Jesus to the one who had died. For your sakes, he says, I am glad, those of you believing from learning that he died when I was not with him, and so that you may be confirmed in the faith. He alone, therefore, awakens Lazarus, but it was the work of the disciples, when he was dead and bound hand and foot with grave-clothes, and his face wrapped with a napkin, to loose him who was bound with the bonds of the dead and to let him go according to Jesus' command; but Thomas says: "Let us go, that we may die with him." Thomas having read the prophecies about the Savior; it is likely that he had also heard that a dispensation concerning souls was left for the Son of God, which he was about to accomplish by descending to their region in order to preach to the spirits in prison, going to them who were once disobedient. Hearing, "I go that I may awaken him," he thought that Lazarus would not otherwise be awakened and raised from the dead unless Jesus descended to the region of souls. And when the Savior also said: "No one takes my soul from me, but I lay it down of myself" and similar things, then as his genuine disciple, having decided to follow him wherever he might go, he wished for himself and the other disciples, by the grace of Jesus, to lay down the body with him. And perhaps he also knew this, that one cannot live with Jesus without dying with him, as Paul also thinks. But those who do not wish to say this for this reason will say that he said this suspecting the future envy of the Jews from the raising of Lazarus and the ensuing danger. So when Jesus came, he found him having been four days. The fourth number, being material and corporeal, is calamitous, since the general bodies are four; wherefore those who are enslaved and afflicted suffer for four hundred years according to what was said: "They will afflict them and humble them for four hundred years." And perhaps for this reason Moses fasts forty days for the purification of the sins that follow the nature of the body, and Elijah likewise, and the Savior for our sins. And so now, when Jesus came, he found Lazarus already having been four days in the tomb, which is the dwelling-place of the dead; for tombs are houses for sinners, wherefore also the demon-possessed flee to the tombs as to a familiar place; and as long as they are inside, no one is able to pass by that way, but when they come out, putting off their nakedness, they are adorned with clothing and are in their right mind, and sit at the feet of Jesus. But Jesus is placed in a new tomb and is wrapped in a clean linen cloth, and does not reach the point of being among the dead for four days. Therefore he was "free among the dead," and is raised on the free and holy number, three. In which he also sanctifies us by the washing of water, saying that we must be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Spirit. ινξ. The slowness of lifting the one lying upon .. εχπλ. they took away the stone. 80 Bethany is interpreted as "House of obedience," and Jerusalem as "Vision of peace." It is near, therefore, at a distance of 15 stadia, which is also the number of the steps of the temple. And the number 15 is divided into the 7 of the Sabbath and the 8 of the circumcision, to which alone Ecclesiastes advises to give a portion: "Give a portion," he says, "to seven, and also to eight." And if Mary is a symbol of the contemplative life, and Martha of the practical, and Lazarus of the one who after faith has fallen into sins, it is fitting that Mary and Martha mourn for Lazarus, and mourning they ask for comfort concerning their brother, which the Jews wish to bring to them. words before the fullness of time, but they despair of being able to stop the weeping of the sister of the deceased over the dead man. And Martha now seems to be more diligent than Mary, since Martha ran to Jesus, while Mary remained sitting at home. And there are some, like the centurion, who are not worthy to receive Jesus, but others are worthy, like the ruler of the synagogue; wherefore Martha, as the lesser, ran to Jesus, but Mary

τὸν Ἰησοῦν πρὸς τὸν ἀποθανόντα. δι' ὑμᾶς μέν, φησί, χαίρω, πιστεύοντας ἐκ τοῦ μαθεῖν, ὅτι ἀπέθανεν ἐκεῖνος οὐκ ὄντος μου παρ' αὐτῷ, καὶ ἵνα βεβαιωθῆτε ἐν τῇ πίστει. αὐτὸς μὲν οὖν μόνος ἐξυπνίζει τὸν Λάζαρον, τῶν δὲ μαθητῶν ἔργον ἦν τεθνηκότα δεδεμένον τὰς χεῖρας καὶ τοὺς πόδας κειρίαις, καὶ τῆς ὄψεως αὐτοῦ σουδαρίῳ περιδεδεμένης, λῦσαι αὐτὸν δεσμοῖς νεκρῶν δεδεμένον καὶ ἀφιέναι αὐτὸν ὑπάγειν κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Ἰησοῦ κέλευσιν· φησὶ δὲ ὁ Θωμᾶς· «Ἄγωμεν ἵνα συναποθάνωμεν αὐτῷ». ἀναγνοὺς ὁ Θωμᾶς τὰς περὶ τοῦ σωτῆρος προφητείας· εἰκὸς δὲ ὅτι καὶ ἠκηκόει λείπεσθαι οἰκονομίαν τῷ υἱῷ τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν περὶ ψυχῶν, ἣν ἔμελλε ποιεῖν καταβὰς εἰς τὸ χωρίον αὐτῶν ἵνα τοῖς ἐν φυλακῇ πνεύμασι κηρύξῃ, πορευθεὶς πρὸς αὐτά, ἀπειθήσασί ποτε. ἀκούσας ὅτι «Πορεύομαι ἵνα ἐξυπνίσω αὐτὸν» ᾤετο οὐκ ἄλλως ἂν ἐξυπνισθή σεσθαι καὶ ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστήσεσθαι τὸν Λάζαρον ἢ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ κατα βάντος εἰς τὸ τῶν ψυχῶν χωρίον. τὰ δὲ καὶ τοῦ σωτῆρος εἰπόντος· «Οὐδεὶς αἴρει τὴν ψυχήν μου ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, ἀλλ' ἐγὼ τίθημι αὐτὴν ἀπ' «ἐμοῦ» καὶ τὰ ὅμοια, εἶτα ὡς γνήσιος αὐτοῦ μαθητής, κρίνας αὐτῷ ἀκολουθεῖν ὅποι ποτ' ἂν ἀπίῃ, ἐβούλετο αὐτῷ καὶ τοὺς λοιποὺς μαθητὰς χάριτι τοῦ Ἰησοῦ συναποθέσθαι τὸ σῶμα. μήποτε δὲ καὶ τοῦτο ἠπίστατο, ὅτι οὐκ ἄλλως ἔσται συζῆσαι τῷ Ἰησοῦ μὴ συν αποθανόντα αὐτῷ, καθὰ καὶ Παῦλος δοκεῖ. οἱ δὲ μὴ βουλόμενοι διὰ τοῦτο αὐτὸν λέγειν φήσουσιν ὅτι ὑποπτεύων τὸν ἐσόμενον φθόνον τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἐκ τοῦ ἀναστῆναι τὸν Λάζαρον καὶ τὸν ἑπόμενον κίνδυνον τοῦτο αὐτὸν εἰρηκέναι. Ἐλθὼν οὖν ὁ Ἰησοῦς εὗρεν αὐτὸν τέσσαρας ἡμέρας ἔχοντα. ὁ τέταρτος ἀριθμὸς ὑλικός τις καὶ σωμα τικὸς ὢν κακωτικός ἐστιν, ἐπεὶ τὰ γενικὰ σώματα τέσσαρά ἐστιν· ὅθεν οἱ δουλούμενοι καὶ οἱ κακούμενοι τέσσαρσιν ἑκατοντάσιν ἐτῶν πάσχουσι κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον· «Κακώσουσιν αὐτοὺς καὶ ταπεινώ «σουσιν αὐτοὺς ἔτη τετρακόσια». τάχα δὲ κατὰ τοῦτο εἰς καθαίρεσιν τῶν τῇ φύσει τοῦ σώματος ἀκολουθησάντων ἁμαρτημάτων τεσσαρά κοντα νηστεύει Μωσῆς ἡμέρας, ὁμοίας δὲ καὶ Ἡλίας, καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἡμετέρων ἁμαρτημάτων ὁ σωτήρ. καὶ νῦν οὖν ἐλθὼν ὁ Ἰησοῦς εὗρε τὸν Λάζαρον τέσσαρας ἤδη ἡμέρας ἔχοντα ἐν τῷ μνημείῳ, ὅπερ ἐστὶ νεκρῶν οἰκητήριον· ἁμαρτωλοῖς γὰρ οἱ τάφοι οἰκίαι εἰσίν, ὅθεν καὶ οἱ δαιμονιζόμενοι ὡς ἐπὶ οἰκεῖον τόπον εἰς τὰ μνημεῖα καταφεύγουσιν· οἵτινες ὅσον μὲν ἔνδον εἰσίν, οὐδεὶς ἰσχύει διὰ τῆς ὁδοῦ ἐκείνης ἀπελθεῖν, ὅταν δὲ ἐξέλθωσι τὴν γυμνότητα ἀποτιθέ μενοι, ἱματισμῷ κοσμοῦνται καὶ σωφρονοῦσι, καὶ τοῖς ποσὶ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ παρακαθέζονται. ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς ἐν καινῷ τίθεται μνημείῳ καὶ καθαρᾷ εἰλίσσεται σινδόνι, καὶ οὐ φθάνει ἐπὶ τῶν τεσσάρων ἡμερῶν ὢν ἐν νεκροῖς. διὸ καὶ «ἐν νεκροῖς ἐλεύθερος» ἦν, καὶ ἐν ἐλευθέρῳ καὶ ἁγίῳ ἀριθμῷ τῷ τρία ἐγείρεται. ἐν ᾧ καὶ ἁγιάζει ἡμᾶς τῷ λουτρῷ τοῦ ὕδατος, εἰπὼν δεῖν βαπτίζεσθαι ἡμᾶς εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ πνεύματος. ινξ. Ἡ βραδυτὴς τοῦ ἀρθῆναι τὸν ἐπικείμενον .. εχπλ. ἦραν τὸν λίθον. 80 Βηθανία ἑρμηνεύεται «Οἶκος ὑπακοῆς», Ἱερουσαλὴμ δὲ «Ὅρασις εἰρήνης». γειτνιᾷ τοίνυν ἐν μέσῳ σταδίων ιεʹ, ὅσοι καὶ τοῦ ναοῦ ἀναβαθμοί. διαιρεῖται δὲ ὁ ιεʹ ἀριθμὸς εἰς τὸν ζʹ τοῦ σαββάτου καὶ τὸν ηʹ τῆς περιτομῆς, οἷς μόνοις μερίδα διδόναι ὁ Ἐκκλησιαστὴς παραινεῖ· «∆ὸς μερίδα, λέγων, τοῖς ἑπτὰ καί γε τοῖς ὀκτώ». εἴπερ δὲ σύμβολόν ἐστι Μαρία μὲν τοῦ θεωρητικοῦ βίου, Μάρθα δὲ τοῦ πρακτικοῦ, Λάζαρος δὲ τοῦ μετὰ τὴν πίστιν ἐν ἁμαρτίαις γενομένου, εἰκότως Μαρία καὶ Μάρθα πενθοῦσι τὸν Λάζαρον, καὶ πενθοῦσαι δέονται τῆς περὶ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ παραμυθίας, ἣν βούλονται μὲν προσ άγειν αὐταῖς Ἰουδαῖοι. πρὸ τοῦ πληρώματος τοῦ χρόνου λόγοι, ἀπογινώσκουσι <δὲ> τοῦ δύνασθαι παῦσαι τοῦ ἐπὶ τῷ νεκρῷ κλαυθμοῦ τὴν ἀδελφὴν τοῦ τεθνεῶτος. δοκεῖ δὲ ἡ Μάρθα νῦν σπουδαιοτέρα εἶναι τῆς Μαρίας, εἴ γε Μάρθα μὲν ἔδραμε πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν, Μαρία δὲ οἴκοι ἔμενε καθεζομένη. εἰσὶ δέ τινες, ὡς ἑκατόνταρχος, μὴ ὄντες ἱκανοὶ τὸν Ἰησοῦν ὑποδέξασθαι, ἕτεροι δὲ ἄξιοι, ὡς ὁ ἀρχι συνάγωγος· ὅθεν Μάρθα ὡς ὑποδεεστέρα ἔδραμε πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν, ἡ δὲ Μαρία