OT § 166

That the Jews would fasten Christ to the cross.… Also in Jeremiah: "Come, let us cast the tree into his bread, and let us blot out his life from the earth."

Listen to Jeremiah and be convinced: "I was as a meek lamb that is carried to be a victim. Did I not know it?" (Read it thus as a question, as I have put it. For he who said, "You know that after two days the Passover shall be here, and the Son of man will be delivered up to be crucified," did he not know?) "I was a meek lamb that is carried to be a victim. Did I not know it?" (What sort of lamb? Let John the Baptist interpret, when he says, "Behold the lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!") "They devised a wicked counsel against me, saying (Was it that he who knew the counsels did not know their result? And what did they say?): "Come, and let us put wood on his bread." (If the Lord shall count you worthy, hereafter you shall learn that his body, according to the Gospel, bore the figure of bread.) "Come, and let us put wood on his bread, and cut him off from the land of the living (Life is not cut off. Why do you toil to no purpose?) And let his name be remembered no more."

(Verse 18) But you, Lord, have shown me and I have known: you have revealed to me their desires. This is the consensus of all the churches, that under the person of Jeremiah, these things may be understood to be said by Christ, that the Father has shown him how he ought to speak, and has revealed to him the intentions of the Jews.

It is the consensus of all the church that these words are spoken by Christ through the person of Jeremiah. For the Father made it known to him how he should speak and revealed to him the zealotry of the Jews—he who was led like a lamb to the slaughter, not opening his mouth and not knowing. But the word sin is implicitly added to this last phrase, in agreement with what was said by the apostle: "When he did not know sin, he was made to be sin on our account." And they said, "Let us put wood on his bread," clearly referring to the cross on the body of the Savior, for he is the one who said, "I am the bread that descended from heaven."They also said "let us destroy (or eradicate) him from the land of the living." And they conceived the evil in their soul that they would delete his name forever. In response to this, from the sacrament of the assumed body, the Son speaks to the Father and invokes his judgment while praising his justice and acknowledging him as the God who inspects the interior and the heart. He asks that the Father would return to the people what they deserve, saying, "Let me see your vengeance on them," obviously referring only to those who continue in sin, not to those who repent. Concerning the latter, he said on the cross: "Father forgive them, for they do not realize what they are doing." He also "disclosed his cause" to the Father, that he was crucified not because he deserved it but for the sins of the people, as he declared: "Behold, the prince of the world came and found nothing against me." The Jews and our Judaizers believe that all of this was said only by Jeremiah, arguing from prophecy that the people have sustained these evils in their captivity. But I fail to see how they hope to prove that Jeremiah was the one crucified, since such an event is nowhere recorded in Scripture. Perhaps it is just a figment of their imagination.

Jeremiah, too, said, "Show me, O Lord, and I shall know. Then I saw their plots. And I was carried as a meek lamb to be the victim. They devised counsels against me, saying, 'Let us put wood on his bread and cut him off from the land of the living, and his name shall be remembered no more.' " Now the wood signifies the cross and the bread his body, because he is himself the food and life of all who believe in the flesh that he put on and by which he hung on the cross.

He was led to the cross, and the life of the whole world hung suspended from its wood. Would you care to have this, too, confirmed by the testimony of prophets? Listen to what Jeremiah has to say about it: "Come, and let us put wood on his bread, and let us cut him off from the land of the living." Moses again, lamenting over them, remarked, "And your life shall be hanging suspended before your eyes, and you shall fear by day and by night, neither shall you trust your life."

(Verse 19) I, like a gentle lamb being led to the sacrifice, did not know that they were plotting against me. Let us cast wood into his bread, and let us wipe him from the land of the living, so that his name may be remembered no more. He himself, like a lamb led to the slaughter, has not opened his mouth and has not known, sin being implied; according to what is said by the apostle: He who knew no sin, was made sin for us: and they have said: Let us place wood in his bread, namely the cross in the body of the Savior. For it is he who says: I am the bread that came down from heaven; and we will uproot or crush him from the land of the living (John 6:51). For they have conceived this wickedness in their hearts, that they may erase his name forever.

The careful student of the sacred books, moreover, may gather not a few similar passages from the prophets, as where He calls Himself a chosen shaft, and a servant of God, and a light of the Gentiles. Isaiah also says, "From my mother's womb hath He called me by my name, and He made my mouth as a sharp sword, and under the shadow of His hand did He hide me, and He said to me, Thou art My servant, O Israel, and in thee will I be glorified." And a little farther on: "And my God shall be my strength, and He said to me, This is a great thing for thee to be called My servant, to set up the tribes of Jacob and to turn again the diaspora of Israel. Behold I have set thee for a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation to the end of the earth." And in Jeremiah too He likens Himself to a lamb, as thus: "I was as a gentle lamb that is led to the slaughter." These and other similar sayings He applies to Himself. In addition to these one might collect in the Gospels and the Apostles and in the prophets a countless number of titles which are applied to the Son of God, as the writers of the Gospels set forth their own views of what He is, or the Apostles extol Him out of what they had learned, or the prophets proclaim in advance His coming advent and announce the things concerning Him under various names. Thus John calls Him the Lamb of God, saying, "Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world."

If we examine the declaration about Jesus who is pointed out by John in the words, "This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world," from the standpoint of the dispensation itself of the bodily sojourn of the Son of God in the life of people, we will assume that the lamb is none other than his humanity. For he was "led as a sheep to the slaughter and was dumb as a lamb before its shearer," saying, "I was as an innocent lamb being led to be sacrificed."

And hearken unto the prophet who also proclaimed our Lord with his simple teaching, and who likened Him unto a lamb and a sheep, the most innocent of all animals: "Like a lamb was He led to the slaughter, and like a sheep before the shearer He was silent." The lion and the wolf and bear are crafty, together with the other wild beasts, because craftiness was mingled with their evil nature when they were made; but sheep and lambs and ewes are simple and innocent in their ways and movements, and to them was our Lord likened, and by their name are believers called. Our Lord did not liken Himself unto a lion, which bringeth suffering and death, and He did not call His flocks by the names of wild animals, which by the nature in which they were created are cunning in respect of evil things, but He was called "lamb" and "sheep", and being meek like unto them He was led to suffering and to death, for "like a sheep before his shearer He was silent", and thus He in His humility opened not His mouth.

Hence they rightly believed and confessed that as God he knew all things and that as the Son of God He had come from God. It is a clear indication of divinity to know the secret things of another's thoughts, as Solomon affirmed when he said in supplication to God, "For you alone know the hearts of all the children of human beings." Hence, Jeremiah too said, "You, O Lord of Sabaoth, are the one who judges righteously and probes the loins and hearts of human beings."

(Verse 20) But you, Lord of hosts, who judge justly and test the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for I have revealed my cause to you. But on the contrary, in accordance with the sacrament of the assumed body, the Son speaks to the Father, and he calls for his judgment, while praising his justice, and invokes God, the observer of the kidneys and the heart, that he may give to the people what they deserve. And he says: Let me see your vengeance upon them, namely, those who persist in wickedness, and not upon those who turn to repentance. He said about them on the cross: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34). And he reveals to the Father and opens his cause: because he was crucified not by any merit of his own, but by the crime of the people, saying: Behold, the prince of this world is coming, and he finds nothing in me (John 14:30). The Jews and our Judaizers understand these things to be said in the person of Jeremiah: they confirm that he endured these things from the people on account of his prophecy of future events and the coming evils of captivity. But I do not know how they can approve that Jeremiah was crucified, since the Scripture does not mention it, unless perhaps they have thought about it and not acted upon it.

There was a reason that God allowed the prophet to be tested by troubles. Since Jeremiah had often tried to offer intercession for the transgressors—in his desire to convince Jeremiah that God was not compassionate but the harsh treasury of goodness—he allowed the rebellion to occur. In his deep grief, however, Jeremiah implores God to judge justly and exact penalties from the unholy. The Lord accepts his petition, gives a reply, threatens punishment and notes that some will be slaughtered in war and others destroyed by famine.

For Anathoth did not receive Jeremiah, or the Tishbites Elijah, or Abelmeholah Elisha, or Ramah Samuel, or the synagogue Moses, or Israel our Lord Jesus in Nazareth.

(v. 21 onward) Therefore, thus says the Lord to the men of Anathoth who seek your life and say: Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, or you will die by our hand. Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will visit them. The young men shall die by the sword; their sons and daughters shall die by famine, and there shall be no remnant of them. For I will bring disaster upon the men of Anathoth in the year of their visitation. It seems that this contradicts the previous opinions, in which we wanted to approve what was said from the person of Christ, and not from Jeremiah, who resided in the village of Anathoth, which is three miles from Jerusalem. But if we understand the etymology of the town of Anathoth (which means obedience), it will clearly show that the men of Anathoth, who once obeyed the Lord's commands, were all called Jews, and especially the inhabitants of the city of Jerusalem, upon whom the final judgment came, that they would perish in the evils of the siege, by sword, famine, and disease. In order to free ourselves from all the annoyance of interpretation, let us follow this rule: Whatever the prophets have done in the manner of the Lord and Savior, and whatever has been fulfilled in the present time in Jeremiah, let it be prophesied in the future about the Lord.

"Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all those who do evil things thrive?" Here the prophet steps out from his usual discourse. On other occasions he brings before God prayers and sorrow about sinners. But it seems here that he is beginning a dispute with God: Why is God merciful to them when they certainly do not deserve his mercy because their hearts are hard and stubborn? Truly, Jeremiah is not the only one who asks this question. Many righteous people wanted to know, as if they debated with God about his multitude of mercies to sinners. Job and David and Habakkuk wondered in this way about the mystery of God's extended patience. But they all had one goal—to call sinners to repentance. This is why they explained this mystery of [divine] extended patience, and tried to reveal to sinners all the benefits that the Lord promised to those who repent. For he is good, and slow to anger to the sons of Adam, and as a hospitable Father, showers them with his gifts. But at the same time, righteous people let them know beforehand the punishment that they can expect if they remain hardened in their hearts and will not stop their wicked stubbornness. Jeremiah had the same goal: by fear and promises to wake up and to call Israel to serve their God.

(Chapter 12 - Verses 1 onwards) Indeed, you are just, O Lord, if I argue with you (or because I want to satisfy you); however, I will speak to you about judgments. What is it that the way of the wicked prospers? It is well for all who break the law and act unjustly. You have planted them and they have taken root, they grow and bear fruit (or they have borne children and produce offspring). You are near their mouths, but far from their hearts. Truly, this is a discussion of all those who act unjustly, and the meaning is summarised in the 72nd Psalm, in which the Prophet says: How good is the God of Israel to those who are upright in heart! But my feet were almost moved; my steps had well nigh slipped. For I was envious of the wicked, seeing the prosperity of sinners, etc. (Psalm 73:1-2). However, this is especially said against heretics, who, though they are impious, prosper in their ways; and they beget children whom they have deceived in their heresy, and they act deceitfully and unjustly, so as to rob the Church. And while they persist in their wickedness of opinion, they boast that they are planted by God, and that they have sent forth roots, and have begotten children and brought forth fruit. But although they often repeat the name of Christ, they do not have God as their dweller, according to that of Isaiah: This people honors me with their lips: but their heart is far from me (Isaiah 29:13).

(Verse 3.) And you, Lord, you know me: you have seen me, and you have tested my heart with you. Gather them together like a flock for the sacrifice, and sanctify them on the day of slaughter. There is no scandal, it is said, that the wicked, or all heretics, flourish for a time: For you, Lord, know me, and you have seen me, and you have tested my heart with you. How does the Father God know his Son this way? For no one knows the Son except the Father: and no one knows the Father, except the Son, and whom the Son wants to reveal (Matt. XI, 17). It is permitted, he says, that they may prosper, that they may generate children, and that heretics may produce fruit, and you may be close to their mouth and far from their kidneys, that is, their conscience: nevertheless, there is some consolation, in that they are fattened like sheep for the slaughter. Gather them in the city of Jerusalem, or in their assemblies: so that they may be slaughtered as if they were victims of death, and then may be sanctified, when they have been beheaded by the sword of the Church: for the killing of heretics is the salvation of those who had been deceived.

(Verse 4) How long will the earth mourn, and all the herbage of the region wither because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it? The animal and the bird have perished because they have said: Our last things will not be seen (or God will not see our ways). Whatever happens in the world, whether good or evil, happens not without the providence and chance of God, but by his judgment. The earth is now barren, the herbage dries up. Do you want to know the reason? Those who dwell in wickedness do this: so that the animals on the earth and the birds of the sky are consumed, because all these creatures were created for the use of humans: who have risen to such blasphemy as to say that God is ignorant of His own ways, and does not know what each individual will suffer. But what he says, 'How long?' signifies the enduring wrath of God, because the hearts of sinners were not inclined to repentance.

"How long will the earth mourn and the grass of the field be dried up from the evil of the inhabitants in it?" The prophet here again talks as if the earth is alive when he says that the earth mourns on account of the evil of those who walk on it. For each of us, then, the earth either mourns or rejoices. For either it mourns from the evil of those who inhabit it or it rejoices from the virtue of those who inhabit it. For each of us, then, the element itself either rejoices or mourns. If earth does so, perhaps also the rest of the elements do also … including water.

(Verse 5) If you have struggled running with foot soldiers, how will you be able to compete with horses? If you have relied on the land of peace, what will you do in the pride or tumult of the Jordan? If, as they say, you have been wearied by the frequent captivities of neighboring nations, the Moabites and Ammonites, the Philistines and Edomites, what will you do in the face of a long captivity that will be led by the Chaldeans all the way? And he compares foot soldiers to horsemen, for in truth both the Persians and the entire Chaldean empire and the armies of those regions take delight in cavalry according to history. But these nations, which I mentioned above, are not so suited for battle because of the difficulty of the terrain, as they are for robbery. And he preserves the metaphor and says: If you became weak with fatigue while running alongside foot soldiers, what will you do if you want to keep up with horses? And if you had any confidence in your own land, what will you do when you cross the Jordan and endure its currents?

(Ver. 9.) Is my inheritance like a colorful bird to me? Is it like a bird dyed all over? Come, gather all the beasts of the earth; hurry to devour. LXX: Is the den of the hyena my inheritance? Is there a den all around it, above it? Go, gather all the animals of the field; let them come and eat it. According to the letter, he calls the colorful and fully dyed bird a peacock. He says that Israel had such great beauty and Jerusalem was distinguished by such virtues that there was nothing good that could not be seen in it. Therefore, since an inheritance was once made for me, that is, the people of Israel, like a lion in the forest, and they spoke against me, and I detested them with all hatred: therefore come and gather against them all the beasts of the earth, a multitude of diverse nations, and devour them who have not known their Lord. But if, as the Septuagint and other interpreters have translated, it is read: Is my inheritance to me a den of hyenas, shall we return to the uncleanness of the nocturnal beast, which lives on the corpses of the dead, and is accustomed to dig up bodies from tombs, and there is no filthiness that it does not feed on. Such is Israel offending his Lord, and delivered to the bites of all beasts.

The house of God has been made a den of thieves! This is the house of which Jeremiah says, "Has not my house become for me the den of a hyena?" Here we have "you have made it a den of thieves," in Jeremiah, "the den of a hyena." We have to know the nature of this animal. Then from that, we shall be able to learn why the prophet called God's house a hyena's den. The hyena is never seen in the daytime but always at night. Never is it seen in the light but always in the darkness.

The Edomites and the Moabites and the Ammonites and the foreigners were always of a hateful and malicious disposition toward the Jews. When they saw the misfortunes brought against the Jews, they exulted over the Jews. For this reason he teaches them in advance of the future calling again of the Jews. And he calls their rulers "shepherds."

(Verse 10) Many shepherds have destroyed (or disrupted) my vineyard, they have trampled (or polluted) my portion: they have given my desirable portion into a desert wasteland (or uninhabited). They have made (or it has been made) it into a desolation. Let those who want to be leaders of the people hear this, because they will have to give an account not only for themselves, but also for the flocks entrusted to them, on the day of judgment. For because of them, a part of the Lord's dwelling place is trampled and polluted, so that where once there was a hospice, there may now be a dwelling place for beasts. Others, however, understand the leaders of the enemies, who have scattered the vineyard of the Lord, not as being placed over the people and priests.

(Vers. 11, 12.) And the earth mourned, desolate it is, because there is no one who thinks in their heart. The devastators have come over all the paths of the desert, for the sword of the Lord has devoured from one end of the earth to the other: there is no peace for all flesh. LXX: Therefore the earth is utterly ruined, and the rest. This that we have set, 'and the earth mourned,' is joined to the previous verse according to the Hebrew, so that the meaning is: They have made it into ruin, that is, my inheritance: And the earth mourned, deprived of my help. But according to the Septuagint, God spoke that because of him the earth is devastated and turned into a wilderness, because there is no one who remembers in their heart, nor any peace for all flesh. For the flesh cannot receive the peace of God. For the wisdom of the flesh is hostile to God; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. And according to the Hebrew, therefore all of Judaea is desolate, because there is no one who remembers God in their heart, nor is there any survivor who can escape. For through all the ways of solitude came the devastators, that is, a hostile army, and the sword of the Lord devoured from one end to the other; and there was no rest for those fleeing from the city. Hence it is said: There is no peace for all flesh.

(Vers. 14, 15.) You shall be confounded by your fruits (or by your boasting (because of the anger of the fury of the Lord (or by the reproach in the sight of the Lord). Thus says the Lord against all my wicked neighbors, who touch the inheritance which I have distributed to my people Israel: Behold, I will uproot them from their land and uproot the house of Judah (or cast them out) from among them. And when I have uprooted them, I will turn (or return) and have mercy on them, and I will bring them back (or make them dwell) man in his inheritance, and man in his land. It is said to them, to whom their own clergy and ecclesiastical order will not benefit, that they should be confounded by their own boasting and by reproach before the Lord. And it brings forth: against all my wicked neighbors, according to the letter, the neighbors of the holy land are the Edomites, Philistines, Moab, and Ammon. But according to the allegory, all heretics who are considered under the name of Christ are even more neighbors than the inhabitants of the holy land, who touch the inheritance of God and devastate it. And it is said of them that they shall be taken away from the midst of the land, and the house of Judah shall be taken away from their midst. Whoever is uprooted and freed from the jaws of the heretics will obtain the mercy of God, and they will be restored to their inheritance and their land.

Having foretold through these words [v. 15] of the return that would take place under Cyrus and Darius, he also teaches them in advance of the things that would take place after these things.