Methodius of Olympus — Commentary on Scripture

Jeremiah 21:8

And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.

It was not God’s law that became the cause of my being brought into subjection to corruption, but the devil, that he might be made manifest. He wrought evil through that which is good. The inventor of evil became and was proved to be the greatest of all sinners. “For we know that the law is spiritual.” So the law cannot injure anyone in any way. Spiritual things are far removed from irrational lust and sin. “But I am carnal, sold under sin.” This means, “I am carnal and placed between good and evil as a voluntary agent, so that I have it in my power to choose what I wish.” For “behold, I set before you life and death.” This means, “Death would result from disobedience of the spiritual law, that is, of the commandment, and from obedience to the carnal law, that is, the counsel of the serpent.” By such a choice I am sold to the devil, fallen under sin. Hence evil, as though besieging me, clings to me and dwells in me. Justice gives me up to be sold to the evil one, as a result of having violated the law.

Jeremiah 24:1-10

The LORD shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.

The fig tree can be taken as a type of the delights of paradise due to the sweetness and excellence of its fruit. The devil beguiled the man by imitating it and then led him captive, persuading him to conceal the nakedness of his body by fig leaves.… The enemy, by his power, always imitates the forms of virtue and righteousness, not for the purpose of truly promoting its exercise but for deception and hypocrisy. He camouflages himself with the colors of immortality in order to entice those who are fleeing from death to embrace death. And so he desires to look like a fig tree or vine and to produce sweetness and joy, and he is “transformed into an angel of light,” ensnaring many by the appearance of piety.For we find in the sacred Writings that there are two kinds of fig trees and vines, “the good figs, which are very good, and the evil, which are very evil”; and “wine that makes glad the heart of people” and wine that is the poison of dragons and the incurable venom of asps. But from the time when chastity began to rule over the human race, the fraud was detected and overcome, with C…

The fig tree can be taken as a type of the delights of paradise due to the sweetness and excellence of its fruit. The devil beguiled the man by imitating it and then led him captive, persuading him to conceal the nakedness of his body by fig leaves.… The enemy, by his power, always imitates the forms of virtue and righteousness, not for the purpose of truly promoting its exercise but for deception and hypocrisy. He camouflages himself with the colors of immortality in order to entice those who are fleeing from death to embrace death. And so he desires to look like a fig tree or vine and to produce sweetness and joy, and he is “transformed into an angel of light,” ensnaring many by the appearance of piety.For we find in the sacred Writings that there are two kinds of fig trees and vines, “the good figs, which are very good, and the evil, which are very evil”; and “wine that makes glad the heart of people” and wine that is the poison of dragons and the incurable venom of asps. But from the time when chastity began to rule over the human race, the fraud was detected and overcome, with Christ, the chief of virgins, overturning it. So both the true fig tree and the true vine yield fruit after that the power of chastity has laid hold on all, as Joel the prophet preaches, saying, “Do not be afraid, O land. Be glad and rejoice, for the Lord will do great things. Do not be afraid, beasts of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness are springing into life, for the tree bears its fruit, the fig tree and the vine yield their strength. Be glad then, children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you food for righteousness.” He calls the former laws the vine and the fig, trees bearing fruit for righteousness for the children of the spiritual Zion that bore fruit after the incarnation of the Word, when chastity ruled over us, when formerly, because of sin and much error, they had checked and destroyed their buds. For the true vine and the true fig tree were not able to yield such nourishment to us as would be profitable for life while as yet the false fig tree, variously adorned for the purpose of fraud, flourished. But when the Lord dried up the false branches—imitations of the true branches—uttering the sentence against the bitter fig tree, “Let no fruit grow on you henceforward forever,” then those that were truly fruit-bearing trees flourished and yielded food for righteousness.
The vine—and not just in a few places—refers to the Lord, and the fig tree to the Holy Spirit, as the Lord makes glad the hearts of people and the Spirit heals them. And therefore Hezekiah is commanded first to make a plaster with a lump of figs—that is, the fruit of the Spirit—that he may be healed—that is, according to the apostle—by love; for he says, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance”; which, because of their great pleasantness, the prophet calls figs. Micah also says, “Every person shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid.” Now it is certain that those who have taken refuge and rested under the Spirit and under the shadow of the Word shall not be alarmed or frightened by him who troubles the hearts of people.

Joel 2:22

Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.

For the fig tree, on account of its sweetness and richness, represents the delights of humankind, which they had in paradise before the Fall. Indeed, not rarely, as we shall afterwards show, the Holy Spirit takes the fruit of the fig tree as an emblem of goodness. But the vine, on account of the gladness produced by wine and the joy of those who were saved from wrath and from deluge, signifies the change produced from fear and anxiety into joy. Moreover, the olive, on account of the oil which it produces, indicates the compassion of God, who again, after the deluge, bore patiently when people turned aside to ungodliness, so that he gave them the law and manifested himself to some, and nourished by oil the light of virtue, now almost extinguished.

John 1:1 · 2 passages

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Now, since He truly was and is, being in the beginning with God, and being God, He is the chief Commander and Shepherd of the heavenly ones, whom all reasonable creatures obey and attend, who tends in order and numbers the multitudes of the blessed angels. For this is the equal and perfect number of immortal creatures, divided according to their races and tribes, man also being here taken into the flock.

He [Methodius] says, concerning the words "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth," that one will not err who says that the "Beginning" is Wisdom. For Wisdom is said by one of the divine band to speak in this manner concerning herself: "The Lord created me the beginning of his ways for his works: of old he laid my formulation." It was fitting and more seemly that all things that came into existence should be more recent than Wisdom, since they existed through her. Now consider whether the saying "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God"—whether these statements are not in agreement with those. For we must say that the Beginning, out of which the most upright Word came forth, is the Father and Maker of all things, in whom it was. And the words "The same was in the beginning with God" seem to indicate the position of authority of the Word, which he had with the Father before the world came into existence; "beginning" signifying his power. And so, after the peculiar unbeginning beginning, who i…

He [Methodius] says, concerning the words "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth," that one will not err who says that the "Beginning" is Wisdom. For Wisdom is said by one of the divine band to speak in this manner concerning herself: "The Lord created me the beginning of his ways for his works: of old he laid my formulation." It was fitting and more seemly that all things that came into existence should be more recent than Wisdom, since they existed through her. Now consider whether the saying "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God"—whether these statements are not in agreement with those. For we must say that the Beginning, out of which the most upright Word came forth, is the Father and Maker of all things, in whom it was. And the words "The same was in the beginning with God" seem to indicate the position of authority of the Word, which he had with the Father before the world came into existence; "beginning" signifying his power. And so, after the peculiar unbeginning beginning, who is the Father, he is the beginning of other things, by whom all things are made.

John 1:5

And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

They ungratefully and malignantly ask, Who is this? as if they had never yet seen their Benefactor, and Him whom divine miracles, beyond the power of man, had made famous and renowned; for the darkness comprehended not

John 1:9

That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

But Methodius: The Holy Spirit, who of God is given to all men, and of whom Solomon said, "For Thine incorruptible Spirit is in all things"

John 1:18

No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

Let us then also sing the like song, and raise the hymn to the Holy Father, glorifying in the Spirit Jesus, who is in His bosom.
Therefore God alone is celebrated, as the unbegotten, independent, and unwearied nature; being incorporeal, and therefore invisible; for "no man hath seen God."

John 2:7

Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.

They heard of the wine that, without previous culture, was ministered;

John 4:9

Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.

And all this was, not of works of righteousness which we have done, nor because we loved Thee,-for our first earthly forefather, who was honourably entertained, in the delightful abode of Paradise, despised Thy divine and saving commandment, and was judged unworthy of that life-giving place, and mingling his seed with the bastard off-shoots of sin, he rendered it very weak;-but Thou, O Lord, of Thine own self, and of Thine ineffable love toward the creature of Thine hands, hast confirmed Thy mercy toward us, and, pitying our estrangement from Thee, hast moved Thyself at the sight of our degradation to take us into compassion. Hence, for the future, a joyous festival is established for us of the race of Adam, because the first Creator of Adam of His own free-will has become the Second Adam. And the brightness of the Lord our God hath come down to sojourn with us, so that we see God face to face, and are saved.

John 5:5

And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.

They saw a paralytic, who had grown up, as it were, and become one with his infirmity, at His bidding loosed from his disease.

John 5:17

But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.

For this is quite manifest, that God, like a painter, is at this very time working at the world, as the Lord also taught, "My Father worketh hitherto."
For he knew that Wisdom, the first-born of God, the parent and artificer of all things, brings forth everything into the world; whom the ancients called Nature and Providence, because she, with constant provision and care, gives to all things birth and growth. "For "says the Wisdom of God, "my Father worketh hitherto, and I work."

John 5:39

Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

But to search out and explain the solution of them is beyond my powers. Nevertheless, let me venture, trusting in Him who commanded to search the Scriptures.
Learn the mysteries of God; the very thing itself which is being done bears witness that it is God that is thus hymned by uninstructed tongues. Search the Scriptures, as ye have heard

John 6:11

And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.

They saw a man, blind from his birth, proclaiming to them the God who had restored his sight. They saw a paralytic, who had grown up, as it were, and become one with his infirmity, at His bidding loosed from his disease. They saw Lazarus, who was made an exile from the region of death. They heard that He had walked on the sea. They heard of the wine that, without previous culture, was ministered; of the bread that was eaten at that spontaneous banquet; they heard that the demons had been put to flight; the sick restored to health. Their very streets proclaimed His deeds of wonder; their roads declared His healing power to those who journeyed on them.

John 6:27

Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

For just as in a golden chain the links are so intimately joined and connected together, as that the one holds the other, and is fitted on to it, and so carries on the chain-even so the miracles that have been handed down by the holy Gospels, one after the other, lead on the Church of God, which delights in festivity, and refresh it, not with the meat that perisheth, but with that which endureth unto everlasting life.

John 10:33

The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

Has not God of old made it manifest by the prophet, "My glory will I not give unto another;" and how dost Thou, being a man, make Thyself God? But what to this answers the long-suffering One, He who is abundant in mercy, and slow to wrath? He bears with these frenzied ones; with an apology He keeps their wrath in check; in His turn He calls the Scriptures to their remembrance; He brings forward testimony to what is done, and shrinks not from inquiry.

John 11:26

And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

Here he says believers live; they never die. Their bodies die but are brought back to life again.

John 11:44

And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

They saw Lazarus, who was made an exile from the region of death.

John 12:13

Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.

In psalms and hymns, let us raise to Him our shouts of thanksgiving; and, without ceasing, let us exclaim, "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord; "

John 14:16

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

For the men of olden time and the law foretold to us the characteristics of the Church, and the Church represents those of the new dispensation which is to come. Whence we, having received Christ, saying, "I am the truth"