Psalm 53 (52):6Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

They expressed their dread, saying, “If we allow Him to depart, the Romans will arrive and take our place and our nation” (John 11:48). Such reasoning is madness, denying His divinity. Terrified of losing their temporal holdings, in the process they forfeited their heavenly inheritance, fearing that the Romans would seize their status and authority. Can any force deprive you of God? What then remains? Only an admission of what you wished to cling to, which in clinging to the wrong, you ultimately surrendered. By putting Christ to death, you lost both your territory and your people. You chose to eliminate Christ rather than suffer a loss of status, yet in killing Him, you lost not only your position and community but also Christ Himself. Out of fear, they executed Christ; but what motivated this act? It was the Lord who scattered the bones of those who sought human approval. In their desire to appease people, they feared losing their standing. Yet, Christ, of whom it was claimed, “He is not God,” did not seek to please such individuals, knowing they were merely sons of men and not sons of God. While their bones were scattered, none of Christ’s were broken. They faced humiliation as God turned His back on them. Truly, brethren, they were filled with confusion. Where the Lord was crucified—whom they sought to eliminate to protect their position and nation—the Jews have no presence. Hence, God rejected them, but still urged them to repent. It is time for them to affirm Christ and acknowledge, “He is God,” reversing their earlier assertion, “He is not God.” They ought to reclaim the legacy of their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and, alongside them, seek eternal life, despite having lost their earthly existence. Why is this significant? Because from mankind, the sons of God were brought forth. As history proves, among men, there is no one who does good, not one. They faced disgrace because God turned away from them. To these individuals, He asks, “Who will grant salvation from Zion to Israel?”

These tribes have been scattered and dispersed by God, rendered subservient to all nations. Likewise, when the Jews faced destruction at the hands of the Romans, their lifeless bodies and bones were left to wild beasts, vultures, and other predatory birds. The words of Theodoret suggest that one would not be mistaken in labeling Rapsacus as a flesh-eater, since he, being of Jewish descent, used his words for blasphemy in an attempt to please the Assyrians. Furthermore, during the reign of Julian the Apostate, those who abandoned God also faced His abandonment, culminating in their shame. The Jews, he argues, have become a source of disgrace among all nations, leading a life filled with misery and superstition, more wretched than any other people in the world. This has occurred because Christ humbled them, turning them into a symbol of reproach universally. St. Cyril comments on the bones in question, referring to the tenets of Hellenistic thought and the impious that these individuals articulated in their writings. They reveled in eloquent expression and meticulous wordcraft, which is why they are termed men-pleasers. However, the power of their doctrines, represented as bones, has been utterly defeated by Christ, who revealed their ineffectiveness and humbled the authors of those Hellenic teachings.