Isaiah 50:8Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

If anyone doubts the resurrection, they must acknowledge the existence of a resurrection as well as deliverance from death, evidenced by the hardships faced by the apostles, not only because God consistently freed them from suffering, but moreover, because they were never disgraced. Whoever wishes to challenge Me, let us confront each other. Anyone who intends to accuse Me? Let him approach Me. Whoever claims disbelief, let him come forth and reveal himself; those seeking to investigate, come here and, if possible, prove Me to be a deceiver; anyone looking to achieve victory over Me, let them rise against Me. Yet, I am prepared to declare the verdict.

Here, He refers to the Jewish leaders as both rich and wicked; their extreme greed led them to commit acts of malice against Him, so that despite recognizing Him, they declared, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, and let us keep his possessions (Matthew 21:38).

He who hides with me, let him resist me in unity. And whoever judges with me, let him draw near. The truth of His righteousness and complete innocence is evident because He did not engage in the sins that the Jews foolishly attributed to Him; the divine Prophet attests to this, declaring, See how the righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart (Isaiah 57:1). Furthermore, He says on behalf of the Jews, Let us bind the righteous one, for he is not acceptable to us (Isaiah 3:10). The actions themselves loudly proclaim this truth: how could the sacred and pure essence of the Word sin against its own nature or fall into the corruption of iniquity? Hence, it is written of Christ, our Savior, that He committed no sin, but deceit was not found in His mouth (1 Pet. 2:22).

Although He claimed for Himself the status of being innocent and righteous, He faced accusations from the Jewish synagogue, whose members were either unaware of His complete purity or mistakenly believed Him guilty and thought His crucifixion deserved. To such individuals, He provides an essential response, stating, ‘Whoever hides with me, let him resist me together.’ This echoes what Christ clearly conveyed to the scribes and Pharisees, ‘Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell you the truth, why do you not believe me (John 8:46)?’

Even though the only-begotten Word of God took on our likeness and assumed our form, it is undeniable that His divine nature is superior to ours; for while each person is prone to failings and sins, none live entirely blameless lives. He alone maintained a divine integrity, even in His humanity; the divine nature must naturally exceed the possibility of sin. This explains His statement, ‘The prince of this world is coming, and in me he has nothing (John 14:30).’ Truly, the One who became like us to liberate us from the bondage of sin could not be ensnared by it. How could He, who rescues all who believe in Him from accusation and shame, find Himself reproached? Can God, who justifies, be judged guilty?

In this way, it is said of Jerusalem, ‘Sodom is justified by you’ (Ezek. 16). Therefore, since none can be justified in the presence of the Lord, they will all become like a garment (Ps. 101). What is decayed is on the brink of ruin. He states that the moth will consume them, referring to the awareness of sins and the envy of the redeemed Gentiles, as mentioned at the conclusion of this text: ‘their worm shall not die’ (Is. 66:24), and in Micah concerning corrupt leaders: ‘I will strip away their treasures, like a moth that creeps and crawls on the branches in the watch of the day’ (Micah 7:4). Additionally, in Proverbs, it is said: ‘the moth troubles the heart’ (Proverbs 14:30). Instead of moth, Simmachus translated as rust, and Aquila as worm.