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Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians

OF OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS JOHN CHRYSOSTOM

COMMENTARY OF THE ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE ON THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS.

CHAPTER 1.

Paul, an apostle, not from men, nor through men, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead, and all the brothers with me, to the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and

peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1. The introduction is full of much anger and great spirit; and not only the introduction, but also, so to speak, the whole Epistle. For to always converse with gentleness with those being taught, even when they need severity, would not be the mark of a teacher, but of a destroyer and an enemy. For this reason, the Lord, though he spoke many things gently to his disciples, in some places also used sterner language, and at one time he blesses, at another he rebukes. For example, having said to Peter, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah," and having promised to lay the foundations of the Church upon his confession, not long after these words he says, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me." And again elsewhere, "Are you also still without understanding?" And he instilled such fear in them, that John even said that, seeing him speaking with a 61.612 Samaritan woman, they reminded him about food, but "no one dared to say, 'What are you saying?' or 'What are you seeking with her?'" Learning these things, Paul, who walked in the footsteps of the Teacher, varied his discourse according to the need of his disciples, at one time cauterizing and cutting, at another applying gentle remedies. And to the Corinthians he said, "What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?" But to the Galatians, "O foolish Galatians"; and he used this rebuke not once, but a second time. And towards the end, chiding them, he said, "Let no one cause me trouble." And again he heals, as when he says, "My little children, for whom I am again in the pain of childbirth," and many other such things. But that the Epistle is full of anger is surely clear to everyone even from a first reading. But it is necessary to say what it was that provoked him against his disciples; for this was no small or trivial matter, since otherwise he would not have used such strong condemnation. For to be provoked over trivial things is the mark of small-minded, harsh, and wretched men; just as to be lax about great things is the mark of the more sluggish and sleepy. But Paul was not such a man. What then was the sin that moved 61.613 him? A great and excessive one, and one which alienated them all from Christ, as he himself said further on: "Behold, I, Paul, say to you that if you are circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing." And again, "You who would be justified by the law have fallen away from grace." What then is this? For it is necessary to unfold it more clearly. Those who had believed from among the Jews, being possessed on the one hand by a prejudice for Judaism, and on the other drunk with vainglory, and wishing to assume for themselves the dignity of teachers, came to the nation of the Galatians and taught that it was necessary to be circumcised and to keep sabbaths and new moons

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In epistulam ad Galatas commentarius

ΤΟΥ ΕΝ ΑΓΙΟΙΣ ΠΑΤΡΟΣ ΗΜΩΝ ΙΩΑΝΝΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΧΡΥΣΟΣΤΟΜΟΥ

ΑΡΧΙΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΥ ΚΩΝΣΤΑΝΤΙΝΟΥΠΟΛΕΩΣ ΥΠΟΜΝΗΜΑ ΕΙΣ ΤΗΝ ΠΡΟΣ ΓΑΛΑΤΑΣ ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗΝ.

ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ Αʹ.

Παῦλος ἀπόστολος, οὐκ ἀπ' ἀνθρώπων, οὐδὲ δι' ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλὰ διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ Θεοῦ Πατρὸς τοῦ ἐγείραντος αὐτὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν, καὶ οἱ σὺν ἐμοὶ πάντες ἀδελφοὶ, ταῖς Ἐκκλη σίαις τῆς Γαλατίας· χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ

εἰρήνη ἀπὸ Θεοῦ Πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.

αʹ. Πολλοῦ τὸ προοίμιον γέμει θυμοῦ καὶ μεγάλου φρονήματος· οὐ τὸ προοίμιον δὲ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πᾶσα, ὡς εἰπεῖν, ἡ Ἐπιστολή. Τὸ γὰρ μετ' ἐπιεικείας ἀεὶ τοῖς μαθητευομένοις διαλέγεσθαι, κἂν σφοδρότητος δέωνται, οὐ διδασκάλου, ἀλλὰ λυμεῶνος ἂν εἴη καὶ πολεμίου. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Κύριος πολλὰ προσηνῶς τοῖς μαθηταῖς διαλεχθεὶς, ἔστιν ὅπου καὶ αὐστηρότερον κέχρηται τῷ λόγῳ, καὶ νῦν μὲν μακαρίζει, νῦν δὲ ἐπιτιμᾷ. Τῷ γοῦν Πέτρῳ εἰπὼν, Μακάριος εἶ, Σίμων Βὰρ Ἰωνᾶ, καὶ ἐπαγγειλάμενος τὰ θεμέλια τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἐπὶ τῆς ὁμολογίας αὐτοῦ καταθήσεσθαι, μετ' οὐ πολὺ τῶν λόγων τούτων φησίν· Ὕπαγε ὀπίσω μου, Σατανᾶ, σκάνδαλόν μου εἶ· καὶ πάλιν ἀλλαχοῦ, Ἀκμὴν καὶ ὑμεῖς ἀσύνετοί ἐστε; Καὶ τοσοῦτον αὐτοῖς φόβον ἐνέθηκεν, ὡς καὶ τὸν Ἰωάννην εἰπεῖν, ὅτι ὁρῶντες αὐτὸν μετὰ γυναι 61.612 κὸς Σαμαρείτιδος λαλοῦντα, περὶ μὲν τῆς τροφῆς ὑπέμνησαν, Οὐδεὶς δὲ ἐτόλμησεν εἰπεῖν, Τί λαλεῖς, ἢ Τί ζητεῖς μετ' αὐτῆς; Ταῦτα μαθὼν ὁ Παῦλος, ὁ κατ' ἴχνος τοῦ διδασκάλου βαίνων, ἐποίκιλε τὸν λόγον πρὸς τὴν τῶν μαθητευομένων χρείαν, νῦν μὲν καίων καὶ τέμνων, νῦν δὲ προσηνῆ φάρμακα ἐπιτιθείς. Καὶ Κορινθίοις μὲν ἔλεγε· Τί θέλετε, ἐν ῥάβδῳ ἔλθω πρὸς ὑμᾶς, ἢ ἐν ἀγάπῃ πνεύματί τε πραότητος; Γαλάταις δὲ, Ὢ ἀνόητοι Γαλάται· καὶ οὐχ ἅπαξ, ἀλλὰ καὶ δεύτερον κέχρηται ταύτῃ τῇ ἐπιτιμήσει. Καὶ πρὸς τῷ τέλει δὲ καθαπτόμενος αὐτῶν ἔλεγε, Κόπους μοι μηδεὶς παρεχέτω. Καὶ θεραπεύει δὲ πάλιν, ὡς ὅταν λέγῃ, Τεκνία μου, οὓς πάλιν ὠδίνω· καὶ ἕτερα πολλὰ τοιαῦτα. Ἀλλ' ὅτι μὲν θυμοῦ ἡ Ἐπιστολὴ γέμει, παντί που δῆλον καὶ ἐκ πρώτης ἀναγνώσεως. ∆εῖ δὲ εἰπεῖν τί τὸ παροξῦναν αὐτὸν κατὰ τῶν μαθητῶν· οὐ γὰρ μικρὸν τοῦτο οὐδὲ εὐτελὲς, ἐπεὶ οὐδὲ αὐτὸς τοσαύτῃ ἂν ἐχρήσατο τῇ καταφορᾷ. Τὸ γὰρ ἐπὶ τοῖς τυχοῦσι παροξύνεσθαι, μικροψύχων ἀνδρῶν καὶ σκληρῶν καὶ ταλαιπώρων· ὥσπερ οὖν τὸ ἐπὶ τοῖς μεγάλοις ἀναπίπτειν, νωθροτέρων καὶ ὑπνηλοτέρων. Ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁ Παῦλος τοιοῦτος. Τί οὖν τὸ κινῆσαν ἦν 61.613 αὐτὸν ἁμάρτημα; Μέγα καὶ ὑπέρογκον, καὶ ὃ τοῦ Χριστοῦ πάντας αὐτοὺς ἠλλοτρίου, ὡς καὶ αὐτὸς προϊὼν ἔλεγεν· Ἰδὲ ἐγὼ Παῦλος λέγω ὑμῖν, ὅτι ἐὰν περιτέμνησθε, Χριστὸς ὑμᾶς οὐδὲν ὠφελήσει· καὶ πάλιν, Οἵτινες ἐν νόμῳ δικαιοῦσθε, τῆς χάριτος ἐξεπέσατε. Τί ποτ' οὖν τοῦτό ἐστι; δεῖ γὰρ αὐτὸ σαφέστερον ἀναπλῶσαι. Οἱ ἐξ Ἰουδαίων πιστεύσαντες, ὁμοῦ μὲν τῇ προλήψει τοῦ Ἰουδαϊσμοῦ κατεχόμενοι, ὁμοῦ δὲ κενοδοξίᾳ μεθύοντες, καὶ βουλόμενοι ἀξίωμα διδασκάλων ἑαυτοῖς περιθεῖναι, ἐλθόντες εἰς τὸ Γαλατῶν ἔθνος ἐδίδασκον, ὅτι δεῖ περιτέμνεσθαι καὶ σάββατα καὶ νουμηνίας