Homilies on Luke

Homily 31. Luke 4.9-12

HOMILY 31 Luke 4.9-I2 On the Savior's third temptation. H THE SCRIPTURES,! and even on points that are thought to be simple you will find no small mysteries. We can search the beginning of the Gospel reading that we heard today and let what was hidden come forth into open view. The passage says that the devil "led"Jesus "intoJerusalem ."2This is unbelievable-that the devil should lead the Son of God and he should follow. Obviously, he followed like an athlete who freely sets out for a competition. He was not afraid of his competitor, nor did he dread the deceits of his extremely cunning enemy. He was basically saying, "Lead on where you will. Test me as it pleases you. I give myselfwillingly to be tried. I endure what you bring against me. I offer myself for any ofyour temptations. You will find that I am stronger in every way." 2. "So the devilled him intoJerusalem, placed him upon the parapet of the temple, and said to him, 'If you are the Son of God, castyourselfdown from here. '''' He led him onto the roof, to the highest point of the temple, and urged him to throw himselfheadlong from there. The devil proposed this dishonestly and, under the pretext of having Christ display his glory, strove for a different end. So the Savior stated, "Scripture says, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.' ''4 Consider, too, how the devil tempts. He does not dare to tempt with any means other than the Divine Books. He takes his text from the Psalms J. Cf. Jn 7.52. 3· Lk 4·9· 125 2 . Lk 4.9. 4· Lk4·12. 126 ORIGEN and says, "If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down. For Scripture says, 'He gave his angels a command concerningyou, that they should raise you up in their hands, lest perhaps you strike your foot against a stone."'5How can you, 0 devil, know that these words have been written? Have you read the prophets , or do you know the divine utterances? Even though you remain silent, I shall answer for you. You read, not to become better through reading the holy books, but to use the simple, literal sense for killing those who are the friends of the letter.6 You know that, ifyou wish to speak to him from other books/ you will not deceive him, nor will your assertions have anyauthority . 3. Marcion reads the Scriptures as the devil does. So do Basilides and Valentinus. Along with the devil they say to the Savior, "Scripture says, 'He gave his angels a command concerning you, that they should raise you up in their hands, lest perhaps you strike your foot against a stone. "'8Whenever you hear quotations from the Scriptures, be careful of trusting the speaker immediately. Consider the person: what sort ofa life he leads, what sort of opinions he holds, what sort of intention he has. Otherwise, he might pretend that he is holy and not be holy, and, infected with the poisons of heresy, he might be a wolf concealed in a sheep's skin. The devil might even be in him, citing the Scriptures. When an opportune moment arises, the devil cites the Scriptures. For the benefit of those who hear him, Paul does the opposite. He quotes passages not onlyfrom the Scriptures, but even from secular books. He says, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy bellies."9And again from another author, "For, we are also his offspring."10And once more, from a comic playwright, "Evil conversations corrupt good 5. Lk 4-9-11 , citing Ps 91.11-12. 6. The devil encourages strictly literal interpretation. to corrupt the simple. 7. Origen here means secular books, as his argument will make clear. 8. Lk 4.9-11. 9. Ti 1.12 , quoting Epimenides (a philosopher of the sixth century B.C.), On Oracles. With this and the next two phrases, Origen identifies the three quotations from pagan authors found in the New Testament. 10. Acts 17.28, quoting Aratus (an epic poet of the fourth and third centuries B.C.), Phaenomena 5. HOMILY 31 127 morals."" But, even if the devil speaks from the Scriptures, he could notdeceive me by this action, nor, ifPaul takes an illustration from Gentile literature, will he turn me against his eloquence . For, Paul takes words even from what...