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of the house of Israel,” 9.11.11 clearly teaching that He was sent primarily to them, in accordance with the prophecy. But since they did not receive the grace, He rebukes them, saying in other places: “Because I came, and there was no man? I called, and there was no one who answered?” And He says to them: “The kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation producing its fruits.” 9.11.12 And to His disciples, after their refusal, He commands: “Go and make disciples of all the nations in my name.” Thus indeed we, the nations, have known and received the prophet who was proclaimed beforehand and sent from the Father, as one who became a lawgiver of piety toward the God of all for all men, through the saving and evangelical teaching, another prophecy being fulfilled at the same time, through which it was said: “Appoint, O Lord, a lawgiver for them, that the nations may know that they are men.” 9.11.13 But the nation of the Jews, not accepting the one prophesied, paid the just penalty according to the divine prophecy that said: “And the man who will not listen to all that the prophet will speak in my name, I will take vengeance on him.” 9.11.14 Therefore vengeance was taken on that people for “all the blood” shed “on the earth from the blood of Abel” “to the blood of Zechariah,” and above all, that of Christ Himself, whose blood they called down upon themselves and upon their own children, and even now they are suffering the punishment for the impiety they dared to commit. 9.12.1 From Job. “Who speaks to the sun and it does not rise, and seals up the stars; who alone stretched out the heaven, and walks on the sea as on solid ground.” 9.12.2 And these things would be fitting only for our Savior and Lord, as being the Word of God, the creator of all; for He alone of all who have ever lived, during the times of His incarnation, having taken on a human body and form, is said to have walked on the sea, because He “compelled his disciples to get into a boat and go before him to the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. Now when evening came, he was there alone. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea.” But “seeing” “him on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a ghost! And they cried out for fear. But immediately he spoke to them, saying, Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” 9.12.3 Otherwise, it would not seem to contain a worthy theology if someone were to understand the saying as referring to the most high God and Father of all. 9.12.4 For what is there august and noteworthy in saying that the God of all walks on the sea? And how could a walk on the sea be conceived of for Him who contains all things and fills heaven and earth and practically says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool,” and “Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the Lord”? But our Savior and Lord, “emptying himself and taking the form of a servant, and being found in appearance as a man,” providing a demonstration of His divine power, which was hidden from the many, for His disciples to see, is recorded as walking on the waves of the sea and rebuking the surge and the winds, at which time even those who saw were astonished, saying, “What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?” And this was also a symbol of something else greater, understanding another sea, in which it is said there is a certain dragon “made to be mocked by the angels” of God, upon which our Savior and Lord also walked, and is said to have crushed the head of the dragon there and of the other subordinate dragons, according to “you crushed the heads of the dragons on the water,” and “you crushed the heads of the dragon,” another sea being clearly understood, about which He Himself says again in a psalm: “I have come into the depths of the sea,” 9.12.5 and to Job, recounting the things concerning himself, “Have you come to the spring of
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οἴκου Ἰσραήλ», 9.11.11 σαφῶς διδάσκων, ὅτι δὴ αὐτοῖς προηγουμένως ἀπέσταλτο τῇ προφητείᾳ ἀκολούθως. ἐπειδὴ δὲ οὐκ ἐδέξαντο τὴν χάριν, ἀπελέγχει μὲν αὐτούς, ἐν ἑτέροις λέγων· «διότι ἦλθον, καὶ οὐκ ἦν ἄνθρωπος; ἐκάλεσα, καὶ οὐκ ἦν ὁ ὑπακούων;» φησὶν δὲ πρὸς αὐτοὺς· «ἀρθήσεται ἀφ' ὑμῶν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ δοθήσεται ἔθνει ποιοῦντι τοὺς καρποὺς αὐτῆς». 9.11.12 καὶ τοῖς γε αὐτοῦ μαθηταῖς μετὰ τὴν ἐκείνων παραίτησιν προστάττει· «πορευθέντες μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί μου». οὕτω δῆτα ἡμεῖς μέν, τὰ ἔθνη, τὸν προαναφωνηθέντα καὶ πρὸς τοῦ πατρὸς ἀπεσταλμένον προφήτην, ἅτε νομοθέτην ἅπασι γενόμενον ἀνθρώποις τῆς εἰς τὸν τῶν ὅλων θεὸν εὐσεβείας, διὰ τῆς σωτηρίου καὶ εὐαγγελικῆς διδασκαλίας ἔγνωμεν καὶ κατεδεξάμεθα, πληρουμένης κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ καὶ ἑτέρας προρρήσεως, δι' ἧς εἴρηται· «κατάστησον, κύριε, νομοθέτην αὐτοῖς, γνώτωσαν ἔθνη ὅτι ἄνθρωποί εἰσιν». 9.11.13 τὸ δὲ Ἰουδαίων ἔθνος, μὴ παραδεξάμενον τὸν προφητευόμενον, δίκην ἔτισεν τὴν ἀξίαν κατὰ τὴν θείαν πρόρρησιν φήσασαν· «καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὃς ἐὰν μὴ ἀκούσῃ πάντα ὅσα ἐὰν λαλήσῃ ὁ προφήτης ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί μου, ἐγὼ ἐκδικήσω ἐξ αὐτοῦ». 9.11.14 ἐκδεδίκηται γοῦν ἐκ τοῦ λαοῦ ἐκείνου «πᾶν αἷμα» ἐκχυθὲν «ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἀπὸ αἵματος Ἄβελ» «ἕως αἵματος Ζαχαρίου», καὶ αὐτοῦ γε ἐπὶ πᾶσι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, οὗ τὸ αἷμα καθ' ἑαυτῶν ἐξαιτησάμενοι καὶ κατὰ τῶν ἰδίων παίδων, εἰσέτι νῦν τῆς τολμηθείσης αὐτοῖς ἀσεβείας τὴν τιμωρίαν ὑπέχουσιν. 9.12.1 Ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἰώβ. «Ὁ λέγων τῷ ἡλίῳ καὶ οὐκ ἀνατέλλει,κατὰ δὲ ἄστρων κατασφραγίζει, ὁ τανύσας τὸν οὐρανὸν μόνος, καὶ περιπατῶν ἐπὶ θαλάσσης ὡς ἐπὶ ἐδάφους.» 9.12.2 Καὶ ταῦτα μόνῳ τῷ σωτῆρι καὶ κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, ὡς ἂν θεοῦ λόγῳ δημιουργῷ τῶν ὅλων τυγχάνοντι, ἁρμόζοι ἄν· μόνος γοῦν τῶν πώποτε κατὰ τοὺς τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως χρόνους, σῶμα καὶ σχῆμα ἀνθρώπινον ἀναλαβών, ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης περιπατῆσαι λέγεται, ὅτι τοὺς ἑαυτοῦ «μαθητὰς ἠνάγκασεν ἐμβῆναι εἰς πλοῖον καὶ προάγειν αὐτὸν εἰς τὸ πέραν, ἕως οὗ αὐτὸς ἀπολύσῃ τοὺς ὄχλους. καὶ ἀπολύσας τοὺς ὄχλους ἀνέβη εἰς τὸ ὄρος κατ' ἰδίαν προσεύξασθαι. ὀψίας δὲ γενομένης μόνος ἦν ἐκεῖ. τὸ δὲ πλοῖον ἤδη ἦν ἐν μέσῳ τῆς θαλάσσης». «ἰδόντες» δὲ «αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης ἐταράχθησαν, λέγοντες ὅτι φάντασμά ἐστιν, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ φόβου ἔκραξαν. εὐθέως δὲ ἐλάλησεν αὐτοῖς λέγων, θαρσεῖτε, ἐγώ εἰμι, μὴ φοβεῖσθε». 9.12.3 ἄλλως δὲ οὐκ ἂν γένοιτο ἀξιοπρεπῆ θεολογίαν δοκεῖν περιέχειν, εἰ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀνωτάτω θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς τῶν ὅλων ἐκλαμβάνοι τις τὸ λόγιον. 9.12.4 τί γὰρ ἔχει σεμνὸν καὶ ἀξιόλογον ἐπὶ τοῦ θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων περιπατεῖν λέγεσθαι ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης; πῶς δὲ καὶ νοηθείη ἂν περίπατος ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης τοῦ τὰ πάντα περιέχοντος καὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν πληροῦντος καὶ μονονουχὶ λέγοντος· «ὁ οὐρανός μοι θρόνος, ἡ δὲ γῆ ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν μου» καὶ «τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν ἐγὼ πληρῶ, λέγει κύριος»; ὁ δέ γε σωτὴρ καὶ κύριος ἡμῶν «ἑαυτὸν κενώσας καὶ μορφὴν δούλου λαβὼν καὶ σχήματι εὑρεθεὶς ὡς ἄνθρωπος» δεῖγμα τῆς λανθανούσης τοὺς πολλοὺς ἐνθέου δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ παρέχων ὁρᾶν τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μαθηταῖς, καὶ τοῖς θαλαττίοις ἐπιβαίνων κύμασιν καὶ τῷ κλύδωνι καὶ τοῖς ἀνέμοις ἐπιτιμῶν ἀναγέγραπται, ὅτε καὶ οἱ ὁρῶντες ἐξεπλήττοντο λέγοντες· «ποταπός ἐστιν οὗτος, ὅτι καὶ οἱ ἄνεμοι καὶ ἡ θάλασσα αὐτῷ ὑπακούουσιν;» ἦν δὲ καὶ τοῦτο ἄλλου τινὸς μείζονος σύμβολον, νοουμένης ἑτέρας θαλάσσης, ἐν ᾗ λέγεται δράκων τις εἶναι «πεποιημένος ἐγκαταπαίζεσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν ἀγγέλων» τοῦ θεοῦ, ἐφ' ἣν καὶ αὐτὴν ὁ σωτὴρ καὶ κύριος ἡμῶν ἐμπεριπατήσας, τὴν κεφαλὴν τοῦ αὐτόθι δράκοντος καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν τῶν ὑποβεβηκότων δρακόντων λέγεται συντετριφέναι κατὰ τὸ «σὺ συνέθλασας τὰς κεφαλὰς τῶν δρακόντων ἐπὶ τοῦ ὕδατος», καὶ «σὺ συνέθλασας τὰς κεφαλὰς τοῦ δράκοντος», σαφῶς ἑτέρας νοουμένης θαλάσσης, περὶ ἧς αὐτὸς πάλιν ἐν ψαλμῷ φησιν· «ἦλθον εἰς τὰ βάθη τῆς θαλάσσης», 9.12.5 καὶ πρὸς τὸν Ἰώβ, τὰ περὶ ἑαυτοῦ διεξιών, «ἦλθες δὲ ἐπὶ πηγὴν