Homilies on the Gospel of John

“Behold your king!” But when they said, “Crucify him,” he added again, “Shall I crucify your king?” But they cried out, “We have no king but Cæsar.”

Of their own will they subjected themselves to punishment; therefore also God gave them up, because they were the first to cast themselves out from His providence and superintendence; and since with one voice they rejected His sovereignty, He allowed them to fall by their own suffrages. Still what had been said should have been sufficient to calm their passion, but they feared, lest, being let go, He should again draw the multitudes, and they did all they could to prevent this. For a dreadful thing is love of rule, dreadful and able to destroy the soul; it was on account of this that they had never heard Him. And yet Pilate, in consequence of a few words, desired to let Him go, but they pressed on, saying, “Crucify him.” And why did they strive to kill Him in this manner? It was a shameful death. Fearing therefore lest there should afterwards be any remembrance of Him, they desired to bring Him to the accursed punishment, not knowing that truth is exalted by hindrances. To prove that they had this suspicion, listen to what they say; “We have heard that that deceiver said, After three days I will rise again”; on this account they made all this stir, turning things upside down, that they might ruin matters in after time. And the ill-ordered people, corrupted by their rulers, cried out continually, “Crucify him!”

3. But let us not merely read of these things, but bear them in our mind; the crown of thorns, the robe, the reed, the blows, the smiting on the cheek, the spittings, the irony. These things, if continually meditated on, are sufficient to take down all anger; and if we be mocked at, if we suffer injustice, let us still say, “The servant is not greater than his Lord”; and let us bring forward the words of the Jews, which they uttered in their madness, saying, “You are a Samaritan, and hast a devil”; and, “He casts out devils by Beelzebub.” For on this account He bare all these things, in order that we might walk in His footsteps, and endure those mockings which disturb more than any other kind of reproach. Yet nevertheless He not only bare these things, but even used every means to save and deliver from the appointed punishment those who did them. For He sent the Apostles also for their salvation, at least you hear them saying, that, “We know that through ignorance you did it”; and by these means drawing them to repentance. This let us also imitate; for nothing so much makes God propitious as the loving enemies, and doing good to those who despitefully use us. When a man insults you, look not to him, but to the devil who moves him, and against him empty all your wrath, but pity the man who is moved by him. For if lying is from the devil, to be angry without a cause is much more so. When you see one turning another into ridicule, consider that it is the devil who moves him, for mockings belong not to Christians. For he who has been bidden to mourn, and has heard, “Woe, you that laugh”, and who after this insults, and jests, and is excited, demands not reproach from us, but sorrow, since Christ also was troubled when He thought on Judas. All these things therefore let us practice in our actions, for if we act not rightly in these, we have come to no purpose and in vain into the world. Or rather we have come to our harm, for faith is not sufficient to bring men to the Kingdom, nay, it even has power in this way most to condemn those who exhibit an ill life; for He “which knew his Lord's will, and did it not, shall be beaten with many stripes”; and again, “If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin.” What excuse then shall we have, who have been set within the palace, and deemed worthy to stoop down and enter into the sanctuary, and have been made partakers of the releasing Mysteries, and who yet are worse than the Greeks, who have shared in none of these things? For if they for the sake of vainglory have shown so much true wisdom, much more ought we to go after all virtue, because it is pleasing to God. But at present we do not even despise wealth; while they have often been careless of their life, and in wars have given up their children to their madness about devils, and have despised nature for the sake of their devils, but we do not even despise money for the sake of Christ, nor anger on account of God's will, but are inflamed, and in no better state than the fevered. And just as they, when possessed by their malady, are all burning, so we, suffocated as by some fire, can stop at no point of desire, increasing both anger and avarice. On this account I am ashamed and astonished, when I behold among the Greeks men despising riches, but all mad among ourselves. For even if we could find some despising riches, we should find that they have been made captive by other vices, by passion or envy; and a hard thing it is to discover true wisdom without a blemish. But the reason is, that we are not earnest to get our remedies from the Scriptures, nor do we apply ourselves to those Scriptures with compunction, and sorrow, and groaning, but carelessly, if at any time we chance to be at leisure. Therefore when a great rush of worldly matters comes, it overwhelms all; and if there has been any profit, destroys it. For if a man have a wound, and after putting on a plaster, do not tie it tight, but allow it to fall off, and expose his sore to wet, and dust, and heat, and ten thousand other things able to irritate it, he will get no good; yet not by reason of the inefficacy of the remedies, but by reason of his own carelessness. And this also is wont to happen to us, when we attend but little to the divine oracles, but give ourselves up wholly and incessantly to things of this life; for thus all the seed is choked, and all is made unfruitful. That this may not be the case, let us look carefully a little, let us look up to heaven, let us bend down to the tombs and coffins of the departed. For the same end awaits us, and the same necessity of departure will often come upon us before the evening. Prepare we then for this expedition; there is need of many supplies for the journey, for great is the heat there, and great the drought, and great the solitude. Henceforth there is no reposing at an inn, there is no buying anything, when one has not taken all from hence. Hear at least what the virgins say, “Go to them that sell”; but they who went found not. Hear what Abraham says, “A gulf between us and you.” Hear what Ezekiel says concerning that day, that Noah, and Job, and Daniel shall in nowise deliver their sons. But may it never come to pass that we hear these words, but that having taken hence sufficient provision for our way to eternal life, we may behold with boldness our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father and the Holy Ghost be glory, dominion, honor, now and ever, and world without end. Amen.