← §3 Read continuously §5 → Christological Homily on Lazarus · §4 · Eustathius of Antioch
The Statue and the Divine Will
Click or tap any sentence to jump there. The side buttons skip a paragraph.
The statue is pure from every side, perfect and well-formed even to the hair. Truly, it nourishes that joy appropriately, I say, both from the most complete and clear love of those who received her, and from the wonders of the God who was shown without interruption.
For she indeed knew clearly that the divine eye was accustomed to rest most upon the one being benefited by the Savior [...], just as she has heard from him that 'my food is to do the will of him who sent me' (John 4:34 ), and the will of the Father and the Son is the salvation of men. Salvation of men exists through the faith in him who is always co-glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit in the highest, as he says in the gospels: 'This is the will of my Father, that everyone seeing the Son and believing in him may have eternal life' (John 6:40 ).
Greek ἀκέραιον τὸ ἄγαλμα πάντοθεν ἄρτιον καὶ εὐειδὲς ἄχρι τριχός. 5 Πρεπόντως τοιγαροῦν ἐκτρέφει ἐκείνην εὐφρασίαν, φημὶ δὲ ἔκ τε τῆς τῶν ὑποδεξαμένων παναρέτων ἀκραιφνοῦς ἀγαπῆς, ἔκ τε θαυμάτων τοῦ ἀνενδεῶς ὑποδειχθέντος θεοῦ. Ἤδει γὰρ ᾔδει σαφῶς ὅτι τοῦτο μάλιστα ἐφηδύνειν εἴωθεν τὸν θεῖον ὀφθαλμὸν εἰ τὸν εὐεργετούμενον σωτῆρα .., καθῶς ἀκηκόει παρ' αὐτοῦ ὅτι «ἐμὸν βρῶμά ἐστιν ἵνα ποιῶ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πέμψαντός με,» θέλημα δὲ Πατρὸς καὶ Υἱοῦ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἡ σωτηρία. Σωτηρία μὲν τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὑπάρχει ἡ εἰς αὐτὸν τὸν ἀεὶ συνδοξαζόμενον τῷ Πατρὶ καὶ τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι ἐν ὑψίστοις πίστις, ὠς ἐν εὐαγγελίοις φησί· «τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Πατρός μου, ἵνα πᾶς ὁ θεωρῶν τὸν Υἱὸν καὶ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον.»
Report a mistake in this passage
About this text Eustathius on the raising of Lazarus and the two natures.
This homily was written by Eustathius of Antioch (fl. c. 320–337), bishop of Antioch and a leading opponent of Arianism at the Council of Nicaea. He addressed it to a Christian congregation, opening with the words 'Let us listen, beloved.' He preached it on a festal occasion to proclaim Christ's divinity and defend the full reality of his incarnation against Jewish objections.
The homily begins with John's account of the supper at Bethany, where the risen Lazarus reclines with Jesus while his sisters Martha and Mary serve him. Eustathius presents Lazarus' presence at table as proof that his resurrection was real, not a phantom. He then interprets the fire Christ came to cast on earth as the life-giving fire of the knowledge of God, and sets Martha's confession alongside those of Peter and John as a proclamation that Christ is the eternal Son of God, not a mere anointed man.
A reader will meet Lazarus, Martha, and Mary as models of faith, love, and hospitality, and will hear Mary's anointing of Jesus praised as worship of the incarnate Word. Eustathius quotes John the Evangelist, Jesus, Martha, Peter, Isaiah, Jacob, Matthew, and Solomon, and he answers a blind Jew's objection that no one can see God and live. To follow the homily, know that 'consubstantial' means sharing the same being, 'incarnation' means God the Word becoming human, and 'the son of thunder' is John the Evangelist. The homily closes with a doxology to the incarnate Son, consubstantial with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
We have not yet re-checked this work against its source. We made this study translation with AI help. No scholar has yet certified it as faithful and complete. Open Greek on any section to see the source text. It is not a critical edition.
Report a mistake
← §3 Read continuously §5 →