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“Into Your hands I commend My spirit” (Luke 23:46). His divine nature gave up His human nature, because it abandoned and abandoned it during His suffering [St. Ephraim means the words: “God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”]. However, the Divinity did not so withdraw from humanity as to be (completely) separated, but hid itself from the slain and the murderers in its power. For if the Divinity had manifested itself, then He who was slain would not have been afraid, and if it was revealed, then the murderers could not kill Him. But the Divine nature protected and protected the human one, so that (the latter) would not perish, since the protecting nature knew about itself, but the protected nature did not know about itself [St. Ephraim speaks here about the body of the Lord lying in the tomb]. business, that is, to guard the coffin and keep the deceased in it. The Lord himself confirmed His promise to mortals, showing and actually revealing that He was born in order to, by His emergence from the womb, drive out from the minds the idea that He was only like people. And if Christ were the Son of an Alien (as Marcion asserted), then the sun would not have been darkened at His crucifixion, but the Creator (of the sun) would have scattered more abundant light, since the enemy was removed from him, and would have commanded the light to rise over the Jews because they fulfilled his desire. And the church would be clothed with a precious veil, since it was freed from the reproaches of its enemy, and the destroyer of the law was cast out of it. But perhaps the Father of the Alien revealed darkness? But behold, He has no darkness, and even if He had darkness, He would not have revealed it, firstly, because He is a good God, then because He (Christ) said: “Forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). He covered the sun with darkness so that those who, walking in the light, would not recognize Him, and even brought Him to the Cross, would recognize Him at least through the darkness sent to them. The veil was torn to reveal that the Lord had taken the kingdom away from them and given it to a people who bear fruit. Or, in the torn curtain, he offered an image of the coming destruction of the church, since His Spirit proceeded from it. And since the high priest unjustly tore his clothes, the Spirit tore the veil, in order to thus show through the creation the insolence and pride of the Jews. Since he (the high priest) tore apart the priesthood and deprived himself of it, this (Spirit) tore the veil and, leaving, took everything with him. Or just as the church into which Judas threw the silver was destroyed and rejected, so the gate by which he entered was taken and rent its veil. The hearts of the stones were scattered, but the hearts of the Jews did not repent. In the month of Arekk the Lord defeated the Egyptians and in the same month illuminated the Jews with a pillar (of fire). The sun was darkened because they repaid (Him) the opposite. Instead of a divided sea, the Spirit rent the veil so that the King of glory could ascend unhindered to the Cross at Calvary. And since the people did not tear the veil of the church with righteousness for this purpose [since the Jews did not want to tear the veil of their hearts with righteous deeds], then the creatures suffered with the suffering Lord. The sun hid its face and, in order not to see Him hanging on the Cross, returned its light to itself in order to completely disappear. For three hours the sun was covered in darkness and then shone again to announce that on the third day the Lord would rise from hell. The mountains shook and the tombs opened, and the torn curtain seemed to cry, lamenting the future destruction of the church. Or since the lips of men condemned Him, the lips of inanimate objects cried out and justified Him. They fell silent, and the stones began to speak, as the Lord had foretold. The veil also rent their closed and hardened ears and glorified Him whom they had rejected. And the Spirit, seeing His Beloved hanging and mocked, took the veil, the decoration of the church, and tore it to pieces. Or, since the types saw the figurative lamb, they tore the veil and came out in a crowd to Him. Or the prophetic spirit dwelling in the church, which descended in order to proclaim His appearance to people, then flew off to heaven to bring to the heavenly the news of the Lord’s ascension into heaven. Or the tombs were seated so that the Lord would show (by this) that He could tear apart the wood of the Cross, but did not tear it because through it the kingdom of Israel was to disintegrate, and did not crush that through which the sins of the pagans were to be crushed. On the contrary, the Spirit instead of it (the tree of the cross) tore the veil of the church. And in order to show that He will come out of the grave, the Lord called the righteous who came out of their graves as witnesses of His exodus. So, both events mutually proclaimed themselves. And since the kingdom and the priesthood were anointed and sanctified by the same Spirit, the Spirit went out and returned to the source of both, so that it would be clear that both were dried up by Him who abolished them both. Although we know that by cutting off our smallest finger the body can be healed, otherwise it will all perish, but we do not want to do this, knowing full well what awaits us. God, knowing that by the death of His Son people would gain victory, did not turn away from doing this. Why didn't God command Abraham, who had many slaves, to sacrifice one of them? Since Abraham's love would not have been revealed through his servant, his son was needed so that his love would become clear on him. Likewise, God had many slaves and through them did not show His love for creation, but through His Son He wanted to proclaim His love for us. “So,” he says, “God loved the world, that he (gave) his only begotten Son...” (John 3:16). After all, why did God create the world if not out of love? Likewise, in love he begot the Son. The Jews explain to us what state people would have been in if Adam had not sinned. In the same way, if the Jews had not killed Christ, God could have revived the people (Jewish) and the Gentiles in another way. Satan gave Adam advice to eat from the tree, because he thought that he could harm him, not knowing about the providence of God, which turned his evil into good according to the following: “if the people had known, they would not have brought the Lord of glory to the cross” (cf. 1 Cor. 2:8). Indeed, while they were doing unrighteousness, the Lord turned their deeds to His glory. “The neighbors of Jesus stood afar off” (cf. Luke 23:49), so that what was said would be fulfilled: “my friends and my neighbors were far from me” (cf. Ps.37:12). Before the Sabbath they killed Him, while there was time for killing; before the Sabbath they buried Him, since hitherto it was possible to cry, since the Sabbath is the end of labor, and with its onset all sorrow ceases; after all, during the Sabbath it is not allowed to work or mourn (for the dead). The sacraments of the tree and the transforming Lamb began with Abraham. Isaac is a type of the Lamb. The servant [Jacob then served with Laban] Jacob also showed a tree that was connected to water (Gen. 30:37–38). Thus, the tree became worthy for Christ to hang on it, since His bone was not broken on it. The tree brings forth its fruit from the ground; at sea, using the tree, its treasures are taken. So it is in relation to the body and soul [the meaning of this place in the original is unclear]. Here is He who was pierced by the rage of the mad, and by His silence turned out to be like a deaf and dumb (voiceless tree), but by His vitality and His effectiveness He increased humanity to heaven. “And one of the soldiers pierced Him with a spear” (cf. John 19:34). With His reproaches the Lord honored His friends, but He punished His enemies, so that His enemies would know His truth, and His friends would know His mercy. The source emanating from His side clearly showed the Blood, the guilt of which the Jews took upon themselves (Matthew 27:25), but the water also flowed out, which hastened for cleansing. Blood by its appearance speaks against murderers, (and) water by its sacrament speaks of the cleansing of His friends. And this happened so that they would know that Christ is alive (and) after death. The more they increased His torment, the more the treasures hidden in Him were revealed. Heavenly riches were poured into every member of Him, and as soon as the murderers approached them, they poured out in order to enrich friends and take revenge on the crucifiers. I ran to all Your members, O Lord, and from all of them I received all the gifts, and through Your side, pierced by a spear, I entered into the fenced paradise. We will enter paradise through a spear immersed in the side, because we destroyed paradise with a rib coming from the side (through Eve). Since the fire that burned in Adam was kindled in him from his side, therefore the side of the second Adam was opened and a stream of water flowed out of it to extinguish the fire of the first Adam. Since all life (is born) from blood, the Blood flowed out of mercy, as if into the sacrament of life-giving of the One who, from the truth, deserved the death penalty. An evil intermediary [i.e. the devil who seduced the first parents] lit a fire in people, and from the good mediator (Christ) water flowed to them, which extinguished this fire. There is nothing worse than the one who deceived Adam, who did not harm him in any way, and no one else can be compared with him except the one who pierced the Lord after death. So, anger was defeated by the same means by which it conquered. The Blood flowed out, redeeming us from the slavery of death, and the water flowed out, so that all who come to His saving Blood could wash away the slavery of vice to which they were subject. Blood and water flowed out, which signify the Church of Christ created on Him, just as his wife was taken from Adam’s side. The side of Adam is his wife, and the Blood of the Lord is His Church. From the side of Adam came death, and from the side of the Lord came life. Christ is the olive tree from which milk, water and oil flow. Milk for children, water for youths, and oil for the sick. Likewise, this olive tree gave water and blood in its death. Envy pursued David, and hatred and envy (pursued) the Son of David. David was hiding in a cave (1 Samuel 22:1), and the Son of David was in a tomb. David apparently was condemned, and the Son of David was defeated, but (in fact) Saul was condemned and convicted, and it was death that was defeated and destroyed. David exclaimed: “King, where is your spear?” (cf. 1 Samuel 26:16), and the Son of David exclaimed: “Death, where is your victory?” (cf.: 1 Cor. 15:55). Saul threw his spear at David (1 Sam. 19:9-10), and although he did not hit him, the wall remained a witness to his persecution; So the crucifiers pierced the Son of David with a spear, and although the power of Christ was not harmed, His body testifies to His wounds. David was not pierced, and the Son of David was not harmed. The wall, spear and cave accuse Saul, and the body, cross and tomb accuse the Jews. No one exalted himself as much as man, and no one humbled himself as much as God. No one exalted himself as much as the man who stretched out his hand to the tree and wanted to become equal to his Creator, and no one humbled himself as much as God, who stretched out His hands on the tree and blotted out the crimes that entered through the movement of the first hand. The Lord stretched out His hands on the tree of the cross to put to death the death that appeared through the tree. After all, it was necessary that our flesh should be healed in the same way as it was wounded, and it was fitting that the one who exalted himself should be humbled by the same thing by which he was exalted, so that that power would be revealed that changes everything. For the arrow with which we were wounded has become for us the medicine of life. The weapon with which the enemy prevailed turned for him into fear and trembling, so that by the same medicine with which our life was killed, death, our killer, would also die. The Lord took Adam’s life destroyed by the tree and lifted it up onto the tree in order to raise him (Adam) to it and prepare a strong abode under the branches of the tree of life. On the day when the wound of Christ was inflicted, the wound (of Adam) was closed and sealed. The sixth day [Friday, before Saturday - the seventh day of the Jewish week], who nailed Christ with nails, through Him brought out the nails in the underworld. Among the living His side was open, but in the underworld it was closed. And the wound that closed, how did it become open after ten days and the fingers (of the Apostle Thomas) entered it? God held Moses' arms open until his enemies fell and were destroyed. The Jews also stretched out the hands of the Son of God on the tree of the cross, and since they did to Him the opposite of what He had done for them, He also (now) did to them what was opposite to His outstretched hands, for they fell and rose no more. Likewise, the pagans, who believed in His outstretched arms, as (so) the fulfillment of the commandment spoken about them by Moses indicated to them, did what was the opposite of what those former pagans had done, 259 therefore the opposite happened to them. He suffered death on the cross in order for the word of the prophet to be fulfilled: “like a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb before the shearers” (cf. Is. 53:7; Acts 8:32). To fall first to death and then to shearing is difficult to observe in the natural order (of things), but this is said because Christ was first put to death by a decree expressed by the mouth of a judge, and then raised to the Cross, prostrate on which He stood directly above the ground and was like a sheep before the shearers. Therefore, He who was nailed to the Cross died, which mysteriously signified that through His death all the dead would be raised and rise, for He Himself, while He was on the Cross, was like a precious stone on the chest of the high priest. They say that Jerusalem is in the middle of the earth for the sake of the righteous God, for there He gave the law, the rays of which, when sent out, illuminated all the ends of the earth. And since His truth was there, He also erected the mercy of His Cross there, in order to spread His hands (from there) to all parts (of the earth) and to take and embrace the souls and spirits of the entire universe. Jesus died for the world, so that no one would live for the world, and would be in a body nailed to the Cross, that is, so that no one would keep (his) body in luxury. He died with His body for our world, in order to give life to us with His body for His world. He put to death the life of the flesh, so that we would not live carnally through the flesh. He became a teacher, not alien to sorrows, but teaching through his own suffering; for He Himself first tasted bitterness in order to teach us that a person can become His disciple not through His name, but through suffering. Since He Himself is a wide place, the space of which was sufficient for (dwelling) the entire fullness (of the Divinity) bodily (Col. 2:9), He became cramped in order to prevent those who would like to become His disciples through pretense from becoming His disciples. The wisdom that he showed in everything, he also gave to us. It is another matter to ask the question about the One who appeared in the world, and another matter to reason about who was in the appearing. There was One in the world who was above the world. The Word of truth came into the world, and according to His truth, as far as we are concerned, taught us to walk in His way. “The gates,” he says, “are narrow” (Matthew 7:14). Having assumed human nature, the Lord transformed Himself so that we would not turn away from Him, and entered the house of the world as its captive. On the other hand, he rejected the order of life according to the world, so that it would not keep Him in this world. “And in Me,” he says, “he will not find anything of his own” (cf. John 14:30). But the world, of course, could not delay His life even for a short time, because His passions in that short time when He appeared had already grown old and, as if due to decay, began to collapse, and with them the one who reigned through them and wanted to bind all bodies with them. The Lord clothed himself with a body and made immortal those bodies that were clothed with death. The exposure of His body on the Cross is the exposure of our death, and the placing of His body in the tomb is the captivity of life, which is from the world. Neither the pleasures of this world weakened us, nor the greatness of its spectacle blinded us. Neither the sweetness of his gifts captivated us, nor the splendor of his dances captivated us. The snare of his wiles did not take possession of us, and his deadly spear did not dominate us, who knew his pursuer and destroyer. Two baptisms were with the Lord, the Purifier of all; one (baptism) of water and the other (baptism) of the Cross, so that through the baptism of suffering we can teach the baptism of water. The repentance of those who have sinned is their crucifixion, which secretly pierces their members and restrains them, so that they do not act according to the movement of the passions, and John announced this to the Lord. So, two baptisms are necessary for the righteous and sinners [baptism of blood and baptism of water; baptism of blood from the holy father is called not only martyrdom, but also the constant confession of Christ, life according to Christ], and one cannot save without the other. If you say: there are no (now) open persecutions, then I will answer: however, there are secret persecutions. Behold, the heresy of those who test (all) persecutes your faith; therefore, confess the Lord without searching (about Him). The persecution of kings is no worse than the persecution of examiners, and the torture is no more painful than heresies, and the torture of questions, and the flaying of disputes, and the cutting off of the head of doubt. Hatred pursues you - profess love; envy pursues you - profess unanimity; passion pursues you - follow abstinence. Thus, if untruth persecutes you, confess the truth; if you desire power, confess the Lord, the Lord of all. All these persecutors persecute the martyrs in the world itself. Since they (the martyrs) were victorious in secret persecutions, they were crowned openly. Refine yourself in what is hidden, so that you may thus have the strength to resist what is open. After all, if you are defeated in the persecution that occurs within you, how can you hope to remain victorious in the persecution that occurs outside of you? The untruth of the Cross is greater than all the untruths of peoples and generations. For if the death of Adam subjected the entire human race to death, then who could resist in the face of this great injustice (inflicted on) the Lord of glory? If at that hour truth had not given way to mercy, then who could have held back the power of truth? And who would show us mercy if mercy did not forgive us? Thus, mercy was favorable to us while the Lord hung on the tree, and for the sake of the honor of righteousness it rejected and rejected those who knew and called those who did not know. “They do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). However, His truth in warning is witnessed in the parable of the vineyard and accuses us, saying: “The vinedressers knew the heir of the vineyard.” After all, not when the heir came, but long before that, they planned to kill Him so that the inheritance would remain in their hands. And lest anyone should rebel and attack His righteousness and blaspheme His mercy, saying: “And they did not know the time of His coming, and did not understand what was profitable for them, and why did He hide Himself from the people (the Jews), but revealed Himself to the Gentiles?” - the truth gave His answer to this. So that no one would discredit His righteousness, for this purpose He showed in advance that they knew Him, and so that His mercy might be boasted of for the remission and blotting out (of unrighteousness), for this reason He said that they did not know Him. Mary is exalted by Eve, Joseph by Joseph, since the one who asked for the body of Jesus was named Joseph. The elder Joseph was so righteous that, as Scripture says, he did not dishonor Mary (Matt. 1:19), and the younger was also righteous because he did not sympathize with the slanderers at the trial and their deeds (Luke 23:50–51). This shows that the Lord also deigned to the name to which He initially entrusted Himself when He was born, so that it would encircle Him dead, so that this name would receive a perfect reward, for it served Him at Nativity in the den and took care of His body in the tomb. “They sealed His tomb” (cf. Matthew 27:66), which happened in favor of Christ and against them, as with Daniel and Lazarus. When they saw their seal on Daniel's den, they could know what power had delivered the one who was in the den; (like this) and it was clear to those looking at the gates of the tomb that there was a force at work here for which everything is easy. He brought His body out of the sealed tomb, and the seal of the tomb became a witness to the seal of the womb, which He sealed. When the virginity of the womb and the tomb was sealed, the Son of the living God came from there and in both cases turned out to be the firstborn. The stone was laid at the gate of the tomb, stone to stone, so that the stone would guard the stone that the builders had rejected. The stone that was taken with hands was placed to enclose the stone that was hewn without hands. The stone on which the Angel sat was placed to protect the stone that Jacob placed under his head. Approved by the seal, the stone was placed to protect the stone, the seal of which protects believers. So, from the gates of death came the gates of life. “Here,” he says, “is the gate through which the righteous enter” (cf. Ps. 117:20). When the Lord was imprisoned, He freed the prisoners, and through His death the dead were revived, through His voice the silent ones cried out, in His resurrection the earth shook, and by His descent from the tomb He brought the pagans into the Church. Early in the morning, Mary went to the tomb, when the Lord had already risen, and no one knew the hour of His resurrection, but Mary told the pagans about Him; for it was indecent to attribute the hour of resurrection to Him Who is infinite. And if three days have not passed, they explain it this way. Since Judas hanged himself, many, accusing Christ, said: what does it mean that He not only could not save Himself, but also destroyed his soul? - That’s why he resurrected earlier than the appointed time. Then, they say, (he did so) because otherwise the disciples would have fallen away from Him. For if Simon, the first of them, denied Him with an oath, how much more would those who followed Him have done so? For this reason, I strengthened their thoughts in advance so that they would not be embarrassed, since even the sons of the right hand (the chosen ones, the apostles), as they say, did not continually have hope that He would come out of the tomb. And since no one had done such a thing until that time, His wisdom hastened to comfort them. Or His three-day descent and ascension are counted from the day on which He was resurrected. Or, this third day is calculated from the day when He gave them His Body and Blood. He left the clothes with which he was wrapped in the tomb there, so that a person would enter heaven without clothes, as he was there until he sinned. Since a person got dressed after leaving paradise, he will be naked when entering it. Or did he leave the clothes there to signify the mystery of the resurrection of the dead, because just as He was resurrected in His glory, and not in His clothes, so we must be resurrected by our deeds. Having given money, they persuaded them to say: “While we were sleeping, the disciples stole Him” (cf. Matt. 28:13), with which words, spoken by them, they were taught that the dead were brought out of the graves by the Lord alive. Further, he taught them that He did not need thieves to witness His resurrection. He who revived the dead and returned their souls to them could both open His tomb and remove the stone by resurrection. The Lord opened a new way, for the righteous were like babies born again [i.e. the righteous who came out of their tombs, as if from the womb], and the heavens hid the light, the air was darkened, the earth cut its stones, the wind tore the curtain, the tombs released their dead [to testify to His resurrection, the Lord did not need either thieves or warriors, because the miracles that happened at His death testified to Him]. Since Adam died because of sin, the One who took upon himself sin had to destroy death. But as Adam was told: “On the day that you eat, you will die,” and on the day that you tasted, he did not die, but accepted the pledge of death, therefore he found himself naked and lost his glory, and immediately he saw death and was afraid. So we too have received life in Christ; namely, we ate His Body instead of the fruits of the tree (of life), and His table replaced for us the paradise of desire, and through His righteous Blood the curses were washed away from us, and through the hope of the resurrection we look forward to future hope, and we are already living His life, which has become our guarantee. “Touch me not” (John 20:17). This is said, firstly, because this body is the firstfruits of the tomb, and the Lord Himself, as its priest, carefully guarded it from all hands, in order to give it to the hand that can receive such a gift and reward (for it) a similar gift. Secondly, He commanded not to touch in order to teach that His body was already clothed with honor and glory, through which He showed that only while He was a slave were all people given power over His body, since both publicans and sinners came and approached Him. Further, he did this in order to show that His enemies did not have the power to lay hands on Him. For His friends there is an opportunity to approach Him in a different way, namely, in love and fear. Since they (friends) seem to expose Him to suffering, since they partake of Him, or the sacrament of His Body, at the same time He taught those who ate it, so that, imitating Him, they would expose their bodies to suffering, and just as He consoled them with His suffering, so they would console Him with their suffering. In addition, they say that he did not allow Mary to touch Him because she had not (yet) accepted the Sacrament of His Body and Blood, in order to set an example that not only enemies like Judas, but also those friends who, like Mary, were not sealed [sealing here refers to the reception of the Eucharist, according to the custom of Eastern Christians, for whom the Eucharist is offered immediately after baptism] (yet), did not approach His sacrament. Then, since Eve, by stretching out her hand, subjected the human body to death and filled it with all sorts of diseases, therefore the Lord did not allow Mary to approach His body, but reserved this body for that arm that seated Him on His right side and for that hand that, after the Ascension, surrounded Him with all bliss [i.e. The Lord did not allow His body to be touched before He ascended into heaven and was crowned with glory with the Father]. Then, since Mary doubted when she heard that He had risen, she came and saw Him and asked: “if you took Him” (cf. John 20:15), therefore he said this in order to show her that He had really risen. “I ascend to My Father” (cf. John 20:17), - and, having affirmed with these words, not that they should not approach Him, since He ascends to the Father, but since she doubted, he said to her: do not approach Me until I ascend to My Father, as there: “A sword will pierce your very soul” (denial) (cf. Luke 2:35). However, if he prevented her from touching Him because she doubted His resurrection, then Thomas doubted and (still) touched Him. But let's say (to this) the following. Just as He predicted His suffering before He suffered, and His resurrection before He rose again, so in this place He wanted to foretell His ascension. Thus, when he said: “touch me not,” then a new proclamation of His ascension, whole and complete, was given to Mary, for he says (further): “Go, tell my brothers: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God” (John 20:17). He says: “Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father” (John 20:17). And so, he blessed the work of Cleopas and his companion, and ate with the disciples, and showed his side to Thomas; why did he forbid Mary to touch Him? Perhaps because he conveyed her [in the Gospel earlier it was about Mary Magdalene (John 20:1,11. 17:18. Luke 23 and 24:10. Matthew 27 and 28:1), although then Saint Ephraim means the Mother of God] instead of Himself to John: “Woman,” he says, “behold your son” (John 19:26). However, neither the first sign occurred without Her, nor the firstfruits of the tomb remained without Her [just as the first miracle in Cana of Galilee occurred in the presence of Mary, so did the exodus of Christ from the tomb]. “I have not yet ascended to My Father.” Apparently, with His answer he rejected Mary’s false thought. He taught her, like the disciples, that he would ascend to heaven and at the end of the world he would come and give her the promised gifts. And since Mary suddenly recognized Him, her thought was carried away to His last coming, and she thought that the Kingdom of Heaven had come. Therefore he said: “I have not yet ascended to My Father.” Further, since Christ, born miraculously, is the firstborn from the tomb in which tribes, generations and peoples perish, through this he taught that in the resurrection neither fathers will turn to their children, nor children to their fathers, but all to one thing, so that, if they prove worthy, they will ascend through mercy to the Father. “I go to My Father and your Father, My God and your God.” If this is understood as it is written, then it will turn out that the Father is in heaven and not on earth. After all, if He were on earth, then why would the Son go to heaven? If you say that the Son was not in heaven, then I will answer that the Father is not on earth either. He said: “And I come to You, My Father” (cf. John 17:11), and not: “My God.” When he spoke to Him, he called Him Father, in order to show that He was from Him. But when he sent a messenger to His disciples, saying: “I am coming,” He called Him “My God” to show His weakness while He was with them. But he also says: “I am not alone, for My Father is with Me” (John 16:32), and: “I am in the Father, and the Father in Me, and we are one” (cf. John 14:11. 10:30). “I go to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.” It should be noted that first he said: “to My Father,” and then: “to your Father,” and (first): “to My God,” and then: “to your God.” If I had used the same words, then perhaps their interpretation would have been appropriate [the author refutes the interpreters who, on the basis of this passage, denied the Divinity of Christ]. “My Father and your Father” and “My God and your God.” Both are said about His humanity. About His body, (but) not about the Word of God, he said that he was going, like those (words): “to your Father,” since they were people. Likewise, His human nature is spoken of in the place where He said: “Our Father who is in heaven” (cf. Matthew 6:9). Simon was told: “Follow Me” (John 21:19); in these words the Lord predicted his death. “He turned and looked and saw the disciple, and he said to Him: Lord! what about him? He said to him, “What is that to you?” (cf. John 21:20–22). What bad thing did Simon say? He said nothing else as soon as he asked the Lord that He would encourage that disciple to follow Him. Thus, through questioning Simon, the Lord taught [the Lord did not reproach Simon, but used his question to teach about His power] that together with His Father He has power over death, since He says: “if I want”; but He did not want them to be crowned with the virtue of His death [that is, for both to suffer martyrdom through crucifixion]. The Lord gave oil to His disciples as a symbol of His name [“Christ” in translation means “Anointed One”], at the same time showing that He is all with each of them. Since He is the day, He also gave the light of the lamp and drove out the darkness and its works. After all, the names of sorrow and consolation pass throughout the world and all people share in them. Before the appearance of the Lord (sorrow and consolation) were not (as) equal in their effect as in their names. Sadness, of course, revealed itself in actions, as it manifests itself now, to reveal what had an end and ceased [through sadness and sorrow, the evil and doomed to destruction were separated from the good, as they are separated now]; consolation manifested itself only in the name, as if through prophecy. The Lord earned this name along with its action, because he had members [i.e. images of Christ. Compare: Col. 2:17: “This is a shadow of the future, but the body is Christ”] His own and His features, divided and reflected in all His creations, for all creations conceive Him in order to give birth to Him, that is, in order to proclaim Him. So, the consolation that was already pre-arranged, He gave us in actions by His resurrection and (then) when He gathered His disciples in Capernaum - the city of consolation ["Capernaum" means "City of consolation"; according to the testimony of Scripture, the Lord appeared to His disciples in Galilee after the resurrection]. And sadness, which once manifested itself in actions, is now called only a word, which also teaches (next) place of Isaiah: “Do you see the spirit that descended, and the salvation that he proclaimed” (cf. Is. 60:1 and 61:1), etc. Since our debts, as a result of falling away from God, surpassed all in their multitude, so that neither the prophets, nor the priests, nor the righteous, nor the kings were able to blot them out, then the Son of God Himself, having appeared (on earth), became the captor of everyone everywhere and in the womb, neither at birth, nor at baptism, he did not erase our debts, until the one handed over to the Cross tasted death, so that His death was equal to our guilt, for through it was blotted out that which all creation was insufficient to blot out. After the Lord had secured for Himself a guarantee of life among those who were subject to death, and in that nature over which death reigned, He ascended, and the Father seated Him on His right side, as a hostage of the earthly. From here, from His nature, He sent upon them the true guarantee - the Comforter Spirit, the guarantee of life. For if we are freed from slavery to sin, then are we freed by a slave [in these and the following words, Saint Ephraim refutes the heretics who denied the Divinity of the Holy Spirit, and shows that the Holy Spirit is not a slave, that is, not a creature, as the heretics claimed]? But slaves are not freed by slaves. Pay attention to these two wonderful things. Who divided the languages? Father. Were those whose tongues were mixed sinners or righteous? Sinners. When the Spirit was sent, to whom did it come? On the apostles. Were they not righteous? Of course it is. So, why did the Father (confound the tongues) of sinners, but the Spirit divided the tongues of the righteous and the apostles? If so, then the work of the Spirit is greater and more glorious than (the work of) the Father. The Lord, together with Himself, lifted up and exalted our body so that it would intercede for the bodily, and (so that) through it the earthly would gain access to the gates of the Kingdom of Heaven, since the Divinity Itself diminished itself and descended to us through our body. This is the point of this place. God held Moses' hands open to destroy Israel's enemies. The Jews stretched out the hands of Christ in order to destroy Him, and therefore with the outstretched hands of Christ they were not accepted and saved, but, on the contrary, were rejected. And the pagans, frightened by the command for their destruction expressed by Moses, did not rebel against the God of Israel, like the Amalekites, but believed in Christ, and therefore were saved by His outstretched hands, while the unbelieving Amalekites perished from the outstretched hands of Moses. You might be interested in: