he awaited an opinion and testimony about him; for if he had said: Whom do men say that I, the Son of God, am, the disciples' response would have been flattery, that you are the Son of God. 69 Mt 16, 25 17, 1 Having said, whoever loses his soul will find it, making the hearers more eager and hopeful, he adds: for the Son of Man is about to come in his glory; for even if now, seeing the voluntary emptying and the lowliness of the flesh, you can conceive nothing great about me, yet I myself am the one who will fulfill the promises; for, he says, the Son of Man is about to come in the glory of his Father, that is, showing the dignity of his divinity, yet not putting aside his humanity; for this reason he says, the Son of Man; for he will come with his assumed nature in the glory of his Father, that is, in his second coming. And then the things that were said will reach their end; for he will repay each one not according to some partiality or antipathy, nor departing from equal and just judgment through remission or a display of ambition, but to each according to his works, which, whatever they are, will draw such a reward; good things, a good one; but an evil one, for evil things. Then, confirming the things that were said, not far off, he says, will be your full assurance; for some of those now present with you will not have died before they see me revealing and manifesting the glory and dignity of my coming kingdom. which also after six days, foreshadowing and confirming that, he accomplished, being transfigured before Peter and John and James. Whoever loses, he says, his soul, will find it. Making us hopeful and steadfast, he adds: for the Son of Man is about to come in his glory; for if now you are able to conceive nothing great about me on account of the lowliness of the flesh, yet I myself am the one who is about to come with the angels in the glory of my Father. 70 Mt 17, 6 Since the apostles beheld the dignity of the divinity being revealed and hearkened to the precision of that fatherly voice and saw Moses and Elijah, men holding the first rank of human virtue, standing by in a servile manner, they ascended to a more perfect and divine conception concerning the Lord, that truly this is he who is to redeem Israel, this is he who is to come, this is the God of the fathers, the judge of the living and the dead. Since the apostles beheld the dignity of the divinity being revealed and heard the voice of the Father, and saw Moses and Elijah standing by in a servile manner, they were led up to a more perfect conception concerning the Savior, that truly this is he who is to redeem Israel and he who is to come, this is the God of our fathers, the judge of the living and the dead. 71 Mt 17, 9 12 Then, having fixed these things well in their heart, they all but say: behold, we see and are persuaded that you and no other are the coming God, our redeemer and judge, and your expected coming is at hand. How then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first? The Jews were saying this and spreading it about, trying to subvert the present coming of Christ on the grounds that Elijah had to come before it. But the apostles brought this up not as if they themselves were doubting; for on the contrary, they were exceedingly persuaded and had received great assurance and were fervent in their opinion because of what they had heard and seen. Therefore, coming down immediately from the mountain, they asked the question, making no delay in this. And they bring forward the argument of the scribes, not only that they themselves might be persuaded, having become viewers of the awesome and secret things, but also that for others, whenever they should wish to proclaim and reveal and teach these things, they might not have even the argument from the scribes brought forward in opposition. Therefore the Lord also, knowing their eagerness for the narration concerning the things they had seen, for the time being holds back, putting it off to the time after the resurrection
ἀνέμενε γνώμην καὶ μαρτυρίαν περὶ αὐτοῦ· εἰ γὰρ ἔλεγεν· τίνα με λέγουσιν οἱ ἄνθρωποι τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ, κολακείας ἂν ἦν ἡ τῶν μαθητῶν ἀπόκρισις, ὅτι σὺ εἶ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ. 69 Mt 16, 25 17, 1 Εἰπὼν ὃς δ' ἂν ἀπολέσῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ, εὑρήσει αὐτὴν προθυμοτέρους καὶ εὐέλπιδας ποιῶν τοὺς ἀκροατὰς ἐπάγει· μέλλει γὰρ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἔρχεσθαι ἐν τῇ δόξῃ αὐτοῦ· εἰ γὰρ καὶ νῦν τὴν ἑκούσιον κένωσιν καὶ τὸ ταπεινὸν τῆς σαρκὸς ὁρῶντες οὐδὲν μέγα δύνασθε διανοηθῆναι περὶ ἐμοῦ, ἀλλ' οὖν αὐτὸς ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ τὰ ἐπηγγελμένα πληρώσων· μέλλει γάρ, φησίν, ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἔρχεσθαι ἐν τῇ δόξῃ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ, τοῦτ' ἔστιν τὸ ἀξίωμα δεικνὺς τῆς θεότητος, οὐ μὴν ἀποτιθέμενος τὸ ἀνθρώπινον· διὰ τοῦτο γάρ φησιν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου· καὶ γὰρ μετὰ τοῦ προσλήμματος ἐλεύσεται ἐν τῇ δόξῃ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ ἤτοι ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ αὐτοῦ παρουσίᾳ. καὶ τότε ἔσται τὰ εἰρημένα πέρας λαμβάνοντα· ἀποδώσει γὰρ ἑκάστῳ οὐ κατά τινα προσπάθειαν ἢ ἀντιπάθειαν οὐδὲ καθ' ὕφεσιν ἢ φιλοτιμίας ἐπίδειξιν τῆς ἴσης γνώμης καὶ δικαίας ἀποκλινόμενος, ἀλλ' ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ, ἅτινα οἷάπερ ἐστίν, τοιαύτην καὶ τὴν ἀμοιβὴν ἐφελκύσει· ἀγαθὰ μέν, ἀγαθήν· φαύλην δέ, φαῦλα. εἶτα πιστούμενος τὰ εἰρημένα οὐ μακράν, φησίν, ἔσται ὑμῖν ἡ πληροφορία· καὶ γάρ τινες τῶν μεθ' ὑμῶν νυνὶ παρόντων οὔπω θανόντες ὄψονταί με παραγυμνοῦντα καὶ ἐμφανίζοντα τῆς μελλούσης βασιλείας μου τὴν δόξαν καὶ τὸ ἀξίωμα. ὃ καὶ μεθ' ἡμέρας ἓξ προοιμιαζόμενος καὶ πιστούμενος ἐκείνην ἐπετέλεσεν μεταμορφωθεὶς ἐνώπιον Πέτρου καὶ Ἰωάννου καὶ Ἰακώβου. Ὃς δ' ἂν ἀπολέσῃ, φησίν, τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ, εὑρήσει αὐτήν. εὐέλπιδας ἡμᾶς ποιῶν καὶ καρτερικοὺς ἐπάγει· μέλλει γὰρ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἔρχεσθαι ἐν τῇ δόξῃ αὐτοῦ· εἰ γὰρ νῦν οὐδὲν μέγα δύνασθε διανοηθῆναι περὶ ἐμοῦ διὰ τὴν τῆς σαρκὸς ταπείνωσιν, ἀλλ' οὖν αὐτὸς ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ μέλλων ἐλθεῖν μετὰ τῶν ἀγγέλων ἐν τῇ δόξῃ τοῦ πατρός μου. 70 Mt 17, 6 Ἐπειδὴ τῆς θεότητος οἱ ἀπόστολοι παραγυμνούμενον ἐθεάσαντο τὸ ἀξίωμα καὶ τῆς πατρικῆς ἐκείνης φωνῆς ἐνωτίσθησαν τὴν ἀκρίβειαν καὶ τὸν Μωυσῆν καὶ τὸν Ἠλίαν εἶδον ἄνδρας τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ἀρετῆς τὴν πρώτην τάξιν ἐπέχοντας δουλοπρεπῶς παρεστηκότας, ἀνῆλθον εἰς τελειοτέραν καὶ θειοτέραν ἔννοιαν τὴν περὶ τοῦ δεσπότου, ὡς ἄρα ἀληθῶς οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ μέλλων λυτροῦσθαι τὸν Ἰσραήλ , οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ μέλλων ἔρχεσθαι, οὗτος ὁ θεὸς τῶν πατέρων , ὁ κριτὴς ζώντων καὶ νεκρῶν . Ἐπειδὴ τὸ τῆς θεότητος ἀξίωμα παραγυμνούμενον ἐθεάσαντο οἱ ἀπόστολοι καὶ τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς φωνῆς ἤκουσαν, εἶδον δὲ τὸν Μωυσῆν καὶ τὸν Ἠλίαν δουλοπρεπῶς παρεστηκότας, εἰς τελειοτέραν ἀνήχθησαν ἔννοιαν περὶ τοῦ σωτῆρος καὶ ὡς ἄρα ἀληθῶς οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ μέλλων λυτροῦσθαι τὸν Ἰσραὴλ καὶ ὁ μέλλων ἔρχεσθαι, οὗτος ὁ θεὸς τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν , ὁ κριτὴς ζώντων καὶ νεκρῶν . 71 Mt 17, 9 12 Εἶτα καλῶς ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ ταῦτα πηξάμενοι μόνον οὐ λέγουσιν· ἰδοὺ ὁρῶμεν καὶ πεπείσμεθα, ὅτι σὺ εἶ καὶ οὐκ ἄλλος ὁ ἐρχόμενος θεὸς ἡμῶν καὶ λυτρωτὴς καὶ κριτὴς καὶ ἡ προσδοκωμένη παρουσία σου ἐνέστηκεν. πῶς οὖν λέγουσιν οἱ γραμματεῖς, ὅτι Ἠλίαν δεῖ ἐλθεῖν πρῶτον; ἔλεγον δὲ τοῦτο οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι καὶ περιέφερον ἀνατρέπειν πειρώμενοι τὴν ἐνεστῶσαν παρουσίαν τοῦ Χριστοῦ ὡς καὶ πρὸ ταύτης ὀφείλοντος ἐλθεῖν τοῦ Ἠλίου. οἱ δὲ ἀπόστολοι προήνεγκαν τοῦτο οὐχ ὡς αὐτοὶ διστάζοντες· τοὐναντίον γὰρ λίαν ἦσαν πεπεισμένοι καὶ πολλὴν εἰληφότες τὴν πληροφορίαν καὶ ἔνθερμοι τὴν γνώμην τοῖς ἠκουσμένοις καὶ ἑωραμένοις. διὸ καὶ καταβαίνοντες εὐθὺς ἀπὸ τοῦ ὄρους ἐποιήσαντο τὴν ἐρώτησιν οὐδεμίαν ἀναβολὴν ταύτης ποιησάμενοι· προσάγουσιν δὲ τῶν γραμματέων τὸν λόγον, ἵνα μὴ μόνον αὐτοὶ ὦσι πεπεισμένοι ἅτε γεγονότες θεαταὶ τῶν φρικτῶν καὶ ἀπορρήτων, ἀλλ' ἵνα καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐπειδὰν βούλωνται ταῦτα κηρύσσειν καὶ ἀποκαλύπτειν καὶ διδάσκειν μὴ ἔχωσιν μηδὲ τὸν παρὰ τῶν γραμματέων λόγον προφερόμενον ἀντιπίπτοντα. διὸ καὶ ὁ κύριος τὸ πρόθυμον αὐτῶν τῆς περὶ τὰ θεαθέντα διηγήσεως εἰδὼς τέως ἐπέχει εἰς τὸν μετὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν καιρὸν ἀνατιθεὶς