John Chrysostom, On John

1. God, being a lover of mankind, beloved, and beneficent, does and contrives all things, so that we may shine in virtue; and wishing us to be of good repute, and this, He draws no one by force nor by necessity, but by persuasion and by doing good to all who are willing, He draws and attracts them to Himself. For this reason when He came, some received Him, but others did not receive Him. For He does not wish to have anyone as an unwilling or compelled servant, but all to be willing and choosing, and to be grateful to Him for their servitude. For men, since they are in need of the service of their servants, hold them by the law of mastership even when they are unwilling; but God, being without need, and standing in need of nothing of ours, but doing all things only for the sake of our salvation, makes us masters of this matter; and for this reason He applies no force or necessity to any who are unwilling. For He looks only to what is profitable for us. For to be drawn unwillingly to this servitude is equivalent to not serving at all. Why then, one asks, does He punish those not willing to obey Him? And why did He threaten Gehenna to those who do not hear His commandments? Because even when we are not persuaded He cares for us greatly, being exceedingly good, and He does not stand aloof from those who leap away and flee; but since we rejected the former way of beneficence, not wishing to come by way of persuasion and being treated well, He introduced the other, the one through punishment and chastisements, being most bitter indeed, but nevertheless necessary. For when the first is dishonored, the introduction of the second is necessary. Since also the lawgivers establish many harsh punishments against those who have sinned, and yet we do not turn away from them on account of these things, but rather we honor them for the sake of the punishments, and because, needing nothing from us, and often not even knowing who will be those who are going to enjoy the help of their writings, they nevertheless took thought for the good order of our life, on the one hand honoring those living in virtue, and on the other hand restraining through punishments the licentious and those who ruin the tranquility of others. And if we admire and love these men, should we not much more be astonished at and love God on account of so great a solicitude? For there is an infinite distance between their providence for us and His. And truly unspeakable and surpassing all hyperbole is the richness of His goodness. But consider: He came to His own, not for the sake of His own need (for the Godhead, as I said, is without need), but for the sake of the beneficence 59.74 of His own people. And not even so did His own people receive Him when He had come into His own for their benefit, but they even rejected Him; and not only this, but even casting Him out of the vineyard, they killed Him. And not even so did He shut them out from repentance, but granted, if they should be willing after so great a transgression to wash away all their offenses through faith in Him, to be made equal to those who had done no such thing, but were rather His friends above all. And that I do not utter these things simply or for the sake of entertainment, all the things concerning the blessed Paul give forth a clear voice concerning these matters. For this man, persecuting Christ after the cross, and having cast His martyr Stephen down by the hands of many, when he repented and condemned the sins formerly committed by him, and ran to the One who had been persecuted, He immediately numbered him among His friends and those holding the first place, appointing him a herald and teacher of the whole world—him, the blasphemer, the persecutor, the insolent man; just as he himself also, rejoicing in the philanthropy of God, proclaimed these things, and was not ashamed, but also, as if on a pillar, setting down in his letters the things formerly dared by him, he showed them to all, considering it better for his former life to be pilloried by all, so that the greatness of God's gift might appear, than to obscure His unspeakable and ineffable philanthropy by shrinking from parading his own error before all. For this reason above

αʹ. Φιλάνθρωπος ὢν ὁ Θεὸς, ἀγαπητὲ, καὶ εὐεργετικὸς, πάντα ποιεῖ καὶ πραγματεύεται, ὥστε ἡμᾶς κατ' ἀρετὴν λάμπειν· καὶ βουλόμενος ἡμᾶς εὐδοκίμους εἶναι, καὶ τοῦτο, βίᾳ μὲν οὐδένα οὐδὲ ἀνάγκῃ, πειθοῖ δὲ καὶ τῷ ποιεῖν εὖ τοὺς βουλομένους ἅπαντας ἕλκει, καὶ πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ἐπισπᾶται. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἐλθόντα αὐτὸν οἱ μὲν ἔλαβον, οἱ δὲ οὐκ ἐδέξαντο. Οὐδένα γὰρ βούλεται ἄκοντα οὐδὲ ἠναγκασμένον ἔχειν οἰκέτην, ἀλλ' ἑκόντας ἅπαντας καὶ προαιρουμένους, καὶ χάριν αὐτῷ τῆς δουλείας εἰδότας. Ἄνθρωποι μὲν γὰρ, ἅτε ἐν χρείᾳ καθεστῶτες τῆς τῶν οἰκετῶν διακονίας, καὶ μὴ βουλομένους αὐτοὺς τῷ τῆς δεσποτείας κατέχουσι νόμῳ· ὁ δὲ Θεὸς, ἀνενδεὴς ὢν, καὶ μηδενὸς τῶν ἡμετέρων ἐν χρείᾳ καθεστηκὼς, τῆς δὲ ἡμετέρας ἕνεκεν σωτηρίας μόνον ἅπαντα πράττων, ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς ποιεῖ τούτου κυρίους· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τῶν μὴ βουλομένων οὐδενὶ βίαν ἐπιτίθησιν οὐδὲ ἀνάγκην. Πρὸς γὰρ τὸ συμφέρον ἡμῖν ὁρᾷ μόνον. Τὸ γὰρ ἄκοντας πρὸς ταύτην ἕλκεσθαι τὴν δουλείαν, ἴσον τῷ μηδὲ ὅλως δουλεύειν ἐστί. Τί οὖν κολάζει, φησὶ, τοὺς οὐκ ἐθέλοντας ὑπακούειν αὐτῷ; τί δὲ καὶ γέενναν ἠπείλησε τοῖς οὐκ ἀκούουσι τῶν ἐπιταγμάτων αὐτοῦ; Ὅτι καὶ μὴ πειθομένων ἡμῶν σφόδρα κήδεται, λίαν ὢν ἀγαθὸς, καὶ ἀποπηδώντων καὶ φευγόντων οὐκ ἀφίσταται· ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ τὴν προτέραν τῆς εὐεργεσίας ὁδὸν ἀπωσάμεθα, ἐλθεῖν μὴ βουληθέντες τὴν διὰ τῆς πειθοῦς καὶ τοῦ παθεῖν εὖ, τὴν ἑτέραν ἐπεισήγαγε, τὴν διὰ τῆς κολάσεως καὶ τῶν τιμωριῶν, πικροτάτην μὲν οὖσαν, ἀναγκαίαν δὲ ὅμως. Ὅταν γὰρ ἡ προτέρα ἀτιμάζηται, ἀναγκαία τῆς δευτέρας ἡ ἐπεισαγωγή. Ἐπεὶ καὶ οἱ νομοθέται πολλὰς καὶ χαλεπὰς κατὰ τῶν ἡμαρτηκότων τιθέασι τιμωρίας, καὶ ὅμως αὐτοὺς οὐκ ἀποστρεφόμεθα διὰ ταῦτα, ἀλλὰ καὶ μᾶλλον τιμῶμεν τῶν κολάσεων χάριν, καὶ ὅτι μηδενὸς δεόμενοι τῶν παρ' ἡμῶν, πολλάκις δὲ οὐδὲ εἰδότες τίνες ποτὲ ἔσονται οἱ μέλλοντες τῆς διὰ τῶν γραμμάτων αὐτῶν ἀπολαύσεσθαι βοηθείας, ὅμως ἐφρόντισαν τῆς κατὰ τὸν βίον τὸν ἡμέτερον εὐταξίας, τιμῶντες μὲν τοὺς ἐν ἀρετῇ ζῶντας, εἴργοντες δὲ διὰ τῶν τιμωριῶν τοὺς ἀκολάστους, καὶ τῇ τῶν λοιπῶν ἡσυχίᾳ λυμαινομένους. Εἰ δὲ τούτους θαυμάζομεν καὶ φιλοῦμεν, οὐ πολλῷ μᾶλλον τὸν Θεὸν ἐκπλήττεσθαι δεῖ καὶ ἀγαπᾷν τῆς τοσαύτης ἕνεκεν κηδεμονίας; Καὶ γὰρ ἄπειρον τὸ μέσον ἐστὶ τῆς τε ἐκείνων καὶ τῆς τούτου προνοίας τῆς εἰς ἡμᾶς. Ἄφατός τε ὄντως καὶ ὑπερβολὴν πᾶσαν νικῶν ὁ πλοῦτος τῆς χρηστότητος αὐτοῦ. Σκόπει δέ· Εἰς τὰ ἴδια ἦλθεν, οὐ τῆς αὑτοῦ χρείας ἕνεκεν (ἀνενδεὲς γὰρ, ὅπερ ἔφην, τὸ Θεῖον), ἀλλὰ τῆς τῶν ἰδίων ἕνεκεν 59.74 εὐεργεσίας. Καὶ οὐδὲ οὕτως αὐτὸν οἱ ἴδιοι εἰς τὰ αὑτοῦ παραγενόμενον ἐπ' ὠφελείᾳ τῇ αὑτῶν παρέλαβον, ἀλλὰ καὶ διεκρούσαντο· καὶ οὐ τοῦτο μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔξω τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος ἐκβαλόντες ἀπέκτειναν. Καὶ οὐδὲ οὕτω τῆς μετανοίας αὐτοὺς ἀπέκλεισεν, ἀλλ' ἔδωκεν, εἰ βουληθεῖεν μετὰ τὴν τοσαύτην παρανομίαν πάντα ἀπολούσασθαι τὰ πλημμεληθέντα, διὰ τῆς εἰς αὐτὸν πίστεως, καὶ τοῖς οὐδὲν τοιοῦτον εἰργασμένοις, ἀλλὰ μάλιστα πάντων αὐτῷ φίλοις ἐξισωθῆναι. Καὶ ὅτι οὐχ ἁπλῶς οὐδὲ ψυχαγωγίας ἕνεκεν ταῦτα φθέγγομαι, λαμπρὰν ὑπὲρ τούτων ἀφίησι τὴν φωνὴν τὰ κατὰ τὸν μακάριον Παῦλον ἅπαντα. Οὗτος γὰρ τὸν Χριστὸν διώκων μετὰ τὸν σταυρὸν, καὶ τὸν ἐκείνου μάρτυρα Στέφανον ταῖς πολλαῖς βαλὼν χερσὶν, ἐπειδὴ μετενόησε καὶ κατέγνω τῶν πρότερον ἁμαρτηθέντων αὐτῷ, καὶ τῷ διωχθέντι προσέδραμεν, εἰς τοὺς φίλους αὐτὸν εὐθέως καὶ τὰ πρωτεῖα ἔχοντας κατέλεξε, κήρυκα καὶ διδάσκαλον τῆς οἰκουμένης ἁπάσης ἀποφήνας αὐτὸν, τὸν βλάσφημον, τὸν διώκτην, τὸν ὑβριστήν· καθὼς καὶ αὐτὸς, ἀγαλλόμενος ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίᾳ, ταῦτα ἀνεκήρυττε, καὶ οὐκ ᾐσχύνετο, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὥσπερ ἐν στήλῃ τοῖς γράμμασι τὰ πρότερον αὐτῷ τολμηθέντα καταθέμενος, ἅπασιν ἐπεδείκνυ, βέλτιον εἶναι νομίζων τὸν πρότερον αὐτοῦ παρὰ πάντων στηλιτεύεσθαι βίον ἐπὶ τὸ φανῆναι τὸ μέγεθος τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ δωρεᾶς, ἢ συσκιάσαι τὴν ἄφατον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀνεκδιήγητον φιλανθρωπίαν, ὀκνοῦντα τὴν οἰκείαν ἅπασιν ἐκπομπεῦσαι πλάνην. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἄνω