THEOSISCyrill of Alexandria
I will bring joy to Jerusalem and happiness to my people. I will take pleasure in Jerusalem and rejoice over my people; there will be no sound of lament in it, nor will there be any child or elder who does not experience the fullness of their days. The young will live as long as a hundred years, but anyone who dies as a sinner, even at a hundred years old, will face condemnation. The intricacies of this prophecy are profound and somewhat elusive, yet I will strive to elucidate it as best as I can. It appears that the Jerusalem mentioned here does not refer to the ancient city, but rather symbolizes the Church encompassing both Jews and Gentiles. To this Church, He promises abundant joy and gladness.
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This promise is substantiated by our experiences: the Christian Church is not characterized by despair; instead, it is filled with the hope of eternal life and unassailable glory, shining brightly even in our present reality.
He expresses, I will bring joy and gladness to Jerusalem for My sake, for I will delight in My people; and He provides the grounds for this joy by stating that no voice of sorrow or weeping will be heard there. In a sense, from the correction of past transgressions, God brings forth praise for the Church. In earlier times, the Jewish synagogue leaders judged based on gifts and ignored the plight of the orphan and widow, allowing their love for dishonest gain to lead them to falsely accuse the righteous. Naturally, the wronged laments and weeps in distress. As it is described in the words of Jeremiah about Jerusalem: "O deceitful city, full of violence! Like a cistern that makes its water cold, so its wickedness cools the spirit: Wickedness shall always be found on its surface" (Jeremiah 6:6-7). Another holy prophet stated, "They trample the heads of the poor into the dust, and corrupt the paths of the humble" (Am. 2:7). Therefore, He says, I will rejoice over My people, recognizing in them the champions of true righteousness: there will be no tears of grievance or offense; no child or elder will lack the fulfillment of their years. The young will live to see a hundred, while those who die as sinners, even at a hundred, will face condemnation.
To interpret this prophecy further, the reference to infants suggests young converts from the Gentiles, as David notes: "And the people shall praise the Lord" (Psalm 101:19); similarly, the disciple of Christ advises in his epistle: "As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word" (1 Pet. 2:2). Therefore, the child symbolizes the youth, while the elderly refer to those from the circumcision or descendants of Israel, who are called to the spiritual Church. Yet in this call, he asserts that through Christ, when He returns, there will be no distinction between young and old: all will be made complete and reach the fullness of stature in Jesus Christ (Eph. 4:13). The young Gentiles will become as a hundred years, signifying their spiritual maturity, achieving a state of perfection; hence, a hundred years represents a symbol of completeness.
He also points out that even the sinner who dies will find himself aged a hundred yet will face condemnation. This illustrates that achieving perfection according to the law means little to those who do not embrace faith in Christ and the redemption offered through holy baptism, which purges sin from the heart. Thus, even if someone were to live a hundred years, representing completion in the law, and dies a sinner, lacking justification through faith, they will face condemnation instead of partaking in the victory of the law. Indeed, none among the Jews was without fault; all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; we are justified freely by His grace (Rom. 3:23-24). This emphasizes that even the efforts of those who appear perfect by the law are in vain if they have not accepted the gift of Christ's grace. The Apostle Paul makes this extremely clear in his letters, where he recounts, "I count all things as loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ" (Phil. 3:8-9). He critiques the Jews as lacking wisdom, stating, "They do not understand the righteousness of God and seek to establish their own righteousness, rejecting the righteousness of God. For Christ is the culmination of the law, leading to righteousness for everyone who believes" (Rom. 10:3-4). He further states, "We are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ" (Galatians 2:15-16). Hence, Christ was made a curse for us (Galatians 3:13), delivering those bound by the law from its curse, for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all the things which are written in the book of the law" (Deuteronomy 27:26).