Chapter 14

Chapter 14. — On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Myrrh. On the Passover. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter. On the Accusations Laid Against the Lord Before the High Priest

¹ Now after two days was the Passover, and the feast of unleavened bread. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death. But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be a tumult of the people.

² And being in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard, very precious; and she broke the box, and poured it on his head. And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, To what purpose was this waste of the ointment made? for it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and given to the poor. And they murmured against her. On the fourth day the council was formed. And for this reason we too fast on the fourth days. They, then, wished to put off the time of the feast; but they were not permitted, but he himself, keeping the time of his passion for himself, was well-pleased to be crucified at the Passover. For he himself was the true Passover. Whence one may marvel at his power. For when they wished to seize him, they were not able; but when they wished, on account of the feast, to defer it, then he himself willingly gave himself up. And as he was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, there came a woman. And all four make mention of the ointment. And it seems to some to be one woman, but it is not, but they are two. One, she that is in John, who was also the sister of Lazarus. And the other, she that is in the remaining three. Yet take heed, you will find these to be three. In John one, in Luke another, and in the two yet another single one. For she that is in Luke was both a harlot and appears about the middle of the preaching; whereas she that is in Matthew, near the time of the passion. And she was not confessedly a harlot; but the Lord accepts her purpose, as having spent so much upon the spikenard. And by pistic spikenard understand either a kind of spikenard so called, πιστική, or the genuine, unadulterated spikenard, prepared with faith (πίστις). And there were some that had indignation. But John says that it was Judas who had indignation. It is likely, then, that the other apostles also blamed the woman, as having heard Christ ever teaching concerning almsgiving; Judas, however, had indignation against the woman not with the same aim, but on account of his love of money and his shameful greed. For this reason, then, John also makes mention of him alone, as having blamed the woman with a treacherous aim. And they murmured against her — that is, they were indignant, reviled, and rebuked her.

³ But Jesus said: Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has wrought a good work on me. For you have the poor with you always, and whensoever you will you may do them good; but me you have not always. She has done what she could; she has come beforehand to anoint my body for the burying. And truly I say to you, Wheresoever this Gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she has done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her. The Lord blames the apostles, as unseasonably hindering the woman’s ready — or rather divinely moved — purpose. For why, he says, do you trouble her, turning her away, after she had offered the gift, by the reproach? And at the same time he also strikes the betrayer, in saying that, She has done this for my burying, and convicts him as one without conscience. All but saying this to him: You, betraying me to death, do not convict yourself; but she, bringing the ointment for my burial, as though moved by God, is she worthy to be convicted by you? And here the Lord prophesies two prophecies: both that the Gospel shall be preached in all the world, and that the work of the woman shall be preached together with it. Let them, therefore, be ashamed, who prefer the poor to Christ. For I myself have heard goldsmiths saying that, If I melt down the sacred vessel and give it to the poor, and I myself live thereby, there is no condemnation. Let them hear, then, how Christ prefers his own service to the poor. And the body of Christ, properly, is that which is on the golden paten, and the blood that which is in the chalice. He, then, who takes away the precious paten, and compels the body of Christ to be set in a meaner vessel, putting forward the poor as a pretext, let him know of what portion he is.

⁴ And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went away unto the chief priests, to betray him unto them. And they, when they heard it, were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently betray him. When the woman displayed her own generosity, then the disciple goes mad — the one of the twelve. For not idly is it set down, one of the twelve; but that he might show that this man too was one of the chosen and select. And what is, that he might betray him? — that is, that he might give them information when he should be alone; for they feared to fall upon him while teaching, on account of the crowd. He, then, promised to deliver him to them set apart and alone.

⁵ And on the first day of unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the Passover, his disciples say to him: Where will you that we go and prepare, that you may eat the Passover? And he sends two of his disciples, and says to them: Go into the city, and a man shall meet you bearing a pitcher of water; follow him, and wheresoever he shall go in, say to the master of the house, The Teacher says: Where is the guest-chamber, where I shall eat the Passover with my disciples? And he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us. By the first day of unleavened bread he means the fifth day, which was before the unleavened bread. For the unleavened bread was eaten on the day of preparation. The disciples, then, come, asking where they should eat the Passover. And from this it is plain that Christ had no lodging of his own, nor yet had the disciples houses. For if they had had them, they would have received him there. And he sends two of his disciples, Peter and John, as Luke says, to an unknown man, showing them that he was able not to suffer. For he who persuaded the mind of this unknown man to receive him, what would he not have wrought among the others? And he gives them also a sign for the finding of the house, namely, to follow a man bearing a pitcher of water. And these things may also be raised to a higher sense. He that has been baptized bears a pitcher of water. And he goes into a house, the condition befitting rational beings. For he that bears the baptism comes unto rest, living according to reason, and resting, as in a house, upon this condition — the mind, which shows a large upper room, the height of its own thoughts. But this upper room is also furnished — that is, even if it is lofty, yet it has nothing rough or proud, but is spread and made low with humble-mindedness. There, then, in such a mind I mean, the Passover is made ready for Christ by two disciples, Peter and John — of action, and of knowledge and contemplation. For Peter, as fervent, is the practical one, and John the contemplative, as a theologian.

⁶ And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them, and they made ready the Passover. And when evening was come, he comes with the twelve. And as they reclined and ate, Jesus said: Truly I say to you, that one of you shall betray me, he that eats with me. And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to him one by one: Is it I? and another, Is it I? And he answering said to them: One of the twelve, he that dips with me in the dish. The Son of man indeed goes, as it is written of him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It had been good for that man if he had never been born. How did they recline, when the law commanded the Passover to be eaten standing? It is likely, then, that they first accomplished the legal Passover, and then reclined, being about to deliver his own Passover. And the disciples began to be sorrowful on account of the word of the Lord, which he had said, that “One of you shall betray me.” For although they were outside this passion, yet they were in anguish, trusting God, who knows the hearts, more than themselves. And mark also the word, He goes. For the death of Christ was as it were a journey abroad, not a death. And the saying, It had been good if he had not been born, was said with reference to the punishment which the betrayer shall undergo. For it is better not to have been born at all, than to have been born unto punishment. From the outcome, then, it appears better that Judas had not existed at all. For God indeed made him for good works. But since he himself fell away into so great a wickedness, it was, as it seems, better that he had not been born at all.

⁷ And as they ate, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave to them, and said: Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them; and they all drank of it. And he said to them: This is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many. Truly I say to you, that I will no more drink of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God. Some say that Judas did not partake of the mysteries, but went out before the Lord delivered the mysteries. But others say that he imparted even to him, the thankless one, of the holy things. And having blessed — instead of, having given thanks — he broke the bread. Which we also do, adding prayers over it. This is my body — this which you now receive. For the bread is not a figure of the Lord’s body, but is changed into that very body of Christ. For the Lord also says: The bread which I will give is my flesh. He did not say, It is a figure of my flesh, but, It is my flesh. And again: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man… And how? he says; for flesh is not seen. On account of our weakness, O man. For since bread and wine are familiar to us, but, seeing blood and flesh set forth, we would not have borne it, but would have recoiled; for this reason the Lover of mankind, condescending to us, keeps the appearance of bread and wine, but transelements them into the power of flesh and blood. And he said blood of the New Testament, in contradistinction to the Old. For the Old Testament too, that also had blood, by which both the people and the book of the law were sprinkled. And I will not drink of the wine, he says, until the resurrection. For he names the resurrection a kingdom, as having then reigned over death. After the resurrection, then, he ate and drank with the disciples, giving assurance that he himself is the same who suffered. And he drinks it new — that is, in a new and strange manner; for he no longer had a passible body, needing nourishment, but an incorruptible and immortal one. And understand it also thus: the vine is the Lord himself, and the fruit of the vine the mysteries, and the hidden knowledge which he himself begets, who teaches man knowledge. In the kingdom of God, then — that is, in the eighth age — he will drink with his disciples the mysteries and the wisdom, teaching us certain new things, and revealing the things which are now hidden.

⁸ And when they had sung a hymn, they went out unto the mount of Olives. And Jesus says to them, that All you shall be offended in me this night; for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. But after I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee. But Peter said to him, Even if all shall be offended, yet not I. And Jesus says to him: Truly I say to you, that you today, this night, before the cock crow twice, shall deny me thrice. But he spoke the more vehemently: Rather, even if I must die with you, I will in no wise deny you. And likewise also said they all. They gave thanks both before drinking, and they gave thanks after drinking, that we too may learn that we ought to give thanks and to sing a hymn, both before food and after food. And at the same time he shows this also, that the death on our behalf is welcome to him, who, going forth to be betrayed, sings a hymn to God. And altogether he teaches us also, when we fall into grievous things for the salvation of many, not to be downcast, but to give thanks to God, who through our affliction saves the others.[1] [He went out of the city] that, having come upon him and seized him, they might not make so great a tumult. For if they had come upon him while he was in the city, perhaps the multitude would have been stirred up over him; and then the enemies, seizing on a plausible pretext, would have contrived to slay him justly, as a seditious man. And he prophesies to them that they shall also be offended. Then, lest such a thing should seem to be a manifest accusation of all, he brings forward also a testimony from the prophet Zechariah, that they shall be scattered. And lastly he adds also a consolation to them, that I will go before you into Galilee — that is, I will precede you. But Peter resists; wherefore you also hear that, Before the cock crow twice, you shall deny me thrice. And this is of such a kind. Peter denied once; then the cock crowed; and when he had denied the other two denials, then the cock crowed again. This, then, is what he says here: Before the cock crow twice, you shall deny me thrice. And likewise also all, displaying a cold fervor, made promises, making the very Truth a liar; wherefore the Lord also yields, and human nature displays the things that are its own. For altogether the Lord was able to keep them, and especially Peter; yet nevertheless he let them be, that we might not be confident in ourselves. And the saying, I will smite the shepherd, the Father says. For since he permitted him to be smitten, he himself is said to smite him who, by his own permission, was smitten. And the sheep he named the apostles, as guileless.

⁹ And they come to a place named Gethsemane; and he says to his disciples: Sit here, while I pray. And he takes Peter and James and John with him, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy. And he says to them: My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death; tarry here, and watch. And going forward a little, he fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said: Abba, Father, all things are possible unto you; take away this cup from me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what you will. And he comes, and finds them sleeping; and he says to Peter: Simon, do you sleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. And again he went away and prayed, speaking the same words. And returning, he found them asleep again; for their eyes were heavy, and they knew not what to answer him. And he comes the third time, and says to them: Sleep on now, and take your rest. It is enough; the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrays me is at hand. He was ever wont to pray alone, giving a pattern to us also, that we should seek stillness in our prayers. And he takes the three only, those who had also become beholders of his glory on Tabor, that they who had seen the glorious things might see also the sorrowful, and might learn that he was truly a man also, and is grieved and is heavy even as we. For since he took upon himself the whole man with the natural properties, altogether he will also be grieved and be heavy naturally. For we men are by nature ill-disposed toward death. By saying, then, Let the cup pass, he showed the human; but by saying, Not what I will, but what you will, he teaches us, that even when nature constrains us, we should think above it, asking for that which is pleasing to God. And when, having come after the prayer, he found the three sleeping, he rebukes Peter alone, all but saying such things to him: Are you not he that promised to die with me? You were not able to watch one hour, and will you despise death? But watch and pray, lest you enter into the temptation of denying me. For your spirit indeed is willing not to deny me; and for this cause you also promise me this; but the flesh is weak; so that, unless the Lord through prayer give power to the flesh, you will be in danger. And again he went away and prayed, speaking the same words, that, by praying a third time, he might give assurance that he was essentially and truly a man; and that he might teach us also to pray often, and not, having once said something, to desist. And finding them asleep again, he does not vehemently rebuke them; for they were weighed down with sleep. Whence learn the human lightness and weakness, how, not being able to hold out even against sleep, we often promise things impossible for us. Being a third time present, he prays, for the same causes as we said above. And he comes again, and says to them, not chiding — and yet he ought to have chided them, as men who not even after the rebuke had become better, but had given themselves over to sleep; what, then, does he say? Sleep on now and take your rest. And he says this to them ironically; for since he knew that the betrayer was coming, he says to them, Now is the time for sleeping, sleep on; behold, the enemy comes. And he said this, mocking their sleep. And that he said this ironically, hear how, going on a little, he says: Rise up, let us go — not that they might flee from dying, but because the Israelites, my own kinsfolk, are falling away from the kingdom of God.

¹⁰ And immediately, while he yet spoke, comes Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. And he that betrayed him had given them a sign, saying: Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely. And when he was come, immediately he went up to him, and says to him, Rabbi, Rabbi; and kissed him. And they laid their hands on him, and took him. And one of them that stood by drew a sword, and smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. And Jesus answering said to them: Are you come out as against a robber, with swords and staves to take me? I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you took me not; but this is that the Scriptures might be fulfilled. The phrase, One of the twelve, is not added in vain, but unto the accusation of the betrayer: that, being of the first choir, he raged against the Master. And one must mark also his senselessness, how he thought to escape the notice of the Lord by the kiss, as though he would be reckoned a friend. And if he was indeed a friend, for what cause did he come with the enemies? Truly wickedness is senseless. And one of them that stood by — this was Peter; and Mark suppresses his name, lest he should seem to praise his own teacher Peter, as having shown zeal for Christ. And well did he cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest. For it darkly hints that they were disobedient and unpersuaded, neglecting the Scriptures. For if they had had ears that hearkened to the Scriptures, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. And Peter smote no other servant, but the high priest’s. For the chief priests were the first to disobey the Scriptures, having become servants of envy and self-love. And he said to the crowds: Are you come out as against a robber? Daily I taught in the temple. And this shows his Godhead. For when he taught in the temple, they were not able to hold him, although he was in their hands, because the time of the passion was not yet. But when he willed, then he gave himself up, that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled: when He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, neither striving nor crying out, but following willingly.

¹¹ And they all forsook him, and fled. And a certain young man followed him, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men lay hold on him. But he, leaving the linen cloth, fled from them naked. And they led Jesus away to the high priest; and with him are assembled all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes. And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest; and he was sitting with the servants, and warming himself at the fire. The disciples fled. For it was not possible that the very Truth, nor that the prophets, should lie. And a certain young man followed him. And it is likely that this young man was of that house in which they ate the Passover. But some say that this was James the brother of God, who was surnamed the Just. For he used a single garment all his life; who also received the throne of Jerusalem from the apostles after the ascension of the Lord. This man, then, leaving the linen cloth, fled. And it is nothing strange if, when the chief disciples had fled, this man too forsook the Lord. But Peter follows, displaying a most fervent love toward the Teacher. And though the law commanded that there be one high priest for life, there were then many, who bought the office year by year from the Romans. By chief priests, then, he means those who had already fulfilled their appointed time, and were laying down the high-priesthood.

¹² And the chief priests and all the council sought for testimony against Jesus to put him to death; and found none. For many bore false witness against him, but their testimonies agreed not together. And certain ones rose up, and bore false witness against him, saying: We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands. But neither so did their testimony agree. And the high priest rose up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying: Do you answer nothing? What is it that these witness against you? But he held his peace, and answered nothing. A semblance, forsooth, of a tribunal the self-condemned fashion, that they might seem to slay him with judgment. For where is there an upright tribunal, when such witnesses are brought forward, saying nothing sound, but all things confused and contradictory? And even they that seemed to say something, spoke falsely. For the Lord did not say, I will destroy the temple, but, Destroy it. And neither did he say, made with hands, but simply, temple. And the high priest, rising up, asks Jesus, wishing to draw him into a defense, that from the defense he might lay hold of him. But he keeps silence, knowing that they will not attend to his words; and Luke says that, when asked, the Lord said: If I tell you, you will not believe; and if I ask, you will not answer.

¹³ Again the high priest asked him, and says to him: Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said: I am; and you shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming with the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest, rending his garments, says: What further need have we of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy; what think you? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death. And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say to him: Prophesy; and the servants struck him with the palms of their hands. The high priest asks again, not that he might learn and believe, but that he might lay hold of some occasion; and he adds to the, Are you the Christ, the, the Son of the Blessed. For there were many anointed ones — the kings, I mean, and the high priests — but none of these was Son of God, the ever-blessed and hymned one. And Jesus said, that I am. For he knew indeed that they would not believe; yet nevertheless he answers plainly, that they might not afterward be able to say, If we had heard him saying it clearly, we would have believed; for this reason their condemnation too is greater, because even now, having heard, they did not believe. And you shall see me, he says, as Son of man, sitting on the right hand of the power of the Father — for by power here he means the Father — for he will not come without a body, but such as to be beheld by those who crucified him, and to be recognized. The high priest, then, fulfills a Jewish custom; for whenever something dreadful and grievous befell them, they would rend their garments. And here too, then, as though the Lord had blasphemed, and a great calamity had come to pass, the high priest rends his garments. One might, then, opportunely say over these the word of David: They were rent asunder, and were not pricked in heart. And this too was a symbol — though that man understood it not — of the high-priesthood of the Jews being rent and brought to nothing. Since, then, the common vote of the chief priests condemned him, then the servants, covering him, struck him and said: Prophesy, who is it that struck you? How much, then, should we suffer, to render the like to the Master? These things are full of horror.

¹⁴ And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there comes one of the maids of the high priest; and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and says: You also were with Jesus of Nazareth. But he denied, saying: I know not, neither understand I what you say; and he went out into the porch; and the cock crew. And the maid, seeing him again, began to say to them that stood by, that This is one of them; but he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter: Truly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean, and your speech agrees thereto. But he began to curse and to swear, that I know not this man of whom you speak. And the second time the cock crew; and Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said unto him, that Before the cock crow twice, you shall deny me thrice; and when he thought thereon, he wept. Peter became weak, though he was the more fervent, and denies the Lord, being thrown into confusion by fear; and this when a maidservant had frightened him. And this God permitted him to suffer by dispensation, that he might not be lifted up, and at the same time that he might be compassionate toward those who stumble, having been taught from himself the violence of human weakness. And it is a matter of indifference whether it was the same maidservant, or another, that convicted Peter. For Matthew says that this was another; but Mark, the same. But this is no hindrance to us with regard to the truth of the Gospel. For surely they do not disagree in some great matter that holds together our salvation? Did the one say that the Lord was crucified, and the other, not? Away with it. Peter, then, being thrown into confusion by fear, and having forgotten the word which the Lord said, namely, Him that denies me I also will deny before my Father, denied; but repentance again made him the Lord’s own, and his tears. For when he had thought thereon, it says, he wept — that is, having covered his head; or, instead of, having begun with vehemence. And that which Matthew said obscurely, that Before the cock crow, Mark interpreted, that Before it crow twice. For cocks are wont, in a single bout, to crow several times, then as it were to fall asleep, and again after some time to make another beginning of crowing. What, then, Matthew said is this, that Before the cock crow — that is, complete the cries of the first bout — you shall deny me thrice. And let the Novatians be ashamed, who do not receive those who sin after baptism and the partaking of the mysteries. For behold, Peter, even after partaking of the undefiled body and blood, and having denied, was through repentance received again. For let us be zealous to turn our very shortcomings into examples, and to hasten back through repentance.