ACC ~ Luke 22 v39 - 46

OVERVIEW:

The Lukan narrative of Jesus’ agony (and the disciples’ sleeping) on the Mount of Olives is paralleled in Matthew and Mark, showing the mystery of Christ’s grief and temptation in the garden. Jesus’ prayer to the Father to “take this cup from me” referred to the cup of suffering and death (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). To drink the cup is to accept martyrdom (ORIGEN). The whole purpose of Jesus’ ministry, and of the gospel, is at stake in this request. But Jesus must drink the chalice to acquit the debt of everyone that even the prophets and martyrs could not pay with their death (EPHREM THE SYRIAN).

Jesus here experiences human sufferings as the incarnate Word (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). It is a testimony to the fullness of Jesus’ incarnation, his having been made “like his brothers in every respect,” [1] that he asks his Father to take his destiny—the cross—away from him. It is as Son of God and Son of man that Jesus chooses to drink the cup (JOHN OF DAMASCUS). He must grieve and sorrow for us so that he might overcome our sorrow and give us his joy (AMBROSE). Every human naturally and without sin may utter the same kind of prayer to avoid suffering, which Jesus does now in the lowliness and weakness with which he has clothed himself (EPHREM THE SYRIAN).

Jesus begins his prayer “if you [the Father] are willing” and ends “not my [Jesus’] will, but may yours [the Father’s] happen.” The will of the Father and the Son are one (AMBROSE). Jesus subordinates his desire to have the cup taken away to his desire to fulfill the Father’s will, and that will of the Father calls for Jesus to drink the cup to the very bottom (GREGORY OF NAZIANZUs). By his act of obedience, Jesus reverses the sin of Adam (EPHREM THE SYRIAN). Jesus must go the way the Father has ordained for him to accomplish the world’s redemption because of his love for the world (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA).

The strengthening Jesus receives from heaven above accompanies his fervent prayer to the Father, and the dripping of sweat like blood to the earth beneath reveals the depth of his agony and the fullness of his humanity (HIPPOLYTUS). Jesus, strengthened by the angel, endures this bloody agony to show the depth of his feeling for our suffering and pain (JUSTIN MARTYR). Through his bloody sweat, Jesus heals Adam, who was sick with sin, and brings him back to the garden (EPHREM THE SYRIAN). The disciples are tempted when they opt for sleep instead of prayer (TERTULLIAN), for they do not yet realize that the only path to resurrection life is through the cross.

[1] Heb 2:17.

22:39-40 | Jesus Tells His Disciples to Pray

THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST’S GRIEF AND TEMPTATION

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: The Savior stayed in Jerusalem during the day, evidently teaching the Israelites and revealing to them the way of the kingdom of heaven. When the evening came, he continued with the holy disciples on the Mount of Olives at a spot called Gethsemane. The wise evangelist Matthew tells us this. …

“Taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, ‘My soul is very sorrowful, even to death.’” [1] Going forward a little, Christ knelt and prayed, saying, “Father, if you will, put this cup away from me, but not my will but yours be done.” Please see here the depths of the appointed time in the flesh and the height of that unspeakable wisdom. Focus the penetrating eye of the mind on it. If you can see the beautiful art of the mystery, you also will say, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! His judgments are unsearchable, and his ways past finding out.” [2] COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 146. [3]

[1] Mt 26:37-38.

[2] Rom 11:33.

[3] CGSL 581**.

22:41-43 | Jesus Prays to His Father

JESUS SUBMITS TO THE PASSION

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: You have heard Christ say, “Father, if you will, remove this cup from me.” Was then his passion an involuntary act? Was the need for him to suffer or the violence of those who plotted against him stronger than his own will? We say no. His passion was a voluntary act, although in another respect it was severe, because it implied the rejection and destruction of the synagogue of the Jews. …

Since it was impossible for Christ not to endure the passion, he submitted to it, because God the Father so willed it with him. COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 147. [1]

[1] CGSL 585-86**.

TO DRINK THE CUP IS TO ENTER MARTYRDOM

ORIGEN: Something in the passage has perhaps escaped our notice. You will find it out by noting how the cup is mentioned in the three Gospels. Matthew writes that the Lord said, “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.” [1] Luke writes, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me.” Mark writes, “Abba, Father, all things are possible to you, remove this cup from me.” [2] Every martyrdom completed by death for whatever motive is called a cup. See whether you cannot say with him, “Let this cup pass from me.” … “The cup of salvation” in Psalms is the death of the martyrs. That is why the verse “I will take the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord” [3] is followed by “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” [4] EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM 29. [5]

[1] Mt 26:39.

[2] Mk 14:36.

[3] Ps 116:13.

[4] Ps 116:15.

[5] OSW 61**.

JESUS DRINKS THE CHALICE TO CANCEL THE DEBT OF EVERYONE

EPHREM THE SYRIAN: “If it is possible, let this chalice pass from me.” [1] He knew that he was going to rise on the third day, but he also knew in advance the scandal of his disciples, the denial of Simon, the suicide of Judas, the destruction of Jerusalem and the scattering of Israel. “If it is possible, let the chalice pass from me,” he said. He knew what he was saying to his Father and was well aware that this chalice could pass from him. He had come to drink it for everyone, in order to cancel, through this chalice, everyone’s debt, a debt that the prophets and martyrs could not pay with their death. COMMENTARY ON TATIAN’S DIATESSARON 20.2. [2]

[1] Mt 26:39.

[2] ECTD 292**.

JESUS SUFFERS AS THE INCARNATE WORD

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: The passion of grief, or affliction or sore distress as we may call it, cannot have reference to the divine nature of the Word, which is not able to suffer. That is impossible since it transcends all passion. We say that the incarnate Word also willed to submit himself to the measure of human nature by suffering what belongs to it. He is said to have hungered although he is life, the cause of life and the living bread. He was also weary from a long journey although he is the Lord of powers. It also is said that he was grieved and seemed to be capable of anguish. It would not have been fitting for him who submitted himself to emptiness and stood in the measure of human nature to have seemed unwilling to endure human things. The Word of God the Father, therefore, is altogether free from all passion. For the appointed time’s sake, he wisely submitted himself to the weaknesses of humankind in order that he might not seem to refuse that which the time required. He even obeyed human customs and laws. He still did not bear this in his own [divine] nature. COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 146. [1]

[1] CGSL 583**. Since the divine nature, being unchangeable, cannot suffer, the incarnate word suffers in the flesh, in the human nature, yet without denying the mystery of the interpenetration of the divine and human natures.

JESUS, SON OF GOD AND SON OF MAN, CHOOSES TO DRINK THE CUP

JOHN OF DAMASCUS: Consequently, while he had naturally the power of willing as God and as man, the human will followed after and was subordinated to his will, not being motivated by its own opinion but wanting what his divine will wanted. With the permission of the divine will, he suffered what was naturally proper to him. When he begged to be spared death, he did so naturally, with his divine will wanting and permitting. He was thus in agony and afraid. Then, when his divine will wanted his human will to choose death, it freely accepted the passion. He did not freely deliver himself over to death as God alone but also as man. By this, he also gave us the grace of courage in the face of death. He says before his saving passion, “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.” [1] Clearly as man and not as God, he was to drink from the chalice. Consequently, as man, he wishes the cup to pass, and these words arose from a natural fear. “Not my will, but yours be done.” That is to say, “I am of another substance than yours, but also of your substance which is mine and yours in so far as I am begotten consubstantial with you.” These are words of courage. Since by his good pleasure the Lord truly became man, his soul at first experienced the weakness of nature. Through sense perception, he felt a natural pain at the thought of his soul’s separation from the body. It was then strengthened by the divine will and faced death courageously. He was entirely God with his humanity and entirely man with his divinity. He as man in himself and through himself subjected his humanity to God the Father and became obedient to the Father. He thus set a most noble example and pattern for us. ORTHODOX FAITH 3.18. [2]

[1] Mt 26:39.

[2] FC 37:319-20**.

JESUS TOOK OUR SADNESS TO BESTOW ON US HIS JOY

AMBROSE: Very many people have difficulty with this passage. They attribute the Savior’s sorrow to a weakness implanted from the beginning, rather than received for a time. They also desire to distort the sense of a natural saying. I think that it should not be explained away. Nowhere else than here do I marvel more at his piety and majesty. It would have profited me less if he had not received my grief. He who had no reason to grieve for himself therefore grieved for me. Having set aside the delight in eternal Divinity, he is afflicted by the weariness of my weakness. He took my sadness in order to bestow on me his joy. He came down to our footprints, even to the hardship of death, in order to call us back to life in his own footprints. I confidently mention sadness, because I proclaim the cross. He did not undertake the appearance but the reality of the incarnation. He must thus also undertake the grief in order to overcome the sorrow and not exclude it. Those who have borne the numbness rather than the pain of wounds do not receive the praise of having strength. He was a man in suffering, and acquainted with the bearing of sickness. [1] EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 10.56. [2]

[1] Is 53:3.

[2] EHG 406-7**.

JESUS EXPERIENCES FEAR AND ANXIETY

EPHREM THE SYRIAN: “If it is possible, let this cup pass from me.” He said this because of the lowliness with which he had clothed himself, not in pretence, but in reality. Since he had really become unimportant and had clothed himself in lowliness, it would have been impossible for his lowliness not to have experienced fear and not to have been upset. He took on flesh and clothed himself with weakness. He ate when hungry, became tired after working, and overcome by sleep when weary. It was necessary, when the time for his death arrived, that all these things that have to do with the flesh be fulfilled. The anguish of death in fact invaded him, to make clear his nature as a son of Adam, over whom “death reigns,” [1] according to the word of the apostle. COMMENTARY ON TATIAN’S DIATESSARON 20.4. [2]

[1] Rom 5:14, 17.

[2] ECTD 294**.

JESUS’ WILL AND THE FATHER’S WILL ARE ONE

AMBROSE: Since he then says, “Not my will but yours be done,” he referred his own will to man and his Father’s to the Godhead. The will of man is temporary, but the will of the Godhead is eternal. There is not one will of the Father and another of the Son. There is one will where there is one Godhead. Learn that you are subject to God, so that you may choose not what you yourself want but what you know will be pleasing to God. EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 10.60. [1]

[1] EHG 407-8**.

JESUS’ HUMAN WILL IS NOT OPPOSED TO THE WILL OF THE FATHER

GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS: “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless let not what I will but your will prevail.” It is unlikely that he did not know whether it was possible or not, or that he would oppose the Father’s will. This is the language of him who came down and assumed our nature. However, this is not the language of human nature. … The passage does not mean that the Son has a special will of his own besides that of the Father but that he does not have a special will. The meaning would be, “Not to do mine own will, for there is none of mine apart from, but that which is common to me and you. Since we have one Godhead, so we have one will.” ORATION 30.12, ON THE SON. [1]

[1] LCC 3:185**.

JESUS REVERSES THE SIN OF ADAM

EPHREM THE SYRIAN: “Not according to my will, but yours.” He said this word against Adam, who resisted the will of the Creator and followed the will of his enemy. Consequently Adam was delivered over into the mouth of his enemy. Our Lord resisted the will of the flesh to uphold the will of the Creator of flesh, because he knew that all happiness depends on the will of his Father. “Not my will but yours be done.” COMMENTARY ON TATIAN’S DIATESSARON 20.9. [1]

[1] ECTD 296*.

JESUS SUFFERS BECAUSE OF HIS LOVE FOR THE WORLD

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: God the Father had pity on earth’s inhabitants who were in misery, caught in the snares of sin, and liable to death and corruption. A tyrant’s hand made them bow and herds of devils enslaved them. He sent his Son from heaven to be a Savior and Deliverer. He was made like unto us in form. He knew he would suffer. The shame of his passion was not the fruit of his own will, but he still consented to undergo it that he might save the earth. God the Father wanted that, from his great kindness and love for humanity. He “so loved the world that he gave even his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” [1] As to the disgrace of his passion, Christ did not want to suffer. … He was obedient to the Father, even to death, and the death of the cross at that. COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 147. [2]

[1] Jn 3:16.

[2] CGSL 586**.

22:44-46 | Jesus’ Bloody Sweat

JESUS’ BLOODY SWEAT IS A SIGN OF HIS HUMANITY

HIPPOLYTUS: Although he was God clearly revealed, he did not disown what was human about himself as well. He is hungry and exhausted, weary and thirsty; he fears and flees and is troubled when he prays. He sleeps on a pillow, yet as God he has a nature that does not know sleeping. He asks to be excused the suffering of the cup, yet he was present in the world for this very reason. In his agony, he sweats and an angel strengthens him, yet he strengthens those who believe in him and has taught them by his example to treat death with contempt. AGAINST NOETUS 18. [1]

[1] ANF 5:230**.

JESUS’ BLOODY SWEAT SHOWS THE DEPTH OF HIS FEELING

JUSTIN MARTYR: “All my bones are poured out and scattered like water; my heart is become like wax melting in the midst of my belly.” [1] This passage foretold what would happen on that night when they came to Mount Olivet to capture him. In the memoirs of the apostles and their successors, it is written that his perspiration poured out like drops of blood as he prayed and said, “If it is possible, let this cup pass from me.” His heart and bones were evidently quaking, and his heart was like wax melting in his belly. We therefore may understand that the Father wanted his Son to endure in reality these severe sufferings for us. We may not declare that since he was the Son of God, he did not feel what was done and inflicted on him. The words “my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaves to my jaws” [2] predicted that he would remain silent. He who proved that all your teachers are without wisdom did not answer a word in his own defense. DIALOGUE WITH TRYPHO 103. [3]

[1] Ps 22:14.

[2] Ps 22:15.

[3] FC 6:310-11*.

JESUS’ BLOODY SWEAT HEALS ADAM

EPHREM THE SYRIAN: “His sweat became like drops of blood,” the Evangelist said. He sweated to heal Adam who was sick. “It is by the sweat of your brow,” said God, “that you will eat your bread.” [1] He remained in prayer in this garden to bring Adam back into his own garden again. COMMENTARY ON TATIAN’S DIATESSARON 20.11. [2]

[1] Gen 3:19.

[2] ECTD 297*.

THE DISCIPLES ARE TEMPTED

TERTULLIAN: The devil tempted Christ himself, and Christ pointed out the subtle director of the temptation. He later confirms this passage by his words to his apostles when he says, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” They were so tempted to desert their Lord because they had indulged in sleep instead of prayer. The phrase that balances and interprets “lead us not into temptation” is “but deliver us from evil.” ON PRAYER 8. [1]

THE BETRAYAL LUKE 22:47-53

[1] FC 40:166-67**.

OVERVIEW:

Judas is one of the Twelve, heightening the scandal and humiliation of this betrayal (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). To betray with a kiss is the deepest of ironies (AMBROSE). There is no love here, for children of Adam under Satan’s power do this deed, for Judas did not have the power in and of himself to betray Jesus (EPHREM THE SYRIAN).

Violence represents the kind of kingdom the confused disciples would have brought if Jesus had permitted them to continue their ignorant endeavors. Love rather than a sword, and healing rather than violence are the way of the kingdom (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). Jesus responds to this moment of arrest and violence not with power but with healing (EPHREM THE SYRIAN). Jesus’ action is consistent with the portraits of Jesus in the Gospel: the Creator comes to his creation as a man to heal the creation (AMBROSE). But the soldiers, who witnessed this healing, respond to this act of mercy by arresting Jesus and taking him to his trials (EPHREM THE SYRIAN).

By treating Jesus as a robber, they place him in a category in which they belong, for they do not understand the mercy or compassion of Jesus (AMBROSE). Jesus’ betrayal closes with his summation that those who have come to arrest him are simply envoys of Satan: “This is your [Satan’s] hour and the power of darkness” (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA).

22:47-48 | Judas Betrays Jesus with a Kiss

THE SHAME AND HUMILIATION OF JUDAS

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: He adds that he was one of the Twelve. This also is a matter of great importance to demonstrate more fully the guilt of the traitor’s crime. The Lord equally honored him with the rest and decorated him with apostolic dignities. Christ admitted him, chosen and beloved, to the holy table and the highest honors, but this became the pathway and the means for the murderers of Christ. What dirge can be sufficient for him, or what floods of tears must not each shed from his eyes when he considers from what happiness that wretched being fell into such total misery! For a worthless cent, he stopped being with Christ and lost his hope toward God. He lost the honor, crowns, life and glory prepared for Christ’s true followers, and the right of reigning with the Lord. COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 148. [1]

[1] CGSL 587-88**.

THE IRONY OF JUDAS’S KISS

AMBROSE: This is a great sign of divine power and a great lesson of virtue. The intention of betrayal is revealed, and yet patience is not denied. You have shown, Lord, whom he betrayed, while you reveal the hidden things. [1] You have also shown whom he betrayed, when you say “the Son of man,” because the flesh, not the Godhead, is meant. Nevertheless Christ even more refutes the ingratitude that betrayed him. Although he was the Son of God, yet for our sake he was willing to be the Son of man. It is as if he would say, “Because of you, ungrateful one, I took upon myself what you betray.” Look at the hypocrisy! I think it is exposed through the question that accuses the traitor with the compassion of love: “Judas, do you betray the Son of man with a kiss?” That is like saying, “Do you wound with the pledge of love, shed blood in the duty of charity, and give death with the instrument of peace? Do you, a servant, betray your Lord, a disciple his master, a chosen one the creator?” In other words, “The wounds of a friend are more useful than the voluntary kisses of an enemy.” [2] He says this to a traitor. What does Christ say to a peacemaker? “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth.” [3] He kissed Judas, not that Christ should teach us to pretend but that he should not appear to flee from betrayal. Hence he did not deprive Judas of the dues of love. [4] It is written, “I was peaceful among those that hate peace.” [5] EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 10.63-64. [6]

[1] Ps 50:6 LXX.

[2] :1–24:53 PRELIMINARY REMARKS | ON THE GOSPEL

[3] Song 1:2.

[4] See Mt 26:49.

[5] Ps 120:6 (119:6 LXX).

[6] EHG 409**.

JUDAS LACKED POWER ON HIS OWN

EPHREM THE SYRIAN: The tribe of Judah marked the beginning of the kingdom, [1] and the apostle Judas marked its extinction. In deceitfully handing him over to the Romans with a kiss, he handed over to them the responsibility of avenging Jesus so that they would one day exact it from Judah. The wicked one came to dig his deep abyss, and our God explained it gently to him. He showed that he was helpful, a fountain of mercy. He said, “Judas, would you betray the Son of man with a kiss?” He showed that Judas did not have the power to hand over the Son of God. “Well then, why have you come, my friend?” [2] The Lord called animosity friendship, and he turned toward Judas. The deceitful disciple approached the true Master to kiss him. The Lord withdrew from him the Spirit that he had breathed into him. He removed it from him, not wanting the corrupting wolf to be among his sheep. He said, “That which he had has been taken away from him.” [3] COMMENTARY ON TATIAN’S DIATESSARON 20.12. [4]

[1] See Gen 49:10.

[2] Mt 26:50.

[3] Mt 13:12.

[4] ECTD 298**.

22:49-51 | Jesus Rebukes His Supporters for Their Misunderstanding

LOVE AND HEALING INSTEAD OF VIOLENCE AND SWORDS

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: The blessed disciples, wounded with the prodding of divine love, drew their swords to repel the attack. Christ would not permit this, but he rebuked Peter, saying, “Put your sword into its sheath; for all who have taken swords shall die by swords.” In this, he gave us a pattern of the way in which we must hold on by our love for him and of the extent to which the burning zeal of our piety may proceed. He does not want us to use swords to resist our enemies. He would rather have us use love and prudence. … The Savior moderates the unmeasured heat of the holy apostles. By preventing the example of such an act, he declares that those who are the leaders in his religion have no need in any way whatsoever of swords. With divine dignity, Christ healed him who received the blow and gave this godlike sign for their condemnation to those who came to seize him. COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 148. [1]

[1] CGSL 588-89**.

JESUS RESPONDS TO VIOLENCE WITH HEALING

EPHREM THE SYRIAN: Not fearing the power that had flattened them, [1] they stretched out their impure hands and seized him who was purifying them. “Simon cut off the ear of one of them.” The good Lord in his gentleness took it and put it back in its elevated place on the body, as a figure of him who had fallen into the lower abyss because of his sins. “Put your sword back again into its place.” [2] He whose word was a sword did not need a sword. Just as he restored the ear that was cut off back to its place, he could have separated the members that were joined. Unsatisfied with showing the intensity of his power with a single example, he showed it to all those who “retreated and fell backwards to the ground.” [3] The one whose ear had been healed would not be the only one to benefit from grace. He allowed all that were about to apprehend him to benefit from it, so that they would certainly know whom they were going to arrest. The grace of him who had restored the ear to its place made those who “fell backwards to the ground” able to get up again. COMMENTARY ON TATIAN’S DIATESSARON 20.13. [4]

[1] See Jn 18:6.

[2] Mt 26:52.

[3] Jn 18:6.

[4] ECTD 298-99*.

JESUS THE CREATOR HEALS THE SERVANT

AMBROSE: Comprehend, if you can, how pain passes at the contact with the Savior’s hand, and wounds are healed not when sprinkled with a cure, but when covered with his touch. The clay recognizes its maker, [1] and the flesh follows the hand of the Lord who formed it, for the creator repairs his work as he wishes. Thus in another place, vision is restored to the blind man after clay is spread on his eyes, [2] as if he had returned to nature. He could have commanded but preferred to act, so that we should realize that it is he himself who from the dust of the earth fashioned the limbs of our bodies, [3] suited to different functions, and quickened us with infused strength of mind. EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE. [4]

[1] Job 36:3.

[2] Jn 9:6-7.

[3] Gen 2:7; Job 38:14; Sir 17:1; 33:10.

[4] EHG 412.

THE SOLDIERS RESPOND WITH VIOLENCE

EPHREM THE SYRIAN: Since our Lord was the fulfillment of justice and the beginning of mercy, he put the sword in its sheath and put justice back in its place again. He then healed the ear through mercy. He put the ear back in its place and made good the imperfection of justice through fruitful mercy. He whose ear had been healed expressed his gratitude for this love with hatred. Those who had “fallen backwards to the ground” and had been raised up again through Christ, thanked him for his help with chains. “They bound him,” said the Evangelist, “and led him away.” [1] COMMENTARY ON TATIAN’S DIATESSARON 20.13. [2]

[1] Jn 18:12-13.

[2] ECTD 299*.

22:52-53 | Jesus Questions His Captors

THEY DO NOT UNDERSTAND JESUS’ COMPASSION

AMBROSE: They came and they seized him. They would die a more dreadful death as a fruit of their zeal. These wretches did not understand the mystery nor revere such compassion of piety, because Christ did not let even his enemies be wounded. They inflicted death on the righteous One, and he healed the wounds of his persecutors. EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 10.71. [1]

[1] EHG 411-12**.

THE HOUR OF DARKNESS IS THE HOUR OF SATAN

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: “You have one hour against me.” That is a very short and limited time, between the precious cross and the resurrection from the dead. This also is the power given to darkness. Darkness is the name of Satan, for he is total night and darkness. Blessed Paul says that the God of this world has blinded the minds of those that do not believe, or else, the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ should shine on them. [1] God granted power to Satan and the Jews to rise up against Christ. They, however, dug for themselves the pitfall of destruction. He certainly saved all under heaven by means of his passion and rose the third day, having trampled under foot the empire of death. They brought down inevitable condemnation on their own heads in company with that traitorous disciple. COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 148. [2]

[1] 2 Cor 4:4.

[2] CGSL 589-90**.