ἸΩΆΝΝΟΥ ΧΡΥΣΟΣΤΌΜΟΥ. Βαβαὶ, ὅσον τὸ ἐγκώμιον, οἱ μαθηταὶ ἐξαίφνης ἐγένοντο διδάσκαλοι· οὐκ ἤκουσαν μόνον τῶν λόγων, καὶ πρὸς αὐτὴν ἄφθασαν τὴν κορυφὴν τῷ Παύλῳ, ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲν τοῦτο ἐστιν· ὅρα γὰρ, πῶς αὐτοὺς ἐνάγει λέγων, “καὶ τοῦ Κυρίου δεξάμενοι τὸν λόγον, ἐν θλίψει πολλῇ μετὰ χαρᾶς Πνεύματος Ἁγίου,” καὶ ἔνεστι τοῦτο ἀπὸ τῶν Πραξέων τῶν Ἀποστολικῶν μαθεῖν πῶς ἐπήγειραν διωγμὸν ἐπ᾽ αὐτοὺς, καὶ πάντας, φησὶ, τοὺς πολιτάρχας ἐτάραξαν, καὶ τὴν πόλιν ἀνεπτέρωσαν κατ᾽ αὐτῶν. Καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν εἰπεῖν, ὅτι ἐθλίβητε μὲν, καὶ ἐπιστεύσατε, ἀλγοῦντες δὲ ἀλλὰ κὰι χαίροντες, ὅτερ καὶ οἱ Ἀπόστολοι ἐποίουν· “χαίροντες ὅτι κατηξιώθησαν ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὄνόματος ἀτιμασθῆναι.” Πῶς δὲ τοῦ Κυρίου μιμηταὶ ἐγένοντο; ὅτι καὶ αὐτὸς πολλὰ παθήματα ὑπέμεινεν, ἀλλ᾽ ἔχαιρεν· ἑκὼν γὰρ ἐπὶ τοῦτο ἤρχετο, δι᾽ ἡμᾶς ἑαυτὸν ἐκένωσε· “μετὰ χαρᾶς” φησὶ, “Πνεύματος Ἁγίου·” ἡ θλίψις ἐν τοῖς σωματικοῖς, καὶ ἡ χαρὰ ἐν τοῖς πνευματικοῖς· πῶς; ὅτι τὰ μὲν γενόμενα λυπηρὰ, τὰ δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν τικτόμενα οὐκέτι· οὐ γὰρ ἀφίησι τὸ Πνεῦμα· ἔθλιψαν ὑμᾶς, φησὶν, ἐδίωξαν, ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἀφῆκεν ὑμᾶς τὸ Πνεῦμα οὐδὲ ἐν ἐκείνοις. Καλῶς δὲ προσέθηκε τὸ “Πνεύματος Ἁγίου,” οὐ γὰρ ἦν ἑτέρως ἐνταῦθα λυπουμένοις χαίρειν ὑπὲρ τῶν οὐ φαινομένων, εἰ μὴ τὰ ὑπὸ Πνεύματος γενόμενα θαύματα βεβαίαν αὐτοῖς παρεῖχε τῶν μελλόντων τὴν πίστιν. “ὥστε γενέσθαι ὑμᾶς τύπους πᾶσι τοῖς πιστεύουσιν ἐν τῇ Μακεδονίᾳ καὶ ἐν τῇ Ἀχαΐᾳ·” καὶ μὴν ἐν ὑστέρῳ ἦλθεν πρὸς αὐτούς· ἀλλ᾽ οὕτως ἐλάμψατε, φησὶν, ὡς τῶν προλαβόντων διδάσκαλοι.

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM. Bless me, what great praise. The disciples suddenly became the teachers. They did not only hear of the words, they also arrived at the same place as Paul. But this is nothing; for see how he exalts them saying, “And receiving the word of the Lord, in much affliction with the joy of the Holy Spirit.” And this we are able to learn from the Acts of the Apostles, how they raised persecution upon them, and how, he says, they rose up all the rulers, and how they instigated the city against them. And it is not enough to say that you were inflicted, and believed, and that though you were grieving, you were even rejoicing, which the apostles also do, “rejoicing that they were counted worthy to be dishonored for the name.” And how did they become imitators of the Lord? Because the Lord himself endured many sufferings, but he rejoiced. For he came upon this willingly. He emptied himself out for us. “With the joy,” he says, “of the Holy Spirit.” The affliction is in the bodily things, and the joy is in the spiritual things. How? Because the things which happened to them were grievous, but the things which were born from them were not. For the Spirit did not forsake you. “They afflicted you,” he says, “they persecuted you, but the Spirit did not forsake you even in those things.” And it is good that he added the “Holy Spirit,”  οὐ γὰρ ἦν ἑτέρως ἐνταῦθα λυπουμένοις χαίρειν ὑπὲρ τῶν οὐ φαινομένων, εἰ μὴ τὰ ὑπὸ Πνεύματος γενόμενα θαύματα βεβαίαν αὐτοῖς παρεῖχε τῶν μελλόντων τὴν πίστιν. “So that you became examples to all who believe in Macedonia and in Achaia.” And yet, he came to them at a later time, “but you shined brightly,” he says, “so as to become teachers of those who received the word before you.”