Homily 5 — Acts 2, verses 14 to 21

“You men of Judea, and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words.” [a]

“You men of Judea, and all you who live in Jerusalem”: these are the ones the writer described above as strangers. Here he turns his speech toward those others, the mockers, and while he seems to be reasoning with them, he sets these right. Indeed, it was God’s arrangement that “some mocked,” so that Peter would have a starting point for his defense, and by means of that defense could teach. “And all you who live in Jerusalem.” It seems they counted it high praise to live in Jerusalem too. “Let this be known to you,” he says, “and listen to my words.” First he made them more willing to pay attention to him.

“For these men are not drunk, as you suppose,” he says. Do you notice how mild his defense is (verse 15)? Although he had the greater part of the people on his side, he reasons gently with those others. First he removes the evil suspicion, and then he makes his defense. That is why he does not say, “as you mock,” or, “as you jeer,” but, “as you suppose.” He wants to make it seem that they had not said this in earnest, and for the present he charges them with ignorance rather than with malice. “For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.” And why this? Is it impossible to be drunk at the third hour? But he did not press this point to the letter, since there was nothing of the kind about them; the others said it only to mock. From this we learn that we must not spend many words on points that do not matter. Besides, what follows is enough to back him up on this point. So now the speech is for everyone in common.

“But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it will come to pass in the last days, says the Lord God’” (verses 16 and 17; Joel 2, verse 28). Nowhere yet is there the name of Christ, or his promises; the promise is the Father’s. Notice the wisdom; notice how he stoops down to meet them. He did not pass straight on to speak of the things concerning Christ, that Christ had promised this after his crucifixion; that truly would have upset everything. You will say: “And yet this was enough to prove that he was God.” True, it was, if it was believed, and the whole point was that it should be believed. But if it was not believed, it would have got them stoned.

“And I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.” He holds out excellent hopes even to them, if they will have them. And so far he does not let it be seen as the private advantage of himself and his companions, which would have made people look on them with an evil eye; in this way he cuts off all envy. “And your sons will prophesy.” As if to say: “And yet this achievement, this honor, is not yours; the gift has passed over to your children.” He calls himself and his companions their sons, and the men he is addressing he calls the fathers of himself and his companions. “And your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams; and on my servants and on my maidservants I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.” So far he shows that he and his companions have found favor, in that they had been counted worthy to receive the Spirit; not so the men he is addressing, since they had crucified the Lord. So Christ too, wanting to soften their anger, said, “By whom do your sons cast out demons?” (Matthew 12, verse 27). He did not say, “My disciples,” for indeed that way of speaking seemed a flattering one. And so Peter too did not say, ‘They are not drunk, but are speaking by the Spirit,’ but he takes refuge with the prophet and speaks under his shelter. The charge of drunkenness he cleared away by his own statement; but for the grace, he brings in the prophet as witness. “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. And your sons,” and so on. To some the grace was given through dreams; on others it was poured out openly. For indeed it was by dreams that the prophets saw and received revelations. [c]

Then he goes on with the prophecy, which also has something fearful in it. “And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs on the earth below” (verse 19). In these words he speaks both of the judgment to come and of the taking of Jerusalem. “Blood and fire, and vapor of smoke.” Notice how he describes the capture. “The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood” (verse 20). This comes from the inner condition of those who suffer. It is said, indeed, that many such signs actually did appear in the sky, as Josephus attests. At the same time the apostle strikes fear into them by reminding them of the darkness that had lately happened, and by leading them to expect what was to come. “Before that great and notable day of the Lord comes.” He means to say: “Do not be confident because for the present you sin without being punished.” For these things are the prelude to a great and dreadful day. Do you see how he made their souls quake and melt within them, and turned their laughter into pleading to be acquitted? For if these things are the prelude to that day, it follows that the utmost danger hangs over them. But what next? He lets them catch their breath again, adding, “And it will come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” This is said of Christ, as Paul affirms (Romans 10, verse 13), but Peter does not yet venture to reveal this.

Well, let us go back over what has been said. It is well managed that, faced with men laughing and mocking, he stands up and begins, “Let this be known to you all, and listen to my words.” But he begins by saying, “You men of Judea.” By this expression I take him to mean those who lived in Judea. [g]

And, if you like, let us compare the words in the Gospel, so that you may learn what a sudden change has come over Peter. “A servant girl,” it is written, “came out to him, saying, ‘You also were with Jesus of Nazareth.’” And he says, “I do not know the man.” And when he was questioned again, “he began to curse and to swear” (Matthew 26, verses 69 to 72). But see here his boldness, and his great freedom of speech.

He did not praise those who had said, “We hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God”; but by his severity toward those others he made these more eager, and at the same time his speech is free from any appearance of flattery. And it is worth noticing that on every occasion, however much the apostles stoop to the level of their hearers, their language is free from any appearance of either flattery or insolence, which is a hard thing to manage.

Now it was not without reason that these things happened at “the third hour.” For the brightness of this fire is shown at the very time when people are not busy at their work, nor at dinner, when it is broad daylight and everyone is in the marketplace. Do you notice also the freedom that fills his speech? “And listen to my words.” And he added nothing more, but, “This,” he says, “is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it will come to pass in the last days.’” He shows, in fact, that the end is close at hand, and the words “in the last days” carry a certain emphasis. “I will pour out,” and so on. And then, so that he may not seem to limit the privilege to the sons only, he adds, “And your old men will dream dreams.” Notice the order. First the sons, just as David said, “Instead of your fathers, your sons have been born” (Psalm 45, verse 17); and again Malachi, “They will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children” (Malachi 4, verse 6). “And on my maidservants and on my servants.” This too is a mark of excellence, for we have become his servants by being set free from sin. And great is the gift, since the grace passes over to the other sex too, not as in the old days, when it was limited to just one or two individuals, such as Deborah and Huldah.

He did not say that it was the Holy Spirit, nor did he explain the prophet’s words; he simply brings in the prophecy to fight its own battle. Nor has he yet said anything about Judas, though everyone knew what a doom and punishment he had suffered. For nothing was more forceful than to argue with them from prophecy; this was more forceful even than facts. When Christ worked miracles, they often contradicted him. But when Christ brought forward the prophet, saying, “The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand,” they fell silent, and “no one,” we read, “was able to answer him a word” (Psalm 110, verse 1). And on every occasion he himself also appealed to the Scriptures, for instance, “If he called them gods to whom the word of God came” (John 10, verse 35). And one may find this in many places.

For this reason Peter says here too, “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,” that is, on the Gentiles as well. But he does not yet reveal this, or give interpretations; indeed, it was better not to. (Just so, this obscure saying, “I will show wonders in heaven above,” frightened them all the more because it was obscure.) And it would have given more offense had it been interpreted from the very first. Then, too, he passes over it as something plain, wanting them to regard it as such. But after all, he does interpret it to them later, when he speaks to them about the resurrection, after he has prepared the way with his speech.

Since the good things were not enough to draw them, “And I will show wonders,” and the rest, is added. Yet this has never been fulfilled. For in that former judgment no one escaped, but now the faithful did escape, in Vespasian’s time. And this is what the Lord speaks of: “If those days had not been cut short, no flesh would be saved” (Matthew 24, verse 22). “Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke.” The worst comes first: namely, the inhabitants are to be taken, and then the city razed and burned. Then he dwelt on the figure of speech, bringing the overthrow and the capture before his hearers’ eyes. “The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood.” What does “the moon turned into blood” mean? It signifies the vastness of the slaughter. The language is full of helpless dismay.

“And it will come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” “Everyone,” he says: even if he is a priest (but he does not yet reveal the meaning), even if he is a slave, even if he is free. For in Christ Jesus there is no male and female, no slave, no free (Galatians 3, verse 28). And well may it be so, since all these things are only shadow. For if in the palaces of kings there is no high-born or low-born, but each one is seen for what he does, and if in a craft each one is shown by his work, much more is this so in that philosophy. “Everyone who calls on.” Calls on, not in just any way, for it is written, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’”; but with earnest feeling from within, with a life better than the common run, with the confidence that is fitting. So far, then, he makes his speech light by bringing in what concerns faith, and fearful by bringing in what concerns the punishment. For salvation lies in the calling on.

“What are you saying, I ask you? Are you speaking of salvation for them after the cross?” Bear with me a little. Great is the mercy of God. And this very fact, no less than the resurrection, proves him to be God; yes, no less than his miracles: the fact that he calls these men to himself. For goodness beyond measure belongs to God above all else. That is why he also says, “No one is good except one, God” (Luke 18, verse 19). Only let us not take this goodness as an excuse for carelessness. For he also punishes as God. [o]

In fact, the very punishments spoken of here were brought about by him, the same one who said, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” I mean the fate of Jerusalem, that unbearable punishment. I will tell you a few of its details, which are useful to us in our contest both with the Marcionites and with many other heretics. Since they separate Christ, a good God, from that evil God of the Old Testament, let us see who it was that brought these things about. Was it the evil God, taking vengeance for Christ? Or not? Then how is he a stranger to him? But was it the good God? No; it is shown that both the Father and the Son did these things. The Father in many places: for instance, when he says in the parable of the vineyard, “He will miserably destroy those wicked tenant farmers” (Matthew 21, verse 41); and again, in the parable of the wedding feast, the king is said to send his armies (Matthew 22, verse 7). And the Son, when he says, “But those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them before me” (Luke 19, verse 27). And they had sent word, saying, “We will not have you reign over us.”

Would you like, then, to hear what actually happened? Moreover, Christ himself also speaks of the distress to come, and nothing more dreadful than it ever happened; nothing was ever more ruthless, my beloved, than the deeds done then! He himself declared it. For what could you wish to see more grievous than these? … probed them with their daggers! Or shall I tell you the shocking case of the woman, that tragic tale (Josephus, The Jewish War, book 6, chapter 3, section 4)? Did not the actual events throw all misery into the shade? Or shall I tell you of famines and epidemics? One could speak of horrors without number: nature was forgotten, law was forgotten; they outdid wild beasts in savagery. True, these miseries came through the fortunes of war; but they came because God, because Christ, willed it so. These facts will serve both against the Marcionites and against those who do not believe that there is a hell, for they are enough to silence their impudence.

Are not these calamities more severe than those of Babylon? Are not these sufferings more grievous than the famines of that time? Yes, for “never has there been the like from the beginning of the world, no, nor ever will be” (Matthew 24, verse 21). And this was Christ’s own declaration. In what sense, then, do you think it is said that Christ forgave them their sin? Perhaps it seems an ordinary question; but you solve it.

It is impossible to point anywhere, even in fiction, to anything like what the reality was here. And had it been a Christian who wrote this history, the matter might be viewed with suspicion. But since he was a Jew, and a zealous Jew, and wrote after the good news had come, how can the meaning of the facts be anything but plain to everyone? For you will see how the man everywhere and always praises the affairs of the Jews. There is, then, a hell, my friend! And God is good.

What, did you shudder at hearing these horrors? But these things that happen here are nothing compared with what will be in that world. Once more I am forced to seem harsh, disagreeable, stern. But what can I do? I am appointed to this, just as a strict schoolmaster is appointed to be hated by his pupils; and so are we. Would it not be strange indeed if those who have a post assigned them by kings do what is appointed them, however disagreeable the task may be, while we, for fear of your blame, leave our appointed task undone? Others have different work. Many of you have as your work to show mercy, to be kind to others, to be pleasant and agreeable to those you benefit. But to the very people we do good to, we seem stern and severe, troublesome and disagreeable. For we do good not by the pleasure we give but by the pain we inflict. So it is with the physician too, though he is not excessively disagreeable, since the benefit of his skill is felt at once, while ours comes hereafter. So again, the magistrate is hateful to the disorderly and the rebellious, and the lawgiver is a nuisance to those for whom he makes laws.

But it is not so with the man who invites people to enjoyment, not so with the one who puts on public festivities and entertainments and crowns the whole people with garlands. No, these are the men who win favor, feasting whole cities, as they do, with all kinds of shows, giving lavishly, bearing all the cost. And so those they have entertained repay them for these pleasures with words of welcome and blessing, with hangings of tapestry and a blaze of lamps, with wreaths and boughs and brilliant garments. Whereas at the sight of the physician the sick become sad and downcast; at the sight of the magistrate the rioters are subdued: no running riot then, no frolicking, unless he too goes over to their side.

Let us see, then, which do their cities the better service: those who provide these festivities and banquets and costly entertainments and all sorts of merrymaking, or those who restrain all such doings, with stocks, whips, executioners and dreaded soldiers carried and marching before them, and a voice full of terror, issuing orders, making men hang their heads, and scattering the idlers in the marketplace with the rod. Let us see, I say: these are the disagreeable ones, those the beloved; let us see where the gain lies. What comes, then, of your pleasure-givers? A kind of chilly enjoyment that lasts till evening and has vanished by tomorrow; unbridled mirth, words unseemly and loose. And what comes of the others? Awe, soberness, humbled thoughts, a reasonable mind, an end of idleness, a curb on the passions within, and a wall of defense, next to God, against attackers from outside. It is through these that each of us keeps his property; but through those ruinous festivities we squander it. Robbers have not broken in, it is true, but empty glory, together with pleasure, plays the robber’s part. Each one sees the robber carrying off everything before his eyes, and is delighted! A new kind of robbery, this, that makes people glad while they are being plundered! On the other side there is nothing of the kind; but God, as the common Father, has secured us as with a wall against all plunderers, both seen and unseen. For “Take care,” he says, “not to do your almsgiving before people” (Matthew 6, verse 1).

From the one the soul learns excess; from the other, to flee injustice. For injustice consists not only in grabbing more wealth than belongs to us, but in giving the belly more than the food it needs, in carrying mirth beyond its proper bounds and letting it run into frantic excess. From the one it learns sobriety; from the other, unchastity. For unchastity is not only having sexual relations with women, but even looking at a woman with unchaste eyes. From the one it learns modesty; from the other, conceited self-importance. For “All things are lawful for me,” says the apostle, “but not all things are beneficial” (First Corinthians 6, verse 12). From the one it learns decent behavior; from the other, unseemliness. As for what goes on in the theaters, I pass it over.

But to let you see that it is not even a pleasure, but a grief, show me, just one day after the festival, both those who spent their money on it and those who were entertained with the shows, and you will see them all looking dejected enough, but most of all that famous man of yours who spent his money on it. And this is only fair. For the day before, he delighted the common man, and the common man was in high good humor and enjoyment, and delighted in the splendid garment; but then, not having the use of it, and seeing himself stripped of it, he was grieved and annoyed, and wanted to be the great man, seeing even his own enjoyment as small compared with the other’s. So the next day they change places, and now he, the great man, gets the larger share of the dejection.

Now if in worldly matters amusements bring such dissatisfaction, while disagreeable things are so beneficial, much more is this true in spiritual things. Why is it that no one quarrels with the laws, but on the contrary everyone regards them as a common benefit? For it was not strangers from somewhere else, nor enemies of those for whom the laws were made, who came and gave these orders, but the citizens themselves, their patrons, their benefactors; and this very thing, the making of laws, is a sign of kindness and goodwill. And yet the laws are full of punishment and restraint, and there is no such thing as a law without penalty and compulsion. Then is it not unreasonable that, while the interpreters of those laws are called deliverers, benefactors and patrons, we are thought troublesome and annoying if we speak of the laws of God? [v]

When we speak about hell, we are bringing forward those laws. Just as in the affairs of the world people cite the laws against murder, highway robbery and the like, so we cite the penal laws: laws that no man enacted, but the only Son of God himself. “Let the one who shows no mercy be punished,” he says, for that is the meaning of the parable (Matthew 18, verse 23). “Let the one who holds on to wrongs done to him pay the last penalty. Let the one who is angry without cause be thrown into the fire. Let the one who reviles receive his due in hell.” If these laws you hear seem strange to you, do not be amazed. For if Christ was not meant to make new laws, why did he come? Those other laws are plain to us; we know that the murderer and the adulterer ought to be punished. If, then, we were only meant to be told the same things over again, what need was there of a heavenly Teacher? That is why he does not say, “Let the adulterer be punished,” but, “whoever looks with unchaste eyes.” And there he tells us where and when that man will receive his punishment.

And he did not deposit his laws in fine public monuments, nor yet somewhere out of sight. He did not raise up pillars of bronze and engrave letters on them; he raised up twelve souls for us, the souls of the apostles, and in their minds he has inscribed this writing by the Spirit. This is what we cite to you. If this was so ordered for the Jews, so that no one could take refuge in the plea of ignorance, much more is it so for us. But should anyone say, “I do not hear, so I have no guilt,” on this very ground he is most liable to punishment. For if there were no teacher, one could take refuge in this plea; but if there is one, it is no longer possible. See how the Lord, speaking of the Jews, takes away all their excuse: “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin” (John 15, verse 22). And Paul again: “But I say, have they not heard? Indeed, their sound has gone out into all the earth” (Romans 10, verse 18). For there is an excuse when there is no one to tell a man; but when the watchman sits there, having this as the business of his life, there is no longer any excuse.

Or rather, it was Christ’s will not that we should only look at these written pillars, but that we should ourselves become such. But since we have made ourselves unworthy of the writing, let us at least look to them. For just as the pillars threaten others but are not themselves liable to punishment, nor are the laws, so it is with the blessed apostles. And notice: this pillar does not stand in one place only, but its writing is carried around the whole world. Whether you go among the Indians, you will hear this; whether to Spain, or to the very ends of the earth, there is no one who has not heard it, unless it is through his own neglect. So do not take offense, but pay attention to what is said, so that you may be able to take hold of the works of virtue and attain the eternal blessings in Christ Jesus our Lord, with whom to the Father and the Holy Spirit together be glory, power and honor, now and always, and forever and ever. Amen.