Homilies on Acts

Contents

Reading pages: 1.1–1.5 · 1.6–1.8 · 2.1–2.5 · 3.1–3.2 · 3.5 · 4.1–4.4 · 5.1–5.4 · 6.1–6.4 · 7.1–7.4 · 8.1–9.1 · 9.2–9.6 · 10.1–10.5 · 11.1–11.3 · 12.1–12.4 · 13.1–13.4 · 14.1–14.6 · 15.1–15.5 · 16.1–16.4 · 17.1–17.3 · 18.1–18.4 · 19.1–19.5 · 20.1–20.4 · 21.1–21.5 · 22.1–22.4 · 23.1–23.4 · 24.1–24.4 · 25.1–25.4 · 26.1–26.4 · 27.1–27.2 · 28.1–28.3 · 29.1–29.4 · 30.1–30.4 · 31.1–31.5 · 32.1–32.2 · 33.1–33.4 · 34.1–34.5 · 35.1–35.3 · 36.1–36.2 · 37.1–37.3 · 38.1–38.5 · 39.1–39.4 · 40.1–40.4 · 41.1–41.5 · 42.1–42.4 · 43.1–43.2 · 44.1–44.4 · 45.1–45.3 · 46.1–46.3 · 47.1–47.3 · 48.1–48.2 · 49.1–49.4 · 50.1–50.4 · 51.1–51.5 · 52.1–52.4 · 52.5–53.5 · 54.1–54.2 · 55.1–55.3

1. 1.1Chrysostom introduces the book of Acts, little known in his day, as a book as profitable as the Gospels, showing Christ's predictions fulfilled and the apostles transformed, and names Luke, Paul's constant companion, as its author.
2. 1.2Chrysostom explains that the apostles spoke more of Christ's humanity than his Godhead to lead Jews and Gentiles gently to the higher doctrines, calls Acts above all a proof of the resurrection, and shows Luke's credibility as a writer who saw what he recorded and shared in the Spirit.
3. 1.3Chrysostom praises Luke's modesty in calling his Gospel an “account,” explains “concerning all that Jesus began to do and teach,” shows how Christ confirmed his words by deeds, and comments on the commands given through the Spirit before the ascension.
4. 1.4Chrysostom explains why the risen Christ appeared only at intervals over forty days and only to the apostles, argues that the spread of the faith through twelve poor fishermen is itself the greatest sign, and explains why the apostles were to wait in Jerusalem for the Spirit.
5. 1.5Chrysostom explains why the Spirit came at Pentecost rather than at once, contrasts John's baptism in water with baptism in the Spirit, calls Acts the history of what the other Paraclete did, and explains why the time of the Spirit's coming was left undefined.
6. 1.6Chrysostom teaches that grace is given to those prepared to receive it, warns that sins after baptism bring a heavier judgment, and answers those who put off baptism out of fear of sinning afterward.
7. 1.7Chrysostom urges that sin after baptism has remedies in repentance, ridicules the practice of seeking baptism only on the sickbed, when the mind is too weak to receive the mysteries, and points to the eunuch and the jailer, who were baptized without waiting for a season.
8. 1.8Chrysostom presses the catechumens not to wait for Lent or their deathbed to be baptized, describing the gloom of deathbed baptisms and urging all to come to baptism now and live to bear its fruit.
9. 2.1On the disciples' question about restoring the kingdom to Israel, Chrysostom explains that Christ deliberately withheld the time while they had already learned far greater things, and argues that the Son shares the Father's authority and knowledge.
10. 2.2Chrysostom compares Christ's withholding of the day to a parent distracting a child, comments on the commission to be witnesses from Jerusalem to the end of the earth, and expounds the ascension, the cloud, and the angels' promise that Jesus will come again in the same way.
11. 2.4Chrysostom notes that angels herald every great event of Christ's life, says the angels' promise “he will come in the same way” confirms the bodily resurrection, and argues against those who deny creation from nothing and make evil an uncreated principle.
12. 2.5Chrysostom lists the absurdities of the dualist teaching that evil is uncreated and souls are of God's substance, argues that evil cannot exist without some share in good, defends the goodness of the body, and affirms the resurrection of bodies.
13. 3.1Opening Homily 3, Chrysostom comments on the disciples' return to the upper room, their united prayer with the women, Mary and Jesus' brothers, and Peter's speech on Judas, praising Peter's restraint in telling of Judas's punishment rather than reviling him.
14. 3.2Chrysostom comments on the Scriptures Peter cites about Judas, the choice of Matthias by lot with the community's consent, and the eyewitness qualification of an apostle, then turns to warn those who seek church office of the burdens and dangers of a bishop's charge.
15. 3.5Chrysostom warns that the bishop's office brings a heavier judgment and constant scrutiny, condemns canvassing for church office as akin to Simon's sin, and closes with a declaration of his love for his hearers and a plea that his rebukes be taken as correction.
16. 4.1Opening Homily 4, Chrysostom explains Pentecost as the harvest for which the Spirit came like a sickle, the meaning of the sound from heaven and the tongues as of fire, and argues that the Spirit fell on all hundred and twenty, not only the twelve.
17. 4.2Chrysostom contrasts the Spirit's coming on the apostles with the call of the prophets, notes the fairness of the perplexed crowd and the malice of the mockers, and praises Peter's new boldness, describing how unlettered fishermen overcame the philosophers of Greece.
18. 4.4Chrysostom contrasts Peter with Plato and Pythagoras, ridiculing Plato's teaching on the transmigration of souls and the community of wives and children in the Republic and later philosophers' claims about the reason of animals, and closes by urging his hearers to root out the love of glory.
19. 5.1Opening Homily 5, Chrysostom shows how gently Peter answers the charge of drunkenness and how he lets Joel's prophecy speak for the outpouring of the Spirit, hinting at the judgment and the fall of Jerusalem while withholding the name of Christ for the time.
20. 5.2Chrysostom comments on the boldness of Peter's speech, the meaning of “in the last days,” the gift of the Spirit to servants and women, and Peter's reliance on prophecy rather than his own interpretation, hinting at the fall of Jerusalem and at salvation for all who call on the Lord.
21. 5.3Chrysostom answers how salvation could be offered to those who crucified Christ, uses the horrors of the fall of Jerusalem against the Marcionites and those who deny hell, and defends the preacher's severity by comparing him to a physician, judge and lawgiver rather than a giver of public festivals.
22. 5.4Chrysostom contrasts the true pleasures of virtue with the empty and costly delights of public festivals and theaters, argues that God's laws threatening hell are as beneficial as civic laws with their penalties, and urges his hearers to heed the new laws of Christ written through the apostles.
23. 6.1Opening Homily 6, Chrysostom shows how carefully Peter introduces Jesus, first as a man attested by God through signs, softens the charge of the crucifixion by speaking of God's counsel, and argues for the resurrection from David's psalm, honoring David while showing that the psalm cannot be about him.
24. 6.2Chrysostom continues on Peter's speech, showing how he moves from Christ's resurrection to his exaltation, the gift of the Spirit and Psalm 110, then urges his hearers to serve Christ for love rather than reward and contrasts the turbulent soul of the angry man with the peaceful soul of the meek.
25. 6.4Chrysostom finishes his picture of the peaceful soul of the long-suffering man, shows how gentleness cools anger and how anger harms both body and soul, and concludes that the very commands of God and the devil show which is to be obeyed.
26. 7.1Opening Homily 7, Chrysostom shows how Peter's gentleness pierced the hearts of his hearers, comments on Peter's call to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, and describes the life of the first believers in teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, prayer and the common sharing of goods.
27. 7.2Chrysostom praises the first believers' simple meals, gladness, almsgiving and common life, in which no one called anything his own, then commends simplicity of heart as the source of their virtue, illustrated by David, Abel and Joseph, and contrasts their zeal with the self-satisfaction of his own hearers.
28. 7.4Chrysostom contrasts the converts of Pentecost, who were baptized at once and stripped themselves for the contest, with Christians who want to wrestle the devil while clinging to their wealth, and urges his hearers to despise money for the sake of eternal life.
29. 8.1Opening Homily 8, Chrysostom comments on the healing of the man lame from birth at the Beautiful Gate, noting the concord of Peter and John, the severity of the man's affliction, Peter's gentleness and freedom from display, and the healed man's gratitude.
30. 8.2Chrysostom comments on the healed man's leaping and gratitude, the crowd's recognition of him, and how Peter's second speech differs from the first, then urges his hearers to advance in virtue step by step, beginning with the habit of swearing, and not to despair after a relapse.
31. 8.3Chrysostom calls his hearers to begin their reform with the easy task of giving up oaths, warns that as their bishop he must answer for them as Eli did for his sons, forbids those who persist in swearing to enter the church, and insists that a few approved Christians are better than a great careless crowd.
32. 9.1Peter's second speech is bolder than the first: he refuses the glory for the healing, points to the God of the fathers, charges the people with denying Jesus before Pilate, then offers them the excuse of ignorance and calls them to repent.
33. 9.2Chrysostom shows how Peter moves step by step from the resurrection to Christ's coming, appeals to Moses and the covenant with Abraham, and then returns to the opening of the speech to show how Peter rebukes the people only once the miracle had shaken them.
34. 9.3Chrysostom explains “Author of life” as showing that Christ has life from himself, explains why Peter speaks of faith “in his name”, and shows how Peter offers the people the excuse of ignorance while calling them to repent so that their sins may be blotted out.
35. 9.4Chrysostom explains Peter's use of Moses' prophecy, of “sons of the prophets and of the covenant”, and of “blessing you”, then urges his hearers to imitate the crucified Christ who blesses those who crucified him, and to treat no one as an enemy but the devil.
36. 9.5Not swearing removes the fuel of anger; Chrysostom tells how oaths came in only when men had become untrustworthy, condemns both those who swear and those who demand oaths, and rebukes the use of God's name in petty market dealings.
37. 9.6Chrysostom laments that habit has cheapened God's name, forbids his people to swear at all, orders those who swear in the marketplace or on the holy table to be brought to him, and urges Christians to be known by never swearing.
38. 10.1The arrest of Peter and John: Chrysostom notes how God orders their trials, how the rulers act from fear of the people, how five thousand believe despite the arrest, and how Peter, filled with the Spirit, answers the council respectfully but boldly.
39. 10.2Chrysostom comments on Peter's bold confession before the council that there is salvation in no other name, the council's dismay at unlettered men, and their threats, and contrasts Peter's present boldness with his former denial.
40. 10.4The apostles' freedom contrasted with their judges' fear; Chrysostom then rebukes his hearers for leaving church unchanged, laments that Christians must still be taught the Old Testament rule against habitual swearing, and begins from Sirach.
41. 10.5From Sirach Chrysostom shows that swearing is a habit of the mouth and a sin, urges his hearers to call on God only in prayer and for good ends, explains why the men of old were allowed to swear, and asks them to let servants, children, wives, and friends correct them until the habit is broken.
42. 11.1The apostles report their release and the church prays, not for vengeance but for boldness and signs; the place is shaken, all are filled with the Spirit, and the believers, of one heart and soul, hold everything in common, as Barnabas does with his field.
43. 11.2Chrysostom goes back over the passage: the apostles report without boasting, the church's prayer asks only for boldness and signs, God shows by the earthquake that he is present, and the community's contempt for money is set out as the foundation of good things.
44. 11.3Chrysostom imagines his own city holding everything in common as the first believers did, arguing that common life costs less and would win the whole world, then presses his hearers to keep the law against swearing, threatening to exclude those who break it, and rejoices at their progress.
45. 12.1Barnabas' gift is set against the sin of Ananias and Sapphira, who kept back part of the price by agreement and were struck dead at Peter's word; Chrysostom notes the greater sign, the fear that followed, the healings by Peter's shadow, and how the apostles' life is woven of joys and sorrows.
46. 12.2Chrysostom defends Peter's severity: the money had been dedicated, so keeping it back was sacrilege, which had to be cut out like gangrene; he then describes the fear and growth that followed, and turns to perjury, explaining Zechariah's flying sickle as the swift and inescapable punishment of oaths.
47. 12.4Those who sin and go unpunished should fear the more, since God's patience stores up a heavier punishment; Chrysostom sets the punishments of Scripture beside those of Gehenna, points to Joseph's brothers and Ahab, and warns that one perjury is enough for condemnation.
48. 13.1The apostles are imprisoned again and freed by an angel; Chrysostom notes how God lets the rulers learn of the miracle from its proofs, how the apostles answer the council gently that they must obey God, and how the rulers, offered forgiveness, want to kill them; he insists that the apostles' greatness came from their own zeal as well as from grace.
49. 13.3Chrysostom points to the apostles' own diligence and the rulers' helpless rage, then urges his hearers to fearlessness: no walled city gives such security as Christ, those who suffer for him rejoice in bonds, and the believers' joy came from having renounced money, the cause of all discouragement.
50. 13.4Chrysostom praises chosen poverty as a safe fortress and a better school of virtue than wealth, argues that the poor man is the one best placed to keep the law against swearing, and ends with scriptural examples of rash oaths: Herod, the oath against Benjamin, Saul, and Joshua with the Gibeonites.
51. 14.1Gamaliel's counsel to the council: Chrysostom notes his good sense in citing Theudas and Judas the Galilean and in warning them not to fight against God; the apostles are flogged and rejoice; then the murmuring of the Hellenists leads to the choice of the seven, men full of faith and the Spirit.
52. 14.5Chrysostom goes back over Gamaliel's speech and its effect, the apostles' joy under the lash, and the choice of the seven: chosen by the people, ordained by the apostles through prayer and the laying on of hands, for a task he judges to be neither that of later deacons nor of presbyters.
53. 14.6Chrysostom urges imitation of Christ, who received his persecutors, by doing good to enemies, bearing insults in silence, and refusing to repeat evil of others, arguing that no one can harm us unless we harm ourselves, since undeserved suffering and lost glory do no harm to a well-ordered soul.
54. 15.1Stephen, preeminent among the seven, is accused by members of the foreign synagogues of speaking against the temple and the law; Chrysostom explains the charges, the angelic face that confounded the council, and the opening of Stephen's speech on Abraham, which shows that God's favor never depended on the temple.
55. 15.2Chrysostom shows how Stephen's account of Abraham, who received God's promise without temple, sacrifice, land, or child, undercuts the charges against him, goes back over the false accusation, and draws the lesson that God's promises should be trusted even when events seem contrary, since present affliction is a contest that leads to rest.
56. 15.4Affliction is no evil, only sin is; Chrysostom urges his hearers to bear insults as marks of Christ, to fight pride, anger, and desire as their persecution, to answer wrongs done to their servants gently, and to learn from God's patience with Cain and from Hannah's restraint.
57. 15.5Chrysostom sets before his hearers the patience of the tax collector, of one who bore slander, and of the sinful woman, then urges husbands to treat a talkative wife as a training ground, masters to correct servants without abuse, and everyone to rebuke and admonish only without anger.
58. 16.1Stephen's survey of Israel's history: Chrysostom shows that the promise came long before circumcision, sacrifice, or temple, that Joseph, a type of Christ, saved the brothers who sold him, and that God turned every attempt against his people into the means of their growth and deliverance.
59. 16.2Chrysostom shows how the devil's attempts to destroy the promise only made Israel grow, how Pharaoh's decree led to the rearing of Moses, and how Moses, like Joseph and like Christ, was rejected by the people he came to save.
60. 16.3God appears to Moses in the burning bush, away from any temple; Chrysostom then argues that affliction is a great good and ease an evil, citing Adam, Cain, David, Jacob, Noah's son, Hezekiah, and Israel, who were humble in trouble and fell in prosperity.
61. 16.4True joy, the apostles' joy in suffering, springs from spiritual things and ends well, while the world's joy ends in grief; Chrysostom contrasts the boaster's misery with the contentment of the humble, and describes at length how luxury and gluttony ruin body and soul, urging frugality as the mother of health.
62. 17.1Chrysostom reads Stephen's account of Moses (Acts 7:35–50) as showing that God worked wonders and gave the law without a temple, and that the people rejected Moses as they later rejected Christ.
63. 17.2Chrysostom shows from Acts 7:40–53 that sacrifices began with the golden calf, that God was served without a temple for centuries, and that Stephen's hearers resisted the Spirit as their fathers did.
64. 17.3After explaining “the law by ordinances of angels” and Stephen's boldness, Chrysostom exhorts his hearers to speak boldly but without anger, comparing anger to a watchdog that must be trained to guard rather than attack its own.
65. 18.1Chrysostom comments on the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:54–8:2): his vision, his prayer for his killers, and the persecution that scattered the disciples by God's design.
66. 18.2On Acts 8:1–24 Chrysostom explains the scattering of the disciples, Philip's mission in Samaria, why the baptized Samaritans received the Spirit only through the apostles' hands, and Simon's attempt to buy that power.
67. 18.3Chrysostom contrasts Philip's real healings with Simon's magic and explains why the apostles did not refute Simon at once.
68. 18.4After commenting on Peter's rebuke of Simon (Acts 8:14–25), Chrysostom urges landowners to build churches on their estates and support a presbyter there for the sake of their laborers' souls.
69. 19.1Chrysostom comments on Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26–40), praising the eunuch's zeal in reading Isaiah and Philip's tact in teaching him.
70. 19.2Chrysostom praises the eunuch's humility and readiness for baptism, then comments on Saul's journey to Damascus and his conversion (Acts 8:31–9:9) as proof of Christ's resurrection.
71. 19.4Chrysostom contrasts the eunuch, who believed from reading the prophet alone, with his hearers, who neglect the Scriptures read in church.
72. 19.5Chrysostom rebukes those who ignore the Scripture readings because “the same things are always read”, and sets them questions about why the Gospels are called good news and why there are four.
73. 20.1Chrysostom comments on Ananias's fear and obedience, Paul's baptism, and his immediate preaching and escape from Damascus (Acts 9:10–25), holding Paul up as a model of zeal and prudence.
74. 20.4Chrysostom draws from Paul's escape the lesson that the saints used human prudence too, and urges every Christian, whatever his poverty, birth, or weakness, to work for the salvation of others.
75. 21.1Chrysostom reconciles Paul's first visit to Jerusalem (Acts 9:26–31) with Galatians 1, praises Barnabas, and notes that the apostles used human prudence in sending Paul away to Tarsus.
76. 21.2Chrysostom shows Peter, like a general inspecting his ranks, healing Aeneas and raising Tabitha (Acts 9:32–43), and praises Tabitha's almsgiving.
77. 21.3Retracing Acts 9:26–43, Chrysostom notes Peter's humility in lodging with a tanner and his care in raising Tabitha, and turns to the Christian meaning of death as a summons by the King's angels.
78. 21.4Chrysostom teaches that the death of the righteous is no cause for tears, but that sinners who die should be lamented and helped by prayers and alms offered on their behalf.
79. 21.5Chrysostom urges his hearers to choose devout friends and family who will pray for them, and defends the commemoration of the dead at the eucharistic sacrifice.
80. 22.1Chrysostom comments on the vision of Cornelius and Peter's vision of the sheet (Acts 10:1–24), explaining why God chose a devout Gentile as the first fruits of the nations and why Peter objected.
81. 22.2A fragmentary recapitulation of the visions of Cornelius and Peter (Acts 10:3–16), showing that they were divine.
82. 22.3On Peter's meeting with Cornelius's messengers (Acts 10:17–24), Chrysostom praises Cornelius's household piety and compares almsgiving to a spring better than the river of paradise.
83. 22.4Chrysostom develops the image of almsgiving as an ever-flowing spring and a tree planted in the hands of the poor that reaches heaven, warning against luxury and gluttony.
84. 23.1Chrysostom comments on Peter's arrival at Cornelius's house (Acts 10:23–35), praising the humility of both men and explaining that God accepts the God-fearing of every nation by calling them to faith.
85. 23.2Chrysostom expounds Peter's sermon to Cornelius (Acts 10:34–43) on Christ as Lord of all, and praises Cornelius's humility and readiness to believe.
86. 23.3Chrysostom expounds Peter's preaching of Christ's anointing, death, resurrection and coming judgment (Acts 10:37–43), then urges catechumens not to defer baptism until their deathbed out of fear of the Christian life.
87. 23.4Chrysostom urges his hearers not to defer baptism, since Christ's commands are lighter than the world's and death comes like a thief, and counsels faith in God's providence rather than endless questions about suffering.
88. 24.1Chrysostom comments on the Spirit's falling on Cornelius's household before baptism and on Peter's defense before the circumcision party in Jerusalem (Acts 10:44–11:12).
89. 24.2Chrysostom shows how Peter's defense before the Jerusalem church ascribes everything to God (Acts 11:12–18), then warns the newly baptized that ease is a worse persecution than the persecutions of old and that virtue counts more than numbers.
90. 24.4Chrysostom warns that the church's numbers mean nothing without virtue, doubting that a hundred in the city are being saved, and rebukes those who laugh and chat during the liturgy.
91. 25.1Chrysostom shows how the persecution spread the word to Antioch, where Barnabas brought Paul and the disciples were first called Christians, and explains Agabus's prophecy of famine (Acts 11:19–28).
92. 25.2Chrysostom shows how the famine foretold by Agabus became an occasion for almsgiving (Acts 11:20–30), and praises almsgiving as a treasure no thief can touch and a remedy for every sin.
93. 25.4Chrysostom lists the kinds of almsgiving, ranking spiritual counsel highest, and warns the richly dressed that without virtue they are naked before God.
94. 26.1Chrysostom comments on the death of James and Peter's deliverance from prison by an angel (Acts 12:1–17), stressing the church's prayer, Peter's calm sleep, and the reality of the miracle.
95. 26.3Chrysostom draws lessons from Peter's release and the church's night prayer (Acts 12:9–17) and urges his hearers to rise at night to pray, when the stillness turns the soul to God.
96. 26.4Chrysostom urges husbands, wives and children to make their house a church by rising for night prayer, comparing the praying soul to metal reshaped in a forge.
97. 27.1Chrysostom explains why God let Peter's guards be executed, tells of Herod's death for accepting divine honors, and comments on the sending out of Barnabas and Saul from Antioch.
98. 27.2Chrysostom draws from Herod's death a lesson about flattery and Christ's divinity, notes the Spirit's authority and the place of fasting in ordination, and then preaches against luxury and gluttony.
99. 28.1Chrysostom follows Barnabas and Saul to Cyprus, explains Paul's blinding of Elymas as a merciful sign that won the proconsul, notes Paul's first preaching at Pisidian Antioch, and warns that vainglory and the fear of men rule us more than the fear of God.
100. 28.3Chrysostom argues that since lesser motives already master our passions, we can master the love of glory, and urges his hearers to seek only the praise that comes from God.
101. 29.1Chrysostom comments on the opening of Paul's sermon at Pisidian Antioch, noting how Paul stresses God's past kindnesses to Israel, Christ's descent from David, John's witness, and the Jerusalem leaders' ignorance.
102. 29.2The rest of Paul's speech at Pisidian Antioch is quoted: Christ's burial and resurrection, the scriptural proofs from the Psalms and Isaiah, forgiveness through him, and the warning from Habakkuk.
103. 29.3Chrysostom explains how Paul blends gentleness and warning in his appeal to the Jews of Pisidian Antioch, and then rebukes his congregation for attending church year after year without becoming any better.
104. 29.4Chrysostom urges his hearers to take from the Scriptures remedies for their own passions, warns that avoiding one sin while yielding to another still leaves one caught, and calls for patient training in gentleness.
105. 30.1Chrysostom follows Paul and Barnabas from Pisidian Antioch to Iconium, noting Paul's restraint in teaching, the gentleness of his bold turn to the Gentiles, and how persecution only spread the word.
106. 30.2Chrysostom comments on the healing of the lame man at Lystra and the apostles' refusal of divine honors, then warns against pride in good works and against preachers and hearers who seek applause instead of amendment.
107. 30.4Chrysostom compares preachers who seek applause to an indulgent father who ruins a sick child, and asks his congregation to stop applauding sermons and to listen in silence as befits a church.
108. 31.1Chrysostom comments on Paul and Barnabas refusing divine honors at Lystra, their speech about the Creator's kindness, Paul's stoning and return to the city, and their visit to strengthen the new churches.
109. 31.2Chrysostom shows how the apostles strengthened the new churches and returned to Antioch, then urges his hearers to bear insults as Paul bore stoning and to calm an angry man by yielding rather than retaliating.
110. 31.5Chrysostom compares the angry and abusive man to a drunkard vomiting and a dog returning to its vomit, and urges his hearers to rid their tongues and the city of insult and evil-speaking.
111. 32.1Chrysostom comments on the dispute over circumcision that brought Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem, and on Peter's speech that God cleansed the Gentiles' hearts by faith and that salvation is by the grace of the Lord Jesus, not by the law.
112. 32.2Chrysostom praises the gentleness of the apostles at the Jerusalem council, then returns to the subject of anger, tracing it to arrogance and to ignorance of our own nature, which by free choice can become angelic.
113. 33.1Chrysostom comments on James's speech at the Jerusalem council, its appeal to the prophecy of the rebuilt tent of David, and the council's letter sending Judas and Silas with Paul and Barnabas to Antioch.
114. 33.2Chrysostom explains the order and gentleness of the Jerusalem council, James's reading of the prophecy about David's tent as fulfilled in the calling of the Gentiles, and the purpose of the few rules laid on Gentile believers.
115. 33.3Chrysostom praises the restraint and authority of the council's letter, then answers a pagan who hesitates to become a Christian because of the many heresies: scandals test the faithful, and Scripture gives a plain rule for judging between Christians and heretics.
116. 33.4Chrysostom concludes that doubts about the many sects are an excuse, since anyone who does what he knows to be right and asks God will find the truth, and the heresies betray themselves by bearing their founders' names.
117. 34.1Chrysostom explains the sharp disagreement between Paul and Barnabas over Mark as a difference of temperament that God used for good, and follows Paul with Silas through Asia Minor, Timothy's circumcision, and the vision that called him to Macedonia.
118. 34.4Chrysostom compares Paul's severity and Barnabas's gentleness to God's dealings with Moses and Samuel, explains why Paul circumcised Timothy, and shows how God guided Paul to Macedonia by a vision.
119. 34.5Chrysostom warns that ignorance of the Scriptures harms us, and shames his hearers by noting that they train dogs, horses and birds to self-control while neglecting the beauty of their own souls.
120. 35.1Chrysostom comments on the conversion and hospitality of Lydia at Philippi, Paul's silencing of the spirit of divination that praised the apostles, and the beating and imprisonment that followed because of her masters' greed.
121. 35.2Chrysostom notes Lydia's eager hospitality and explains that the spirit of divination, called a Python, was a demon, showing that Apollo himself is a demon.
122. 35.3Chrysostom explains why Paul refused the demon's praise and why the apostles bore beating and prison in silence, and then contrasts their endurance with the idle, luxurious life, urging his hearers to flee idleness and the work of the passions.
123. 36.1Chrysostom reads the night in the Philippian prison (Acts 16:25–40): the apostles’ hymns in chains, the earthquake that saved the jailer, his conversion, and Paul’s refusal to leave secretly, set against the idle and wicked nights of his hearers.
124. 36.2Chrysostom contrasts the jailer’s conversion with the miracle that preceded it, answers pagans who scorn Christianity as a religion of slaves and simpletons by pointing to its moral teaching, which Plato and Socrates could not live by, and urges his hearers to pray at night and to forgive in order to be forgiven.
125. 37.1Chrysostom follows Paul through Thessalonica and Berea (Acts 17:1–15), noting that Paul preached the passion first, argued from the Scriptures rather than from signs, and kept seeking the Jews though sent to the Gentiles.
126. 37.2Chrysostom explains why Paul preached in the synagogues, how persecution spread the gospel, why the Bereans are called more noble, and why God let the apostles prevail without signs, which was itself a greater sign.
127. 37.3Chrysostom urges unity between clergy and laity, who need one another as the members of a body, praises common prayer and peacemaking, and tells his hearers to unmask the devil’s disguised thoughts as a city unmasks spies.
128. 38.1Chrysostom reads Paul at Athens (Acts 17:16–31): his zeal at the city full of idols, the philosophers’ curiosity, the altar to an unknown god, and the speech on the Areopagus that leads from creation to repentance and judgment.
129. 38.2Chrysostom explains Paul’s zeal at Athens and shows how his single sentence on God as maker of the world overturns the Epicurean and Stoic doctrines and pagan temple worship.
130. 38.3Chrysostom expounds Acts 17:26–30: God is near to everyone and can be found in every place and time, Paul fits Aratus’ line to the true Creator rather than to Zeus, and God now calls all to repentance without punishing past ignorance.
131. 38.4Chrysostom shows that Christ’s resurrection guarantees the coming judgment, and urges his hearers to love God by recording and recalling each benefit he has done them, as the king recalled Mordecai’s service.
132. 38.5Chrysostom tells of a boy’s recoveries from illness and of his own escape in youth when he found a magic book in the river during a search for sorcerers, and urges his hearers to remember God’s particular benefits and give thanks.
133. 39.1Chrysostom explains why Paul left Athens for Corinth, why he lived and worked with Aquila and Priscilla, how he withdrew from the synagogue to Justus’s house, and how the proconsul Gallio refused to judge the Jews’ charge against him (Acts 17:32–18:17).
134. 39.2Chrysostom comments on Paul’s work with Aquila, his withdrawal from the synagogue, Christ’s vision and Gallio’s refusal to judge, and then teaches his hearers to answer insult with silence, since the onlookers condemn the insulter and anger is a storm that wrecks the soul.
135. 39.4Chrysostom comforts those who are insulted, since Christ too was insulted, and shows that insulting is the mark of a slave and of the devil, disgracing the insulter rather than the insulted.
136. 40.1Chrysostom follows Paul from Corinth to Antioch and back to Ephesus (Acts 18:18–19:7), explains Paul’s vow and his love for Antioch, and discusses Apollos and the disciples who knew only John’s baptism and were baptized into the name of Jesus.
137. 40.2Chrysostom comments on Aquila and Priscilla, Apollos, and the twelve disciples baptized into Jesus’ name, teaches that baptism fully cleanses from sin, explains why signs have ceased, and urges his divided congregation to love and to make friends.
138. 40.4Chrysostom praises friendship as a harmony that silences the passions and a wall the devil cannot take, and urges his hearers, who share one eucharistic table, to make friends by courtesy, humility, and outdoing one another in honor.
139. 41.1Chrysostom reads Paul’s two years at Ephesus (Acts 19:8–20): his boldness in the synagogue, his withdrawal to the school of Tyrannus, the healing cloths, the sons of Sceva exposed by a demon, and the burning of the magic books.
140. 41.2Chrysostom reflects on the sons of Sceva and on the stubbornness that resists even miracles, citing the earthquake and the events of his own day at Antioch, and teaches that freeing someone from sin is greater than freeing him from a demon.
141. 41.4Chrysostom argues that sin is worse than possession by a demon: the possessed are humbled and purified by their suffering, while sinners grow shameless, and the angry and resentful are themselves the first to be tormented.
142. 41.5Chrysostom shows that resentment torments the resentful, that taking vengeance is childish and deserves laughter while forgiving is godlike, and tells a story of two men who each refused a buried treasure, as an example of contending not to take vengeance.
143. 42.1Chrysostom explains Paul’s plan to go to Jerusalem and Rome, and the riot of Demetrius the silversmith at Ephesus (Acts 19:21–29), showing that idolatry was defended for the sake of money and that Paul’s enemies bore witness to his power.
144. 42.2Chrysostom comments on the riot in the theater at Ephesus, the Jews’ putting forward of Alexander, and the town clerk’s speech (Acts 19:29–41), then shows that affliction draws people together and makes them ready to listen, comparing a wedding’s disorder with a house of mourning’s philosophy.
145. 42.4Chrysostom compares the prison and the theater, the house of mourning and the banquet, to show that affliction humbles and teaches while pleasure corrupts, and urges his hearers to accept affliction as God’s tutor.
146. 43.1Chrysostom follows Paul from Ephesus through Macedonia and Greece to Troas and Miletus (Acts 20:1–16), dwelling on the all-night teaching at Troas, Eutychus’s fall and recovery, and the plain meal, and shaming his hearers who will not listen even by day.
147. 43.2Chrysostom explains Paul’s haste to reach Jerusalem and the night at Troas, then urges his hearers to throw themselves into danger for their brothers, as Moses did, and to grieve even over those whom God or the law justly punishes, since God punishes through angels but saves by himself.
148. 44.1Chrysostom introduces Paul’s farewell to the Ephesian elders at Miletus (Acts 20:17–21), showing how Paul, like Samuel and David, speaks of his own humility, tears and boldness only by calling his hearers as witnesses, in order to teach them.
149. 44.2Chrysostom expounds Paul’s words to the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:22–31): his readiness to suffer, his claim to be clean of the blood of all, the charge to the overseers to guard the flock bought with Christ’s blood against wolves, and his tears, applying them to his own congregation, which will not heed his warnings against the theater, swearing and greed.
150. 44.4Chrysostom says that he cannot claim, as Paul did, to be clean of his hearers’ blood, confesses his private tears over their lack of progress after his three years among them, and urges them to love Christ above all.
151. 45.1Chrysostom comments on Paul’s farewell at Miletus and the journey to Tyre and Caesarea (Acts 20:32–21:14): Paul’s commendation of the elders to grace, his refusal to take support, the saying of the Lord that it is more blessed to give than to receive, the elders’ tears, and the prophecies of Agabus and the disciples, which Paul heard and still went up to Jerusalem.
152. 45.3Chrysostom finishes the journey to Jerusalem (Acts 21:15–17) and urges his hearers to receive strangers, since Christ comes in the least of the brothers, to keep a room for Christ in their houses after Abraham’s example, to support the church’s guest house, and to train their servants in godliness.
153. 46.1Chrysostom explains how James and the elders persuaded Paul, for the sake of the many Jewish believers zealous for the law, to show by purifying himself with four men under a vow that he did not teach apostasy from Moses.
154. 46.2Chrysostom comments on the riot of the Jews from Asia, Paul’s arrest by the tribune, and his mild request to speak, and explains that Paul’s purification was a condescension made by dispensation, not something required on principle.
155. 46.3Chrysostom shows that impostors like the Egyptian only make the truth shine brighter, and then teaches when one should and should not give way to the offense others take, with an example from a young deacon’s instruction of the newly baptized.
156. 47.1Chrysostom explains how Paul, in chains on the steps, quieted the crowd by his citizenship, the Hebrew language and a gentle address, and began his defense with his upbringing under Gamaliel and his zeal as a persecutor.
157. 47.2Chrysostom shows that Paul’s defense was really teaching, explains why his companions saw the light but did not hear the voice, and points out how witnesses, facts and Ananias’s prophecy confirm his conversion.
158. 47.3Chrysostom draws from Paul’s call to be a witness the lesson that Christians must bear witness by their lives, since a wicked life discredits the faith and drives people into false doctrines such as fate, and leaves the soul in constant fear.
159. 48.1Chrysostom explains Paul’s account of his trance in the temple, the crowd’s fury at the mention of the Gentiles, his appeal to his Roman citizenship to avoid flogging, and his rebuke of the high priest Ananias.
160. 48.2Chrysostom argues that Paul rebuked the high priest from boldness, not anger, and did not know who he was, and then distinguishes true virtues from the vices that resemble them: mildness from unmanliness, boldness from rashness, great-souledness from prodigality, and economy from stinginess.
161. 49.1Chrysostom explains how Paul divided the council by declaring himself a Pharisee on trial for the resurrection, and how the plot of more than forty Jews sworn to kill him was disclosed to the tribune by his nephew.
162. 49.2Chrysostom shows how the plot against Paul, born of a murderous fast under a pretense of piety, turned to his acquittal by outsiders and his safe escort to Felix, and comments on the tribune’s letter.
163. 49.3Chrysostom explains the Lord’s encouragement to Paul and the disclosure of the plot, and shows from the life of Joseph how God turns the plots of enemies into the safety and glory of the righteous.
164. 49.4Chrysostom shows from Jacob’s life how plots turn out for good, and from Jacob’s love for his wives draws the lesson that a man should seek a wife of good character, not a wealthy one.
165. 50.1Chrysostom comments on Paul’s transfer to Caesarea, the flattering accusation of the orator Tertullus before Felix, and Paul’s mild and confident defense that he caused no riot and was on trial for the resurrection.
166. 50.3Chrysostom praises Paul’s mildness toward men who sought his death and teaches how to bear insults without anger, keeping anger like a banked fire to be used only for good.
167. 50.4Chrysostom urges the offended and the offender alike to go first in seeking reconciliation, and explains that “heaping coals of fire” on an enemy is a concession to our weakness, the true aim being to become like the heavenly Father.
168. 51.1Chrysostom comments on Felix’s delay of Paul’s case, his fearful hearing of Paul on righteousness, self-control and judgment while hoping for a bribe, and Paul’s appeal to Caesar before Festus, which was not unbelief but refusal to tempt God.
169. 51.2Chrysostom explains Festus’s consultation with Agrippa and Bernice, exposes the motives of Felix and Festus in favoring the Jews, and shows that every official in turn found Paul innocent while his appeal to Caesar opened the way to Rome.
170. 51.4Chrysostom teaches that no one, not even the devil, can harm a Christian who does not harm himself, since the wrongdoer injures his own soul while the one wronged gains by suffering nobly, and he compares the cares of rich and poor.
171. 51.5Chrysostom argues that doing wrong is worse than suffering it, since the unjust man lives in suspicion and isolation, and compares greed to bodily excess that exceeds its measure and destroys itself, closing with an appeal to renounce the desire for wealth.
172. 52.1Chrysostom comments on the grand audience before Agrippa and Bernice, Festus’s admission that he found nothing against Paul, and the opening of Paul’s defense, which argues for the resurrection from the Jews’ own hope and from his encounter with the risen Christ.
173. 52.2Chrysostom comments on Paul’s account before Agrippa of his persecution, his call on the Damascus road and his preaching of repentance, Festus’s outburst that Paul was mad, and Paul’s prayer that all his hearers might become as he was except for his chains.
174. 52.3Chrysostom shows how the repeated trials made Paul known as innocent even in Rome, and how before Agrippa he answered every charge, argued from the prophets and his own conversion, avoided inflaming his hearers, and passed from defendant to teacher.
175. 52.4Chrysostom explains Agrippa’s reply and Paul’s prayer “except for these chains,” and shows from Paul’s love of his chains how one caught by the fire of Christ becomes indifferent to glory, pain and pleasure, seeing only the things unseen.
176. 52.5Chrysostom teaches that true rule, like medicine, is an art of the soul rather than a title, beginning with ruling oneself, and that true luxury is not feasting but a soul free of despondency, which the person who needs little enjoys most.
177. 53.1Chrysostom comments on Agrippa’s verdict that Paul could have been freed but for his appeal, and on the beginning of the voyage to Rome, with its contrary winds and Paul’s warning at Fair Havens.
178. 53.2Chrysostom comments on the storm that drove Paul’s ship across the Adriatic, Paul’s prophecy that all on board would be saved, his frustrating of the sailors’ flight, and his urging them to eat, which taught them as in a church.
179. 53.3Chrysostom shows how the centurion saved Paul and all on board, how the storm turned to good and became an occasion of teaching, and how Paul, avoiding any appearance of boasting, spoke first as from conjecture and rebuked gently only when the danger had passed.
180. 53.4Chrysostom shows how all on board were saved because of Paul, and teaches that a saint in the house protects it as Paul protected the ship, for Paul still sails with the Church as its true pilot and warns of the storms to come.
181. 53.5Chrysostom urges his hearers to obey Paul rather than their own reasoning, describes greed, fatalism and superstition as bonds worse than chains, and exhorts them to bring holy men into their houses or visit them, since their presence and prayer drive away demons.
182. 54.1Chrysostom comments on the kindness of the people of Malta, Paul’s escape from the viper, the healing of Publius’s father and many others, the journey to Rome, and Paul’s courage on meeting the brothers.
183. 54.2Chrysostom praises the natives of Malta and Publius for their kindness, shows from Moses, Aaron, Abel, the three young men and Daniel that plots and trials turn to the good of the righteous, argues that we and not the devil are the cause of our sins, and teaches that afflictions train and strengthen the soul.
184. 55.1Chrysostom comments on Paul’s meeting with the leading Jews of Rome, his mild defense that he had no charge against his nation, his preaching from the law and the prophets, his quotation of Isaiah on Israel’s unbelief, and his two years of unhindered preaching.
185. 55.2Chrysostom explains that Paul came to Rome fleeing evils rather than to accuse his nation, why the Jews of Rome no longer plotted against him, why he cited the Spirit through Isaiah, and why Luke ends Acts with Paul’s two years of unhindered preaching in his own hired house.
186. 55.3Ending his homilies on Acts, Chrysostom praises Paul, received in Rome as a prisoner yet freeing the city from the shipwreck of error, outlines his later life, and compares his heart and writings to a heaven and a calm sea that carries its sailors from earth to heaven, to be crossed only with a pure life.