Victory through weakness
His being defeated brought him glory rather than insult. Therefore now I conquer him through a cowardly, humble, and weak flesh, not tempting but being tempted, not striking but being struck, not killing but dying, not crucifying but being crucified, not beating but being beaten, so that the things of the victory might not be inscribed to me, but so that through the form of man the prizes might be granted to the race of men.
For this reason, therefore, I seem cowardly, so that the devil might fall like a fish upon the bait, and death might be stuck like a sparrow to the glue. Since he was wickedly deceived, for this reason he is beautifully deceived. Since he seduced the race of men through bodily pleasure, for this reason he is driven away from the race through the body. What he did, Christ suffers; what he did to the many, this he endures from one. But what he did, that was destruction to those who suffered it; but what I do to him, it shall be salvation to the inhabited world.
For I deceive the schemer through the body, so that, having been exposed, he may no longer be able to lead astray those whom he himself led astray through the body; he brings death, but I through it provide the resurrection. Unwillingly, he benefits the race. For through those things through which he brings death, he brings the occasion for the resurrection. The attacker of all things has become the benefactor of the inhabited world unexpectedly; for having been deceived, he benefited the inhabited world, having devised a deception beneficial to the cosmos and a trophy against his own tyranny.
Just as one sharpening a stone against rocks will not break the rock, but will crush the stone, so also the devil, having thrown death like a stone against my body as if it were a rock, did not destroy my body—for you will not see your holy one see corruption (Psalm 16:10)—but he crushed his own darts because of the opposition, being unable to endure the hardness. Let no one therefore despise my cowardice through ignorance, nor let them cast the bitter words against the Divinity. I am a shepherd according to the word of the Divinity; for he says, 'The one who shepherds, attend to Israel,' the one who leads like a sheep Joseph, but a sheep according to...
Greek
ἡττηθῆναι αὐτόν, δόξαν αὐτῷ μᾶλλον ἢ ὕβριν ἔφερεν. Ὅθεν νῦν αὐτὸν διὰ δειλῆς καὶ ταπεινῆς καὶ ἀσθενοῦς σαρκὸς νικῶ, οὐ πειράζων ἀλλὰ πειραζόμενος, οὐ βάλλων ἀλλὰ βαλλόμε νος, οὐκ ἀποκτέννων ἀλλ' ἀποθνῄσκων, οὐ σταυρῶν ἀλλὰ σταυ ρούμενος, οὐ τύπτων ἀλλὰ τυπτόμενος, ἵνα μὴ ἐμοὶ τὰ τῆς νίκης ἐπιγραφῇ, ἀλλ' ἵνα διὰ τῆς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου μορφῆς τῷ γένει τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὰ βραβεῖα ἀπονεμηθῇ. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο οὖν δοκῶ δειλιᾶν, ἵνα ὁ μὲν διάβολος ὡς ἰχθὺς ἐπὶ τὸ δέλεαρ πέσῃ, ὁ δὲ θάνατος ὥσπερ στρουθίον τῇ κόλλῃ προσ παγῇ. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἠπάτησεν κακῶς, διὰ τοῦτο ἀπατᾶται καλῶς. Ἐπειδὴ διὰ σωματικὴν ἡδονὴν ἐγοήτευσεν τὸ γένος τῶν ἀνθρώπων, διὰ τοῦτο διὰ σώματος ἀπελαύνεται τοῦ γένους. Ὅπερ ἐποίησεν πάσχει· ὃ εἰς τοὺς πολλοὺς ἔπραξεν, τοῦτο παρ' ἑνὸς ὑπομένει. Ἀλλ' ὃ μὲν ἐποίησεν ἐκεῖνος, τοῖς πεπονθό σιν ὀλέθριον ἦν, ὃ δὲ ἐγὼ εἰς αὐτὸν ποιῶ, τῇ οἰκουμένῃ ἔσται σωτήριον. Ἀπατῶ γὰρ διὰ τοῦ σώματος τὸν πλάνον, ἵνα ἐλεγχ θεὶς μηκέτι δύνηται πλανᾶν οὓς ἐπλάνα αὐτὸς τῷ σώματι· προσ φέρει τὸν θάνατον, ἐγὼ δι' αὐτοῦ παρέχω τὴν ἀνάστασιν. Ἄκων εὐεργετεῖ τὸ γένος. ∆ι' ὧν γὰρ τὸν θάνατον προσάγει, τῆς ἀνα στάσεως πρόφασιν προσάγει. Ὁ πάντων ἐπίβουλος εὐεργέτης τῆς οἰκουμένης γέγονεν ἄφνω· εὐεργέτησεν δὲ τὴν οἰκουμένην πλανηθείς, πλάνην τῷ κόσμῳ συμφέρουσαν καὶ τρόπαιον κατὰ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ τυραννίδος ἐπινοήσας. Ὥσπερ ὁ λίθον ἀκοντίζων κατὰ πέτρας τὴν μὲν πέτραν οὐ διαρρήξει, τὸν δὲ λίθον συντρίψει, οὕτως καὶ ὁ διάβολος κατὰ τοῦ σώματος τοῦ ἐμοῦ ὥσπερ λίθον τὸν θάνατον ῥίψας τὸ μὲν ἐμὸν σῶμα οὐ διέφθειρεν–Οὐ δώσεις γὰρ τὸν ὅσιόν σου ἰδεῖν διαφθοράν–τὰ 5 δὲ ἑαυτοῦ κέντρα συνέθλα σεν τῆς ἀντιτυπίας τὸ στερρὸν ὑπομεῖναι μὴ δυνάμενος. Μηδεὶς οὖν μου δι' ἄγνοιαν δειλίαν καταψηφιζέσθω μηδὲ τα πεινὰ ῥήματα τῇ θεότητι ἐπιριπτέτω. Ποιμήν εἰμι κατὰ τὸν τῆς θεότητος λόγον· Ὁ ποιμαίνων, γάρ φησιν, τὸν Ἰσραὴλ πρόσχες, ὁ ὁδηγῶν ὡσεὶ πρόβατον τὸν Ἰωσήφ, πρόβατον δὲ κατὰ
About this text
A bishop confronts heretics by questioning Jesus' fear of death, using miracles to challenge doubters.
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG 39 (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.