοιοῦτος ἦν Ἰακώβ· θαρ ρῶν γὰρ λέγει τῷ οἱονεὶ τελώνῃ Λα βάν· «Ἐπίγνωθι, εἴ τι τῶν σῶν ἐστι παρ' ἐμοί». Καὶ μαρτυρεῖ γε ἡ γραφὴ περὶ τοῦ Ἰακὼβ λέγουσα· «καὶ οὐκ ἐπέγνω Λαβὰν παρὰ τῷ Ἰακὼβ οὐδέν». 26.154 Ἐὰν ἅγιος ἦς, βαπτίζῃ «τῷ ἁγίῳ πνεύματι», ἐὰν δὲ ἁμαρτωλὸς ἦς, βαπτίζῃ τούτῳ «τῷ πυρί»· τὸ γὰρ αὐτὸ βάπτισμα τοῖς μὲν ἀναξίοις καὶ κακοῖς βαπτιζομένοις εἰς «πῦρ» καὶ εἰς κρίμα γίνεται, τοῖς δὲ καλῶς καὶ ἐπὶ σωτηρίᾳ κατα βαίνουσιν εἰς «πνεῦμα ἅγιον» καὶ σωτηρίαν γίνεται. Οὗτος δὲ ὁ βαπτιστὴς «ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ καὶ πυρὶ» λέγεται «πτύον ἔχειν ἐν τῇ χειρὶ καὶ διακαθαίρειν τὴν ἅλω να, καὶ τὸν μὲν σῖτον εἰς τὴν ἀποθή κην συνάγειν, τὸ δὲ ἄχυρον κατακαίειν πυρὶ ἀσβέστῳ». Καὶ βούλομαι ἰδεῖν, τίνα τρόπον ὁ κύριός μου Ἰησοῦς ἔχει «πτύον», καὶ τίνος ἀνέμου πνέ οντος, καὶ ταῦτα σφοδροῦ-ἐν γὰρ 26.155 νηνεμίᾳ ἄχρηστόν ἐστι τὸ πτύον- τὸ μὲν «ἄχυρον» χωρίζεται εἰς οἰ κεῖον τόπον, ὁ δὲ «σῖτος» νικήσας τὸν ἄνεμον καταφέρεται ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό. Καὶ ὅρα, μήποτε οἱ πειρασμοὶ οἱ «τὸ ἄχυρον» χωρίζοντες ὁ ἄνεμός ἐστιν ὁ ἀποδεικνὺς «τὸν σῖτον», ὅτι ἐστὶ σῖτος. Ὅταν μὲν οὖν πειραζομένης σου τῆς ψυχῆς ἡττηθῇς, οὐχ ὁ πειρασ μὸς «ἄχυρόν» σε πεποίηκεν, ἀλλ' ὄντα σε «ἄχυρον» ἤτοι κοῦφον καὶ ἄπιστον ἤλεγξεν. Ὅταν δὲ πειρασμοῦ γενομένου ὑπομείνῃς τὸν πειρασμόν, οὐχ ὁ πει ρασμός σε πιστὸν πεποίηκε καὶ ὑπο μονητικόν, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐν σοὶ οὖσαν ὑπομονητικὴν δύναμιν ἐφανέρωσεν. 27.157 Ὁ τὸν λόγον τοῦ εὐαγγελίου δι δάσκων οὐχ ἓν πρᾶγμα εὐαγγελίζε ται, ἀλλὰ πλείονα· νοῦν γὰρ ἔχει <τὸ> ἐπαγγελλόμενον, ὅτι «πολλά» ἐστιν ἃ εὐαγγελίζεται· «πολλὰ μὲν οὖν καὶ ἕτερα» καὶ ὁ Ἰωάννης «εὐηγγελί ζετο», ἀλλ' οὐ γέγραπται, 27.158 ὅτι, ἐπειδὴ εἰκὸς μείζονά τινα ἦν τῆς γραφῆς, ἐσιώπησεν ὁ Λουκᾶς. Οὗτος παρανόμως ἔγημε τὴν γυ ναῖκα τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ παρὰ τὸν Μωϋσέως νόμον. Ἀλλ' ὁ ἀκατάπληκτος Ἰωάννης ὁ μηδενὸς πρόσωπον λαμβάνων, οὐ φοβηθεὶς τὴν βασιλικὴν ἐξου σίαν, οὐδὲν ἧττον πληρῶν προφητι κὴν παρρησίαν, ἤλεγξε τὸν Ἡρώ δην ἐπὶ τῇ παρανομίᾳ τοῦ γάμου· διὸ καὶ κατεκλείσθη «εἰς φυλακήν», καὶ μὴ μεριμνῶν θάνατον ἐμερίμνα περὶ Χριστοῦ. 27.160 [ἤτοι] διὰ τὸ πρᾶον καὶ ἀκέραιον, ἵνα καὶ ἡμεῖς τὸ πρᾶον καὶ ἀκέραιον τῆς περιστερᾶς μιμησώμεθα καὶ τὸ πέτασθαι τῷ νῷ ὑπὲρ τὰ γήϊνα. 28.161 Γενεαλογεῖται ὁ κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, ἀγενεαλόγητος μὲν ὢν κατὰ τὴν θεότητα, εἰς γενεαλο γίαν δὲ ἐμβαλὼν ἑαυτὸν διὰ σέ. Καὶ γενεαλογεῖται δὲ οὐχ ὁμοίως ὑπὸ τῶν εὐαγγελιστῶν, ὅπερ ἐτάραξε πολλοὺς τῶν ἐντυγχανόντων τῇ γρα φῇ. Ματθαῖος μὲν γὰρ ἀρξάμενος ἀπὸ Ἀβραὰμ γενεαλογῶν αὐτὸν κατάγει, μέχρις εἴπῃ· «τοῦ δὲ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἡ γέννησις οὕτως ἦν». Καὶ ὁ μὲν Ματθαῖος οὐ τὸν βαπτιζόμενον γενεαλογεῖ, ἀλλὰ τὸν εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἐρχόμενον· Λουκᾶς δὲ γενεαλογῶν οὐ κατάγει τὴν γενεαλογίαν, ἀλλ' ἀνάγει ἐπ' αὐτὸν τὸν θεὸν τὸν βαπ τιζόμενον. Καὶ οὐ διὰ τῶν αὐτῶν 28.162 ἡ κατάβασις τῆς γενεαλογίας καὶ ἡ ἀνάβασις. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ καταβιβάζων τῷ λόγῳ καταβιβάζει αὐτὸν καὶ διὰ γυναικῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν, μόνας ἀνα γράψας τὰς ἐπιληψίμους, ὁ δὲ γε νεαλογῶν τὸν βαπτιζόμενον γυναῖκα οὐκ ὀνομάζει ἐν τῇ γενεαλογίᾳ αὐτοῦ· τὴν Θάμαρ, οὐ νομίμως τῷ πενθερῷ συνελθοῦσαν, τὴν Μωαβίτιδα Ῥούθ, τὴν Ῥαχάβ, ἣν οὐδὲ οἴδαμεν, καὶ τὴν τοῦ Οὐρίου. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἤρχετο λαβεῖν τὰς ἁμαρτίας τῶν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ «τὸν μὴ γνόντα ἁμαρτίαν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἁμαρ τίαν ἐποίει» ὁ θεός, διὰ τοῦτο κατα βαίνων ἀνέλαβε τὰ ἁμαρτωλὰ πρόσ ωπα καὶ γεννᾶται διὰ Σολομῶν τος, οὗ ἀναγέγραπται τὰ ἁμαρτή 28.163 ματα, καὶ Ῥοβοάμ, οὗ ἐν ταῖς Βα σιλείαις λέγεται τὰ πταίσματα, καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν, ὧν οἱ πολλοὶ ἐποίησαν «τὸ πονηρὸν ἐνώπιον κυρίου». Οὗτος δὲ ἀναβιβάζει ἀναβαίνων ἀπὸ τοῦ