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Hypocrites speak light but think darkness
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Gregory is describing the hypocrite whose evil eye darkens the whole body, now detailing how such a person thinks dark deeds inwardly while speaking words that seem full of light.
They devise deeds worthy of darkness within, yet through their outward parts they bring forth words that seem to be full of light. For they are truly wolves who have put on sheep's clothing (Matthew 7:15 ). They wash only the outside of the cup and dish (Matthew 23:25 ), not knowing that unless the inside is cleansed, the outside cannot become clean.
Greek Ἄξια μὲν
σκότους πράγ-ματα ἐννοούμενον ἔσωθεν· διὰ δὲ τῶν ἔξωθεν μερῶν, φωτὸς εἶναι
δοκοῦντα προφέρον ῥήματα· λύκοι γάρ εἰσιν ὡς ἀληθῶς, προβάτων περιβεβλημένοι
δοράς· οἱ τὸ ἔξωθεν τοῦ ποτηρίου καὶ τῆς παροψίδος μόνον πλύνοντες, καὶ οὐκ
εἰδότες, ὅτι ἐὰν μὴ τὸ ἔσωθεν τούτων καθαρισθῇ, οὐδὲ τὸ ἔξωθεν καθαρὸν δύναται
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About this text Gregory Thaumaturgus on Matthew 6:22–23 — single eye, hypocrisy, and false love.
Gregory Thaumaturgus (c. 213–c. 270) wrote this brief exposition of a saying from the Gospel of Matthew. It is addressed to no named recipient and survives only as a fragment. He wrote to explain the meaning of Jesus' words about the eye as the lamp of the body, applying them to the difference between sincere and pretended love.
The passage under discussion is Matthew 6:22-23, where Jesus says that if the eye is sound, the whole body is full of light, but if the eye is evil, the whole body is full of darkness.
A reader should know that Gregory interprets the 'sound eye' as sincere love, through which a person's outward words match inward thoughts. The 'evil eye' is pretended love, which he equates with hypocrisy. Such hypocrites are wolves who have put on sheep's clothing, washing only the outside of the cup and dish while leaving the inside unclean. The Savior convicts them by asking: if the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness? Gregory explains this as meaning that if what you think is love is actually a work deserving darkness because of hidden hypocrisy, your open transgressions are far worse.
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