The Development of the Idea of God in the Bible

The purpose of this lecture is to inform Christians and non-Christians alike of the latest studies about God, the development of the idea of God in the Bible, and the points that we can conclude based on them. Of particular importance is bringing this knowledge to parents, educators, and pastors who in turn can help Children learn the great themes of the Bible as the Knights of Columbus started a few weeks ago a bi-weekly Bible competition among teenagers at Jesus the King parish in Toronto.

Summary for Christian parishioners

The idea of God is found in all ancient civilizations and still alive today in different forms of spirituality.

The Biblical literature reflects the development of the idea of God in the Hebrew tradition which is transformed in the New Testament by Christ and his followers to reach out to all nations since the first century AD. With Abraham a tribal local God is worshiped. Moses finds that God is in more than one territory. Hosea speaks of God in terms of love. In Jesus Christ, God becomes human so as to restore fallen humanity to his eternal love (Trinity in One God). Central to Christian thought is the idea that “God is Love” (1 John 4: 8).  

The Appearance of the Idea of God:

How has the idea of God come into human consciousness? Research in anthropology since the 19^th century brought to light a number of discoveries in ancient Greek, Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Babylonian, Persian, Roman, Indian and Chinese cultures. Among the well known are James Fraser, Franz Boas, Mircea Eliade, and René Girard. In those authors and others we recognize the interaction and development of history, religion, psychology, and culture. Probably the most influential introduction of religion in the 21^st century is Joseph Ratzinger’s “Truth and Tolerance” published in 2004. For thousands of years, in every region and country a polytheist, or pantheist plethora of gods were worshiped.  There were gods for every material or spiritual need; a god for rain to bring rain to farmers; a god for fertility to bring offspring to mothers; a goddess of love that inspired reflections and poetry, and the Sun as the source of fire and food as well as many other gods and goddesses. The need of humans for worship has never lacked.  In an interview in 2006, the Atheist biologist Richard Dawkins admitted that religion will remain an important human phenomenon.  Since in this lecture we wish to explore the development of the idea of God in the Bible, we will limit the discussion to the Biblical Revelation. The encyclopedic New Jerome Biblical Commentary edited by Raymond Brown, S.S., Joseph Fitzmyer, S.J. and Roland Murphy, O. Carm., was republished in 1990 with contributions by 74 Biblical scholars.  In an article on the “Early Church”, 3 of those scholars assert the idea that while Jesus preached his kingdom in Judea, the Apostles after his Resurrection took it to the entire known world. Their recent research shows that only after the Resurrection could the early Christians relate Jesus’ vision for the Gentiles to a structure of faithful under the leadership of the Apostles and their disciples who succeeded them as bishops and priests. Hence, guided by the Spirit, there is a gradual opening from a strictly Jewish community to an inclusive Church extending from Jerusalem to Antioch to Rome and Alexandria as well as Greece and Asia Minor in the first century AD.   

A scientist’s perspective:

In 2000, "The God Experiment - Can Science Prove the Existence of God?" authored by Russell Stannard was published. The author was a professor of high-energy nuclear physics at the Open University in London. In the book, which discusses many scientific discoveries in relation to Christianity such as evolution and quantum physics, he delves into the development of the idea of God starting with the question "What is God like?" Given the assumption that God has some kind of personal nature, an important source of information in the Judaeo/Christian tradition is the Bible. We are assuming there to be just the one God. The Bible affirms God as the creator and ruler of the whole world. But elsewhere, in the Old Testament, it refers to other gods (for example the Canaanite baals). "The God of the Israelites was jealous when his people worshiped these other gods. God is supposed to be a God of love and mercy, but there is much in the Old Testament about a God of wrath and vengeance. His anger could be so great as to bring him to the verge of destroying his people. Then again, God is supposed to be the god of all peoples - loving them equally. In that case, how are we to account for what happened to the Egyptians? We can understand God wanting the Israelites to be freed from slavery, but killing off the Egyptians' first-born children and drowning their army seems somewhat extreme." This shows, Stannard explains, why we cannot interpret the Biblical literature in a static way, or - in most cases - literally. The Bible is not a precise scientific account of natural phenomena. In order to transmit God's revelation the authors of books in the Old Testament used figurative language as a literary device in such stories as the creation story of the world and the Garden of Eden.  The use of narrative language for history in the Bible makes it possible to transmit God’s message to nomads and settlers such as the ancient Israelites.

I should add here the question on the Biblical story of creation as some scholars think it has elements used from ancient Babylonian myths such as the myth known as Enuma Elish dated around the 7th century BC where Tiamat, a demiurge of ocean water, and Abzu, a god of fresh water, mingle together as the water on whose surface the Spirit of Yahweh hovers. Chaos too could refer to the formless state preceding the creation of the cosmos in ancient Greek mythology (See Genesis 1:1-3). However, the Biblical author inspired by God seems to have included such myths to trumpet the God of Israel over other gods. Yahweh (God) alone created the entire cosmos from nothing (ex-nihilo) and not from pre-existing matter (Cf. Terence Nichols, 2009, The Sacred Cosmos, Wipf & Stock Publishing – Reprint Edition).  The creation story illuminates us in the importance of knowledge of ancient cultures that Biblical scholars study along with the Biblical literary forms such as poetry, narrative history, wisdom literature, and figurative language as well as historical development of such cultures.

The Biblical witness can be divided into two phases:

Phase 1: From many gods to One God

By the 19^th century B.C. Abram of Ur is transformed to Abraham (Giving him a new name indicated a mission). When Abraham followed God out of Ur in Chaldean territories, he was told to go and settle in the land of the Canaanites. Although TNK (pronounced Tanak short for Torah, Nebeim, Ketubim) was not written until 1000-800 B.C. it reflects earlier traditions: Yahwist, Elohist, Deuteronomist, and Priestly.

From the many gods Abraham and his tribe follow the One God revealed to him. This is further illuminated in God's call to Moses to liberate the Israelites from the slavery of the Egyptians and their gods and to follow him in Sinai before settling in Palestine. Here God is seen not only as a tribal God limited to a certain territory but as a God who transcends many territories, defeats other deities with power.  The same is found in Elijah's call to Israelis to stop worshiping Baal who allegedly among many gods competed with God in Northern Israel. Elijah miraculously brings down rain after he had stopped it, and brings down fire when he challenges priests of Baal to a competition between his God and theirs. When the truth is revealed in the burning offering, God is again victorious. Many other events also show the unfaithfulness of the Jews to their covenant with God e.g. Solomon's decision to build altars for gods of the other nations which brings captivity to Persia and Babylonia in wars of defeat and the destruction of the Temple. This still does not exhaust God's attempts to bring back people to worship him in truth. Prophets such as Daniel and Ezekiel show that in the absence of the Temple, God can still be reached in the hearts. However the power of God as the liberator of his people from slavery to other gods gradually turns to the compassion and love of God towards Israel who in Hosea shows that He is faithful to his people even though they have been unfaithful.  

Phase 2: From One God to the Trinity in One God

According to Georges Farah “The Trinity was revealed in the Old Testament.” Based on ancient languages of the Hebrews, Elohim is a plural name of God. Mystical Jewish tradition known as Kabbalah professes the Trinity. Some other scholars refer to the Genesis account where God says “Let us make Man in our image, after our likeness” (Gen. 1: 26) which would imply the Trinity. The visit of the Lord God to Abraham as three men (Trinity?) is shown in Genesis 18. 

The Trinity is explicitly mentioned in Christ’s words to the Apostles “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matt 28: 19), but it is also found in the Pauline Epistles mostly written in the 50s of the first century and the Johannine literature written in near the end of the first century. The early Fathers of the Church understood fire with which Christ would baptize as the Spirit of God. This is also the form in which the Spirit descended on the early disciples (tongues of fire Cf. Acts) The incarnation of the Son of God, his teachings, his outreach to the enemies of his people in Samaria and in Canaanite land, his authority with which he spoke and forgave sins, his passion, his forgiveness of those who crucified him, his acceptance of death, his death and then his Resurrection reveal the power of God's love that the apostles understood only after the Resurrection. Following the powerful descent of the Holy Spirit, the apostles and their companions preached the risen Christ and the good news first to the Jews in Jerusalem then to the rest of the cities going to Antioch, Minor Asia, Greece, Rome, and Alexandria and the rest of the world. Here we see how the God of Israel has extended his power rooted in love over the entire known world. The eternal self-giving love of God the Father to his Son is returned by the Son to his Father in the binding love of their Spirit. This eternal love is reflected in the act of creation which God continues to do every second and in the act of redemption in which God restores creation to him through his Son and his Holy Spirit (See Theosis, June 2013 by Henri Boulad, S.J. here). The Son reveals the Father, the Holy Spirit reveals the Son and this same Spirit guides the Church and works in all humans to help them come back to their Father.

Again there is a development of understanding doctrines by the Catholic Church in history as St. Paul refers to (2 Thess.  2:15 and 1 Cor 11: 12), St. Athanasius of Alexandria contributed to (See Athanasius here), Blessed John Henry Newman thought in the 19^thcentury and the Second Vatican Council confirmed (Dei verbum, 8) (Cf. here).

Such a uniqueness of the God of Christianity has impressed and empowered many scientists and scholars over centuries. In his book, the Mystery of Being, Henri Boulad, S.J. says “God does not love us. He loves me. He loves me from conception as the only person who exists.”  Why would Augustine shout “Late have I found you O Most beautiful…”? Teresa of Avila in the 16^th century, a great mystic and saint in the Church once fell off her ladder so she dared to tell God “You know why you do not have many lovers? It is because you let them suffer!” In spite of her great suffering, or probably through it, she loved God more. The mystical experience of this God is found in many religions. Rabia al-Adawiyya, a Muslim Sufi mystic in 8^thcentury Iraq prayed “O God! If I worship You for fear of hell, burn me in hell, and if I worship You in hope of paradise, exclude me from paradise. But if I worship You for your own sake, grudge me not your everlasting beauty” (Cf. Margaret Smith, 1928, “Rabia The Mystic and Her Fellow Muslim Saints”, Cambridge Library Collection). Suffering seems to be the external condition of humans who truly love.  A man who truly loves a woman will suffer greatly and must die to himself as Christ loved and died for the Church, the bride he loves (Cf. The Epistle to Ephesians Chapter 5).

Additional Readings:

 If God risks so much that He becomes man to restore man, then He is not a calculating vengeful God. Game Theory which economists and strategists play to achieve their goals contains the elements of risk necessary for achievement and most of the time requires cooperation of those in the game.  Vulnerability, the study of which brought Professor Brown in sociology a transformative experience  as a mother and wife, is also a theme of the vulnerable love that God initiated (Seehere). Being is opening oneself to the other. Relationality is at the root of everything in the cosmos (Quantum physics; See here). Civilizations could not expand without trade between nations which spells benefits if they cooperate.  Neurologists and psychologists too have come to the conclusion that the body is well off when the mind is not stressed and thus is able to reshape itself and accommodate the others (Cf. Norman Doidge, 2007, “The Brain that Changes Itself…”, Penguin Books; Redford Williams, 1998, “Anger Kills – Seventeen strategies for controlling the hostility that can harm your health, Harper.)

Let me close with my own experience of God’s love. Why I am still alive in spite of many illnesses that should have caused my death can be read here.

More online resources:

Catholic Resources by Felix Just, S.J. http://catholic-resources.org/
St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology: http://www.salvationhistory.com/
R. Girard in First Things: U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops Biblical Resources: http://www.usccb.org/bible/books-of-the-bible/

Baptism of a Naked God!

[As the people were in expectation, and all men questioned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he were the Christ, John answered them all, "I baptize you with water; but he who is mightier than I is coming, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." So, with many other exhortations, he preached good news to the people. But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother's wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, added this to them all, that he shut up John in prison. Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, as a dove, and a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."] (Luke 3:15-22).

In contemporary Biblical scholarship, Luke presents here his theme of the universality of salvation. John the Baptist urges the crowds to reform their social conduct in anticipation of the public ministry of the Messiah. Note also how Luke finds Jesus praying before every major key moment in his mission. Jesus prays here before his own baptism. He also prays before feeding the crowds; before the temptations; at the Last Supper with the Apostles; in the Garden of the Mount of Olives before being betrayed; and while crucified on the cross for those who crucified him and his "enemies.."

The Holy Spirit is the life that gives life and the fire that gives light. This is why he descended as tongues of fire on the early church. In the ancient tradition the dove was considered the creature that flies up to the highest sky to bring down peace from heaven. The Holy Spirit descended upon Christ in bodily form as a dove because he brings heaven to earth. And the Father's voice reminds the readers of the "beloved Son" in Psalms (Psalms 2: 7) and in the Father's testimony to Christ in Christ's own transfiguration (Luke 9: 35).

For Origen (Origenus), the famed Biblical scholar of the 3rd century, the baptism of John the Baptist belonged with the Old Testament symbols as a shadow; baptism in the church is the image; and the eschatological baptism of fire and the final conforming to the resurrection of Christ are mystery (Cf. Jean Daniélou, La Table Ronde, 1948).

But an astonishing interpretation of the eschatological meaning of Christ's baptism is found in Henri Boulad, S.J. A couple of weeks ago, in his homily on Christ's baptism, Fr. Henri Boulad, S.J. commented on the baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire (homily in French here). He said that Jesus was born naked, was baptized naked, and was crucified naked. In all the key moments of his mission, Christ is naked (nude).

Is this our God, a naked God? It is written by St. John the Evangelist that "God is love" (1 John 4:8). St. Augustine explores this revolutionary concept of God in a rational thought. According to him, as explained by Henri Boulad, if God is love then he must love another from eternity. The Father empties himself of his divinity - his all - and gives it to the Son. The Son receives it with gratitude but like his Father does not keep it to himself - everything is given back to his Father. The Holy Spirit is the unlimited force or energy of love that binds the Father and the Son in the One God (see here). Emptied of oneself is the character of God and the attribute of true love. A couple who are truly experiencing joy in their love for one another feel "lost in love". A little smile of a child turns his mother, however initially upset, to carry him, because love connects people and connects them with God whose Spirit moves them to repent and return to him.

It is constant prayer that initiates in us a dialogue with God. Our baptism is only the beginning as his baptism was only the beginning of his public and missionary life!

Parable of the Dishonest Steward

1
Then he also said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property.2He summoned him and said, ‘What is this I hear about you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.’3The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.4I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.’5He called in his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’6^* He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note. Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’7Then to another he said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘One hundred kors^* of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.’8And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.

 “For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.^*a9I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth,^* so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.^b10^* The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones.^c11If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth?12If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours?13No servant can serve two masters.^* He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”^d

Commentary by Biblical scholars (USCCB - NABRE Bible)

[16:1–8a] The parable of the dishonest steward has to be understood in the light of the Palestinian custom of agents acting on behalf of their masters and the usurious practices common to such agents. The dishonesty of the steward consisted in the squandering of his master’s property (Lk 16:1) and not in any subsequent graft. The master commends the dishonest steward who has forgone his own usurious commission on the business transaction by having the debtors write new notes that reflected only the real amount owed the master (i.e., minus the steward’s profit). The dishonest steward acts in this way in order to ingratiate himself with the debtors because he knows he is being dismissed from his position (Lk 16:3). The parable, then, teaches the prudent use of one’s material goods in light of an imminent crisis.

* [16:6] One hundred measures: literally, “one hundred baths.” A bath is a Hebrew unit of liquid measurement equivalent to eight or nine gallons.

* [16:7] One hundred kors: a kor is a Hebrew unit of dry measure for grain or wheat equivalent to ten or twelve bushels.

* [16:8b–13] Several originally independent sayings of Jesus are gathered here by Luke to form the concluding application of the parable of the dishonest steward.

* [16:8b–9] The first conclusion recommends the prudent use of one’s wealth (in the light of the coming of the end of the age) after the manner of the children of this world, represented in the parable by the dishonest steward.

* [16:9] Dishonest wealth: literally, “mammon of iniquity.” Mammon is the Greek transliteration of a Hebrew or Aramaic word that is usually explained as meaning “that in which one trusts.” The characterization of this wealth as dishonest expresses a tendency of wealth to lead one to dishonesty. Eternal dwellings: or, “eternal tents,” i.e., heaven.

* [16:10–12] The second conclusion recommends constant fidelity to those in positions of responsibility.

* [16:13] The third conclusion is a general statement about the incompatibility of serving God and being a slave to riches. To be dependent upon wealth is opposed to the teachings of Jesus who counseled complete dependence on the Father as one of the characteristics of the Christian disciple (Lk 12:22–39). God and mammon: see note onLk 16:9. Mammon is used here as if it were itself a god.

Thomas Collins: The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The post contains excerpts (paraphrased) from the homily of  Thomas Cardinal Collins** in the Mass of the Solemnity of the Assumption.

[God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple. A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth. Then another sign appeared in the sky; it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadems. Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky and hurled them down to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth, to devour her child when she gave birth. She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was caught up to God and his throne.The woman herself fled into the desert where she had a place prepared by God....Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have salvation and power come, and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed One.”] (Revelation 11: 19a; 12: 1-6a; 10 ab) This reading from Apocalypse is a reference to the sign of the woman whose son was destined to rule the nations. She, like any other human, had to escape into the desert in order to deliver her son. She has to suffer like the Israelites suffered in the desert before the glory of her Son should shine. This is Mary the mother of Jesus Christ, crowned with twelve stars referring to the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles of her Son and God. She is clothed with the sun and the moon is under her feet. That is how the Second Eve brought us salvation after the First Eve brought us the curse. The dragon, that is Satan, lured the First Eve into disobedience, and wanted to lead the Second Eve into disobedience too. But Mary, reminds us Luke, said “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Mary, like her Son, was assumed to heaven because she surrendered all her life to the will of God. It is because she was willing to give her life to God that he was born of her. This is our mission too: To surrender ourselves, as Mary did, to God. Today, when we are faced with challenges to our faith, let us follow Mary in her path for we want to hear the angel in our midst “Now have salvation and power come, and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed One.”

**  Thomas Collins is a well-known Biblical Scholar.

The sower went out to sow

"Jesus said 'A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell along the path, and was trodden under foot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew, and yielded a hundredfold.' As he said this, he called out, 'He who has ears to hear, let him hear.' And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, 'To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but for others they are in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.Now the parable is this:  The seed is the word of God.  The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy; but these have no root, they believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. And as for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bring forth fruit with patience.'" (Luke 8: 5-15) 

Dr. Mona Ebeid wrote in Al-Macarrat, Issue No. 906, 2010:

Luke presents the above Parable differently from Matthew and Mark. His style presents a more brief and unified account. We find "three" symbolic elements in his writing that insist on action.

He uses the verb "Go out" 

1. The sower; 2. went out; 3. to sow his seed,

This style is a teaching yet communicative style that aims to attract the attention of the listener and invites him to understand the depth of the divine word and to apply it in a practical way.

In interpreting this parable two more "threes" resemble those of Mark with some difference. The first difference with Mark is that Mark emphasizes the danger on the word while as we find the emphasis of danger in Luke is on the human person.

The seed that fell among thorns represents the situation of those who do not yield fruit because a chain of dangers in life threatens them:

1. Anxieties

2. Riches 

3. Pleasures

The brief words in Luke carry three wider symbols:

1. Not only the anxieties of the world, but the anxiety of life in this world in the absolute sense with all of its matters, preoccupation, and confusion.

2. Not only the desire to be rich, but material richness in itself and in all its forms.

3. Not only pleasures of this world, but all desires that long for living in pleasure only.

As for the seed that fell in the good soil, it represents those who: 

1. listen to the word (with a good heart);

2. and keep it;

3. and become fruitful (in perseverance).

So Luke did not present the symbolic meaning of the infinite quantity of fruits as Mark did, but presented rather the quality of fruits as "perseverance" has a three-pronged approach

1. Confirmation in the word of God,

2. Continuous efforts to live in the every divine grace,

3. Patience before the challenges that cannot be escaped.

Reference:

M. Cocagnac, Les Symboles Bibliques, Paris, 1999, L'agriculture divine, 102-105.

St. John Chrysostom on the Resurrection of Christ

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 therefor. 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; feast ye all sumptuously. The calf is fatted; let no one go hungry away.

Enjoy ye all the feast of faith: Receive ye all 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.

St. Augustine: Commentary on the Parable of the Good Samaritan

A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho;  Adam himself is meant; Jerusalem is the heavenly city of peace, from whose blessedness Adam fell; Jericho means the moon, and signifies our mortality, because it is born, waxes, wanes, an dies. Thieves are the devil and his angels. Who stripped him, namely; of his immortality; and beat him, by persuading him to sin; and left him half-dead, because in so far as man can understand and know God, he lives, but in so far as he is wasted and oppressed by sin, he is dead; he is therefore called half-dead.  The priest and the Levite who saw him and passed by, signify the priesthood and ministry of the Old Testament which could profit nothing for salvation. Samaritan means Guardian, and therefore the Lord Himself is signified by this name. Thebinding of the wounds is the restraint of sin. Oil is the comfort of good hope; wine the exhortation to work with fervent spirit. The beast is the flesh in which He deigned to come to us. The being set upon the beast is belief in the incarnation of Christ. The inn is the Church, where travelers returning to their heavenly country are refreshed after pilgrimage. The morrow is after the resurrection of the Lord. The two pence are either the two precepts of love, or the promise of this life and of that which is to come. The innkeeper is the Apostle. The supererogatory payment is either his counsel of celibacy, or the fact that he worked with his own hands lest he should be a burden to any of the weaker brethren when the Gospel was new, though it was lawful for him “to live by the gospel”