Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Third Sunday in Lent

O Lord, You were pleased with Your land;
      You turned back the captivity of Jacob;
You forgave the transgressions of Your people;
      You covered all their sins. (Pause)
You ended all Your wrath;
      You turned from the wrath of Your anger.
Turn us, O God of our salvation,
      And turn away Your anger from us.
Will You be angry with us forever,
      Or will You prolong Your anger from generation to generation?
O God, You will turn and give us life,
      And Your people will be glad in You.
Show us Your mercy, O Lord,
      And grant us Your salvation.

(Psalm 84:2–8 LXX [Ps 85:1–7])

Earlier he stated: Thou hast covered all their sins; but now he asks afresh: Turn off thy anger from us. But both are appropriate if we consider the occasions of sins. With regard to the wicked deeds which the Jewish people had previously committed, he earlier gave thanks because all were shown to have been mitigated by the coming of the Lord; but here again he makes entreaty because of the sins to come, for he foresaw that they would again commit cruel crimes at the passion of the Lord. In short, he says: Convert us, so that instead of persecutors they may become defenders; instead of blasphemers, preachers; instead of disputants, disciples. His expression, Us embodies the people of whom he speaks. We must similarly interpret Turn off thy anger from us, as an entreaty that the punishment which is owed should not smite the Jewish people.

He knew that the Lord’s patience bears with men’s sins, and so he asks that He should not smite them with eternal damnation, but should soften them with enticements, bring improvement to them by supporting them, and correct them by admonition—all of which he knew that He would do.… With wonderful piety he begs the Lord, attesting that we do not win our conversion by merits, but that it emerges through His gift when our spirit manifests a salutary desire for something on its own behalf. He says: Thou wilt convert us, O God, and bring us to life; in other words: “You set before us a longing for conversion, so that we can attain entry to life”. When You bestow this, then Your people will successfully rejoice in You after unhappily rejoicing in themselves. This is what happens to the converted once they begin to obtain the blessing of the Savior.

He was well aware that the Lord would come, but he asks to behold these blessings not just with his physical eyes in company with the rest who are non-believers, but also with the most pure gaze of the heart. The mercy of the Father is the Lord Savior; that blessed troop asked that He be made manifest to them in the bright light of the true faith, not merely covered with the veil of the flesh but also conspicuous in the clear light of His power. He added the identical phrase, grant us, when He spoke of Christ; what He meant was: “Grant Your salvation so that we may embrace and possess and enjoy Him with the gift of eternal glory.” To the unfaithful He merely appeared, but was not also granted; the psalmist says: Grant, then, so that when He is received in our hearts through heaven’s gift, He can be removed by no trials.

Cassiodorus, Explanation of the Psalms 84.5–8

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Second Sunday in Lent

And this happened: Jeremiah ceased speaking all those things that the Lord had appointed for him to speak to all the people, and the priests and the false prophets and all the people captured him, saying “You will surely be put to death!.” Because you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, “This house will be like Shiloh, and this city will be deserted by its inhabitants!” Then all the people assembled against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord. And the rulers of Judah heard this matter, and they went up from the house of the king to the house of the Lord, and they sat in the entrance of the new gate. And the priests and the false prophets said to the rulers and to all the people, “A judgment of death be upon this man, because he prophesied against this city, as you heard in your ears.” And Jeremiah said to the rulers and to all the people, saying, “The Lord sent me to prophesy all the words that you have heard against this house and against this city. And now make your ways and your works better, and listen to the voice of the Lord, and the Lord will desist from the calamities that he has spoken against you. And look! I am in your hands; do to me as is expedient and as is best to you. But you must surely know that if you slay me, you are bringing innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and upon those who dwell in it, for the Lord has truly sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.” (Jeremiah 33:8–15 LXX [Jer 26:8–15])

Jeremiah prophesied these words of the Lord within the temple: “I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth,” and immediately with a turbulent uproar an entire mob was assembled by the prophets, priests and people against Jeremiah in the temple, where the prophet was being held by force of the priests, the prophets and the mob. And when the princes of the city who live in the royal house heard this, they went or “came up” from the king’s house to the house of the Lord.…

While the princes of the city were sitting at the gate in the presence of the people and the priests and prophets were accusing the prophet Jeremiah and threatening him with the death penalty, Jeremiah spoke with prudence, equity, humility and persistence to the princes and to all the people who were being stirred up by the factions of the priests and pseudo-prophets. With prudence, because he said that he was sent by the Lord to speak against the temple and the city and to advise them that if they would listen to his counsel and repent, then the Lord also would commute the sentence of judgment against them. With humility, since he says, “Behold, I am in your hands. Do with me as is good and right in your eyes.” And with persistence: “In truth the Lord sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.” In other words, he says, “If you are angry that I have spoken against the temple and the Lord’s city, and if you are concerned about the welfare of the city and the temple, then why do you pile up sins on sins and make both the city and its inhabitants guilty of my blood?” Therefore, if the difficulties of our circumstances ever require of us humility, let us take on this humility in such a way that we do not abandon truth and perseverance. For it is one thing to be insulting in an arrogant and judgmental way, which is a sign of foolishness; but it is something else to warn of an impending danger so that you take nothing away from the truth.

Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah 5

Dividing Lines

Pastor Emeritus Larry Peters has written an interesting piece attempting to identify the true dividing line between orthodox and heterodox churches and church bodies. He notes that while most assume that bibliology is key (think matters of inerrancy and infallibility), but he wonders if this is truly the case since there are groups with a high view of Scripture but a low view of the means of grace. Indeed, this does not make since. Affirmation of Scripture should lead to an affirmation of the Sacraments. Consider the following:

We believe that Scripture is itself sacramental—it speaks and in its speaking things happen. Hearts are warmed to faith and sins are forgiven and water bubbles with life and bread and wine actually become the flesh and blood of Jesus. This sacramental reality flows naturally from the Scriptures as living voice. We say this not to confine God to something alien to Him but precisely because this is how God has said He works.

And in the next paragraph he compares conservative Lutherans with conservative Baptists and concludes:

The reality is that [Baptists] do not speak the language of Scripture at all. The truth they seek to preserve is a testament or record to factual events of the past and is not a living voice that works through the Word. How can we say we have more in common with conservative Protestants than sacramental churches? The sinner's prayer and baptismal regeneration do not complement each other but work against each other. One group preserves the historicity of Scripture and its unconditional truth but then ignores what that Word says to invent a means of grace called the sinner's prayer. Where in Scripture or in the history of Christendom prior to the Reformation any sense in which God requires a decision from us or uses such a prayer in order to come to us and make His home in us? What ever happened to faith comes by hearing the Word of God?

While the piece uses Lutheran denomination (LC-MS) in opposition Baptist, this divide is important to understand in order to recognize if we are rightly positioned in relation to Scripture and the Sacraments. It is well worth a read.

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the First Sunday in Lent

Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ” Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. (Luke 4:1–13)

So, look at the arms of Christ with which He conquered for you, not for Himself. For He who showed that stones could, through His majesty, be changed into bread by the transformation into a different nature, teaches that you must do nothing at the devil's behalf nor for the purpose of manifesting virtue. At the same time, learn from the temptation itself the ingenious cunning of the devil. The devil tempts that he may test. He tests that he may tempt. In contrast, the Lord deceives that He may conquer. He conquers that He may deceive. For if He had changed nature, He would have betrayed its Creator. Thus He responded neutrally, saying, “It is written, ‘That man lives not by bread alone, but by every word of God.’” You see what kind of arms he wields, to defend humanity, surrounded and protected against the inducements of appetite, against the assault of spiritual wickedness. For He does not wield power as God—for what good would that be to me? So, as man, He summons common help for Himself, so that eager for the food of the divine Word, He neglects the body's hunger and obtains the nourishment of the heavenly Word. Eager for this, Moses did not desire bread. Eager for this, Elijah did not feel the hunger of a long fast. For he who follows the Word cannot desire earthly bread when he receives the essence of the heavenly Bread. There is no doubt that the divine surpasses the human, as the spiritual the physical. Therefore he who desires true life awaits that Bread which through its intangible substance strengthens human hearts. At the same time, when He says, “Man lives not by bread alone,” He shows that the man is tempted, that is, His acceptance of our flesh, not His divinity.

Ambrose, Exposition of the Gospel of Luke 4.19–20

Patristic Wisdom for Ash Wednesday

Have pity on me, O God,
      according to your great mercy.
According to the magnitude of your compassions
      blot out my iniquity.
Wash me thoroughly from my lawlessness,
      and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my lawlessness,
      and my sin is always before me.
Against you alone did I sin,
      and I did the evil deed before you,
so that you would be vindicated in your words
      and prevail when you judge.
For behold, in evils I was conceived,
      and in sins my mother conceived me.
For behold, you loved truth.
      You showed to me the unknown things
      and the secret things of your wisdom.
Purify me with hyssop,
      and I will be cleansed.
Wash me,
      and I will be made more white than snow.
Cause me to hear great joy and merriment.
      The bones, having been humbled, will rejoice exceedingly.
Turn your face from my sins,
      and blot out all my lawless acts.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
      and renew a right spirit in my inward parts.
Do not cast me from your face,
      and do not remove your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the great joy of your salvation,
      and strengthen me with a guiding spirit.
I will teach the lawless ones your ways,
      and the ungodly ones will return to you.

(Psalm 50:3–15 LXX [Psalm 51:1–13])

I ask you, how great was the blessed man’s humility in acknowledging his fault when he showed such constancy in making satisfaction after he was pardoned? That sin of adultery is shown to have been foreign and uncharacteristic, since it was lamented with such concentration of mind. The sudden confession of the thief attracts us; we rejoice that Peter’s tears were quickly in evidence; the short-lived humility of the publican we find charming. But David with his more prolonged attempt to wipe away his sins afforded all men a chance to absolve themselves. He ensured that his tears, running down the faces of people who came after him, are dried with no lapse of time. Let us note also the prophet’s humility. An inner voice terrified that prince’s heart and he directed his anger at himself, for he knew that the rebuke by which he was blamed was just. Then that ruler over huge nations became his own harshest torturer, demanding from himself a punishment which he could scarcely have borne at another’s command. It is the common practice to excuse one’s own sins with specious explanations, but this most powerful king elected instead to accuse himself in the sight of all. He whose judgment the people had been accustomed to fear pronounced himself guilty.…

The prophet is aware that the Lord’s love is such that He does not cease to be just as well, and he appropriately introduced justice into his plea so that his request would be more readily heard through the incorporation of justice. He knows that sin must be punished, but says that the Lord must spare him because he confirms from his own mouth that he is condemned. As Solomon puts it: The just man is his own accuser at the start of his speech. So let us observe that he says: I know. The sins which we commit with knowledge are graver; those which we do in ignorance are not. Alternatively, all can know their sins, but the only persons known to acknowledge them are those seen to condemn them by personally cursing them. Perfect repentance lies in avoiding future sins and lamenting those of the past. Initially after his sin, when the prophet questioned him, David replied that the man who coveted the poor man’s ewe not belonging to him was worthy of death; at that time David did not believe that his sin should be lamented. But now as he prostrates himself and utters suppliant groans, he regrets that the sins stand before him like some shadow of a ghost. He added: Always, because he continually sees the sin, even when he closes his eyes. This regular contemplation of his sins reveals the perseverance of devoted supplication. Next time we look at such things with the mind’s eye, we regret having done them. The Lord said in the previous psalm: I will reprove you and set your iniquity before your face. This is what the most holy man did to himself when he said: And my sin is always before me. He was right to seek forgiveness, for he seemed to have observed the shape of the judgment to come. This figure is called procatalepsis or anticipation, for David fears the most grisly appearance of his sins as though already on trial at the coming judgment.

Cassiodorus, Explanation of the Psalms 50

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Transfiguration

Luca Giordano, Transfiguration of Christ

Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen. (Luke 9:28–36)

“I say to you, there are some of those standing here who shall not taste of death until they have seen the kingdom of God.” ... By the “kingdom of God” He means the sight of the glory in which He will appear at His revelation to the inhabitants of earth. He will come in the glory of God the Father and not in a humble condition like ours. How did He make those who received the promise spectators of a thing so wonderful? He goes up into the mountain taking three chosen disciples with him. He is transformed to such a surpassing and godlike brightness that His garments even glittered with rays of fire and seemed to flash like lightning. Besides, Moses and Elijah stood at Jesus’ side and spoke with one another about his departure that He was about, it says, to accomplish at Jerusalem. This meant the mystery of the dispensation in the flesh and of His precious suffering upon the cross. It is also true that the law of Moses and the word of the holy prophets foreshadowed the mystery of Christ. The law of Moses foreshadowed it by types and shadows, painting it as in a picture. The holy prophets in different ways declared beforehand that in due time He would appear in our likeness and for the salvation and life of us all, agree to suffer death on the tree. Moses and Elijah standing before him and talking with one another was a sort of representation. It excellently displayed our Lord Jesus Christ as having the law and the prophets for his bodyguard. It displayed Christ as being the Lord of the Law and the Prophets, as foretold in them by those things that they proclaimed in mutual agreement beforehand. The words of the prophets are not different from the teachings of the law. I imagine this was what the most priestly Moses and the most distinguished of the prophets Elijah were talking about with one another.

Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Luke, Homily 51

The Father's voice did not forbid them to listen to Moses and Elijah (that is, to the Law and the Prophets). It rather suggested to all of them that listening to His Son was to take precedence since He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. It impressed on them that the light of gospel truth was to be put ahead of all the types and obscure signs of the Old Testament. By the benevolent, divinely arranged plan when the moment of the cross was drawing near, He strengthened them so that the disciples’ faith might not falter when the Lord was crucified. He revealed to them how also His humanity was to be lifted up by heavenly light through His resurrection. The heavenly voice of the Father gave assurance that the Son was co-eternal to the Father in His divinity so that when the hour of the passion approached, they would be less sorrowful at His dying. They remembered that after His death He would soon be glorified as a human being, although in His divinity He had always been glorified by God His Father.

Since the disciples were fleshly and still fragile in substance, they were afraid and fell upon their faces when they heard God's voice. Since the Lord was a benevolent master in everything, He consoled them at the same time by His word and His touch, and He lifted them up.

Bede, Homilies on the Gospels 1.24

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Seventh Sunday after Epiphany

Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brothers

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph; does my father still live?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence. And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said: “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.…” Then he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. Moreover he kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and after that his brothers talked with him. (Genesis 45:3–8, 14–15)

But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. (Luke 6:27–31)

You have admired the chastity of Joseph; now behold his generosity. He repays hatred with charity. When he saw his brothers, or rather enemies in his brothers, he gave evidence of the affection of his love by his pious grief when he wanted to be recognized by them. He tenderly kissed each one of them, and wept over them individually. As he moistened the necks of his frightened brothers with his refreshing tears, he washed away their hatred with the tears of his charity. He loved them always as with the love of their living father and dead brother. He did not recall that pit into which he had been thrown to be murdered; he did not think of himself, a brother, sold for a price. Instead, by returning good for evil, even then he fulfilled the precepts of the apostles which were not yet given. Therefore, by considering the sweetness of true charity, blessed Joseph, with God’s help, was eager to repel from his heart the poison of envy with which he knew his brothers had been struck.

Caesarius of Arles, Sermon 90.4

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany

And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed. And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all. Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:

Blessed are you poor,
For yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now,
For you shall be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now,
For you shall laugh.
Blessed are you when men hate you,
And when they exclude you,
And revile you, and cast out your name as evil,
For the Son of Man’s sake.
Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!
For indeed your reward is great in heaven,
For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.
But woe to you who are rich,
For you have received your consolation.
Woe to you who are full,
For you shall hunger.
Woe to you who laugh now,
For you shall mourn and weep.
Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
For so did their fathers to the false prophets. (Luke 6:17–26)

Being thus equipped and enjoying the grace in which he has trusted, he runs without effort and despises the enemy inasmuch as he is stronger than that one and freed from his passions by the grace of Christ. For just as those who admit evil passions into their souls, and joyfully spend their time on these because of their indifference to the beautiful things, easily achieve some natural and personal pleasure, as it were, by harvesting greed and envy and fornication and other heritages of the adversary, so the husbandmen of Christ and truth, who, through faith and the toils of virtue, have received goods from the grace of the Spirit beyond their nature, harvest with unspeakable pleasure, and without effort they attain a guileless and unshakeable love, unmovable faith, unfailing peace, true goodness, and the rest of the things through which the soul becomes stronger than itself and more powerful than the evil of the enemy, and furnishes itself as a pure dwelling place for the Holy and adorable Spirit. From the Spirit, it receives the eternal peace of Christ and, through it, unites with and cleaves to the Lord. Having done this, the soul not only easily accomplishes deeds of personal virtue, struggling not at all with the enemy because it has become more powerful than the snares of that one, but, greatest of all, it takes to itself the sufferings of the Savior and revels in these more than the lovers of this life do in the honors and glories and powers among men. For the Christian who has advanced by means of good discipline and the gift of the Spirit to the measure of the age of reason, after grace is given to him, being hated because of Christ, being driven, enduring every insult and shame in behalf of his faith in God, experiences glory and pleasure and enjoyment that is greater than any human pleasure. For such a person, whose entire life centers on the resurrection and future blessings, every insult and scourging and persecution and the other sufferings leading up to the cross are all pleasure and refreshment and surety of heavenly treasures. For He says: “Blessed are you when men reproach you, and persecute you, and, speaking falsely, say all manner of evil against you, for my sake rejoice and exult because your reward is great in heaven.”

Gregory of Nyssa, On the Christian Mode of Life

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany

Raphael, The Miraculous Draft of Fishes

So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him. (Luke 5:1–11)

He is not teaching him, I say, how to catch fish with a net but how to collect human beings by faith, for faith does on earth what a net does in the waters. Just as a net does not let what it holds slip out, neither does faith permit those whom it gathers to go astray, but as the one brings what it has caught in its bosom, so to say, to the boat, so the other brings those whom it has gathered in its breast, so to say, to peace. That you may understand that the Lord was speaking of spiritual fishing, however, Peter says: Teacher, laboring through the whole night we have caught nothing, but at your word I shall let down the nets. It is as if he were saying: Since through the whole night our fishing has brought us nothing and we have been laboring in vain, now I shall not fish with fishing gear but with grace, not with the diligence acquired by skill but with the perseverance acquired by devotion. At your word, he says, I shall let down the nets. We read that the word is the Lord, the Savior, as the Evangelist says: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God. When Peter lets down the nets at the word, therefore, he is in fact letting down teachings in Christ, and when he unfolds the tightly-woven and well-ordered nets at the behest of the master he is really laying out words in the name of the Savior in a fitting and clear fashion; by these he is able to save not creatures but souls. Laboring through the whole night, he says, we have caught nothing. Peter, who beforehand was unable to see in order to make a catch, enduring darkness without Christ, had indeed labored through the whole night, but when the Savior’s light shone upon him the darkness scattered and by faith he began to discern in the deep what he could not see with his eyes. Peter clearly endured the night until the day, which is Christ, became present to him.

Maximus of Turin, Sermon 110.2

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted. (Hebrews 2:14–18)

How is it possible, he is saying, for Christ to style himself our brother or call us really children unless he bears the same nature? Hence on assuming it He overcame the influence of death and did away with the dread besetting us. We lived ever in the dread of death because we were forced to haul the yoke of mortality. Now, it was very necessary for Him to use the phrase “like His brethren” so as to refute the calumny of mere appearance.

He treated of all these matters to teach those suspecting the Son was less than the angels on account of the passion that He was obliged to undergo the passion; he explains it more clearly in what follows as well. If He had assumed the nature of angels, He would have proved superior to death; but since what He assumed was human, through the passion He paid humankind's debt, while through the resurrection of the body that had suffered he demonstrated His own power. Now, it was very wise of the divine apostle to use the proper name instead of a generic name: he did not say, “He takes hold of human seed,” but “He takes hold of Abraham's seed,” reminding them also of the promise made to Abraham. In like manner, He shared even food with us, suffered fatigue, was downhearted, wept, and suffered death. He presented His saving death as an offering: the body He had assumed He offered for the whole of creation. He included something else as well for their consolation: having learned by experience the weakness of human nature in living under the law and under grace, He extends assistance to those under attack. This is said in respect of humanity: He is our high priest not as God but as human; He suffered not as God but as human; it was not as God that he learned our condition, but as God and creator he has a clear grasp of everything.

Theodoret of Cyrus, Interpretation of Hebrews 2