Chapter Twenty-One

¹ And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in there two mites. And he said, Of a truth I say to you, that this poor widow has cast in more than they all: for all these have of their abundance cast in to the offerings of God: but she of her penury has cast in all the living that she had. Gaza, they say, means a treasure. There was, then, a sacred treasure, gathered by contribution from lovers of God, which they used for the maintenance and repair of the temple, and simply for the adornment of the sanctuary, and for the sustenance of the poor — even though later the priests made merchandise of this also, dividing the treasure among themselves, and using it not for the purposes to which it had been set apart from the beginning. The Lord, then, praises the widow above all the others, as having cast in of her penury her whole living. For the two obols, even though they seem little, yet are the whole living to her that is sustained by begging; for she was a poor widow. Not, therefore, looking to what is given, but to what is left behind, does the Lord render his recompenses. To the rich, then, more was left at home, who offered few and little things; but to her the whole house had been emptied, and nothing was left. Fittingly, therefore, she is also the more praiseworthy of them. And some have understood that the widow can be taken for every soul that has cast off her former husband, the old law, but is not yet worthy of the union with God the Word; and that this soul brings, by way of an earnest, the small and as yet moderate faith proportioned to her, and a good conscience. For together with faith one must bring also a good conscience, that is, an undistorted manner of life; and if one thus draws near to God, he seems to cast in more than all the rich in word and abounding in the moral lore of the Greeks.

² And as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said, As for these things which you behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass? And he said, Take heed that you be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draws near: go you not therefore after them. But when you shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by. Then said he to them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and great earthquakes shall be in various places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. Fittingly the Lord now prophesies concerning Jerusalem, inasmuch as he is, as it were now, about to be crucified, that we might have these things too for a great proof that he is the true God. Whence also, when certain praised the buildings of the temple and the offerings — and I think he means those carved works, palm-trees and cherubim, for these perhaps are the offerings he speaks of — the Lord turns to none of these, but foretells their overthrow. But they thought he was speaking of the universal consummation, although he was speaking of the capture of Jerusalem by the Romans. Wherefore he too, condescending to them, lets be for the present the words concerning the capture — for he is about to interweave them with the things that come after — and now treats of the consummation, and forearms them, so that they be not led away by the false prophets that are to come before his presence. And there shall be wars and commotions; for all love being taken away, fittingly the wars and commotions shall have place; and from the wars, famines and pestilences — the one because the air is corrupted from the dead bodies, the other because the lands are not tilled. But some have understood the famines and pestilences and the other afflictions to be not only at the consummation, but also at the times of the capture. For Josephus too says that unbearable calamities came to pass because of the famine. And further, as Luke says in the Acts, there was a famine in the days of Claudius Cæsar. And indeed many fearful sights came to pass, signifying the capture of Jerusalem, as the same Josephus relates. And altogether these things can be understood as common both to the time of the consummation and to that of the capture — I mean the things concerning the commotions and the wars and the rest.

³ But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake. And it shall turn to you for a testimony. Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what you shall answer: for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. And you shall be betrayed both by parents, and kinsfolks, and friends, and brethren; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And you shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake. But there shall not an hair of your head perish. In your patience possess you your souls. Before all these things — those of the consummation, or also those of the capture; for, as I said, he interweaves with the words concerning the consummation those concerning the capture. They shall lay their hands on you, he says, my disciples. For even before the capture the apostles were persecuted out of Jerusalem, God ordering this also, that the dreadful things might fall only upon the crucifiers, while they themselves — the apostles, I mean — might fill the whole world with the preaching. The apostles, then, were brought before kings and before rulers, as Paul before Festus, before Agrippa, before Cæsar himself. And this came to pass for them to the glory of testimony. But since they were unlearned and ignorant men, that they might not be troubled as though they were to be required to give account before wise men, Let nothing of this, he says, be a care to you; for you shall receive from me at once both wisdom and ready speech, so that not even all the adversaries gathered together into one can withstand you, neither in wisdom — that is, in the power of the thoughts — nor in ready speech and the unstumbling of the tongue. For often a man has wisdom in his reasonings and thoughts, but, being easily disturbed before tumults, confounds the whole in the hour of public speaking. But these, the apostles I mean, were graced in both; whence the priests were astonished at Peter and John for their sudden wisdom, perceiving that they had formerly been unlearned men; and Festus said of Paul, You are mad, Paul; much learning does turn you to madness. Having said these things, and loosed their fear arising from their unlearnedness, he adds another thing necessary, and able to shake souls — namely, You shall be betrayed by friends and kinsfolk. He foretells, then, concerning this also, that it may not, coming suddenly, throw them into confusion. For this is a dreadful thing to reach the soul, as David also says, For if the enemy had reproached me, I would have borne it; but you, O man, mine equal. And again, He that did eat of my bread magnified his heel against me. Having said these things — both that they shall be hated, and that some of them shall be put to death — he adds the greatest consolation, that, There shall not an hair of your head perish. For you shall be saved, he says, and not even the least thing of you shall be destroyed, even though it seem to the many to be destroyed; only you must endure; for in your patience you shall be able to possess your souls. For the enemy comes, like some captor, attempting to snatch away your souls through the bringing on of dreadful things; but do you give patience instead of money, and possess your souls by this exchange, and you shall not lose them. And attend to the saying, Some of you shall they put to death; for you shall understand something deeper, that, They shall not put you to death whole, but, you being twofold, of soul and body, they shall not put the two to death, but of you shall put the one to death — the body, I mean — but possess you your souls through patience; which also he says elsewhere, Fear not them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul.

⁴ And when you shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is near. Then let them which are in Judæa flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Most clearly does he now treat of the capture of Jerusalem. Whence I think the saying, But before all these, must be understood thus: that is, before the famines, and the pestilences, and the other dreadful things which are to come to pass in the time of the consummation, you the apostles shall be persecuted, and so forth. Then also the evils shall come upon Jerusalem. For since they supposed that in the time of the consummation the buildings of the temple should be overthrown, Nay, he says. For the time of the consummation shall have false prophets, and famines, and pestilences from the continual wars that are to befall because of love’s growing cold. But you, before the time of the consummation, shall be driven out, and Jerusalem shall be taken, and these stones shall be thrown down. For when you shall see the city compassed by the Roman armies, then know the desolation thereof. He sets forth tragically, then, the dreadful things which shall then beset the city. For let them, he says, that are in Judæa flee to the mountains. And let not them that are in the countries expect that the city, being walled, will guard them, but let them withdraw; and let them also that are in the midst of the city. For they are days of vengeance, that the things may be fulfilled which were written, especially in Daniel. Woe to them that are with child; for they shall not be able to flee because of the weight of the womb; and to them that give suck, because of their affection toward their infants, being able neither to leave them uncared for, nor to take them with themselves. And some say that in these things the Lord hints at the eating of children, which Josephus relates and Jeremiah prophesies. And Jerusalem, he says, shall be trodden down of the Gentiles. Thus far the things concerning the capture. Then again the things concerning the consummation. For there shall be, he says, signs in the sun, and moon, and stars. For the creation being changed, fittingly the elements are made new. And distress of nations — that is, affliction, all things mingled with perplexity; and the sea shall roar with terrible noises, and there shall be tossing and tumult, so that men faint from fear alone, and from the expectation of the things coming upon the world. See plainly that he is here speaking of the consummation. For above he said that Jerusalem is compassed and trodden down by the armies of the Gentiles, but here that the evils come upon the whole world, so that his discourse now is of the universal consummation. For the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And why do I say, he says, that men shall be troubled, all the creation being changed? For the very angels and the first powers shall be troubled at so great changes. And then shall they see the Son of man, even they that believed not, coming in clouds; and he shall then flash forth brighter than the sun, both himself and...

⁵ And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws near. And he spoke to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; when they now shoot forth, you see and know of your own selves that summer is now near at hand. So likewise you, when you see these things come to pass, know you that the kingdom of God is near at hand. Truly I say to you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. As the former presence of the Lord was for the re-elementing of our souls and for regeneration, so also the second shall be for the regeneration of our bodies. For since the souls died first, having disobeyed, but the bodies underwent death in actuality nine hundred years after the disobedience, accordingly they too are born again and bettered — the souls through the former presence, the bodies through the second. Wherefore the Lord says, When these things come to pass, look up, you that are weighed down by corruption, and as it were be set at liberty. For your redemption is at hand — that is, the perfect freedom of the two together, of soul, I mean, and body. For the preposition in apolytrosis seems to hint at this, the entire deliverance from corruption; and the body shall then receive grace from the Lord who abolishes the last enemy, death. For he abolished the principalities and the powers, and redeemed the souls. There remained death, which preys upon our bodies, which also being abolished shall be to us a cause of freedom and redemption. And the kingdom of God shall straightway be present when these things come to pass. As also the fig tree, putting forth its leaves, shows summer drawing near, so also these portents coming to pass, and the transformation of the whole, show that summer shall come — that is, the kingdom of God — coming after winter and storm as summer to the righteous, even as to the sinners it shall then be winter and storm. For these have the present age as their summer, but the age to come as their storm. Truly I say to you, This generation shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled. By generation he means not those then present, but the whole generation of the faithful. For the Scripture knows how to name a generation also from likeness of manner, as the saying, This is the generation of them that seek the Lord. For since he said that there should be commotions and wars, and changes both of elements and of affairs, lest any suppose that perhaps Christianity also shall be dissolved, Nay, he says, this generation of Christians shall not pass away. For heaven and earth shall be changed, but my words and my Gospel shall not be dissolved, but shall remain, even though all things be shaken, and the faith in me shall not fail. And he makes it plain hence that he holds the Church more precious than all the creation, seeing that the creation is changed, but of the Church of the faithful, and of his words and the Gospel, nothing shall pass away.

⁶ And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch you therefore, and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. You have heard, he says, of fearful sights and commotions; but all these are sensible, and symbols of the evils that shall lay hold of sinners. But against these dreadful things a great and counteracting remedy is prayer and watchfulness. For to be ever in readiness, and in expectation of the end, this above all things will be able to help. And this shall come to you, he says, if you are sober, and your hearts be not overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life. For that day comes not with observation, but unlooked for, secretly, like a snare seizing them that take no heed. And perhaps one might examine more curiously this saying, Them that sit upon the face of the whole earth. For that day ensnares those that pass their life in carelessness and idleness; for these are they that sit, and these are they that are ensnared. But as many as are active and energetic and sober about the working of the good, and are ever moved toward the good, not sitting fast and resting in earthly things, but rising up from thence, and saying to themselves, Arise and depart, for this is not your rest, and longing for a better country — to such the day is not as a snare and a danger, but as a feast day. Wherefore one must watch, and beseech God, that we may be able to escape all the things that shall come to pass. What things? Perhaps both the famines, and the pestilences, and the other things which shall not lie so heavily upon the elect as upon the rest — rather indeed, for the elect’s sake they shall be shortened even for the rest; and perhaps also the things which shall come to pass for the sinners eternally. For those things we cannot otherwise escape, save through watchfulness and prayer. But since it suffices not for the great-souled to flee the affliction, but they must also attain some good thing, after saying, That you may be able to escape all these things, he adds, And to stand before the Son of man — which is for the Christian to hasten to receive good things and glory before the Son of man and our God. For his angels...

⁷ And in the day time he was teaching in the temple; and at night he went out, and abode in the mount that is called the mount of Olives. And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple, for to hear him. The evangelists concealed the greater part of what he taught, and especially the three; but John, though he too kept silence about the greater part, yet set forth, beyond the three, some teachings more lofty. To those gathered in the temple, then, he discoursed many and lofty things, as one may infer. For that the evangelists said few things — since they did not wish to make a display — is plain both from elsewhere in many places, and not least may be inferred from this, that, though the Lord preached nearly three years, they recorded few of his teachings; and one who said that the discourse of a single day was sufficient would not, I think, be blamed. Out of many things, then, the holy evangelists recorded for us few, giving only as it were a taste of the sweetness. And he discoursed not in one manner, but applying to each that which was fitting. Wherefore also the crowd came early to him; for grace was poured upon his lips. And by night he withdrew to the mount, showing us that one must by night, through stillness, commune with God, but by day, through condescension, profit men, and gather by night, but distribute by day what has been gathered. He himself, indeed, needed not prayer, nor gathering toward God; for he had nothing into which he might be contracted, being himself God. But these things he set down for us as a pattern, that, after the manner of wells, we may by night receive the inflowing of prayer from the spiritual veins, but by day be drawn upon by them that need profit. One, then, seeing the people at that time coming early to Jesus, so as to hear him, might say that the words of David fitted him to speak: O God, my God, early will I seek you; my soul has thirsted for you.