John Chrysostom, On Matthew

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to apostles, but also to angels and archangels, and to all the powers above. At any rate, Paul sets this forth as a special prerogative of the Only-begotten, saying: But to which of the angels has He ever said: Sit at my right hand? And to the angels he says: He who makes His angels spirits; but to the Son, Your throne, O God. How then does He say, To sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to give, as if there were some who would be seated? Not as if there were, far from it; but he answered according to the suspicion of those asking, condescending to their way of thinking. For they did not know that high throne, and the seat at the right hand of the Father, when indeed they were ignorant of things much lower than these and sounded in their ears daily; but they sought one thing only, to enjoy the first places, and to stand before the others, and that no one be before them with him; which I have already said, that because they heard of twelve thrones, being ignorant of what was said, they sought the chief seats. What Christ says, then, is this: You will die for me, and you will be slain for the sake of the preaching, and you will share with me in suffering; yet this is not sufficient to make you enjoy the chief seat, and to obtain the first rank. For if another comes with martyrdom and possessing all other virtue much more than you, it is not because I love you now, and prefer you to the others, that for this reason I will thrust aside him who is proclaimed by his works, and give the first places to you. But he did not say it this way, so as not to grieve them; but he enigmatically hints at this same thing, saying: My cup you will indeed drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared. But for whom has it been prepared? For those who are able to become glorious by their works. For this reason He did not say, It is not mine to give, but my Father's, so that no one might say that he is weak, or unable to make the award; but how? It is not 58.621 mine, but for those for whom it has been prepared. But so that what I say may be clearer, let us lay it bare with an example, and let us suppose that there is some arbiter of a contest, then many excellent athletes going down into this contest, and two of the athletes, who were especially intimate with the arbiter, approaching him and saying, Grant that we may be crowned and proclaimed victor, trusting in their favor and friendship with him; and he says to them, This is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by their toils and their sweat; shall we then convict him of weakness? By no means; but we will approve of his justice and impartiality. Just as, then, we would not say that he does not give the crown out of powerlessness, but because he does not wish to corrupt the law of the contests, nor to confuse the order of what is just; so indeed I would say that Christ said this, compelling them from all sides, after the grace of God, to have their hopes of salvation and of good repute in the demonstration of their own right actions. For this reason He says, For whom it has been prepared. For what, he says, if others appear better than you? what if they accomplish greater things? For is it because you have become my disciples, that for this reason you will enjoy the first places, if you yourselves do not appear worthy of the election? For that He Himself is Lord of all is clear from the fact that He Himself has all judgment. For to Peter also He says thus: I will give you the keys of the heavens. And Paul, making this clear, said: Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing. And the appearing of Christ has happened. That no one will stand before Paul is, I suppose, clear to everyone. But if he has spoken these things more obscurely, do not be surprised. For he was sending them on their way providentially, so that they might not trouble him about the first places rashly and in vain; (for they suffered this from a human passion;) and not wishing to grieve them, he accomplishes both these things by the obscurity. Then

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ἀποστόλοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀγγέλοις καὶ ἀρχαγγέλοις, καὶ πάσαις ταῖς ἄνω δυνάμεσιν. Ὡς γοῦν ἐξαίρετον τοῦ Μονογενοῦς τίθησιν αὐτὸ ὁ Παῦλος λέγων· Πρὸς τίνα δὲ τῶν ἀγγέλων εἴρηκέ ποτε· Κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν μου; Καὶ πρὸς μὲν τοὺς ἀγγέλους φησίν· Ὁ ποιῶν τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ πνεύματα· πρὸς δὲ τὸν Υἱὸν, Ὁ θρόνος σου, ὁ Θεός. Πῶς οὖν φησι, Τὸ καθίσαι ἐκ δεξιῶν καὶ ἐξ εὐωνύμων, οὐκ ἔστιν ἐμὸν δοῦναι, ὡς ὄντων τινῶν τῶν καθεδουμένων; Οὐχ ὡς ὄντων, ἄπαγε· ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὴν ὑπόνοιαν ἀπεκρίνατο τῶν ἐρωτώντων, συγκαταβαίνων αὐτῶν τῇ διανοίᾳ. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ᾔδεσαν τὸν ὑψηλὸν θρόνον ἐκεῖνον, καὶ τὴν ἐκ δεξιῶν τοῦ Πατρὸς καθέδραν, ὅπου γε καὶ τὰ πολλῷ τούτων καταδεέστερα καὶ καθ' ἡμέραν αὐτοῖς ἐνηχούμενα ἠγνόουν· ἀλλ' ἓν ἐζήτουν μόνον, τῶν πρωτείων ἀπολαῦσαι, καὶ πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων στῆναι, καὶ μηδένα εἶναι πρὸ αὐτῶν παρ' αὐτῷ· ὅπερ καὶ ἤδη ἔφθην εἰπὼν, ὅτι ἐπειδὴ δώδεκα θρόνους ἤκουσαν, ἀγνοήσαντες ὅ τι ποτέ ἐστι τὸ εἰρημένον, τὴν προεδρίαν ἐπεζήτησαν. Ὃ τοίνυν φησὶν ὁ Χριστὸς, τοῦτό ἐστιν· Ἀποθανεῖσθε μὲν δι' ἐμὲ, καὶ σφαγήσεσθε τοῦ κηρύγματος ἕνεκεν, καὶ κοινωνήσετέ μοι κατὰ τὸ πάθος· οὐ μὴν ἀρκεῖ τοῦτο ποιῆσαι τῆς προεδρίας ὑμᾶς ἀπολαῦσαι, καὶ τὴν πρώτην τάξιν κατασχεῖν. Ἂν γάρ τις ἕτερος ἔλθῃ μετὰ τοῦ μαρτυρίου καὶ τὴν ἄλλην ἅπασαν ἀρετὴν κεκτημένος πολλῷ πλείονα ὑμῶν, οὐκ ἐπειδὴ φιλῶ νῦν ὑμᾶς, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων προκρίνω, διὰ τοῦτο παρωσάμενος ἐκεῖνον τὸν ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων κηρυττόμενον, ὑμῖν δώσω τὰ πρωτεῖα. Ἀλλ' οὕτω μὲν οὐκ εἶπεν, ὥστε μὴ λυπῆσαι· αἰνιγματωδῶς δὲ τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο αἰνίττεται λέγων· Τὸ μὲν ποτήριόν μου πίεσθε, καὶ τὸ βάπτισμα, ὃ ἐγὼ βαπτίζομαι, βαπτισθήσεσθε· τὸ δὲ καθίσαι ἐκ δεξιῶν μου καὶ ἐξ εὐωνύμων, οὐκ ἔστιν ἐμὸν τοῦτο δοῦναι, ἀλλ' οἷς ἡτοίμασται. Τίσι δὲ ἡτοίμασται; Τοῖς ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων δυναμένοις γενέσθαι λαμπροῖς. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο οὐκ εἶπεν, Οὐκ ἔστιν ἐμὸν δοῦναι, ἀλλὰ τοῦ Πατρός μου, ἵνα μὴ ἀσθενεῖν, μηδὲ ἀτονεῖν αὐτὸν φαίη τις πρὸς τὴν ἀντίδοσιν· ἀλλὰ πῶς; Οὐκ ἔστιν 58.621 ἐμὸν, ἀλλ' ἐκείνων οἷς ἡτοίμασται. Ἵνα δὲ καὶ σαφέστερον ὃ λέγω γένηται, ἐπὶ ὑποδείγματος αὐτὸ γυμνάσωμεν, καὶ ὑποθώμεθα εἶναί τινα ἀγωνοθέτην, εἶτα ἀθλητὰς ἀρίστους πολλοὺς εἰς τὸν ἀγῶνα κατιέναι τοῦτον, καί τινας δύο προσελθόντας τῶν ἀθλητῶν τῶν μάλιστα ᾠκειωμένων τῷ ἀγωνοθέτῃ λέγειν, ὅτι Ποίησον ἡμᾶς στεφανωθῆναι καὶ ἀνακηρυχθῆναι, θαῤῥοῦντας τῇ πρὸς αὐτὸν εὐνοίᾳ καὶ φιλίᾳ· ἐκεῖνον δὲ πρὸς αὐτοὺς λέγειν. Οὐκ ἔστιν ἐμὸν τοῦτο δοῦναι, ἀλλ' οἷς ἡτοίμασται ἀπὸ τῶν πόνων καὶ τῶν ἱδρώτων· ἆρ' οὖν καταγνωσόμεθα αὐτοῦ ἀσθένειαν; Οὐδαμῶς· ἀλλ' ἀποδεξόμεθα αὐτὸν τῆς δικαιοσύνης καὶ τοῦ ἀπροσωπολήπτου. Ὥσπερ οὖν ἐκεῖνον οὐκ ἂν φαίημεν ἀτονοῦντα μὴ διδόναι τὸν στέφανον, ἀλλὰ μὴ βουλόμενον διαφθεῖραι τῶν ἀγώνων τὸν νόμον, μηδὲ συνταράξαι τοῦ δικαίου τὴν τάξιν· οὕτω δὴ καὶ τὸν Χριστὸν εἴποιμι ἂν τοῦτο εἰρηκέναι, πανταχόθεν αὐτοὺς συνελαύνοντα, μετὰ τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ χάριν, εἰς τὴν οἰκείων κατορθωμάτων ἐπίδειξιν τὰς ἐλπίδας τῆς σωτηρίας καὶ τῆς εὐδοκιμήσεως ἔχειν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτό φησιν, Οἷς ἡτοίμασται. Τί γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐὰν ἕτεροι φανῶσιν ὑμῶν βελτίους; τί δὲ ἂν μείζονα ἐργάσωνται; Μὴ γὰρ ἐπειδὴ μαθηταί μου γεγόνατε, διὰ τοῦτο τῶν πρωτείων ἀπολαύσεσθε, ἐὰν μὴ τῆς ἐκλογῆς αὐτοὶ ἄξιοι φανῆτε; Ὅτι γὰρ αὐτὸς Κύριός ἐστι τοῦ παντὸς, δῆλον ἐξ ὧν αὐτὸς πᾶσαν ἔχει τὴν κρίσιν. Καὶ γὰρ Πέτρῳ οὕτω φησίν· Ἐγώ σοι δώσω τὰς κλεῖς τῶν οὐρανῶν. Καὶ ὁ Παῦλος δὲ τοῦτο δηλῶν ἔλεγε· Λοιπὸν ἀπόκειταί μοι ὁ τῆς δικαιοσύνης στέφανος, ὃν ἀποδώσει μοι ὁ Κύριος ὁ δίκαιος κριτὴς ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ· οὐ μόνον δὲ ἐμοὶ, ἀλλὰ καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς ἠγαπηκόσι τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν αὐτοῦ. Ἐπιφάνεια δὲ τοῦ Χριστοῦ γέγονεν. Ὅτι δὲ Παύλου οὐδεὶς πρῶτος στήσεται, παντί που δῆλον. Εἰ δὲ ἀσαφέστερον ταῦτα εἴρηκε, μὴ θαυμάσῃς. Παραπεμπόμενός τε γὰρ αὐτοὺς οἰκονομικῶς, ὥστε μὴ ὑπὲρ πρωτείων ἐνοχλεῖν εἰκῆ καὶ μάτην· (καὶ γὰρ ἀπὸ πάθους τοῦτο ἔπασχον ἀνθρωπίνου·) καὶ μὴ λυπῆσαι βουλόμενος αὐτοὺς, τῇ ἀσαφείᾳ ἀμφότερα ταῦτα κατορθοῖ. Τότε