Homilies on Romans, Homily 19

“What then? Israel has not obtained what he is seeking, but the election has obtained it, and the rest were blinded.” He had said that God did not reject His people. To show in what sense He had not rejected them, he turns to the Prophets again. After showing through them that most of the Jews were lost, he turns to David and Isaiah, so that he will not seem to be bringing another accusation of his own, making his speech offensive, and attacking them as enemies. He says, Ver. 8. “As it is written, God has given them the spirit of slumber.” (Is. xxix. 10.) Or rather, we should go back to the beginning of his argument. After mentioning the situation in Elijah’s time and showing what grace is, he continues, “What then? Israel has not obtained what he is seeking.” This sounds as much like an accusation as a question. For he means that the Jew contradicts himself by seeking righteousness that he refuses to accept. Then, to leave them without an excuse, he points to those who have accepted it to expose their unfeeling spirit: “But the election has obtained it.” These people condemn the others. This is also what Christ says: “But if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.” (Luke xi. 19.) To keep anyone from blaming the thing itself rather than their own disposition, he points to those who obtained it. He therefore uses the word very aptly, showing both the grace from above and their zeal. When he speaks of their having “obtained” (as by chance, Gr. ἐπέτυχε) it, he is not denying free will. He is showing how great these good things are and that the greater part, though not the whole, came from grace. For we too commonly say, “So-and-so happened to get” (same word), or “So-and-so came across,” when the gain has been great. For the greater part came about through God’s gift, rather than human efforts. “And the rest were blinded.” See how he has now dared to speak in his own voice about the rejection of the rest. He had already spoken of it, but by bringing in the prophets as accusers. From this point on, however, he states it himself. Yet even here he is not satisfied with his own declaration, but brings in the prophet Isaiah again. After saying, “were blinded,” he continues, “As it is written, God has given them the spirit of slumber.” Now where did this blindness come from? He had already mentioned its causes and placed the entire responsibility on them, showing that they had to endure this because of their obstinacy at the wrong time. And now he speaks of it again. When he says, “Eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear,” he is simply condemning their contentious spirit. Although they had “eyes to see” the miracles and “ears to hear” that marvelous Teaching, they never used them as they should. And do not suppose that “He gave” means that He caused it here; it means only that He permitted it. But “slumber” (καταάνυξις lit. piercing) is the name he gives here to a settled disposition of the soul toward what is worse, when it is incurable and unchangeable. In another passage David says, “So that my glory may sing to You, and I may not be put to slumber” (Ps. xxx. 12, LXX.): that is, that I may not alter or change. Just as someone lulled into slumber in a state of reverent fear would not easily be made to turn to the other side, so someone slumbering in wickedness would not change easily either. For to be lulled into slumber here means simply to be fixed and fastened to something. So, to point out the incurable and unchangeable character of their disposition, he calls it “a spirit of slumber.” Then, to show that they will be punished most severely for this unbelief, he brings the Prophet forward again, threatening the very things that actually happened. Ver. 9. “Let their table become a snare, a trap, and a stumbling block.” (Ps. lxix. 22, 23.) That is, let their comforts and all their good things change and perish, and let them be exposed to attack from anyone. And to show that they suffer this as punishment for sins, he adds, “and a repayment to them.” Ver. 10. “Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and always bend their backs down.” Do these things still need any explanation? Are they not clear even to the most senseless people? Before we have spoken, the actual outcome has already testified to what was said. For when have they ever been so exposed to attack? When have they been such easy prey? When has He so “bent down their backs”? When have they been subjected to such slavery? What is more, there will be no release from these terrors. The prophet has indicated this too. For he does not simply say, “Bend their backs down,” but, “Bend them down forever.” But if you are inclined to dispute the outcome, O Jew, learn about the present case from what happened before. You went down to Egypt, and two hundred years passed, and God quickly freed you from that slavery, even though you were irreligious and prostituted yourself in the most destructive prostitution. You were freed from Egypt, and you worshiped the calf; you sacrificed your sons to Baal-peor; you defiled the temple; you pursued every kind of vice; you came to disregard nature itself. You filled the mountains, groves, hills, springs, rivers, and gardens with accursed sacrifices. You killed the prophets, tore down the altars, and displayed every excess of wickedness and irreligion. Still, after handing you over to the Babylonians for seventy years, He brought you back to your former freedom and gave you back the temple, your country, and your old form of government. There were prophets again, and the gift of the Spirit. Or rather, even during your captivity you were not abandoned: even there you had Daniel and Ezekiel, and in Egypt Jeremiah, and in the wilderness Moses. After this you returned to your former vice and reveled (ἐξεβακχεύθης 2 Macc. xiv. 33) in it, and changed your way of life (πολιτείαν to the Grecian in the time of Antiochus the impious Dan. viii. 14; 1 Macc. iv. 54). But even then you were handed over to Antiochus for only a little more than three years, and then through the Maccabees you again raised those glorious trophies of victory. But now there is nothing like that, for the opposite has happened in every respect. And this is the greatest cause for astonishment: the vices have stopped, yet the punishment has increased, with no hope of change. For it is not just seventy years that have passed, or a hundred, or even twice that many, but three hundred and considerably more, and not even a shadow of such a hope can be found. And this is so even though you are neither idolaters nor committing the other outrageous acts you committed before. What, then, is the cause? The reality has replaced the type, and grace has shut out the Law. Foretelling this long ago, the prophet said, “And bend their backs down forever.” See how precise the prophecy is: it foretells their unbelief, points out their contentiousness, shows the judgment that would follow, and declares the endlessness of the punishment. For many of the less perceptive, because they did not believe what was going to happen, wanted to see the future in the light of the present. From that time onward, therefore, God demonstrated His power on both sides: He lifted the Gentiles who believed above heaven, but brought the Jews who did not believe down to the lowest state of desolation and handed them over to evils that would never end. After pressing them hard about both their unbelief and what they had suffered and still would suffer, he again softens what he has said by writing as follows: Ver. 11. “I say then, have they stumbled so that they should fall? Certainly not.” After showing that they were exposed to countless evils, he finds a way to soften this. Consider Paul’s judgment. He introduced the accusation through the prophets, but offers the consolation himself. No one, he would say, will deny that they sinned greatly. But let us see whether their fall is incurable and completely rules out their being raised up again. It is not that kind of fall. You see how he attacks them again and, while holding out the prospect of consolation, proves them guilty of acknowledged sins. But let us see what consolation he does find for them. What is it? “When the fullness of the Gentiles,” he says, “has come in, then all Israel will be saved,” at the time of his second coming and the end of the world. Yet he does not say this immediately. He had attacked them forcefully, piling accusation on accusation and bringing in prophet after prophet to cry out against them—Isaiah, Elijah, David, Moses, Hosea—not once or twice, but repeatedly. He did not want to drive them to despair and so build a wall blocking their access to faith. Nor did he want the believing Gentiles to become unreasonably proud and, through that pride, suffer harm in their faith. So he further comforts them by saying, “But rather, through their fall salvation has come to the Gentiles.” But we must not take what is said here literally; we must understand the speaker’s intention and purpose and what he was trying to accomplish. This is something I always beg you, my dear friends, to do. If we approach these words with that in mind, we will find no difficulty anywhere in them. His present concern is to rid the Gentiles of the arrogance that might arise in them from what he has said. For once they had learned to be reasonable, they too would be more likely to remain unshaken in the faith; and once the Jews had been freed from despair, they would be more likely to come willingly to grace. With his purpose in mind, then, let us listen to everything said in this passage. What does he say? And how does he show that their fall was not beyond remedy or their rejection final? He argues from the Gentiles, saying: “Through their fall salvation has come to the Gentiles, to provoke them to jealousy.” This is not his language alone; the parables in the Gospels mean this too. For He who made a wedding feast for His Son, when the invited guests would not come, called those on the highways. (Matt. xxii. 9). And He who planted the Vineyard, when the tenant farmers killed the Heir, leased His Vineyard to others. (ib. xxi. 38, etc.) And without using a parable, He Himself said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” (ib. xv. 24.) And when the Syrophoenician woman persisted, He said something further: “It is not right,” He says, “to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” (ib. xv. 26.) And Paul said to the Jews who stirred up a riot, “It was necessary for the word of God to be spoken to you first; but since you judge yourselves unworthy, look, we turn to the Gentiles.” (Acts xiii. 46.) Throughout, it is clear that the natural course was for them to come in first and the Gentiles afterward. But because they did not believe, the order was reversed, and their unbelief and fall caused the Gentiles to be brought in first. That is why he says, “Through their fall salvation has come to the Gentiles, to provoke them to jealousy.” But if he speaks of the outcome as though it were Providence’s chief purpose, do not be surprised. He wants to comfort their downcast souls, and his meaning is roughly this: Jesus came to them; they did not receive Him, despite His countless miracles, but crucified Him. Therefore He drew the Gentiles to Himself, so that the honor they received might cut the Jews to the heart because of their insensitivity and persuade them to come over, even if only out of resentment toward others. For they should have been admitted first, and then we should have been. This was why he said, “For it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile.” (Rom. i. 16.) But because they withdrew, we who were last became first. See, then, how much honor he gathers for them even from this. First, he says that we were called when they were unwilling; second, he says that the reason for our calling was not only that we might be saved, but also that they might become better through jealousy of our salvation. What, then, is he saying? That if it were not for the Jews, we would never have been called and saved at all? We would not have been called before them, but in the regular order. That is also why, when He spoke to the disciples, He did not simply say, “Go to the lost sheep of the House of Israel” (Matt. x. 6), but, “Go rather to the sheep,” to show that they must also go to those other regions after these. And again Paul does not say, “It was necessary for the word of God to be spoken to you,” but “to be spoken to you first” (Acts xiii. 46), showing that afterward it must be spoken to us too. This was both done and said so that, shameless as they were, they could not claim that they had been overlooked and that this was why they did not believe. This, then, was why Christ came to them first, even though He knew everything beforehand. Ver. 12. “Now if their fall is the riches of the world, and their decrease the riches of the Gentiles, how much more their fullness?” Here he speaks to please them. For even if they had fallen a thousand times, the Gentiles would not have been saved unless they had shown faith. Likewise, the Jews would not have perished unless they had been unbelieving and contentious. But as I said, he is comforting them now that they have been brought low, giving them all the more reason to be confident of their salvation if they change. For if, he says, so many enjoyed salvation when they stumbled, and so many were called when they were cast out, just consider what will happen when they return. But he does not put it that way: “When they return.” He does not say, “How much more their” return, or their change, or their good conduct, but “how much more their fullness,” that is, when they are all about to come in. He said this to show that then too grace and God’s gift will do the greater part, or almost everything. Ver. 13, 14. “For I speak to you Gentiles: since I am the Apostle of the Gentiles, I honor my ministry, hoping somehow to stir those who are my flesh to jealousy and save some of them.” Again he makes a great effort to clear himself of unwelcome suspicion. He seems to be blaming the Gentiles and humbling their pride, yet he also gently provokes the Jew. Indeed, he searches everywhere for a way to cover over and soften their great ruin. But the facts themselves give him no way to do so. For from what he had said, they deserved even greater condemnation, since those who had been far below them had received the good things prepared for them. This is why he turns from the Jews to the Gentiles, inserting a discussion of them into his speech to show that he says all this to teach them to be reasonable. For I praise you, he means, for two reasons: first, because my commission as your minister requires it; second, so that through you I may save others. And he does not say, “my brothers,” or “my relatives,” but “my flesh.” Then, to point out their contentious spirit, he does not say, “If somehow I may” persuade them, but “provoke them to jealousy and save”; and here again, not all, but “some of them.” They were so obstinate! Even in his rebuke he again shows the honor given to the Gentiles, for they help bring about the Jews’ salvation, and in a different way. For the Jews supplied blessings to them through unbelief, but the Gentiles supply blessings to the Jews through faith. So the Gentiles’ position appears both equal and superior. For what will you say, O Jew? That if we had not been cast out, he would not have been called so soon? The Gentile can say this too: If I had not been saved, you would not have been stirred to jealousy. But if you want to know where our advantage lies, I save you by believing, while you gave us access before yourself by stumbling. Then, realizing again that he had cut them to the heart, he returns to his former argument and says, Ver. 15. “For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?” Yet this too condemns them, since others benefited from their sins, while they did not benefit from other people’s good deeds. But if he credits them with what necessarily happened, do not be surprised. As I have said several times, he shapes his address this way to humble the Gentiles and encourage the Jews. For, as I said before, even if the Jews had been rejected a thousand times, the Gentiles would never have been saved without showing faith. But he stands beside the weak and helps those in distress. Yet notice how, even in the favors he does them, he comforts them only with words. “For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world”—and what does that do for the Jews?—“what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?” Yet even this would be no benefit to them unless they were accepted. His meaning is this: If He gave others such great gifts when He was angry with them, what will He not give when He is reconciled to them? But just as the resurrection of the dead did not come about through their acceptance, neither does our salvation now come through them. They were cast out because of their own folly, while we are saved through faith and grace from above. But none of this can help them unless they show the necessary faith. Yet, as he usually does, he moves on to another expression of praise, which is not really praise but only appears to be. In this he imitates the wisest physicians, who give their patients as much comfort as the illness allows. And what does he say? Ver. 16. “For if the firstfruits are holy, the lump is holy too; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.” Here he calls Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the prophets, the patriarchs, and all the notable people of the Old Testament the firstfruit and root; and he calls their descendants who believed the branches. Then, since he faced the fact that many had not believed, notice how he again undercuts (ὑποτέμνεται, see p. 345) it and says, Ver. 17. “And if some of the branches are broken off.” Yet earlier you said that most perished and only a few were saved. Why, then, when speaking of those who perished, did you use “some,” which suggests a small number? I am not contradicting myself, he replies; I want to win over and restore those who are distressed. Notice how throughout the passage he works toward this goal of comforting them. If you deny this, many contradictions will follow. But I ask you to notice his wisdom: while he seems to be speaking on their behalf and finding comfort for them, he strikes them a hidden blow and shows that they have no excuse, even from the “root” and the “firstfruit.” For consider how bad the branches are when they have a sweet root yet fail to imitate it; and how defective the lump is when even the firstfruit does not change it. “And if some of the branches were broken off.” In fact, most were broken off. Yet, as I said, he wants to comfort them. This is why he introduces these words in their voice rather than his own. Even in this he strikes them a hidden blow and shows that they have fallen away from being Abraham’s relatives. (Matt. iii. 9.) For what he wanted to say was that they had nothing in common with them. (John viii. 39.) For if the root is holy and these are not holy, then they are far removed from the root. Then, while appearing to comfort the Jews, he again strikes the Gentiles with his accusation. For after saying, “And if some of the branches were broken off,” he continues, “And you, though a wild olive, were grafted in.” For the lower the Gentile’s standing, the more distressed the Jew is to see him enjoying his good things. And for the Gentile, the disgrace of his former low standing is nothing compared with the honor of the change. Consider Paul’s skill. He does not say, “You were planted in,” but “You were grafted in,” again cutting the Jew to the heart by showing that the Gentile stood in the Jew’s own tree while he himself lay on the ground. So he does not stop even here. After speaking of the grafting, he does not leave it there (although in this he had stated the whole matter), but continues to dwell on the Gentile’s prosperity and expands on his honorable standing: “And with them you share in the root and richness of the olive tree.” He does seem to regard him as an addition. Yet he shows that this makes him no worse off: he possesses everything the branch that grew from the root possessed. So, in case hearing “you were grafted in” leads you to suppose that he lacks something compared with the natural branch, see how he makes him its equal by saying, “With them you share in the root and richness of the olive”: that is, you have been placed in the same noble rank, the same nature. Then, rebuking him, he says, Ver. 18. “Do not boast against the branches.” He seems to be comforting the Jew, but he points out his low condition and extreme dishonor. This is why he does not say, “Do not boast,” but “Do not boast against”: do not boast against them in a way that tears them apart. For you have been placed in their position and enjoy their good things. Do you see how he seems to be rebuking one while dealing sharply with the other? “But if you boast,” he says, “you do not support the root; the root supports you.” Now what does this do for the branches that have been cut off? Nothing. For, as I said before, while seeming to offer a faint shadow of comfort, and in the very act of aiming at the Gentile, he deals them a fatal blow. By saying, “Do not boast against them,” and, “If you boast, you do not support the root,” he has shown the Jew that what happened gave grounds for boasting, even if boasting was wrong. In this way he both rouses him and provokes him to faith, striking him while taking the position of his advocate, and pointing out the punishment he was suffering and the fact that others possessed what had been his good things. Ver. 19. “You will say then,” he continues, “The branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” Again, by presenting an objection, he establishes the opposite of his earlier position, showing that he had said what came before to draw them to him rather than to state the matter directly. For on this account salvation no longer came to the Gentiles through the Jews’ fall, nor was their fall the riches of the world. Nor were we saved because they had fallen; the reverse was true. He shows that providential care for the Gentiles was a primary purpose, even though he seems to express it in another form. The whole passage is a series of objections through which he clears himself of the suspicion of hatred and makes his language acceptable. Ver. 20. “Well,” he says, approving their statement. Then he alarms them again by saying, “They were broken off because of unbelief, and you are grafted in by faith.” Here again is praise for one side and an accusation against the other. But he brings down their pride again by continuing, “Do not be proud, but fear.” For this is a matter of belief and unbelief, rather than nature. He seems to be restraining the Gentile again, but he is teaching the Jew that it is wrong to cling to natural kinship. So he continues, “Do not be proud,” and he does not say, “But be humble,” but “Fear.” For arrogance breeds contempt and carelessness. Then, as he is about to describe all the sorrows of their disaster, he makes the statement less offensive by presenting it as a rebuke to the other side: Ver. 21. “For if God did not spare the natural branches”—and then he does not say, “Neither will He spare you,” but “Be careful, or He may not spare you either.” By thus trimming (ὑποτεμνόμενος) the unpleasantness from his statement and presenting the believer as still engaged in the struggle, he both draws the others to him and humbles these. Ver. 22. “Consider, therefore, God’s goodness and severity: severity toward those who fell, but goodness toward you, if you continue in His goodness; otherwise you too will be cut off.” He does not say, “Consider your good conduct; consider your efforts,” but “Consider God’s goodness” toward humanity, to show that everything comes from grace from above, and to make us tremble. For this reason for boasting should make you afraid: since the Lord (δεσπότης) has been good to you, you should therefore fear. For the blessings do not remain permanently yours if you become careless, just as the evils do not remain with them if they change. “For you too,” he says, “will be cut off unless you continue in the faith.” Ver. 23. “And they too, if they do not remain in unbelief, will be grafted in.” For it was not God who cut them off; they broke themselves off and fell. He was right to say that they broke themselves off. For He has never yet rejected them in this way (Sav. conj. ms. corr. οὗτος), although they have sinned so greatly and so often. You see how important a person’s free choice is, how powerful the mind is. None of these things is unchangeable, neither your good condition nor his bad one. You also see how he lifts one up in his discouragement and humbles the other in his confidence. You must not lose heart when you hear of severity, and you must not grow confident when you hear of goodness. The reason He cut you off in severity was to make you long to return. The reason He showed you goodness was so that you would continue in (he does not say the faith, but) His goodness—that is, if you do things worthy of God’s love for humanity. For something more than faith is needed. You see how he allows neither these to remain downcast nor those to become proud. He also provokes them to jealousy by giving the Jew, through them, the possibility of being restored to the Gentile’s place, just as the Gentile had first taken the Jew’s place. He made the Gentile afraid through the Jews and what had happened to them, so that the Gentiles would not become proud over it. But he tries to encourage the Jew through what had been granted to the Greek. For you too, he says, will be cut off if you become careless (for the Jew was cut off), and he will be grafted in if he is earnest, for you too were grafted in. But he very wisely directs everything he says to the Gentile, as he always makes a practice of correcting the weak by rebuking the stronger. He does this at the end of this Epistle too, when discussing food observances. Then he bases this on what had already happened, rather than only on what was to come. This was more likely to persuade his listener. And as he intends to develop a sequence of arguments that cannot be refuted, he first offers proof drawn from God’s power. For even if they were cut off and cast aside, and others took precedence over them in what belonged to them, do not despair even now. “For God is able,” he says, “to graft them in again,” since He does things beyond expectation. But if you want things set out in order and reasons that follow logically, you have in yourselves proof that more than meets your needs. Ver. 24. “For if you were cut out of the olive tree that is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree.” If faith could do what was contrary to nature, it will be much more able to do what accords with nature. For if this person, cut off from those who were his fathers by nature, came to Abraham contrary to nature, you will be much more able to recover what is your own. For the Gentile’s bad condition accords with nature (since he is a wild olive by nature), and his good condition is contrary to nature (since being grafted into Abraham is contrary to nature for him); but for you, on the contrary, the good condition is natural. For if you are willing to return, you will be attached to your own root, rather than to another root like the Gentile. What, then, do you deserve, when the Gentile has been able to do what is contrary to nature, but you cannot do what accords with nature and have even given this up? Then, because he had said “contrary to nature” and “were grafted in,” he again corrects this by saying that the Jew too is grafted in, so that you will not suppose the Jew has the advantage. “How much more,” he says, “will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?” And again, “God is able to graft them in.” Before this he says that if they “do not remain in unbelief, they too will be grafted in.” And when you hear him repeatedly speaking of “according to nature” and “contrary to nature,” do not suppose that he means unchangeable nature. By these words he describes what is probable and follows logically, and, on the other hand, what is improbable. For good things and bad things do not come from nature, but from disposition and determination alone. Consider too how he avoids giving offense. After saying that you too will be cut off if you do not remain in the faith, and that they will be grafted in if they “do not remain in unbelief,” he leaves aside the harsher prospect and dwells on the kinder one. With this he ends, placing great hopes before the Jews if they are willing not to remain as they are. So he goes on to say, Ver. 25. “For I do not want you, brothers, to be ignorant of this mystery, so that you will not be wise in your own estimation.” By mystery he means here something unknown and inexpressible, full of wonder and much that one would not expect. In another passage too he says, “Look, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed.” (1 Cor. xv. 51.) What, then, is the mystery? “That blindness has happened to Israel in part.” Here again he strikes the Jew while seeming to humble the Gentile. His meaning is roughly this, as he had said before: the unbelief is not universal, but only “in part.” Just as he says, “But if anyone has caused grief, he has not grieved me, but in part” (2 Cor. ii. 5), so here too he says what he had said above: “God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew” (Rom. xi. 2); and again, “What then? Have they stumbled so that they should fall? Certainly not” (ib. 11). This is what he says here too: the whole people has not been uprooted, but many have already believed, and more are likely to believe. Then, because he has promised something great, he brings in the prophet as evidence, speaking as follows. He does not quote the passage to prove that blindness has occurred (for everyone could see that), but brings Isaiah as a witness that they will believe and be saved. Isaiah cries out and says, Ver. 26. “The Deliverer will come out of Zion and turn ungodliness away from Jacob.” (Is. lix. 20.) Then, to give the identifying sign that shows it refers to salvation, and to prevent anyone from shifting its meaning and applying it to the past, he says, Ver. 27. “For this is my covenant with them, when I take away their sins.” Not when they are circumcised, not when they sacrifice, not when they perform the other deeds of the Law, but when they receive the forgiveness of sins. If, then, this has been promised but has never yet happened to them, and they have never enjoyed the forgiveness of sins through baptism, it will certainly come to pass. So he continues, Ver. 29. “For God does not take back His gifts or His calling.” And even this is not all he says to comfort them, for he draws on what has already happened. What came about as a consequence he presents as the chief purpose, putting it this way: Ver. 28. “As far as the Gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as the election is concerned, they are beloved for the fathers’ sake.” So that the Gentile will not become proud and say, “I am standing; do not tell me what would have happened, but what has happened,” he uses this consideration to humble him: “As far as the Gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake.” For when you were called, they became more contentious. Nevertheless, even now God has not cut short your calling, but waits for all the Gentiles who are going to believe to come in, and then they too will come. Then he does them another kindness by saying, “As far as the election is concerned, they are beloved for the fathers’ sake.” And what does this do for them? As enemies, they face punishment; but as beloved, their ancestors’ virtue does them no good if they do not believe. Nevertheless, as I said, he never stops comforting them with words so that he may win them over. So, as fresh proof of his earlier assertion, he says, Ver. 30–32. “For just as you once did not believe God, but have now received mercy through their unbelief, so they too have now disbelieved, so that through your mercy they too may receive mercy. For God has shut them all up in unbelief, so that He might have mercy on all.” He shows here that the Gentiles were called first. Then, because they would not come, the Jews were chosen, and the same outcome occurred again. For when the Jews would not believe, the Gentiles were brought over again. He does not stop here or bring the whole argument to a close with their rejection, but with their being shown mercy again. See how much he gives to the Gentiles, as much as he gave to the Jews before. For when you, he would say, “did not obey in the past,” as Gentiles, the Jews came in. Again, when they did not obey, you came in. Yet they will not perish forever. “For God has shut them all up in unbelief”: that is, He has convicted them, shown them to be disobedient, not so that they may remain in disobedience, but so that He may save one through the contentiousness of the other, these through those and those through these. Now consider: you were disobedient, and they were saved. Again, they have been disobedient, and you have been saved. Yet you have not been saved in order to be put away again, as the Jews were, but to draw them over through jealousy while you remain. Ver. 33. “Oh, the depth of the riches of both God’s wisdom and knowledge! How unsearchable are His judgments!” Here, after going back to former times and looking back at God’s original ordering of things, through which the world has existed up to the present, and considering the particular provision He made for every event, he is struck with awe and cries out. In this way he assures his listeners that what he says will certainly happen. For he would not have cried out in awe unless it were absolutely certain to happen. He knows, then, that it is a depth, but he does not know how great it is. For this is the language of someone wondering, rather than someone who knows the whole. Admiring its beauty and standing in awe, he proclaims it as fully as he can with two emphatic words, “riches” and “depth.” Then he is awestruck that He had both the will and the power to do all this, bringing about opposite results through opposite means. “How unsearchable are His judgments.” For they cannot even be investigated, much less comprehended. “And His ways beyond finding out”: that is, His arrangements too cannot even be explored, much less known. For even I, he means, have not discovered the whole, but only a small part, not everything. For He alone clearly knows His own things. So he continues: Ver. 34, 35. “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor? Or who has first given to Him, so that it will be repaid to him?” His meaning is roughly this: although He is so wise, He does not receive His Wisdom from anyone else, but is Himself the Fountain of good things. And although He has done such great things and given us such great gifts, He did not give them by borrowing from someone else, but by making them spring from Himself. Nor did He owe anyone repayment for something received, but He is always Himself the first to bestow benefits. For this is a chief sign of riches: to overflow abundantly and yet need no help. So he goes on to say, “For from Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things.” He Himself planned them, He Himself created them, He Himself works together (Vulg. συγκρατεἵ, mss. συγκροτεἵ ). For He is rich and needs to receive nothing from another; He is wise and needs no counselor. Why do I speak of a counselor? No one can know His things except Himself alone, the Rich and Wise One. For it is proof of great riches that He should provide so abundantly for the Gentiles, and of great wisdom that He should make those who were inferior to the Jews their teachers. Then, filled with awe, he also offers thanksgiving in the words, “To Whom be glory forever. Amen.” For when he speaks of any great and inexpressible thing of this kind, he ends in wonder with a doxology. He does this concerning the Son too. In that passage he came to the very same conclusion as he does here: “From whom is Christ according to the flesh, Who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.” (Rom. ix. 5.) Let us imitate him too and glorify God in everything through a careful way of life. Let us not put our confidence in our ancestors’ virtues, knowing the example made of the Jews. For this is not, certainly not, the kinship of Christians; theirs is kinship of the Spirit. Thus the Scythian becomes Abraham’s son, while Abraham’s son becomes more of a stranger to him than the Scythian. So let us not put our confidence in the good deeds of our fathers (most mss. “of others”). Even if your parent is remarkable, do not imagine that this will be enough to save you or bring you honor and glory unless you are related to him in character. Likewise, if you have a bad parent, do not think that you will be condemned or put to shame because of this, provided you conduct yourself rightly. For what could be less honored than the Gentiles? Yet through faith they soon became related to the Saints. Or who could be more closely connected than the Jews? Yet through unbelief they became strangers. For that relationship comes from nature and necessity, and in that respect we are all relatives. We all sprang from Adam, and no one can be more closely related than another, whether in relation to Adam, to Noah, or to the earth, the common mother of all. But the relationship worthy of honor is the one that distinguishes us from the wicked. Not everyone can be related in this way, but only those of the same character. We do not call people brothers because they were born through the same labor pains as we were, but because they show the same zeal. In this way Christ calls people children of God, and, on the other hand, children of the devil, and also children of disobedience, of hell, and of destruction. Thus Timothy was Paul’s son because of his goodness and was called “my own son” (1 Tim. i. 2), while we do not even know the name of Paul’s sister’s son. The latter was related to him by nature, yet that did him no good. The other, though far removed from him both by nature and by country (since he was a native of Lystra), nevertheless became his closest relative. Let us too, then, become sons of the Saints, or rather, let us even become God’s sons. For to hear that it is possible to become sons of God, listen to what he says: “Therefore be perfect, like your father who is in Heaven.” (Matt. v. 48.) This is why we call Him Father in prayer: to remind ourselves not only of grace but also of virtue, so that we may do nothing unworthy of such a relationship. And how, someone may ask, is it possible to be a son of God? By being free from all passions and showing gentleness to those who insult and wrong us. For your Father treats those who blaspheme Him this way. So, although He says various things at various times, He never says that you may be like your Father except when He says, “Pray for those who mistreat you; do good to those who hate you” (ib. v. 44). Then He introduces this as the reward. For nothing brings us so close to God or makes us so like Him as doing good in this way. Therefore, when Paul says, “Be imitators of God” (Eph. v. 1), he means that they should imitate Him in this respect. For we need every kind of good deed, but especially love for humanity and gentleness, since we ourselves need so much of His love for humanity. We commit many transgressions every day, so we also need to show great mercy. But much and little are measured by the givers’ resources, rather than by the quantity given. So let the rich not be proud, and let the poor not be discouraged because they give so little, for the latter often give more than the former. We must not make ourselves miserable because we are poor, since poverty makes giving to the needy easier for us. Someone who has accumulated much is seized both by arrogance and by a greater attachment to what (or “lust beyond that”) he has. But someone with little is free from both of these domineering passions, and so finds more opportunities to do good. This person will gladly go into a prison, visit the sick, and give a cup of cold water. The other will undertake no service of this kind, puffed up (φλεγμαίνων) by his riches. So do not lose heart over your poverty. Your poverty makes it easier for you to trade for heaven. And if you have nothing but a compassionate soul, even this will be stored up as a reward for you. This is also why Paul told us to “weep with those who weep” (Rom. xii. 15) and urged us to treat prisoners as though we were imprisoned with them. (Heb. xiii. 3.) For having many people sympathize with them brings some comfort not only to those who weep, but also to those in other distressing circumstances. In some cases, conversation has as much power as money to restore someone who is downcast. This is why God urges us to give money to those who ask: not merely to relieve their poverty, but also to teach us to sympathize with our neighbors’ misfortunes. This is also why the greedy person is hateful: he not only ignores people in destitution, but trains himself (ἀλείφεται) in cruelty and great inhumanity. In the same way, someone who cares little for money for their sake is loved for this very reason, because he is merciful and kind to humanity. And when Christ blesses the merciful, He blesses and praises not only those who give money to the needy, but also those who are willing to do so. Let us, then, be inclined toward mercy, and all other blessings will follow. For someone with a loving and merciful spirit will give money away if he has it; if he sees anyone in distress, he will weep and mourn; if he encounters someone being wronged, he will stand up for him; if he sees someone being mistreated, he will reach out his hand to him. Since he has that storehouse of blessings, a loving and merciful soul, he will make it a fountain for all his brothers’ needs and enjoy all the rewards stored up with God (Field with 4 mss. τᾥ θεᾥ). So that we may attain these, let us above all shape our souls accordingly. In this way, while we are in this world, we will do countless good deeds and enjoy the crowns to come. May we all attain them through grace and love for humanity, etc.