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having bestowed gifts, and having opened tombs, and having shown a bound and stinking corpse running, fleeing the hands of death, but hastening towards the Creator who called him, and held back neither by the gates of death nor by bonds. Having done these and countless other things, He is envied by the Jews, but willingly accepts the plot, foreseeing the salvation for mankind that would come from it. And He foretold these things from of old through the prophet: “But I,” he says, “do not disobey, nor do I speak against it, but I gave my back to scourges, and my cheeks to blows, and I did not turn my face from the shame of spitting.” Having foretold these things, having suffered these things, He is nailed to the cross, not as punishment for any sins (for He committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth), but paying the debt of our nature. For it owed a debt, having transgressed the laws of the Creator. Since, being in debt, it did not have the strength to pay, the Master Himself wisely contrived the payment of the debt, and having taken its members as a kind of property, and having managed these wisely and justly, He pays the debt in full, and sets our nature free. And of these things, Isaiah and Paul are witnesses, the one having prophesied these things before the passion, the other interpreting the prophecy after its fulfillment; and the same Spirit spoke to both. And Isaiah cries out from afar: “A man in affliction, and who knows how to bear sickness.” For he addresses him based on what was seen, since the visible part suffered. “This one,” he says, “bears our sicknesses, and suffers pain on 83.756 our behalf; but we considered him to be in pain, and in affliction by God, and in suffering.” For those who saw him nailed to the wood supposed that he was being punished for very many sins, and paying the penalty for his own transgressions. For this reason the Jews also nailed him between two criminals, wishing to fabricate an evil reputation for him; but the Holy Spirit teaches through the prophet that he was wounded for our sins, and was bruised for our iniquities. And he makes this clearer through the following: “For the chastisement,” he says, “of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed.” For being enemies of God, inasmuch as we had offended Him, we owed chastisement and punishment. But we did not experience this, but our Savior Himself endured it; and having endured it, He granted us peace with God. The following makes this clearer: “For all we,” he says, “like sheep have gone astray, every man has gone astray in his own way. For this reason He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent.” For it was fitting for Him, to heal like with like, and through the sheep to recall the wandering of the sheep. And He becomes a sheep, not being changed into a sheep, nor having undergone a change, nor departing from His own substance; but clearly putting on the nature of a sheep, and like the leading ram of the flock, becoming the ram of the flock, and preparing all the sheep to follow him. Therefore, as a sheep He became also a sacrificial victim, and was offered as a sacrifice on behalf of the whole race. But the prophet did not simply mention slaughter and shearing together. But since He was God and man, and while the body was being slaughtered, the divine nature remained impassible, necessarily the divine Isaiah showed us both the slaughter of the sheep and the shearing of the lamb. For not only, he says, was He slaughtered, but He was also shorn. For according to His humanity He endured death; but as God, remaining alive and impassible, He gave the fleece of the body to the shearers. Thus the blessed Isaiah both showed us the saving passions, and taught the causes of the passions. And the most divine Paul cries out openly: “Christ has redeemed us from the

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δωρησάμενος, καὶ τάφους ἀνοίξας, καὶ πεπεδημένον καὶ δυσώδη νεκρὸν τρέχοντα δείξας, φεύγοντα μὲν τοῦ θανάτου τὰς χεῖρας, πρὸς δὲ τὸν καλέσαντα ∆ημιουργὸν ἐπειγόμενον, καὶ μήθ' ὑπὸ τῶν τοῦ θανάτου πυλῶν, μήθ' ὑπὸ τῶν δεσμῶν κατ εχόμενον. Ταῦτα καὶ μυρία ἕτερα ἐργασάμενος, βασκαίνεται μὲν ὑπὸ Ἰουδαίων, δέχεται δὲ τὴν ἐπι βουλὴν ἐθελοντὴς, τὴν ἐκ ταύτης ἐσομένην τοῖς ἀνθρώποις προορῶν σωτηρίαν. Καὶ ταῦτα ἄνωθεν διὰ τοῦ προφήτου, προὔλεγεν· «Ἐγὼ δὲ, φησὶν, οὐκ ἀπειθῶ, οὐδὲ ἀντιλέγω, ἀλλὰ τὸν νῶτόν μου δέδωκα εἰς μάστιγας, τὰς δὲ σιαγόνας μου εἰς ῥαπίσματα, τὸ δὲ πρόσωπόν μου οὐκ ἀπέστρεψα ἀπὸ αἰσχύνης ἐμπτυσμάτων.» Ταῦτα προειπὼν, ταῦτα παθὼν, τῷ σταυρῷ προσηλοῦται, οὐχ ἁμαρτημάτων δίκας τίνων (ἁμαρτίαν γὰρ οὐκ ἐποίησεν, οὐδὲ εὑρέθη δόλος ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτοῦ), ἀλλὰ τῆς ἡμετέρας φύσεως ἐκτί νων τὸ χρέος. Ὤφειλε γὰρ αὕτη παραβεβηκυῖα τοῦ Πε ποιηκότος τοὺς νόμους. Ἐπειδὴ [δὲ] ὀφείλουσα ἐκτίνειν οὐκ ἴσχυσεν, αὐτὸς ὁ ∆εσπότης σοφῶς μηχανᾶται τὴν τοῦ ὀφλήματος ἔκτισιν, καὶ ταύτης οἷόν τινα κτήματα τὰ μέλη λαβὼν, καὶ ταῦτα σοφῶς καὶ δι καίως οἰκονομήσας, ἀποπληροῖ τὸ χρέος, καὶ τὴν φύσιν ἐλευθεροῖ. Καὶ τούτων μάρτυρες Ἡσαΐας καὶ Παῦλος, ὁ μὲν πρὸ τοῦ πάθους ταῦτα θεσπίσας, ὁ δὲ μετὰ τὴν ἔκβασιν ἑρμηνεύσας τὴν πρόῤῥησιν· τὸ αὐτὸ δὲ ἀμφοτέροις ἐφθέγξατο Πνεῦμα. Καὶ Ἡσαΐας μὲν πόῤῥωθεν βοᾷ· «Ἄνθρωπος ἐν πληγῇ ὢν, καὶ εἰδὼς φέρειν μαλακίαν.» Ἀπὸ γὰρ τοῦ ὁρωμέ νου προσαγορεύει, ἐπειδὴ τὸ ὁρώμενον ἔπασχεν. «Οὗτος, φησὶ, τὰς μαλακίας ἡμῶν φέρει, καὶ περὶ 83.756 ἡμῶν ὀδυνᾶται· ἡμεῖς δὲ ἐλογισάμεθα αὐτὸν ἐν πόνῳ εἶναι, καὶ ἐν πληγῇ ὑπὸ Θεοῦ, καὶ ἐν κακώ σει.» Ὑπελάμβανον γὰρ αὐτὸν οἱ τῷ ξύλῳ προσηλω μένον ὁρῶντες, ὑπὲρ πλείστων ἁμαρτημάτων κολά ζεσθαι, καὶ δίκας τίνειν ὑπὲρ οἰκείων πλημμελη μάτων. ∆ιὸ καὶ μέσον αὐτὸν δύο κακούργων οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι προσήλωσαν, πονηρὰν αὐτῷ δόξαν κατασκευάσαι βουλόμενοι· ἀλλὰ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον διὰ τοῦ προ φήτου διδάσκει, ὅτι αὐτὸς ἐτραυματίσθη διὰ τὰς ἁμαρ τίας ἡμῶν, καὶ μεμαλάκισται διὰ τὰς ἀνομίας ἡμῶν. Καὶ σαφέστερον τοῦτο διὰ τῶν ἑξῆς ποιεῖ· «Παιδεία γὰρ, φησὶν, εἰρήνης ἡμῶν ἐπ' αὐτὸν, τῷ μώλωπι αὐ τοῦ ἡμεῖς ἰάθημεν.» Ἐχθροὶ γὰρ ὄντες Θεοῦ, ἅτε δὴ προσκεκρουκότες, παιδείαν καὶ τιμωρίαν ὠφείλομεν. Ἀλλὰ ταύτης ἡμεῖς μὲν οὐκ ἐπειράθημεν, αὐτὸς δὲ ταύτην ὑπέμεινεν ὁ Σωτὴρ ὁ ἡμέτερος· ὑπομείνας δὲ ταύτην, τὴν εἰρήνην ἡμῖν τὴν πρὸς Θεὸν ἐδωρήσατο. Σαφέστερον δὲ τοῦτο δηλοῖ τὰ ἑξῆς· «Πάντες γὰρ, φησὶν, ὡς πρόβατα ἐπλανήθημεν, ἄνθρωπος τῇ ὁδῷ αὑτοῦ ἐπλανήθη. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ὡς πρόβατον ἐπὶ σφαγὴν ἤχθη, καὶ ὡς ἀμνὸς ἐναντίον τοῦ κείροντος αὐτὸν ἄφωνος.» Ἔπρεπε γὰρ αὐτῷ, τῷ ὁμοίῳ θεραπεῦσαι τὸ ὅμοιον, καὶ διὰ τοῦ προβά του τὴν τῶν προβάτων ἀνακαλέσασθαι πλάνην. Γίνε ται δὲ πρόβατον, οὐκ εἰς πρόβατον μεταβληθεὶς, οὐδὲ τροπὴν ὑπομείνας, οὐδὲ τῆς οἰκείας οὐσίας ἐκστάς· ἀλλὰ τοῦ προβάτου τὴν φύσιν σαφῶς ἐνδυσάμενος, καὶ οἷον ὁ ἡγούμενος τῆς ποίμνης κριὸς, κτίλος τῆς ποίμνης γενόμενος, καὶ ἀκολουθεῖν αὐτῷ πάντα παρασκευάσας τὰ πρόβατα. Ὡς πρόβατον τοι γαροῦν καὶ ἱερεῖον ἐγένετο, καὶ ὑπὲρ παντὸς τοῦ γένους προσηνέχθη θυσία. Οὐχ ἁπλῶς δὲ ὁ προφήτης καὶ σφαγῆς ὁμοῦ καὶ κουρᾶς ἐμνημόνευσεν. Ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ Θεὸς ἦν καὶ ἄνθρωπος, τοῦ δὲ σώματος σφαττομένου, ἀπαθὴς ἔμεινε ἡ θεία φύσις, ἀναγ καίως καὶ ὁ θεσπέσιος Ἡσαΐας, καὶ τοῦ προβάτου τὴν σφαγὴν, καὶ τοῦ ἀμνοῦ τὴν κουρὰν ἡμῖν ὑπ έδειξεν. Οὐ γὰρ μόνον, φησὶν, ἐσφάγη, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπ εκείρατο. Καὶ γὰρ κατὰ τὸ ἀνθρώπειον τὸν θά νατον ὑπέμεινεν· ὡς δὲ Θεὸς ζῶν καὶ ἀπαθὴς διαμένων, τὸν τοῦ σώματος πόκον τοῖς κείρουσιν ἔδωκεν. Οὕτως ὁ μακάριος Ἡσαΐας καὶ τὰ σωτήρια ἡμῖν ὑπέδειξε πάθη, καὶ τῶν παθῶν τὰς αἰ τίας ἐδίδαξε. Καὶ ὁ θειότατος δὲ Παῦλος ἄντικρυς βοᾷ· «Χριστὸς ἡμᾶς ἐξηγόρασεν ἐκ τῆς