Theodoret of Cyrus — Commentary on Scripture

And he charged them straitly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat.

For since eating is appropriate for those living this present life, the Lord necessarily demonstrated this by means of eating and drinking, thus proving the resurrection of the flesh to those who did not think it real. This same course he pursued in the case of Lazarus and of Jairus’ daughter. For when he had raised up the latter he ordered that something should be given her to eat.

Mark 6:37

He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?

For if the incarnation was a fantasy, then our salvation is a delusion. The Christ was at the same time visible man and invisible God. He ate as man, quite like ourselves. He possessed from his humanness the same passions we have. He fed the five thousand with five loaves as God. As man he really died. As God he raised the dead on the fourth day. As human he slept in the boat. As God he walked upon the waters.

Mark 10:27

And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.

Orthodox: The Lord God wishes nothing inconsistent with his nature, and is able to do all that he wishes, and what he wishes is appropriate and agreeable to his own nature.…
Eranistes: Nothing is impossible to almighty God.
Orthodox: Then according to your definition sin is possible to almighty God?
Eranistes: By no means.
Orthodox: Why?
Eranistes: Because he does not wish it.
Orthodox: Why does he not wish it?
Eranistes: Because sin is foreign to his nature.
Orthodox: Then there are many things which he cannot do, for there are many kinds of transgression.
Eranistes: Nothing of this kind can be wished or done by God.
Orthodox: Nor can those things which are contrary to the divine nature.… But not to be able in any of these respects is proof not of weakness, but of infinite power, and to be able would certainly be proof not of power but of impotence.

Micah 3:1-4

And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment?

He delivers this address to the leaders: those entrusted with judgment trampled on justice; hence he puts it in the form of a question, Was it not you who had responsibility for judging, for punishing the guilty and letting the innocent go free without blame? How did you, then, who were entrusted with administering the laws, turn from the practice of good works and ardently support evil? You exercised such greed in regard to the needy as to strip them of all their possessions (suggesting this by saying “robbing people of their skins and the flesh from their bones”).

Micah 4:1-3

But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.

The evangelical and divine preaching coursed to the ends of the earth, according to the Lord’s prophecy contained in the sacred Gospels: “This good news will be preached to all the nations in witness to them.” And he urged the holy apostles in the words, “Go, make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I commanded you.” This evangelical law and apostolic preaching began with Jerusalem as with a fountain and traveled across the whole world, offering irrigation to those who made their approach with faith. It is also possible to see the divine houses situated in the middle of cities, villages, fields and remote areas, conspicuous for their size and beauty, so that they are illustrious and famous even on the highest mountains.

Micah 5:2

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Now this patently resembles the prologue to the Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; he was in the beginning with God.” It also resembles what was said by God through blessed David, “From the womb before the daystar I begot you.” This person, then, who was before time, who was in the beginning with God, who is God the Word, with his origins from that source from the beginning, receives his birth according to the flesh (the text says) in you [Bethlehem], making you famous and illustrious, even though unimportant among Judah’s thousands.

Nahum 1:3

The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

“The Lord is longsuffering, great is his power, and he will certainly not clear the guilty.” He does not suddenly and all at once inflict punishment, but only after exercising extreme longsuffering. You Ninevites are witnesses to this, practicing repentance and finding salvation, and then guilty of extreme wickedness and for a time not paying the penalty for it. But after putting up with people’s wickedness for a long time, he is accustomed to inflict punishment on the unrepentant (the meaning of “he will certainly not clear the guilty,” that is, he will not exempt from retribution the person whose sins deserve punishment).

Nahum 2:1

He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face: keep the munition, watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily.

“One has come up blowing in your face, rescuing you from tribulation.” God is the cause of this for you by his decision as though by some kind of blowing, destroying them but freeing you from their power. Just as by blowing a breath of life into Adam he made him a living being, so he provided you with salvation by the blowing of life. This is also what Christ the Lord gave the sacred apostles after the resurrection. Since Adam lost what he had received by way of image through the divine blowing, it was right that Christ the Lord should renew the image and restore it to the sacred apostles and through them to all the believers, blowing on them and saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Since former things are a type of the new, therefore, let us take the Assyrians’ kingdom that was destroyed as the devil’s tyranny brought to an end through Christ the Lord.

Numbers 4:6

And shall put thereon the covering of badgers' skins, and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put in the staves thereof.

Why did God command that some of the sacred vessels should be covered with blue veils and others with purple veils?Only the veils of the more precious vessels were blue. The color suggests the sky. For this reason God commanded the objects behind the veil to be covered with blue tapestry but the objects outside it with purple and colors like it. For the sky is not subject to punishment, but the earth is punished for transgressions of the law. The color purple signifies a kingdom. The kingdom of God is divine, without beginning and indestructible. Hence the objects outside the tent were covered with veils both purple and blue. When the household of Kohath exercised their office, the law commanded that the priests should first enter the sanctuary and cover the ark and the other vessels with the veils already mentioned. Only then would the household of Kohath transport these objects, lest they lay eyes on things that are sacred and secret and that would destroy those who see them accidentally.

Numbers 5:2 · 2 passages

Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead:

Why did he command these men, and lepers, and those with gonorrhea, to dwell outside the camp?He teaches us great things from small things. For if one who touches a dead body is unclean, so much the more is one who kills a man, because he incurs blood guilt. And if a leper is unclean, so much the more is one who perpetrates various forms of iniquity. And through the condemnation of one with gonorrhea, adultery is condemned. For if an involuntary act is abominable, so much the more is an act committed deliberately.

What does “unclean in soul” mean?The man who has touched a corpse or approached the bones of a dead man.

Numbers 5:6

Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the LORD, and that person be guilty;

What does this mean: “if any man or woman commits one of all the human sins”?Scripture call the smaller sins human. It is not possible for human nature, subject to change as it is, to be delivered from every sin. For “no one is clean from filth, even if his life is one day long.” This is why holy David says, “Do not enter into judgment with your servant, for in your sight no living man will be justified.” Only Christ the Lord, both as God and as man, is blameless. The prophet Isaiah foresaw this and said, “He committed no transgression, nor was deceit found in his mouth.” For this reason he took upon himself the sins of others, for he had none of his own. For Isaiah also says, “He bears our sins, and he is afflicted for us.” And the great John says, “Behold the lamb of God, who bears the sins of the world.” For this reason he is also called “free among the dead,” since he suffered death unjustly. The divine law teaches how those who have sinned moderately are to be healed. For the law commands that he who has done wrong in a matter of contracts should first confess the sin and then g…

What does this mean: “if any man or woman commits one of all the human sins”?Scripture call the smaller sins human. It is not possible for human nature, subject to change as it is, to be delivered from every sin. For “no one is clean from filth, even if his life is one day long.” This is why holy David says, “Do not enter into judgment with your servant, for in your sight no living man will be justified.” Only Christ the Lord, both as God and as man, is blameless. The prophet Isaiah foresaw this and said, “He committed no transgression, nor was deceit found in his mouth.” For this reason he took upon himself the sins of others, for he had none of his own. For Isaiah also says, “He bears our sins, and he is afflicted for us.” And the great John says, “Behold the lamb of God, who bears the sins of the world.” For this reason he is also called “free among the dead,” since he suffered death unjustly. The divine law teaches how those who have sinned moderately are to be healed. For the law commands that he who has done wrong in a matter of contracts should first confess the sin and then give back what was taken to the one he wronged, adding one fifth to the principal. If it happens that the one wronged dies before the sinner repents of his sin, he should pay the amount to the man’s nearest relative. The law names as his nearest relative the one related to him by generation. The order of generation is this: first his son, then his daughter, then the brother of his father, then the brother of his grandfather. If there is none of these, then it should be another close kinsman. If no kinsman can be found, the law declares that he should offer the stated sum to God. For the law says this: “If the man has no near relative, so that the sinner can give him what he owes, then the debt is paid to the Lord in the person of the priest, except for the ram of expiation, through which expiation is made for him.” The law mandates that the priests should eat the first fruits that are offered. For the Levites were the first fruits of the people, and the priests were the first fruits of the Levites. As first fruits, then, they acquire the first fruits.

Obadiah 1:12

But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.

“Do not despise the day of your brother in the day of his alienation.” Here the time of punishment is called a “day.”

Obadiah 1:16

For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.

The drink of wine is called revenge, about which also blessed Jeremiah openly teaches when he says the nations will be commanded to drink even as they participated in the iniquities against my people. This is also understood from many other places that Edom will be given what it gave out.

Obadiah 1:17

But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.

“On Mount Zion there will be salvation, and there will be holiness.” For God is saying through the prophet, “I will bring them back from their captivity, and I will rebuild the sacred temple.” And there is Obadiah, who prophesies the cause of salvation to all in Zion. From there God will disperse holiness into the entire inhabited earth through the saving cross.

Obadiah 1:20-21

And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south.

Ezekiel also predicts something similar at the end of his prophecy when he describes the division of the land. He too predicts the return of the people, and after they return we learn they will receive power and obtain strength from God. O that we also would obtain this from our most generous God. And we will receive this from the Lord if we do not imitate the model of Esau and his posterity [who rejoiced in Israel’s destruction]. Rather, following the apostolic tradition, we should rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep, and we ought to think the same for others [as we would have them think of us]. For this reason we possess the gifts of the Lord of all life, which is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit now and forever, world without end. Amen.

Philemon 1:15

For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever;

Onesimus’s flight has become the source of good things to him.

Philippians 1:1 · 2 passages

Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

He sends his news to everyone, both those who have been deemed worthy of ordination and those who are shepherded by them. By “those who are holy” he means those who have worthily received holy baptism.

He applies the term bishops to presbyters, for at that time they had both names. … And it is clear that he makes this assumption here also. For he joins the deacons to the bishops, making no mention of the presbyters. Furthermore, it was not possible for many bishops to be shepherds to one city. So it is clear that he is calling the presbyters bishops; yet in this same letter he calls the blessed Epaphroditus their apostle, … and thus he indicates plainly that he was entrusted with an episcopal function because he had the name of an apostle.

Philippians 1:3

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,

Paul praises God every time he remembers the clergy of Philippi, who received the proclamation of the gospel cordially and have remained uncorrupted up to the present.