The Instructor 1.9.85
Summary: The Instructor who came to serve and gave his life is good; but he is also just, dealing crookedly with the crooked, and his reproof is for our benefit.
Greek text · Stählin 1:139–140
Τοιοῦτος ἡμῶν ὁ παιδαγωγός, ἀγαθὸς ἐνδίκως. »οὐκ ἦλθον«, φησί, »διακονηθῆναι, ἀλλὰ διακονῆσαι.« διὰ τοῦτο εἰσάγεται ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ κεκμηκώς, ὁ κάμνων ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν καὶ »δοῦναι τὴν ψυχὴν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ λύτρον ἀντὶ πολλῶν« ὑπισχνούμενος. τοῦτον γὰρ μόνον ὁμολογεῖ ἀγαθὸν εἶναι ποιμένα· μεγαλόδωρος οὖν ὁ τὸ μέγιστον ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ, ἐπιδιδούς, καὶ μεγαλωφελὴς καὶ φιλάνθρωπος, ὅτι καὶ ἀνθρώπων, ἐξὸν εἶναι κύριος, ἀδελφὸς εἶναι βεβούληται· ὃ δὲ καὶ εἰς τοσοῦτον ἀγαθὸς ὥστε ἡμῶν καὶ ὑπεραποθανεῖν. ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ δικαιοσύνη κέκραγεν αὐτοῦ· »ἐὰν ὀρθοὶ πρός με ἥκητε, κἀγὼ ὀρθὸς πρὸς ὑμᾶς· ἐὰν πλάγιοι πορεύησθε, κἀγὼ πλάγιος, λέγει κύριος τῶν δυνάμεων«, τὰς ἐπιπλήξεις τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν πλαγίας αἰνιττόμενος ὁδούς. ἡ γὰρ εὐθεῖα καὶ κατὰ φύσιν, ἣν αἰνίττεται τὸ ἰῶτα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, ἡ ἀγαθωσύνη αὐτοῦ, ἡ πρὸς τοὺς ἐξ ὑπακοῆς πεπιστευκότας ἀμετακίνητός τε καὶ ἀρρεπής. »ἐπειδὴ ἐκάλουν καὶ οὐχ ὑπηκούετε, λέγει κύριος, ἀλλὰ ἀκύρους ἐποιεῖτε τὰς ἐμὰς βουλάς, τοῖς δὲ ἐμοῖς ἐλέγχοις οὐ προσείχετε.« οὕτως ὁ κυριακὸς ἔλεγχος ὠφελιμώτατος.
English · Claude translation
Such is our Instructor, rightly good. “I came,” he says, “not to be served, but to serve.” That is why he is presented in the Gospel as weary, he who labors for us and promises “to give his life as a ransom for many.” For he confesses that only such a one is a good shepherd. Generous, then, is he who gives the greatest thing for us, his life; very beneficial and loving to humankind, since, though he could be Lord of human beings, he has willed to be their brother; and so good that he even died for us. His justice too has cried out: “If you come to me upright, I too will be upright toward you; if you walk crookedly, I too will be crooked, says the Lord of hosts,” hinting at the reprimands of sinners as crooked ways. For the straight and natural way, which the iota of Jesus hints at, is his goodness, unmoved and unswerving toward those who have believed through obedience. “Since I called and you did not listen, says the Lord, but made my counsels void, and paid no attention to my reproofs.” So the Lord's reproof is most beneficial.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The quotations are Matt 20:28, Lev 26:21–24 (LXX, loosely; “Lord of hosts” is from the prophets), and Prov 1:24–25; the allusions are John 4:6, John 10:11, and Heb 2:11. The iota (Ι), the first letter of Jesus's name, is a straight line.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (missing accent): τοῦτον γὰρ μονον ὁμολογεῖ → τοῦτον γὰρ μόνον ὁμολογεῖ.
Cite this passage
Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 1.9.85 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/1/9/85/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 1.9.85 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/1/9/85/).
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