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| The Withdrawal of Jesus.
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23. The
Withdrawal of Jesus.
And the disciples of John having come bury his remains,
and “they went and told Jesus.”5325
And He withdrew to a desert
place,—that is, the Gentiles—and after the killing of the
prophet multitudes followed Him from the cities everywhere; seeing
which to be great He had compassion on them, and healed their sick; and
afterwards with the loaves which were blessed and multiplied from a few
loaves He feeds those who followed Him. “Now when Jesus
heard it He withdrew thence in a boat to a desert place
apart.”5326
The letter
teaches us to withdraw as far as it is in our power from those who
persecute us, and from expected conspiracies through words; for this
would be to act according to prudence; and, when one can keep outside
of critical positions, to go to meet them is rash and headstrong.
For who would still hesitate about avoiding such things, when not only
did Jesus retreat in view of what happened to John, but also taught and
said, “If they persecute you in this city, flee ye into the
other”?5327
When a
temptation comes which is not in our power to avoid, we must endure it
with exceeding nobleness and courage; but, when it is in our power to
avoid it, not to do so is rash. But since after the letter we
must also investigate the place according to the mystical meaning, we
must say that, when prophecy was plotted against among the Jews and
destroyed, because of their giving honour to matters of birthdays, and
in respect of their reception of vain movements which, though conceived
by the ruler of the wicked and those who feast along with him to be
regular and pleasing to them, were irregular and out of tune, if truth
be umpire, then Jesus withdraws from the place in which prophecy was
attacked and condemned; and He withdraws to the place which had been
barren of God among the Gentiles, in order that the Word of God, when
the kingdom was taken from the Jews and “given to a nation
bringing forth the fruits thereof,”5328
might be among the Gentiles; and, on account of it, “the children of the
desolate one,” who had not been instructed either in the law or
the prophets, “might be more than of her who has the
husband,”5329
that is, the
law. When, then, the word was of old among the Jews, it was not
so among them as it is among the Gentiles; wherefore it is said that,
“in a boat,”—that is, in the body—He went to
the desert place apart, when He heard about the killing of the
prophet. And, having come into the desert place apart, He was in
it, because that the Word dwelt apart, and His teaching was contrary to
the customs and usages which obtained among the Gentiles. And the
crowds among the Gentiles, when they heard that Jesus had come to stay
in their desert, and that He was apart, as we have already reported,
followed Him from their own cities, because each had left the
superstitious customs of his fathers and come to the law of
Christ. And by land they followed Him, and not in a boat,
inasmuch as not with the body but with the soul only, and with the
resolution to which they had been persuaded by the Word, they followed
the Image of God. And to them Jesus comes out, as they were not
able to go to Him, in order that, having gone to those who were
without, He might lead within those who were without. And great
is the crowd without to whom the Word of God goes out, and, having
poured out upon it the light of His “visitation,” beholds
it; and, seeing that they were rather deserving of being pitied,
because they were in such circumstances, as a lover of men He who was
impassible suffered the emotion of pity, and not only had pity but
healed their sick, who had sicknesses diverse and of every kind arising
from their wickedness.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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