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Homily 27
Complete historical editorial footnotes. These notes retain the original edition’s wording; individual note authors are unspecified.
English translation and editorial credits: Sir George Prevost, M. B. Riddle.
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Isa. liii. 4. The Evangelist seems to quote the Hebrew, not the LXX. [The explanation given in the Homily agrees with the LXX., “he bare our sins and suffered pain (ὀδυνται) on our behalf.” Hebrew has “sorrows” instead of “sicknesses” or “diseases.”—R.]
Editorial footnote · Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew, Homily 27, editorial note cite_note-8 · Original source
But mark, I pray thee, how great a multitude of persons healed the evangelists pass quickly over, not mentioning one by one, and giving us an account of them, but in one word traversing an unspeakable sea of miracles. Then lest the greatness of the wonder should drive us again to unbelief, that even so great a people and their various diseases should be delivered and healed by Him in one moment of time, He brings in the prophet also to bear witness to what is going on: indicating the abundance of the proof we have, in every case, out of the Scriptures; such, that from the miracles themselves we have no more; and He saith, that Esaias also spake of these things; “He took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.” He said not, “He did them away,” but “He took and bare them;” which seems to me to be spoken rather of sins, by the prophet, in harmony with John, where he saith, “Behold the Lamb of God, that beareth the sin of the world.”
κατ στοραν τν μαρτυραν ναγινσκων, “reading the text in that sense, to which the actual knowledge of the facts concerning Christ, apart from what faith teaches, might guide a man.” See Suicer in v. ἱστορα.
Editorial footnote · Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew, Homily 27, editorial note cite_note-10 · Original source
How then doth the evangelist here apply it to diseases? Either as rehearsing the passage in the historical sense,or to show that most of our diseases arise from sins of the soul. For if the sum of all, death itself, hath its root and foundation from sin, much more the majority of our diseases also: since our very capability of suffering did itself originate there.
i.e., “moderate, as receivers, in what we expect from Him: and averse to all display, when we give in His Name.”
Editorial footnote · Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew, Homily 27, editorial note cite_note-13 · Original source
Seest thou again His freedom from ostentation? in that as the others say, “He charged the devils not to say it was He,”so this writer saith, He repels the multitudes from Him. Now in so doing, He was at once both training us to be moderate,and at the same time allaying the envy of the Jews, and teaching us to do nothing for display. For He was not, we know, a healer to bodies only,
εδωλον. The classical use of this word is well known: see e.g. Odyss. xi. 602. “A shadow or phantom: not a true substantial soul.”
Editorial footnote · Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew, Homily 27, editorial note cite_note-35 · Original source
Hast thou seen the dead? behold also the embalmer. Who then is the embalmer of these? The devil, who carefully fastens them about, and suffers not the man any longer to appear a man, but a dry stock. For where there is no eye, nor hands, nor feet, nor any other such thing, how can such an one appear a man? Even so may we see their soul also swaddled up, and rather an imagethan a soul.
Isa. liii. 2, LXX. [So the Hebrew.]
Editorial footnote · Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew, Homily 27, editorial note cite_note-16 · Original source
For not by any means in working wonders only was He wonderful, but even when merely showing Himself, He was full of great grace; and to declare this the prophet said, “Fairin beauty beyond the children of men.” And if Esaias saith, “He hath no form nor comeliness,”he affirms it either in comparison of the glory of His Godhead, which surpasses all utterance and description; or as declaring what took place at His passion, and the dishonor which He underwent at the season of the cross, and the mean estate which throughout His life He exemplified in all respects.
[More exactly, “ten days.”—R.]
Editorial footnote · Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew, Homily 27, editorial note cite_note-33 · Original source
But thou seest not his body in a state of decay. And what of that? Since before his body, his soul is corrupted and destroyed, and undergoes greater rottenness. For the other stinketh a fewdays, but this for the whole of his life exhales evil odors, having a mouth more foul than sewers.
πμα, the lid of a coffer of any kind: here of a sarcophagus.
Editorial footnote · Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew, Homily 27, editorial note cite_note-34 · Original source
And if one could but once see a man’s soul who is living in luxury and vice, thou wouldest perceive that it is far better to lie bound in a grave than to be rivetted by the chains of our sins; and to have a stone laid over thee, than that heavy coverof insensibility. Wherefore above all things it behooves the friends of these dead men, seeing that they are past feeling, to come near to Jesus in their behalf, as Mary then did in the case of Lazarus. Though he “stinketh,” though he be “dead four days,” do not despair, but approach, and remove the stone first. Yea, for then thou shalt see him lying as in a tomb, and bound in his grave clothes.