John Chrysostom, On the Acts of the Apostles

He put in the sickle first. For he himself led up the firstfruits to heaven, having taken on what is ours. For this reason also he calls such a thing a harv 60.42 est. When the day of Pentecost was fully come, he says, that is, not before Pentecost, but around it, Pentecost so to speak. For it was necessary that these things happen again when it was a feast, so that those who were present at the cross of Christ might also see these things. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven. Why did this not happen without sensible proofs? Because if even when this happened they said, They are full of new wine, if this had not happened, what would they not have said? And the sound did not simply happen, but From heaven. And the suddenness also roused them. And it filled the whole house. He speaks of the great rush of the Spirit. See. He gathered them all there, so that both those 60.43 present might believe, and these might be shown worthy. And not only this, but bringing on what was much more awesome than this; And there appeared to them, he says, cloven tongues as of fire. It is well that "as" is added everywhere, so that you may not think anything sensible about the Spirit. As of fire, he says, and as of a rushing wind. It was not, then, simply a wind pouring into the air. For when the Spirit had to be made known to John, it came upon the head of Christ as in the form of a dove; but now when a whole multitude needed to be converted, as of fire. And it sat upon each one of them; that is, it remained, it rested; for to sit is significant of being settled and of remaining. What then? Did it come upon the twelve only, and not also upon the rest? By no means, but also upon the one hundred and twenty. For Peter would not have simply brought forward the testimony of the prophet, saying: And it shall be in the last days, says the Lord God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And consider: for that he might not only astonish, but also fill with grace, for this reason also with the Holy Spirit and with fire; for he adds, And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. They do not receive another sign, but this first; for it was strange, and there was no need of another sign. It sat, he says, upon each one of them. Therefore also upon the one who was left out. For this reason he is no longer grieved at not having been chosen, as was Matthias. And they were all filled, he says. They did not simply receive the grace of the Spirit, but they were filled. And began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. He would not have said, All, when apostles were there, if the others had not also partaken. Moreover, having mentioned them individually and by name above, he would not now have joined them in the same event. For if where it was possible to say that they were present, he mentions the apostles individually, much more so here. But consider for me, how, when they persevere in prayer, when they have love, then the Spirit comes. And he reminded them of another sight, saying, As of fire. For it appeared as fire also in the bush. As the Spirit gave them utterance. For what was said by them were utterances. Now there were, he says, dwelling in Jerusalem, devout Jewish men. The dwelling was a sign of devoutness. How? For being from so many nations, and having left their homelands, and houses, and relatives, they dwelt there. For there were, he says, dwelling in Jerusalem, devout Jewish men, from every nation under heaven. Now when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confounded. Since what happened happened in a house, it is likely they ran together from outside. The multitude was confounded. What is, The multitude was confounded? It was troubled, it was amazed. Then, showing that they were amazed, he adds, Because every man heard them speak in his own language. And the multitude came together, and said to one another: Behold, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? They immediately looked toward the apostles. 60.44 And how,

ἐπέβαλε τὸ δρέπανον πρότερος. Αὐτὸς γὰρ ἀνήγαγεν εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἀπαρχὴν, τὸ ἡμῶν προσλαβών. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ θερι 60.42 σμὸν τὸ τοιοῦτον καλεῖ. Ἐν τῷ συμπληροῦσθαι, φησὶ, τὴν ἡμέραν τῆς Πεντηκοστῆς, τουτέστιν, οὐ πρὸ τῆς Πεντηκοστῆς, ἀλλὰ περὶ αὐτὴν, ὡς εἰπεῖν, τὴν Πεντηκοστήν. Ἔδει γὰρ ἑορτῆς οὔσης πάλιν ταῦτα γίνεσθαι, ἵν' οἱ παρόντες τῷ σταυρῷ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, οὗτοι καὶ ταῦτα ἴδωσι. Καὶ ἐγένετο ἄφνω ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἦχος. ∆ιατί μὴ χωρὶς αἰσθητῶν ὑποδειγμάτων τοῦτο γέγονεν; Ὅτι εἰ καὶ τούτου γενομένου ἔλεγον, ὅτι Γλεύκους μεμεστωμένοι εἰσὶν, εἰ μὴ τοῦτο ἐγένετο, τί οὐκ ἂν εἶπον; Οὐχ ἁπλῶς δὲ ὁ ἦχος γέγονεν, ἀλλ' Ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ. Καὶ τὸ αἰφνίδιον δὲ διανέστησεν αὐτούς. Καὶ ἐπλήρωσεν ὅλον τὸν οἶκον. Πολλὴν τὴν ῥύμην λέγει τοῦ Πνεύματος. Ὅρα. Πάντας ἐκεῖ συνήγαγεν, ὥστε καὶ τοὺς 60.43 παρόντας πιστεῦσαι, καὶ τούτους ἀξίους δειχθῆναι. Καὶ οὐ τοῦτο μόνον, ἀλλὰ τὸ πολλῷ τούτου φρικωδέστερον ἐπάγων· Καὶ ὤφθησαν αὐτοῖς διαμεριζόμεναι γλῶσσαι ὡσεὶ πυρὸς, φησί. Καλῶς πανταχοῦ τὸ, Ὡς, πρόσκειται, ἵνα μηδὲν αἰσθητὸν περὶ τοῦ Πνεύματος νομίσῃς. Ὡσεὶ πυρὸς, φησὶ, καὶ ὡσεὶ πνοῆς. Οὐκ ἄρα ἄνεμος ἦν ἁπλῶς εἰς ἀέρα χεόμενος. Ὅτε μὲν γὰρ Ἰωάννῃ ἔδει γνωρισθῆναι τὸ Πνεῦμα, ὡς ἐν εἴδει περιστερᾶς ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἦλθε τοῦ Χριστοῦ· νῦν δὲ ὅτε πλῆθος ὅλον ἐπιστραφῆναι ἐχρῆν, ὡσεὶ πυρός. Καὶ ἐκάθισεν ἐφ' ἕνα ἕκαστον αὐτῶν· τουτέστι, παρέμεινεν, ἐπανεπαύσατο· τὸ γὰρ καθίσαι τοῦ ἑδραίου ἐστὶ σημαντικὸν καὶ τοῦ μεῖναι. Τί δαί; ἆρα ἐπὶ τοὺς δώδεκα μόνους ἦλθεν, οὐχὶ δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς λοιπούς; Οὐδαμῶς ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς ἑκατὸν εἴκοσιν. Οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἁπλῶς παρήγαγε τὴν μαρτυρίαν τοῦ προφήτου ὁ Πέτρος, λέγων· Καὶ ἔσται ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις, λέγει Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς, ἐκχεῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ Πνεύματός μου ἐπὶ πᾶσαν σάρκα· καὶ προφητεύσουσιν οἱ υἱοὶ ὑμῶν, καὶ αἱ θυγατέρες ὑμῶν, καὶ οἱ νεανίσκοι ὑμῶν ὁράσεις ὄψονται, καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι ὑμῶν ἐνύπνια ἐνυπνιασθήσονται. Καὶ σκόπει· ἵνα γὰρ μὴ ἐκπλήξῃ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ χάριτος πληρώσῃ, διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἐν Πνεύματι ἁγίῳ καὶ πυρί· ἐπάγει γὰρ, Καὶ ἐπλήσθησαν ἅπαντες ἁγίου Πνεύματος, καὶ ἤρξαντο λαλεῖν ἑτέραις γλώσσαις, καθὼς τὸ Πνεῦμα ἐδίδου αὐτοῖς ἀποφθέγγεσθαι. Οὐ λαμβάνουσιν ἕτερον σημεῖον, ἀλλὰ τοῦτο πρῶτον· ξένον γὰρ ἦν, καὶ οὐ χρεία ἦν ἑτέρου σημείου. Ἐκάθισε, φησὶν, ἐφ' ἕνα ἕκαστον αὐτῶν. Οὐκοῦν καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν καταλειφθέντα. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο οὐδὲ ἀλγεῖ λοιπὸν μὴ αἱρεθεὶς, ὡς ὁ Ματθίας. Καὶ ἐπλήσθησαν, φησὶν, ἅπαντες. Οὐχ ἁπλῶς ἔλαβον τοῦ Πνεύματος τὴν χάριν, ἀλλ' ἐπλήσθησαν. Καὶ ἤρξαντο λαλεῖν ἑτέραις γλώσσαις, καθὼς τὸ Πνεῦμα ἐδίδου αὐτοῖς ἀποφθέγγεσθαι. Οὐκ ἂν εἶπε, Πάντες, καὶ ἀποστόλων ὄντων ἐκεῖ, εἰ μὴ καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι μετέσχον. Ἄλλως δὲ οὐδὲ ἄνω κατ' ἰδίαν αὐτοὺς προειπὼν καὶ ὀνομαστὶ, νῦν ἂν συνῆψεν ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ πράγματι. Εἰ γὰρ ὅπου εἰπεῖν ἦν, ὅτι παρῆσαν, κατ' ἰδίαν τῶν ἀποστόλων μνημονεύει, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἐνταῦθα. Σκόπει δέ μοι, πῶς, ὅταν προσκαρτερῶσι τῇ δεήσει, ὅταν ἀγάπην ἔχωσι, τότε τὸ Πνεῦμα παραγίνεται. Ἀνέμνησε δὲ αὐτοὺς καὶ ἑτέρας ὄψεως, εἰπὼν, Ὡσεὶ πυρός. Ὡς πῦρ γὰρ ἐφάνη καὶ ἐν τῇ βάτῳ. Καθὼς τὸ Πνεῦμα ἐδίδου αὐτοῖς ἀποφθέγγεσθαι. Ἀποφθέγματα γὰρ ἦν τὰ παρ' αὐτῶν λεγόμενα. Ἦσαν δὲ, φησὶν, ἐν Ἱερουσαλὴμ κατοικοῦντες Ἰουδαῖοι ἄνδρες εὐλαβεῖς. Τὸ κατοικεῖν, εὐλαβείας ἦν σημεῖον. Πῶς; Ἀπὸ τοσούτων γὰρ ἐθνῶν ὄντες, καὶ πατρίδας ἀφέντες, καὶ οἰκίας, καὶ συγγενεῖς, ᾤκουν ἐκεῖ. Ἦσαν γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐν Ἱερουσαλὴμ κατοικοῦντες Ἰουδαῖοι ἄνδρες εὐλαβεῖς, ἀπὸ παντὸς ἔθνους τῶν ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανόν. Γενομένης δὲ τῆς φωνῆς ταύτης, συνῆλθε τὸ πλῆθος, καὶ συνεχύθῃ. Ἐπειδὴ ἐν οἰκίᾳ ἐγένετο τὸ γενόμενον, εἰκότως ἔξωθεν συνέδραμον. Συνεχύθη τὸ πλῆθος. Τί ἐστι, Συνεχύθη τὸ πλῆθος; Ἐταράχθη, ἐθαύμασεν. Εἶτα δηλῶν, ὅτι ἐθαύμαζον, ἐπάγει, Ὅτι ἤκουον εἷς ἕκαστος αὐτῶν τῇ ἰδίᾳ διαλέκτῳ λαλούντων αὐτῶν. Καὶ συνῆλθε τὸ πλῆθος, καὶ πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς ἔλεγον· Οὐκ ἰδοὺ πάντες οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ λαλοῦντες Γαλιλαῖοι; Πρὸς τοὺς ἀποστόλους εὐθέως ἑώρων. 60.44 Καὶ πῶς,