On Lazarus and the Palm Branches · §1 · Hesychius of Jerusalem

Why Men and Angels Hailed Him King

Just as the boundless deep pours out the springs of water without stint, and the springs in turn let loose rivers that nothing can hold back, and the rivers visit the earth and drench it (Psalm 65:9) so that it bears bread for food and wine for the gladness of men (Psalm 104:14–15), and men, enjoying them, fulfill what is written, “The poor shall eat and be satisfied, and those who seek Him shall praise the Lord” (Psalm 22:26): so too the unspeakable love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, out of the boundless deep of His goodness and love for mankind, makes His holy feasts spring up for us, the feasts in which He worked our salvation.

He Himself makes the feast spring up, and the grace of the Holy Spirit, which is at work in the feast, fills “the streams of the river”, by which I mean the God-bearing men who possess “teaching in teaching” (Romans 12:7). They in turn visit the earth of mankind, an earth of mind and reason, and gladden the holy Church, which is “the city of the great King” (Psalm 48:2), Jesus Christ, as it is written: “The streams of the river make glad the city of God” (Psalm 46:4). And the Church, gladdened and delighted out of the richness of her heart, praises and glorifies the Lord who reigns in her.

Come, then, today too let us speak of what He Himself proclaimed beforehand about Himself through His holy prophets. Let us search out, as far as we are able, the salvation that our King accomplished for us in this feast. Come, let us consider why not only men but the angelic powers too hymned Him as King.

The cause of the hymn, then, as it appears outwardly, was the raising of Lazarus, as the Gospel says: “But they took counsel to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus” (John 12:10–11). This is the outward cause of the believers’ praise; but its hidden and secret cause is the raising of the whole of human nature.

And just as the sign of Lazarus and that raising made men sing hymns to Jesus, so the sign of the raising of the whole of human nature led the holy angels to give glory; and as much greater as the raising of all is than the raising of Lazarus, so much greater was the glory then. The minds of those who shouted, astonished at the miracle, moved them to give glory; but the divine plan, on account of the raising of the whole of human nature, secretly moved not only men but also the holy angels to marvel at Jesus and glorify Him.

For the angelic powers saw, truly they saw, and learned, and were made wise with a wisdom they had not known: the wisdom made manifest from God, who created all things, through the Church of the faithful, the wisdom hidden in Him before the ages (Ephesians 3:9; 1 Corinthians 2:7). I mean the wisdom of the teachings, the promises, and the miracles of the Lord Jesus, as the inspired Paul says somewhere: “so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and the authorities through the Church” (Ephesians 3:10).

For the powers above are learning what they had never yet seen or heard. They are creatures, and there is no creature that has no need to learn; nor do they know what is going to happen, unless they are initiated into it by the holy, revered, and worshipful Trinity.

So they learned, and were made certain of, the resurrection of Adam when they saw the Lord raise the widow’s son (Luke 7:12–15); for the earth became like a widow when her son, the first-formed man, died. And when they saw Him raise the daughter of the synagogue ruler (Luke 8:49–55), they were made wise to know that He will raise Eve too, together with Adam. Again, when He raised up the servant of the foreign centurion (Matthew 8:5–13), they were also taught…

Greek

Ησυχίου, πρεσβυτέρου Ἱεροσολύμων, λόγος εἰς τὸν Λάζαρον καὶ εἰς τὰ βάϊα. 1 Ὥσπερ ἡ ἀμέτρητος ἄβυσσος βρύει ἀφθόνως τὰς πηγὰς τῶν ὑδάτων καὶ αἱ πηγαὶ πάλιν ἀπολύουσιν ἀκρατήτους ποτα μούς, οἱ δὲ ποταμοὶ ἐπισκέπτουσι τὴν γῆν καὶ μεθύσκουσιν αὐ τήν, τοῦ καρποφορῆσαι ἄρτον εἰς βρῶσιν καὶ οἶνον εἰς εὐφρο σύνην τῶν ἀνθρώπων, οἱ δὲ ἄνθρωποι ἀπολαύοντες πληροῦσι τὸ γεγραμμένον· «Φάγονται πένητες καὶ ἐμπλησθήσονται, καὶ αἰνέ σουσι κύριον οἱ ἐκζητοῦντες αὐτόν»· οὕτως καὶ ἡ ἄφατος φιλαν θρωπία τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἐκ τῆς ἀμετρήτου ἀβύσσου τῆς ἀγαθότητος καὶ φιλανθρωπίας αὐτοῦ, πηγάζει ἡμῖν τὰς ἁγίας αὐτοῦ ἑορτὰς ἐν αἷς τὴν σωτηρίαν ἡμῶν εἰργάσατο. Καὶ αὐτὸς μὲν ἑορτὴν πηγάζει, ἡ δὲ χάρις τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος ἡ ἐνεργοῦσα ἐν τῇ ἑορτῇ «τὰ ὁρμήματα τοῦ ποταμοῦ» πληροῖ, λέγω δὴ τοὺς θεοφόρους ἄνδρας, τοὺς «διδασκαλίαν ἐν τῇ διδα σκαλίᾳ» κεκτημένους· καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐπισκέπτονται τὴν νοητὴν καὶ λογικὴν γῆν τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος, εὐφραίνοντες τὴν ἁγίαν ἐκκλησίαν, ἥτις ἐστὶ «πόλις τοῦ μεγάλου βασιλέως» Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον· «Τοῦ ποταμοῦ τὰ ὁρμήματα εὐφραίνουσι τὴν πόλιν τοῦ θεοῦ.» Ἡ δὲ ἐκκλησία, εὐφραινομένη καὶ ἡδυνομένη ἀπὸ πιότητος καρδίας, αἰνεῖ καὶ δοξολογεῖ κύριον τὸν ἐν αὐτῇ βασιλεύοντα. Φέρε δὴ καὶ σήμερον εἴπωμεν ὃ προανεφώνησεν αὐ τὸς περὶ ἑαυτοῦ διὰ τῶν ἁγίων αὐτοῦ προφητῶν· ἑρευνήσωμεν πρὸς τὴν δύναμιν ἡμῶν τὴν σωτηρίαν, ἣν ὁ βασιλεὺς ἡμῶν ἐπραγ ματεύσατο ἡμῖν ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ ἑορτῇ· φέρε κατανοήσωμεν ἕνεκεν τίνος βασιλέα αὐτὸν ὕμνησαν οὐ μόνον οἱ ἄνθρωποι, ἀλλὰ καὶ αἱ ἀγγελικαὶ δυνάμεις. 2 Ἡ αἰτία οὖν τῆς ὑμνῳδίας ἡ ἔγερσις Λαζάρου ἦν κατὰ τὸ φαινόμενον, καθώς φησι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον· «Ἐβουλεύσαντο δὲ ἵνα καὶ τὸν Λάζαρον ἀποκτείνωσιν, ὅτι πολλοὶ δι' αὐτὸν ὑπῆγον τῶν Ἰουδαίων καὶ ἐπίστευον εἰς τὸν Ἰησοῦν.» Καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ αἰτία τῆς δοξολογίας τῶν πιστῶν κατὰ τὸ φαινόμενον, λελη θότως δὲ καὶ κρυπτῶς ἡ ἔγερσις πάσης τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως. Καὶ ὥσπερ τὸ τοῦ Λαζάρου σημεῖον καὶ ἡ ἔγερσις ἐκείνη ὑμνο λογεῖν ἐποίησε τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τὸν Ἰησοῦν, οὕτως καὶ τοὺς ἁγίους ἀγγέλους δοξολογεῖν παρεσκεύασε τὸ σημεῖον τῆς ἐγέρ σεως πάσης τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως· καὶ ὅσον μείζων ἡ τῶν πάντων ἔγερσις τῆς ἐγέρσεως Λαζάρου, τοσοῦτον καὶ ἡ δόξα τότε μειζοτέρα. Καὶ ἡ μὲν συνείδησις τῶν βοώντων, ἐξισταμένη τῷ θαύματι, ἐκίνει αὐτοὺς δοξάζειν· ἡ δὲ θεία οἰκονομία διὰ τὴν ἔγερσιν πάσης τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως λεληθότως ἐκίνει οὐ μόνον τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἁγίους ἀγγέλους θαυμά ζειν καὶ δοξάζειν τὸν Ἰησοῦν. Εἶδον γάρ, ἀληθῶς εἶδον καὶ ἔμαθον καὶ κατεσοφίσθησαν σοφίαν, ἣν οὐκ ᾔδεισαν, αἱ ἀγγελικαὶ δυνά μεις διὰ τῆς ἐκκλησίας τῶν πιστῶν ἐκφαινομένην ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ τὰ πάντα κτίσαντος, τὴν πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων ἐν αὐτῷ κεκρυμμέ νην, λέγω δὴ τῶν διδαχῶν καὶ ἐπαγγελιῶν καὶ θαυματουργιῶν τοῦ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ, καθώς που ὁ θεσπέσιος Παῦλός φησιν· «Ἵνα γνωρισθῇ νῦν ταῖς ἀρχαῖς καὶ ταῖς ἐξουσίαις διὰ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἡ πολυποίκιλος σοφία τοῦ θεοῦ.» Μανθάνουσι γὰρ αἱ ἄνω δυνά μεις, ἅπερ οὐδέπω εἶδον, οὐδὲ ἤκουσαν· κτίσματα γάρ εἰσι, καὶ τὸ κτίσμα οὐκ ἔστιν μὴ χρείαν ἔχον μαθεῖν, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ τὰ μέλλοντα γενέσθαι γινώσκουσιν, εἰ μή τι δἂν ὑπὸ τῆς ἁγίας καὶ σεπτῆς καὶ προσκυνητῆς τριάδος μυηθῶσιν. 1 3 Ἔμαθον οὖν καὶ ἐβεβαιώθησαν τὴν ἀνάστασιν τοῦ Ἀδάμ, θεωρήσαντες τὸν κύριον ἐγείραντα τὸν υἱὸν τῆς χήρας· ὡς χήρα γὰρ ἐγένετο ἡ γῆ, ἀποθανόντος τοῦ πρωτοπλάστου αὐτῆς υἱοῦ. Ἰδόντες δὲ αὐτὸν πάλιν ἐγείραντα τὴν θυγατέρα τοῦ ἀρχισυναγώ γου, κατεσοφίσθησαν ὅτι καὶ τὴν Εὔαν μετὰ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ ἐγερεῖ. Πάλιν ἀναστήσαντος <αὐτοῦ> τὸν παῖδα τοῦ ἀλλοφύλου ἑκατον τάρχου, ἐδιδάχθησαν καὶ

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About this text

Hesychius of Jerusalem's sermon on Lazarus and the palm branches, in a fresh English translation of the whole homily. The raising of Lazarus is the sign that Christ will raise all humanity; Zechariah's call to the daughter of Zion to rejoice is read phrase by phrase; and the hearers are urged to carry palms of faith, hope, and love and to become a holy temple for Christ.

Hesychius of Jerusalem (fl. c. 412–450) preached this homily on Lazarus and the palm branches. The Greek heading names him as priest of Jerusalem; the homily was once credited to Titus of Bostra. It is a different sermon from his Homily II on Saint Lazarus.

Hesychius reads the raising of Lazarus as the sign that Christ will raise all humanity, and so explains why men and angels hailed Christ as King when He entered Jerusalem. He then reads Zechariah’s call, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion,” phrase by phrase, together with the colt, the garments, and the branches of the Gospel story.

At the end he urges his hearers to bind themselves to Christ, to carry palm branches of faith, hope, and love, and to follow Him into the temple, so that He may drive out the sellers within them and make them a holy temple instead of a den of robbers.

Fresh English translation from the Greek text of PG 93.

Printed text used

Translated from PG 93 (Greek)

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