Bethany anointing; palms; nations' colt (John 12:1–16)
with the customary purification.
But Lazarus did not die at once after appearing; he lived on eating and drinking and doing the usual things, which the evangelist said as marveling.
Martha is seen as practical virtue, Mary as spiritual contemplation. Others take Martha as the old covenant, which prepares the Lord's table through the testimony of the old things, established by doctrines concerning Christ, and Mary as evangelical instruction, which anointing the Lord's feet with myrrh—that is, his economy upon the earth—filled the whole earth with fragrance, which is the house of all humanity. Others understand Martha as the Jews' synagogue wanting to serve God through fleshly things, and Mary as the church from the nations offering spiritual sacrifices and fragrant faith to God and wiping the blessing from his flesh through mystical participation.
For in the rank of fragrance the knowledge of Christ was going to fill the world.
Judas blames that she brought myrrh and not silver, not knowing what is truly good; for the gift-bearing toward God ought to be preferred to the poor.
The Lord endured him stealing, lest he say that for love of money and want I made the betrayal. Judas was a temple robber, stealing money dedicated to God.
Toward conviction of the senseless Judas he mentioned the burial. What he means is this: wait a little and I will go away. He speaks in defense of the woman, lest he seem to prefer himself to the poor.
Saying "leave her" he convicts Judas's hypocrisy as blaming things worthy of praise. And since the myrrh's expense was not for luxury but for mystical need, he apologizes for Mary, even if she did not know the economy of the mystery. And by mentioning burial he shames Judas, that for shameful gain he was going to betray the teacher.
When there is need of spiritual liturgy or hymnody, one must not leave these and go off about beneficence, but after these liturgies.
They almost made a charge against the man because he had suffered well.
As to one who had conquered death they met him with palms; for David's prophecy is fulfilled through this.
The donkey is a type of the nations, whom the Lord, being unclean, made subject. The colt is a type of the nations, whom the Lord, sitting, leads up into the "Jerusalem above," of which the earthly is a type. He calls them a colt because they were untrained in the faith according to piety.
For this reason they did not know, lest they take offense if, being king, he is going to suffer such things, and because they could not at once contain the knowledge of the kingdom.
And not using the law they went up to worship toward the law as toward something venerable
Greek
τὸν συνήθη ἁγνισμόν. 398 {3Jο 12, 1–2}3Ὁ δὲ Λάζαρος οὐ φανεὶς εὐθὺς ἀπέθανεν, ἀλλ' ἐπέζησεν ἐσθίων καὶ πίνων καὶ τὰ συνήθη πράττων, ὅπερ ὡς ἀποθαυμάζων ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς εἶπεν. 399 {3Jο 12, 1–4}3Ἡ Μάρθα θεωρεῖται εἰς τὴν πρακτικὴν ἀρετήν, ἡ δὲ Μαρία εἰς τὴν πνευματικὴν θεωρίαν. ἄλλοι τὴν Μάρθαν ἐκλαμβάνουσιν εἰς τὴν παλαιὰν δια θήκην, ἥτις τὴν τοῦ κυρίου τράπεζαν εὐτρεπίζει διὰ τῆς τῶν παλαιῶν μαρτυρίας τοῖς περὶ Χριστοῦ συνισταμένη δόγμασιν, τὴν δὲ Μαρίαν εἰς τὴν εὐαγγελικὴν παιδείαν, ἥτις μύρῳ τρίβουσα τοὺς πόδας τοῦ κυρίου, τοῦτ' ἔστι τὴν περὶ τὴν γῆν αὐτοῦ οἰκονομίαν, εὐωδίας ἐπλήρωσεν ὅλην τὴν γῆν, ἥτις ἐστὶν οἶκος πάσης τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος. ἄλλοι τὴν Μάρθαν νοοῦσι τὴν τῶν Ἰουδαίων συνα γωγὴν διὰ τῶν σαρκικῶν θεραπεύειν θέλουσαν τὸν θεόν, τὴν δὲ Μαρίαν τὴν ἐξ ἐθνῶν ἐκκλησίαν τὴν πνευματικὰς θυσίας καὶ εὐώδη πίστιν προσάγουσαν θεῷ καὶ ἀναματτομένην τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ εὐλογίαν διὰ τῆς μυστικῆς μεταλήψεως. 400 {3Jο 12, 3}3Ἐν τάξει γὰρ εὐωδίας ἡ τοῦ Χριστοῦ γνῶσις ἔμελλεν πληροῦν τὸν κόσμον. 401 {3Jο 12, 5}3Μέμφεται Ἰούδας, ὅτι μύρον προσήνεγκε καὶ οὐκ ἀργύριον ἀγνοῶν τὸ ὄντως καλόν· δεῖ γὰρ τὴν εἰς τὸν θεὸν δωροφορίαν προτιμοτέραν εἶναι τῶν πτωχῶν. 402 {3Jο 12, 6}3Ἠνείχετο αὐτοῦ ὁ κύριος κλέπτοντος, ἵνα μὴ εἴπῃ, ὅτι διὰ χρημάτων ἔρωτα καὶ ἔνδειαν ἐποιησάμην τὴν προδοσίαν. ἱερόσυλος ἦν ὁ Ἰούδας τὰ τῷ θεῷ ἀνατεθειμένα χρήματα κλέπτων. 403 {3Jο 12, 7}3Πρὸς ἔλεγχον τοῦ ἀναισθήτου Ἰούδα ἐμνήσθη τοῦ ἐνταφιασμοῦ. ὃ δὲ λέγει, τοῦτό ἐστιν· ἀνάμεινον μικρὸν καὶ ἀπελεύσομαι. τῆς γυναικὸς ὑπεραπολο γεῖται, ἵνα μὴ δόξῃ προτιμᾶν ® ἑαυτὸν τῶν πτωχῶν. 404 {3Jο 12, 7 8}3Εἰπὼν ἄφες τὴν τοῦ Ἰούδα ὑπόκρισιν ἐλέγχει τὰ ἄξια ἐπαίνου μεμφο μένου. ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἡ τοῦ μύρου δαπάνη οὐ διὰ τρυφὴν ἐγένετο, ἀλλὰ διὰ χρείαν μυστικήν, ἀπολογεῖται ὑπὲρ τῆς Μαρίας, εἰ καὶ ἠγνόει τοῦ μυστηρίου τὴν οἰκονομίαν. δι' ὧν δὲ εἶπεν ἐνταφιασμόν, καταισχύνει τὸν Ἰούδαν, ® ὅτι δι' αἰσχρο κερδίαν ἔμελλε προδοῦναι τὸν διδάσκαλον. 405 {3Jο 12, 7 8}3Ὅτε χρεία ἐστὶ πνευματικῆς λειτουργίας ἢ ὑμνῳδίας, οὐ δεῖ ταύτας ἐᾶν καὶ ἀπιέναι περὶ εὐποιΐας, ἀλλὰ μετὰ τὰς λειτουργίας ταύτας. 406 {3Jο 12, 10}3Μονονουχὶ ἔγκλημα ® ἐποιοῦντο κατὰ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, ὅτι καλῶς ἔπαθεν. 407 {3Jο 12, 12 13}3Ὡς νενικηκότι τὸν θάνατον ὑπήντησαν αὐτῷ μετὰ βαΐων· ἡ γὰρ ∆αβὶδ προφητεία διὰ ® τούτου πληροῦται. 408 {3Jο 12, 14 15}3Τύπος ἐστὶ τοῦ ὄνου τὰ ἔθνη, οὓς ὁ κύριος ὄντας ἀκαθάρτους πεποίηκεν ὑποχειρίους. τύπος δέ ἐστιν ὁ πῶλος τῶν ἐθνῶν, ὃν ὁ κύριος καθίσας ἀνάγει εἰς τὴν «ἄνω Ἰερουσαλήμ», ἧς τύπος ἡ ἐπίγειος. πῶλον δὲ αὐτοὺς καλεῖ, ἐπειδὴ ἀγύμναστοι ἦσαν τῆς κατ' εὐσέβειαν πίστεως. 409 {3Jο 12, 16}3∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἠγνόουν, ἵνα μὴ σκανδαλισθῶσιν, εἴ γε βασιλεὺς ὢν τοιαῦτα μέλλει πάσχειν, καὶ ὅτι οὐκ ἐδύναντο εὐθὺς χωρῆσαι τὴν γνῶσιν τῆς βασιλείας. 410 {3Jο 12, }3Καὶ μὴ χρώμενοι τῷ νόμῳ ἀνῄεσαν προσκυνήσοντες εἰς τὸν νόμον ὡς εἰς σεπτὸν ®
About this text
Ammonius of Alexandria, Fragmenta in Joannem (Greek).
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG 85 (Khazarzar) (Greek)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.