The Ascension of Christ and the Deception of the Jews

Holding a chariot, not running disorderly upon the earth, but ascending in a new way through ethereal paths, it approaches to seize the heavenly turning-point and powerfully repels the running Belial. But the children of the Jews, the instigators of error, having heard that Christ had been taken up into heaven, desiring to obscure the paradoxical wonder of the Sun of Righteousness, introduce Elijah, saying: 'Why do you boast so much, Christians, that Christ was taken up, as you say? For even Elijah, being a man, having been worthy of similar glory, was taken up into heaven.'

To these we speak with boldness: Why, O Jews, do you plunder the books like blind men, and do not see what is written in them with precision? Why do you read and do not recognize? For what does the Divine Scripture say? That Elijah was taken up in a whirlwind as if into heaven; but the phrase 'as if into heaven' has an ambiguous meaning; but 'into heaven' shows the truth clearly. And since neither Elijah nor anyone else ascended into heaven, except only the Only-begotten Son of God who descended from heaven, who himself informs all about himself, he says: 'No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven; the good shepherd, who having left the ninety-nine sheep of the angels upon the heavenly mountains, and having found the strayed sheep, and carrying them on the shoulders of philanthropy, and having brought them into the heavenly harbor, offering them as a gift to his own Begetter, says: I have found, Father, the strayed sheep, which the deceiving serpent deceived with crafty tricks, and showed the paths of evil, and polluted the purity of the knowledge of God with the mud of many-mindedness. Having seen it thus suffocating in the mire of life, I quickly lifted it up with the right hand of my divinity; and with the bowels of mercies I washed it in the streams of the Jordan, and having perfumed it with the fragrance of my Holy Spirit, I have now come through the resurrection, presenting to you the rational sheep as a guest worthy of your divinity.'

Today the devil is overcome in his own defeat, seeing our body being led up into the heavens; today sin is dissipated like smoke through the ascension of Christ Jesus; today the devil wails, saying: 'What shall I do, the wretched one? Having snatched all those from eternity like a sharp-beaked hawk from me, he has left me desolate, and having clipped my wings from every side, he has cast me down to the earth.' I have been deceived by the one of Mary...

Greek

ἐποχούμενον ἅρματι, οὐκ ἐπὶ γῆς ἀτάκτως ἐλαύνοντα, ἀλλ' αἰθερίους δρόμους καινοπρεπῶς ἀναστέλλοντα, καὶ τὸν οὐράνιον καμπτῆρα καταλαμβάνειν ἐπειγόμενον, καὶ τὸν παρατρέχοντα Βελίαρ δυνατῶς καταστρέφοντα. 43.481 Ἀλλ' Ἰουδαίων παῖδες οἱ βάσκανοι τῆς ἀληθείας ἀκούσαντες, ὅτι ὁ Χριστὸς ἀνελήφθη εἰς οὐρανοὺς, ἀμαυρῶσαι βουλόμενοι τὸ παράδοξον θαῦμα τοῦ Ἡλίου τῆς δικαιοσύνης, τὸν Ἠλίαν παρεισάγουσι λέγοντες· Τί μεγάλα κομπάζετε, Χριστιανοὶ, ὅτι ἀνελήφθη ὁ Χριστὸς, ὡς λέγετε; Καὶ γὰρ Ἠλίας, ἄνθρωπος ὢν, τῆς ὁμοίας δόξης ἀξιωθεὶς ἀνελήφθη εἰς οὐρανούς. Πρὸς οὓς μετὰ παῤῥησίας φθεγξόμεθα· ∆ιὰ τί, ὦ Ἰουδαῖοι, τὰς βίβλους ὡς τυφλοὶ σκυλεύετε, καὶ τὰ γεγραμμένα ἐν αὐταῖς μετὰ ἀκριβείας οὐ βλέπετε; ∆ιὰ τί ἀναγινώσκετε, καὶ οὐκ ἐπιγινώσκετε; Τί γάρ φησιν ἡ θεία Γραφή; Καὶ ἀνελήφθη Ἠλίας ἐν συσσεισμῷ ὡς εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν· τὸ δὲ, ὡς εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν, ἀμφίβολον ἔχει τὴν ἔννοιαν· τὸ δὲ, εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν, τρανὴν δείκνυσι τὴν ἀλήθειαν. Ὅτι δὲ οὔτε Ἠλίας, οὔτε ἕτερός τις ἀνέβη εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν, εἰ μὴ μόνος ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβὰς ὁ μονογενὴς τοῦ Θεοῦ Υἱὸς, αὐτὸς περὶ ἑαυτοῦ πάντας πληροφορῶν λέγει· Οὐδεὶς ἀναβέβηκεν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν, εἰ μὴ ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβὰς, ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, ὁ ὢν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ· ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλὸς, ὁ τὰ ἐνενήκοντα ἐννέα τῶν ἀγγέλων πρόβατα καταλιπὼν ἐπὶ τὰ οὐράνια ὄρη, καὶ τὸ πεπλανημένον πρόβατον εὑρηκὼς, καὶ ὤμοις φιλανθρωπίας βαστάζων, καὶ εἰς τὸν οὐράνιον λιμένα ἀνενεγκὼν, τῷ ἰδίῳ Γεννήτορι δωροφορῶν φθέγγεται· Εὗρον, Πάτερ, τὸ πρόβατον τὸ πλανώμενον, ὅπερ ὁ ἀπατεὼν ὄφις δολοτρόποις τεχνάσμασιν ἠπάτησε, καὶ κακίας ὁδοὺς ὑπέδειξε, πηλῷ δὲ τῆς πολυθεΐας τὴν καθαρότητα τῆς θεογνωσίας ἐμόλυνε. Θεασάμενος οὖν αὐτὸ ἐν τῷ βορβόρῳ τοῦ βίου πνιγόμενον, τῇ τῆς θεότητός μου δεξιᾷ ταχέως ἀνήρπασα· καὶ τοῖς τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν σπλάγχνοις ἐν τοῖς τοῦ Ἰορδάνου ῥεύμασιν ἀπέπλυνα, καὶ μυρίσας τῇ εὐωδίᾳ τοῦ ἁγίου μου Πνεύματος, διὰ τῆς ἀναστάσεως νῦν παραγέγονα, ἄξιον τῆς σῆς θεότητος προσκομίζων σοι ξένιον, τὸ λογικὸν πρόβατον. Σήμερον ὁ διάβολος τὴν οἰκείαν ἧτταν ὀδύρεται, ὁρῶν τὸ ἡμέτερον σῶμα εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἀναγόμενον· σήμερον ἡ ἁμαρτία διὰ τῆς ἀναλήψεως τοῦ Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ ὡς καπνὸς διαλέλυται· σήμερον ὁ διάβολος θρηνεῖ λέγων, Τί ποιήσω, ὁ ἄθλιος; Πάντας τοὺς ἀπ' αἰῶνος ὡς ἱέραξ ὀξυπετὴς ἁρπάξας παρ' ἐμοῦ, ἔρημόν με κατέστησε, καὶ πανταχόθεν με πτεροκοπήσας εἰς γῆν κατέῤῥαξεν. Ἠπάτησέ με ὁ τῆς Μαρίας

About this text

A passionate sermon on Christ's ascension, defending its glory against Jewish objections.

Catalogue & scope

Khazarzar scan

Witnesses

Copy-text PG 41–43 (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.