Table of Contents

COMMENTARY ON JOHN (CONTINUATION)

CHAPTER VIII

Concerning those who asked the Lord about the Father. How Christ promised freedom to those who follow Him. Concerning those who said that Christ has a demon. Concerning the Jews attempting to stone Jesus, because He preferred Himself to Abraham. ^A

"They answered and said to him: 'Are you also from Galilee? Search and see, that an prophet has not arisen from Galilee.' Jesus therefore spoke to them again, saying: 'I am the light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'" ^B

When Nicodemus very prudently rebuked the Pharisees for acting illegally, they were perplexed, and answered in a boorish—nay, rather, in a more feral—manner, saying: "Are you also from Galilee?" For what consistency does this have with the things said by Nicodemus? He said that it is not right to condemn a man without examination and judgment. It behooved them to answer this, and to show that they were not condemning Jesus without judgment, but lawfully, and that they had sent subordinates to seize Him, and were doing all things as was proper. But what do they say? "Are you also from Galilee?" Do you see their folly? Do you see the lack of coherence in their words? Then, insulting him as ignorant, they say: "Search, and see that a prophet has not arisen from Galilee," which is to say: "Go, and learn, since up to this time you have not learned that 'a prophet has not arisen from Galilee.'" They say this, ascribing ignorance to him. But what did you say, O Pharisees? Did Nicodemus say that Jesus is a prophet? He said that it is not right to put someone to death without a trial. How, then, do you answer him with such things when he has spoken thus? ^C But Christ, because they were frequently casting Galilee in His face and were contending as if He were one of the prophets, showing them that He is not one of the prophets, says: "I am the light,"—properly the Light, not a prophetic light which has a particular and small splendor, but the true Light, which is not bounded by the borders of Galilee or Palestine, but I am the light of the world, and the Lord of all men, and concerning Me the prophet has said: "Behold, I have set You as a light for the nations" (Isa. XLII, 6). ^D You may use this present saying against Nestorius as well; for He did not say, "In Me is the light of the world," but, "I am the light of the world." For He Himself who appeared as man, was Himself also the Son of God and the light of the world; not as Nestorius raves, that the Son of God dwells in a mere man: perish the thought! For He is one, as...

Commentary on the Gospel of John (Continuation); Chapter VIII

^A it was said, was the Son of Mary and the Son of God. "He who follows me," he says, "will not walk in darkness," which is to say, he will not remain in error, but will be delivered from error and darkness. At the same time, he also praises Nicodemus and the ministers for having spoken so freely, precisely because they were in the light. He also hints that the Pharisees were in error and darkness, and were secretly weaving snares.

VERS. 15, 14. "The Pharisees therefore said to him: You bear witness of yourself; your testimony is not true. Jesus answered and said to them: Even if I bear witness of myself, my testimony is true, because I know whence I came and whither I go; but you know not whence I come and whither I go." Because he had said, "I am the light of the world," they accuse him as if he were testifying of himself. O the folly! He draws the Scriptures from high and low as witnesses concerning himself, and they blame him as if he were testifying of himself. Therefore, he answers their malice accordingly: "Suppose that I am testifying of myself—though I am not doing this, but have three witnesses: my Father, the works, and the Scriptures, as was said above—yet let us assume that I am testifying of myself. Even if I were to testify of myself, my testimony would be true, because I know that I am the Son of God and not a mere man, but one come from above and God. How then could my testimony be false, when I am God, and on that account worthy of being believed? For God is altogether a most suitable witness to himself; but as I am going to the true God, how could I lie when I am about to depart to the Truth?"

^C VERS. 15, 16. "You judge according to the flesh; I judge no man. And even if I do judge, my judgment is true, because I am not alone, but I and the Father who sent me." I indeed, he says, being God and having come from above, testify truly concerning myself; but you look only at what appears, and because I am in the flesh, you suspect that I am mere flesh, and not also God, and that I have come from God. "You judge according to the flesh," that is to say, dangerously. For just as one who lives in the flesh is said to live basely, so also the one who judges according to the flesh might be said to judge unjustly. Then, as if someone had said, "If we Jews judge unjustly, why do you not punish, why do you not condemn?" he says that he did not come for this purpose, to judge. "For I judge no one now; and even if I judge, my judgment is true." For you would have been condemned, if I had wished to judge. But now you escape condemnation, not because I am unable to condemn you, but because now is not the time. For I am reserving your condemnation for the second coming; just as he says in another place, "I did not come to judge the world, but to save it," since he is the Savior.

Commentary on the Gospel of John — Chapter VIII.

^A...the judge, listen to the mouth that cannot lie, that “The Father has given all judgment to the Son.” Thus, when you hear, “I judge no one,” do not understand this to be said regarding the future coming, but the present one. Yet by saying, “I am not alone, but I and my Father who sent me are with me,” He showed that it is not I alone who condemn you, but the Father also. For I do not judge in one way, and the Father in another; but just as I am, so is He; and as He is, so am I.

^B “It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. I am One who testifies of Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies of Me.” Let the Arians and Eunomians, who say that the Son is not consubstantial with the Father, speak here. If He were not consubstantial, how would He have dared to say that I am of the same authority and credibility as the Father? For just as when two men testify about a matter, and their testimony is true, it is evident that their credibility is the same, so here also, He shows that His own testimony lacks nothing in comparison to the Father’s testimony. For listen to what is said subsequently with great authority: “I am One who testifies of Myself, and the Father also testifies concerning Me.” Do you see the equal authority, and how He makes Himself as credible as the Father? This is something He would not have dared to say if He were inferior to the Father in dignity, and not His equal and consubstantial. For if He had wished to show some subordination or diminution, He would not have counted Himself with the Father, nor placed His own testimony alongside the Father’s, but—being a slave, as the heretics blasphemously claim—He would have looked to one of His fellow-servants and made such a one a co-witness, such as John, I say, or the prophets; or simply, if He wanted such testimonies, He would have found thousands. But now, desiring to show the consubstantiality which He has with the Father, He numbers Himself with the Father. Do not be surprised if elsewhere He brings forward John, and Moses, and the prophets to testify about Him; for He does this for the sake of the opinion of His hearers. Since they preferred John and Moses to Christ, for this reason He draws those considered great and noble among them into testimony. So, since they also had a high opinion of God the Father (and what else would they honor Him as, if not as God?), He now brings forward that very God who is over all as a witness. And since He joins Himself to such a witness, one who is unimpeachable and most truthful, it is most evident therefore that He is of the same authority and power as the Father. And let those who say He is a slave and in all things inferior to the Father be put to shame.

“They said therefore to Him: Where is your father? Jesus answered: You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father...”

^A These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, teaching in the temple. And no man laid hands on Him, because His hour had not yet come. Because they questioned Him about the Father as tempters, and not for the sake of learning, for that reason He does not even deign to answer them, but says: "Neither do you know Me, nor My Father." That is: You cannot know My Father without Me; so that even if you think you are worshipping God, but do not believe Him to be the Father of Me, the true Son, you gain nothing, nor do you know Him as you ought to know Him; for if you had known ^B and honoured Me, you would now, since you neither know nor honour Me, neither know Him nor offer Him honour, even if you think you do. And the reason for your not knowing Me is not another, but you yourselves. Do you hear, you who impiously subject the Son to the Father? If He were not consubstantial with the Father, how could He have said: "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also"? For if, according to you, the Son is a creature, how does he who knows the creature know God also? For surely he who knows the substance of an angel does not thereby know the substance of God. Since, therefore, he who knows the Son knows the Father also, it follows that the Son is of the same substance as the Father. Yes, one might say, but he who knows the creature knows God also. By no means; for many, or rather all, both see and know the creature, but "no man hath seen or known God." And Jesus was speaking these things in the treasury in the midst of the temple, and He was speaking so freely. And yet those who were seeking to kill Him, and even had Him in their hands, dared not seize Him. Nor did they understand even ^C thus that it was truly a work of divine power for One surrounded by enemies to remain in their midst unharmed and unmolested, and this, too, while they were seeking Him before the Passover and laying snares for Him. Whom, therefore, they sought when He was not present, and against whom they raged even when He was absent—this One did they have in the midst of their nets, yet were unable to take Him; nor did they even so recognize His power. "Because," He says, "His hour had not yet come," that is, the suitable time for His death had not yet arrived, at which He was to deliver Himself up. For even then they would not have been able to prevail against Him, had not the appropriate time, which He had reserved for Himself, come. For it was not out of weakness that He was crucified, but of permission. For He permitted it when He so willed; because they had long desired to kill Him, but were held back by the invisible bonds of His power. For it behooved Him to remain longer in the life according ^D to the flesh, so that He might become the author of greater benefit to men by showing forth signs and words and doctrines. Some, however, understand the phrase "Where is your father?" to have been said by the Jews to the Lord as a matter of insult and reproach; for they were reproaching Him as though He had been born of fornication; and they said these things as though He did not know His own father. And in another way, they considered His father, Joseph, to be of no account, and they say: "Where"

^A is this father of yours?" as if to say: "Your father is obscure and base-born, why do you boast of him so much? Why do you bring him up to us again and again?"

Jesus said to them again: "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and you will not find Me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come." The Jews therefore were saying: "Will He kill Himself, because He says, 'Where I am going, you cannot come'?" But He said to them: "You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins." ^B Why does He frequently say to them, "I am going away, and you will seek Me"? In order to shake them and strike fear into their souls. For observe how they immediately fell into anxiety and, perplexed in mind, said, "Will He kill Himself?" although they desired to be rid of Him, and prayed that He would be taken from their midst, and even desired to slay Him; nevertheless, they imagined something so great about the affair that they were rendered perplexed in mind. Furthermore, He often said, "I am going away," so that He might show that He foreknew His own death, and that the cross was not the work of their power, but of His own will. "I go," He says; "you do not lead Me, but I go of My own volition." ^C But by saying, "You cannot come where I am going," He shows that while He Himself would indeed rise again in glory and sit at the right hand of the Father, they would die in their own sins. What, then, do they say to these things? "Will He kill Himself?" The Lord, however, removing this suspicion of theirs and showing that it is not without condemnation to kill oneself, says: "You, being from below and unable to conceive of anything divine, consistently think such things; but I, not being of this world—that is, thinking nothing worldly or earthly—would never reach such a state of madness as to kill Myself; for this is hellish and not divine." But here Apollinarius, grasping at the text, says, ^D following the Manichaeans entirely, that because of this, the body of the Lord was not from this world, but from above, from heaven, even as Paul says that "the second man, the Lord, is from heaven." What, then, is to be said? Is it not entirely necessary to ask him how he understands what is said by the Lord to the apostles, that "you are not of the world"? Do they also possess bodies from heaven, and not from this creation, or did the Lord say this because they did not think worldly things? It is clear, in any case, that He said this to them because they did not think the things of the world. Thus, therefore, one must understand also, "I am not of the world"; that is, "I am not one of you, who think worldly things": just as Paul also says to some, "You are not in the flesh," not calling them incorporeal, but testifying to how they are studious of virtue and free from carnal affections.

What then does the Lord say to them again? "If you do not believe, He says, that I am he, you will die in your sins." For if He came for this, that He might take away the sin of the world, and there is no other way to receive remission of sins except through baptism, and it is impossible for one who has not believed to be baptized, it is then absolutely necessary for the unbeliever to die in his own sin. For he has not put off the old man, because he has not been baptized. Therefore, the Lord also says in another place, "He who does not believe is already judged," not only because of this, that he did not believe, but also because he departs having his former sins as well.

^B V. 25-27. "They were saying therefore to him, 'Who are you?' And Jesus said to them, 'In principle, because I even speak to you. I have many things to say about you and to judge, but He who sent me is true. And I—the things which I heard from Him, these I speak into the world.' And they did not know that He was speaking to them about His Father." After so much time, after the demonstration of so many miracles, they ask Him, "Who are you?" Such were these senseless, abusive, and scoffing men! But the Lord says, "In principle, because I even speak to you." You are, He says, unworthy even to hear the words from me, much less to learn who I am; for you say everything while testing me, and are unwilling to heed anything from me. But I could both rebuke you, and not only rebuke, but also punish. For He insinuates these two things by saying, "Because I have many things to say about you and to judge": by "saying," He signifies the rebuke; by "judging," He signifies the condemnation and the sentencing. "But He who sent me," He says, "did not send me for this, for which to judge and to rebuke. For God did not send His Son into the world that He might judge the world, but that He might save the world." Since, therefore, my Father sent me for the purpose of saving, and He is true, I rightly do not judge anyone now, but I only speak what I have heard from my Father, namely, things that pertain to salvation, not things that pertain to rebuke. And He was saying these things so that they might not think that He does not punish them because He is powerless; showing, therefore, that He does not punish them not because He is powerless, but because He is unwilling, since He came not to punish, but to save.

^C While He was saying these things, they were so senseless that, as it says, "they did not know that He was speaking to them about His Father." And yet, how many things had been discussed with them concerning the Father? But truly, their senseless heart was darkened. Some, however, understand the phrase "But He who sent me is true" in this way: I could, He says, even now judge you, but I am reserving this for the future age. You do not believe, and you do not suspect that there is a time of retribution. But even if you do not believe, at least my Father is true, who has appointed a day on which retribution will be made to you, who also sent me to proclaim these things, and to manifest to the world His righteousness and power.

^A Jesus then said to them: "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of myself, but as my Father has taught me, I speak these things, and He who sent me is with me. The Father has not left me alone, because I always do the things that are pleasing to Him."

Since He had performed many signs and had not attracted them, He speaks to them about the cross. "You," He says, "will then think that you are in complete security, and rid of me, when, that is to say, you crucify me. But I say that 'then you will know that I am He';" that is to say, the Christ, the Son of God, who carries and guides all things, and that I am not an adversary to the Father, nor do I act or speak from myself; for I do not have a private will separated from the Father’s.

How, then, were they to know Him on the cross? From the signs that would occur then, from the resurrection, and from the capture [of Jerusalem]. For all these things were sufficient to show forth His power. Therefore, you will know both things: my power when you crucify me, and my concord with the Father. For the Father would not have avenged me by delivering your city to the Romans, or by performing signs at the cross, if I were not His Son, and of the same mind, and not an adversary. ^B Then, then, you will know that whatever I teach and say is from Him; they are entirely divine and God's words, and not mine, but His who sent me.

Then, so that they might not think that being sent and commissioned implies subjection, He says: "My Father is with me." For even if He sent me as a man, yet I was not separated from Him; but He is with me, as God dwelling with God.

And then, bringing His discourse down to a lower level again, He says: "And He has not left me alone, because I always do the things that are pleasing to Him." He says these humble things for the sake of the Jews. For since they were saying, "He is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath," He says: "Because I do the things that are pleasing to Him." So that even if I break the Sabbath, this is pleasing to Him.

From these humble words, He Himself suffered no detriment to His own glory, but caused profit to His hearers; rather, He even established His glory through this. For as those who heard Him referring all things to the Father became more attached to Him and believed in Him, these humble things rather exalted Him. Do you see the achievements of blessed humility? And that these things are so, listen to what follows.

"As He was speaking these things, many believed in Him. Jesus then said to the Jews who had believed in Him: 'If you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.'" ^C As I said, that the hearers were being drawn more by the humbler words, the evangelist also points this out. "For these things," he says, "while He was speaking, many believed"; these humble words, supposedly unworthy of His glory. So everywhere, when you hear Him saying some small and lowly thing about Himself, do not be troubled. For He speaks these things for the sake of the hearers, who are unable to know anything more lofty, but are immediately ^D fierce. What, however, would not have happened to those who were advancing...

^A in their understanding of the theological mystery, when even for Christians, who have known His power and have been saved by Him, the height of His glory proved unattainable? When He hears that "many believed," understand it in this way: that they believed ^B in a common manner, not as they should have, but as if calmed and lulled by the humility of His words. That they were not such as to be truly faithful, that is, accurately so, is evident. "For He says to the Jews who had believed: If you abide in My word," thereby implying that they believed superficially, and for this reason would not even remain in the faith. By reproving them while they were in this state, He shows that He knows their hearts, and that He is God. And since some had also withdrawn ^C who previously seemed to be His disciples, for this reason He says to those who now believed: "Those men indeed withdrew, but if you abide in My word and in the faith, you shall know the truth," that is, Me; for I am the truth. As for now, indeed, you do not know the truth; for all things of the Law, which you think you observe, are not the truth, but a copy and a shadow. But if you know Me, who am the truth indeed, "the truth shall make you free," that is, I Myself, from sins. For he who trusts in Him who takes away the sin of the world is entirely delivered from sins. Just as, therefore, He said to those who do not believe, "You shall die in your sins," so to those who remain in the faith He promises freedom from sins. For the legal sprinklings and sacrifices did not deliver from sins; for they were figures. But this spiritual and true sacrifice, through faith and knowledge, sets free those of us who are no longer slaves but are become children of God.

VER. 33-36. "They answered and said to Him: We are Abraham's seed, and have never served anyone; how is it that You say: You shall be made free? Jesus answered them: Amen, amen, I say to you, that everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. The slave does not abide in the house forever; the Son abides forever. If therefore the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed." Again the arrogant, looking to their base ^D nobility, wax insolent, saying, "We are Abraham's seed," although they ought to have been indignant about something else, if indeed there was cause for indignation. For He had said to them, "You shall know the truth." Therefore, they ought to have said: "What then? Do we not now know the truth? Is everything in the Law a lie, and our knowledge as well?" But none of this concerned them; rather, they suspected that they were being reproached with servitude and ignobility in worldly affairs. "We are Abraham's seed." Nowhere do they remember their own deeds, but they run back to their fathers. Therefore also John said to them, "Do not begin to say, We have Abraham for our father." Although they lied manifestly, saying, "We have served no one"; for they served as often as they were led into captivity, both to the Egyptians, and

to the Babylonians, and to many others. But the Lord does not rebuke them as liars, since He was ^A not anxious to show them to be slaves of men, but of sin, which is a most grievous slavery, from which only God can deliver. For to forgive sins belongs to God alone. Therefore He says: "Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin." And so you are servants, inasmuch as you are sinners. Then, since it was likely that they would say, "Even if we are subject to such slavery, yet we have sacrifices, we have priests, who will cleanse us from sins," He says that they also are servants: "For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God." Since your priests are also servants, they have no power to forgive sins for others. And Paul himself, too, says this more clearly, that "the priest must offer for himself, just as for the people, because he ^B himself is encompassed with infirmities." "The servant," He says, "does not remain in the house"; that is, he has no power to dispense, as he is not the head of the household, that is, the master of the house; but the Son is lord of the house, and remains in the house. He calls "house" authority, just as in another place He names sovereignty in this way, saying, "In my Father's house are many mansions." Therefore, since your priests are servants, they have no power to forgive; but I, the Son, remain in the house, I mean, in authority and in royal power, and being Lord of the house, I grant you freedom. For all things are mine, and I am of equal power and authority with the Father; and if I set you free, then you shall be enriched with true freedom, whereas now you merely boast ^C of a false freedom for yourselves. But you shall be truly and veritably free through Me. VERS. 37, 38. "I know that you are the seed of Abraham, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen with My Father; and you do what you have seen with your father." You, He says, call yourselves the seed of Abraham; and I agree with this, that you preserve the carnal lineage which is from that holy man; nevertheless, the spiritual kinship is absent from you. That man was just, and merciful, and hospitable; but you—to pass over the rest of your life, and to examine this very thing which is manifest and which you are now doing—are murderers and unmerciful; for you seek to kill Me, and you call Me guilty of death. ^D How, therefore, are you truly his sons, having so abandoned his paternal character? If, therefore, you boast of his lineage, you ought also to imitate his virtue. Then, so that they might not be able to say, "We justly seek to kill You," He sets forth the cause: For no other reason, He says, do you rage against Me than that My word is higher than your understanding, and cannot be grasped by you. Although you ought not for this reason to kill, but rather to ask that I might teach the sublimity of the doctrines, and to honor, and to cultivate. Then, so that they might not say to Him, "And we rightly hate You for Your word; for You do not speak to us from God, but from Yourself, and for this reason we can neither comprehend"

^A Your teaching"; He says that I do not speak from Myself, but what I have seen with My Father, these things I speak; and you do what you have seen with your father. For "I," He says, "speak divine and heavenly things, and through these [A/B] I reveal My Father; but you, through what you do, represent your father—the devil, of course." When you hear Him saying, "I speak what I have seen," do not understand it as a bodily vision, but as natural, true, and experienced knowledge. For just as eyes that see well perceive what is real and true, and do not deceive, so I, too, truly speak those things which I have known with the Father. ^B VERS. 39-41. "They answered and said to Him, 'Our father is Abraham.' Jesus says to them, 'If you were children of Abraham, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. You do the works of your father.' Then they said to Him, 'We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, God.'" ^C He indeed ascribes the devil as father to them, for He sees them as being like him through their works. They, however, repeatedly offer up Abraham. But the Lord constantly remembers their murderous disposition and leads them away from the lineage of the righteous man, so that He might cut down their excessive boasting and persuade them not to have their hope in this vain froth of carnal nobility, but in the likeness of will. And certainly, like a physician of souls, He suppresses the inflammatory ulcer which, born from the opinion of the lineage of Abraham, prevented them from approaching Christ, as they thought this nobility was enough for salvation. "You are not, therefore, children of Abraham," He says, "since you are murderers, and seek to kill Me." Then, lest anyone say, "They seek to kill You justly," He says, "A man who is not ^D an adversary to God, nor one seeking his own glory, but one who speaks the things that I have heard from My Father—namely, the truth." But what was this truth? It is that He is equal to the Father, and not a servant like one of the prophets, but the Son, doing or saying nothing of His own, but all things that are the Father's. For because of these things they sought to kill Him. But they again said, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, God." See their foolish pride. The Lord casts them out even from the lineage of Abraham, yet they are so puffed up that, out of madness, they make themselves even children of God. For because they heard, "Israel is My firstborn son," they boasted of divine adoption, even though they also ought to have heard what God says in another place: "I have begotten and raised up children, but they have rejected Me." Although the Lord could have refuted them by pointing out that many of them had been born of illicit union (for Hebrew women used to mix, contrary to the law, with Gentiles, and Gentile women with Jews), yet He does not do so. For He was not at pains to reproach their carnal ignobility, but His whole endeavor was to show them as degenerate according to the spirit.

^A

Vers. 42, 43. *Jesus said to them, If God were your father, you would love me. For I came forth from God, and have come; for I have not come of myself, but He sent me. Why do you not understand my speech? Because you cannot hear my word.* Since He cast them out of the relationship with Abraham, they advanced to something greater, making God their father. For when He reproached them for being murderers, they, as if in their own defense, claiming that they were vindicating God and therefore plotting against Him, said such things. Therefore the Lord, showing that they were not at all vindicating God, nor were they children of God, by the very fact of meditating murder against Him—as they supposed—but were rather adversaries to God, says: "If God were your father, you would love me. For I came forth from God," into the world, that is, according to His presence in the flesh. For I am not a rival to God, from whom I have come; therefore you are enemies of His, by fighting against Me. "Why do you not understand my speech," nor do you perceive and know what I say? Is it for any other reason than that you cannot hear my word, that is, that you do not will to? (For "cannot" is used in place of "do not will"). For as long as envy and a murderous intention dwell among you, how will you be able to hear what I say? ^B

Vers. 44, 45. *You are of your father the devil, and you will to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and stood not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own, for he is a liar, and his father. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.* He had said, "You cannot hear my word," that is, you do not will to. Then He adds also the cause for which they did not will to: "Because," He says, "you are of that father of yours, who do I mean? The devil." For you indeed claim God as your father through arrogance, and your works bear witness that the devil is more truly your father; for you will to do his desires. And He did not say "works," but "desires," showing that they were wonderfully affected with the passion of murder and lying, which are the evils most proper to the devil. "For he was a murderer from the beginning; and so you too, seeking to kill Me, have become like him who slew Adam. But he also stood not in the truth, but is the father of the lie; therefore you, lying about Me and saying that I am not from God, and not standing in the truth, nor remaining in My word, are sons of him who gave birth to the lie." For he also slandered God to men, saying to Eve, "Envi- ^C ous of you, He forbade you the tree." ^D And again he accused men falsely before God, as in the case of Job, saying, "Does Job reverence God for nothing?" When, therefore, he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own; that is, while men using a lie use it as a thing foreign to them, the devil when he uses a lie uses his own property; for it is his offspring, and he himself is properly a liar, and his father, that is, of the lie.

For he said to Eve, "In the day you eat, you shall be as gods." But they rather reaped death. "I, however," He says, "because I speak the truth, you do not believe me." For having nothing else to reproach in Me but only the truth, on this account you rage against Me, as sons of the father of lies. ^A

Vers. 46-50. "Which of you convicts me of sin? If I speak the truth, why do you not believe me? He who is of God hears the words of God. Therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God." The Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say well that You are a Samaritan, and have a demon?" Jesus answered, "I have no demon, but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. But I do not seek My glory; there is One who seeks and judges." ^B For because they called themselves sons of God, He says, "If you are sons of God, in every way you ought to hate the one who sins. If therefore also Me, whom you hate, you can convict of sinning, it is manifest that you justly pursue Me with hatred; but if no one can convict Me, it is manifest that you hate Me because of the truth." But what truth? Certainly that He was calling Himself the Son of God, which is most true. But as He "who is of God hears the words of God," so also you, if you were children of God, would not turn away from hearing Me, nor would you seek the death of Him who came from above, the Son of God, and who speaks the things that were of God. The Lord indeed, therefore, spoke so ^C gently with them; but they proceed to insults. "Do we not say well," they say, "that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?" They called Him a Samaritan, therefore, because He was overturning Jewish customs, such as that of the Sabbath; for the Samaritans did not strictly follow Jewish ways. But they call Him demon-possessed, perhaps also in that way in which they said that He cast out demons by the prince of demons. For all who were slandering Him, saying He casts out demons in Beelzebul, were saying that He had the demon of Beelzebul, in which He performed miracles. Perhaps also, according to the fact that He revealed their thoughts and intentions, they thought He had a demon, supposing that the secrets of their hearts were made known to Him by demons. But when did they say He was a Samaritan? Nowhere has the evangelist said this. ^D From this, therefore, it is clear that the evangelists omitted many things and did not write down everything, as we have noted in another place. Those men, therefore, bring forward such things as an insult; He, however, patiently receives the injuries against Himself. For when they called themselves sons of God, He vehemently convicts them, vindicating the truth; but when they offer injury to Himself, He does not retaliate, teaching also us to vindicate those things which are against God, but to bear those which are against ourselves gently, just as He also gently said, "I," He says, "do not have a demon, but I honor My Father." But how did He honor the Father? By vindicating Him, and not enduring them, the murderers and

liars should be called children of the Savior and of the truth. You, therefore, He says, because I honor My Father—whom you treat with injury, while you falsely claim Him to be your Father—for this reason you heap ignominy upon Me. But although I do not vindicate Myself, ^A but rather endure when I am treated with injury, do not think that this injury will go unpunished. For there is the Father, who will vindicate Me, because it is on His account that I am treated with injury, and I do not suffer you to make yourselves out to be His children. There is, therefore, One who seeks My glory, and not only seeking, but also able to judge and condemn those who irrationally injure Me. For often someone seeks to be vindicated for an injury, but cannot judge himself; the Father, however, both seeks the glory of the Son and is able to judge. For this reason, then, He said: "There is One who seeks and judges."

"Amen, amen, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word, he shall not see death forever." The Jews therefore said to Him: "Now we have known that You have a demon. Abraham is dead, and the prophets, and You say: 'If anyone keeps My word, he shall not see death forever.'" O, the loving-kindness! They, on the one hand, offer injury, but He, ^B leaving the inquiry concerning His own glory and the defense of Himself to the Father, turns to admonition and teaching, doing good to those who persecute Him with injuries. Thus it is necessary that we, too, defend against our enemies. What, then, did He say to them? "If anyone keeps My word," that is, if, along with believing, he also has a pure life; for then does one truly keep the teaching of the Lord, when he also has a pure life. Such a person, therefore, shall not see the death which sinners die, when they are handed over to immortal punishment in the future age and fall away from the true life. At the same time, He also ^C intimates to them: "If he who keeps My word does not die, how much less do I?" Why, then, do you rage against Me, from whom it is so far to be held by death, that I even bestow in larger measure upon others the true life? For those who believe, even if they die naturally, nevertheless live in God. But what do the Jews say to these things? They think He is possessed by a demon, as if He were saying some bizarre things out of insanity. "For those," they say, "who have hearkened to the words of God have died, Abraham and the prophets, and shall those who hearken to Yours not die? Truly now," they say, "we have known fully and certainly that You have a demon, speaking such things."

"Are You greater than our father Abraham, ^D who died? And the prophets are dead. Whom do You make Yourself?" Jesus answered: "If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing. It is My Father who glorifies Me, whom you claim to be your God, and yet you have not known Him. But I know Him, and if I were to say that I do not know Him, I would be a liar like you. But I know Him, and I keep His word." The senseless ones, not understanding of what death the Lord was speaking—as it would not harm those who believe in Him—speak to Him

^A some very senseless and foolish things. See how they answer: "Are you greater than our father Abraham?" And yet, thus they ought to have said: "Are you greater than God?" They who heard the word of God died, and those who hear yours will not die? But they do not speak thus; what do they say? Wishing to show Him even less than Abraham, they say, "Are you greater than our father Abraham?" ^B But the Lord Himself, although He does not reveal to them of which death He spoke, convinces them a little later that He is superior to Abraham. The words "Whom do you make yourself out to be?" they say insultingly: "You, who are of no account, who are the son of the carpenter, who are from Galilee, whom do you make yourself out to be?" It is not the works, nor the truth, nor the Scriptures, but "Whom do you make yourself out to be?" for you are seizing glory. But the Lord says: "If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing," as you suppose; "but now there is another who glorifies me, my Father." For He always glorifies Him, both through the prophecies concerning Him, and through the testimony from the heavens, and through countless and immense miracles. "Yet this Father," He says, "you claim is your God; but you recognize Him neither as My Father, nor as your God. For if you recognized Him as My Father, you would honor His Son; but now, not honoring the Son, it is evident that you do not know Him as My Father. But neither do you recognize Him even as God; otherwise you would fear His words as those of God; but now you despise Him so much that, when He has commanded, 'You shall not kill,' ^C you devise my death, and that when you cannot convict me of sin. From these things, therefore, it is clear that you are ignorant of Him in every way. But I know Him naturally, having all knowledge of Him. For such as I am, such is the Father; since, therefore, I know Myself, I also know Him. 'But if I say that I do not know Him, I shall be a liar like you.' For you, while arrogantly claiming to know Him, lie; but I, knowing Him, if I were to say that I do not know Him, I would be denying the truth. What proof, then, do you offer that you know Him? 'Because,' He says, 'I keep His word,' calling the commandments His word. For I neither oppose Him, nor do I boast like an adversary of God, nor do I annul His commandments. But you, since you are caught as transgressors of His commandments, being held by evil desires, and thirsting for murder, and committing the other things forbidden by the Law out of desire, you clearly show that you are ignorant of Him. For if you knew Him, you would keep His word, that is, His commandments." Some, however, understand the phrase "I keep His word" in this way: "That is, for this reason I know Him, because I have in Myself the word of His essence, which is in no way different, that is, the definition; and whatever word of nature the Father has, such a word I myself also have; ^D for the same is the nature, and the same is the word of the essence to the Father and to the Son; so that I know the

^A Father, for I preserve his word in no way less than his substance. This figure is common in Scripture, as when it is said: "Give us help from trouble, and vain is the salvation of man" (Ps. lix, 13). For in this place the conjunction "and" is placed for "for," so that what is said may have this meaning: "Give us help, for vain is the salvation of man." So also in this place: "I know him, and I keep his word." For the "and" is placed instead of "for," as he says: "For I keep his word."

VERS. 56-59. "Abraham your father rejoiced that he might see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. The Jews therefore said unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. They took up stones therefore that they might cast them at him. But Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by." ^B In this passage he establishes that he is greater than Abraham. For since they put forward to him, "Art thou greater than our father Abraham?" he says here, "Yes, I am greater." "For he rejoiced that he might see my day," that is, he held this day to be deeply desired and wished for, and as the author of joy, obviously because it resulted in a blessing, and was a day not of anything small or common, but of something great. He calls the cross "day." For Abraham prefigured this in the offering of Isaac and the sacrifice of the ram. For as that one carried the wood, so the Lord carried the cross; and as Isaac was released, but the ram was sacrificed, so God indeed is apart from ^C passion, but in the human nature and in the flesh he suffered. Abraham, having foreseen this day of the cross, rejoiced, because it was to be for the salvation of the world. Moreover, in this place he shows them to be strangers to Abraham, since they rage and act madly over those things at which he rejoiced. He implies that he does not come to the passion against his will, if he praises him who rejoiced because of the cross. For from thence, as has been said, is the salvation of the world. Others, however, understand by "day" the whole time of the advent of Christ, which when Abraham had foreseen he rejoiced, because from him and his seed the Savior was to arise. And perhaps not only Abraham rejoiced, but also all, as David says: "This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Ps. cxvii, 24). He himself, then, says these things; but they, unable to reach the height of his words, neither deign to ask and learn what day it is that ^D Abraham saw, but rather mock him as one uttering something insane. "For thou art not yet," they say, "fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?" This they said, thinking the Lord was near fifty years old, although he was then about thirty-three years old. And why did they not say, "Thou art not yet forty years old," but, "fifty"? This inquiry is indeed more curious. For it simply occurred to them, that they might be mindful of the fifty

years. ^B Yet some say that because the fiftieth year was held by them in honor, I mean the jubilee year, during which they also set slaves free, and restored purchased possessions, and performed all other things that contributed to the honor of God. But what does the Lord say? "Before Abraham was, I am." Observe, He did not say: "Before Abraham was, I was," but "I am." For this expression, "I am," is more proper to God, as it is significant of existing continuously and always; just as His Father in the Old Law also makes use of this: "I am who am." But regarding Abraham He said, "to be," consistently, as of one corruptible. For that which has been made, is also subject to corruption; but the "I am" signifies lack of participation in any corruption and divine eternity. Wherefore they also, thinking the word blasphemous (for it is fitting to God alone), "took up stones" against Him. But He hides Himself again, withdrawing, so that He might not die before the appointed time. But how, then, does He hide? Not by having skulked into a corner of the temple, nor by having fled into some small room, or by having turned behind a wall and pillar, but by making Himself invisible to those plotting against Him by His divine power, even though He was going out through the midst of them. "And He passed by so," that is, He walked on simply and without effort in the meantime. Observe also for me how He Himself indeed fulfilled everything that He owed. For He sufficiently taught them both about Himself and the Father, and He demonstrated true nobility and the freedom which is from sins, and that the only shameful slavery is that of sin; and, in short, He left out nothing of what was necessary; but they even stone Him. Therefore He leaves them, as no longer receiving correction. And I would note that these who were stoning Him were the ones of whom the evangelist said that they "believed in Him"; thus, therefore, their faith was not faith, but some temporary and cold disposition toward the things said by Christ.

CHAPTER IX. Concerning the man born blind.

Verses 1, 2. "And as Jesus passed by, He saw a man blind from birth, and His disciples asked Him, saying: Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?" The Lord indeed goes out of the temple, contriving a certain solace for the fury of the Jews; but He turns to the healing of the blind man, attempting even through this sign to soften their hardness and stubbornness, even if it profited them nothing; and at the same time showing them that not without cause, nor boastfully, did He say: "Before Abraham was, I am." ^D For behold, He performs a miracle, such as no one ever did before. For even if someone opened the eyes of a blind man, yet not those of one born blind. It is manifest, therefore, that He is God and exists even before Abraham, who performs this which had not been performed from the age. And He came deliberately to the blind man, not he to Him. Accordingly, the disciples also, when they had seen Him looking attentively at the blind man, asked...

^A years, or perhaps the fifty years are viewed as a complete course of time. But let us come to the things that follow.

Chapter IX

"And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying: Who has sinned, this man, or his parents, that he should be born blind?" ^B Now, this question appears to be faulty; for how could this man have sinned before he was born? The apostles certainly did not accept the foolish notions of the Greeks, that the soul, while dwelling in another world before the body, sins and then, descending into the body, receives some punishment for this. For they were fishermen, and would not have heard of any such thing, since these are the dogmas of the philosophers. The question, therefore, seems senseless, but not to one who pays close attention. For observe: the apostles, hearing Christ saying to the paralytic, "Behold, you have been made whole; sin no more, lest something worse happen to you," were puzzled when they saw the blind man, and as it were, said something like this: "Suppose that man was paralyzed because of his sins; but what would you say about this one? Has he himself sinned? But that cannot be said, for he has been blind from his birth. Has his parents? But neither is this possible, for a son is not punished for his father." Therefore, they were not so much asking a question as expressing doubt. The Lord, however, resolving their doubt, says: "Neither has this man sinned (for how could he have sinned before he was born?), nor his parents." ^C But He does not say this in the sense that He has freed them from sins; for He did not simply say that his parents did not sin, but He added, "that he should be born blind." For his parents indeed had sinned, but his blindness did not come from that. For it is not just that children who do no wrong should be afflicted for the sins of their parents. And God teaches this through Ezekiel, saying: "This proverb shall no longer be used, which says: The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge." He also establishes the law through Moses: "The father shall not die for the son." But, someone might say, how is it written that He "recompenses the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation"? It must be said, therefore, that in the first place, this is not a general decree, nor was it spoken against all, but only against those who went out of Egypt. Furthermore, mark the intention of the decree. For He does not say this, that children are punished for the things in which their parents sinned, but that the "sins of the fathers"—that is, the punishments ^D to be inflicted for the sins—will be rendered to their children also, as they have committed the like transgressions. For, so that those who came out of Egypt might not think that even if they sinned more grievously than their fathers, they would not be punished with the same torments, He says that it shall not be so, but that the "sins of the fathers"—that is, the punishments—will come upon you also, because you have not become better, but have sinned in the same or even worse ways. And if you often see infants being snatched away, allegedly as a punishment for their parents, know that it is out of God's love for mankind that He snatches them from this life prematurely, so that, had they lived, they might not become worse than their parents, and live to the detriment of their own souls and of many others. But the abyss of divine judgments keeps these things covered within itself; let us proceed to what follows: "Jesus answered: Neither has this man sinned, nor"

^A οἱ γονεῖς αὐτοῦ, ἵνα τυφλός γεννηθῇ, ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα φανερωθῇ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ. Ἐμὲ δεῖ ἐργάζεσθαι τὰ ἔργα τοῦ πέμψαντός με, ἕως ἡμέρα ἐστίν. Ἔρχεται νύξ, ὅτε οὐδεὶς δύναται ἐργάσασθαι. Ὅταν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ὦ, φῶς εἰμι τοῦ κόσμου.

Ἰδοὺ πάλιν ἄπορον ἄλλο. Ζητήσεις γὰρ ἄν τις, Πῶς τοῦτο εἴρηκεν; Ἠδικήθη γὰρ ὁ ἄνθρωπος στερηθεὶς τοῦ φωτὸς, ἵνα φανερωθῇ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Θεοῦ; ἄλλως δὲ οὐκ ἐνῆν φανερωθῆναι ταῦτα; Ποίαν ἀδικίαν ἠδικήθης, ἄνθρωπε; Τοῦ φωτός, φησί, στερούμενος. Καὶ ποία βλάβη ἐκ τοῦ στερεῖσθαι τοῦ αἰσθητοῦ φωτός; τοὐναντίον οὖν μᾶλλον εὐηργέτηται. Ἅμα γὰρ τῇ σωματικῇ δράσει καὶ τοὺς τῆς ψυχῆς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐφωτίσθη. Ὥστε πρὸς καλὸν αὐτῷ ἡ πήρωσις ἀπέβη, διὰ τῆς ἰάσεως ἐπιγνόντι τὸν ἀληθῆ τῆς δικαιοσύνης Ἥλιον. Οὔκουν ἠδίκηται, ἀλλ᾽ εὐηργέτηται ὁ τυφλός.

Ἔπειτα καὶ τοῦτο γίνωσκε, πᾶς ὁ τῶν θείων ἐξεταστής, ὅτι τὸ, «Ἵνα», καὶ τὸ, «Ὅπως», παρὰ τῇ Γραφῇ πολλαχοῦ οὐκ αἰτιολογικῶς, ἀλλ᾽ ἀποβατικῶς κεῖνται, ὡσπερεὶ τὸ παρὰ τῷ Δαυΐδ, «Ὅπως ἂν δικαιωθῇς ἐν τοῖς λόγοις σου». Οὐ γὰρ διὰ τοῦτο ἥμαρτεν ὁ Δαυΐδ, ἵνα δικαιωθῇ ὁ Θεὸς, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἐξ ἀποτελέσματος ἁμαρτόντος τοῦ Δαυΐδ, ἀποβαίνει τὸ δικαιωθῆναι τὸν Θεόν. Ὅταν γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς μὲν τοσαῦτα αὐτῷ δέδωκεν, ὅσα οὐκ ἦν ἄξιος λαβεῖν, αὐτὸς δὲ παρέβη τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ φόνον εἰργάσατο ἐπὶ τῇ μοιχεία, καὶ τῇ βασιλείᾳ ἀπεχρήσατο εἰς ἀθέτησιν τοῦ Θεοῦ· τί ἄλλο ἐξ ἀποτελέσματος συμβαίνει, ἢ πάντως τὸ, κρινόμενον τὸν Θεὸν καὶ διαλεγόμενον πρὸς τὸν Δαυΐδ, δικαιωθῆναι, καὶ τὴν νικῶσαν ἀπενέγκασθαι, κατακρινομένου τοῦ βασιλέως; Ὅτι παρ᾽ οὗ τὴν βασιλείαν ἔλαβε, τούτου τοὺς νόμους ἠθέτησε, δι᾽ αὐτὸ τοῦτο, ὅτι βασιλεὺς ἦν. ἰδιώτης γὰρ ὤν, οὐκ ἂν ἡδυνήθη τοιαῦτα δύο κακὰ οὕτω ῥᾳδίως κατεργάσασθαι. Ὁρᾷς, ὅτι τὸ, «Ὅπως ἂν δικαιωθῇς», οὐκ αἰτιολογικῶς κεῖται, ἀλλὰ κατὰ ἀπόβασιν;

Καὶ μυρία τοιαῦτα καὶ παρὰ τῷ ᾿Αποστόλῳ εὑρήσεις, οἷον καὶ τὸ ἐν τῇ πρὸς Ρωμαίους· «Τὸ γὰρ γνωστὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ, φανερóν ἐστιν ἐν τοῖς Ἕλλησιν, εἰς τὸ εἶναι αὐτοὺς ἀναπολογήτους». Καίτοι οὐ διὰ τοῦτο ὁ Θεὸς ἔδωκε τοῖς Ἕλλησι τὴν γνῶσιν, ἵνα ὦσιν ἀναπολόγητοι πταίοντες. Αὐτὸς μὲν γὰρ ἔδωκεν, ἵνα μὴ πταίωσιν· εἶτα ἐπειδὴ ἔπταισαν, ἐξ ἀποτελέσματος ἡ γνῶσις αὐτοῖς ἀπέβη εἰς τὸ εἶναι ἀναπολογήτους. Καὶ πάλιν· «Νόμος δὲ παρεισῆλθεν, ἵνα πλεονάσῃ τὸ κατάκριμα»· καίτοι οὐ διὰ τοῦτο ἐδόθη, ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα μᾶλλον ἀνασταλῇ ἡ ἁμαρτία. Ἐπεὶ δὲ οὐκ ἠθέλησαν ἀναστεῖλαι ταύτην οἱ τὸν νόμον δεξάμενοι, ἐγένετο αὐτοῖς ὁ νόμος εἰς πλεονασμὸν ἁμαρτίας· πλείων γὰρ ἐλογίσθη αὐτοῖς καὶ μείζων ἡ ἁμαρτία, ὅτι καὶ νόμον ἔχοντες ἡμάρτανον.

^D Οὕτως οὖν κἀνταῦθα τὸ, «Ἵνα φανερωθῇ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Θεοῦ», οὐκ αἰτιολογικῶς κεῖται, ἀλλ᾽ ἀποβατικῶς· ἀπέβη γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ τὸν τυφλὸν θεραπευθῆναι, τὸ δοξασθῆναι τὸν Θεόν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ πολλάκις οἰκοδόμος τις οἰκίας, τὸ μὲν εἰργάσατο, τὸ δὲ ἀφῆκεν ἀτέλεστον, ἵνα εἰ ποτε ἀπιστοίη τις αὐτῷ, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτὸς ὁ τὸ μέρος

μέρος ^A building, he may have, by creating even that which is unfinished, the means to demonstrate that he is the craftsman of what has been built; so, too, our God, Jesus, by healing the disabled limbs and restoring them to their natural state, demonstrates that He is the Creator of the other limbs as well. But by saying, "That the glory of God might be manifested," He speaks of Himself, not of the Father. For the Father’s glory was already manifest, but it was necessary that His own should be manifested, and that He is the One who from the beginning formed man. It is certainly no small glory to be manifested: that He who has now appeared as man is the selfsame One who in the beginning, as God, created man.

That He says this concerning Himself, hear what follows. He adds: "I must work the works of Him that sent me." "I," He says, "must manifest Myself and perform works that are able to prove that I do the same things as the Father." Observe how He did not say, "Such works as the Father does, I also must work," but "Those very works which the Father does." "For I must work," He says, "those very works which He who sent me performs." And these things I must perform "as long as it is day"; that is, as long as the present life endures and men are able to believe in Me; for "the night cometh, when no man can work"—that is, can believe; for He calls faith a "work." Therefore, in the age to come, no one can believe. For the day is the present life, because we can work as if in the day (even though Paul calls this night, because herein one might be ignorant of those who are pursuing virtue or vice, and by comparison with the future light which shall shine around the righteous). But the night is the age to come, because there no one can work, even though Paul calls that day, because then the righteous shall shine forth in the light, and the deeds of each one shall be made manifest. In the age to come, therefore, there is no faith; rather, both the willing and the unwilling shall obey. "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world"; for by means of teaching and the demonstration of miracles, I illuminate souls. So I must even now illuminate the souls of many by healing the blind man and illuminating the pupils of his eyes; for since I am Light, I must illuminate both sensibly and spiritually. ^D

VERSES 6-7

For if that had not been active, the eye, even if it were complete, would never have seen. He uses spittle for the recovering of sight. For since He was about to send him to Siloam, in order that the miracle might not be attributed to the water of the spring, but that we might learn that the power which went out from His mouth was what formed and opened his eyes, for this reason He spat on the ground and made clay from His mouth. Then, so that you might not think that the miracle was of the earth, He orders him to wash, so that the clay might be entirely removed. Some, however, say that the clay was not put away, but was fashioned into an eye. But He orders him to go to Siloam, partly that we might learn the faith of the blind man, and how obedient he was. For he did not reason: “If the clay and the spittle are able to heal the eyes, what need have I of Siloam, or of washing?” but he was persuaded by the One commanding. At the same time, it is also to put to shame the ingratitude ^B of the Jews. For it was likely that many had seen him with the clay smeared upon his eyes, and had observed him with precision, so that they might not have it in their power later to say, “This is he, this is not he.” And thirdly, by sending him to Siloam, He shows that He is not an opponent of the Law and of the Old Testament. But why did the evangelist also add the interpretation of “Siloam”? In order that you may learn that Christ healed him even there, and that Siloam is a type of Christ. For just as Christ is the spiritual rock, so too is Siloam spiritual; and just as that sudden torrent of Siloam appeared with a certain terrible flow, more striking, so too was the coming of the Lord, hidden and unknown even to the angels, yet washing away all sin by His power.

Vers. 8-11. “The neighbors therefore, and they who had seen him before that he was a beggar, said: Is not this he that sat and begged? Others said: This is he. But others said: No, but he is like him. But he said: I am he. They said therefore to him: How were thy eyes opened? He answered: That man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me: Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash. And I went, I washed, and I see.” ^C Struck with wonder at the paradoxical miracle, the neighbors were skeptical; yet his arrival at Siloam with his eyes anointed with clay happened for this reason: so that many might see him and not later deny it, as though feigning ignorance; and yet they are still incredulous. The evangelist does not note without purpose that he was a beggar, but to show the ineffable mercy of the Lord, how He condescends even to the humble, so as to heal even beggars with great care, and so that from this we ourselves might learn not to despise the least of men. But the blind man, neither ashamed of his former blindness nor fearing the crowd, confesses, “I am he,” proclaiming his benefactor, ^D and says, “A certain man that is called Jesus.” He calls the Lord a man, because he had not yet known anything great about Him; he testifies, however, to as much as he knew at that time. Whence then did he know that He was Jesus? From the conversation with the disciples. For because certain disciples had questioned him about Him, and he himself knew many things