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to understand. The bread of Jesus is the word by which we are fed. Since therefore, while he was teaching among the people, they wanted to add a scandal to his teaching by crucifying him, they said: "Let us put wood in his bread." For when the crucifixion of the teacher is attached to the word of Jesus' teaching, wood has been cast into his bread. Let them, therefore, having plotted with malice, say: "Come and let us cast wood into his bread." But I will say something more paradoxical: the wood cast into his bread has made the bread better. I take an example from the law of Moses: "the wood cast into the bitter water made it sweet." Thus the wood of the passion of Jesus Christ, having come into the word, has made his bread sweeter. Before, then, the wood came into his bread, when it was only bread and there was no wood in his teaching, "his sound did not go out into all the earth." But since the bread took on power through the wood cast into it, for this reason the word of his teaching has been distributed throughout the whole world. And then the wood was a symbol of the passion of Jesus, through which the bitter water becomes sweet. For I say that the law, when not understood, is bitter water, but if the wood of Jesus comes and the teaching of my savior arrives, the law of Moses, when read and known, becomes sweet and most pleasant. 10.3 So they said: "Come and let us cast wood into his bread"; and they also say, "let us cut him off from the land of the living, and his name will no longer be remembered." Thus they killed him, so as to wipe out his name. But Jesus knows how he dies and why; for this reason he says: "Unless the grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." So the death of Jesus becomes an ear of wheat, making what was sown multiplied and abundant, so that if, hypothetically, he had not been crucified nor had died, the grain of wheat would have remained alone, and many would not have come from it. Pay attention then to his saying, if he did not mean this when he said: "The grain of wheat, unless it falls into the earth and dies, remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." The death of Jesus bore all these as fruit; and if death bore so many as fruit, how many will the resurrection bear? 10.4 "Lord of hosts, who judges righteously, who tests the reins and hearts, let me see your vengeance upon them." He prays these things prophetically, to see the vengeance from God upon them. "For Jerusalem has been surrounded by armies, and her desolation has drawn near," and it was said to her: "Behold, your house is forsaken to you." "Let me see," therefore, "your vengeance upon them, because to you I have revealed my cause. For this reason the Lord says this against the men of Anathoth who seek my life, who say: You shall not prophesy in the name of the Lord, or else you will die by our hands. Behold, I will visit upon them; their young men will die by the sword, and their sons and their daughters will perish <in> famine, and there will be no remnant of them, because I will bring evils upon the inhabitants of Anathoth in the year of their visitation." For the sake of a figure, the name of Anathoth is taken here, but the whole Judaic mystery is spoken tropically in it. For Anathoth is interpreted as Hearing. <Since, therefore, the hearing> of God was in that people, as was also the kingdom of God, and it happened concerning the kingdom, "the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation producing its fruits," according to this it also happened that "the men of Anathoth," those who were in the Hearing, "seek the life" not of Jeremiah, -for history does not say that the men of Anathoth sought the life of Jeremiah. We have the Books of Kings, the scripture there mentions Jeremiah, nothing of this sort is said in them, <nor> in Chronicles. For we have the very book of the prophet, nothing

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νοῆσαι. Ὁ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἄρτος ὁ λόγος ἐστὶν ἐν ᾧ τρεφόμεθα. Ἐπεὶ τοίνυν διδάσκοντος αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ λαῷ ἠθέλησαν τὸ σκάνδαλον ἐν τῇ διδασκαλίᾳ αὐτοῦ προσθεῖναι διὰ τοῦ σταυρῶσαι αὐτόν, εἶπον· «Βάλωμεν ξύλον εἰς τὸν ἄρτον αὐτοῦ»· ὅταν γὰρ τῷ λόγῳ τῆς Ἰησοῦ διδασκαλίας προσάπτηται τὸ ἐσταυρῶσθαι τὸν διδάσκαλον, εἰς τὸν ἄρτον αὐτοῦ ξύλον ἐμβέβληται. Ἐκεῖνοι μὲν οὖν ἐξ ἐπιβουλῆς βουλευσάμενοι λεγέτωσαν· «∆εῦτε καὶ ἐμβάλωμεν ξύλον εἰς τὸν ἄρτον αὐ τοῦ»· ἐγὼ δὲ παραδοξότερον ἐρῶ· τὸ ξύλον ἐμβληθὲν εἰς τὸν ἄρτον αὐτοῦ κρείττονα τὸν ἄρτον πεποίηκεν. Παρά δειγμα λαμβάνω ἀπὸ τοῦ Μωσέως νόμου· «τὸ ξύλον βληθὲν εἰς τὸ πικρὸν ὕδωρ ἐποίησεν αὐτὸ γλυκύ»· οὕτως τὸ ξύλον τοῦ πάθους Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐλθὸν εἰς τὸν λόγον πεποίηκεν τὸν ἄρτον αὐτοῦ γλυκύτερον. Πρὶν ἔλθῃ γοῦν εἰς τὸν ἄρτον αὐτοῦ τὸ ξύλον, ὅτε ἄρτος μόνον ἦν καὶ ξύλον οὐκ ἦν ἐν τῇ διδασκαλίᾳ αὐτοῦ, «εἰς πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν» οὐκ «ἐξῆλθεν ὁ φθόγγος αὐτοῦ»· ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ προσέλαβεν δύναμιν ὁ ἄρτος διὰ τοῦ ξύλου τοῦ βληθέντος εἰς αὐτόν, διὰ τοῦτο ὁ λόγος τῆς διδασκαλίας αὐτοῦ νενέμηται ὅλην τὴν οἰκουμένην. Καὶ τότε τὸ ξύλον σύμβολον ἦν τοῦ πάθους Ἰησοῦ, δι' οὗ τὸ πικρὸν ὕδωρ γλυκὺ γίνεται· ἐγὼ γὰρ λέγω ὅτι ὁ νόμος μὴ νοούμενος πικρὸν ὕδωρ ἐστίν, ἐὰν δὲ ἔλθῃ τὸ ξύλον Ἰησοῦ καὶ ἡ διδασκαλία τοῦ σωτῆρός μου ἐπιδημήσῃ, γλυκάζεται καὶ ἥδιστος γίνεται ὁ Μω σέως νόμος ἀναγινωσκόμενος καὶ γινωσκόμενος. 10.3 Εἶπον οὖν· «∆εῦτε καὶ ἐμβάλωμεν ξύλον εἰς τὸν ἄρτον αὐτοῦ»· λέγουσιν δὲ καὶ τὸ «ἐκτρίψωμεν αὐτὸν ἀπὸ γῆς ζώντων, καὶ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ οὐ μὴ μνησθῇ ἔτι». Οὕτως αὐτὸν ἀπέκτειναν, ὡς ἐξαφανίζοντες αὐτοῦ τὸ ὄνομα. Ἀλλὰ ὁ Ἰησοῦς οἶδεν πῶς ἀποθνῄσκει καὶ διὰ τί· διό φησιν· «Ἐὰν μὴ ὁ κόκκος τοῦ σίτου πεσὼν εἰς τὴν γῆν ἀποθάνῃ, αὐτὸς μόνος μένει· ἐὰν δὲ ἀποθάνῃ, πολὺν καρπὸν φέρει»· ὥστε ὁ θάνατος τοῦ Ἰησοῦ στάχυς σίτου γίνεται ποιῶν πολλαπλασίονα καὶ πολύχουν τὸ ἐσπαρμένον, ὡς εἰ καθ' ὑπόθεσιν μὴ ἐσταύρωτο μηδὲ τεθνήκει, ἔμεινεν ἂν μόνος ὁ κόκκος τοῦ σίτου, καὶ πολλοὶ οὐκ ἐγένοντο ἐξ αὐτοῦ. Πρόσχες οὖν αὐτοῦ τῇ λέξει, εἰ μὴ τοῦτο βεβούλη ται λέγων· «Ὁ κόκκος τοῦ σίτου ἐὰν μὴ πεσὼν εἰς τὴν γῆν ἀποθάνῃ, αὐτὸς μόνος μένει· ἐὰν δὲ ἀποθάνῃ, πολὺν καρπὸν φέρει»· ὁ θάνατος τοῦ Ἰησοῦ τούτους πάντας ἐκαρποφόρησεν· εἰ δὲ ὁ θάνατος τοσούτους ἐκαρποφό ρησε, πόσους καρποφορήσει ἡ ἀνάστασις; 10.4 «Κύριε τῶν δυνάμεων κρίνων δίκαια, δοκιμάζων νεφροὺς καὶ καρδίας, ἴδοιμι τὴν παρὰ σοῦ ἐκδίκησιν ἐξ αὐτῶν.» Προφητικῶς ταῦτα εὔχεται, ἰδεῖν τὴν παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐκδίκησιν ἐξ αὐτῶν· «κεκύκλωται γὰρ ὑπὸ στρατοπέδων ἡ Ἱερουσαλήμ, καὶ ἤγγισεν ἡ ἐρήμωσις αὐτῆς», καὶ εἴρηται αὐτῇ· «Ἰδοὺ ἀφίεται ὑμῖν ὁ οἶκος ὑμῶν.» «Ἴδοιμι» οὖν «τὴν παρὰ σοῦ ἐκδίκησιν ἐν αὐτοῖς, ὅτι πρὸς σὲ ἀπεκάλυψα τὸ δικαίωμά μου. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο τάδε λέγει κύριος ἐπὶ τοὺς ἄνδρας Ἀναθὼθ τοὺς ζητοῦντας τὴν ψυχήν μου, τοὺς λέγοντας· οὐ μὴ προφητεύσῃς ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου, εἰ δὲ μή, ἀποθανῇ ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν ἡμῶν. Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐπισκέψομαι ἐπ' αὐτούς· οἱ νεανίσκοι αὐτῶν ἐν ῥομφαίᾳ ἀποθανοῦνται, καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ αὐτῶν καὶ αἱ θυγατέρες αὐτῶν τελευτήσουσιν <ἐν> λιμῷ, καὶ ἐγκατάλειμμα οὐκ ἔσται αὐτῶν, ὅτι ἐπάξω κακὰ ἐπὶ τοὺς κατοικοῦντας Ἀναθὼθ ἐν ἐνιαυτῷ ἐπισκέψεως αὐτῶν.» Προσχήματος ἕνεκεν τὸ ὄνομα τῆς Ἀναθὼθ ἐνθάδε λαμβάνεται, ὅλον δὲ τὸ Ἰουδαϊκὸν μυστήριον τροπικῶς ἐν αὐτῇ εἴρηται· ἑρμηνεύεται γὰρ Ἀναθὼθ Ἐπακουσμός. <Ἐπεὶ οὖν ἐπακουσμὸς> τοῦθεοῦ ἐν ἐκείνῳ ἦν τῷ λαῷ, ὡς καὶ ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ γέγονεν ἐπὶ τῆς βασιλείας τὸ «ἀρθήσεται ἀφ' ὑμῶν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ δοθήσεται ἔθνει ποιοῦντι τοὺς καρ ποὺς αὐτῆς», κατὰ τοῦτο γέγονεν καὶ τὸ «τοὺς ἄνδρας Ἀναθώθ», τοὺς ὄντας ἐν τῷ Ἐπακουσμῷ, «ζητεῖν τὴν ψυχὴν» οὐχ Ἱερεμίου, -οὐδὲ γὰρ ἡ ἱστορία λέγει ὅτι ἄνδρες Ἀναθὼθ ἐζήτησαν τὴν ψυχὴν Ἱερεμίου· ἔχομεν τὰς Βασιλείας, μέμνηται ἡ γραφὴ ἐκεῖ τοῦ Ἱερεμίου, οὐδὲν τοιοῦτον ἐν αὐταῖς εἴρηται, <οὐδ'> ἐν ταῖς Παρα λειπομέναις· ἔχομεν γὰρ αὐτὴν τὴν βίβλον τοῦ προφήτου, οὐδὲν