Cyril
of Jerusalem
Lecture 14, Part B
“Now I make known unto you, brethren, the gospel which I preached unto you.... that He has been raised on the third day according to the Scriptures….” — 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Summary: This is a difficult section for us to summarize; St. Cyril relies so heavily on the Song of Solomon that we do not readily comprehend his meaning: for the modern lascivious age, has changed even the meanings of words for us. As St. Cyril, himself might put it, I do not yet have the vision to accept such brilliant light. We must not lose sight of the fact that the risen Christ revealed Himself in the Old Testament[i]; very likely, St. Cyril is closer to that revelation than we are. Even without Song of Solomon, there are many Old Testament evidences for the Resurrection.
Preview: 11. He was buried in a garden. “Truth sprang up out of the earth, and righteousness
looked down from heaven.”[ii] 12. “They have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him.”[iii] “Why do you seek the living among the dead?”[iv] 13. “And behold Jesus met them, saying, All hail! And they came and took hold of His feet.”[v] “Go, tell His disciples that
He is risen.”[vi] 14. The
Jews paid the soldiers to lie; but kings have come to believe; few Jews were persuaded,
yet the world became obedient; “After two days will He revive us, and in the
third day we shall rise again, and shall live in His sight.”[vii] 15. “On
what ground, while you say that Eliseus and Elias raised the dead, do you gainsay
the Resurrection of our Savior?” Because
there are no living witnesses; where are your living witnesses: for the records
of all were kept by the Jews. 16. “But it is impossible, some one will say, that
the dead should rise; and yet Eliseus twice raised the dead — when he was alive,
and also when dead.”[viii] Yet, “[He] Himself arose, and many dead were raised
without having even touched Him. For many
bodies of the Saints which slept arose, and they came out of the graves after His
Resurrection, and went into the Holy City.”[ix] 17. “For as Jonas was three days and three nights
in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”[x] 18.
Which is more difficult: for Jonah to survive three days tossed about by
sea; or for Christ, Who was known to be dead, to arise after three days burial
in the tomb?[xi] “for He went down to death, and many
bodies of the saints which slept arose through Him.[xii] 19. “O
death, where is your victory? O grave, where is your sting?”[xiii] 20. “He
who brought up from the earth the great Shepherd of the sheep … leddest
Thy people like sheep by the hand of Moses and Aaron.”[xiv] “Now the God of peace, that brought again from
the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep….”[xv]
[i]
Luke 24:27; 44-45
[ii]
Psalms 84:11 Septuagint; Psalms 85:11
[iii]
John 20:13
[iv]
Luke 24:5
[v]
Matthew 28:9
[vi]
Matthew 28:7
[vii]
Hosea 6:2
[viii]
1 Kings 17:17-24; 2 Kings 4:18-37; 13:21
[ix]
Matthew 27:52-53
[x]
Although we have trouble accepting the Pinocchio version, especially since we
do not yet have access to St. Cyril’s Greek original; the main point is well
taken: whatever happened in Jonah was clearly a miracle: this is only a problem
for those who don’t believe in miracles.
Therefore, monster, shark, whale, or the surging sea itself, whatever;
it was a miracle that God preserved Jonah’s life, when Jonah so clearly wanted
to die. Jonah 2; Matthew 12:40
[xi]
For Jonah went into Hell alive: but, Christ was already dead… they even started
the first day’s embalming process, which was delayed over Pesach. By the time Pesach had ended, He was gone, raised
in triumph.
[xiv]
It is possible that St. Cyril also has Isaiah 43:6 in mind here. Psalms 77:20; 80:1; Hebrews 13:20
[xv]
Hebrews 13:20
