Ephrem the Syrian — Commentary on Scripture

And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,

“Not according to my will, but yours.” He said this word against Adam, who resisted the will of the Creator and followed the will of his enemy. Consequently Adam was delivered over into the mouth of his enemy. Our Lord resisted the will of the flesh to uphold the will of the Creator of flesh, because he knew that all happiness depends on the will of his Father. “Not my will but yours be done.”

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

Luke 22:44-46

And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

“His sweat became like drops of blood,” the Evangelist said. He sweated to heal Adam who was sick. “It is by the sweat of your brow,” said God, “that you will eat your bread.” He remained in prayer in this garden to bring Adam back into his own garden again.

Luke 22:47-48

And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him.

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

Luke 22:49-51 · 2 passages

When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword?

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

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

Luke 23:26-27

And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.

After he took up the wood of his cross and set out, they found and stopped a man of Cyrene, that is, from among the Gentiles, and placed the wood of the cross on him. It was only right that they should have given the wood of the cross voluntarily to the Gentiles, since in their rebellion, the Jews rejected the coming of him who was bringing all blessings. In rejecting it themselves, in their jealousy, they threw it away to the Gentiles. They rejected it in their jealousy, and the Gentiles received it, to their even greater jealousy. The Lord approved the welcoming Gentiles and thus provoked jealousy among their contemporaries through the Gentiles’ acceptance. By carrying the wood of his cross himself, Christ revealed the sign of his victory. Christ said that another person would not pressure him into death. “I have power over my life, to lay it down or to take it up again.” Why should another person have carried the cross? This showed that he, in whom no sin could be found, went up on the cross for those who rejected him.

Luke 23:28-32

But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.

The Lord said, “If they do that to the green wood.” He compared his divinity with the green wood and those who received his gifts to the dry wood. What is green bears fruit, as these words that he spoke testify: “For which of my works are you stoning me? If I suffer to this extent, although you have found no sin in me, which of you will convict me of sin? Since you have invented a pretext to dispose of me, how much more will you suffer?” Perhaps he was referring the green wood to himself, because of the miracles he had done. He called the righteous who were without virtue, the dry wood. They ate the fruit of this green wood, and they rejoiced beneath its foliage. Then they took it in hatred and destroyed it. What more will they do to the dry wood, which does not even have a sprout? What more will they do to the ordinary righteous people who do not work miracles?

Luke 23:40-42

But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?

One robber said, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us with you!” The Lord however did not take him down from the cross as he asked, in order to exalt the other robber on the right of the cross and who was believing in the crucified Savior. It would have been easy for him to use a miracle to conquer anyone as a disciple. He produced a more powerful miracle when he forced the scoffer of truth to adore him. That is why the apostle said, “That which is the weakness of God is stronger than human beings.” He submitted all peoples to the weakness of the cross.Stretch out your arms toward the cross, so that the crucified Lord may stretch out his arms toward you. The one who does not stretch out his hand toward the cross cannot approach his table either. He will deprive of his table the guests who should have come to him hungry but instead came full. Do not fill yourself before going to the table of the Son. He might then make you leave the table while you are still hungry.

Luke 23:43 · 5 passages

And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

Through the mystery of the water and blood flowing out from the Lord’s side, the robber received the sprinkling that gave him the forgiveness of sins. “You will be with me in this garden of delights.”

There came to my ear
from the Scripture which had been read
a word that caused me joy
on the subject of the thief;
it gave comfort to my soul
amidst the multitude of its vices,
telling how he had compassion on the thief.
O may he bring me too
into that garden at the sound of whose name
I am overwhelmed by joy;
my mind bursts its reins
as it goes forth to contemplate him.

Adam had been naked and fair,
but his diligent wife
labored and made for him
a garment covered with stains.
The garden, seeing him thus vile,
drove him forth.
Through Mary Adam had
another robe
which adorned the thief;
and when he became resplendent at Christ’s promise,
the garden, looking on,
embraced him in Adam’s place.

The hands that Adam stretched out toward the tree of knowledge, breaking the commandment, were unworthy of stretching out toward the tree of life to receive the gifts of the God that they had despised. Our Lord took these hands and attached them to the cross, so that they might kill their killer and arrive at his marvelous life. “You will be with me in the garden of delights.” “Remember me in your kingdom.” Since he had seen with the eyes of faith the dignity of our Lord instead of his shame and his glory instead of his humiliation, he said, “Remember me. What is apparent now, the nails and the cross, will not make me forget what will be at the consummation and what is not yet visible: your kingdom and your glory.”

Because Adam touched the tree
he had to run to the fig;
he became like the fig tree,
being clothed in its vesture:
Adam, like some tree,
blossomed with leaves.
Then he came to that glorious
tree of the cross,
put on glory from it,
acquired radiance from it,
heard from it the truth
that he would return to Eden once more.

Luke 23:44-46 · 3 passages

And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.

God was victorious over the Egyptians, and he lit up the way for the Hebrews with the pillar of fire in the month of Nisan. The sun became dark over them because they had returned evil for goodness. Just as God split the sea, the Spirit split the curtain in half, since they rejected and unjustly crucified the King of glory on the Skull. The curtain of the temple was torn in two for this reason. Created beings suffered with him in his suffering. The sun hid its face so as not to see him when he was crucified. It retracted its light back into itself to die with him. There was darkness for three hours. The sun shined again, proclaiming that its Lord would rise from Sheol on the third day. The mountains trembled, the tombs were opened, and the curtain was torn, as though grieving in mourning over the impending destruction of the place.

If he had been the son of a foreign god, the sun would not have been eclipsed when the Lord was raised on his cross. The Creator would have spread out a more intense light, because his enemy would have been withdrawn from his sight. He would have caused his light to shine on the Jews, because they would have been doing his will. He would have clothed the temple with a curtain of glory, because its enemy’s death would have purified its sad impurities, and the breaker of its law would have gone out from it.

Perhaps the Spirit, when he saw the Son hanging naked, lifted himself up and tore in two the clothing. Perhaps the symbols, when they saw the Lamb of symbols, tore the curtain apart and went out to meet him. Perhaps the spirit of prophecy, which was dwelling in the temple and had come down to herald his coming to humanity, flew away at that very instant to announce in the heights concerning our Lord’s ascent into heaven. “The tombs split apart,” so that he might show that he could have torn the wood of the cross apart. He did not tear apart the cross through which the kingdom would be torn from Israel. He did not shatter the cross through which sin would be chased out from the middle of the Gentiles. Instead, the Spirit tore the curtain apart. To show that the Spirit had came out from the temple, it summoned the righteous that came out of the tombs as witnesses to his going out from the temple. These two departures were proclaiming each other mutually. The Spirit anointed and sanctified the kingship and the priesthood. The Spirit, wellspring of these two offices, therefore went out f…

Perhaps the Spirit, when he saw the Son hanging naked, lifted himself up and tore in two the clothing. Perhaps the symbols, when they saw the Lamb of symbols, tore the curtain apart and went out to meet him. Perhaps the spirit of prophecy, which was dwelling in the temple and had come down to herald his coming to humanity, flew away at that very instant to announce in the heights concerning our Lord’s ascent into heaven. “The tombs split apart,” so that he might show that he could have torn the wood of the cross apart. He did not tear apart the cross through which the kingdom would be torn from Israel. He did not shatter the cross through which sin would be chased out from the middle of the Gentiles. Instead, the Spirit tore the curtain apart. To show that the Spirit had came out from the temple, it summoned the righteous that came out of the tombs as witnesses to his going out from the temple. These two departures were proclaiming each other mutually. The Spirit anointed and sanctified the kingship and the priesthood. The Spirit, wellspring of these two offices, therefore went out from there, so that it would be known that both of them had been cut off by him who had taken on both of them.Although we know that by amputation of our finger there is healing for the person who is totally diseased, we still are unwilling to do what we know we should do. God however knew that there would be salvation for humanity through the killing of his Son, and so he did not turn away from doing this.

Luke 23:47

Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.

Jesus’ kinsfolk stood far off so that [the word of the psalmist] might be fulfilled: “My neighbors stood far off.” They killed him before the sabbath, while there was opportunity for death, and before the sabbath they buried him, while there was place for mourning. For the sabbath itself is the boundary mark for toil, and on it all distress must remain [hidden] within. There is no place for suffering on it, and neither has it any share in corruption.

Luke 23:50-53

And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just:

Mary stands for Eve, and Joseph stands for another Joseph. He who asked for his corpse was also named Joseph. The earlier Joseph was a righteous man who did not denounce Mary publicly. The other one was also a righteous man because he did not consent to the detractors. So that it might be clear that the Lord was entrusted at the beginning to one having this name when he was born, he further allowed one with this name to prepare him for burial when he was dead. This name receives the full reward for serving him at his birth in the cave and for having served his corpse at the tomb.

Luke 24:12

Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.

If he left his clothes behind in the tomb, it was so that Adam could enter into paradise without clothing, just as he had been before he had sinned. In place of having to leave paradise clothed, he now had to strip himself before entering there [again]. Or [alternatively], he abandoned them to symbolize the mystery of the resurrection of the dead, for just as [the Lord] rose into glory without clothes, so we also [will rise] with our works and not with our clothes.