Eli, Eli, Lama SabacHtHani
By St. John
Chrysostom, from his 88th homily on the Gospel of St. Matthew (Mt 27:45-48),
edited for length.
Now from the
sixth hour there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And
about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, and said, Eli, Eli, lama
sabach- thani? That is to say, my God my God, why hast thou for- saken me? Some
of them that stood there, when they heard that said, this man calleth for
Elias. And straight way one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with
vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave Him to drink.
† † †
here is a
sign which He had promised to give them when they asked for it, saying to them,
An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign
be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas (Mt 12:39); that sign
is
encompassed in His cross and His death, His burial and His resurrection. And
again, declaring in another way the virtue of the cross, He said, When ye have
lifted up the Son of Man, then shall ye know that I am He. (Jn 8:28). And what
He said is to imply: When ye have crucified me, and think ye have overcome me,
then, above all, shall ye know my might. After the crucifixion, the city was
destroyed, and the Jewish state came to an end;
and the
gospel flourished and His word was spread abroad to the ends of the world. Both
sea and land, both the inhabited earth and the desert perpetually proclaim His
power. Indeed, it was much more marvellous that these things should be
prophesied by Him when He was nailed to the cross, than when He was walking on
earth.
And observe
when it took place. At midday, that all that dwell on the earth may know it,
when it was day all over the world. After all their insulting, and their
lawlessness, this is done, soon after they had let go their anger, when they
had ceased mocking; it is then that He shows the deep darkness, in order that
at least so (having vented their anger) they may profit by the miracle.
This miracle
was more marvellous than for Him to come down from the cross; for He worked
these things while be- ing on the cross! For whether they thought He Himself
had done it, they ought to have believed and to have feared; and if not Him but
the Father, they ought to have been moved to compunction, for that darkness was
a token of His anger at their crime.
And what they
saw was not just an eclipse, but both wrath and indignation; and it continued
for three hours. We are aware that an eclipse takes place in one moment of
time, and those who observed the miracle know this.
How is it
then that all did not marvel and account Him to be God? Because the race of man
was then held in a state of great carelessness and vice. And this miracle was
but one, and when it had taken place, immediately passed away; and no one was
concerned to inquire into the cause of it, for great was their prejudice and
their habit of ungodliness.
He Himself
worked this miracle. And he did so that they might learn that He was still
alive, and that they might be- come by this also more gentle. And he exclaimed
Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? (Mt 27:46) so that unto His last breath they might
see that He honors His Father, and is no adversary of God. And His cry is from
the prophet, (My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? [Pss 22:1]), thus
bearing witness
to the Old
Testament in His last hour, and in Hebrew, so as to be plain and intelligible
to them. By all things, He shows how He is of one mind with Him that begat Him.
Now observe
here their ma- liciousness, ignorance, indul- gence and foolishness. They
thought (it is said) that it was Elias whom He called, and straightway they
gave Him vinegar to drink. (Mt 27:48). But another came unto Him, and pierced
His side with a
spear. (Jn
19:34). What could be more lawless and brutal than these men carrying their
madness to such great of a length, offering insult at last even to a dead body?
Observe, however, how He made use of their wickednesses for our salvation. For
after the blow the fountains of our salvation gushed forth from thence: and
forthwith came there out blood and water... And Jesus, when He had cried with a
loud voice, yielded up the Ghost. (Mt 27:50). This is what He had said, I have
power to lay down my life, and I have power to take it again, and, I lay it
down of myself. (Jn 10:18). So for this cause He cried with a loud voice, that
it might be shown that the act of His death is done by power. Mark the
Evangelist informs us that “Pilate marvelled if He were already dead (Mk
25:44). And above all, this is the reason that the centurion believed; because
He died with power: And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw
that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said,
Truly this
man was the Son of God. (Mk 15:39).
This cry rent
the veil and opened the tombs and made the house desolate. And He did this, not
as to offer insult to the temple (how could He, when he said Make not my
Father’s
house a house of merchandise [Jn 2:16]) but declaring them to be unworthy even
of His steadfastness; and this was also a prophecy of the coming desolation,
and a declaration of the change into the greater and higher state and a clear
sign of His might.
And He also
showed Himself by what followed after these things, the raising of the dead.
Elisha, on touching a dead body rose again (2Kings 13:21); but now by a voice
He raised the dead, His body continuing up there, on the cross! And they are
not merely raised, but the rocks are also rent, and the earth shaken, so that
they might learn, that He was able to strike themselves blind, and to rend them
in pieces. For He that cleft rocks asunder and darkened the world, could have
easily done these things to them, had it been His will. But He would not, but
having discharged His wrath upon the elements, His will was to save them by
clemency. But they did not abate their madness. Such was their envy. So even
after placing a seal upon His tomb, and soldiers watch- ing Him, He rose again,
and they heard these things from the very guards; they even gave money, in
order both to cor- rupt others, and to steal away the history of the
resurrection. Observe the great signs He had wrought, some from Heaven, some on
earth, some in the very temple, at once marking His indignation, and at the
same time showing that what were unapproachable are now to be entered, and that
Heaven shall be opened. And they indeed said, If He be the King of Israel, let
Him come down now from the cross, (Mt 27:42) but He shows them that He is King
of all the world. And whereas those men said, Thou that destroyest this temple,
and buildest it in three days, (Mt 27:40) He shows that it shall be made
forever desolate.
Again they
said, He saved others, Himself He cannot save
(Mt 27:42),
but He, while abiding on the cross, proved this most abundantly for so many of
his deceased servants. If one considers Lazarus’ rise on the fourth day as a
great and miraculous event, how much more for all those who had long ago fallen
asleep, and at once appeared alive; and this was a sign of the future
resurrection to come. For, many bodies of the saints which slept, arose, it is
said, and went into the holy city, and appeared to many. (Mt 27:52-53). And the
Centurion too then glorified God, saying, Truly this was a righteous man. And
the multitudes that came together to that sight, returned beating their
breasts. (Lk 23:47-48).
The power of
the Crucified was indeed so great that after so many mockings, and scoffs, and
jeers, both the centurion was moved to compunction, and many people. And some
say of this centurion that he became a martyr in His name, after he grew in the
faith.
And many
women were there beholding afar off, which had followed Him, ministering unto
Him, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Joses, and the mother of
Zebe- dee’s sons.” (Mt 27:52-53). All these events are closely observed
by the women,
for they were most inclined to feel for Him, who were most of all bewailing
Him. Observe their diligence and attentiveness. They had followed Him
ministering to Him, and were present even during the most dangerous moments and
they saw it all; how He cried, how He gave up the ghost, how the rocks were
rent, and all the rest.
And these
women are the blessed ones that also first see the resurrected Jesus; the sex
that was most condemned shows its courage and first enjoys the sight of the
blessings. When the disciples had fled, they were present. But who were these?
His mother, for she is called mother of James, and the rest. But another
evangelist (Lk 22:48) informs us that many women also lamented over the things
that were done, and smote their breasts. This, above all, shows the cruelty of
the Jews, who gloried in things for which the women were lamenting; the former
were neither moved by pity, nor checked by fear.
But Joseph
went, and begged the body. (Mt 27:57-58). This was Joseph, who was concealing
his discipleship; now, however, he had become very bold after Christ’s death.
For neither was he an obscure person, nor unnoticed; he is one of the council,
highly distinguished and extremely courageous. By his affec- tion to Jesus, he
exposed himself to death, taking upon him the hostility and animosity of many;
he dared to beg the body of Christ and did not cease his efforts until he
obtained it. He showed his love and his courage not only by taking Christ’s
body and burying it in a costly manner, but also by laying it in his own new
tomb And this was not coincidental; in this manner, there could not be any bare
suspicion that one had risen instead of another.
And there was
Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre. (Mt 27:61).
For what purpose do they await by the tomb? They had brought ointments, and
were waiting at the tomb, so that if the madness of the Jews should relax, they
might go and embrace the body. Do you see the women’s courage, their affection,
their noble spirit in money and their noble spirit even unto death? Let us men
imitate the women; let us not forsake Jesus in temptations. Even though He was
dead, they exposed their lives, but we (for again I say the same things)
neither feed Him when hungry, nor clothe Him when naked, but seeing Him beg-
ging, we pass Him by.
We say that
Christ has done great things, having made angels of men; then, when we are
called upon to give ac- count, and required to furnish a proof out of this
flock, our mouths will be shut and we will be absent of furnishing deeds in His
name.
And let us do
at any rate what each of us can accomplish, and from the present time purify
our lives and attain the promised blessings, by the grace and love towards man
of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory world without end. Amen.
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