John Chrysostom, On Matthew

He was afraid to say this; but what? Do you also come to me? What then did Christ do? What He did later in the case of Peter, this He also did then. For he too was preventing Him from washing his feet; but when he heard, "What I am doing, you do not know now, but you will know after these things;" and that, "You have no part with Me;" he quickly abandoned his firm stand, and changed to the opposite. And this man likewise again, having heard, "Permit it now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness;" immediately obeyed. For they were not immoderately contentious, but showed both their love and their obedience, and made it their practice to obey the Master in all things. But consider how He persuades him from this point, from which he especially suspected what was happening; for He did not say, "Thus it is just," but, "Thus it is fitting." For since he thought this to be especially unworthy of Him, to be baptized by the servant, He set forth this very point which was contrasted with that, as if He were saying, "Do you not shun and prevent this as unfitting? For this very reason, then, permit it, because it is also especially fitting." And He did not simply say, "Permit it;" but added the word, "now." "For these things will not be forever," He says, "but you will see Me in those circumstances which you desire; but for now endure this." Then He also shows how this is fitting. How then is it fitting? "Because we fulfill the entire law;" which He was then indicating when He said, "All righteousness." For righteousness is the fulfillment of the commandments. "Since then We have accomplished all the other commandments," He says, "and this alone is left, this too must be added." "For I came to loose the curse lying upon the transgression of the law." "It is necessary, therefore, that I first fulfill everything myself, and having delivered you from condemnation, thus bring it to rest." "It is fitting, therefore, for me to fulfill the entire law; since it is also fitting to loose the curse written against you in the law." "For because of this I both took on flesh and have come." Then he permitted Him. And when Jesus was baptized, He immediately came up from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and coming upon Him. 2. For since many thought John to be greater than Him, because the one was raised his whole life in the desert, and was the son of a high priest, and wore such a garment, and called everyone to baptism, and had been born of a barren woman; while Jesus 57.204 was from a humble maiden (for the virgin birth was not yet manifest to all), and because He was raised in a house, and associated with everyone, and wore this common clothing, they suspected He was lesser than him, knowing as yet none of those secret things. And it also happened that He was baptized by John; which confirmed this suspicion all the more, even if none of the former things existed; for they were thinking that this one was one of the many; for if He had not been one of the many, He would not have come with the many to baptism; but that one was greater than Him and much more admirable; in order, therefore, that this opinion might not prevail among the many, the heavens are also opened when He is baptized, and the Spirit descends, and a voice with the Spirit proclaims the worthiness of the Only-Begotten. For since the voice that said, "This is My beloved Son," seemed to the many to apply more to John; for it did not add, "This one being baptized," but simply, "This;" and each of the hearers suspected it was said about the one baptizing rather than the one being baptized, both because of the Baptist's own dignity, and because of all the things that have been said; the Spirit came in the form of a dove, drawing the voice to Jesus, and making it clear to all that the "This" was not said concerning John the baptizer, but concerning Jesus the one being baptized. And how, he says, did they not believe when these things were happening? Because also in the time of Moses many wonders occurred, even if not such as these; and after all those things, and the voices, and the trumpets, and the lightnings, they both forged a calf, and were initiated to Baal-peor. And these very men who were then present, even after seeing Lazarus raised, were so far from

τοῦτο ἔδεισεν εἰπεῖν· ἀλλὰ τί; Καὶ σὺ ἔρχῃ πρὸς μέ; Τί οὖν ὁ Χριστός; Ὅπερ ἐπὶ τοῦ Πέτρου πεποίηκεν ὕστερον, τοῦτο καὶ τότε ἐποίησε. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἐκεῖνος διεκώλυεν αὐτὸν νίψαι τοὺς πόδας· ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ ἤκουσεν· Ὃ ποιῶ, νῦν σὺ οὐκ οἶδας, γνώσῃ δὲ μετὰ ταῦτα· καὶ ὅτι Οὐκ ἔχεις μέρος μετ' ἐμοῦ· ταχέως ἀπέστη τοῦ τόνου, καὶ πρὸς τὸ ἐναντίον μετέστη. Καὶ οὗτος ὁμοίως πάλιν, ἀκούσας· Ἄφες ἄρτι· οὕτω γὰρ πρέπον ἐστὶν ἡμῖν πληρῶσαι πᾶσαν δικαιοσύνην· εὐθέως ὑπήκουσεν. Οὐ γὰρ ἀμέτρως ἦσαν φιλόνεικοι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἀγάπην ἐπεδείκνυντο καὶ τὴν ὑπακοὴν, καὶ πάντα πείθεσθαι ἐμελέτων τῷ ∆εσπότῃ. Σκόπει δὲ πῶς ἐντεῦθεν αὐτὸν ἐνάγει, ἀφ' ὧν μάλιστα ὑπώπτευε τὸ γινόμενον· οὐδὲ γὰρ εἶπεν, Οὕτω δίκαιόν ἐστιν, ἀλλ', Οὕτω πρέπον ἐστίν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἀνάξιον αὐτοῦ μάλιστα εἶναι ἐνόμιζε τοῦτο, τὸ παρὰ τοῦ δούλου βαπτισθῆναι, τοῦτο μάλιστα τέθεικε τὸ πρὸς ἐκεῖνο ἀντιδιαστελλόμενον, ὡσανεὶ ἔλεγεν· Οὐχ ὡς ἀπρεπὲς τοῦτο φεύγεις καὶ διακωλύεις; δι' αὐτὸ μὲν οὖν τοῦτο ἄφες, ὅτι καὶ μάλιστα πρέπον ἐστίν. Καὶ οὐχ ἁπλῶς εἶπεν, Ἄφες· ἀλλὰ τὸ, ἄρτι, προσέθηκεν. Οὐ γὰρ διηνεκῶς ταῦτα ἔσται, φησὶν, ἀλλ' ὄψει με ἐν τούτοις οἷς ἐπιθυμεῖς· ἄρτι μέντοι ὑπόμεινον τοῦτο. Εἶτα καὶ δείκνυσι πῶς τοῦτο πρέπον. Πῶς οὖν πρέπον ἐστίν; Ὅτι τὸν νόμον πληροῦμεν ἅπαντα· ὅπερ οὖν δηλῶν ἔλεγε, Πᾶσαν δικαιοσύνην. ∆ικαιοσύνη γάρ ἐστιν ἡ τῶν ἐντολῶν ἐκπλήρωσις. Ἐπεὶ οὖν πάσας τὰς ἄλλας ἐντολὰς ἠνύσαμεν, φησὶ, τοῦτο δὲ ὑπολέλειπται μόνον, δεῖ προστεθῆναι καὶ τοῦτο. Καὶ γὰρ ἦλθον λῦσαι τὴν ἀρὰν τὴν ἐπὶ τῇ παραβάσει τοῦ νόμου κειμένην. ∆εῖ τοίνυν πρότερον ἐμὲ αὐτὸν πάντα πληρώσαντα, καὶ ἐξελόμενον ὑμᾶς τῆς καταδίκης, οὕτως αὐτὸν ἀναπαῦσαι. Πρέπον οὖν ἐστιν ἐμοὶ πληρῶσαι τὸν νόμον ἅπαντα· ἐπειδὴ καὶ πρέπον ἐστὶ λῦσαι τὴν καθ' ὑμῶν ἐν τῷ νόμῳ γεγραμμένην κατάραν. ∆ιὰ γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ σάρκα ἀνέλαβον καὶ παρεγενόμην. Τότε ἀφίησιν αὐτόν. Καὶ βαπτισθεὶς ὁ Ἰησοῦς εὐθὺς ἀνέβη ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕδατος· καὶ ἰδοὺ ἀνεῴχθησαν αὐτῷ οἱ οὐρανοὶ, καὶ εἶδε τὸ Πνεῦμα τοῦ Θεοῦ καταβαῖνον ὡσεὶ περιστερὰν, καὶ ἐρχόμενον ἐπ' αὐτόν. βʹ. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ πολλοὶ μείζονα αὐτοῦ τὸν Ἰωάννην εἶναι ἐνόμιζον, διὰ τὸ τὸν μὲν ἐν ἐρήμῳ πάντα τραφῆναι τὸν χρόνον, καὶ υἱὸν ἀρχιερέως εἶναι, καὶ στολὴν περικεῖσθαι τοιαύτην, καὶ πάντας ἐπὶ τὸ βάπτισμα καλεῖν, καὶ ἀπὸ στείρας τετέχθαι· τὸν δὲ Ἰησοῦν 57.204 καὶ ἀπὸ εὐτελοῦς κόρης εἶναι (ὁ γὰρ τῆς παρθενίας τόκος οὐδέπω πᾶσι κατάδηλος ἦν), καὶ διὰ τὸ ἐν οἰκίᾳ τραφῆναι, καὶ μετὰ πάντων ἀναστρέφεσθαι, καὶ τὴν κοινὴν ταύτην ἐσθῆτα περικεῖσθαι, ἐλάττονα αὐτοῦ εἶναι ὑπώπτευον, οὐδὲν οὐδέπω τῶν ἀποῤῥήτων εἰδότες ἐκείνων. Συνέβη δὲ καὶ βαπτισθῆναι αὐτὸν ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἰωάννου· ὅπερ ταύτην μᾶλλον ἐβεβαίου τὴν ὑπόνοιαν, εἰ καὶ μηδὲν τῶν προτέρων ἦν· ἐνενόουν γὰρ ὅτι οὗτος μὲν τῶν πολλῶν εἷς· οὐδὲ γὰρ εἰ μὴ τῶν πολλῶν εἷς ἦν, οὐκ ἂν μετὰ τῶν πολλῶν ἐπὶ τὸ βάπτισμα ἦλθεν· ἐκεῖνος δὲ μείζων αὐτοῦ καὶ πολλῷ θαυμαστότερος· ἵν' οὖν μὴ αὕτη κρατήσῃ παρὰ τοῖς πολλοῖς ἡ δόξα, καὶ οἱ οὐρανοὶ ἀνοίγονται, βαπτισθέντος αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα κάτεισι, καὶ φωνὴ μετὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος κηρύττουσα τοῦ Μονογενοῦς τὴν ἀξίαν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἡ φωνὴ ἡ λέγουσα, Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ Υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητὸς, παρὰ τοῖς πολλοῖς μᾶλλον ἁρμόττειν ἐδόκει τῷ Ἰωάννῃ· οὐ γὰρ προσέθηκεν, Οὗτος ὁ βαπτιζόμενος, ἀλλ' ἁπλῶς, Οὗτος· καὶ τῶν ἀκροατῶν ἕκαστος περὶ τοῦ βαπτίζοντος μᾶλλον, ἢ τοῦ βαπτιζομένου εἰρῆσθαι αὐτὴν ὑπενόει, διά τε αὐτὸ τοῦ Βαπτιστοῦ τὸ ἀξίωμα, διά τε τὰ εἰρημένα ἅπαντα· ἦλθε τὸ Πνεῦμα ἐν εἴδει περιστερᾶς τὴν φωνὴν ἕλκον ἐπὶ τὸν Ἰησοῦν, καὶ πᾶσι δῆλον ποιοῦν, ὅτι τὸ, Οὗτος, οὐ περὶ Ἰωάννου τοῦ βαπτίζοντος, ἀλλὰ περὶ Ἰησοῦ τοῦ βαπτιζομένου εἴρηται. Καὶ πῶς, φησὶν, οὐκ ἐπίστευσαν τούτων γινομένων; Ὅτι καὶ ἐπὶ Μωϋσέως πολλὰ γέγονε θαύματα, εἰ καὶ μὴ τοιαῦτα· καὶ μετὰ πάντα ἐκεῖνα, καὶ τὰς φωνὰς, καὶ τὰς σάλπιγγας, καὶ τὰς ἀστραπὰς, καὶ μόσχον ἐχάλκευσαν, καὶ τῷ Βεελφεγὼρ ἐτελέσθησαν. Καὶ αὐτοὶ δὲ οὗτοι οἱ τότε παρόντες, καὶ τὸν Λάζαρον ἀναστάντα ἰδόντες, τοσοῦτον ἀπέσχον