John Chrysostom gives us a powerful example of the impact of a sold-out preacher who lived his faith as well as preached it.
These are only preliminary, unedited outlines and may differ from Andy’s final message.
I. The “Golden Mouth”: Truth on Fire
· Imagine a preacher so gifted that, whenever he preached, the people were so spellbound that pickpockets were able to ply their trade with great success.
· Imagine a preacher so gifted that crowds of people would rudely push and shove their way to the front of the church in order to hear him better.
· Imagine a preacher so popular with the people at his first pastorate that he had to be kidnapped in order to move him to his new position.
· Imagine a preacher so popular that the people of the capitol city of the most powerful empire in the world rioted when they heard he’d been exiled for preaching the Word of God!
Such a preacher once lived… His name was John Chrysostom! Name “Chrysostom” means “Golden Mouth,”given to John 150 years after his death because of his power and eloquence as a preacher
Some church historians believe he was the greatest preacher in the history of the Christian church
A story:
In John’s era, the people did not sit during the sermons but rather stood and milled about in fellowship and conversation. John sometimes preached as long as two hours at a time, but nobody seemed to mind, and they frequently clamored for more when he was done! People often responded to his sermons with applause, with shouts or catcalls, sometimes even with boos, hisses or silence.
At one point in one of his sermons, John became so frustrated at the unruliness of the congregation during the sermons that he said, “Christ never had to contend with such ill-disciplined hearers, but the disciples always simply listened quietly and politely until he had finished.” John concluded his sermon by suggesting that, from now on all applause be forbidden… this announcement brought down the house with a wild ovation!
Hard to believe that anyone would care so much about preaching!
All of it is true… but the people weren’t so very different from us today
A. The Role of Preaching
1 Corinthians 1:21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe.
· Our generation of smartphone images and short attention spans
· Also relativistic culture of “truth for me, truth for you” rejects authority
· Will preaching become obsolete?
Answer: NO! God has ordained the simple verbal communication of the message as the enduring means of Gospel advance… preaching will never be obsolete
John Chrysostom gives us a powerful example of the impact of a sold-out preacher who lived his faith as well as preached it
B. Can We Handle the Heat??
Mark Galli, editor of Christian History: “There was a fire in John’s gut; he loved Jesus Christ and had little patience with Christians who did not lay every ounce of body, mind, and soul at Jesus’ feet. As much as I am drawn by his spiritual fire, I have to admit, I’m hesitant to get too close, lest I get singed.”
After his death, one of John’s many admirers wrote, “It would be a great thing to attain to his stature, but it would be hard. Nevertheless even the following of him is lovely and magnificent.”
John speaks to the shallowness of our modern, materialistic, pleasure-seeking age
John speaks also to the issues of wealth and poverty, of social justice and compassion on the poor
John speaks to the passion each Christian should have for the Word of God
John also demonstrates the kind of courage a Christian must have in speaking the truth in love
After Jesus called people to “count the cost” of discipleship (the man building the tower who ran out of money, and the king whose land is invaded knowing he can’t win the battle) he said:
Luke 14:33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
Major Events of John Chrysostom’s Life
c. 345 Born in Antioch
381 Ordained a deacon in Antioch
386 Appointed presbyter (elder) and chief preacher in Antioch
387 Delivered famous homilies on the Statues
397 Became Archbishop of Constantinople
404 Exiled from Constantinople
407 Died in exile in Pontus
II. An Overview of John’s Life
In John’s day, Christianity was rapidly becoming the official religion of the Eastern Roman empire, despite the fact that only half the population of Constantinople and Antioch were Christian
Sundays were declared state and legal holidays; pagan festivals were abolished; the theater and circus were forbidden on Sundays; ultimately all pagan temples and sacrifices were forbidden
A. Early Life: The Impact of a Godly Mother
1. Born around A.D. 347 in Antioch
Acts 11:26 “The disciples were called ‘Christians’ first at Antioch.”
Major center of early Christianity; became, next to Jerusalem, the most important capital in the Apostolic Christian church; we’ll talk more about Antioch as a Christian center later
Acts 13: Paul and Barnabas were sent out from Antioch on their first missionary journey
The site of the early controversy over circumcision… a place of the early clash between Jewish and Gentile Christians
2. Father Secundus an officer in the Roman army… died when John was an infant, John’s mother (Anthusa) was only 20!
3. Anthusa: another amazing godly mother from church history
- Beautiful and talented… had many opportunities to remarry, but scorned every one of them and devoted herself to raising her son
- She provided him with the best possible education… training him in all the best schools in Antioch
- Hottest career at the time was in rhetoric… public speaking; especially useful for a career in law [Augustine trained in rhetoric]
- John was trained by greatest rhetoric teacher in Antioch, a pagan named Libanius; initially John’s goal was to become a lawyer (like John Calvin later)
- Libanius openly disdained Christianity, choosing rather to practice the pagan cults
- He saw how talented John was and was grooming him to take his place as professor of rhetoric
- Mother had other desires and was praying for him daily to become a Christian
- Her influence was so powerful that Libanius was heard to remark: “Lord, what women these Christians have!!” What a tribute to Anthusa!
· When asked who would succeed him as rhetorical teachers, Libanius said, “John, but the Christians have laid claim on him.”
B. John Conversion and Call to Monasticism
1. Sometime in the years of his formal education, John declared himself a Christian; baptized by the church at Antioch at age 18
2. Immediately he longed for time apart from the world to go into seclusion and meditate
3. Mother begged him to wait until she had died to become a monk
John relented and put off his plans for desert asceticism for several years. However, he compromised by basically making their home a monastery!
4. John becomes a monk
In 370, his mother died, and John entered monastic seclusion in the desert
He studied under famous monk Diodorus for a while, then lived in a cave for two years by himself
[NOTE: Diodorus rejected the popular method of allegorical scripture interpretation and taught John to stick closely to the straight meaning of the text… this was the famous “Antiochene exegesis”; the Reformation brought it back to Christianity, and I use it today]
His asceticism was so severe that it destroyed his health… his body never fully recovered. Asceticism hardened his spiritual determination and purified his soul from worldly pleasures.
BUT he said such a reclusive life was not the best training for a shepherd’s calling: “Many who have gone from monastic retreat to the active life of the priest or the bishop are completely unable to face the difficulties of their new situation.”
HE ALSO MEMORIZED LONG PASSAGES OF SCRIPTURE which he later quoted from memory, making his preaching more powerful in the future.
5. John speaks on seclusion and contemplation
“For what purpose did Christ go up into the mountain? To teach us that loneliness and retirement is good when we are to pray to God…. For the wilderness is the mother of quiet; it is a calm and a harbor, delivering us from all turmoils.”
C. Ministry in Antioch
1. Before monastic retreat, ordained a lector = reader of Scripture during service
2. On return, ordained a deacon in church at Antioch in 381
· Served under and discipled by two archbishops: Meletius, Flavian
· Both archbishops had suffered for their orthodox views when Arianism was the state religion… they taught John about suffering for his convictions
3. Weaseled out of ordination the first time
Friend Basil and he both felt called to ministry. Both felt inadequate.
John talked Basil into it, implying he would go with him
Basil went forward for ordination, unaware that John had escaped and gone into hiding
John was intimidated by the high responsibilities of ordained ministry, but didn’t want the church to be deprived of his friend Basil… so he tricked him
BUT out of this came John’s greatest work on ministry: On the Priesthood (written to justify his act of deception)… written when he was still in his twenties
It contained some of his core values for ministry
4. Finally ordained into ministry as a presbyter (elder) and chief preacher in 386
Church called him forcefully to it… he felt no strong inner call from God!!
Began preaching at age 39… quite late in his life, just like Augustine. 39 years of preparation, 18 years of preaching… BUT accomplished more in those 18 years than most preachers in a lifetime.
It wouldn’t be long into his ministry that his fame as a preacher of unmatched power spread far and wide!!
5. Served large and influential church in Antioch for 12 years… 386-398
Antioch: city of great wealth… capital of Syria… major center of Christian learning; best known for Olympic games, theatrical presentations and festivals
6. The “Affair of the Statues”: Rebellion in Antioch
· In 387, rebellion erupted in Antioch over increased taxes
· Statues of the emperor and his wife were desecrated
· Officials of the empire began to punish city leaders, killing some of them for the riots
· Archbishop Flavian rushed 800 miles to Constantinople to plead for forgiveness
· In his place, John preached twenty-one homilies to a city in turmoil, calling on the people to repent of their sins, trust Christ, and trust God’s sovereign providence
“Improve yourselves now, truly, not as when during one of the numerous earthquakes or in famine or drought or in similar visitations you leave off your sinning for three and four days and then begin the old life again…. Stop evil slandering, harbor no enmities, give up the wicked custom of frivolous cursing and swearing. If you do this, you will surely be delivered from the present distress and attain eternal happiness.”
After 8 weeks, on the day before Easter, Archbishop Flavian returned with the wonderful news of the emperor’s pardon.
John had made a name for himself during the crisis! When the bishopric of Constantinople came vacant, the Emperor ordered that John be taken to the capital city to take up that prestigious post. But because his popularity in Antioch was so overwhelming, he kept the decree a secret
D. Kidnapped to Serve Christ
· In 398, John taken by a senior military official to a chapel outside Antioch’s city walls
· Seized by soldiers, transported 800 miles to Constantinople; kidnapping arranged by Eutropius… the emperor’s right-hand man
· Forcibly consecrated to be Archbishop of Constantinople… one of the most powerful positions in the whole world of Christianity; St. Sophia, the largest church in Christendom
· John simply accepted it as evidence of God’s providence… something he never sought but wouldn’t fight
E. Archbishop in Constantinople: Godly and Persecuted
1. Eutropius, who orchestrated his call to that post, expected special concessions and favors from him. John saw him as nothing more than a man who needed the grace of Christ as much as anyone else! So Eutropius changed his mind and hated John
2. The right of asylum: some people fled from the tyranny of Eutropius and took refuge in the church of St. Sophia. Eutropius sent soldiers in after them. John refused to allow the soldiers into the sanctuary. John preached boldly on this issue and the emperor (Arcadius) for once did not bend to Eutropius. John had won!
3. When Eutropius fell from power, the people were jubilant, and mobs were in the streets demanding vengeance against him. Eutropius fled to the church and embraced the altar for sanctuary. When the mob came after him, John stood courageously in their way and protected him!
After rebuking Eutropius for his worldly use of power, he turned to the people while the formerly mighty Eutropius stood broken in front of them:
“I say this now, not in order to shame the fallen, but to exhort to prudence those who are still upright; not in order to push a shipwrecked person into the deep, but to warn others before they also are shipwrecked!!”
4. Second early victory: A.D. 400… courageously stopped a revolt of Gothic mercenaries who demanded an Arian church be permitted in the city… John negotiated the release of hostages and convinced the emperor to refuse the request for the Arian church
5. CONSTANT TROUBLE with politics and his conscience
2 Timothy 3:12 “Everyone who desires to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
Church in Constantinople had 100,000 members; tons of money flowed in; previous archbishops had lived like kings; many people had entered the service of the church for worldly motives (because the church and state were wedded, and there was power and material prosperity from a life in church service). John changed all that…
a. ascetic lifestyle
b. clearing out the clergy rabble: lazy, immoral, rich priests cut off
c. refusing affluent, lavish feasts
d. wore simple dress
e. used money given to his position to build hospitals and care for the needy
f. preached powerful sermons against worldliness: theater, horse racing, gambling
g. preached vigorous sermons against luxurious lifestyles of emperor, empress, nobles
John defied the power of the palace again and again on behalf of his people
F. Politics Conquers Truth: Exiles and Death
Eudoxia: friend turns enemy
Early in John’s career in Constantinople, Eudoxia was one of his powerful supporters. She spent long hours with him, and he baptized her son. When the relics of some saint were moved to a chapel outside the city, Eudoxia joined the procession, barefoot, without her veil or any trappings of royalty, with every outward sign of piety.
Her inner strength could have turned her toward being a saint; instead it turned her toward a quest for power and the destruction of her enemies, including John.
Eudoxia married Emperor Arcadius in 395 and quickly discovered that Arcadius was weak and dominated by Eutropius, the emperor’s leading official. Eudoxia wanted to be named Augusta (empress), a move Eutropius opposed. Determined to gain more power, she began to plot Eutropius’s downfall.
Her chance came in 399. Many generals resented Eutropius for his high-handed ways. Gothic mercenaries rebelled and demanded his expulsion. At the same time, in a heated argument, Eutropius told Eudoxia, in effect, “I raised you to power; I can just as easily break you.” Arcadius had Eutropius deposed. Soon she was named Augusta and became, effectively, the ruler of the empire.
Eudoxia now began to fear John’s power—he may have been the only man in the empire strong enough to oppose her. John preached a sermon on the vices of powerful women (the “Herodias sermon” in 401)
“Herodias is again furious; Herodias again dances; she once more demands the head of John.”
Eudoxia conspired with Bishop Theophilus of Alexandria to depose John.
A few days after John was put out of the city, however, an earthquake shook the region, damaging the imperial bedroom. Terrified of God’s evident wrath, Eudoxia begged John to return, affirming her regard for him and remembering his baptism of her son.
But more intrigue (and perhaps an indirect attack on Eudoxia by John in one of his sermons), ended the short truce. John was again sent into exile. A few weeks later, Eudoxia, due to complications in childbirth, died. Unfortunately, the exile also took John’s life… he died from the rigors of the exile in 407. [https://christianhistoryinstitute.org]
III. A Sample of John’s Preaching and Teaching
A. John’s Style: Solid Exegesis, Lofty Language, Fearless Applications
· Direct and plainspoken
· A sense of abandon and freedom in the pulpit
· Cared far more about pleasing God than pleasing men or women
· Alert and sensitive to the problems of the people; deep concern and compassion for the poor
John knew that some poor were crafty, taking advantage of the church’s benevolence; John still said
“Whether the poor are worthy or unworthy, the reward for you will be the same!!”
BUT he warned rich oppressors:
“How can you think that you obey Christ’s commandments when you spend your time collecting interest, piling up loans, buying slaves like livestock, and merging business with business? … And that is not all. Upon this you heap injustice, taking possession of lands and houses, and multiplying poverty and hunger.”
· Scripture was the answer to it all!
“Reading the Scripture is a great means of security against sinning. The ignorance of Scripture is a great cliff and a deep abyss; to know nothing of the divine laws is a great betrayal of salvation.”
· Knew that the people’s true hearts were on worldly things
“My sermons are applauded merely from custom, then everyone runs off to horse racing again and gives much more applause to the jockeys, showing indeed unrestrained passion for them! There they put their heads together with great attention and say with mutual rivalry, ‘This horse did not run well, this one stumbled,’ and one holds to this jockey and another to that. No one thinks any more of my sermons, nor of the holy awesome mysteries that are accomplished here.”
“My work is like that of a man who is trying to clean a piece of ground into which a muddy stream is constantly flowing.”
B. Philosophy of Ministry: On the Priesthood
“I do not know whether anyone has ever succeeded in not enjoying praise. And if he enjoys it, he naturally wants to receive it. And if he wants to receive it, he cannot help at being pained and distraught over losing it…. Men who are in love with applause have their spirits starved not only when they are blamed offhand, but even when they fail to be constantly praised.”
D. John’s Greatest Sermon: The Paschal Homily (Easter Sermon)
If any man be devout and love God, let him enjoy this fair and radiant triumphal feast. If any man be a wise servant, let him rejoicing enter into the joy of his Lord. If any have labored long in fasting, let him now receive his recompense. If any have wrought from the first hour, let him today receive his just reward. If any have come at the third hour, let him with thankfulness keep the feast. If any have arrived at the sixth hour, let him have no misgivings; because he shall in nowise be deprived thereof. If any have delayed until the ninth hour, let him draw near, fearing nothing. If any have tarried even until the eleventh hour, let him, also, be not alarmed at his tardiness; for the Lord, who is jealous of his honor, will accept the last even as the first; He gives rest unto him who comes at the eleventh hour, even as unto him who has wrought from the first hour.
And He shows mercy upon the last, and cares for the first; and to the one He gives, and upon the other He bestows gifts. And He both accepts the deeds, and welcomes the intention, and honors the acts and praises the offering. Wherefore, enter you all into the joy of your Lord; and receive your reward, both the first, and likewise the second. You rich and poor together, hold high festival. You sober and you heedless, honor the day. Rejoice today, both you who have fasted and you who have disregarded the fast. The table is full-laden; let all feast sumptuously. The calf is fatted; let no one go hungry away.
Let all of you enjoy all the feast of faith. Let all of you receive the riches of loving-kindness. Let no one bewail his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed. Let no one weep for his iniquities, for pardon has shown forth from the grave. Let no one fear death, for the Savior’s death has set us free. He that was held prisoner of it has annihilated it. By descending into Hell, He made Hell captive. He embittered it when it tasted of His flesh. And Isaiah, foretelling this, did cry: Hell, said he, was embittered, when it encountered Thee in the lower regions. It was embittered, for it was abolished. It was embittered, for it was mocked. It was embittered, for it was slain. It was embittered, for it was overthrown. It was embittered, for it was fettered in chains. It took a body, and met God face to face. It took earth, and encountered Heaven. It took that which was seen, and fell upon the unseen.
O Death, where is your sting? O Hell, where is your victory? Christ is risen, and you are overthrown. Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen. Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice. Christ is risen, and life reigns. Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in the grave. For Christ, being risen from the dead, is become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. To Him be glory and dominion unto ages of ages. Amen
On the Synoptic Problem (differences between the gospel accounts):
Someone will say, Have not many of the evangelists given diverse accounts of other signs? Yes, but it is one thing to make statements which are diverse, and another, statements which are contradictory…. Now that you may understand what is the difference between statements which are diverse and contradictory, one of the evangelists has stated that Christ carried the cross, John 19:17 another that Simon the Cyrenian carried it. But this causes no contradiction or strife. And how, you say, is there no contradiction between the statements that he carried and did not carry? Because both took place. When they went out of the Prætorium, Christ was carrying it. But as they proceeded, Simon took it from Him and bore it.
Again in the case of the robbers, one says that the two blasphemed: another that one of them checked him who was reviling the Lord. (Luke 23:40) Yet in this again there is no contradiction, because here also both things took place. At the beginning both the men behaved ill. But afterwards when signs occurred, when the earth shook and the rocks were rent, and the sun was darkened, one of them was converted, and became more chastened, and recognized the crucified one and acknowledged his kingdom. For to prevent your supposing that this took place by some constraining force of one impelling him from within, and to remove your perplexity, he exhibits the man to you on the cross while he is still retaining his former wickedness in order that you may perceive that his conversion was effected from within and out of his own heart assisted by the grace of God and so he became a better man
How to apply sermons properly:
Let us then carefully hold fast all these things, both those which were spoken yesterday and the day before that, and let us beseech God that they may abide immovably in our heart, and let us contribute zeal on our side, and constantly meet in this place. For in this way we shall preserve the truths which have been formerly spoken, and we shall add others to our store; and if any of them slip from our memory through the lapse of time we shall easily be able to recover them by the aid of continual teaching. And not only will the doctrines abide sound and uncorrupt but our course of life will have the benefit of much diligent care and we shall be able to pass through this present state of existence with pleasure and cheerfulness.
John using scripture to minister to the suffering:
Suppose someone is struggling with perpetual poverty, and at a loss for necessary food, and often goes to bed hungry, if he has come in here, and heard Paul saying that he passed his time in hunger and thirst and nakedness, and that he experienced this not on one or two or three days, but constantly (this at least is what he indicates when he says up to the present hour we both hunger and thirst and are naked; 1 Corinthians 4:11), he will receive ample consolation, learning by means of these words that God has not permitted him to be in poverty because He hated him or abandoned him: for if this were the effect of hatred, He would not have permitted it in the case of Paul who was of all men especially dear to Him: but He permitted it out of His tender love and providential care, and by way of conducting him to a higher degree of spiritual wisdom….
And not only from the New Testament but from the Old also it is possible to receive abundant consolation. For when you hear of Job after the loss of his property, after the destruction of his herds, after the loss not of one, or two, or three, but of a whole troop of sons in the very flower of their age, after the great excellence of soul which he displayed, even if you are the weakest of men, you will easily be able to repent and regain your courage. For you, O man, have constantly attended your sick son, and have seen him laid upon the bed, and have heard him uttering his last words, and stood beside him while he was drawing his last breath and have closed his eyes, and shut his mouth. But Job was not present at the death struggle of his sons, he did not see them breathing their last gasp, but the house became the common grave of them all, and on the same table brains and blood were poured forth, and pieces of wood and tiles, and dust, and fragments of flesh, and all these things were mingled together in like manner. Nevertheless after such great calamities of this kind he was not petulant, but what does he say — “The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away; as it seemed good unto the Lord even so has it come to pass, blessed be the name of the Lord forever.”
Let this speech be our utterance also over each event which befalls us; whether it be loss of property, or infirmity of body, or insult, or false accusation or any other form of evil incident to mankind, let us say these words The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away; as it seemed good to the Lord so has it come to pass; blessed be the name of the Lord forever. If we practice this spiritual wisdom, we shall never experience any evil, even if we undergo countless sufferings, but the gain will be greater than the loss, the good will exceed the evil: by these words you will cause God to be merciful unto you, and will defend yourself against the tyranny of Satan. For as soon as your tongue has uttered these words immediately the Devil hastens from you: and when he has hastened away, the cloud of dejection also is dispelled and the thoughts which afflict us take to flight, hurrying off in company with him, and in addition to all this you will win all manner of blessings both here and in Heaven.
In one sermon on the topic of repentance, he said
“Have you sinned? Go into the church and wipe out your sin. As often as you fall down in the marketplace, you pick yourself up again. So too, as often as you sin, repent of your sin. Do not despair. Even if you sin a second time, repent a second time. Do not by indifference lose hope entirely of the good things prepared.”
“Even if you are in extreme old age and have sinned, go in, repent! For here there is a physician’s office, not a courtroom. [The church] is not a place where punishment of sin is exacted, but where the forgiveness of sin is granted. Tell your sin to God alone: ‘Before you alone have I sinned, and I have done what is evil in your sight.’ And your sin will be forgiven you.”
On entertainment at the lustful theatres:
“Seeing Christ lying in the manger, you leave Him, that you may see women on the stage. . .a spiritual well of fire gushes up out of this table. And you leave this, and run down to the theater…. You leave the fountain of blood, the awful cup, and go to the fountain of the devil, to see a harlot swim, and to suffer shipwreck of the soul.”
On the beggar let down through the roof, how Jesus cured without causing the slightest pain, unlike human surgeons who cut and bring major agony in order to bring ultimate healing… patients undergoing these surgeries were often screaming in utter agony in hopes of being cured; but not so, our Lord:
“… nothing of that kind has to be seen, no application of fire, no plunging in of an instrument, no flowing of blood, no pain or shrieking of the patient; and the reason of this is, the wisdom of the healer, which needs none of these external aids, but is absolutely self-sufficient. For it is enough that He merely utters a command and all distress ceases. And the wonder is not only that He effects the cure with so much ease, but also without pain, causing no trouble to those who are being healed.”
